safety « nuclear-news

New Zealand makes a practical contribution to nuclear security

Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz NZ contributes to anti-nuclear fund By TRACY WATKINS in Ottawa 15 April 2010, ANTI-NUCLEAR PROJECT FUNDING New Zealand will contribute $685,000 to a Canadian-led project which aims to help prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological materials.The money will fund radiation detection equipment for a major Russian nuclear facility.The project was part of the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The funding was announced during a trip to Canada by Prime Minister John Key on his way home from President Obama’s two-day nuclear security summit.In a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr Key said the project was a practical way for New Zealand to reduce the risk of nuclear materials ending up in the wrong hands.New Zealand has committed almost $6 million to G8 Global Partnership projects since 2004. Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, safety | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Attempted illicit sales of uranium in Georgia

Georgia says foiled attempt to sell uranium, Israel News, Ynetnews: 04.14.10, Georgia said Tuesday it had foiled the attempted sale of bomb-grade uranium on the black market in March, the latest in what it said was a series of such cases over the past 10 years. Georgia disclosed the latest attempted illicit sale during a 47-nation nuclear security summit in Washington that aims to prevent terrorists and criminal gangs getting their hands on material that could be used to make a nuclear bomb. (Reuters) Georgia says foiled attempt to sell uranium – Israel News, Ynetnews

April 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, safety | antinuclear, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear near misses

Nuclear near misses,The Age, by Daniel Flitton, April 13, 2010. Nuclear near misses- THE most infamous accident involved a US Air Force B-52 bomber colliding with a refuelling aircraft at high-altitude above Palomares, Spain, in 1966. The bomber dropped two nuclear weapons – one fell to the ground, another into the Mediterranean, setting off what was described as ”the most expensive, intensive, harrowing and feverish underwater search for a man-made object in world history”. The other bomb exploded on impact. No nuclear detonation occurred, but radioactive plutonium was scattered across a wide area. Continue reading →

April 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

First shipment to USA of highly dangerous Highly Enriched Uranium

A team of Americans finally shipped it out last month just after the country’s massive earthquake, weaving a convoy of trucks around shattered highways in the middle of the night to reach a functioning port.

Chile gives its last weapons-grade uranium to US By MICHAEL WARREN and MEG KINNARD (AP) – Google News Hostimg 12 April”.…..”It” is highly enriched uranium 235, HEU for short. It’s the material that most worries anti-terrorism experts. Just 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of it in a nuclear bomb could devastate an entire city, in the same way the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Continue reading →

April 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Exelon nuclear power plant’s radiation monitor not working

Radiation monitor at Oyster Creek nuclear plant is inoperable, officials say NJ.com, By The Associated Press, April 10, 2010, A monitor that measures radiation emissions at the nation’s oldest operating nuclear plant has been found to be inoperable…….Exelon Corp., which owns the plant, recently notified the state Department of Environmental Protection about the problem. But it’s not clear how long the equipment — known as a stack monitor — has been out of service. Radiation monitor at Oyster Creek nuclear plant is inoperable, officials say | – NJ.com

April 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

As nuclear industry materials proliferate, the threat of nuclear terrorism is real

More than 1600 tonnes of highly enriched uranium and 500 tonnes of plutonium are estimated to have been produced worldwide for civilian and military use – enough material to build 120,000 nuclear bombs. Estimates vary as to how much of it remains unsecured and at risk of falling into terrorist hands……

Obama wrestles with nuclear nightmare that won’t go away Sydney Morning Herald ,SIMON MANN IN WASHINGTON, April 10, 2010 So, what if terrorists did get their hands on a nuclear weapon? It doesn’t bear thinking about. Except, thousands of people are thinking about it now. Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

al-Qaida seeking to have atomic bomb

US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat, Google hosted news, By ROBERT BURNS (AP) – 10 April 2010, WASHINGTON The Associated Press: US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat— The White House on Friday warned that al-Qaida is quietly hunting for an atomic bomb, Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Burn injuries from radioactive scrap metal

Radiation leak injures five in Delhi scrap shop EMOIZ.COM 10 April 2010, NEW DELHI: Five persons were admitted in a local hospital with burn injuries and other ailments after continuous exposure to radiation at a scrap dealers shop in West Delhi.A 1-kilometre radius around the shop has been cordoned off as a precautionary measure, a senior officer said.

According to the officer, the five victims slept at the scrap dealers shop, where some radioactive material, reportedly medical waste equipment, was dumped some five days ago in West Delhi.

According to officials, skin of two men had turned black due to exposure to the radioactive material all five victims have burn injuries and rashes on their bodies.

Radiation leak injures five in Delhi scrap shop | EMOIZ.COM

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Spread of radioactive materials increases nuclear danger

Radiation poisoning a reminder of need for better ‘nuclear security, The Hindu , ‘Siddharth Varadarajan and R. Ramachandran, Apr 10, 2010, The Hindu : Front Page : Radiation poisoning a reminder of need for better ‘nuclear security’ New Delhi: Coming on the eve of next week’s Nuclear Security Summit, the news of people being sickened by cobalt-60 in a Delhi market is an embarrassing reminder of weaknesses in the Indian system of tracking minor radioactive substances………. Continue reading →

April 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Chile’s highly enriched uranium and the earthquake

Bomb Chasers: How a Potential Nuke Was Rescued from the Chile Quake – TIME By Eben Harrell Apr. 08, 2010 “….The Chilean earthquake carried the power of 10,000 Hiroshima bombs. It severed power and communication lines, closed highways, sparked looting and led the country’s President to declare a state of emergency. Within minutes of the quake, Bieniawski had gathered the NNSA officials in a hotel lobby, where the group spent the next four hours trying to make contact with two sites — a military base and research reactor — where the uranium had been stored. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | Leave a comment

USA’s poor security of its own enriched uranium and dead nuke weapons

Will U.S. Inaction on its own Nuclear Security Issues Compromise Summit Success?Across the Aisle: The PSA Blog, by Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake | April 7th, 2010 “…..Frankly, if we want other nations to follow, we have to lead by example. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is a prime target for nuclear terrorists: with about 100 pounds it is possible to make an improvised nuclear device that could create a blast on par with the one that devastated Hiroshima. Yet, the U.S. has the world’s second largest stock of HEU and plutonium. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Romanian government’s secret plans for nuclear reactors in earthquake zone

Greenpeace 8 April 2010 Romania has currently one nuclear power plant with two functional reactors in Cernavoda (South-East of Romania). Cernavoda is situated in an area with high earthquake risk. The Romanian Government plans to build two more nuclear reactors (Cernavoda 3 and 4). These reactors are of an outdated Canadian design, the CANDU 6.

The Romanian government proposes yet another nuclear power plant in the North of the country, in Transilvania. It announced that it chose three sites on the Somes River, but keeps the information secret because of fear for protests.

Please sign the petition here:

http://www.greenpeace.org/romania/campaigns/nucleare/signthepetition

April 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, EUROPE, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive | Leave a comment

A network of illicit sales of nuclear equipment to Iran

Iran has managed to substantially advance its nuclear-weapons program in recent years by using a network of middlemen to carry out illicit purchases of nuclear equipment in other countries.

Germany Charges Two Over Iran Equipment Deal THE WALL STREET JOURNAL By DAVID CRAWFORD APRIL 8, 2010 BERLIN—Federal prosecutors in Germany have charged two men with delivering to Iran embargoed tools that were intended to build missiles capable of carrying a nuclear payload. Continue reading →

April 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

The uranium industry – a boon to terrorists

An IAEA database counts scores of thefts, losses and other incidents involving nuclear materials each year.

Uranium-mining nations flout UN on nuclear terror Norwalk News 03/31/2010 By CHARLES J. HANLEYAP NEW YORK (AP) — Years after a six-month deadline passed, dozens of nations, including uranium producers, remain potential weak links in the global defense against nuclear terrorism, ignoring a U.N. mandate on laws and controls to foil this ultimate threat. Continue reading →

April 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Fires at three U.S. nuclear plants

Fires break out at three U.S. nuclear plants over the weekend, FACING SOUTH, By Sue Sturgis , March 29, 2010 Emergencies were declared at two Progress Energy nuclear power plants in the Carolinas over the weekend due to fires. There was also a fire at a nuclear power plant in Ohio on Sunday that sent two firefighters to the hospital. The blazes were put out and disaster averted, but the incidents underscore concerns about U.S. nuclear plants’ failure to comply with fire safety regulations…… Continue reading →