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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Uranium mining – a nightmare scenario for water supplies

Canada has no national program to deal with contaminated sites. Abandoned mines and tailings ponds create toxic nightmares, contaminating rivers, lakes and surrounding lands. Local communities are left with the toxic legacy.”

Saskatchewan uranium mines create toxic legacy, Digital Journal  by ■ Kyle Ashmead , 28 Aug 2010, The Keepers of the Water, held a five day conference in Wollaston Lake Saskatchewan. Uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan, as well as other issues were discussed…..Conference attendees discussed many issues affecting the north, not least among them, was uranium mining in Saskatchewan…. Continue reading →

August 28, 2010 Posted by | Canada, Uranium, water | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Growing resistance to radioactive waste shipments on the Great Lakes

In addition to the radiological risks of one of these barges sinking — including stigma impacts on economic sectors such as Great Lakes tourism and fisheries, even if there is not a radioactive release — there is also the precedent setting nature of this proposal.

Resistance builds to radioactive waste shipments on Great Lakes, Beyond Nuclear, 26 Aug 2010, The Great Lakes United (GLU) Nuclear-Free/Green Energy Task Force has taken the lead in shining a spotlight on the proposal by Bruce Nuclear Power Complex in Ontario to barge 16 radioactive steam generators out the Great Lakes, and across the Atlantic, to Sweden for “recycling” the metal for un-restricted re-use in consumer products. Continue reading →

August 28, 2010 Posted by | Canada, environment | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining threatens water supply for millions of people

Keep ban on Canyon uranium mines, THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, – Robert L. Arnberger, Aug. 24, 2010 Most of us are familiar with President Theodore Roosevelt’s oft-quoted statement upon visiting the Grand Canyon: “Leave it as it is . . . man can only mar it.”That statement rings especially true when you read the new report from National Parks Conservation Association, which documents the risk of uranium mining to the Grand Canyon and Colorado River – the water supply for millions……. Continue reading →

August 24, 2010 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | , , , , | Leave a comment

Turmoil over nuclear plant’s use of water

Nuclear Plant’s Use of River Water Prompts $1.1 Billion Debate With State, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD August 24, 2010 BUCHANAN, N.Y. — Just beneath the wind-stippled surface of the Hudson River here, huge pipes suck enough water into the Indian Point nuclear plant every second to fill three Olympic swimming pools. And each second they take in dozens of organisms — fish and crabs, but mostly larvae — that are at the center of a $1.1 billion debate:….

New York State argued recently before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that Indian Point poses such a safety risk that its two reactors should be shut down when their licenses expire in 2013 and 2015.

Indian Point Nuclear Plant’s Toll on River Stirs Debate – NYTimes.com

August 24, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactivity from Chernobyl persists in Europe’s wild animals and birds

Chernobyl radiation still impacts wildlife…Spokesman.com – Aug. 21, “.. unlike other wild game, boars often feed on mushrooms and truffles which tend to store radioactivity and they plow through the contaminated soil with their snouts, experts say. Cesium-124, one of the byproducts of the Chernobyl meltdown, has a half-life of 30 years, which implies it will be around for a few more years.
Since this story broke, and upon doing a brief bit of additional research, I have since found that boars are not the only wildlife that have high levels of radiation.

Wild birds, deer and free-ranging cattle throughout portions of Europe all still bear some of the radioactive byproducts left over from Chernobyl and thus are hazardous to consume. Chernobyl radiation still impacts wildlife… – Community Comment – Spokesman.com – Aug. 21, 2010

August 23, 2010 Posted by | environment, EUROPE | , , , | Leave a comment

Uncertainty over radiation as Russia’s wildfire danger still exists

Vice President of the European Parliament Rodi Kratsa said in a letter to the chamber last week that there are “serious risks” of radiation reaching Europe and asked her fellow deputies to find out whether Russia has a “prevention plan … to avoid the release of radioactive particles into the atmosphere.”

Fallout from Russia’s Fires – the ashes of Chernobyl,   TIME, Simon Shuster ,  20 Aug 2010, – “……. On Aug. 18, it [the Russian government] organized a trip to Bryansk for observers and environmentalists. Ivan Blokov, who went on behalf of Greenpeace, says the trip left some of the most crucial questions unanswered and convinced him only that the region’s firefighting infrastructure is “in a state of collapse” and would be unable to contain a major fire in the radioactive forests. Continue reading →

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In-situ uranium mining gets stringent rules to protect groundwater

Among other things, the new rules: Require uranium companies to restore groundwater quality to its pre-mining condition or better….Require baseline water quality testing for all in-situ uranium projects during the prospecting phase.

MINING: Colo. adopts strict regulations on in-situ uranium operations WaterWorld, August 19, 2010, Eryn Gable, Colorado officials have approved the nation’s most stringent water quality protections for in-situ uranium operations as part of an effort to update uranium-mining regulations that dated back to the late 1970s. Continue reading →

August 20, 2010 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | , , , , | Leave a comment

Safety to be increased at Russia’s nuclear sites

Ecologists had warned that large quantities of radioactive dust could be released into the atmosphere if forests caught fire in the Bryansk, Kaluga and Lipetsk regions, contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

Russia to boost safety at nuclear sites after fires  Aug 19, 2010 By Alexei Anishchuk MOSCOW, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Russia is to step up safety at its nuclear facilities after wildfires threatened to engulf one centre, raising fears of a radiation leak, the head of the state nuclear corporation said on Thursday. Continue reading →

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , | Leave a comment

Security of Pakistan’s nuclear sites; OK says Pakistani Army

Pakistan Army Spokesman: Nuclear Installations Are Safe From Floods, The MEMRI Blog, 20 Aug 2010, Pakistani Army spokesman Maj.-Gen. Athar Abbas has said that Pakistan’s nuclear installations do not face any danger from the country’s worst floods, according to a Pakistani website.The website of the Dawn newspaper quoted Abbas as saying: “All our nuclear and military installations have remained safe and there is no further danger from flooding.” In recent years, Western nations have expressed concerns over the security of Pakistani nuclear sites.

The MEMRI Blog – Full Blog Entry

August 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, Pakistan | , , , | Leave a comment

Radiation contamination in Russia. USA help in wildfires

Виктория Орти (ortivika) wrote, 17 August 2010, Two U.S. Air Force planes flew to Moscow , probably on board – one of the seven laboratories for nuclear weapons . Ask yourselves – what could well scare the Russians, to urgently call for help from the U.S. Air Force ?

Mayak is the most radioactive contaminated place in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Karachay
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyshtym_Disaster

….”(Lake Katachay) accumulated some 4.44 exabecquerels (EBq) of radioactivity, including 3.6 EBq of Caesium- 137 and 0.74 EBq of Strontium- 90. For comparison, the Chernobyl disaster released from 5 to 12 EBq of radioactivity, but this radiation is not concentrated in one location. ” http://topbloger.ru/?http%3a%2f%2fortivika.livejournal.com%2f953720.html

August 19, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , | Leave a comment

401 wildfires in Russia’s radiation contaminated Chelyabinsk

most worrisome of all, the Chelyabinsk region, home to the Mayak Chemical Combine, Russia’s nuclear reprocessing facility and one of the most radioactively contaminated areas on the planet hosted 401 fires over 3,536 acres.

Russia emergency minister threatens to ‘deal with’ those spreading radiation ‘rumours’ about wildfires in contaminated areas NEW YORK/ST PETERSBURG –Alexander Shurshev contributed from St. Petersburg “Bellona, 17 Aug 2010, ………..By last week Roslesozashchita website was reporting – before it was taken down – that 269 fires were burning over 664 acres in the Bryansk Region.But that was not all. Continue reading →

August 17, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chernobyl wildfire radiation risk not great, but does exist

Although any radioactive particles released during the fire would result in much lower levels of radiation compared Chernobyl, Professor Edmund Lengfelder, chairman of the German Society for Radiation Protection, told the German public that these could travel up to thousands of kilometers depending on wind conditions.

Russian Wildfires Reach Chernobyl Site, Recontamination Likely, Care 2, : Beth Buczynski 12 Aug 2010, Over 500 wildfires have been raging across Russia for the past week, and now forest service officials are reporting that blazes have reached lands already contaminated by radioactive waste from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster (Deutche Welle).”According to data from August 6, in the Bryansk region alone 28 fires covering an area of 269 hectares (664 acres) were recorded on these radioactive lands,” an official told Russia’s Interfax news agency.

This is a change from statments made earlier this week, in which Russian officials denied any knowledge of wildfires in the Bryansk region Continue reading →

August 12, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , | Leave a comment

Plumes of radioactive smoke from Russia’s wildfires?

Russia’s emergency minister, Sergei K. Shoigu, warned last week that the fires could release radioactive particles………… little official information has been made available about the radioactive threat……

Russian Fires Raise Concerns About Radioactivity in Smoke – NYTimes.com, By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ,  August 10, 2010 MOSCOW — As if things in Russia were not looking sufficiently apocalyptic already, with 100-degree temperatures and noxious fumes rolling in from burning peat bogs and forests, there is growing alarm here that fires in regions coated with fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 24 years ago could now be emitting plumes of radioactive smoke. Continue reading →

August 11, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , | Leave a comment

Four nuclear sites in Russia at risk from fires

The Mayak plant can process 400 tonnes of waste a year. It was the scene of one of the former Soviet Union’s major nuclear disasters in 1957 when a liquid waste accident affected some 260,000 people and forced the evacuation of several towns.

Russia nuclear sites under threat from the flames, Khaleej Times, (AFP)9 August 2010, MOSCOW — Here is a list of sensitive nuclear sites threatened by the spread of fires raging in Russia since late July.· Continue reading →

August 10, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A second Russian nuclear facility endangered by wildfires

With Russia still suffering from ongoing heat and dry conditions up to 40C, nearly 500,000 acres of land were currently ablaze.

Fire threatens Russian nuclear centre,  By Benedikt Von Imhoff  AAP * August 09, 2010 THE battle against forest and peat bog fires around Russia continues, with new fires at one nuclear research site just after firefighters had succeeded in securing another one. Continue reading →

August 9, 2010 Posted by | environment, Russia | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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