Uranium « nuclear-news

Martinsville City Council to stand against uranium mining in Virginia

City to oppose lifting uranium mining ban , November 22, 2012 Martinsville Bulletin, By MICKEY POWELL – Bulletin Staff Writer Martinsville City Council is ready to take an official stand against allowing uranium mining in Virginia.

The city’s proposed legislative agenda for 2013 asks the General Assembly to continue the current moratorium on uranium mining because allowing mining “would result in highly damaging effects on all other economic development efforts in the region, excluding the jobs created by a mine itself.”
“If it makes us a less attractive community,” said Councilman Gene Teague, the need to keep the mining ban is “something we should weigh in on.” He said residents have asked the council to support continuing the ban.

State lawmakers will reconvene in Richmond in January. The council will consider adopting its legislative agenda at its meeting at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the municipal building on West Church Street uptown. In 1983, the General Assembly banned uranium mining statewide.
Scientists have voiced concerns that the mining could harm the environment and public health….. http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/article.cfm?ID=35649

November 23, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Weapons proliferation concern about laser uranium enrichment technology

U.S. approval for laser enrichment – could spur new clandestine research and construction in other nations that might make bomb-building efforts by nuclear-arms aspirants easier to conceal.

Decision on Proliferation Assessments Pending at Nuclear Agency, Nov. 20, 2012 By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire
A roadway marker points to nuclear fuel operations at a GE-Hitachi campus in North Carolina. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission might soon decide whether to demand proliferation threat assessments from firms seeking licenses for new fuel-making activities, such as a commercial laser uranium-enrichment approach proposed by the energy conglomerate
Continue reading →

November 22, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | technology, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Obama very close to Honeywell uranium plant chief

In Leaked Documents, Honeywell Cites Obama Ties as Key to Anti-Union Strategy Truth Out , 17 November 2012 By Mike Elk, In These Times “……Indeed, President Obama and Honeywell CEO Dave E. Cote have a very close relationship. Cote visited with Obama at the White House this past Wednesday to push him to cut budget spending. Cote is considered one of Obama’s closest allies in the business community. In January of 2009, Cote introduced Obama’s stimulus package in a White House speech. Cote was subsequently appointed by Obama to serve on the Deficit Commission. President Obama even flew with Cote to India while a lockout at Honeywell’s Metropolis, Ill. uranium plant was ongoing. Cote returned the favor by giving heavily to the Democratic Party. In the 2010 election cycle when the Met, Honeywell was the top corporate PAC contributor to the Democratic Party…..” http://truth-out.org/news/item/12799-in-leaked-documents-honeywell-cites-obama-ties-as-key-to-anti-union-strategy

November 19, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Close uranium plant – call from Toronto rally

Large crowd calls for closure of uranium plant, Inside Toronto, 17 Nov 12 The GE-Hitachi facility at 1025 Lansdowne Ave. presses uranium powder into the pellets used to power Ontario’s nuclear reactors. The plant releases tiny amounts of radiation into the air and water each year …by Lisa Rainford
Following a march from the GE-Hitachi uranium plant at Lansdowne Avenue and Dupont Street, a capacity crowd of protesters filled the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood Centre sanctuary for what organizers are calling the first of many meetings to come about the nuclear facility.

Decked out in costume, the “Raging Grannies,” a group of older women who use song to protest and raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues, kicked off the Nov. 15 meeting that brought out local politicians from all levels of government, as well as several guest experts. “If you love your neighbourhood, no uranium… Kick GE out for good, no uranium,” sang the trio to rousing applause.
Facilitated by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s Angela Bischoff, the meeting brought together a host of speakers, Continue reading →

November 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | Leave a comment

Keep uranium mining ban – Virginia Municipal League and Virginia Association of Counties

2 statewide groups back Va. uranium ban, CBS News 16 Nov 12 RICHMOND, Va. — Two groupsrepresenting hundreds of Virginia cities, counties and towns are recommending that the General Assembly keep a 30-year ban on uranium mining in place. Continue reading →

November 17, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Legal action against approval of Wyoming uranium mine

Group sues over planned Wyo. uranium mine, Wyoming Business Report By MJ Clark November 12, 2012 — CHEYENNE — The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance filed suit in federal court in Cheyenne last week to contest federal approval of a uranium mine in southwest Wyoming…. Continue reading →

November 15, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Danger of Kyrgyzstan’s uranium-polluted rivers extends way beyond national borders

the more we delay the process of lands reclamation and conservation, the more risk of trans-border catastrophe we have

the country has 92 tailing dumps with the total volume of 254.4 million cubic meters (457 billion tons) of mining wastes.

Kyrgyzstan’s uranium-polluted rivers threaten Central Asia
http://en.tengrinews.kz/disasters/Kyrgyzstans-uranium-polluted-rivers-threaten-Central-Asia-14023/ , 30.10.2012, Pollution of Kyrgyzstan’s water resources with the wastes of uranium tailing dumps poses a threat to the whole Central Asian region, KazTAG reports.

“Regional risks of degradation and destruction of the uranium tailing dumps are related to a whole range of factors, especially since many of the dumps are located very close to water resources. Since they are located at the river heads (of the rivers that start in Kyrgyzstan),
the potential catastrophe may cause major mass and ecological disasters and have a long-term effect on health of millions of people in the lower reaches of the rivers,” first Vice-PM of Kyrgyzstan Dzhoomart Otorbayev said at the international conference called
Uranium tailing dumps in Central Asia: Join Efforts on Lowering Risks on Wednesday, October 24. Continue reading →

November 12, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Kyrgyzstan, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus – high rates near uranium processing plant

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center sought to explain an excessive number of lupus cases reported in a community five miles from a former uranium plant in Fernald, Ohio

“What prompted us was the knowledge that lupus patients may be sensitive to sunlight and irradiation, in addition to literature hinting that miners may be at increased risk for developing lupus,”

HIGH LUPUS RATES NEAR FORMER URANIUM ORE PLANT, OmGlobe.com, 11/10/2012 – High rates of systemic lupus erythematosus have been linked to living in proximity to a former uranium ore processing facility in Ohio, according to new research findings presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. Systemic lupus erythematosus, also called SLE or lupus, is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, lungs, nervous system, and/or other organs of the body. The most common symptoms include skin rashes and arthritis, often accompanied by fatigue and fever. Lupus occurs mostly in women, typically developing in individuals in their twenties and thirties – prime child-bearing age. Continue reading →

November 12, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Uranium mining – a sick industry and getting sicker

Spot uranium price falls below $41/lb U308 on weak demand, good supply Washington (Platts)–6 Nov2012 The spot market price of uranium is now below $41/lb U3O8, according to price publishers TradeTech and Ux Consulting.

And given continued bearish sentiment in the market, some analysts are not ruling out the possibility that the spot price could fall $40/lb before the end of the year. UxC said that the price has not been $40/lb since March 2006.

TradeTech on Friday lowered its weekly spot price to $40.75/lb, down $2.25/lb from its October 26 price. Most of the decline occurred around October 31, TradeTech said, “driven by an increase in the supply” and weaker demand. “Sellers hoping to place material were faced with accepting lower prices well into the first and second quarters of 2013 to conclude transactions,” it said.

TradeTech’s daily price Monday also was $40.75/lb.

UxC on Monday cut its weekly spot price to $40.75/lb, down $1.75 from October 29. UxC said the questions now facing the market are whether the $40/lb support level will be broken and if it holds, what type of rebound in price might the market expect to see.
UxC’s broker average price on Monday was $40.69/lb, down 30 cents from Friday. The BAP bid-offer spread Monday was $40-$41.38/lb. The BAP is based on the price information from Evolution Markets and Armajaro Securities.

The Platts NuclearFuel price range for week was $39.50-$43/lb U3O8….. http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/ElectricPower/8889209

November 7, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Forecast for uranium market – still sinkng

Nuclear bearishness sinks claws into uranium price, demand forecasts Dundee Capital Markets drops its near term uranium price forecasts : Kip Keen , 01 Nov 2012 (MINEWEB) – With post-Fukushima anti-nuclear sentiment continuing to weigh, Dundee Capital Markets cut its near-term uranium price forecast.

“A cloud still hangs over the uranium sector as we approach the second anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster,” Dundee’s David Talbot wrote in a recent note to clients. “The impact has been felt on the spot market, with prices now dipping below post-Fukushima lows of US$49.00/lb U3O8, to a range of around $42 to $43 per pound ).” In cutting forecasts Talbot focused heavily on dour near term demand for uranium and issues of public perception for nuclear power, particularly in developed nations following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan last year. Dundee dropped its spot uranium forecast in the near term to $49 per pound from $60 a pound and its term (contract) price to $61 from $65 a pound…..
Dundee’s change in outlook came a day after Cameco, a leading uranium producer, put a damper on its long term production outlook, cutting back growth plans from 40 million pounds uranium to 36 million pounds uranium in production a year by 2018(covered in these pages by Dorothy Kosich here)..

November 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium market uncertainty causes Cameco to cut its expansion plans

Expected nuclear construction cuts, prompts Cameco project paring Recent developments in the nuclear industry, specifically in Japan, have caused more uncertainty over the growth rate of nuclear power globally, prompting Cameco to adjust its production forecasts. Mineweb Dorothy Kosich , 01 Nov 2012 Ongoing market uncertainty in the near term has prompted mega-uranium miner Cameco to seriously tighten its project portfolio and drop four million pounds of future targeted uranium production….. In its analysis, Cameco noted that recent developments in the nuclear industry, primarily in Japan, have caused more uncertainty in the growth rate of nuclear power globally…… Cameco’s uranium production volumes remained flat for the third quarter of the year at 5.3 million pounds. However, the company also recorded a 29% decrease in sales.

Production for the first nine months of this year were also lower at 15.4 million pounds, down from 15.8 million pounds for the same period of 2011. The lower output as attributed to lower production at Smith Ranch-Highland and Inkai.

Uranium revenues also dropped 5% during the first three quarters of this year, due to a 5% decrease in sales volumes. “Our $US realized prices were lower than the first nine months of 2011 mainly due to lower prices under market-related contracts being offset by a more favorable exchange rate,” said the company….. FINANCIALS

For the first nine months of this year, Cameco reported adjusted net earnings of $210 million or 53-cents per share, down from adjusted net earnings of $259 million or 66-cents per share. The change was due to lower earnings from the uranium business based on lower sales volumes, lower realized prices and higher costs; a $30 million contract termination change, as well as higher exploration and administration costs.

November 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium | Leave a comment

Fallacy of the Thorium nuclear reactor “miracle”

There is a rash of misinformation on the net about the supposed merits of the ‘new’ nuclear energy source on the block, thorium. I am sure that in a perfect world where nobody lies, thorium would be the perfect answer to the world’s energy needs as is claimed. This is unfortunately not the case.

Apparently, every time there is a new nuclear catastrophe, the thorium ‘miracle’ is promoted again as the ‘savior’ for the world. The Fukushima nuclear radiation catastrophe was not unique and the thorium misinformation artists have come out in droves. It’s the nuclear industry’s defense mechanism – create a new ‘safety myth’ that regular people can latch onto.

In reality, the thorium nuclear fuel cycle has been under development since the very early days of the nuclear industry. India, for example, has spent decades trying to commercialize it, and has failed. The US, Russia, Germany, and many others tried and failed as well. At best, thorium based nuclear power generation may be commercialized in a few decades.

I doubt it.

Fortunately, there are a number of independent trustworthy and expert sources of information on the internet regarding thorium nuclear. Here they are: Continue reading →

October 19, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, spinbuster, Uranium | 1 Comment

Australian exports of uranium to India not likely to happen for years

India’s much trumpeted nuclear reactor construction binge has fizzled out… in the next five years we should not expect any shipments from Australia.

The India-US nuclear deal had one aspect of tacit proliferation built into its structure – the horizontal proliferation of knowledge from the civilian to the military

As a result while all kinds of water-tight restrictions were placed on the transfer of materials and power, none was placed on the movement of scientists. This of course was well known, the point was to acquire French reprocessing technology – ostensibly for civilian purposes but then to duplicate the same to improve India’s reportedly dismal weapons material reprocessing.

The scary state of Indian reactors, their safety and security has long been whispered about – but was blown apart by the CAG’s indictment a few months back.

Julia’s Nuclear Tango – Analysis http://www.eurasiareview.com/18102012-julias-nuclear-tango-analysis/
IPCS October 18, 2012 By Abhijit Iyer‐Mitra As expected, nuclear negotiations took centre stage during Australian
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s visit to Delhi. Much talk of cultural links owing to the English language, cricket, a Westminster style parliament was bandied about. While Australia insists on a multifaceted engagement to build deep interdependencies, India sees only its one point agenda in all of this and has held ties hostage to the supply of Uranium. While opinions in Delhi seem optimistic many factors point to need for a hard reality check. Continue reading →

October 19, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

East Kazakhstan’s 812 million tonnes of highly radioactive uranium tailings

Josef Stalin’s nuclear legacy remains in East Kazakhstan Scotsman.com, 9 October 2012 “…..It was over 20 years after the end of atomic testing in the Polygon that the world began to take notice, but Stalin’s legacy may yet have an impact that could threaten future generations across the globe. The mining of uranium to manufacture the atomic weapons tested in the Polygon has left a staggering 812 million tonnes of highly radioactive uranium tailings (waste byproduct). They lie in dilapidated dumps in four of the five Central Asian republics, posing not just an imminent threat to the environment but a potential flashpoint for violence and conflict. Continue reading →

October 9, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Kazakhstan, Reference, Uranium, wastes | Leave a comment

Thorium bred Uranium-233 can be used to make atomic bombs

Thorium Nuclear Bombs (Shorter version) Kevin Meyerson, kevinmeyerson.wordpress.com 9 Oct 12, Thorium bred Uranium-233 can be used to make atomic bombs, despite what proponents may claim.