roadblock to nuclear power
The anti-carbon president creates a massive road block to nuclear power and carbon reduction Dallas Morning News Andrew Smith 7 March 09 President Obama’s budget nearly eliminates funding for the planned nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Without a storage facility, spent fuel created at each nuclear plant will stay in “temporary” storage at the plant that created it — probably for decades to come. This state of affairs doesn’t necessarily prevent the construction of new nuclear plants, but it certainly reduces the odds of such construction — possibly to the vanishing point.
Waste Texas
Waste Texas The Texas Observer 7 March 09 Peggy Pryor grew up the poor daughter of a roughneck, maligned as “oilfield trash,” but she prides herself on having good horse sense. For more than a decade, this feisty West Texas woman has seen something terribly wrong with plans to turn a former ranch near her hometown into the final resting place for massive amounts of radioactive and hazardous waste. Not too many years ago, Pryor could be found raising hell trying to stop the dump. These days, she’s more or less resigned to the inevitable.
“I still protest every once in a while,” she says. But in the end, “I don’t think I did anything other than scream and yell, and cause them to have a little headache.”
The corporation Pryor tried to fight, Waste Control Specialists LLC, owned by Dallas billionaire and major Republican donor Harold Simmons, has spent the last 20 years pulling political, business, and regulatory strings to do what no other company in the nation has been able to do in three decades: license and build a new radioactive waste dump. Waste Control has lobbied successfully for a change in state law to privatize radioactive waste disposal, muscled out more experienced competitors, beaten back environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists, and—perhaps most remarkably—turned the majority of Andrews’ citizens into the dump’s fiercest boosters.
The company now has in hand—a technicality or two notwithstanding—two licenses to bury about 60 million cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste at a site near the Texas-New Mexico line 30 miles west of Andrews. Much of the waste will be radioactive for millions of years; projected profits have been estimated in the billions…………………………..Waste Control prevailed. In 2003, after several failed attempts, the company finally convinced the Texas Legislature, lubricated by campaign contributions and a team of lobbyists, to change state law to allow a private outfit to handle radioactive waste. With that accomplished, Waste Control spent the next five years navigating an environmental and safety review by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that Waste Control President Rod Baltzer calls “one of the most rigorous reviews in the history of mankind.”That process is now almost complete. Andrews is on its way to becoming the nation’s preeminent radioactive waste destination. Still, the company is chafing at the limitations imposed by the disposal licenses.
For Pryor, the idea of letting a for-profit company handle, transport, and bury waste that will remain dangerous for tens of thousands of years is crazy at best. State engineers and geologists largely agree. (See “Good to Glow,” April 4, 2008) They’ve publicly predicted the landfill will contaminate groundwater and pose unacceptable risks to residents. At least three state experts have quit the environmental commission in the past two years to protest what they see as politically motivated fast-tracking of Waste Control’s licenses.
“Nuclear waste coming soon to an interstate near you”
Nuclear waste coming soon to an interstate near you The Register Guard By Jack Dresser – Mar 4, 2009, Pasco, Wash., is an exceptionally clean, well-kept little city. But as many unhappy homeowners and investors now realize, when something looks too good, you’d better look more closely. Pasco is the gateway to the most contaminated nuclear site in the Western Hemisphere……………………
The Nov. 17 hearing presented a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on the energy department’s earlier proposal to develop a “Global Nuclear Energy Partnership” presented in May, 2007 at the same locations. The DOE snuck in its mandated hearings far from our population centers, with short and little notice. For good reason.
Under the GNEP plan, nuclear fuel would be produced in the U.S. and other advanced nuclear nations through a reprocessing technology that is yet to be developed. The cost is undisclosed but substantial. Nuclear fuel would be provided to developing countries for their nuclear energy development. In return, we would receive their waste for further reprocessing — an international recycling system that would keep the big boys in control of weapons-grade nuclear material production. The DOE claims the reprocessing site isn’t yet selected, but the inside word is that it’s Hanford.
Most of the waste would be shipped by truck or train through Oregon, primarily along the Interstate 5 and Interstate 84 corridors………………………In contrast to the local news, the deceptively soothing DOE handouts had brief and carefully worded descriptions, touting nuclear as an energy source that doesn’t pollute the air (never mind the Earth and water). And its proposed system will allegedly be “proliferation-resistant” (not proliferation-secure), making nuclear materials “nearly impossible” (not impossible) to divert without detection. They were clearly hedging their pledges, and it wasn’t reassuring.
‘Keep out nuclear ships’:
‘Keep out nuclear ships’04/03/2009 News 24 (SA)
Cape Town – An anti-nuclear group has urged the South African government to make sure that two vessels carrying what is reportedly the biggest ever shipment of plutonium stay out of its waters.
“What we don’t want is an accident at sea where we as a country have to carry the consequences,” said Mike Kantey, chairman of the Coalition Against Nuclear Energy, on Tuesday.
The heavily armed Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Heron left Barrow-in-Furness in the north-west of England last week.
They will collect their freight – a load of MOX nuclear fuel containing what environmentalists say are 1800kg of plutonium – at Cherbourg in France, then head for Japan.
The route around the Cape is one of a number of possible routes the ships – which have been barred from the Suez Canal – may use.
In previous years the Pintail has used the Cape route when carrying nuclear materials……………………….The MOX on the two ships is intended for use at reactors of three Japanese power companies.
33 Towns Support Closing Of Nuke Plant – News- msnbc.com
33 Towns Support Closing Of Nuke Plant msnbc 4 March 09 Non-Binding Resolution Speaks To Bigger Picture Thirty-nine communities around the state voted on whether or not they think the nuclear power plant’s license should be extended, and most of those communities voted an overwhelming “no.”
Towns Weigh In On VT Yankee Future Organizers of a campaign to close Vermont Yankee nuclear plant say 33 towns voted in favor a measure urging state lawmakers to pull the plug on it.
The non-binding resolution was passed Tuesday at town meetings in Brattleboro, Brookline, Calais, Charlotte, Corinth, Charleston, Craftsbury, Dummerston, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Greensboro, Guilford, Halifax, Hinesburg, Holland, Lincoln, Marshfield, Middlesex, Marlboro, Montpelier, Newfane, Plainfield, Putney, Richmond, Shrewsbury, Townshend, Tunbridge, Warren, Westfield, Westminster, Windham, Woodbury and Worcester……………………….The vote was an advisory vote, which means that the Legislature has no obligation to act on its results.
Nuclear power: Unacceptable risk
Last week the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) threw its weight behind the opposition to the proposed rehabilitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. It rejected the opening of the nuclear plant as “the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity.” It said multiple risks and the possibility of corruption (again!) outweigh imagined benefits.
We join the CBCP and other groups opposing the opening of the nuclear power plant because we believe that nuclear power is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity. Greenpeace and other organizations have made a strong case against nuclear power plants:
Nuclear power produces radioactive waste that remains dangerous for tens of thousands of years. No proven solution exists for dealing with radioactive waste.
The technology of generating electricity from nuclear fission can also be used to produce nuclear weapons.
Nuclear power plants are a target for terrorist attacks.
Nuclear power is not carbon free. Fossil fuels are needed to run the nuclear cycle, from mining uranium ore to disposing of the radioactive waste.
Nuclear power is expensive and nuclear plants take a long time to build……………..Developments in the field of energy are moving in the right direction. In November 2000 the world recognized nuclear power as a dirty, dangerous and unnecessary technology by refusing to give it greenhouse gas credits during the UN Climate Change talks in The Hague. In April 2001, the world dealt nuclear power another blow when the UN Sustainable Development Conference refused to label nuclear power a sustainable technology.
Greenpeace has rightly said that nuclear power “belongs in the dustbin of history.” There are many safe, renewable, reliable and less expensive sources of energy. Why not study these alternatives, and find out which can be adopted in our country?
Slovenia: Erjavec Worried By Waste, Optimistic About Renewables (interview)
Erjavec Worried By Waste, Optimistic About Renewables (interview)
Ljubljana, 2 March (STA) – Discussing Slovenia’s major environmental challenges with STA, Environment Minister Karl Erjavec highlighted the problem of waste disposal, transport and the need to curb energy consumption.
The rest of this news item is available to subscribers.
Catholic bishops reject nuclear power plant revival
CBCP rejects nuclear power plant revivalRecommends Bataan facility ‘must be dismantled’ Philippine Daily Inquirer 02/27/2009
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has thrown its weight behind the opposition to rehabilitating the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
In a pastoral statement, the CBCP urged Congress to “completely and irrevocably reject the opening of the nuclear plant as the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity.”
The statement was issued by the CBCP president, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
“Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits. We recommend with other anti-BNPP congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will be most hazardous to health and life of the people,” read the CBCP statement.
CBCP rejects nuclear power plant revival – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany with 52 kilometres of light
15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany Sydney Indymedia February 27th, 2009 by Diet SimonBy Diet Simon Despite icy weather and light rain some 15,000 Germans demonstrated against nuclear power generation their Thursday evening, our early Friday morning, with a chain of light 52 kilometres long.The route linked Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel and Salzgitter in the north, an area that contains two frighteningly failing underground nuclear waste dumps, Asse II and Morsleben, and another to start operating in 2013, Schacht Konrad in Salzgitter.Although most protesters were from the region, people travelled from all over Germany to the demo, called by trade unions, churches, advocacy groups, local governments, neighbourhood associations, firms, farmers with their tractors, to protest against irresponsible handling of nuclear waste……………………..
The anti-nuclear movement is particularly incensed about a recently passed law that will have taxpayers footing the bill for nuclear dumps although the waste in them was produced by power companies, which will not be paying.
If waste disposal costs were completely factored into the power price, opponents say, the legend of cheap nuclear electricity would be blown away.
15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany with 52 kilometres of light | Sydney Indymedia
Iran and USA – new approach needed
Iran and USA – new approach needed
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcast: 26/02/2009
……….ROBERT BAER:………………………President Obama is moving tentatively to open up serious dialogue with Iran, but that process could be a long, slow one. And if further evidence emerges that Iran is moving closer to nuclear weapons capacity, he would come under pressure to act pre-emptively…………………………….what’s happened is that the United States looks at the Middle East through Israel. And the Arabs and the Persians look at Israel as an outpost of the United States of the West. We’ve lost this anti-colonial game and the Iranians have won it. They’ve simply portrayed themselves as not as religious fanatics, but as an anti-colonial power. And everybody in the Middle East, you look at the polls across the board, even countries like Morocco, which are entirely Sunni, look to Tehran as the great anti-imperial power. We’ve lost the ideological war. You know, that doesn’t mean we lost the war entirely, but we’ve lost the ideological war, but by bringing Iran to the negotiating table; by implementing Resolution 242; closing the settlements in the West Bank; getting the Israelis to a position where they don’t have to feel they have to bomb Gaza; will normalise relations in the Middle East…………. It’s a military dictatorship and any military conflict can be negotiated. Ideological ones cannot be…………………………….The nuclear weapons is a red herring in this conflict with Iran because the Iranians are not going to build a bomb now. I’m almost convinced of it. In as much as you can predict anything, they are not going to build and test a bomb now. It causes them too much problems – too many problems – they’ve gained too much. There would be international embargo, sanctions and on and on. Even Russia and China would back away. Nuclear bomb – they don’t need one right now, it’s just a way to get us to the negotiating table. But the major point is they’re not going to commit suicide. If the Iranians wanted to commit suicide, they could have done it long ago in the Gulf. Started a war with the United States. And they’re not going to start one with Israel either.
What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds
What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds Saudi Gazette Patrick Seale 26 February 2009 A WASHINGTON consensus is emerging about the necessity of talking to Iran – sooner rather than later. President Barack Obama has spoken of reaching out to the Islamic Republic, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has responded by expressing a readiness to talk. He has even written a letter to Obama congratulating him on his election. This must surely be taken as a signal of a coming thaw.Both sides recognize that, after 30 years of stubborn mutual hostility, the time for dialogue has arrived. It may still be premature to expect an early restoration of diplomatic relations, but the opening of a US-staffed interests section in Tehran seems a likely prospect…………………..Several developments seem to be driving the US and Iran to the negotiating table. Of these, probably the most important is Iran’s progress in enriching uranium. Although it denies any intention to manufacture nuclear weapons, Iran’s scientific and technological achievement suggests that it is on the ‘threshold’ of becoming a nuclear power. But it is by no means certain that it will choose to take that extra step.
America’s interest lies in persuading Iran to go no further, while Iran’s interest is to go just far enough to deter any would-be attacker, but not so far as to arouse the fears of its neighbors, and incur the problems and responsibilities of actually becoming a nuclear power.
Saudi Gazette – What the coming dialogue between US-Iran holds
: Bill would put uranium mining under microscope
Bill would put uranium mining under microscope 25 Feb 2009 Gallup Independent By Bill Donovan — The New Mexico House barely passed a bill Monday that calls for the creation of a task force to look into uranium mining in the state…………………….
State Rep. Patty Lundstrom, D-McKinley County, said the bill calls for the task force to prepare a report by October on the feasibility of bringing uranium mining back to the state. All of the Gallup area representatives, with the exception of Sandra Jeff, voted in favor of the bill, said Lundstrom.
The task force would also look into existing state laws, she said, to make sure that they are adequate in handling the problems that could arise out of uranium mining.
“The uranium industry fought to keep this resolution from passing,” Lundstrom said. “They don’t want this kind of scrutiny.”
Independent – February 24, 2009: Bill would put uranium mining under microscope
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ Philippines
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily InquirerFirst 02/24/2009 – “…………………if anyone has reason to fear the presence of an operational nuclear power plant, that would be the people living near it, who would arguably be the first to feel the effects — including being killed — as a result of any accident, mishap or neglect involved in running the plant.
Yesterday, residents of Bataan, among them members of the Catholic clergy and hierarchy, took part in a rally against the plant’s reopening. The march and rally drew various sectors from all corners of Bataan, among them youth and parish delegations and civil society groups, converging at the Balanga Cathedral…………………………..If the intent is to delay or reverse the effects of global warming
, then reviving the BNPP makes little sense, avers Green Peace. Said Baconguis: “Our congressmen must face the simple, indisputable facts: 1) Nuclear power is the most dangerous way to generate electricity, there is also no known scientific solution to safely storing plutonium and its deadly radioactive waste-product which remains radiotoxic for 200,000 years; 2) it is the most expensive source of power: aside from pricey construction costs, nuclear power involves expenses for decommissioning, as well as storage for nuclear waste, each of which can cost as much as a new power plant; 3) it cannot solve climate change — the contribution it can potentially make is negligible, especially if you consider that the processing of uranium as fuel uses so much electricity; and 4) importing more fuel, in this case uranium, is not the way to achieve energy security.”
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
12 million Euro a year for high level radioactive waste
12 million Euro a year for high level radioactive waste typicallyspanish.com Feb 24 Residents of Yebra say they do not want a nuclear waste cemetery on their doorstep…………………..The Government has not announced any final decision for the site, but the Ministry for Industry has been looking for local town halls who would be prepared to host such a site, in exchange for extra funding, placed at as much as 12 million € a year.
Local farmers and other residents have now started to put up posters against the plan, after hearing from Ecologistas en Acción that the Mayor has shown interest in the deal.
The so called ATC, Temporary Centralised Warehouse, will be the first such site to accept high level radioactive waste.
Environmentalists fight planned nuclear plant
San Antonio Business Journal Feb 23
Environmental groups throughout Texas are lining up to oppose the South Texas Nuclear Operating Co.’s plans to build two additional reactors at its plant near Bay City, Texas.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has filed notice in the Federal Register giving citizens the ability to challenge the proposed reactors. Groups have 60 days to oppose the proposed expansion of the nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission must still grant a license to build the new reactors.
Environmental groups planning to formally oppose the project include the newly formed Bay City-based South Texas Association for Responsible Energy (STARE), the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition, and Public Citizen………………………..
“New reactors would saddle homeowners and taxpayers with additional debt for infrastructure, more radioactive waste that would sit in our community, and more risk of nuclear accidents, health impacts and radioactive exposure,” contends Susan Dancer, executive director of STARE. “These are among the many reasons we will intervene in opposition to more nuclear reactors.”
“There are cleaner, more affordable ways to generate electricity,” says Cindy Wheeler of the Consumers’ Energy Coalition in San Antonio. “With the economic downturn, we shouldn’t generate power that’s not needed. San Antonio has reduced energy use by 16 percent over the past two years.”
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Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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