nuclear-news

French nuclear export drive tainted by safety fears Google News By Dave Clark (AFP) –  5 Nov 09 PARIS — Safety fears and threats of winter power cuts have taken some of the shine off France’s world-beating nuclear industry, the country’s main source of power and a key plank in its foreign trade strategy………………

Any delay, however, could cost France its headstart in what will become a very competitive market to supply the 21st century’s first new generation of plants, with Japanese, Russian, Chinese and South Korean firms circling.

On Monday, safety agencies called on Areva to correct what they see as a potential design flaw in the EPR, saying that the day-by-day control systems of the reactor are too closely entwined with emergency safety systems……………..any more delays — both France’s Flamanville EPR and Finland’s Olikuluoto are already behind schedule — could cost it sales……………………

Meanwhile, if potential customers are looking to France’s domestic nuclear market as a model, they might find problems there as well.

Last week, French power grid operator RTE warned that electric production was at such a reduced level that it would be forced to import current over the winter and might have to ration or even cut supplies in some regions.

EDF refused to confirm how many power plants were out of service, but a telephone survey of nuclear sites by AFP showed on Monday that at least 19 of the 58 reactors were down and one was operating at 60 percent capacity.

Unprotected Uranium killing the Jumbos in India—After mankind, India’s nuke ambitions become lethal for wildlife too The Daily Mail By Makhdoom Babar Editor-in-Chief (Additional reporting by Christina Palmer and Ajay Mehta in New Delhi) 5 Nov 09  “…………..India’s own over-ambitious nuclear infrastructure has hit the snags as now its unprotected and unguarded nuclear set-up has also become a permanent threat, not only for the mankind but also for the innocent wildlife with scores of elephants and other animals constantly dying in forests of India’s Uranium capital, Jharkhand, reveal the latest investigations of The Daily Mail……………

 the latest investigations in this direction indicate that the forests of Jharkhand have become death corridors for the wildlife over there, particularly the Jumbos, the Elephants, consuming water that is contaminated with Uranium radioactive material. …………………..
 These investigations indicate that that these animals, with elephants being on top, are dying in mysterious condition because they have been consuming water and grass etc, having uranium related contamination.

The Daily Mail’s investigations indicate that the East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, bordering West Bengal and Orissa, is the capital of India’s nuclear energy programme. It is rich in uranium that is mined by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) and converted later into nuclear fuel for the reactors……………..
The Daily Mail’s investigations reveal further that in 2001 and 2002, Hiroaki Koide from the Research Reactor Institute at Kyoto University performed field trips to monitor environmental impacts of the Jadugoda uranium mine. He monitored external gamma dose rate, radionuclide concentrations in soil, and radon concentration in air. His results are compiled in a report available for download. The main conclusions are:
• The contamination from the uranium mine has spread in Jadugoda:
o The external gamma dose rate exceeds 1 mSv/y in the villages, and reaches 10 mSv/y around the tailing ponds.
o The soil surrounding the tailings ponds is contaminated by uranium. Particularly high contamination levels were found in the village of Dungridih that borders tailings pond No.1. In other villages, no serious contamination was found.
o Radon emanated from tailings ponds etc spreads contamination.
o Waste rock from the mine used for construction material spreads contamination