France’s General Assembly likely to block the return of Pacific atolls to indigenous people
FRANCE EXPECTED TO BLOCK RETURN OF NUCLEAR ATOLLS , Pacific Islands Report Test veterans concerned about condition of sites WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Radio New Zealand International, Jan.20, 2012) – French Polynesia’s nuclear test veterans organisation says it expects France’s centre-right majority in the National Assembly to block a bill seeking the return of the nuclear weapons tests sites to French Polynesia.
The leftist majority in the French senate approved the bill by Richard Tuheiava who wants Paris to return Moruroa and Fangataufa in 2014 in line with an undertaking that France would only keep the atolls for the duration of the tests.
However, the French government claims confidential defence issues remain.
The head of Moruroa e tatou veterans group, Roland Oldham, says this prevents an independent assessment of the atolls which are feared to collapse with the release of radioactive plutonium.
“For Moruroa e tatou it is very important. In fact right now Moruroa and Fangataufa are forbidden places for the public; it is a military place. And because it is a military place we don’t have much information about the situation of Moruroa.”
[PIR editor’s note: Veterans groups are also concerned that France does not allow independent inspectors to visit the atolls.]
Roland Oldham says he expects the ruling UMP to block the bill once it gets to the French National Assembly. Radio New Zealand International: www.rnzi.comhttp://pidp.eastwestcenter.org/pireport/2012/January/01-23-15.htm
TEPCO nuclear company to be nationalised, saved from bankruptcy
TEPCO ‘to be nationalised’ for 10 years, SKY News, January 21, 2012 The operator of Japan’s crippled nuclear power plant will be effectively nationalised for at least 10 years under a plan to provide it with money to fund compensation payouts, a report said Saturday.
The funding from a public body is expected to inject Y1 trillion yen ($A12.48 billion) into Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), effectively putting it under state control, Kyodo reported quoting sources close to the matter.
The scheme is expected to be included in a comprehensive business plan to be finalised in March by TEPCO and the fund, named the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund, the report said.
Under the plan TEPCO will remain as a listed company, it added.
The funding body will receive money from special government bonds and contributions from other utilities which have nuclear power plants in Japan.
The business plan is aimed at preventing TEPCO from becoming insolvent due to the heavy costs stemming from the world’s worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster…..
A government panel has estimated claims from victims affected by the Fukushima crisis could reach 4.5 trillion yen by 2013…..
(TEPCO) will aim to get into the black in the year to March 2014 by raising household electricity charges and reactivate its idle nuclear reactors from early 2013, the news agency added. It is hoped that TEPCO would be able to exit effective state control
as early as in March 2022.
Commenting on the report, TEPCO spokeswoman Megumi Iwashita said: “Nothing has been decided up to date.” http://www.skynews.com.au/businessnews/article.aspx?id=709835&vId=
Continuation of Vermont Yankee Nuclear facility is far from certain
In fact, Vermont has the authority to make the standards even stricter if it so desires, which could prove to be a serious monkey wrench in Entergy’s plan to continue operation of Yankee.
The fat lady, Brattleboro Reformer, January 21, 2012 http://www.reformer.com/ci_19788006?source=most_viewed Though Federal District Court Judge J. Garvan Murtha came down emphatically on the side of Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, we don’t expect to be hearing the song of the fat lady any time too soon.
Murtha threw out Act 160, in which the Vermont Legislature gave itself the authority to forbid the Public Service Board from issuing a certificate of public good, which Yankee needs to continue operation past March 21.
By removing the Legislature from the equation, he remanded the case back to the PSB, which now will have the opportunity to reinitiate its deliberations over whether the CPG should be issued.
In another setback to the state, Judge Murtha also ruled that the reliability audit required by the Legislature to inform its decision on whether to allow the PSB to issue a CPG, was actually a radiological safety report. Therefore, the PSB can’t consider the audit in its review.
So while the PSB can’t base its decision on radiological health and safety, it has the authority to deny the CPG based on economics, land use and trustworthiness of the plant’s owner. Continue reading
Continuing radiation fallout danger from Fukushima nuclear disaster
Radiation used to be a word that evoked serious concern in a lot of people. However, the nuclear industry and its supporters have done a masterful job in allaying public fears about it. They do this in significant part by relying on outdated and highly questionable data collected on Japanese atom bomb survivors, while at the same time ignoring and dismissing inconvenient but much more relevant evidence that shows the actual harmful effects of radiation exposure from nuclear accidents.
neglecting to monitor the fallout will not make it go away. In fact, another enormous problem with radioactive contamination is that it bioaccumulates in the environment, which means it concentrates as it moves up the food chain. (Think of mercury in fish.) Because many radionuclides are so long-lived, this can be a problem for a very long time.
Fukushima Update: Why We Should (Still) Be Worried Business Insider, Russ Baker, WhoWhatWhy | Jan. 20, 2012, After the catastrophic trifecta of the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in Japan last March—what the Japanese are referring to as their 3/11—you would think the Japanese government would be doing everything in its power to contain the disaster. You would be wrong—dead wrong.
Instead of collecting, isolating, and guarding the millions of tons of radioactive rubble that resulted from the chain reaction of the 9.0 earthquake, the subsequent 45- to 50-foot wall of water that swamped the plant and disabled the cooling systems for the reactors, and the ensuing meltdowns, Japanese Environment Minister Goshi Hosono says that the entire country must share Fukushima’s plight by accepting debris from the disaster……
The enormous volume of waste is much more than the disaster areas can handle. So, in an apparent attempt to return this region to some semblance of normal life, the plan is to spread out the waste to as many communities across the country as will take it. Continue reading
A nuclear free Scotland would make England pay up for Trident submarine base
The nuclear issue is the one that concerns ministers most; where would the new Trident submarines be based, if not at Faslane on the Clyde?
SNP’s defence policies are ‘laughable’, says Philip Hammond, Nick Hopkins, guardian.co.uk, 19 January 2012 Defence secretary wades into the debate over devolution as the likely effects – and costs – of Scottish independence rattle the MoD.… The new defence secretary, Philip Hammond, is pretty choosy about the media he does, and on what subjects. Today, he went on the record over devolution, and the effects it might have on defence.
No wonder he was prepared to speak, and in such unusually fruity language for a man not known for rhetorical flourish.
He knows the ramifications for the military, and the Treasury, are enormous. The key themes for the SNP are easy enough to spell out – Scotlandwould not be a member of Nato and would be nuclear free. Continue reading
Scotland’s radioactive beach a political hazard for UK government
Mr Brown branded the “dumped” material an “undeniable hazard” for people living nearby.
He told MPs: “They are particles which should be removed quickly …and the urgent action is necessary not just because of risks to safety,
but because the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has now stated publicly that unless the Ministry of Defence brings forward a remedial plan for the area, the agency will designate Dalgety Bay as a radioactive contaminated piece of land and this will be the first and only land to be designated as radioactive contaminated in the UK and they say that they will nominate the Ministry of Defence as the culpable party.”
Brown urges beach radiation action Google News, (UKPA) 19 Jan 12, Gordon Brown has repeated his demand for a face-to-face a meeting with Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to discuss radiation poisoning. Continue reading
Israeli govt out of step with citizens on nuclear policy
Israelis Willing To Renounce Nuclear Weapons For Mideast Nuclear Free Zone – The Eurasia Review, by: Richard Silverstein January 17, 2012 Shibley Telhami recently released th eextraordinary results of a recent poll (seefull results) of Israeli public opinion about its country’s nuclear program and Iran’s. The answers to the poll’s questions showed rather amazing level of pragmatism regarding Israeli attitudes on the subject:
1. Israelis were almost equally divided on the issue of whether Israel should attack Iran, 43% favored a strike and 41% opposed.
2. 68% believe Iran will eventually develop nuclear weapons. This statistic isn’t surprising. But given this number the results of the following questions are.
3. 65% believe it is better for neither Israel NOR Iran to have nuclear weapons.
4. 60% favor inspections of all nuclear facilities in the region (including Israel’s) in preparation for a nuclear free zone.
5. 63% would favor all nations in the region (including their own) renouncing nuclear weapons in the context of creating a nuclear free zone.
6. 64% favor the creation of a Mideast nuclear free zone.
A separate poll released by Haaretz indicates that nearly 60% of Israelis believe that an attack on Iran will lead to a regional war involving Hezbollah and Hamas…….
Telhami’s poll also indicates just how out of sync the Israeli political leadership is with the body politic on this issue. Even before Israel attacks Iran, almost half the population thinks it would be a bad idea. In my experience, the leadership of a country that goes into a war with the citizens already divided on its efficacy is potentially in big trouble…….
Israel’s nuclear program is a huge irritant in the overall scheme of Israeli-Arab relations. It is one of the reasons (though not the only one) Iran is pursuing a nuclear program (whether or not its pursuing a nuclear weapon is undetermined). It is one of the greatest hypocrisies of Israel’s own claim of “existential threat” post by that country for having the chutzpah to want what Israel has in such great numbers. http://www.eurasiareview.com/17012012-israelis-willing-to-renounce-nuclear-weapons-for-mideast-nuclear-free-zone-oped/
Japan to pass landmark renewable energy law
Renewable Energy Boom About to Start in Japan, Oil Price.com By Energy Digital, 17 January 2012 Japan’s Parliament readies approval of an energy bill that will spark ‘explosive growth’ in renewable solar and wind
Solar and wind companies, set your sails for Japan! The country is about to pass a landmark bill into law that will see “explosive growth” in both solar and wind energy investment according to Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The bill is designed to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power, which accounts for roughly 30 percent of the country’s energy generation. Japanese lawmakers are readying to sign the bill into law by the end of August.
The bill has been developed and promoted by Prime Minister Kan himself, and seeks not only to move away from nuclear dependence, but also break the energy monopoly held by the country’s 10 major utilities.
The legislation calls for installed renewable energy capacity to rise by at least 20 percent of the country’s total power by the early 2020s.
The bill will require utilities to purchase power from outside providers, such as cooperatives and private companies. The rule aims to promote the use of alternative energy sources, which currently only make up 9 percent of Japan’s total electricity supply….. http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Renewable-Energy/Renewable-Energy-Boom-About-To-Start-In-Japan.html
Taiwan’s election may mean closure of nuclear power there
Vote Holds Fate of Nuclear Power in Taiwan, NYT By ANDREW JACOBS, January 12, 2012 TAIPEI, Taiwan — When voters here choose a president and a new legislature on Saturday, their decisions will also determine whether Taiwan pulls the plug on a state-backed nuclear power industry that provides the country with a fifth of its electricity.
Although the presidential race has mostly been about pocketbook concerns and, to a lesser extent, Taiwan’s relationship with China, the leading challenger has made the elimination of Taiwan’s reliance on nuclear energy a central plank of her campaign. Pollsters and analysts say that the challenger, Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, has a good chance of unseating the incumbent, Ma Ying-jeou, whose party has long been a reliable backer of nuclear energy.
In recent months, Ms. Tsai has vowed to retire the island’s six aging reactors and has said that she would seek to mothball a problem-plagued nuclear plant that has been under construction since the late 1990s. The plant, whose price tag has nearly doubled to $9.3 billion, was supposed to begin operating this year, but further delays appear likely.
“After Fukushima, our society has realized that nuclear power is not only expensive but also unsafe,” Ms. Tsai said……. Taiwan — an island devoid of oil, gas and coal reserves — appears to be losing its appetite for the atom. Last spring thousands of protesters in Taipei demanded an end to the construction of the latest plant, the Lungmen nuclear project, or Nuke 4. Soon afterward, one of Taiwan’s richest tycoons joined the antinuclear chorus: Chang Yung-fa, chairman of the Evergreen Group, one of the world’s largest shippers.
Opponents say that there are a number of active seismic faults across the island and that more than five million people in northern Taiwan live within an 18-mile radius of two nuclear plants. For the 23 million people living on an island the size of Maryland and Delaware combined, there would be few places to run in the event of a disaster.
“Taiwan is simply ill suited for nuclear energy,” said Tsui Shu-hsin, secretary general of the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance, which has been waging a lonely battle against atomic power……..
Scottish independence would mean moving Trident nuclear base
The vast majority of MSPs [members of the Scottish parliament], as well as the churches, trade unions, and civic society across the nation totally oppose Trident nuclear weapons being based in Scotland
Scots’ breakaway plan threatens nuclear base, FT.com By James Blitz, 13 Jan 12 Contingency plans to transfer Britain’s nuclear deterrent to England if Scotland declares independence are being examined by the Ministry of Defence.
Officials warn that London would demand billions in compensation from Edinburgh to fund the move. As Scotland prepares for a referendum on independence in the autumn of 2014, MoD officials said they had been studying the implications of a Yes vote for the deterrent – Trident nuclear missiles, carried by four Vanguard class submarines that operate from Faslane Naval Base in the Firth of Clyde.
Officials warn that the costs of moving the four submarines from Scotland to England would be immense, Continue reading
USA hypocrisy in nuclear sales to Middle East – arms race risk?
Nuclear trade agreements allow for U.S. companies to build reactors overseas or provide sensitive technologies, nuclear materials or know-how to recipient nations.
“I think the administration will pay lip service to the idea of [a nuclear trade partner] forgoing enrichment and reprocessing, but I would be very surprised if they made renunciation a hard condition of any agreement,” said nuclear expert Jeffrey Lewis.
serious concerns about the possibility that the entire region could be on the verge of a race to develop nuclear weapons.
Obama Team Reveals Nuclear Trade, Nonproliferation Decision on Capitol Hill, National Journal, By Elaine M. Grossman January 11, 2012 The Obama administration told key lawmakers by letter on Tuesday how it intends to pursue upcoming nuclear trade agreements with one or more partner states, and the decision was believed to shed light on whether such pacts would contain specific conditions aimed at discouraging the spread of nuclear weapons, Global Security Newswire has learned (see GSN, July 28, 2011).
Two senior Obama administration officials wanted to brief key lawmakers in person or by phone this week, but logistics proved impossible and a written notification was sent instead, according to sources.
Details were shrouded in secrecy even after the letters were sent to the chairs and ranking members of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees, but the outlines of a policy determination appeared to be emerging, sources and experts said. Continue reading
India’s Chief Ministers urged to support the people, not foreign nuclear corporations
Kudankulam: 3 women CMs urged to take steps to rescind all nuke deals DNA, Jan 9, 2012, Chennai PTI An anti-nuclear forum spearheading the stir against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant today requested women chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal to take steps to rescind all nuclear deals the Centre has signed with US, Russia, France and other nations.
In a letter to them, the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy urged ‘the three popular and bold leaders’ tobring it up at the coming chief ministers’ conference and take steps to rescind all such agreements signed with these three countries and other nations.
Alleging that these are affecting Indian fishermen, farmers, Dalit workers and other deprived sections, it said the country’s nuclear performance has been “quite dismal, insignificant and wasteful.”
“Even after spending so much money, resources, time and national energies for the past 63 years, they produce hardly 2.5% electricity and have done little for the betterment of our people,” the letter said. PMANE also alleged that the nuclear department meddles in national politics and that ‘invigorating this department further would lead only to slavery and not salvation.”
“As women leaders with motherly concern for the people who enjoy people’s trust and huge political mandate, you are the hopes of our country’s youth and children,” the letter signed by PMANE convenor SP Udayakumar said. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_knpp-3-women-cms-urged-to-take-steps-to-rescind-all-nuke-deals_1635185
New uranium mining banned near Grand Canyon
U.S. to Ban New Uranium Mining Near Grand Canyon, NYT, 6 Jan 12, By JOHN M. BRODER Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is expected to announce on Monday that he has approved a 20-year moratorium on new uranium mining claims in a million-acre buffer zone around the Grand Canyon.
The decision, which has been under consideration for nearly two years, would allow a small number of existing uranium and other hard rock mining operations in the region to continue while barring the new claims. In 2009 Mr. Salazar suspended new uranium claims on public lands surrounding the Grand Canyon for two years, overturning a Bush administration policy that encouraged thousands of new claims when the price of uranium soared in 2006 and 2007.
Many of the stakeholders are foreign interests, including Rosatom, Russia’s state atomic energy corporation.
The Interior Department took public comment and prepared an environmental impact statement before deciding to extend the moratorium for another 20 years…. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/u-s-to-ban-new-uranium-mining-near-grand-canyon/
Virginia delegate will vote to keep ban on uranium mining
Virginia delegate to vote no on lifting uranium mining moratorium WDBJ7.com, Justin Ward, January 5, 2012 DANVILLE, Va.— The first Virginia lawmaker to announce his vote on the uranium mining ban says his colleagues should consider his decision.
Delegate Don Merricks says he will vote against lifting the ban on uranium mining.
The proposal is expected to be introduced during the upcoming general assembly. Merricks says he’s read the studies but wants another year to research more site specific studies.
“I can not in good conscience vote to life the ban on this when there’s so many unknowns. We still have to narrow down and get focused and we got to get serious about what’s going to happen,” said 16th District Delegate Don Merricks.
Three studies about the socioeconomic and environmental impacts have been released but Merricks says none of them give him concrete answers to support mining in Pittsylvania County. http://www.wdbj7.com/news/blogs/wdbj7-virginia-delegate-will-vote-no-on-lifting-moratorium-on-uranium-mining-20120105,0,2566980.story
Despite public opposition, Spain’s aging nuclear plant may stay open
Spain ageing nuclear plant may stay open: report, By Martin Roberts; MADRID | Mon Jan 2, (Reuters) – Spain’s incoming centre-right government may allow an ageing nuclear plant to stay open beyond a 2013 deadline for closing set by its Socialist predecessors, a newspaper report said on Monday.
Environmentalist groups have protested that Spain is out of step with countries like Germany, which closed seven older nuclear plants after Japan’s Fukushima disaster last year and plans to shut the rest within a decade.
In 2009, then-premier Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ordered the Garona plant to close in 2013, by which point it will have been in operation two years more than a benchmark 40-year lifespan…. Running nuclear plants is profitable, however, and in their unsuccessful election
campaign the Socialists proposed introducing a windfall tax on them.
Spanish voters are generally opposed to nuclear power – which provides about 21 percent of the country’s electricity – and no new plants are planned…….
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