Legal complications surround the issue of Yucca nuclear waste dump proposal
As the court concedes, this leaves open a number of future questions: What will the Energy Department do next, as it continues to attempt to abandon its Yucca application? What if the NRC’s remaining $11 million fund runs out, and Congress fails to appropriate any more money? Furthermore, the NRC might decide to comply with its decision deadline by simply rejecting the Energy Department’s application
The D.C. Circuit Goes Nuclear AUG 23, 2013 • BY ADAM J. WHITE To write about the D.C. Circuit this week is to join a much broader discussion about the court’s role in American law and policy…….In a case titled In re Aiken County, the court took the extraordinary step of ordering the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to continue reviewing the Energy Department’s proposal for a federal nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.
I say “extraordinary” not because the court overstepped its bounds, but because the case presents truly rare questions of the D.C. Circuit’s role at the intersection of congressional power, executive duty, agency discretion, and judicial responsibility.
Bradley Manning: 35 years’ gaol for revealing atrocities
Bradley Manning Uncovered U.S. Torture, Abuse, Soldiers Laughing As They Killed Innocent Civilians Huffington Post : 08/21/2013 . — Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, the intelligence analyst convicted of making public thousands of secret documents, was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison. But the files Manning sent to the website WikiLeaks remain on the Internet for anyone to read, and their impact on the world may be debated for as long as he remains in prison.
“Manning was under the impression that his leaked information was going to really change how the world views the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and future wars actually,” Navy Capt. David Moulton, a forensic psychiatrist testifying in Manning’s defense, told the military court on July 14.
“It was his opinion that if through crowd sourcing that enough analysis was done on these documents, which he felt to be very important, that it would lead to greater good, that society as a whole would come to the conclusion that the wars weren’t worth it, that really no wars are worth it.”
Here are some of the documents and revelations Manning leaked to the world from the small, sensitive, compartmented information facility in Iraq where he worked as an intelligence analyst from 2009 to 2010…… http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/21/bradley-manning-leaks_n_3788126.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
Slovakian Court Rules that Greenpeace can inspect Enel’s Nuclear Building Project
Enel Nuclear Building Permit Violated Law, Slovak Court Says http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-21/enel-nuclear-building-permit-violated-law-slovak-court-says.html By Radoslav Tomek – Aug 21, 2013 Slovakia’s nuclear watchdog violated the law when it issued a building permit for Enel SpA (ENEL)’s 3.7 billion-euro ($5 billion) nuclear project because Greenpeace wasn’t allowed to comment, the Supreme Court ruled.
The Italian utility’s local unit, Slovenske Elektrarne AS, in 2009 began building two new reactors at the Mochovce nuclear power plant after receiving a permit by the Office for Nuclear Supervision. The high court asked the regulator to repeat the proceeding and include Greenpeace, according to the June 27 ruling posted on the office’s website today.
“We wanted to know more about the project, but we were not allowed,” Juraj Rizman, the head of Greenpeace Slovak office, said by phone from the capital Bratislava. “This isn’t a dispute about nuclear energy as such, it’s a dispute about respecting the law and citizens’ right to have a say.” The construction is already facing delays and cost overruns, which Slovenske has attributed to tougher safety standards after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Enel plans to boost generation capacity in the country, which is seeking to regain self-sufficiency in power production following the shutdown of Soviet-era reactors.
The office will restart the proceeding and allow Greenpeace to inspect all documents, Dagmar Zemanova, the spokesman for the regulator, said. The ruling, which can’t be appealed, doesn’t imply work on the project must be halted immediately, she said.
The ruling doesn’t revoke the permit and works on the site can continue, an Enel company spokesperson said.
2 workers sue Department of Energy over radiation exposure
Radiation-exposed workers demand release of nuke plant accident video http://rt.com/usa/radiation-exposed-workers-suit-687/ August 19, 2013 Two workers have filed a lawsuit against the Department of Energy for failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act by refusing to hand over a video of an incident in which 16 men, including the two plaintiffs, were exposed to radiation.
Brian Simmons and Ralph Stanton, two operators from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Boise, are trying to force the agency to release the video through a lawsuit filed in federal court. Continue reading
USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission allows nuclear plant to run after its license expires
Indian Point nuclear plant can operate after license expires in September, regulators say,http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2013/08/19/news/doc5212d0d93b28c839747942.txt August 19, 2013 WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Federal regulators have ruled, as expected, that a nuclear power reactor in the New York City suburbs can keep running after its license expires next month.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday that Indian Point 2 in Buchanan can operate while its license renewal application is being reviewed.
That could be more than a year, given the controversy involved. New York state and environmental groups are opposing a new 20-year license.
NRC regulations allow continued operation if a plant applies for a new license five years before expiration. Indian Point’s owners applied in 2007.
Plants also must show they’ve taken any steps necessary to assure safe operation during the review.
The plant is 35 miles from Manhattan. Another reactor there, Indian Point 3, has a license that expires in 2015.
Tokyo nuclear company withdraws libel suit against freelance writer
NUCLEAR INDUSTRY BUSINESSMAN WITHDRAWS LIBEL SUIT AGAINST FREELANCER http://en.rsf.org/japan-nuclear-industry-businessman-16-08-2013,45056.html REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS WELCOMES THE DECISION BY SHIRO SHIRAKAWA, THE HEAD OF THE NUCLEAR security systems company New Tech, to withdraw a libel suit against freelance journalist Minoru Tanaka. A Tokyo court has accepted the withdrawal, announced on 12 August.
“This libel suit was an attempt by an influential member of Japan’s nuclear industrial complex, known as the ‘nuclear village,’ to harass and intimidate Tanaka into silence and self-censorship,” Reporters Without Borders said.
“We are pleased that it did not work but we continue to be concerned for other journalists who try to cover the sensitive issue of Japan’s nuclear industry. There are still too many cases of reporters being pressured or censored when they try to provide information about the Fukushima disaster and its aftermath.
“The damages award Tanaka was facing if found guilty of libelling Shirakawa was clearly out of all proportion. We urge the courts to reject such ‘gag suits’ or ‘SLAPPs’ if they continue to be filed, and to propose proportionate alternatives such as the publication of a response.”
Shirakawa sued Tanaka, 52, over a December 2011 article for the weekly Shukan Kinyobiheadlined “The last big fixer, Shiro Shirakawa, gets his share of the TEPCO nuclear cake” – TEPCO being the owner of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant that suffered meltdowns after a tsunami in March 2011.
Using information in the public domain, the article accused Shirakawa of making a lot of money by acting as an intermediary between TEPCO, construction companies, politicians such as the leading parliamentarian Kamei Shizuka, and even clandestine organizations.
Ever since the Fukushima-Daiichi disaster, freelance journalists who cover the nuclear industry have had their access to information restricted and have, for example, been prevented from covering anti-nuclear demonstrations.
Reporters Without Borders issued several press releases condemning the judicial harassment of Tanaka, who was sued for 67 million yen (600,000 euros) in damages.
Court rules that NRC must review Yucca nuclear waste plan
Court Keeps Yucca Mountain in Play http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323446404579011122577985720.html WSJ, TENNILLE TRACY and KEITH JOHNSON, 13 Aug 13 WASHINGTON—A federal court on Tuesday directed the Obama administration to revive consideration of the Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste project in Nevada, breathing new life into a long-running controversy over a final resting place for the country’s roughly 70,000 metric tons of spent commercial nuclear fuel.
The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was “simply flouting the law” by refusing to take up a Yucca Mountain license application roughly five years after it was submitted by the Bush administration.
The Obama administration has attempted to abandon the project, in part because it wants local support for any nuclear-waste repository and Yucca Mountain faces opposition in Nevada.
The appeals court, citing a 1982 law directing the NRC to complete reviews within three years of an application, said “the president and federal agencies may not ignore statutory mandates or prohibitions merely because of policy disagreements.”
The ruling doesn’t guarantee that Yucca Mountain, about 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, will move forward. Rather, it applies pressure on Congress to finally decide the project’s fate since it controls its funding. Continue reading
Public Service Board may find Vermont nuclear plant “not in the public good”
the ruling affirmed that the Public Service Board has a say in the future of the plant, based on whether the plant’s operation is in the public’s interest.
the court’s decision clearly leaves the Public Service Board with authority over the plant.
“There’s a valid basis for the Public Service Board to find it’s not in the public good to operate the plant,”
Vermont Yankee focus shifts to Public Service Board after appeal court ruling, Burlington Free Press, 14 Aug 13 Appeals court: Legislature overstepped authority regarding Vermont Yankee All eyes are on a state Public Service Board decision expected later this year after a federal appeals court rejected the Legislature’s efforts to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Although the state tried to argue otherwise, the court ruled Wednesday that legislators were overwhelmingly concerned with nuclear safety as they sought to close the Vernon plant when its license expired in 2012. States have no authority over nuclear safety, which is regulated by the federal government.
“We conclude that Vermont lawmakers have undertaken a sustained effort to shut down Vermont Yankee based on this impermissible reason,” a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stated in its decision. “We have considered the legislative history … and found that it contains innumerable expressions of concern for radiological safety from Vermont legislators and regulators.”
The 53-page ruling, which affirmed a 2012 decision from Judge J. Garvan Murtha at U.S. District Court in Brattleboro, dealt another blow to the state’s effort to have a say in the fate of Vermont Yankee……. Continue reading
Court rules against Vermont State’s attempt to close nuclear plant
Court: Vt. Can’t Use Law to Close Nuclear Plant abc news, MONTPELIER, Vt. August 14, 2013 (AP)By DAVE GRAM Associated Press Vermont’s attempts to close its lone nuclear power plant were deceptive and misleading, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in largely upholding a lower-court ruling against the state.
State legislators passed laws in 2005, 2006 and 2008 making it harder for the Vermont Yankee plant to win permission to operate for another 20 years. They were concerned about the plant’s safety but tried to hide that because they were aware that nuclear safety is the sole province of the U.S. government under federal law, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote.
There was “obvious coaching of Vermont legislators to avoid explicit statements about nuclear safety,” the court wrote.
A state board is expected to rule this year on whether allow the plant to continue operating, but the laws passed last decade injected the Legislature into the state’s decision-making process. They require that lawmakers vote to approve the plant’s continued operation.
Plant owner New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. has argued in court that the state has no say over whether to keep the plant open and points to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to extend the plant’s license to operate in 2011…….
Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell called the ruling disappointing. He said the state could ask the full appeals court to reconsider the three-judge panel’s decision, or, more likely, appeal the decision directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sandra Levine of the Conservation Law Foundation, one of several New England-based groups seeking the plant’s closure, called the decision “a disappointing failure to allow Vermont a stronger say in regulating this tired old plant on the banks of the Connecticut River.” http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/court-vt-law-close-nuclear-plant-19957625
Petition to NRC – Pilgrim Nuclear plant can’t afford safety costs
“In recent months, an escalating number of equipment failures, especially related to Fitzpatrick’s condenser have made the plant unreliable and have unduly put the public at risk,” Jessica Azulay, of the Alliance for a Green Economy, said. “We believe the dire financial situation at Fitzpatrick is an underlying cause.
PILGRIM STATION: Can Entergy afford Pilgrim Petition says ‘no’By Frank Mand Wicked Local Plymouth
Aug 14, 2013 PLYMOUTH —
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has accepted for review a petition alleging that Pilgrim-owner Entergy no longer meets the NRC’s minimum financial standards for safely operating nuclear power plants.
The petition groups Pilgrim with two other Entergy-owned plants, Vermont Yankee and the James A. Fitzpatrick facility in upstate New York.
The four petitioners – Citizens Awareness Network, Alliance for a Green Economy, Vermont Citizens Awareness Network and Duxbury-based Pilgrim Watch – were denied their request for an immediate shutdown of the reactors, but the NRC is allowing their petition to move to the next step in the review process. Continue reading
Duke Energy cancels nuclear power projects, agreement includes payout to customers
Duke Energy Settlement with Consumer Advocates Affects Nuclear, Coal Plants POWERnews, 7 Aug 13, A revised settlement agreement reached between Duke Energy Florida, the Office of Public Counsel, and other consumer advocates addresses cost recovery issues related to a retired nuclear reactor, a proposed nuclear project, and two coal units.
Duke will also terminate the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) agreement for the cancelled Levy nuclear project. And it will write off $295 million associated with Crystal River 3 and $65 million related to the wholesale allocation of investments in the Levy nuclear plant.
Under terms of the mediator’s proposal, customers and the Crystal River 3 joint owners will receive $835 million in insurance proceeds—the largest claim payout in the history of NEIL.
Duke Energy also definitively cancelled a 2008-proposed plan to built two 1,100-MW reactors in Levy County, Fla…….http://www.powermag.com/POWERnews/Duke-Energy-Settlement-with-Consumer-Advocates-Affects-Nuclear-Coal-Plants_5829.html
Africa, a future nuclear insurance “gravy train”
Posted by nuclear-news.net
Date 5 August 2013
by Arclight2011part2
On Nuclear-news.net we have covered many stories concerning Africa and the Nuclear aspirations of this dark continent. I say dark because at night it is the only continent not lit up by street lighting and advertisements.
From the corporations point of view this is a new continent to develop using western choices of energy that that includes nuclear power options.
The IAEA is even going to approve a nuclear reactor in Ghana, that is one of the few earthquake zones in NW Africa (information on link)
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/07/04/ghana-lines-up-for-nuclear-cash-hand-outs/
And here is an example of how the Nuclear/mining industries have contaminated large areas of Africa and in these articles ;
But nuclear materials are already proliferate over Africa in the form of food irradiation processes, medical and industrial uses to name but a few. And many wonder of the security implications of this.
Of course the nuclear industry is bigger than just the technology.
There are Insurance, financial services, military and security corporations connected to having nuclear power and a lot of money can be made by these organisations.
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/05/09/the-naked-truth-about-nuclear-accident-insurance/
https://nuclear-news.net/2010/09/30/how-tax-payer-money-funds-the-nuclear-industrys-expansion/
The IAEA has been helping to develop nuclear technology in Africa and sets the ground for these corporations to step in. The IAEA works with the big nuclear powers in a bid to solve the waste crisis with the MOX fuel system.
Selling hundreds of reactors to light up the African night, running off the waste products of the domestic, medical and military uses of nuclear materials from the west. Even as western energy companies such as EDF are being forced to invest in wind and solar energy due to financial and environmental concerns;
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/08/02/nuclear-company-switching-to-renewable-energy-in-usa/
https://nuclear-news.net/2010/12/27/off-grid-small-scale-solar-energy-in-huts-in-africa/
The Insurance companies do well on these deals as there is a cap on the amount that needs to be paid out to victims of the nuclear fuel cycle. To give an example of this payment system at work, the British Nuclear Test Veterans got around £6,000-$12,000 per head for their radiation induced damages (including genetic damage to future off spring) Link to the BNTV report to be found here ;
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/07/22/british-nuclear-test-veterans-silenced/
The affected Japanese from Fukushima expect to receive under £3000 or-$6000 per head in a country that is more expensive to live in than th UK and has higher cost implications for future health problems.
However the children and pregnant women will get under £5000 or $10,000 as they are likely to develop thyroid problems including cancer and have miscarriages etc.
It is interesting to note the similarity in the payments to those victims affected in the UK and Japan. I have seen no quotes for Miyagi prefecture so far though;
https://nuclear-news.net/2013/06/04/compensation-for-fukushima-evacuees-radiation-anxiety/
In fact, the Insurance liability caps system are not welcome everywhere and it is a point of contention that the insurance companies want to limit the costs to them, so that the nuclear financial and insurance “gravy train” is not interrupted.
Here is an example of dissension against the western corporate nuclear insurance/finance industry;
Fight to stop Nuclear Regulatory Commission overriding the Supreme Court
Attorneys General Fight for Public Access in Nuclear Issues http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roger-witherspoon/san-onofre-nuclear-issues_b_3691767.html Roger Witherspoon 08/02/2013 The Attorneys General of New York and Vermont have joined the fight against California’s San Onofre nuclear power plant in an effort to stop federal regulators from erasing all record of a judicial ruling that the public has a right to intervene before major amendments are granted to an operating license.
If the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants the request of their staff to vacate the ruling of the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board and expunge the record, it will eliminate a precedent that affects power plant operations and regulatory practices around the country. In particular, it will affect the six-year fight in New York to shut the Indian Point power plants 25 miles north of New York City; and Vermont’s ongoing effort to shut the Vermont Yankee power plant.
The cross-country battle now being waged by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell is an uphill fight against one of the most powerful professional staffs in the US government and an agency that has a unique view of its own independence.
“The Commission has stated that it is not bound by judicial practice, including that of the United States Supreme Court,” stated Schneiderman and Sorrell in a brief filed June 24 with the NRC challenging the staff request. Continue reading
Punishing Bradley Manning to deter other whistleblowers
“It seems clear that the government was seeking to intimidate anyone who might consider revealing valuable information in the future,”
WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange says Bradley Manning’s spy convictions are ‘national security extremism’ news.com.au 31 July 13 ” ….. From the courtroom to world capitals, people absorbed the meaning of a verdict that cleared the soldier of a charge of aiding the enemy, which would have carried a potential life sentence, but convicted him on other counts that, together, could also mean a life behind bars.
“It is a dangerous precedent and an example of national security extremism,” he told reporters at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, which is sheltering him. “This has never been a fair trial.” Continue reading
Veterans exposed to radiation at Antarctic Naval Base
Federal hearings exploring radiation exposure among McMurdo Navy veterans get underway in Washington http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/federal-hearings-exploring-radiation-exposure-among-mcmurdo-navy-veterans-get-underway-in-washington Prompted by exclusive 5 On Your Side investigation Ron Regan, newsnet5.com WASHINGTON – Federal hearings prompted by an exclusive 5 On Your Side investigation into radiation exposure among McMurdo Navy veterans are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
Our investigative series revealed how a nuclear reactor at McMurdo Naval base in Antarctica continued to leak radiation for years and a possible link to cancer.
Our report documented 432 malfunctions at the plant from 1964 through 1972 while thousands of Navy veterans were stationed there.
Complaints from veterans dying from cancer were ignored by the Veterans Administration until our report exposed the radiation leaking that Navy veterans said was kept secret for decades.
Veterans have hope the hearings will provide them with assistance in compensation for their medical bills.
On Tuesday, the Veterans Advisory Board on Dose Reconstruction will discuss its final report and finding regarding the leaking nuclear reactor and veterans cancer.
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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