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India’s Supreme Court examines waiver of nuclear civil liability pact with Russia

Centre justifies waiver of nuclear civil liability pact with Russia THE HINDU, 19 Oct 12 J. VENKATESAN The Centre on Thursday justified in the Supreme Court waiver of the nuclear liability agreement with Russia for the Kudankulam plant in Tamil Nadu and said it was a policy decision taken at a time when no other country came forward to sustain India’s nuclear capabilities.

Making this submission before a Bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Misra, Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman denied the allegation of Prashant Bhushan, counsel for petitioners, that the Government had signed the agreement to appease Russia…..
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/centre-justifies-waiver-of-nuclear-civil-liability-pact-with-russia/article4010279.ece?homepage=true

October 19, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Hearings drag on about Indian Point nuclear waste dump

Indian Point Hearings: It’s Down the Rabbit Hole Entergy Watches as Boron Degrades, Counter Punch by JOHN RAYMOND, 8 Oct 12 Will New York State have any more success in shutting down Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear waste dump on the Hudson River than Vermont has had, so far, in its battle to close Entergy’s Yankee plant that befouls the landmark Connecticut River?

Don’t bet on it. But stay tuned.

Recall that Yankee was relicensed last year without a hitch despite: a long and continuing history of radioactive leaks, shutdowns, and slipshod maintenance that caused, most stunningly, the collapse of a cooling tower in 2007; a perjury investigation by the state Attorney General triggered after Entergy officers lied to state authorities that Yankee had no underground pipes that carried radioactive water (it does), and, last but hardly least, the Vermont Senate’s celebrated vote in 2010 to shut the plant down.

The five commissioners on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would hear none of it. Their unanimous vote to extend the 40-year-old plant’s license for another 20 years came less than two weeks after the nuclear catastrophe in Japan raised new fears in the U.S. where 23 reactors, including Yankee, operate with same flawed GE design (identified and covered up by federal nuclear regulators beginning in the early 1970s) that failed in the triple meltdown at the Fukushima plant and released over four times the amount of cesium-137 than was released in the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Continue reading →

October 10, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Legal action against owners of Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

Activists plan to sue Mass. nuclear plant owner Boston.com AP /  October 9, 2012 PLYMOUTH, Mass. (AP) — Massachusetts activists have announced plans to
sue the owners of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station for what they say is the continuous pollution of Cape Cod Bay over the last 16 years. Continue reading →

October 10, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Serious safety issues at Kudankulam nuclear plant – Supreme Court hears

Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant suffers from ‘serious issues’: Anti-nuclear activists tell Supreme Court
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/kudankulam-nuclear-power-plant-suffers-from-serious-issues-anti-nuclear-activists-tell-supreme-court/articleshow/16670289.cms  4 OCT, 2012  NEW DELHI: Kudankulam nuclear power plant suffers from lack of safety measures and is plagued by several other “serious issues” and must not be commissioned till they are resolved, anti-nuclear activists told the Supreme Court today.

Appearing before a bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra, they submitted that the safety measures recommended by Atomic Energy Regulation Board (AERB) have not been put in place and government agencies have not determined till date the site for storing spent nuclear fuel.

“It is clear that KKNPP suffers from several serious issues that need to be resolved before the plant can be commissioned. Lakhs of people living in vicinity of the plant are bound to be apprehensive in such a situation.

“Instead of dealing with these issues and addressing the concerns in a meaningful way, the government has launched a wave of repression and has slapped 8000 sedition cases against peaceful protesters,” said advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners. He said the government has not complied with the statutory guidelines framed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) regarding nuclear safety and pleaded with the apex court to restrain the Centre
from commissioning the plant. The bench, however, refused to pass any order and asked the petitioners to implead NDMA.

The petitioners’ counsel also questioned the Centre’s decision of exempting Russian reactor manufacturer firm from liability in case of accident due to defect in the reactor.

October 5, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Florida Supreme Court considers the forced up front fees for planned nuclear reactors

The advance fee forced down customer throats by state law is “practical” only because Wall Street financiers of nuclear power plants won’t touch such projects. Too pricey. Too risky. Too – wait for it – uncompetitive.

State’s highest court should end forced fees to pay for nuclear power plants By Robert Trigaux, Tampa Bay Times Business Columnist   Oct 01, 2012 It’s a big week for many Floridians, their wallets and their energy bills.

On Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court takes a closer look at a 2006 state law that may go to the very top in my personal Guinness Book of Stupid Legislation.

That law forces Florida customers to pay for their utility’s proposed nuclear power plants long before they are built or begin operation. If the utility decides not to build the plant, it can keep much of the money it has already squeezed out of customers. We’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars already. Continue reading →

October 3, 2012 Posted by | Canada, Legal | Leave a comment

Supreme Court might halt Kudankulam nuclear power project

Kudankulam nuclear plant can be stopped if not found safe: Supreme
Court   http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/kudankulam-nuclear-plant-can-be-stopped-if-not-found-safe-supreme-court/articleshow/16576138.cms
 27 Sept 12,  NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today made it clear that it can stop
commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant if it finds that the mandatory safety requirements for it have not been put in place.

A bench of justices K S Radhakrishanan and Deepak Misra said the safety of plant and the people living in its vicinity is its prime concern and issued notices to the Centre and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board on a plea challenging the environmental clearance given
to the controversial project. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Entergy Sues U.S. for Failure to Dispose of Nuclear Waste, Bloomberg News By Tom Schoenberg and Julie Johnsson on September 27, 2012 An Entergy Corp. (ETR ) unit sued the U.S. for $100 million alleging the government breached a contract for disposal of nuclear waste at two plants in Michigan.

Entergy Nuclear Palisades LLC, owner of the Palisades Nuclear Plant
and the Big Rock Point plant, alleged yesterday that the Energy
Department collected fees under a 1983 contract without ever starting
to dispose of the radioactive material. The suit is in the U.S. Court
of Federal Claims in Washington……
Most nuclear-plant owners continue to store spent nuclear fuel onsite
despite contributing for decades into a fund meant to finance a
central waste depository.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is freezing U.S. operating
licenses for at least two years as it reassesses waste-storage risks
and strategies in response to a June 8 order by the U.S. Court of
Appeals in Washington.

Entergy Corp., based in New Orleans, is the second-largest owner of
nuclear plants in the U.S….. The case is Entergy Nuclear Palisades
LLC v. U.S., 12-cv- 1641, U.S. Court of Federal Claims (Washington).
… http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-27/entergy-sues-u-dot-s-dot-for-failure-to-dispose-of-nuclear-waste

September 28, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

NRC to hear challenge to nuke plants Citrus County Chronicle , September 19, 2012 Pat Faherty It is all about water. That is the way Cara Campbell, Ecology Party chair, described the upcoming hearing on the proposed nuclear power plant in Levy County.

On Oct. 31, the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hold an evidentiary hearing on a challenge to the application for two nuclear power reactors. Continue reading →

September 28, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

Radioactive murder of Litvinenko – a State sponsored crime?

Was Alexander Litvinenko killed by ‘state-sponsored nuclear terrorism’? The Telegraph A senior judge will examine whether Russia ordered the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko in an act of “state-sponsored nuclear terrorism”, his inquest heard. By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor  20 Sep 2012
The former KGB agent died from the radioactive poison polonium-210 after allegedly meeting former security colleagues in London in 2006. Allegations that the Russian authorities ordered and directed his death will now form a key part of the inquest, Sir Robert Owen, the High Court judge leading it, signalled.
Lawyers for Mr Litvinenko’s widow, Marina, said if the claims were substantiated, it meant “state-sponsored nuclear terrorism on the streets of London”.
It emerged one of the main suspects in the death, Andrei Lugovoi, could give evidence via video link from Russia, where he is resisting an extradition request.
However, details of a police investigation in to whether Mr Litvinenko, who fled to the UK in 2000, had been in regular contact with the British spy agencies while here will be kept a secret.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, was allegedly poisoned while drinking tea during a meeting with former KGB contacts at the Millennium Hotel in Grosvenor Square in November 2006. He died three weeks later in University College Hospital……
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9555262/Was-Alexander-Litvinenko-killed-by-state-sponsored-nuclear-terrorism.html

September 21, 2012 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

9th Circuit Hears Health Care Plea from Islanders Affected by Nuclear Bomb Testing (CN)  Opposing Views,  by Courthouse News   Sep 20, 2012 – An attorney for the the disease-prone residents of pacific island nations where the United States once tested nuclear bombs decried discrimination before the 9th Circuit.     Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau each were used by the U.S. military to test its developing nuclear arsenal in the 1940s and 1950s. Many residents claim that resulting health issues have lingered through the generations.

These countries have enjoyed a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States since 1986, a relationship that allows their natives to live in Hawaii and other states as nonimmigrants, eligible for government assistance, including Medicaid.

In 1996, however, the Welfare Reform Act cut off Medicaid benefits for the islanders. States had the option to keep providing health care under their own programs, but Hawaii stopped giving COFA residents the benefits to which they were previously entitled in 2010.

That year marked the start of the Basic Health Hawaii (BHH) program, to which it switched most of the COFA residents. The move cut the care provided to the islanders quite severely, limiting patients to no more than 10 days of hospital care per year, 12 outpatient visits per year, six mental health visits and a maximum of four medication prescriptions per month.

A group of islanders, many of whom have persistent and serious health conditions, filed a class action against the state, alleging that the cut in benefits violated the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution and the Americans with Disabilities Act.     Finding that Hawaii had “failed to identify any particular state interest that is advanced by their decision to exclude COFA Residents from the old programs,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright granted an injunction and ordered Hawaii to reinstate the former benefits.     Hawaii appealed to the 9th Circuit, a three-judge panel of which heard oral arguments in the case on Tuesday in San Francisco. …. http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/9th-circuit-hears-health-care-plea-islanders

September 21, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

People of Kudankalam’s petition to stop nuclear power plant

The petition said the Government had also absolved the Russian supplier of the nuclear reactor from any liability in case of an accident. And Russia has already stated that it not responsible for any nuclear blasts.

India’s Judiciary creates scam over Kudankulam The Canadian,  17 SEPTEMBER 2012  ……….When the Indian government Regime Targets People.

The Indian regime, committed to the welfare of the people is interested only in promoting the nuclear and other arms merchants and is threatening the people with impending nuclear disasters.

One has no idea as to how many more nukes India wants and for what, because it has already plenty of weapons of mass destruction at various sites.  Madras High court and Supreme court seem not worried about the deadly risks involved in the state nuke manufacturing agenda. Both High CA private company’s employee moved the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order giving the green signal to the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. Continue reading →

September 17, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Entergy sued over lax security at NY nuclear plant

 Sep 13, 2012   (Reuters) – A security guard at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York state sued the facility’s owner, Entergy Corp, for more than $1.5 billion for emotional distress, claiming lax security at the plant. Continue reading →

September 14, 2012 Posted by | Legal, USA | Leave a comment

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy will take anti nuclear fight to Supreme Court

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy to appeal in apex court
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Peoples-Movement-Against-Nuclear-Energy-to-appeal-in-apex-court/articleshow/16097343.cms TNN | Sep 1, 2012,  MADURAI: People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) had decided to appeal in the Supreme Court against the Madras high court verdict giving the go ahead for the Kudankulam nuclear plant. PMANE coordinator S P Udayakumar, expressing disappointment over the verdict said that the high court judgment will be challenged in theapex court. “We will continue our fight for justice,” he said.

Villagers of Idinthakarai village wore a dejected look as the information about the judgment by a bench comprising Justices P Jyothimani and M Duraiswamy dismissing the batch of petitions against Kudankulam nuclear plant reached them. The villagers have been protesting against the nuclear plant for more than a year. Besides rallies and slogan shouting, the villagers were on a relay fast for the past several months.

“We had placed all our hope on the high court. Now, the only recourse for us is the Supreme Court. We will approach the Supreme Court,” said Udayakumar.

September 1, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

Court sanctions Kudankulam nuclear plant, but PMANE will not give up the fight

Our struggle against the plant will continue,” said SP Udayakumar, convenor, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which has been at the forefront of the anti-plant protest

Kudankulam plant gets HC nod; activists protest , Hindustan Times Chennai, August 31, 2012 The Madras high court on Friday gave all-clear to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli, 650km from Chennai, Continue reading →

September 1, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

UK determined to arrest Assange, come what may

Police note lets slip Julian Assange arrest plan http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/police-note-lets-slip-julian-assange-arrest-plan/story-fnd134gw-1226457832696  By CHARLES MIRANDA in London  August 25, 2012 THE order is simple and the note brief but it points to a likelihood of a complex and lengthy impasse between Ecuador and Britain over the future of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

“Assange to be arrested under all circumstances,” the confidential Scotland Yard note seen yesterday being carried by an officer outside the Ecuador embassy reads.

And therein lies the problem. He has political asylum in Ecuador but cannot get there with Britain refusing to let him step onto public soil without immediate arrest, detention and extradition to Sweden to face sexual assault allegations.

Scotland Yard acknowledged the handwritten note was from a briefing and stressed that the force’s objective is to arrest Assange for breach of bail.

“Under no circumstances would any arrest be made which was in breach of diplomatic immunity,” Scotland Yard said.

August 27, 2012 Posted by | Legal, UK | Leave a comment

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