Election candidates should face nuclear waste questions: group

THE CHRONICLE-JOURNAL, Feb 25, 2025, https://www.chroniclejournal.com/news/local/election-candidates-should-face-nuclear-waste-questions-group/article_e5e12318-f322-11ef-aede-0bca88dc7589.htm
With just two days to go before the provincial election, two citizen watchdog groups are urging voters to grill candidates over where they stand regarding alternatives to nuclear power, and what to do with the nuclear waste that exists now.
In particular, the We The Nuclear Free North and Northwatch groups want candidates to commit to giving first responders notice before nuclear waste is transported through areas in which they provide emergency services.
The groups maintain that question is crucial in the Thunder Bay district, since the Nuclear Waste Management Organization is proposing to build an underground storage site for spent nuclear fuel rods at a remote location between Ignace and Dryden.
The two groups have set up an online tool that can be used to put questions to provincial-election candidates about the project and request a response. The link to the tool is: tinyurl.com/2x9uct7a.
Radioactive fuel rods are to be shipped to the storage site by truck or rail in specialized containers designed to withstand fiery crashes, hard impacts and immersion in water, according to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization.
The storage site is expected to take 20 years to build once all approvals have been obtained.
93% say NO: latest polls in Lincolnshire condemn nuke dump plan

In yet another demonstration that the people of East Lincolnshire are a far from ‘willing community’, recent polling at public events hosted by Nuclear Waste Services and amongst the parishioners of Gayton-le-Marsh have delivered a resounding NO vote to any plans to bring a nuclear waste dump to the area.
Nuclear Waste Service have recently resolved to move its Area of Focus in the Theddlethorpe GDF Search Area from the former Conoco gas terminal inland to 1,000 acres of prime farmland between the villages of Great Carlton and Gayton-le-Marsh.
NWS has held a series of information meetings to explain their decision. Theddlethorpe and Withern Councillor Travis Hesketh and activists from the Guardians of the East Coast established a polling booth outside events held in Gayton-le-Marsh, Strubby, Beesby, Maltby-le-Marsh, Great Carlton, Little Carlton, Withern, Theddlethorpe, Legbourne, Grimoldby, Manby and Saltfleetby, and invited members of the public to cast their secret ballot on the latest iteration of NWS’s plans to bring a Geological Disposal Facility to the area.
Of the 535 residents attending the events, 93% voted in the secret ballot; of these 93% voted for the process to be ended or for a Test of Public Support to be held now.
24th February 2025
93% say NO: latest polls in Lincolnshire condemn nuke dump plan
In yet another demonstration that the people of East Lincolnshire are a far from ‘willing community’, recent polling at public events hosted by Nuclear Waste Services and amongst the parishioners of Gayton-le-Marsh have delivered a resounding NO vote to any plans to bring a nuclear waste dump to the area.
Nuclear Waste Service have recently resolved to move its Area of Focus in the Theddlethorpe GDF Search Area from the former Conoco gas terminal inland to 1,000 acres of prime farmland between the villages of Great Carlton and Gayton-le-Marsh.
NWS has held a series of information meetings to explain their decision. Theddlethorpe and Withern Councillor Travis Hesketh and activists from the Guardians of the East Coast established a polling booth outside events held in Gayton-le-Marsh, Strubby, Beesby, Maltby-le-Marsh, Great Carlton, Little Carlton, Withern, Theddlethorpe, Legbourne, Grimoldby, Manby and Saltfleetby, and invited members of the public to cast their secret ballot on the latest iteration of NWS’s plans to bring a Geological Disposal Facility to the area.
Of the 535 residents attending the events, 93% voted in the secret ballot; of these 93% voted for the process to be ended or for a Test of Public Support to be held now.
Carlton Parish Council has previously passed a resolution calling for an immediate Test of Public Support, and the villagers of Gayton-le-Marsh made a similar resolution in a parish poll. 80% of parishioners participated, with 106 residents or 91% calling for the proposal to be withdrawn and 108 or 93% seeking a Test of Public Support.
These are the two latest blows in a whole series showered on Nuclear Waste Services, who must by now be punch-drunk, with most local Parish and Town Councils also passing resolutions calling for an immediate withdrawal or Test of Public Support.
In the last local elections held in 2023, a slate of anti-dump candidates was elected in wards within the Theddlethorpe GDF Search Area to East Lindsey District Council, Mablethorpe and Sutton Town Council, and local parish councils.
Surveys carried out by Guardians of the East Coast have previously indicated at least 85% are opposed to the nuclear waste dump plan.
The local Conservative MP for Louth and Horncastle Victoria Atkins has expressed her opposition to the plan and even the Leader of East Lindsey District Council Councillor Craig Leyland has had a change of heart indicating that he shall now be recommending to his Executive that the Council withdraw from the process.
To the NFLAs, Nuclear Waste Services continued efforts to pursue a GDF in East Lincolnshire represents the ultimate exercise in futility, for there are NO conceivable circumstances in which this will ever be a ‘willing community’.
Public concern increasing about nuclear waste shipments west of Sudbury

Northern Ontario News, By Ian Campbell, February 24, 2025
Officials in Nairn & Hyman Township say they are encouraged by the turnout at last week’s public information meeting as they continue to oppose the shipment of nuclear materials near Agnew Lake.
The Township of Nairn and Hyman and the Township of Baldwin held a joint emergency council meeting this week to discuss a plan to move radioactive material from the former Beaucage Mine. (Photo from video)
The township, along with the neighbouring community of Baldwin, has been vocal in its opposition to plans that would see nuclear waste transported to a nearby tailings management area west of Sudbury.
While the shipment plan is currently on hold, concerns remain about the potential environmental and health impacts of the proposal.
Nairn & Hyman Mayor Amy Mazey said the municipalities have been told not to expect answers to their questions until March 15.
In the meantime, Mazey and the township’s chief administrative officer said studies conducted by the municipality suggest the shipments could pose a risk to the local drinking water supply.
“When we get answers to our questions, we’re hoping to do another town hall meeting and show the town residents what we have received,” Mazey said.
“I’m pretty sure they’ll still be pretty negative towards it, but [we’ll] give them that update and then go to council and make a decision on how to move forward from there.”
The townships have garnered support from several political figures, including Nickel Belt’s Member of Parliament, a former Member of Provincial Parliament and the current candidate for the Algoma-Manitoulin riding.
Neighbouring communities along the North Shore have also joined the effort to oppose the shipments.The issue has sparked significant public interest, with residents expressing concerns about the long-term implications of storing nuclear materials in the area.
Mazey emphasized the importance of keeping the community informed and involved as the situation develops, when speaking with CTV News.
For now, the townships await further information and continue to prepare for next steps, including potential council decisions and further public engagement.
NWMO closing Teeswater office, to dispose of DGR site lands
The Post Rob Gowan, Feb 21, 2025
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization’s offices in Teeswater was to close to the public on Feb. 14 and the organization plans to dispose of the lands it had secured for a potential underground used nuclear fuel vault in South Bruce.
The more than 1,800 acres of land the organization had secured in South Bruce through a series of option and purchase agreements between 2019 and 2021 will be disposed of “in a manner respectful of the original commercial agreements and considerate to market conditions and appropriate timing,” an NWMO spokesperson said via email on Feb. 12.
“We cannot disclose any specific details regarding the agreements, as these are private commercial transactions,” NWMO’s regional communications manager for South Bruce, Carolyn Fell, said via email.
Bill Noll of the Protect Our Waterways – No Nuclear Waste group opposed to the DGR, said they are hopeful that NWMO does dispose of the land, as there continues to be some nervousness about the ultimate plans in the area.
“We know the NWMO is considering another DGR, the intermediate-level and non-fuel high level waste,” Noll said. “We have always been concerned about getting the last chapter done.”
In December, the NWMO announced that it had selected the Township of Ignace and Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation in northern Ontario as the future site for its deep geological repository. South Bruce was the only other site under consideration. ………………………………………………………………
the NWMO announced in late November it had selected the northern Ontario site.
Fell said on Feb. 12 that as part of the NWMO’s site investigations, several boreholes were drilled in the potential siting area in South Bruce, used to advance the understanding of the subsurface geology in the area.
With the site selected, the deep boreholes and shallow groundwater monitoring wells in South Bruce will be decommissioned, Fell said.
“This means the monitoring equipment will be removed and the boreholes then sealed in compliance with the applicable Ontario regulations (Ontario Water Resources Act/Oil Gas and Salt Resources Act),” Fell wrote. “This work is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2025.” ………………………………………………………………..
“While communities engaged in the used fuel DGR process may choose to participate, there is no requirement for them to do so,” Fell noted.
One potential impediment to a DGR being cited in the area could be SON’s willingness. For the used-fuel DGR process, the NWMO was insistent a project would not move ahead without the support of the local First Nation whose traditional territory the site falls within.
SON announced in late January that it would issue a moratorium on future nuclear intensification and waste projects if substantial progress is not made on nuclear legacy issues in its territory within six months. https://www.thepost.on.ca/news/local-news/nwmo-closing-teeswater-office-to-dispose-of-dgr-site-lands
Debris extracted from Fukushima nuclear plant revealed to media

Friday, Feb. 21, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250221_08/?fbclid=IwY2xjawInSAlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHSRSw2PSosgQ6p28ndBqzler46N1Sr9mAHZH_X5SQL5hfjsJ5Tr3M48JTg_aem_xXho8cY6EkFQUvxp6aOcZQNuclear fuel debris that was extracted from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last year has been revealed to reporters for the first time.
The debris taken from the plant’s No.2 reactor consists of molten fuel mixed with surrounding structural components. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, successfully retrieved 0.7 grams of the material in its first test extraction operation through November last year.
The debris was first transferred to a research facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency in Oarai Town, Ibaraki Prefecture, for the initial analysis, including surface observation.
The researchers then split the debris into smaller pieces to be examined at five research facilities, including a large one in Hyogo Prefecture.
Reporters were given the opportunity to observe the samples, which were placed in two separate transparent containers at a facility in Ibaraki Prefecture. One container held a particle about 2 millimeters in size that appeared silver, while the other had multiple dark fragments.
So far, the researchers have detected uranium, which is contained in nuclear fuel, on the surface of the debris, as well as metals such as iron, which are believed to have come from the reactor’s structure.
The researchers plan to examine the characteristics of the debris, including its hardness and adhesiveness. They will also expose the samples to lasers to determine whether the uranium inside is prone to triggering a nuclear fission reaction.
The agency says it will use these analyses to evaluate potential methods for full-scale extraction of the debris, and to determine the risk of a renewed criticality event, in which a self-sustaining chain reaction could occur.
The agency plans to release the findings of the major analyses in the middle of this year.
Ogino Hideki, the chief engineer at the agency’s Collaborative Laboratories for Advanced Decommissioning Science, spoke to the reporters.
He said it is difficult to fully grasp the overall characteristics of the debris based on the ongoing analyses alone. But he expressed his commitment to contributing to the decommissioning efforts through analyzing the samples using the technology that he and his fellow researchers have developed.
It is estimated that there is a total of around 880 tons of fuel debris in the No. 1, 2 and 3 reactors.
Nuclear waste dump agency pumps money into community projects in Mablethorpe

By Richard Silverwood
The organisation behind plans for a possible nuclear waste
dump in the Louth or Mablethorpe areas is continuing to pump money into
important community projects there. Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a
government agency that specialises in the management of radioactive waste,
has earmarked Lincolnshire or Cumbria as the location for the dump, known
as a GDF (geological disposal facility).
Two potential sites – a former gas terminal at Theddlethorpe, near Mablethorpe, and agricultural land close to the villages of Hayton le Marsh and Great Carlton, near Louth –
have been mooted – and both have attracted widespread opposition.
Lincolnshire World 17th Feb 2025, https://www.lincolnshireworld.com/news/people/nuclear-waste-dump-agency-pumps-money-into-community-projects-in-mablethorpe-4995509
Ancient historic sites under threat from South Copeland nuke waste dump.
The Nuclear Free Local Authorities have written to the prisons’ minister
seeking a government guarantee that Haverigg Prison, will remain open, and
local jobs saved, were the nuclear waste dump to be built in South
Copeland.
Nuclear Waste Services have recently identified ‘Areas of
Focus’ in each of the three Search Areas which are being investigated for
their potential to host a Geological Disposal Facility. The GDF shall be
the eventual ‘forever’ repository for Britain’s stockpile of legacy
and future high-level nuclear waste. The facility will require a surface
site which shall receive waste shipments before they are taken beyond
ground and out through tunnels under the seabed.
One of these ‘Areas of Focus’, designated ‘West of Haverigg’, wraps around the prison site.
In his letter to Lord Timpson, the Chair of the NFLAs, Councillor Lawrence
O’Neill, identifies that over 200 staff work at the prison, including
over 100 from the local area, and that many local businesses also supply
goods and services to HMP Haverigg.
NFLA 18th Feb 2025 https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/can-there-be-any-guaranteed-future-for-haverigg-prison/
So Called Small Modular Reactors Would Be Nuclear Nightmares

Stanford-led research found that small modular reactors would exacerbate challenges of highly radioactive nuclear waste “We found that small modular reactors will generate at least nine times more neutron-activated steel than conventional power plants. These radioactive materials have to be carefully managed prior to disposal, which will be expensive.”
Note they took the word “Nuclear” out rather like the Geological Disposal Facility, lets not scare the horses!
Marianne Birkby, Radiation Free Lakeland 16th Feb 2025
There was an excellent letter in the Westmorland Gazette this week, a newspaper covering the South Cumbria area.
The letter from Philip Gilligan of South Lakeland and Lancaster District CND points out that the so called Small Modular Reactors would produce nuclear waste. This is true and bad enough but only tells part of the story. The waste from these new reactors would be far more dangerous than from existing reactors. Stanford-led research found that small modular reactors would exacerbate challenges of highly radioactive nuclear waste “We found that small modular reactors will generate at least nine times more neutron-activated steel than conventional power plants. These radioactive materials have to be carefully managed prior to disposal, which will be expensive.”
The study also found that the spent nuclear fuel from small modular reactors will be discharged in greater volumes per unit energy extracted and can be far more complex than the spent fuel discharged from existing power plants. Along with the increased radioactive wastes each site would require the presence of armed police from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. As Noel Wauchope writes on the Australian Independent Media Network …
‘New Civil Engineer brought up a few points that have escaped notice, following the publication of the draft National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation (EN-7) They note that; “Despite EN-7 being 64 pages, just two lines are dedicated to specifically addressing the security of SMRs.”
The new regulations for SMRs would allow for many new nuclear sites near communities.………… https://radiationfreelakeland.substack.com/p/so-called-small-modular-reactors
Belgium’s oldest nuclear reactor shut down for good after 50 years
15 February 2025, https://www.belganewsagency.eu/oldest-nuclear-reactor-shut-down-for-good-after-50-years
The Doel 1 nuclear reactor was definitively shut down safely on Friday night, the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (FANC) has confirmed. After 50 years of electricity production, Belgium’s oldest nuclear reactor, with a capacity of 445 megawatts, was disconnected from the high-voltage grid at 21.37.
The FANC said the operation was carried out in complete safety. “Technically, there is no difference from a temporary maintenance shutdown, except that the reactor will not be restarted to produce electricity,” it said in a press release.
A shutdown phase lasting approximately five years is now beginning, during which the fuel will be cooled in order to “significantly reduce the radiological risk to the environment”. The waste will also be removed and the pipes emptied and rinsed. Then the actual dismantling will begin, which could last up to 15 more years.
Lifespan extended
Doel 1 is the third reactor to be definitively decommissioned, after Doel 3 in 2022 and Tihange 2 in 2023. Tihange 1 will also be shut down in the autumn.
The shutdown phase for Doel 1 will be slightly different to that for the other reactors, as Doel 1 and 2 are “twin” reactors that share certain systems, such as the control room and the engine room. These parts will only be shut down when Doel 2 is definitively decommissioned on 30 November.
Belgium will then have only two active nuclear reactors: Doel 4 and Tihange 3. Their operating period has been extended by 10 years until 2035 and the new federal government hopes to extend them for another decade.
There really ARE necessary nuclear industry jobs – IN DEMOLISHING NUCLEAR REACTORS!

Dounreay to take on 23 new apprentices
One of Britain’s most complex environmental restoration projects is taking on 23 new apprentices.
Nuclear Restoration Services and Nuclear Decommissioning Authority 13 February 2025,
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dounreay-to-take-on-23-new-apprentices
The decommissioning of the former centre of fast reactor research and development at Dounreay is continuing to create long-term opportunities for young people.
Applications are open for the next intake of apprentices, with 23 places in total available.
The apprenticeships are in engineering trades, engineering design, construction scaffolding, construction painting, business administration and project management, and vary in length from two years to four years.
The closing date for applications is 14 to 21 February, with start dates in August.
Dounreay’s operator, Nuclear Restoration Services, is also in the process of recruiting 9 health physics surveyor trainees.
Their 2-year training programme equips them with an NVQ Level 2 Diploma in Radiological Protection.
Dounreay also has 15 places this year for graduate recruitment. Applications for these posts closed on 6 January.
More information about the opportunities at Dounreay can be found at the site’s careers website at www.dounreaycareers.com.
Dounreay has a long and proud history of high-quality training for young people across a wide range of disciplines and I’m delighted we are able to continue this during the decommissioning phase of the site,
said Dave Wilson, managing director of NRS Dounreay.
The site is complex, its decommissioning is challenging and we can offer superb training and development opportunities at the cutting edge of science and engineering.
Japan to pick final disposal sites for Fukushima soil around 2030

The Environment Ministry plans to decide around 2030 or later where to finally dispose of soil removed from the ground during decontamination work after the March 2011 disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings’ Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, it was learned Wednesday.
The plan was included in a draft timetable for the final disposal of such soil outside Fukushima Prefecture by March 2045, presented by the ministry at a meeting of a related expert panel on the day. The ministry will consider a process for selecting final disposal sites from fiscal 2025.
As of the end of December, about 14 million cubic meters of such soil had been transported to an interim storage facility straddling the Fukushima towns of Okuma and Futaba.
Three-quarters of the soil had radiation concentrations of 8,000 becquerels per kilogram or less and will be reused in public works, while the rest will be subject to final disposal.
Final disposal sites are estimated to require up to 50 hectares if the volume of the soil is not reduced, or 2 to 3 hectares if the volume is reduced. Meanwhile, radiation levels would be higher in the reduced soil.
The government is slated to draw up a basic plan as early as this spring for reusing some of the soil and finally disposing of the rest.
TEPCO takes on challenge of making space for Fukushima nuclear debris

Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Japan) (AFP) – Workers at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant have started dismantling water storage tanks to free up space for tonnes of nuclear debris, 14 years after the facility was hit by a devastating tsunami.…………………….
France24 15th Feb 2025, https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250215-tepco-takes-on-challenge-of-making-space-for-fukushima-nuclear-debris
Trouble at t’mill: local Councils rebel over nuke dump plan

The NFLAs have welcomed today’s statement made by the Leader of East Lindsey District Council that he shall recommend to his Executive that they ‘unanimously withdraw’ the council from the Theddlethorpe Community Partnership and the GDF process at their next meeting.
Coupled with the withdrawal of Millom Town Council from the South Copeland GDF Community Partnership and condemnation by Seascale Parish Council of the imposition of an Area of Focus for Mid-Copeland east of the village, this demonstrates that there is increasing disaffection amongst politicians with the process.
In his statement, ELDC Council Leader Craig Leyland cited the change of prospective site for a possible GDF surface facility from the former Theddlethorpe Conoco gas terminal to a 4km square parcel of farmland between the inland villages of Gayton le Marsh and Great Carlton. This he describes as prime agricultural land that has not had any previous industrial use and that is ‘nestling close to the Lincolnshire Wolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’…………….
NFLA 12th Feb 2025,
https://www.nuclearpolicy.info/news/trouble-at-tmill-local-councils-rebel-over-nuke-dump-plan/
Nuclear waste plan ‘would scar Lincolnshire Wolds’
BBC UK Sharon Edwards, Political reporter, Lincolnshire, 12th Feb 2025
A council is set to withdraw from talks to bury nuclear waste in the countryside.
Nuclear Waste Services (NWS), a government body, has earmarked an area near Louth, Lincolnshire, to build a disposal facility.
However, East Lindsey District Council (ELDC) leader Craig Leyland said the scheme would “scar” agricultural land, and a consultation process had served only to “antagonise and distress” residents.
NWS thanked the district council for taking part in the talks and said it would continue working with Lincolnshire County Council.
In 2021, the district council joined a community partnership group with NWS to examine a previous proposal to bury waste at a former gas terminal in Theddlethorpe, near Mablethorpe.
Last month, NWS announced it had moved the proposed location of the facility to land between Gayton le Marsh and Great Carlton.
But Leyland said the new proposal would “scar several kilometres of Lincolnshire farmland on the margins of the Lincolnshire Wolds”.
He also said the consultation process had “not been effective” and the council had not been given all the information it needed from NWS.
East Lindsey councillors will be asked to formally vote to withdraw from the consultation.
‘A key role’
The move will not automatically kill the plan, which requires “community consent” to go ahead, as NWS is still working with the county council……………………………
Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) remains in the process, but leader Councillor Martin Hill said the authority shared some of ELDC’s concerns about the new location…………………………….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnvqljq77p0o
Kansai Electric to ship more spent nuclear fuel to France

Fukui Japan Times 9th Feb 2025 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/02/09/japan/japan-more-spent-nuke-fuel-to-france/
Kansai Electric Power is working to double the amount of spent nuclear fuel it will ship to France, increasing it by about 200 tons, informed sources said.
The move comes as Fukui Prefecture, home to several nuclear plants, urges Kansai Electric to address shrinking storage capacity for spent nuclear fuel, the sources said.
In 2023, Kansai Electric announced a plan to ship about 200 tons of the fuel from its Takahama plant in Fukui to France starting in fiscal 2027. Based on the Japanese government’s policy, the spent fuel will be used for research on technology to reprocess uranium-plutonium mixed oxide, or MOX, fuel.
At the Takahama plant, about 90% of the spent fuel storage capacity has already been used, and that amount is expected to reach the upper limit in about three years.
About 200 tons of spent fuel will be generated if the No. 1 to No. 4 reactors at the plant are operated for about three years. Kansai Electric has restarted all of its seven nuclear reactors.
The company initially planned to send spent fuel mainly to a reprocessing plant to be built in Aomori Prefecture, but the completion of the facility has been postponed.
Last September, the company notified Fukui Gov. Tatsuji Sugimoto of its intention to review the plan, and said that it would halt three reactors in the prefecture if it fails to come up with a proposal that can win the understanding of officials there by the end of fiscal 2024.
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