if(requestedWidth > 0){ document.getElementById(‘articleViewerGroup’).style.width = requestedWidth + “px”; document.getElementById(‘articleViewerGroup’).style.margin = “0px 0px 10px 10px”; } Most of the nation has nowhere to send its low-level nuclear waste. It can’t stop producing this waste. It’s necessary for diagnosing and treating cancer and other diseases, and for research. But because there is no-where to send the waste, it piles up in hospitals, other medical facilities and research centers.
It’s an illustration of our nation’s inability to deal realistically with nuclear issues…………………………… The problem isn’t South Carolina’s fault. States were supposed to build their own low-level-nuclear-waste facilities or form compacts to handle the waste. In 2002, Florida joined three other Southern states suing North Carolina for its failure to build a low-level waste facility there. The matter is still in litigation.
The same process has been repeated all over the nation. States have been unable to build low-level-waste sites
Low-level nuclear waste, high-level problems – Carlsbad Current-Argus
Low-level nuclear waste, high-level problems
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Low-level nuclear waste, high-level problems – Carlsbad Current-Argus
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
No Nukes Is Good Nukes | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
No Nukes Is Good Nukes
PressConnects.com Donald Allen • October 20, 2008 “…………………….nuclear power generation has one very big drawback; nuclear waste. The “used up” fuel from reactors is still very radioactive and will be for about a hundred thousand years. The big problem obviously is what to do with it. In the early days we dumped used fuel from our atomic submarines in the deep part of the ocean. We don’t know exactly how it might have effected the marine environment, but we pretty soon figured out that dumping wasn’t a real good idea. From that day to this, all we have done with most of the used (but still radioactive) fuel it store it “temporarily” some where and moved it around from one temporary storage place to another……………………….The true bottom line is; nowhere is the right place! No one wants it near them because they think something that is radioactive for tens of thousands of years can’t be kept secure and safe virtually forever. It might leak, explode, be shot into the air by earth movement, get stolen or even forgotten until someday it comes back and bites us from behind. Some say the current crop of waste can be further reprocessed into safer forms and less volume of radioactive material. They even claim a use for the reprocessed material may eventually be found. But the recycling of nuclear waste process is expensive and has all of the dangers incumbent with still having some radioactive waste material at the end albeit of a lesser volume. The nuclear powered power plant is not a very attractive option, even if we think things are getting desperate, energywise!…………………….Let’s ask our putative leaders if they are willing to cast off the economic control of corporate contributions from the petrochemical industry, the nuclear industry, the financial industry that manipulates the markets, etc. Let’s ask our leaders to truly represent us and work for our general welfare as the constitution of the U.S. requires. With our support real leaders can not fail. We have the vote, which no amount of private money can buy from us if don’t let it, and that is the real key to power now and for the future.
No Nukes Is Good Nukes | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Tons of nuclear waste piling up at power plants | MiamiHerald.com
Tons of nuclear waste piling up at power plants
Miami Herald 21 Oct 08 The unrelenting nuclear headache in the United States is how to dispose of radioactive waste. For 25 years, the federal government has considered putting it at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. That has led to bitter opposition from environmentalists, those close to the proposed dump and even some nuclear experts……………….Until this point, all nuclear plants have had to keep their waste on site, piling up at the rate of 20 tons per reactor per year. ”Basically, nothing has moved,” says Mitchell Singer of the Nuclear Research Institute.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Central Chronicle–Opinion
123 Agreement – of nuke wastes and other risks
Central Chronicle Oct 21, 2008“……………………………During the protracted debate on the Deal whether in India or abroad nuclear power was touted as a clean source of energy though the West does not seem to reckon it as such any longer. In the US nuclear power plants have not been built for decades. France , too, has reduced the contribution of nuclear energy in its total power output. Yet, curiously, never for once was a mention made of the hazardous radioactive wastes that the nuclear power reactors generate…………………Curiously, this was never touched upon even as the US and others are up against the unsolved problem of permanent interment and isolation of nuclear wastes……………Proliferation generally breeds all round compromise in quality and that may well happen with the proliferating nuclear power industry. Besides, numerousness of atomic power complexes will act like magnates for the disaffected and the hostile elements in the neighbouring countries. If infiltration and exfiltration continue with such ease as at present, the country will never be short of prowling bombers.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Al Jazeera English – Africa – ‘Toxic waste’ behind Somali piracy
‘Toxic waste’ behind Somali piracy
ALJAZEERA.NET October 10, 2008 By Najad Abdullahi Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8bn ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste…………………………..While money is the primary objective of the hijackings, claims of the continued environmental destruction off Somalia’s coast have been largely ignored by the regions’s maritime authorities.
Dumping allegations
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has “reliable information” that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline.
“I must stress however, that no government has endorsed this act, and that private companies and individuals acting alone are responsible,” he said
Allegations of the dumping of toxic waste, as well as illegal fishing, have circulated since the early 1990s.
But evidence of such practices literally appeared on the beaches of northern Somalia when the tsunami of 2004 hit the country.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reported the tsunami had washed up rusting containers of toxic waste on the shores of Puntland.
Nick Nuttall, a UNEP spokesman, told Al Jazeera that when the barrels were smashed open by the force of the waves, the containers exposed a “frightening activity” that has been going on for more than decade
“Somalia has been used as a dumping ground for hazardous waste starting in the early 1990s, and continuing through the civil war there,” he said.
“European companies found it to be very cheap to get rid of the waste, costing as little as $2.50 a tonne, where waste disposal costs in Europe are something like $1000 a tonne.
“And the waste is many different kinds. There is uranium radioactive waste. …………………………Nuttall also said that since the containers came ashore, hundreds of residents have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections and other ailments………………………and there are hospital wastes, chemical wastes – you name it.”
Al Jazeera English – Africa – ‘Toxic waste’ behind Somali piracy
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: Nuclear power’s catch: waste – Wire – News – Opinions – Belleville News Democrat
Nuclear power’s catch: waste
bnd.com Philadelphia Inquirer McClatchy-Tribune News Service 7 Oct 08
America’s realization that it must kick its expensive foreign-oil habit has energized the previously moribund nuclear power industry, which is proudly selling itself as the cheaper, cleaner alternative……………………….there has been little progress on solving the overarching problem of where to put radioactive waste – the lethal leftovers that can remain dangerous to health and life for centuries.Six years ago, Congress approved a plan to transport waste from nuclear plants to Nevada’s Yucca Mountain. But it was only four months ago that the Department of Energy submitted a waste repository application to the NRC. If approved, the first waste shipment isn’t expected to be sent to Yucca before 2020.
Meanwhile, the 64,000 tons of spent fuel now being stored on-site at nuclear power plants in 33 states will continue to grow.
But America’s nuclear-waste problem is much more pervasive than that. It involves not just what the nation’s existing power plants produce, but also the low-level radioactive material found in hospitals, universities and in other industries.
Tags: nuuclear, nuclearwaste, nuclear costs
ReviewJournal.com – Opinion – EDITORIAL: The ‘science’ of Yucca Mountain
The ‘science’ of Yucca Mountain’ Guaranteeing’ the safety of nuclear waste
reviewjournal.com 5 Oct 08″…………………………..To pretend that we can foresee how the landscape around us will appear in a million years — or even 100,000 years, which far exceeds the length of recorded human history — is hubris on a biblical scale. To pretend that we can build structures whose architectural integrity will withstand such changes is even more absurd. Ice ages with their glaciers can come in go in such a time period, as can volcanoes. Compared to such time frames, the age of the pyramids of Egypt is the blink of an eye.
Yet, because the courts have ruled that guaranteeing the safety of radioactive waste storage at Yucca Mountain for 10,000 years is not sufficient (because wastes buried there could remain deadly for a million years), the federal Environmental Protection Agency has now required that those building the dump certify its safety for a million years. And Department of Energy spokesman Allen Benson blithely replied, this week, “We believe we can meet the standard.”
The motivations for the waste dump at Yucca Mountain are not scientific, but economic and political. Congress and the nuclear industry believe they will have less trouble building new nuclear power plants if they can say they’ve “solved” the problem of where to put their spent (but still highly radioactive) fuel. And so “science” is bent and shaped to bolster these political and economic needs.
ReviewJournal.com – Opinion – EDITORIAL: The ‘science’ of Yucca Mountain
Tags: Nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Low-level nuclear waste is piling up at hospitals | National | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Low-level nuclear waste is piling up at hospitals
South Carolina law that took effect in July leaves 36 states nowhere to stash the stuffB Houston Chronicle by SEANNA ADCOX Associated Press 4 Oct 08BARNWELL, S.C. — Tubes, capsules and pellets of used radioactive material are piling up in the basements and locked closets of hospitals and research installations around the country, stoking fears they could get lost or, worse, stolen by terrorists and turned into dirty bombs.
For years, truckloads of low-level nuclear waste from most of the U.S. were taken to a rural South Carolina landfill. There, items such as the rice-size radioactive seeds for treating cancer and pencil-thin nuclear tubes used in industrial gauges were sealed in concrete and buried.
But a South Carolina law that took effect July 1 ended nearly all disposal of radioactive material at the landfill, leaving 36 states with no place to throw out some of the stuff. So labs, universities, hospitals and manufacturers are storing more and more of it on their own property……………………….n 2003, the federal Government Accountability Office reported there wasn’t even a record of how many radioactive sources existed nationwide
Low-level nuclear waste is piling up at hospitals | National | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Tags: Nuclear, antinuclear, radiation, uranium
Space junk, get your space junk here | NEWS.com.au
Space junk, get your space junk here
news.com.au By Kim Powell October 01, 2008 – “……………………………We’ve made a big mess down here, so it’s no surprise that we’ve dirtied space too.
Thousands of probes and satellites have been sent up into space since 1957, and each mission leaves debris behind.
The BBC reports this “blanket of junk” orbiting the Earth at 40,233km/h consists of jettisoned spacecraft parts, abandoned satellites, paint chips, nuclear reactor cores and nuts and bolts. NASA frequently replaces windows damaged by flying paint chips.
The Centre for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies estimates there are around 70,000 objects 2cm in size orbiting 850-1000 km above the Earth. NASA believes much of this is frozen pieces of nuclear reactor coolant leaking from disused Russian satellites.
Space junk, get your space junk here | NEWS.com.au
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive
Australia’s radioactive migraine – On Line Opinion – 26/9/2008
Australia’s radioactive migraine
ON LINE opinion By Scott Ludlam 26 September 2008 When the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act 2005 was forced through the Senate, Labor accurately described it as, “extreme, arrogant, heavy-handed, draconian, sorry, sordid, extraordinary and profoundly shameful”.
Why? Because it wiped out Northern Territory laws prohibiting transport and storage of nuclear waste. The legislation also squashed Aboriginal heritage laws and the Native Title Act, overriding procedural fairness.
Amendments passed in 2006 explicitly stated that site nominations from Land Councils are valid even in the absence of consultation with Traditional Owners. These amendments were also opposed by the Greens and Labor opposition………………………………..Most importantly, we must ask why we are producing this waste at all. Yesterday we saw public acknowledgement that the research reactor in Sydney is still leaking, despite having been shutdown for 11 of the 14 months since it first opened. The first step in dealing with our 60-year radioactive migraine is to stop producing this waste in the first place, and divert the substantial resources consumed by this substandard facility into the many alternative technologies for producing radioisotopes.
…………………………Repealing this legislation will pave the way for a new approach to the management of Australia’s radioactive waste. The Territory Government, the Traditional Owners and the broader community across the NT were never asked if they wanted to host a dump for Australia’s most intractable waste. The Prime Minister must now be called to account: this was a very clear election promise, and it is time it was honoured.
Australia’s radioactive migraine – On Line Opinion – 26/9/2008
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
Reid, Ensign say nuclear waste rail plan unsafe – San Jose Mercury News
Reid, Ensign say nuclear waste rail plan unsafeBy MercuryNews,com ERICA WERNER Associated Press 24 Sept 08 “………..
Testifying at a hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee, Reid, D-Nev., called the Energy Department’s plans for shipping spent nuclear fuel to Yucca Mountain “grossly incomplete.”
“Their draft transportation plan is barely a crude sketch of the comprehensive planning that should actually be done for a massive nuclear waste shipping campaign,” Reid said.
Ensign said: “I have bad news for those of you with working nuclear reactors in your states who think that the opening of Yucca will rid your state of nuclear waste—you’re wrong.”
Instead the result would be dangerously transporting waste through states around the country to Nevada, said Ensign, R-Nev………………
The period for shipping waste to the repository could span up to 50 years, with 190 to 317 rail casks shipped each year on trains carrying three to five casks, according to the Energy Department Web site.
Commercial power reactors have about 64,000 tons of used reactor fuel at power plants in 33 states awaiting shipment to Yucca Mountain, with the amount growing at the rate of 2,000 tons a year, according to the industry.
Reid, Ensign say nuclear waste rail plan unsafe – San Jose Mercury News
Tags: Nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive
The Post
Green with envy: Waste-disposal problem cannot simply be buried thepost September 22, 2008 Cathy Wilson
When it comes to waste, the United States has a history of literally burying its problems — a practice that is a shortcut rather than a solution………………………..The process of nuclear fission results in the creation of low-level and high-level radioactive waste. Equipment or clothing that has been contaminated is classified as low-level, while used nuclear reactor fuel is labeled as high-level.
Low-level waste takes hundreds of years to reach safe levels of radiation, while high-level radioactive waste won’t reach safe levels for tens of thousands of years. After being monitored and cooled for several years, it is transported and placed in concrete structures.
Nuclear waste disposal is a concrete (no pun intended) and current topic that needs to be discussed by the people who are so adamant about its promise. Some propose burying the radioactive waste deep underground in places like Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but the problem is that Nevada residents aren’t clamoring to have such waste in their backyards or seeping into their groundwater……………………………….Renewable energy is within reach, composting already exists and simply reducing waste and energy use individually doesn’t hurt either. It’s irresponsible to rely on burying our problems today knowing that future generations will be haunted by them and forced to fix them tomorrow.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, radioactive, uranium
For Nevadans, the Presidential Election Is Life or Death in a Much More Literal Way | Environment | AlterNet
For Nevadans, the Presidential Election Is Life or Death in a Much More Literal Way
By Peggy Maze Johnson, AlterNet. Posted September 18, 2008.
This election could be a make-or-break moment in history for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.Will the November 4, 2008, election doom the future of Nevada? That
sounds ominous, I know, but this election could be a make-or-break
moment in history for the Yucca Mountain Project. This is the
ill-conceived plan to bury nuclear waste in Nevada’s Yucca Mountain.
Everyone in this state knows the problems inherent in this project and
should be on alert. But also this should serve as a “heads-up” to
everyone in the country.People are in a panic about how to solve
the nation’s energy deficit problems and it’s easy to talk about
building nuclear power plants as a solution. In the meantime, the Yucca
Mountain Project controversy is never — never — mentioned. The fact
is the only site ever seriously considered for storage of the
inevitable deadly waste generated by nuclear power plants was Yucca
Mountain. Study after study has shown it is a hazardous location for
storing nuclear waste for the millions of years the waste continues to
emit deadly radioactive ions. Of the many drawbacks cited, one of the
most frightening is that Yucca Mountain sits in an active earthquake
zone.Nevadans voted for George W. Bush in 2000 because he said he would not
approve Yucca Mountain as the nation’s nuclear dump unless the “science
was sound.” Now we know he didn’t mean it. Making Yucca Mountain
scientifically sound would be like putting lipstick on a pig!…………………………….he upcoming election is about many important issues — not the least
being the prospect of tons and tons of more deadly nuclear waste to be
stored if we go ahead and mindlessly build nuclear power plants in a
misguided attempt to solve our future energy needs.
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, raduioactive
Fight continues against nuclear dump plan – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Fight continues against nuclear dump plan
ABC News 23 Sept 08 There are renewed calls for the Federal Government to scrap its plans to build a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory.
A new storage facility for radioactive waste could be built at the Lucas Heights research reactor in Sydney.
The Federal Government is also considering three sites in the Northern Territory for a long-term waste dump.
Natalie Wasley from the Beyond Nuclear Initiative says there is no need to bring the waste to the NT.
“This is welcome news for the targeted communities because it means that there are other options that the Federal Government can be looking at for the waste, the majority of which is produced at the Lucas Heights reactor,” she said.
Fight continues against nuclear dump plan – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, raduioactive
New nuclear waste site for Sydney – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
New nuclear waste site for Sydney
ABC News 22 Sept 08 Australia’s only nuclear research reactor is planning to build a new radioactive waste site in southern Sydney, blaming the move on delays in building a federal nuclear dump.
Its operator, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), says a long-term waste depository is needed for Australia’s spent or unwanted radioactive material.
Spokesman Andrew Humpherson says ANSTO has applied for an interim site on its own Lucas Heights premises to consolidate existing waste currently housed in two older buildings……………..
The application for the interim site is before federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett.
The Federal Government is expected to identify potential sites for a new nuclear dump later this year.
New nuclear waste site for Sydney – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, uranium, radioactive
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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