Uranium « nuclear-news

Pakistan hanging on to highly enriched uranium

WikiLeaks: Pakistan Delaying Uranium Removal – CBS News, 1 Dec 10, A stash of highly enriched uranium capable of providing enough material for multiple “dirty bombs” has been waiting in Pakistan for removal by an American team for more than three years but has been held up by the country’s government, according to leaked classified State Department documents.
U.S. failures to remove the material and the government’s struggles to work with the Pakistani government are detailed in secret government memos the self-styled whistleblower organization WikiLeaks made available to a number of news outlets, The New York Times reported on its website Tuesday.

U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson wrote in a classified 2009 cable that the Pakistani government was dragging its feet in giving Americans access to remove the material left over from a decades-old reactor, the Times reported……….WikiLeaks: Pakistan Delaying Uranium Removal – World Watch – CBS News

December 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, politics international, Uranium | Leave a comment

Antiquated USA mining law allows free uranium grab by foreign companies

“The roots of the problem reach back to the 1872 mining law, which allows any claimholder, domestic or foreign, to mine on the majority of America’s public lands – and to take billions of dollars in minerals for free,”

Uranium deal with Russians shows need for mining reform, activists say « Colorado Independent By David O. Williams 11/29/10 ,Mining reform groups over the weekend reacted sharply to Wednesday’s decision by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (pdf) to allow the transfer of two uranium mining licenses in Wyoming to Atomoredzoloto (ARMZ), a firm controlled by the Russian state nuclear agency. Continue reading →

November 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Stuxnet computer worm still stalling Iran’s uranium enrichment

Iran’s nuclear program reportedly struggling Network News By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, November 22, 2010; Iran’s nuclear program has experienced serious problems, including unexplained fluctuations in the performance of the thousands of centrifuges enriching uranium, leading to a rare but temporary shutdown, international inspectors are expected to reveal Tuesday. Continue reading →

November 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, technology, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | Leave a comment

Stuxnet computer worm might target North Korea’s nukes

the North Korean control system “is dual use, also used by the petrochemical industry, but was the same as those acquired by Iran to run its centrifuges.”
Could Stuxnet Mess With North Korea’s New Uranium Plant? Wired.com. By Kim Zetter and Spencer Ackerman November 22, 2010 The Stuxnet worm may have a new target. While security analysts try to figure out whether the now-infamous malware was built to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program, North Korea has unveiled a new uranium enrichment plant that appears to share components with Iran’s facilities. Could Pyongyang’s centrifuges be vulnerable to Stuxnet? Continue reading →

November 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | North Korea, safety, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Highly secret transport of Highly Enriched Uranium to secret Russian facility

In the largest such operation ever mounted, U.S. and Kazakh officials transferred 11 tons of highly enriched uranium and 3 tons of plutonium some 1,890 miles by rail and road across the Central Asian country………….

U.S., Kazakhstan complete secret transfer of nuclear materials, KansasCity.com, By JONATHAN S. LANDAY, McClatchy Newspapers, 18 Nov 10, WASHINGTON – Working under extraordinary secrecy, the U.S. and Kazakh governments in the past year have moved nuclear material that could have been used to make more than 770 bombs from a location feared vulnerable to terrorist attack to a new high-security facility. Continue reading →

November 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Kazakhstan, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

local citizens want uranium mining company to be accountable for its water pollution

“in-situ” technology, whereby treated water is pumped underground to dissolve uranium deposits. The water is then pumped to the surface, the uranium extracted and the water returned underground.
Opponents of the mine operation say the system threatens groundwater quality over vast areas around the mine

Powertech sues over water rules; residents want mining company to be accountable By Tom HackerLoveland Reporter-Herald, 11/12/2010 Opponents of a proposed uranium mine near the Larimer and Weld county line east of Wellington are assailing a lawsuit filed by the mining company against state regulators. Continue reading →

November 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, technology, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium company seeks legal right to pollute groundwater

Powertech Uranium Corp sues Colorado over northwestern Weld County site | Greeley Tribune, 14 Nov 10, A Canadian company seeking to mine uranium in northwestern Weld County has filed suit against the state of Colorado, claiming that recently adopted rules for keeping groundwater clean are unreasonable. Continue reading →

November 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, Uranium, USA | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Egypt’s anger over IAEA claims of Egypt’s enriched uranium

Egypt denies discovery by IAEA of enriched uranium at nuclear facility, Today’s News from Egypt, Hisham Omar Abdel HalimSun, 14/11/2010 Egypt on Sunday denied that the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had discovered traces of enriched uranium at an Egyptian nuclear facility. Continue reading →

November 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Egypt, politics international, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear secrecy, uranium | Leave a comment

Australia’s hypocritical and unsafe uranium deal with Russia

“Australia cannot hope to be a leader on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament while spreading nuclear risks by trying to become the world’s largest uranium supplier,”

Activists Blast Russian-Australian Uranium Deal, NTI: Global Security Newswire , Nov. 12, 2010 * Activists have sharply criticized a new Russian-Australian uranium export agreement, partly over concerns that nuclear material sent to Russia under the deal could be diverted for weapons production, the Australian Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Nov. 11). Continue reading →

November 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, politics international, Uranium | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, uranium | 1 Comment

Conflict of interest, with AREVA on uranium study panel

Areva employee on NAS uranium mining panel, Beyond Nuclear Nov10 2010, The National Academy of Sciences has now chosen panelists for a study which will be used by the Virginia General Assembly to determine whether uranium mining should be permitted in the state. Concerned citizens asked for the removal of an Areva employee, but their request was denied. Areva runs uranium mines in Niger and, therefore, has a vested interest in uranium mining expansion…..
Future meetings are planned for Saskatchewan and Colorado, specific places to be determined. While this study claims to be assessing just uranium mining in Virginia, citizens fear the results of this study could be used for other potential uranium mining sites…. Beyond Nuclear – Uranium Mining – Areva employee on NAS uranium mining panel

November 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Community opposes Meghalaya uranium mining, Indian govt over-rides them

‘How can we allow them to start this mining project when they themselves cannot give satisfactory answers on health and environment impact of uranium mining,’

Meghalaya civil groups oppose uranium mining project, Shillong, sify news, Nov 10 (IANS) Anti-mining groups in Meghalaya Wednesday vowed that they would continue to oppose a uranium mining project, while the central government set 2012 as the year to start mining in the state’s West Khasi Hills district. Continue reading →

November 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Highly Enriched Uranium – so easy to make an atom bomb

Since the end of the Cold War the International Atomic Energy Authority, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, has logged 800 incidents of radioactive material going missing or being seized by smugglers.

Mission to stop nuclear terrorism, Telegraph A multi-million dollar US programme is attempting to make safe the world’s bomb-grade uranium before terrorists can get to it. By Nick Meo in Warsaw 11 Oct 2010 “…..Intelligence agencies will not reveal their reasons for being so frightened now about what for years seemed a remote and unlikely risk. But it may be because of the deeply troubling cases of smuggling that surface from time to time in Eastern Europe, hinting at the existence of a nuclear black market. Continue reading →

November 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety, Uranium | enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, uranium | Leave a comment

Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) a target for smuggling

the world should phase out the civilian use of HEU, which is still used to fuel more than 100 research reactors around the world, many with minimal security measures in place.

Nuclear smuggling: The expert view, Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat. Protect the materials and prevent the terrorism, Matthew Bunn, guardian.co.uk, 7 November 2 The dark netherworlds of nuclear smuggling still pose a terrible danger to us all. Terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and the materials to make them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a Manhattan Project to make a crude nuclear bomb – numerous government studies have warned that a sophisticated terrorist group might pull it off, if they could get enough nuclear material. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Finland move to ban uranium recovery as by-product

Greens would ban by-product uranium recovery, Helsinki Times, 1 Nov 10 The Green League said in a statement Sunday that the recovery of uranium as a by-product of other mining operations should be banned.The party management added that uranium recovery would be an environmental hazard and as such would endanger the reputation of Lapland and Kainuu as holiday destinations.Talvivaara, a company that runs a nickel mine in Sotkamo, is mulling commencing uranium recovery. Greens would ban by-product uranium recovery

November 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Finland, politics, Uranium | nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium mining is damaging to tourism industry

a few years of mining operations are not worth ruining the reputations of Kainuu and Lapland as travel destinations.

Greens Want Uranium Mining Ban YLE Uutiset | yle.fi, 31 Oct 10, The Green League’s party council is calling for a ban on uranium mining in Finland. According to the Greens, uranium mining operations have got into the country “through the back door” and they are ruining the country’s reputation as a travel destination, especially in the north. Continue reading →

November 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Finland, Uranium | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment