Virginia citizens want permanent ban on uranium mining
Virginia Conservation Network works on a broad range of environmental issues all across the state, but never have I seen such an issue galvanize people like the prospect of uranium mining,” said director Nathan Lott. ”Black and white, urban and rural, Republican and Democrat – Virginians agree that mining is just too risky.”
Citizens expressed deep concerns about the potential contamination of water sources in the Roanoke River watershed
Citizens pack General Assembly offices to voice opposition to uranium mining,Star Tribune, January 23, 2012 RICHMOND – Citizens from across the state converged in the Capitol Monday to call on their elected representatives in the General Assembly to keep Virginia’s 30-year ban on uranium mining.
Following significant warnings from the National Academy of Sciences, the ban will now remain in place for 2012. Citizens are seeking to make that victory permanent.
To highlight their message, they offered legislators “yellowcake” cupcakes with the message: “These yellow cakes are not harmful – but making uranium yellowcake and leaving behind radioactive waste in Virginia is. Protect our health, our
heritage and our future. Keep the Ban on Uranium Mining in Virginia.” Also, the Keep the Ban Coalition announced that over the last year, more than 10,000 citizens have signed an online petition or sent emails to Virginia legislators urging them to keep the ban, and 102 organizations and government entities – from the cities of Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Roanoke to the state chapter of the NAACP and Halifax County Chamber of Commerce – have either passed a resolution or taken other action expressing deep concerns about impacts that would result from lifting the ban.
“Virginia Conservation Network works on a broad range of environmental issues all across the state, but never have I seen such an issue galvanize people like the prospect of uranium mining,” said director
Nathan Lott. ”Black and white, urban and rural, Republican and Democrat – Virginians agree that mining is just too risky.”
Citizens expressed deep concerns about the potential contamination of water sources in the Roanoke River watershed Continue reading
Violence as protestors oppose Egypt’s new nuclear power plant
Protests at nuclear power station construction site escalate, Egypt Independent, Al-Masry Al-Youm Staff, 19/01/2012 Protesters at the nuclear power station site in Dabaa, located in the Matrouh Governorate on the North Coast, said on Thursday they would continue their sit-in and asserted that the government would not be able to force them out.
Egypt’s first nuclear power station is planned to be built in Dabaa, but the residents stormed the site last week, destroying many buildings and staging a sit-in.
They have already built 50 houses on the site, changed its name to New Dabaa and decided to move the cattle market there.
They also said they would give 1,000 square meters for free to young people who cannot afford a place to live. Dabaa residents say the government did not compensate them for the land it allocated to the project.
The protesters rejected Prime Minister Kamal al-Ganzouri’s assurances that the government will go ahead with plans to build the plant on this site…. The plant’s construction site was looted and vandalized earlier this
week, resulting in LE500 million in losses.
There have been conflicting reports regarding the Nuclear Stations Authority committee that went to inspect the site on Thursday in order to assess the damages. It was rumored that committee members refused to enter the site upon hearing that safes containing radioactive elements were missing…… http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/609946
Protestors denounce Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency
Japan Protesters Block Meeting on Restarting Nuclear Plants WSJ By MITSURU OBE, 18 Jan TOKYO—Protesters denouncing Japan’s nuclear watchdog agency as having a pro-nuclear bias, held up the initial approval of stress-test results for two idled reactors, as police were called in to break up the demonstration.
More than a dozen demonstrators, carrying anti-nuclear signs and shouting, “Shame on you,” disrupted what was to be a closed meeting of government agency representatives, nuclear experts and energy officials gathered to review test results. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was set to give its preliminary approval for the restart of the two plants ahead of the arrival next week of a mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The protesters called the meeting a sham, and said the majority of the panel members are known to have pro-nuclear views and are merely giving a rubber stamp to reactors.
More than 100 uniformed and plainclothes police officers were called in to end the action. The panel members were escorted out of the meeting room and resumed the session in a different ministry building, where they approved bringing the two plants back online.
The vote represents the first step in a process for restarting plants, which also must get the approval of other nuclear agencies, the Japanese cabinet and local communities……
Strong case against proposed Florida nuclear plant
“It…will (do) irreversible damage to the springs, wetlands and wildlife.”…. The project’s cost is estimated at $22 billion….
The proposed plant site includes 722 acres of wetlands.
Nuclear plant opponents speak out, Ocala.com By Fred Hiers, January 13, 2012 CRYSTAL RIVER — For three hours on Thursday, opponents of a proposed Levy County nuclear plant told the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board the facility would siphon too much water from the aquifer, cause saltwater intrusion, and expose people to deadly radiation.
Hearing the complaints was a three-judge panel from the board, which falls under the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and acts as its judicial arm. The meeting for public input was the result of three environmental groups — the Nuclear Information and Resources Service, the Ecology Party of Florida and the Green Party of Florida — challenging Progress Energy’s application to build the plant. Continue reading
Community struggle to get a referendum on nuclear power in Japan
Civic group battles to get support for referendums on nuclear power in Tokyo, Osaka. Mainichi Daily News, 11 Jan 12, A civic group has been fighting an uphill battle to collect enough signatures for petitions to hold referendums in Tokyo and Osaka on whether Japan should continue to rely on nuclear power despite the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. Continue reading
India: determination of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
demanded that the Centre cancel nuclear deals with all countries, including USA, Russia, France and Japan. “People should not be made scapegoats for the sake of multinational companies,”
Will lay permanent siege to Koodankulam plant if it goes critical: PMANE, The Asian Age, Jan 07, 2012 | Madurai An anti-nuclear forum spearheading the ongoing stir against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Saturday said it would intensify the agitation by laying a ‘permanent siege’ to the plant if it goes critical.
“The government should respect the sentiments of the local people. If they don’t, they will not hesitate to lay a permanent siege of the plant,” S P Udhaykumar, convenor of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) told reporters here. He said there is no compromise on PMANE’s stand that the Centre should shelve the project. Continue reading
Iowa Public Interest Group recommends energy conservation, renewables, not nuclear power
Environmental group: Save energy, skip nuclear plant in Iowa DesMoinesRegister.com , Jan 5, 2012 | by Perry Beeman Iowa should skip construction of nuclear plants unless they produce power at a lower cost than other options, including energy conservation, the Iowa Public Interest Research Group said Thursday.
The group also contended that MidAmerican Energy, which is studying whether to build a nuclear plant, should make stockholders take the financial risk, not ratepayers.
MidAmerican has said it will continue work on legislation that would allow the utility to charge customers for the cost of a feasibility study, even if the plant isn’t built. The Legislature, which failed to act on the bill last session largely due to debate scheduling considerations, convenes Monday.
Iowa PIRG said nuclear plants across the country have been plagued by cost overruns, and half of those proposed don’t get built. The group, which held a press conference at the Statehouse, said energy conservation, wind power and solar are better options……
http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2012/01/05/environmental-group-save-energy-skip-nuclear-plant-in-iowa/
21 keys to closing the nuclear industry in 2012 – Harvey Wasserman
Worldwide, the industry is crumbling. The collapse of its private investment base, and the shutdowns in Japan, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Israel and elsewhere are rapidly shrinking the technology’s credible reach.
Green energy will soon constitute the world’s largest industry, financially and in terms of employment.
Fukushima has taught us that as long as reactors operate, the apocalyptic clock is ticking….. we can make 2012 the year nuke power finally dies.
2012 Is the Year to Finally Bury Nuke Power Harvey Wasserman Huffington Post, 01/ 3/12 The year 2012 has opened with news that Fukushima’s radioactive cloud may already have killed some 14,000 Americans, according to a major study just published in the International Journal of Health Services.
Germany and Japan, the world’s third and fourth largest economies, along with numerous others countries, have definitively turned away from the “Peaceful Atom.”
But it hasn’t yet been buried. That’s up to us. And 2012 is the year to do it.
We are already very close. The mythical “Nuclear Renaissance” has been gutted by Fukushima, low gas prices and the escalating Solartopian revolution in green energy. Solar panels, wind turbines, sustainable bio-fuels, geo-thermal, ocean thermal, increased efficiency and much more have simply priced atomic energy out of the market.
There is virtually no private money to build new reactors — except where there are huge government subsidies and guarantees. In 2012 we must make those all go away.
Likewise, there are increasingly powerful grassroots movements focused on shutting reactors that still operate. Germany has shut 7, and the rest will be gone by 2022, if not earlier. In Japan, just 11 of more than 50 reactors now operate. Because local governments can prevent nukes from re-opening once they go down for refueling, Japan could emerge from 2012 without a single nuke on line.
The biggest US battle is at Vermont Yankee. March 21 is D-Day for forcing a nuclear corporation to honor a solemn contract it signed with a sovereign state, agreeing to shut down if the state doesn’t approve continued operations. The legislature wants the reactor shut, which Entergy now refuses to do.
But with some 430 reactors still operating worldwide, and with several score ostensibly on order, here are some of 2012′s keys to finally ridding the planet of this radioactive curse: Continue reading
Opposition in Spain to nuclear waste dump plan
New nuclear waste dump sparks controversy in Spain Olive Press, JANUARY 1, 2012 RAJOY’S new government has announced a €700 million nuclear waste dump for a village near Madrid, provoking mixed reaction from residents and green groups…
..Those in nearby villages, however, are considering taking legal action against the
plan. Greenpeace are also critical, saying the project is likely to cost nearly three times what the government has proposed, and that transporting waste to the site will be dangerous.
The plan was originally voted in 2004, but the location decision was delayed by Zapatero’s government amid protests….
Virginia business and medical professionals concerned about uranium mining
the group is different from environmental groups in that it comprises business, medical and health professionals who are concerned about potential health impacts from uranium mining.
Coalition forms to address uranium concerns By: TARA BOZICK | GoDanRiver.com December 29, 2011 Halifax County area business owners and other professionals formed The Virginia Coalition on Tuesday in an effort to keep the moratorium on uranium mining in Virginia.
Many felt the socioeconomic reports and National Academy of Sciences study on uranium mining released this month didn’t allay concerns about potential health risks. The General Assembly could take up the issue of whether to allow uranium mining next session, although
opponents and local lawmakers would like to wait until 2013. Continue reading
Stiff opposition in South Korea to new nuclear power plants
New nuclear plants face public backlash, Korea Herald, By Shin Hyon-hee, 27 Dec 11 2011 Civic groups, environmentalists, residents stage protests, voicing safety concerns The government’s plan to install new nuclear reactors in the country’s eastern shore faces stiff opposition from residents, stoking safety concerns in the aftermath of a Japanese disaster.
Last week, the government picked two candidate sites for nuclear power plants –Yeongdeok in North Gyeongsang Province and Samcheok in Gangwon Province. The decision will be finalized by late next year after on-site inspections and environmental surveys.
On Monday, civic groups, religious organizations, environmentalists and residents staged a mass rally in downtown Seoul and the two regions, calling to scrap the country’s atomic energy policy.
“The government’s latest site selection completely neglects a global anti-nuclear trend that has been reigning supreme since the Fukushima meltdown in March,” Green Korea United, one of the country’s major environmental groups, said in a statement. In Samcheok, Gangwon
Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon added fuel to the flame by expressing his regret over the announcement. “It’s hard to understand the government is pushing ahead with its nuclear expansion program at a time when there is no national consensus and public understanding of the safety of the plan,” he said. ..
..Among the imminent issues is the storage of spent radioactive fuel rods that will run of space in 2016. The ministry plans to host a public forum in the first half of next year to discuss how to take care of such obsolete equipment, Hong said….http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111226000732
Canadian tribes say NO to nuclear waste
No nuclear waste here, North Shore Tribal Council says,SooToday.com, December 20, 2011 Chiefs of the North Shore Tribal Council say no! to a multi-billion dollar nuclear waste disposal project in their territory CUTLER, ON – The First Nations of the North Shore Tribal Council strongly reject the prospect of the North Shore of Lake Huron becoming a site for the long-term storage of nuclear waste for the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO). The City of Elliot Lake has publicly expressed interest in possibly becoming one of the sites for the long-term disposal of nuclear waste for Canada’s nuclear industry.
Elliot Lake has a long history of uranium mining that resulted in the boom and bust of the city, as well as significant and lasting environmental damage to the local watershed and nearby ceremonial grounds. In addition, there are dozens of tailings ponds surrounding Elliot Lake currently waiting for a solution for their safe disposal.
“We cannot idly stand by and watch as they inject Mother Earth with this cancer,” says Chief Lyle Sayers, chairman of the North Shore Tribal Council. “We must ensure that the future natural resources of this area are there for our children, generations to come, and businesses alike.”
The half-life of this material is hundreds of thousands of years old and could impact generation after generation. No site can ever be totally safe for nuclear waste storage. “Natural disasters sometimes happen, such as we’ve seen in Japan. It could make this whole area a nuclear wasteland suitable for only that industry,” says Chief Sayers.
Our statement to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is: Do not waste your financial resources if you plan to conduct a study in this area because a nuclear waste dump is not going to happen here.
The North Shore Tribal Council represents seven First Nation communities across the North Shore of Lake Huron.Chief Lyle Sayers is the chief of the Garden River First Nation and also the chairman of the North Shore Tribal Council. http://www.sootoday.com/content/news/details.asp?c=37141
India: 10,000 peaceful anti nuclear protestors march, and promise further action
Anti-nuclear protestors take out rally, stage peaceful demo Radhapuram (TN) Dec 18 (PTI) About 10,000 anti-nuclear protestors today took out a procession from a temple at nearby Koodankulam to this town and staged a peaceful demonstration, condemning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s statement that the Nuclear Power project would be operationalised in a couple of weeks and resolved to picket the plant if work resumed.
Pushparayan, Convenor of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is spearheading the stir, said the organisation would intensify its agitation from January 1 if their demand for removing the fuel rods loaded into the reactor were not removed by that date.
Police said the procession and the demonstration passed off peacefully and that adequate security had been deployed to ensure no untoward incidents took place. Earlier in the day, PMANE condemned Singh’s ‘anti-people’ and ‘autocratic’ statement on KNPP, saying it betrayed the fact that the state government’s resolution to
halt work was never honoured earnestly or implemented effectively.
http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/antinuclear-protestors-take-out-rally-stage-peaceful-demo/935954.html
VIDEO Huge protest planned in Kudankulam over PM’s statement by ndtv on Dec 18, 2011 With the Prime Minister announcing that the Kudankulam plant will be operationalised in a couple of weeks, at Ground Zero, villagers have called for a huge protest rally today, from Kudankulam to nearby Radhapuram in Tamil Nadu. “If the Nuclear Power Corporation of India or the Department of Atomic Energy tries to restart the work at the Kudankulam nuclear plant, we will lay a siege with thousands of people and their families immediately at the site, and number two in order to protest against PM’s statement made in Russia we are going to hold a rally from Kudankulam to Radhapuram,” said SP Udhayakumar, Convenor, People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPPlEavM3VE
India’s Prime Minister working for foreign nuclear companies, not for the people?
We wonder whether the PM is working for us (Indians) or for foreign companies,”
Udayakumar, Co-ordinator of the People’s Movement of Nuclear Energy, spearheading the protests, said the PM’s remarks indicated that work was going on “secretly” at the site. “This is against Tamil Nadu assembly resolution demanding a halt to the work at the plant till the people’s fears are allayed,” he said.
Kudankulam: protestors want uranium from site gone by year end DNA, Dec 17, 2011, Anti-Kudankulam nuclear power plant protestors today criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement that the project would be operationalised in a few weeks and set December 31 as the deadline for the Centre to remove the uranium kept in the plant or else face “intensified agitation”. Continue reading
Kudankulam Anti nuclear protestors strengthen their resolve
Day after PM’s message, protesters stick to guns , Hindustan Times, Chennai, December 19, 2011 A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu could not remain idle and would be commissioned in a couple of weeks, people agitating against the project and the Centre appeared headed for a showdown. The protesters have set December 31 as the deadline for the removal of fuel assemblies (used to build the core of a reactor) from the plant complex, Continue reading
1 This Month
26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
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