Derailment prompts uranium transport concern – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Derailment prompts uranium transport concern
ABC News 5 Nov 08An environment group says a BHP Billiton proposal to transport uranium yellowcake through the Northern Territory should be reconsidered in light of a train derailment near Katherine.
Four carriages left the tracks west of Katherine yesterday and investigators are trying to determine the cause.
Justin Tutty from the No Waste Alliance says BHP’s proposal would see a trainload of radioactive material a day on the same rail line.
“We already have yellowcake coming from South Australia, but BHP’s proposal is something different,” Mr Tutty said.
“We are talking about huge volumes, up to 5,000 tonnes a day, a train movement every day of finely particularised concentrate.
“I don’t think the Territory is equipped to deal with a derailment or a collision involving this radioactive material.”……………………
“We have our eye on the NT Government’s inquiry into the transport of dangerous and hazardous materials in relation to the proposal for a nuclear waste dump,” he said.
“We are concerned about safety regarding the transport of nuclear waste, but this is a whole new ball game.
“This is far greater volumes, daily movements, and we are talking about a radioactive dust.”
Derailment prompts uranium transport concern – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Peter Montague: Is Nuclear Power Green?
The Unquenchable Fire Is Nuclear Power Green?
Counter Punch By PETER MONTAGUE 4 Nov 08 We are told that nuclear power is about to achieve a “green renaissance,”……………………scientists have developed two sets of criteria that we can use to judge the “greenness” of competing technologies. The first is called “The 12 principles of green engineering” and the second is “The 12 principles of green chemistry.”………………….Anyone can readily see that nuclear power violates green engineering principles #1 (prefer the inherently nonhazardous) and #2 (prevent instead of manage waste). Nuclear power produces radioactive wastes and “spent fuel,” which are are exceptionally hazardous and long-lived. Just mining the fuel — uranium — has littered the western U.S. (and other parts of the world) with mountainous piles of radioactive sand (“uranium tailings“), which no one knows how to stabilize or detoxify, and which continually blow around and enter water supplies and food chains……………………………Nuclear power also violates green engineering principles #9 (design for easy disassembly) and #11 (design for commercial re-use) because, after a nuclear power plant has lived out its useful life, many of its component parts remain extremely radioactive for centuries or aeons. Large parts of an old nuclear plant have to be carefully disassembled (by people behind radiation shields operating robotic arms and hands), then shipped to a suitable location, and “mothballed” in some way — usually by burial in the ground. An alternative approach is to weld the plant shut to contain its radioactivity, and walk away, hoping nothing bad happens during the next 100,000 years or so. In any case it’s clear that nuclear power violates principles #9 and #11 of green engineering…………..When we compare nuclear power against the principles of green chemistry, we can readily see that it violates #1 (prevent waste), #3 (avoid using or creating toxic substances), and #10 (avoid creating persistent substances) because of the great toxicity and longevity of radioactive wastes. It also violates #7 (use renewable, not depleting, raw materials) because the basic fuel, uranium, is not renewable. Plans for extending the life of global uranium supplies all entail the use of “breeder reactors,” which create plutonium. But plutonium itself violates green chemistry principles 1, 3, 4 and 10. The scientist who discovered plutonium (Glenn Seaborg) once described it as “fiendishly toxic.” Plutonium is also the preferred material for making a rogue atomic bomb, which is why the New York Times has called the world’s existing supplies of plutonium “one of the most intractable problems of the post-cold-war era.”[1]
Lastly, nuclear power plants produce what is called “spent fuel” — a misnomer if there ever was one. “Spent” makes it sound tired and benign. There is nothing benign about “spent fuel.” It is tremendously radioactive — so much so that it must be stored in a large pool of water to keep it cool. If someone accidently (or malevolently) drained the “spent fuel pool” that exists on-site at nearly every nuclear reactor, the “spent fuel” would spontaneously burst into flame and burn out of control for days, releasing clouds of highly-radioactive cesium-137 all the while. Green chemistry principle #12 says our technologies should be chosen to minimize the potential for accidents such as releases and fires. By this standard, nuclear power does not measure up.
Peter Montague: Is Nuclear Power Green?
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
State drops National Guard patrols at Indian Point nuclear power plant – RecordOnline.com – The Times Herald Record
State drops National Guard patrols at Indian Point nuclear power plant
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BUCHANAN — The governor’s office is eliminating National Guard and Naval Militia patrols at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan……………..
The power plant’s critics disagree, citing previous problems with in-house security falling asleep or testing positive for illegal substances.
“The private security forces have shown to be overworked and often undergunned and undermanned,” said Phillip Musegaas, Hudson River Program Director for Riverkeeper, an environmental watchdog group that’s fighting to close the plant.
“It’s a great concern to us that (the governor) would pull the National Guard and the Naval Militia,” Musegaas said.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Letter: Why do we think we’re immune to disaster?: Rutland Herald Online
Why do we think we’re immune to disaster?
RUTLAND HERALD Glenda Bissex November 2, 2008 Do we so easily forget the nuclear plant disaster at Chernobyl and the Three Mile Island accident, that we are ready to re-license Vermont Yankee in the face of its continuing accidents and problems? Why do we think we’re immune from disaster? The only real control we have over Vermont Yankee is shutting it down in 2012.We have no control over where the spent fuel is stored. Do you remember when the mountains of north-central Vermont were considered as a nuclear storage site? We didn’t want the stuff in our back yard, so how can we imagine other people — especially poor, rural, indigenous people — want it in theirs?Some nuclear byproducts go to the military to be used in weapons. Small amounts are being used in small weapons in Iraq. Do we really want to participate in making the world radioactive?We have no control over where the uranium is mined. The Bush administration and the nuclear industry are now working to open a million acres of land next to the Grand Canyon to uranium mining. Do we really want to participate in this assault on the indigenous people in Arizona?Let’s focus on cleaner, local, renewable energy sources. Nuclear power endangers our health and our souls.
Letter: Why do we think we’re immune to disaster?: Rutland Herald Online
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
NRC cautions nuke industry after discovery of bad concrete and steel at SRS | GreenvilleOnline.com | The Greenville News
NRC cautions nuke industry after discovery of bad concrete and steel at SRS
greenvilleonline.com By Tim Smith • STAFF WRITER • November 2, 2008COLUMBIA — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has warned the nuclear industry to be careful in its construction oversight after finding problems earlier this year with some bad concrete and faulty reinforcing steel in the foundation of the plant at the Savannah River Site that will produce nuclear reactor fuel from weapons-grade plutonium………………………………..According to the Shaw AREVA Web site, construction of the 600,000-square-foot facility will require more than 170,000 cubic yards of concrete and 35,000 tons of reinforcing steel.Problems with concrete at a nuclear plant under construction in Finland, according to the NRC, “caused lengthy construction delays and had a negative impact on public confidence.”
In France, officials encountered a series of problems with steel reinforcing bars in construction of a new reactor site there. The French agency overseeing the project “considers the main issue to be the licensee’s quality management system,” the NRC reported…………………Tom Clements, Southeast nuclear campaign coordinator for the environmental group, Friends of the Earth, said the problems discovered at the MOX plant appear to be “endemic” to nuclear industry construction.
“It doesn’t bode well for the rest of the project or other such projects, nationally,” he said.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Power Engineering – Areva’s Flamanville nuclear reactor supply chain ‘needs oversight’
Areva’s Flamanville nuclear reactor supply chain ‘needs oversight’
Power Engineering 28 October 2008 – Areva has been told to monitor its subcontractors more closely after it was discovered that one had supplied a pressure system part without properly following testing procedures.World Nuclear News reported that the parts in question are to be used to form the pressurizer of the water-cooled reactor under construction at Flamanville. The pressurizer is a main component of the reactor’s primary coolant loop and as such has important safety role in addition to its function in the operation of the reactor…………………………The non-compliance should have been spotted by Areva, which is now required to implement a quality control system capable of ensuring ‘appropriate and effective supervision over the entire chain of subcontracting.’
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Power Engineering – Areva’s Flamanville nuclear reactor supply chain ‘needs oversight’
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, rafioactive, uranium
Rate of Nuclear Thefts ‘Disturbingly High,’ Monitor Says – NYTimes.com
Rate of Nuclear Thefts ‘Disturbingly High,’ Monitoring Chief Says
The New York TimesPublished: October 27, 2008 the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a speech on Monday that the number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was “disturbingly high.”
Dr. ElBaradei, in his annual report to the General Assembly, said nearly 250 such thefts were reported in the year ending in June.
“The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat,” he said. “Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered.”
Rate of Nuclear Thefts ‘Disturbingly High,’ Monitor Says – NYTimes.com
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, rafioactive, uranium
Safety check forces Swedish nuke plant shutdown – The Local
Safety check forces Swedish nuke plant shutdown
The Local : 21 Oct 08 13:Sweden shut down one of its nuclear reactors on Tuesday to check the plant’s control rods after cracks were found in the rods at an identical plant, the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) reports.
Safety check forces Swedish nuke plant shutdown – The Local
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph
Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood
Telegraph.co.uk 12 Oct 08 Alarm systems at Britain’s nuclear weapons factory were put out of action for 10 days by last summer’s floods, leaving tens of thousands of people without warning in the event of a nuclear accident.The floods disabled key radiation alarm systems, designed to detect an impending nuclear accident at the Atomic Weapons Establishment site at Burghfield, in Berkshire, according to secret documents seen by Channel 4 News.
Parts of the factory came “within 2 to 3 hours” of being overwhelmed by the floods – which could have led to the release of potentially radioactive contaminated water.
A nuclear incident at Burghfield could result in the release of a radioactive cloud that would require the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding area, including the nearby large conurbation of Reading.
Burghfield is where Britain’s Trident nuclear warheads are dismantled and reassembled for maintenance. According to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act nearly all the buildings in the key nuclear Assembly Area were inundated by floodwater on July 20th last year when torrential rain caused chaos across much of southern England.
As a result of the flooding, all live nuclear work on warheads was stopped for nine months. Yet defence ministers told MPs there had been only “minor disruption”…………………………… Details of the extent of the flooding were deliberately kept from the public and local authorities. Anxious to protect the company’s reputation, the documents note approvingly that “it was a prudent step to limit disclosure of information surrounding the degree of impact suffered – particularly at Burghfield.”
Britain’s nuclear weapons factory ‘nearly overwhelmed’ by flood – Telegraph
DOE formalizes intent to build nuclear rail line – San Jose Mercury News
DOE formalizes intent to build nuclear rail line
Mercury News.com The Associated PressArticle Launched: 10/10/2008 LAS VEGAS—The federal Energy Department is formalizing its intent to ship nuclear waste along a railroad line it proposes to build across Nevada to Yucca Mountain.The publication Friday of a record of decision in the Federal Register was another step forward for the plan to entomb 77,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel beneath an ancient volcanic ridge in the Nevada desert.
DOE formalizes intent to build nuclear rail line – San Jose Mercury News
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
NRC finds fault in VY cooling tower fiasco – Boston.com
NRC finds fault in VY cooling tower fiasco nuclear,antinuclear,radioactive,uranium
boston.com By Dave Gram Associated Press Writer / October 10, 2008MONTPELIER, Vt.—The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is scolding the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant for an inadequate fix after the partial collapse of one of its cooling towers.And it said Friday it had found a new problem during inspections of sagging in the cooling towers that came nearly a year after the partial collapse of one of them.
NRC finds fault in VY cooling tower fiasco – Boston.com
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Topping the charts – Opinion news
Topping the chartsSOFIA ECHO 10 Oct 2008 – Elitsa Grancharova – ‘……………there is nuclear energy. It has always seemed funny when they say that nuclear energy will counteract climate change. Out of the frying pan, into the fire, I say. Yes, naturally, if countries replace their coal-fired thermal power plants with nuclear stations, carbon dioxide emissions will drop, but what will be left? Another unimaginably polluting industry.I recently met someone who had worked at Kozloduy nuclear power plant. He was a defender of nuclear energy and explained that the average “permitted” radiation from Kozloduy was as high as the radiation in Sofia, as Vitosha was a granite mountain. But every day, when you enter Kozloduy, they measure your body’s radiation level and, if it is higher than permitted, they don’t let you in. You will be allowed back in a few days, “during which you have take a lot of showers to decrease the radiation”. (I’ve never heard so much nonsense in my life.) So, if conditions for workers are so “special”, doesn’t that suggest something is wrong? And we have not yet even broached storing nuclear waste. Or nuclear accidents, which pose a real danger in areas of seismic activity, such as Belene, where a nuclear power plant is to be constructed.
Topping the charts – Opinion news
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
The Standard – Hong Kong’s First FREE English Newspaper
Smoke spotted at Japan nuclear plant: operator
THE STANDARD (Hong Kong) 10 Oct 08 Smoke was detected inside an annex building of a Japanese nuclear plant, its operator said.Japan Atomic Power said its workers detected smoke inside a facilityhandling radioactive garbage, such as discarded protective suits and gloves.
The Standard – Hong Kong’s First FREE English Newspaper
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Nuclear battle to fix reactor in Australia | TECHNOLOGY | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
Nuclear battle to fix reactor
tvnz news Oct 9, 2008 “……………………..
In reality, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is scrambling to get the reactor operating in time for its anticipated commissioning at the end of the year……………………………….Shutdowns of the reactor have been caused by the displacement of fuel plates in the reactor core – an issue rectified by redesigned componentry approved by independent regulator, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA).
However, leaks that allow ordinary water to dilute molecularly altered heavy water around the reactor have not yet been fixed, despite being identified soon after the unit’s installation…………………….
The reactor requires about 10,000 litres of heavy water, which equates to about two full domestic water tanks.
The heavy water became radioactive and after use was stored for “some time” at the Lucas Heights site before being shipped back to its overseas manufacturer, Dr Storr said.
The Australian Greens are concerned about what will happen when ANSTO runs out of space to store the heavy water waste at Lucas Heights and they want the reactor shut down.
“We think the safest solution for this reactor is for it to be shut down and for the waste to be contained properly,” Greens Senator Scott Ludlam said late last month.
It is a proposition given little consideration by Dr Switkowski.
Nuclear battle to fix reactor in Australia | TECHNOLOGY | NEWS | tvnz.co.nz
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
MWC News – A Site Without Borders – – Climate Emergency, Exceptionalism & Ignoring Downunder
Climate Emergency, Exceptionalism & Ignoring Downunder
Media With Conscience By Gideon Polya 5 Oct 08 “…………………………..While I publish around the world I have very little voice in my own country. Public life in Australia, as in the other Western Murdochracies, is dominated by a group I first described as PACMEN (Prosperous Anglo-Celtic Men)………………………….Australia ignores acute nuclear, greenhouse and poverty threats. The prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has nominated nuclear, greenhouse and poverty threats as the acute threats facing humanity. Yet Australia is a major uranium exporter and is intimately linked to US nuclear terrorism via joint communications facilities, military cooperation and welcome to nuclear-armed naval vessels in Australian capital cities.
MWC News – A Site Without Borders – – Climate Emergency, Exceptionalism & Ignoring Downunder
Tags: Nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
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