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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Global heating is predicted to trigger more nuclear outages in France every year.

extreme heat and droughts amid
climate change could impact nuclear plants, which use water to cool down.

 EDF expects to lose 1.5% of its nuclear output, or about 5 TWh, annually
by 2050 due to the impact of global warming based on an average production
of 400 TWh, an executive said on Tuesday.

This compares with a current
average loss of nuclear power output caused by global warming of 0.3%, or
1.2 TWh, Cecile Laugier, head of environment at EDF’s nuclear branch,
told reporters. This echoes a report released in March by France’s Court
of Auditors, which said global warming could trigger three to four times
more outages than today. Increased risk of extreme heat and droughts amid
climate change could impact nuclear plants, which use water to cool down.

 Montel 16th May 2023

https://www.montelnews.com/news/1499729/heat-to-cause-15-yearly-nuclear-output-loss-by-2050–edf

May 20, 2023 Posted by | climate change, France | Leave a comment

Energy minister Andrew Bowie in visit to Suffolk projects

 Energy Minister Andrew Bowie is on a fact-finding visit to Suffolk where
he found out about the job prospects at Sizewell C – but also heard the
concerns of those opposed to the project. Mr Bowie is minister of state at
the new Department for Energy and Net Zero – responsible for maintaining
the nation’s power and moving to a greener economy.

He started his visit at
Suffolk New College in Ipswich where he visited its Net Zero Skills Centre.
He and local MP Tom Hunt met with students and got to meet with some of the
people participating in their apprenticeship program. The Net Zero Skills
Centre aims to equip and train students with knowledge and experience of
sustainable technologies.

Mr Bowie later headed up the coast where he met
groups and businesses concerned about the impact of Sizewell C on the area.
Alison Downes of Stop Sizewell C said: “We welcomed Mr Bowie to Theberton
& Eastbridge Village Hall this afternoon. “We reiterated our continued
opposition to Sizewell C and our view that the East Suffolk Council
election results amount to a rejection of his Government’s energy
policies.” The meeting included Harry Young, Chair of the Suffolk Coast
Destination Management Organisation and Nick Burfield, former Policy
Director of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. Adam Rowlands, Suffolk Area
Manager of the RSPB, was also able to join the meeting at Stop Sizewell
C’s invitation.

 East Anglian Daily Times 18th May 2023

https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23529555.energy-minister-andrew-bowie-visit-suffolk-projects/

May 20, 2023 Posted by | politics | Leave a comment

Nuclear Fusion breakthrough hits hurdles as five experiments fail

Japan Times, BY DAVID R. BAKER, BLOOMBERG 17 May 23,

The U.S. government lab that made a long-awaited breakthrough in fusion energy late last year has run five similar experiments since then without being able to replicate the results.

The milestone came in December as the the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco reported achieving the first fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a threshold known as ignition. The achievement opened the possibility of power plants one day running on nuclear fusion, the same energy source as the sun.

Since then, the lab has run five similar experiments, shooting the world’s most powerful laser at small diamond capsules filled with hydrogen, said Lawrence Livermore Director Kim Budil. But so far, ignition hasn’t been achieved again…………….

Speaking at an event at the lab Monday celebrating December’s breakthrough, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the federal government would spend $45 million over the next four years to create a series of research hubs pursuing the kind of fusion achieved at Lawrence Livermore, known as inertial confinement. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/05/09/business/nuclear-fusion-experiments-fail/

May 19, 2023 Posted by | technology, USA | Leave a comment

Pentagon seeks authority to transfer nuclear submarines (and costs) to Australia

Finally, the Pentagon is also asking Congress for permission to accept Australian payments to bolster the U.S. submarine industrial base. Australia has offered to make an undisclosed sum of investments in the U.S. submarine industrial base as part of AUKUS.

Defense News, By Bryant Harris and Megan Eckstein 17 May 23

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Defense asked Congress to authorize the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of the trilateral AUKUS agreement with the U.K.

Three legislative proposals, submitted on May 2 and first posted online Tuesday, would greenlight the sale of two Virginia-class submarines to Australia, permit the training of Australian nationals for submarine work and allow Canberra to invest in the U.S. submarine industrial base………………

“Importantly, the proposals spell out a clear path forward to facilitate the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia while ensuring we have the necessary authorities to accept the Australian Government’s investments to enhance our submarine industrial base capacity and provide training for Australian personnel.” – Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee’s sea power panel

AUKUS stipulates that Australia will buy at least three and as many as five Virginia-class submarines in the 2030s as part of phase two of the agreement, giving Congress more than a decade to authorize the sale. This year’s proposal, which the Pentagon hopes will become part of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, asks that Congress approve just two of those submarines “without a deadline to consummate the transfers and without specifying the specific vessels to be transferred.”

The proposal argues that this “small amount of flexibility is necessary” since the transfers depend on Australian readiness to operate the submarines, which will involve developing Australia’s submarine industrial base through training and appropriate shipyard infrastructure.

To that end, a second legislative proposal would authorize U.S. defense service exports directly to Australia’s private sector in order to train its own submarine workers……..

Finally, the Pentagon is also asking Congress for permission to accept Australian payments to bolster the U.S. submarine industrial base. Australia has offered to make an undisclosed sum of investments in the U.S. submarine industrial base as part of AUKUS.

The Pentagon states in the legislative proposal that those funds would be used to “add a significant number of trade workers” that will help address “the significant overhaul backlog” for the Virginia-class submarine. Australian monies would also be used for “advance purchasing of components and materials that are known to be replacement items for submarine overhauls” and “outsourcing less complex sustainment work to local contractors.”

Congress is also making its own investments to expand the U.S. submarine industrial base as the Navy ultimately aims to build two Virginia-class and one Columbia-class submarines per year. Courtney helped secure $541 million in submarine supplier development and $207 million in workforce development initiatives as part of the FY 23 government funding bill.

Austal USA, the American subsidiary of Australia-based Austal, plans to open a new facility at its shipyard in Mobile, Alabama to begin construction on nuclear submarine modules for General Dynamics’ Electric Boat shipyard in Connecticut, which produces both Virginia and Columbia-class submarines. Austal expects it will need 1,000 new hires in Mobile to staff that facility.

At Electric Boat, the prime contractor for the Virginia- and Columbia-class submarine programs, the hiring need will be even greater. The company currently employs more than 19,000 people, after hiring 3,700 new workers in 2022, according to local newspaper The Day. But the company needs to hire 5,750 new workers this year, to manage attrition and to help grow the workforce to about 22,000 to handle the increased workload.

The legislative proposal notes that Australian funds “would be applied to recruitment, training, incentivizing, and retention of key skilled trades, engineering and planning personnel in both nuclear and non-nuclear disciplines that are required by the additional AUKUS workload.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2023/05/17/pentagon-seeks-authority-to-transfer-nuclear-submarines-to-australia/

May 19, 2023 Posted by | politics international, USA | Leave a comment

At Hiroshima, Leaders Should Choose to End All Nuclear Threats

In January 2023, Biden and Kishida made a joint statement “We state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way.”

The caveat that such a judgment applies only to Russia in Ukraine is stunning.

Facing Russia’s nuclear threats, the U.S. and its allies must not whitewash their own

Scientific American By Zia Mian, Daryl G. Kimball on May 17, 2023

At a meeting of the G7 nations this week in Hiroshima, the first city destroyed by the bomb, President Joe Biden and other leaders have a chance to begin addressing the long-standing problem of states threatening to use nuclear weapons. Russia’s nuclear threats of the past year in support of its invasion of Ukraine have flashed for all to see a core purpose of nuclear arsenals: coercion and intimidation. At this historic gathering, Biden and his counterparts need to act on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s proposal that the G7 “demonstrate a firm commitment to absolutely reject the threat or use of nuclear weapons.”

To do so, the U.S. and its allies must acknowledge that any and all threats to use nuclear weapons, not just Russia’s, are unacceptable.

It is well known Hiroshima was destroyed without warning on August 6, 1945 by the U.S. Less familiar is that this devastation was followed that day by the first threat to use nuclear weapons. President Harry Truman threatened Japan “If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the likes of which has never been seen on this earth.” Another threat came on August 9 when a second atomic bomb had destroyed Nagasaki; Truman announced “We shall continue to use it until we completely destroy Japan’s power to make war. Only a Japanese surrender will stop us.”

All G7 states (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.) have condemned President Putin’s February, April and September 2022 threats of Russian nuclear weapons use. But like Russia those states themselves have chosen military strategies that depend on threats of nuclear weapon use.

A statement from the G7 nuclear nonproliferation directors group, issued April 17, predictably asserts that, unlike Russia, their nations’ security policies “are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war and coercion.” Just as predictably, Russian officials claim Putin’s comments are simply a deterrent against direct U.S. or NATO military intervention in Ukraine.

Regardless of intent, the underlying nuclear logic is the same, however. It was described by defense intellectual Daniel Ellsberg in a famous 1959 lecture “The Theory and Practice of Blackmail.” Ellsberg observed:

“Nuclear weapons have one preeminent use in politics: to support threats. These threats recommend themselves, almost inescapably, as tools of policy not only to expansionist powers but to status quo nations.”  He expounded: “Call it blackmail, call it deterrence, call both … coercion: the art of influencing the behavior of others by threats. The key here of course is that with nuclear weapons we are dealing with threats of force.”

…………………………………………….. In 2017, backed by NGOs, a group of 122 nations at the U.N. agreed to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Among its binding obligations is “never under any circumstances to … use or threaten to use nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” There are almost 100 signatories to the treaty so far. No nuclear-armed state has signed.

…………………….. In June 2022, at their first meeting, TPNW states declared that “any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is a violation of international law, including the Charter of the United Nations,” and condemned “unequivocally any and all nuclear threats, whether they be explicit or implicit and irrespective of the circumstances.” 

The scale of destruction implied by threats to use nuclear weapons is beyond any moral measure.  

In January 2023, Biden and Kishida made a joint statement “We state unequivocally that any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way.”

The caveat that such a judgment applies only to Russia in Ukraine is stunning.

If we are to avert catastrophe, the nuclear use policies of the United States and the other nuclear-armed states need to acknowledge that any and all threats to use nuclear weapons need to be treated alike. G7 leaders should look to a statement organized by the Physicists Coalition for Nuclear Threat Reduction, endorsed by more than 1,000 scientists, which states that “any threat to use nuclear weapons, at any time and under any circumstances, is extremely dangerous and totally unacceptable.” It goes on to “call on all people and governments everywhere to clearly condemn all nuclear threats, explicit or implicit, and any use of such weapons.”

As a first step, President Biden, along with the other G7 leaders, all of whose countries either have nuclear weapons or rely on U.S. nuclear weapons being used on their behalf, should declare that the U.S. and its allies will act as they demand others do, and will accept being judged by the same standards they apply to others. They must accept, without any self-serving caveat, that any use of a nuclear weapon, by any state, under any circumstances, would be “an act of hostility against humanity and unjustifiable in any way.”

If G7 leaders choose, the Hiroshima summit can mark their turning away from seeking to justify their own nuclear threats as acceptable tools of policy. It is time for a human-centered standard for judging nuclear threats, one that holds regardless of those making the threats, their targets or the political goal.  https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/at-hiroshima-leaders-should-choose-to-end-all-nuclear-threats/

May 19, 2023 Posted by | 2 WORLD, politics international, weapons and war | Leave a comment

France to speed up nuclear power deployment

By Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr 17 May 23

A bill to speed up the construction of new nuclear reactors was approved by the French parliament on Tuesday (16 May), with the government hailing it as an environmental step forward.

Lawmakers on Tuesday validated the bill to accelerate the construction of new nuclear reactors. The compromise text struck between the National Assembly and the Senate was voted by 339 votes to 399.

MPs from the majority (Renaissance, Horizons, Modem), the independents (LIOT), the right (Les Républicains) and the extreme right (Rassemblement national) voted in favour of the text, in addition to a dozen communist MPs.

Among the opponents, the Greens, the radical left (La France insoumise) and a handful of Communists voted “against” while the Socialists abstained.

Once it comes into force, the new law will speed up the construction of new nuclear reactors by simplifying the required administrative procedures and planning documents. The Energy Transition Ministry expects future construction times to be reduced by at least two years.

In addition, a 50% cap on nuclear power’s share of France’s electricity mix was removed. The text also provides for tightening the penalties for those who illegally enter a nuclear power plant, now set at a maximum of two years imprisonment.

….. Environmental NGOs denounced “a law that is disconnected from ecological and climatic imperatives”. Greenpeace, in particular, questioned “the slowness of the construction of nuclear reactors”, as well as “the safety” and “the conflicts of water use” that are to be expected……………….  https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/france-to-speed-up-nuclear-power-deployment/

May 19, 2023 Posted by | France, politics | Leave a comment

How the West, and Zelensky, derailed the Minsk Agreements between Ukraine and Russia

Adonis Cirillo, commenting on Rt.com, 17 May 23

Everyone knows, or should know, that the ‘Western’ sponsored Maiden Revolution (coup d’état) KILLED Ukraine, and more than 14,000 of its own citizens since 18 Feb, 2014.

If you are undecided or uneducated to the events leading up to the West’s coup d’état, you may download & watch “UKRAINE ON FIRE” 2016 Oliver Stone documentary. (ED. note – Youtube has banned viewers from downloading this film, – but not pro-Ukrainian videos )

(you will see US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland (the Maidan ‘midwife’), US Democrat & Republican Congressmen (e.g., Lindsey Graham), US Advisors (e.g., John Bolton), and NGO’s inside Ukraine before, during, and after the coup d’état)

If you continue to unwind history, you will discover that Ukraine of today is inextricably linked to the Bush/Gorbachev Agreements of 1989-90 and the subsequent Western Violations thereof (e.g., The continued expansion of US & NATO forces in Europe).

NOTE : Ex-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the Minsk Agreements “meant nothing” and claimed credit for giving Kiev enough time to militarize. – RT 17 June, 2022 | Ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the Minsk accords were signed in order to “give Ukraine time” to make the country stronger – Zeit Newspaper 7 Dec, 2022 | Ex-French President François Hollande agreed with Merkel, saying that her comment was “right on this point.” … “It is the merit of the Minsk agreements to have given the Ukrainian army this opportunity,” – RT 30 Dec, 2022 | Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky took credit for derailing Minsk Agreements – RT 9 Feb, 2023  https://www.rt.com/news/576436-zelensky-poland-us-hersh/

May 19, 2023 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Ukraine’s neighbors ready to pay off Zelensky to stop conflict – Seymour Hersh

 https://www.rt.com/news/576436-zelensky-poland-us-hersh/ 17 May 23

EU nations have privately urged the president of the war-torn country to end the fighting, a US official told the veteran journalist.

Poland is leading a group of European nations that are secretly urging Vladimir Zelensky to find a way to settle the conflict with Russia, veteran journalist Seymour Hersh has reported, citing a “knowledgeable” American official.

According to US intelligence, other EU countries that want to see an end to the fighting include Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, Hersh wrote in an article published on his Substack page on Wednesday.

“Hungary is a big player in this and so are Poland and Germany, and they are working to get Zelensky to come around,” the unnamed official claimed. Those countries have made it clear that “Zelensky can keep what he’s got if he works up a peace deal even if he’s got to be paid off, if it’s the only way to get a deal.”

By “keep what he’s got,” the source was referring to the Ukrainian president’s villa in Italy and interests in an offshore bank, Hersh clarified.

However, Zelensky has so far rejected the proposal, while other major European players – France and the UK – “are too beholden” to the Biden administration, which is continuing to back the Ukrainian leader, the official said.

One of the main reasons why Poland and the others want the conflict to end is because the burden of accommodating Ukrainian refugees has become too much for them, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist wrote.

The problem for those countries “is how to get the US to stop supporting Zelensky,” Hersh’s source suggested.

He claimed that US intelligence is well aware that “Ukraine is running out of money and… that the next four or months are critical. And Eastern Europeans are talking about a deal.”

However, he added that “it’s not clear to the intelligence community what the president and his foreign policy aides in the White House know of the reality.”

The US is “still training Ukrainians how to fly our F-16s that will be shot down by Russia as soon as they get into the war zone. The mainstream press is dedicated to Biden and the war, and Biden is still talking about the Great Satan in Moscow while the Russian economy is doing great,” the official explained.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it’s ready to resolve the conflict at the negotiating table. However, it did not receive any proposals from Ukraine and its Western backers that it could consider reasonable.

Zelensky has been promoting his ten-point peace plan, which calls for Russian forces to withdraw to borders claimed by Ukraine, to pay reparations, and to submit to war-crime tribunals.

Moscow has rejected the plan as “unacceptable,” saying it ignores the reality on the ground and is actually a sign of Kiev’s unwillingness to solve the crisis through diplomatic means.

May 19, 2023 Posted by | politics international, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Anti-nuclear activists protest Japanese government plans to release radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean

DOZENS of anti-nuclear activists protested today to demand Japan scrap its plan to release radioactive water from a tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant into the sea, which may begin this summer.

”Don’t dump contaminated water into sea,” protesters chanted outside the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holding’s (Tepco) headquarters in Tokyo, holding banners with their demands such as “Don’t nuke the Pacific,” and “Stop contaminated water.”………………………………………………………………..

Several activists from South Korea joined Tuesday’s rally.

“The Pacific Ocean does not belong to Japan. It belongs to all living things in the ocean and everyone who depends on it for their livelihoods,” said Kyoungsook Choi, a Korea Radiation Watch co-ordinator.

“We are here today to send the message that Japan does not have the right to dump the radioactive water…………………. more https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/w/anti-nuclear-activists-protest-japanese-government-plans-release-radioactive-water

May 19, 2023 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Drink Fukushima water if it’s clean, South Korea tells Japanese officials

 South Korea’s opposition leader has challenged Japanese officials to
drink treated radioactive water from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power
plant amid concerns over Tokyo’s plan to release the water into the sea.
Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, implored
Japanese officials to make good on their claims that the radioactive water
is filtered and safe to be released into the sea. There are fierce protests
from local fishing communities as well as neighbouring countries such as
South Korea, China, and the Pacific Island nations following concerns over
the consequences of releasing the water.

 Independent 16th May 2023

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/japan/fukushima-nuclear-plant-radioactive-water-release-b2339728.html

May 19, 2023 Posted by | politics international, South Korea | Leave a comment

Nuclear Safety Authority identified faults in Olkiluoto nuclear power plant

The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) informed on its own
website on 14 April under the section Surveillance News that Teollisuuden
Voima, TVO, had detected and subsequently repaired defects and deficiencies in the
seals of the connectors of third unit (OL3) of the Olkiluoto nuclear power
plant.

The seals are required in the event of an accident. Should the seals
be missing, the measurements required for containing the accident could be
affected, compromising the safety functions of the plant.

As the incidentwas accompanied by inadequate guidance and the defect was detected in
several locations, TVO concluded that the incident falls under category one
on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES). According
to the INES, the incident was classified as an Anomaly. The absence of a
single seal as such is not a safety issue, but the recurrence of the error
increased the significance of the incident on the assessment scale. TVO
submitted its own assessment to STUK in connection with the incident report
in April, and STUK made a decision based on its own assessment, in which it
concurs with TVO’s INES assessment.

 STUK 15th May 2023

https://www.stuk.fi/web/en/-/tvo-identified-faults-in-ol3-connectors

May 19, 2023 Posted by | Finland, safety | Leave a comment

Finnish nuclear plant throttles production as electricity price plunges

Electricity production must also be profitable for nuclear power plants, according to the facility’s operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO).

The output of Finland’s newest nuclear power facility, Olkiluoto 3, has been
significantly cut back because electricity has become too cheap, according
to the plant’s owner, Teollisuuden Voima (TVO).

“Electricity productionmust also be profitable for nuclear power plants, and when the price is
particularly low, there may be situations where output is limited,” TVO
communications manager, Johanna Aho, said. Early on Wednesday the market
price for electricity dropped below zero cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) and
for hours after that the price was only 0.3 cents per kWh at its highest,
according to the country’s grid operator, Fingrid.

 YLE 17th May 2023

https://yle.fi/a/74-20032375?s=09

May 19, 2023 Posted by | business and costs, Finland | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium won’t end a war that has no winners

It is clear the great powers have no end in sight for the war: toxic munitions that will last even longer than the conflict are the last thing the territory needs, writes TOMASZ PIERSCIONEK

Morning Star, 16 May 23,

THE war in Ukraine is the most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II. As in most conflicts, and in the years leading up to the war, truth became the first causality.

The Western media simplifies the narrative to Nato good — Russia bad, while ignoring pivotal factors such as Nato’s eastward march towards Russia and the US-backed 2014 coup, which in turn set the scene for the war that unfolded in Feb 2022.

Non-mainstream media or independent bloggers who try to peer over the media iron curtain and question Nato talking points face being defamed as pro-Kremlin stooges.

Is the West scared of its citizens thinking independently or fearful that such “wrong think” might outshine pro-Nato propaganda? Do Europe’s citizens need “protection” from the risk of being exposed to unsanctioned thinking lest they draw different conclusions to the official narrative?

A year into the conflict and amidst the dreadful loss of life on all sides, it looks like war between Russia and Ukraine is really a conflict between Nato and Russia, in which the former seeks to challenge the emergence of a new Eurasian-centric capitalist bloc. Remember too that Russia is China’s ally and a defeat of the former would leave the latter in a more vulnerable position vis a vis Nato expansion.

It is clear too that (most of) the nations comprising the EU and Nato are willing to pull out all stops to defeat or greatly weaken Russia, regardless of the human costs to Ukraine, and have already handed over billions of dollars in military aid alongside vast quantities of weapons from their own arsenals. Britain provided £2.3 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2022 whilst the US has given at least $46.6bn in military aid since the war began.

For the US, at least, this is a perfect war in which it can fight a key geopolitical opponent without getting its hands dirty and having to explain an influx of body bags to the US public like in Iraq and Afghanistan.

n the EU’s case however, reality hits a little close to home — despite its massive support for Ukraine and the 10 rounds of sanctions placed upon Russia, they have failed to bring the country to its knees in economic or military terms (as repeatedly promised), nor have they “inspired” the Russian people to overthrow their rulers. Instead, the anti-Russian sanctions seem to have caused a fair amount of self-harm to the EU whilst Russia is well on the way to finding new markets for its exports.

Hypocritically, despite singing from the pro-Ukraine hymn book, the EU continues to import billions of dollars worth of goods from Russia — $195.56 billion during 2022 and the greatest amount since 2014. Furthermore, despite the EU banning Russian crude oil imports, it purchases oil products from India (eg diesel and jet fuel) that have been refined from Russian crude oil. As Russia is now selling more crude oil to India and India in turn is selling more refined oil to Europe, this is a win-win situation for these two Brics nations.

n an unwise and unneeded escalation to the war in Ukraine, the British government announced in late April 2023 that it had sent Challenger 2 tank shells tipped with depleted uranium (DU) to Ukrainian forces. Such a move is a provocative and dangerous escalation that risks precipitating a regional or global war in which there will be no winner.

It is worth pointing out that at the end of March 2023, James Heappey, British Minister of State for the Armed Forces, responded to a parliamentary question about whether Russia had used DU munitions in Ukraine with the answer: “The Ministry of Defence is unaware of any credible open-source reports of Russia using depleted uranium in Ukraine.”

DU is a by-product of a process whereby uranium is enriched to make nuclear fuel. It remains radioactive, albeit 40 per cent less so than raw uranium. On account of its high density, DU is used to increase the power of armour-piercing munitions and has previously been used by US/Nato forces in several conflicts — the 1991 first Gulf war, Bosnia, the 2003 Iraq invasion, and against Isis forces in Syria in 2015…………………………………..

The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks formed by the European Commission produced a report in 2010 which noted that “in combat zones, vehicles hit by DU should be made inaccessible to the general public and be properly disposed of. Used DU ammunition should also be collected and disposed of.”

This concurs with advice published by the US Air Force in 1975 which stated that DU ought to only be used against armoured vehicles. However, in Iraq, DU munitions reportedly were not only used against human combatants but also fired in or near to urban areas.

Consequently, hundreds of sites in Iraq were contaminated with DU. Similar consequences are possible in the case of Ukraine: funding a clean-up operation once the war ends is unlikely to be a top priority.

The US Environmental Protection Agency notes that with regards to DU “exposure to the outside of the body is not considered a serious hazard. However, if DU is ingested or inhaled, it is a serious health hazard.”

The risk that DU finds its way into the food chain ought not to be dismissed, alongside the long-term detrimental effects on the ecosystem.

Furthermore, introducing DU (radioactive) munitions into a high-stakes war such as the one in Ukraine breaks a certain psychological barrier whereby the risk of further escalation increases as we take another step down an ever-shortening and dangerous path that ends with the use of conventional uranium weapons — nukes.

Continuing to arm Ukraine so that it can fight Russia down to the last Ukrainian on behalf of Nato (and perhaps after that using Poles to do the job) sets the scene for the conflict to become a regional war or worse.

Realistically, the war is not going the way Nato hoped and promised. The Russian economy has not collapsed, Russia has not run out of missiles, the Russian people have not overthrown their government, and the majority of the world has not turned its back on Russia, which is in the process of securing new trading partners and even sympathisers to offset the effects of any Western sanctions.

The conflict has also shown that the world (including major players such as China, India, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia) is not united behind the West. Indeed, 19 more countries are now seeking to join the Brics group of emerging economies. It would be easy, even convenient, for the US to pull back on funding Ukraine should the upcoming Ukrainian offensive not deliver the promised gains.

After all, 2024 is an election year, a greater number of US politicians are becoming uneasy at Biden’s blank cheque to Ukraine, and frankly sending billions to fund a war abroad rather than investing the money at home is not exactly a vote winner.

It would be tempting for the US to say “mission accomplished” and make the war in Ukraine Europe’s problem, leaving the EU to sort out the mess and come to a disadvantageous settlement with Russia.

It is critical that the anti-war movement, the trade union movement, and more broadly the left work with peace movements within Ukraine, Russia and beyond to call for a swift and just settlement to the war, in which the grievances of all sides are acknowledged.

Concurrently we must condemn rhetoric or action by any world leader that seeks to prolong the war in Ukraine whilst the people of Russia, Ukraine and Europe bear the human and economic cost of the conflict.

We need to be wary too, of forces both within Nato and beyond that are seeking to prolong the conflict in Ukraine for ideological reasons, due to the lucrative nature of war (not least for the arms industry), or for personal ambition.  https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/introducing-depleted-uranium-ukraine-conflict-needless-escalation-war-has-no-winners

May 18, 2023 Posted by | depleted uranium, Ukraine | 1 Comment

Should SC have canceled Plant Summer? Yes, and Ga. should have canceled, too

 https://www.postandcourier.com/columbia/opinion/should-sc-have-canceled-plant-summer-yes-and-ga-should-have-canceled-too/article_a298d894-f34c-11ed-8647-cfd2ea480900.html By Patty Durand 17 My 23

In a recent Post and Courier opinion piece, author Kevin Fisher quoted an Atlanta Journal-Constitution headline, “Georgia Power began splitting atoms on Monday at one of its two new nuclear units at Plant Vogtle.” In his piece, he expressed regret that SCANA and Santee Cooper botched and then abandoned Plant Summer, costing ratepayers about $9 billion while getting nothing in return.

It might seem logical to think that spending $9 billion for something you did not receive meant the decision to stop was wrong, but in the case of Plant Summer, it was absolutely the right decision. Rather than taking up space here, please type “sunk cost fallacy” into any search engine after you read this article.

People who wish South Carolina had not canceled Plant Summer must not realize how much trouble Georgians are in over the cost of Plant Vogtle. Now approaching $40 billion, it is the most expensive power plant ever built on earth.

As Georgia Power continues to rack up billions of dollars of cost overruns for Plant Vogtle, botched is hardly a strong enough word to describe this project. According to documents filed at the Georgia Public Service Commission prepared by independent construction monitors, issues plaguing the project include unachievable schedules, a culture of poor work inspections, failure to document progress, violation of IEEE standards and component failure rates of 80 percent. Failure to adopt lessons learned has also been a bedrock theme.

Although Georgia officials like to say zero carbon energy is a benefit of Plant Vogtle, let’s be clear: reduced carbon emissions were not why this plant was built. Georgia has no renewable energy goals and last July the Ga PSC authorized 2300 MW of new natural gas generation. Georgia doesn’t even track carbon emissions.

This plant happened because Georgia Power’s business model rewards capital investment, a perverse incentive that results in overbuilding and delivers rich profits. Georgia Power has already earned billions of dollars in early profits just for construction financing costs from riders on electricity bills. Once both reactors begin operating Georgia Power bills are expected to increase a shocking 20 percent for 60 years to pay for it.

For a state already in the top 10 for high power bills and energy poverty, these increases will be more than many people can bear.

Since South Carolina has half the population of Georgia, state officials knew that billions of dollars of cost overruns for Plant Summer would have been divided over a small number of customers and electricity rate increases would have been unbearable. That is why officials wisely canceled Plant Summer.

And look at what South Carolina has accomplished since Plant Summer was canceled: The 2014 landmark energy bill known as the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) program has flourished in ways it would not have with the heavy costs and distractions of building a nuclear power plant which crowds out other investments.

In 2023 South Carolina is a top 10 state for affordable electric bills and is ranked 13th nationally for rooftop solar. Georgia is the opposite: we are a top 10 state for most expensive electric bills and in 43rd place for rooftop solar — practically last. Rooftop solar is too expensive for almost everyone since Georgia officials do nothing to support it, so customers are forced to pay big electricity bills profiting Georgia Power. Once construction costs are added to the rates Georgia Power bills will become the highest in the nation because of Plant Vogtle. This is the fate South Carolina avoided by cancelling Plant Summer.

South Carolina officials who made the tough call to cancel Plant Summer in 2017 should be thanked for that decision. Utility officials who lied about Plant Summer’s progress were held accountable, while utility officials in Georgia similarly providing false schedule updates and cost estimates have had no accountability.

And by the way? The “splitting of atoms” at Plant Vogtle’s Unit 3 that began April 1 is no longer occurring. This unit shut down May 5, for the second time in the past month, for safety failures. Cost overruns continue.

Patty Durand is founder of Cool Planet Solutions and is a candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission.

May 18, 2023 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Poland’s Greens oppose construction of small nuclear reactor in Kraków

MAY 17, 2023  https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/05/17/polands-greens-opposes-construction-of-small-nuclear-reactor-in-krakow/

The Greens (Zieloni), who are part of Poland’s largest opposition grouping, have raised concern over the proposed construction of a nuclear small modular reactor (SMR) in Kraków.

They argue that the technology, which is still in development, is not sufficiently tested and produces large amounts of nuclear waste. They have called for investment in renewables instead.

Last month, state energy firm Orlen announced that it would by the end of this year announce 20 potential locations for the SMRs that it is developing in partnership with a group of American and Canadian corporations and with financing from US government agencies.

Of the seven potential sites unveiled already, one is in the Nowa Huta district of Kraków. Yesterday, two Green MPs, Małgorzata Tracz and Klaudia Jachira, organised a protest against those plans, saying that “no one has asked residents of Kraków for their opinion”.

Jachira noted that SMRs are still an experimental technology and “there is no evidence whether they work and what the risks are”, reports Gazeta Krakowska. Tracz cited research from Stanford University indicating that SMRs produce up to nine times more radioactive waste per unit of energy than large reactors.

The pair called for Orlen to provide more information on the costs and benefits of SMRs, to explain how waste will be managed, and to hold consultations with residents.

In response, Orlen Synthos Green Energy, which is responsible for developing the SMRs, noted that. while Nowa Huta is among the preferred locations. no final decision has been made.

“Following studies and consultations with local authorities, [we] will spend two years studying in detail the possibility of building a small nuclear unit in Nowa Huta,” said the firm. “Once the potential is confirmed, priority will be given to inviting local communities to dialogue. Only on this basis will decisions be taken.”

May 18, 2023 Posted by | EUROPE, politics | Leave a comment

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