Legal « nuclear-news

At last, some compensation for many victims of nuclear bomb testing

“Many families in the downwind states have stories like mine,” Tona Henderson wrote recently in the Idaho Statesman. “Some of these stories are so sad because entire families have died of cancer. . . .

Keeping Fear Alive. BuzzFlash.org, ROBERT C. KOEHLER, 29 April 2010, “………legislation introduced into Congress this month to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act has put the suffering born by so many Americans — who lived downwind of the nuclear tests, worked in the industry or mined the uranium — back into the news. Continue reading →

April 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Colorado: uranium mining wastes clean-up demanded as Senate passess Bill

Colo. Senate passes bill requiring uranium cleanup, Google hosted news, (AP) – 29 April 2010, DENVER — The state Senate has passed a bill requiring uranium mines and mills to clean up nuclear waste before accepting more radioactive material.The Senate voted 24-9 in favor of the bill Wednesday. It now heads back to the House, where backers hope lawmakers will agree with changes made in the Senate…..Mines and mills are currently allowed to postpone cleanup until they finish production and decommission their production facilities. Lawmakers are concerned that a national focus on nuclear energy will allow mines to postpone cleanup of radioactive wastes while they increase production.

The Associated Press: Colo. Senate passes bill requiring uranium cleanup

April 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium miners might be forced to clean up radioactive wastes

Colo. Senate gives initial backing to uranium bill, Washington Examiner, Associated Press0 4/27/10 DENVER — The state Senate has given initial backing to requiring uranium mines and mills to clean up nuclear waste before accepting more radioactive material. Continue reading →

April 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

UK government at legal risk from its “Nuclear Justification” process

leaves the government open to legal challenge and leads to hostility and mistrust of any future energy policy decision

Why nuclear “Justification” isn’t enough New Statesman , by Paul Dorfman – 23 April 2010 New build nuclear reactors will escape proper Parliamentary scrutiny. That cannot be right.
Nuclear “Justification” is a high level assessment about whether the benefits of new nuclear build outweigh the health detriments. Justification is a legal regulatory requirement under EU law – it must be done before reactors can be approved. Continue reading →

April 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear waste dilemma – no solution in sight

there is no real federal waste management plan….Energy Secretary Steven Chu has created a “blue ribbon” commission to help create a new long-term waste policy

Nuclear Utilities Sue DOE To Halt Nuclear Waste Fees, Nuclear Street, 22 April 2010, Utilities contend that the DOE has collected over $33 billion since 1983, never came for nuclear waste and has no federal waste management plan – By Stephen Heiser -The Nuclear Energy Institute and over a dozen utilities companies have filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stop paying fees on spent fuel that the government was supposed to collect decades ago. Continue reading →

April 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, uranium | Leave a comment

Kentucky court case over leaked uranium

The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled then that the landowners don’t have to prove they were actually harmed to sue past contractors for trespassing by allowing contaminants to spread beyond the plant.

The high court also held that land devaluation by intentional trespassing is a recognized measure of damages once actual injury is determined. There is injury if groundwater is contaminated and it can’t be consumed.

Ky. landowners settle lawsuit over uranium leaks, BusinessWeek, By BRETT BARROUQUERE 21 April 2010, Continue reading →

April 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Lots of loopholes in India’s proposed nuclear liabilities bill

Many anomalies in n-liabilities Bill: Lawyers, activists, Business Standard, Kanika Datta / New Delhi April 20, 2010, Getting the requisite numbers to pass the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha may be the least of the United Progressive Alliance’s problems. Lawyers and legal experts, including those who support the legislation, say there are many instances of poor drafting and anomalies that have the potential to generate more controversy if the Bill is passed in its current form. Continue reading →

April 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Legal | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation | Leave a comment

Court verdict against South Australian govt in treatment of uranium protestors

Payout for protesters locked in shipping container – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 9 April 2010, The South Australian Government has been ordered to pay $724,000 to 10 people involved in a protest at the Beverley uranium mine a decade ago.

The Supreme Court has found the nine uranium protesters and a cameraman were assaulted and all but one falsely imprisoned in a shipping container………Payout for protesters locked in shipping container – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, Legal | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

Indian Point nuclear power plant fails water quality certificate

Nuclear power plant’s water permit denied, POWER-GEN WorldWide. 7 April 2010-– The New York Department of Environmental Conservation denied Entergy’s request for a water quality certificate for the Indian Point nuclear power plant, saying the plant “will not comply” with the state’s water quality standards. Continue reading →

April 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radioactive, reactors, water | Leave a comment

Environment Department fines Medical Centre for violating ionising radiation controls

Consuming Interests: Pollution violations around Maryland: Naughty Businesses of the Week baltimoresun.com 6 April 2010, The Maryland Department of the Environment issued 28 enforcement actions with penalties totaling more than $637,000 last week…………..Fairfax Cardiac Imaging – Hanover, Anne Arundel County: On March 3, 2010, MDE issued a Complaint and Administrative Penalty for $50,000 for alleged violations of Maryland regulations for the control of ionizing radiation from the use of radioactive materials (radioisotopes).

Consuming Interests: Pollution violations around Maryland: Naughty Businesses of the Week – News and tips for consumers on shopping, saving money, deals and credit – baltimoresun.com

April 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear costs, radioactive | Leave a comment

U.S. Energy dept in legal trouble over nuclear wastes, and still no solution

Utilities sue Energy Department to stop nuclear waste management fees, The Hill, By Ben Geman – 04/05/10 Nuclear power companies and state utility regulators are suing the Energy Department.The companies filed the lawsuit to force the suspension of a fee that utility customers pay for federal management of nuclear waste……….The Obama administration has abandoned plans for the long-delayed Yucca Mountain waste site, and Energy Secretary Steven Chu has created a “blue ribbon” commission to help create a new long-term waste policy. Continue reading →

April 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, wastes | Leave a comment

Top legal counsel, Cherie Blair, for Australia’s aboriginal nuclear victims

Cherie Blair to help atomic test veterans *Mirror News UK By Susie Boniface 4/04/2010 Cherie Blair is helping atomic test veterans sue the Government in a multi-million-pound lawsuit.Three hundred Australian survivors – ex-military staff and civilians including 100 Aborigines -say radiation from British tests in Oz left them with a legacy of cancers, rare medical conditions and defects in their children. The leading human rights lawyer’s husband Tony Blair insisted while PM they were not affected and blocked their claims.The Sunday Mirror has campaigned for justice for the veterans, widows and children who won the right to sue the Ministry of Defence last year.Aborigines’ campaigner Neil Gillespie said of Cherie: “She is as sharp as a Samurai sword.”

Cherie Blair to help atomic test veterans – mirror.co.uk

April 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, Legal | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Make uranium mills accountable for their radioactive devastation

the legacy of uranium mills was that operators worked them until the money was gone, then closed up shop, claimed bankruptcy and left radioactive waste behind for taxpayers to clean up. The waste then threatens and harms groundwater, streams, wildlife and communities.

Make uranium milling cleaner With the nation considering more nuclear energy, a bill that requires mill operators to clean up as they go is a smart move.The Denver Post 04/04/2010 Given the atrocious environmental record of uranium mills in Colorado and the West, a bipartisan effort in the General Assembly designed to keep mill operators from leaving behind costly piles of toxic waste makes good sense. Continue reading →

April 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Navajo and other nuclear victims sought for compensation

Program Aims To Find Victims Of Radiation Exposure. cbs4denver.com, FELICIA FONSECA, Associated Press Apr 4, 2010, FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) ― Some toiled in uranium mines, transported the extracted ore and carried it home on their clothes. Others participated in nuclear weapons testing or lived downwind from test sites.Not all have been compensated, let alone know about a federal program that does so. Continue reading →

April 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, cancer, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Anti Nuclear Group Seek to Intervene in Nuclear License Renewal

the group has been granted intervener status in previous proceedings and is almost sure to get that designation this time around. It gives the group legal standing in the relicensing proceedings and also gives it greater leverage to file lawsuits if the agency does not meet its demands.

San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace files protest over Diablo SanLuis Obispo Tribune Mar. 29, 2010, Anti-nuclear activists want to be declared an intervener in the license renewal process By David Sneed | The anti-nuclear group San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace has filed five formal protests over plans to extend the two operating licenses at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant for 20 more years. Continue reading →

March 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment