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Tribal women’s campaign for uranium-mining free water

….only the federal legislature can provide for the land’s permanent protection from mining…….

Grand Canyon uranium threatens tribal water, High Country News, Caitlin Sislin | May 18, 2010 Last week, a delegation of leaders from Arizona’s Havasupai Tribe traveled to Washington D.C., to advocate for the protection of the Grand Canyon region from a potential onslaught of uranium extraction activities. These four women – tribal council members and traditional elders – voiced their concern for the safety of the land, the purity of the water and the health of the community, and called for the passage of the Grand Canyon Watershed Protection Act (H.R. 644). Introduced in 2009 by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) this law would ban mineral exploration and the establishment of new mining claims pursuant to the 1872 Mining Law, on about one million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Continue reading

May 20, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indian Point Nuclear Reactor may be first to lose licence

If the DEC does not provide the facility with a water permit, it would mark the first time in the history of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a nuclear power plant was unable to renew its federal license

New York officials claim power plant is killing endangered fish, Eat, Drink and Be, By Julian Martin. May 19, 2010 New York’s largest power provider may be shut down amidst concerns endangered fish species are threatened by the plant. Continue reading

May 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium contamination blocks plans for Towpath Trail

(USA) Towpath Trail planners consider options in crossing through radioactive site in downtown Cleveland,  cleveland.com By Michael Scott, May 19, 2010, The Towpath Trail is at the crossroads.Planners of the ambitious and nearly complete hiking and bicycle trail are facing three uncomfortable choices as they try again to stitch together the final few miles through a downtown Cleveland industrial area along the Cuyahoga River.Their preferred route is still blocked by the lurking presence of a parcel on the northeast corner of Harvard Avenue and Jennings Road where uranium was once refined during World War II.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have said that the former Harshaw Chemical site won’t be fully cleaned up until about 2016 at the earliest,……Workers at Harshaw had refined uranium for the production of atomic bombs during World War II, leaving behind traces of uranium and other compounds in the buildings and soil on site. Towpath Trail planners consider options in crossing through radioactive site in downtown Cleveland | cleveland.com

May 20, 2010 Posted by | environment, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It could be the water problem that finishes off the nuclear industry

“The best alternatives from a water perspective are wind and photovoltaics, that require effectively no water.”

Water Adds New Constraints to Power,  NYTimes.com By ERICA GIES  May 17, 2010 “……In the United States, thermoelectric power generation — mainly coal, nuclear and natural gas — accounted for 41 percent of U.S. freshwater withdrawals in 2005, U.S. Geological Society data show………..

But there is a growing awareness in California and throughout the United States that the use of water for energy generation may be reaching its limits.

California has extensive experience with water shortages, resulting in its adoption of a policy, included in the energy commission’s 2003 Integrated Energy Policy Report, that discourages freshwater use for power plant cooling…….“If you want to build a big central power plant, whether it’s oil, gas or nuclear, you can’t take the water for granted.” Continue reading

May 18, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, water | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Uranium mining prevented in Indian National Park

Uranium mining blocked,The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata), New Delhi, May 14: A national panel of wildlife experts today rejected a proposal from the department of atomic energy for uranium exploration on the Rongcheng plateau in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills.The standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife decided to reject the proposal for exploratory drilling in view of the sentiments of the local people and representations from civil society groups, the environment ministry said.

The Rongcheng plateau falls in the Balpakram National Park, home to elephants, black bear, leopards, deer and the red panda, one of the rarest animals in the world.Several green groups and NGOs have campaigned against a proposal for exploratory drilling, arguing that it would harm the bio-diversity in the park. The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Uranium mining blocked

May 15, 2010 Posted by | environment, India | , , , , | Leave a comment

High ionising radiation levels in Delhi scrap market

Rainspotting in Bangalore – Greenpeace survey finds radiation 5000 times background levels in Delhi market, INDEPENDENT MINDS, by Grace Boyle F, 14 May 2010 aA survey has today uncovered levels of radioactivity up to 5000 times background levels in Mayapuri scrap market, West Delhi, after the area was previously surveyed and declared safe by government authorities.

“The distance between the contamination ‘hot spots’ that have been discovered today and the people who live and work in Mayapuri is very small, so there is concern as to the effect on their health” said Karuna Raina, nuclear campaigner with Greenpeace India.The survey found dose rate levels of 200-500 micro-Sv/h in certain areas, meaning that the maximum legal dose for a person in a year could be reached after just two to five hours close to these ‘hot spots’, Greenpeace said. The level of dose in the residential area was close to normal. Rainspotting in Bangalore – Greenpeace survey finds radiation 5000 times background levels in Delhi market

May 15, 2010 Posted by | environment, India | , , , | Leave a comment

Despite radioactive pollution, right wing USA wants more nuclear testing

Over 41 years, the federal government detonated 921 nuclear warheads underground at the Nevada Test Site, 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Each explosion deposited a toxic load of radioactivity into the ground and, in some cases, directly into aquifers… In a study for Nye County, where the nuclear test site lies, Buqo estimated that the underground tests polluted 1.6 trillion gallons of water. That is as much water as Nevada is allowed to withdraw from the Colorado River in 16 years — enough to fill a lake 300 miles long, a mile wide and 25 feet deep……

Right Makes Nuclear Testing A Priority, Wonk Room, By Max Bergmann on May 13th, 2010 Continue reading

May 15, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | Leave a comment

Balpakram National Park saved from uranium mining

Uranium mining blocked,The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata), New Delhi, May 14: A national panel of wildlife experts today rejected a proposal from the department of atomic energy for uranium exploration on the Rongcheng plateau in Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills.The standing committee of the National Board of Wildlife decided to reject the proposal for exploratory drilling in view of the sentiments of the local people and representations from civil society groups, the environment ministry said.The Rongcheng plateau falls in the Balpakram National Park, home to elephants, black bear, leopards, deer and the red panda, one of the rarest animals in the world.Several green groups and NGOs have campaigned against a proposal for exploratory drilling, arguing that it would harm the bio-diversity in the park.

The Telegraph – Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Uranium mining blocked

May 15, 2010 Posted by | environment, India | , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear power radiation shown to cause damaging insect mutations

“Such a low but long-lasting dose of radiation can be far more damaging than a short-term high dose,”

Nuclear Power Critter Mutations, 13 May 2010, Natural Resonance Revolution Conventional wisdom holds that nuclear power stations don’t leak enough radiation to create malformed organisms. But in some locations, Hesse-Honegger discovered mutations — curtailed feelers, misshapen legs, asymmetrical wings — in as many as 30 percent of the bugs she gathered. That’s 10 times the overall rate of about 3 percent for insects found in the wild. Continue reading

May 14, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, environment | , , , | 1 Comment

Medical radiation increases breast cancer risk: President’s Cancer Panel

PCP:Medical radiation ups breast cancer risk, foofconsumer.org, 08/05/2010

The President’s CancerPanel released this week an annual report on the cancer risks from the environment warning that medical radiation raises breast cancer risk. Continue reading

May 10, 2010 Posted by | environment, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactive water reaches aquifer

Tainted nuke plant water reaches major NJ aquifer, Google hosted news, By WAYNE PARRY (AP) –9 May, 2010, LACEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Radioactive water that leaked from the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state’s environmental chief said Friday.The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to halt the spread of contaminated water underground,……….. Continue reading

May 10, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactive dust from Australia’s uranium mines found in Antarctica

Australian uranium dust found in Antarctic ice  ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 3 May, 2010, An ice core from the Antarctic bears traces of uranium that may have been carried by the wind from Australian mines in 1995, a glacier expert has told a Chilean newspaper.The minuscule amounts of the radioactive element “correspond to a year (1995) when Australia increased its uranium production,” Ricardo Jana, who participates in an international research effort in the frozen continent, told El Mercurio daily.He said scientists theorise the uranium particles were carried by the wind from Australia and deposited in the northern part of the Antarctic’s Detroit peninsula. Australian uranium dust found in Antarctic ice – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporati

May 3, 2010 Posted by | ANTARCTICA, environment | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pervasive radioactive risks in India

the death of a single person, through disparate chains of official negligence, serves to show that he was not safe. And neither are we.

The radioactive risk society , Indian Express, by Neha Sinha, 3 May 2010, On April 10, 2007, a uranium pipeline burst in Jaduguda, causing a spill of the fuel that keeps our nuclear energy schemes running. Further, adds Half Life, a report on radioactivity in India by environmental group Toxic Links, on August 16, 2008, another uranium pipe burst, spewing houses near the village of Dungridih in Jaduguda with uranium waste. Continue reading

May 3, 2010 Posted by | environment, India | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Impact of uranium mining on Grand Canyon’s watersheds

Ecoflight Grand Canyon Trust YouTube – Ecoflight Grand Canyon Trust

Aerial view of uranium mines threatening Grand Canyon watersheds, Grand Canyon Trust News,  April 29, 2010 by gctrust Roger Clark, Grand Canyon Trust’s Air and Energy program director, recently flew with EcoFlight over uranium mining sites situated around the Grand Canyon and its watersheds that supply water for 25 million people. This bird’s eye view will allow you to understand the potential impact of uranium mining on the water supply for Arizona, southern California and Nevada. Click here to view the video. Aerial view of uranium mines threatening Grand Canyon watersheds « Grand Canyon Trust News

April 30, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t add radioactive tailings to already polluted streams

What would the mining activities of two huge open-pit uranium mines, with a reported possible third mine at Coles Hill, do to the streams and rivers of Southside Virginia over the proposed mining span of 30 years?

Study links stream pollution to higher cancer rates, Star Tribune, , April 27, 2010 Researchers at West Virginia University and Virginia Tech now have the study findings to show a causal link between West Virginia streams, those polluted by coal mining activities, and premature cancer deaths in the humans who live near them. Continue reading

April 29, 2010 Posted by | USA, water | , , , , , | Leave a comment