nuclear-news

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

Japanese govt passes law to prop up TEPCO company

Japan Passes Law Supporting Stricken Nuclear Plant’s Operator, NYT 3 Aug 11, By , TOKYO — Japan’s Parliament passed a law on Wednesday that will allow the use of public funds to shore up the company operating thecrippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and help it pay what is expected to amount to billions of dollars in compensation claims.

The law creates a state-backed fund that will pay damages to victims of the disaster at the plant, where three reactors melted down and spewed radiation after cooling systems were lost in the March tsunami and quake. The government will initially pay nearly $26 billion into the fund, Banri Kaieda, the trade minister, told lawmakers on Tuesday….http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/world/asia/04japan.html

August 4, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Japan’s PM slams ‘cosy relationship’ between regulators and nuclear industry

Japan’s leader rips nuclear regulators  – The Boston Globe,  August 1, 2011 TOKYO – Japan’s prime minister criticized the country’s nuclear safety agency yesterday for allegedly trying to plant questions aimed at supporting atomic energy at public forums.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was siding with the industry rather than acting as a regulator. He said that underscored a cozy relationship and the deep-rooted problem that must be corrected following the March 11 tsunami and the nuclear crisis. “NISA, which is supposed to check nuclear safety to represent the interest of the general public, provided support for the promoters. It was more than just a help, if true,’’ Kan said at an energy symposium.

Kan’s comment followed a government report showing NISA allegedly tried to manipulate public opinion at town meetings to promote nuclear power.  Public support for nuclear energy has eroded since the March disaster that crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant….Japan’s leader rips nuclear regulators – The Boston Globe

August 1, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

USA now has the option to turn away from nuclear energy

 the options are many. By simply eliminating the energy wasted by inefficient houses lacking proper insulation, by upgrading our appliances and taking other common sense efficiency measures, the country could cut its energy needs in half…….

 the country passed a historic milestone recently in which for the first time the cost of electricity per kilowatt generated by solar cells dropped below the cost of nuclear energy. And that is by the industry’s own measures.

Specter of nuclear waste dump returns to WNC, Macon County News, , 28 July 2011  by Christopher Carpenter “…….Nukes: Who needs ’em?  According to Olson, the country has reached a crossroad and has several big decisions to make. “Do we build more reactors? Do we shut down the ones we have? Do we keep the waste where it has been produced and where it has been kept for decades? Or do we start moving it around?” Continue reading →

July 29, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Why nuclear and renewable energy cannot co-exist

Our entire electricity market system is now being rigged to provide a wholly unjustifiable continuing subsidy to the nuclear industry, while doing a lot less than is required to promote renewables and absolutely nothing to put efficiency at the heart of that reform process.

Why the UK must choose renewables over nuclear: an answer to Monbiot by    26 July 2011  guardian.co.uk, “……….Can nuclear and renewables not co-exist?   For me, there are four main reasons why co-existence has become a foolish pipedream.

1) The lobbying position of the nuclear industry itself  Until the middle of 2009, the nuclear industry’s public position was a “both/and” position – with room for both renewables and nuclear. Since then, however, nuclear industry leaders have become increasingly vocal in arguing that if the UK government persists with its target of generating 15% of energy from renewables by 2020 (which means at least 35% of our electricity from renewables), then the nuclear industry will suffer very severely. Continue reading →

July 28, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | 1 Comment

Seeking a new and democratic reform of Japan’s energy system

We now need to find viable alternatives to nuclear power. It is clearly necessary to make greater use of alternative power sources, such as renewable energy, small gas-powered turbines and surplus power from independent generators installed by companies and rooftop solar panels at households……replace the centralized generation approach with a decentralized system based on distributed energy facilities 

To promote such dispersed generation, transmission services should be separated from the production of electric power to ensure fairer operations

EDITORIAL/ Seeking a society without nuclear power generation: Let consumers regain leadership in developing energy policy, The Asahi Shimbun, July 13

This is the last of a five-part editorial series proposing ways for Japan to achieve a society that does not depend on nuclear power generation for its energy supply. Continue reading →

July 24, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Majority of Japanese want nuclear power to finish

Japanese support PM’s call to do away with nuclear power: poll, Jul 24, 2011, (Reuters) – More than two-thirds of Japanese support Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s call to do away with nuclear power, a media poll showed on Sunday, underscoring growing opposition to atomic energy in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant Continue reading →

July 24, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

All radioactive beef to be bought by Japanese govt?

Government may buy all radioactive beef, Asahi.com 23 July 11, The central government is considering buying all beef with levels of radioactive cesium exceeding government standards in an effort to try to address rising consumer concern and falling prices for Japanese beef. Continue reading →

July 23, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Squabble dividing Nuclear Regulatory Commissioners along partisan lines

Split Within Nuclear Regulatory Agency, NYT, By   21 July 11, WASHINGTON — A majority of the five-member Nuclear Regulatory Commission is signaling that it wants to move slowly on at least some new recommendations from its staff on how to reduce the chance of a Fukushima-type accident at an American reactor despite calls by its chairman for swift action.Three commissioners are resisting a proposal by the chairman, Gregory B. Jaczko, that the commission act promptly on all the recommendations, which were issued last week by a team of six senior staff members…… Continue reading →

July 21, 2011 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Fukushima Prefecture will abandon nuclear power

Fukushima to scrap nuclear plants, Japan Times, 17 July 11, Prefecture vows to shift from atomic to renewable energy, The about-face came after Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s declaration Wednesday of pursuing a society free from dependence on nuclear energy and is expected to affect the policies of other prefectures that host atomic plants. Kyodo

On June 27, Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato specified his change in policy from tolerance of nuclear plants before the disaster, saying he concluded that Fukushima should pursue a society that does not depend on nuclear energy.

Fukushima may be the first prefecture with nuclear plants to vow to eliminate them, an official at the Natural Resources and Energy Agency said…..

The vision calls for promoting renewable energy sources instead of nuclear energy, overcoming the present nuclear crisis and building a society invulnerable to disasters.

The prefecture will officially adopt the reconstruction vision in early August

FUKUSHIMA — Fukushima Prefecture vowed to shift away from nuclear power plants in its vision compiled Friday for reconstruction after the March 11 quake and tsunami….http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110716a4.html

.

July 19, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Doubts on when, or IF, Japan’s idled nuclear reactors will restart

Restart schedule for idled nuclear reactors still in limbo, Mainichi Daily News, Japan July 16, 2011 The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency’s draft plan for two-stage stress tests on Japan’s nuclear reactors does not state how long the first stage of the assessments will take, making it impossible to predict when currently idled reactors can be restarted.

The government agency simply said timing for the restart of reactors idled for regular inspections or shut down in the aftermath of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant depends on the investigative reports to be submitted by nuclear plant operators. Furthermore, Prime Minister Naoto Kan and three Cabinet members will decide whether to allow any of the idled reactors to be restarted. Continue reading →

July 16, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

USA Republicans use budget Bill to promote Grand Canyon uranium mining

The Interior spending bill now goes to the full House for approval. If it passes — as expected, on a largely party-line vote — the Senate should make certain that none of the anti-environmental provisions survive in the final appropriations bill. And President Obama should veto any legislation that includes them.

EDITORIAL: Protect the Grand Canyon, House Republicans target a mining moratorium, Register Guard,  July 14, Congressional Republicans are continuing their assault on the nation’s environmental safeguards with a proposal to reverse a recently imposed 20-year ban on mining 1 million acres bordering the Grand Canyon.

Democrats were unable to strip this rapacious proposal from an Interior spending bill that was approved Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee. Never mind that 3,500 mining claims have been filed in the Grand Canyon area alone. Never mind that uranium mining would generate toxic wastes that would pollute the Colorado River, on which millions of Americans rely for drinking water. Continue reading →

July 15, 2011 Posted by | politics, Uranium, USA | 2 Comments

UK’s Chris Huhne two faced on nuclear energy subsidies

Do Chris Huhne’s proposed reforms subsidise nuclear energy? 14 July, 2011   Matt Lech, Full Fact.org, Following the publication of the Electricity Market Reform White Paper on 12 July, the issue of subsidies to nuclear power resurfaced in the House of Commons as Chris Huhne addressed the Commons.

Labour MP Paul Flynn asked, “Can the Minister really say that he is going ahead without subsidy? He seemed to be saying today, “We’re going to have subsidies for all nuclear and new nuclear, but call them something else.”….

according to Encyclopædia Britannica, price floors are considered “indirect” subsidies, which arise when governments, among other actions, “maintain higher prices through manipulation of markets”. Other forms of indirect subsidy include price ceilings, tariffs, and tax concessions.

It is important to reiterate that the price floor doesn’t only benefit nuclear energy, but all low-carbon energy providers. Nuclear energy will benefit more than other low-carbon sources, though, because it produces more electricity….http://fullfact.org/blog/chris_huhne_nuclear_energy_subsidy-2822
— 

July 14, 2011 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

Powerful nuclear clique opposes Japan Prime Minister’s renewable energy push

 Kan told reporters yesterday. “We should reduce nuclear dependency in a planned, step-by-step manner and eventually we can do without atomic energy.”

“Japan’s nuclear village is worried and they’re extremely well connected,” Kingston, head ofTemple University’s Asian Studies program at its Tokyo campus, said in a phone interview. “They’re out to get Kan and it’s not because he’s that incompetent. What worries them is that he’s been making provocative statements that trample on very powerful toes.”….“All these things hit at the heart of the nuclear village and they’re not going down without a fight,” said Kingston,

fight,” said Kingston,

Kan Takes on Japan’s ‘Nuclear Village’ in Renewable Energy Drive, Bloomberg, By Stuart Biggs and Kanoko Matsuyama – Jul 14, 2011   Toshinobu Hatsui’s protest against construction of a nuclear power plant split friends and families in his hometown. After the biggest atomic accident in 25 years, resentment has turned to gratitude. “Those of us who opposed the plant can finally be proud of what we did,” said Hatsui, a 62-year-old fisherman, Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Suspend Jaitapur nuclear plant, extend liability for reactor suppliers

Accusing the UPA government of not being transparent on the issue of nuclear power, Mr. Karat said it had “failed” to take people into confidence, especially after the nuclear crisis in Japan.

Mr. Raja demanded that the nuclear liability law be reformed to extend the liability to the supplier in case of design defect. 

Left demands suspension of work at Jaitapur nuke project, MUMBAI, juillet 13, 201, THE HINDU,  The Left parties on Wednesday demanded immediate suspension of work at the proposed 9900 mw Jaitapur nuclear power project and said it favoured an independent review of existing nuclear installations in the country. Continue reading →

July 13, 2011 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

Japan must reduce its reliance on nuclear power

Japan PM says must reduce dependence on nuclear power

* PM Kan apologises for confusion over stress tests

* Suggests future of nuclear business open to debate..

By Linda Sieg, TOKYO, July 12 (Reuters) – Japan has no choice but to reduce its reliance on nuclear power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Tuesday, as the country battles to end a four-month-old radiation crisis at a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.

The unpopular prime minister appears increasingly sensitive to growing public concern about nuclear power, but whether he oversees an overhaul of energy policy is in doubt as he has promised to resign, although he has not specified when.

“We must scrap the plan to have nuclear power contribute 53 percent (of electricity supply) by 2030 and reduce the degree of reliance on nuclear power,” Kan told the panel.

The crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Fukushima plant has sparked public debate over the role of nuclear power in quake-prone, resource-poor Japan, as well as immediate concerns about power shortages as 35 of the country’s 54 reactors are currently off-line.

A 2010 basic energy plan had called for boosting nuclear energy’s share of the electricity supply to 53 percent by 2030 by building at least 14 new reactors, but many politicians agree that is nearly impossible now given the growing public anxiety….http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/12/japan-nuclear-kan-idUSL3E7IC0EN20110712

July 12, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »