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Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy

Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy

Web Newswire April 1, 2009 <!–

–> Dhirendra Kumar – “………………………………..Pro-nuclear pundits have, however, claimed that the N-power programme is now a peaceful civil industrial activity, eco-friendly, and necessary for the country’s energy requirement for futuristic development. Also that the engineering of nuclear reactors had reached high levels of safety of “one in the millionth” chance of an accident or radiation leaks. If that were the case, our civic administration and population around nuclear establishments should be provided with possible risks warnings and as with normal industrial activities, the public should be provided with adequate Insurance coverage against radiation damage and injury. Radiation accidents should be covered in Insurance Policies. Presently all Insurance Policies carry a special “ exclusion” clause that the policy excludes any radiation damage to life and property…………………
……………..Science and Public Policy principles cannot and must not be ignored in formulating the nuclear power policy. Political expediency, and narrow chauvinistic aspiration to have the Bombs must not be the basis of Science policy……………..
…………….the fission process suffers from genuine technological infirmities resulting from radiation and there is no fail-safe reactor system to guarantee absolute safety for our oncoming generations. Notwithstanding the Right to Information Act, the Department of Atomic Energy is free from any public and parliamentary scrutiny…………
………………..There is no constitutional protection for a whistleblower or informer who dare to report any radiation leaks or nuclear accident.

Concerned scientists’ opposition to nuclear power primarily centers on how and how soon N- technology can resolve problem of waste disposal. Sufficient scientific data exist to indicate potential biological hazards from actinides, including potential genetic effects of exposure and high probability of migration of radioactivity through the food chain……………
……………..Technical problems of de-commissioning of dead reactors and the long-term waste storage cannot be ignored. For, to keep the large amount of radioactive waste material would requ

Militarisation of Science and Nuclear Policy | webnewswire.com

April 2, 2009 Posted by | India, weapons and war | , , , | Leave a comment

NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti? –

NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti?  THE TIMES OF INDIA 2 Apr 2009, 0215 hrs IST, Neha Shukla, TNN LUCKNOW: Could NBRI be dumping radioactive

waste in Gomti directly through its sewage system? Knowing that radioactive material can induce

cancer, birth defects and infertility in humans directly exposed to it, releasing it in Gomti is a huge big ecological disaster.  A Bareilly-based NGO, Shree Mahalaxmi Aushadhiya Paudha Sanrakshan Vikas Samiti, has accused NBRI of polluting Gomti. It filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the high court claiming NBRI is illegally discharging radioactive elements in the river


NBRI’s radioactive waste being released in Gomti? – Lucknow – Cities – The Times of India

April 2, 2009 Posted by | India, wastes | , , , | Leave a comment

UPDATE 1-IAEA approves extra nuclear inspection pact for India | Reuters

IAEA approves extra nuclear inspection pact for India – “………..

VIENNA, March 4 (Reuters) – U.N. nuclear watchdog governors on Tuesday approved a deal allowing extra inspections of India’s atomic industry, a condition of a U.S.-led deal allowing New Delhi to import nuclear technology after a 33-year freeze.

Passage of an “Additional Protocol” somewhat expanding the International Atomic Energy Agency’s monitoring rights in India came a month after New Delhi signed a basic nuclear safeguards accord opening its civilian nuclear plants to U.N. inspections……………………………..

Sceptics felt that while heightened U.N. safeguards were a net gain for a country outside the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), they could have been stronger had there been more time for negotiations, they added.

“Switzerland, Ireland, Cuba and South Africa protested that the agreement was handed to the board only two days ago, too late to thoroughly assess whether it will really contribute to disarmament,” one diplomat in the closed-door meeting said.

“It doesn’t because there are no provisions to ensure India cannot divert into its military nuclear sector nuclear materials and know-how it obtains abroad for the civilian sector.”

The protocol, entitled “Nuclear Verification — The Conclusion of Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols” — would give inspectors wider access to India’s programme but not as much as in countries that have signed the NPT.

UPDATE 1-IAEA approves extra nuclear inspection pact for India | Reuters

March 5, 2009 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers19 Feb 2009, 0354 hrs THE ECONOMIC TIMES , ET Bureau NEW DELHI: Warning of a nuclear threat from the sea, the Indian Navy chief on Wednesday said terrorists may use shipping containers

to smuggle

nuclear weapons into the country.

“Today 70-75% of global cargo is containerised…container is the most likely means for terrorist organisations for illegal transporting of nuclear weapons and, hence, the serious concerns about container security

,” Admiral Mehta told reporters at a seminar on ‘Port Sector, Developments and Security.’

Navy chief warns of nuclear bomb in containers- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

February 19, 2009 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

Finds of Radioactive Steel on the Rise in Germany, probably from India

SPIEGEL ONLINE

By Christian Schwägerl 16 Feb 09

German authorities in recent months have found a disturbingly large amount of radioactive steel in factories across the country. Much of the contaminated metal is thought to have originated in India………………….radiometers indicated unusually high levels of radiation. They measured a level of 71 microsieverts per hour, a level that in 24 hours would exceed the amount permitted for an entire year………………………..For months, similar cases have been found across Germany, all involving bits of metal contaminated with radioactive cobalt. And most of them come from the same source: three steelworks in India, in particular a company called Vipras Casting, based in Mumbai. Germany’s environmental authorities are alarmed……………………………..Since last August, a total of 150 tons of contaminated metal has been seized. Some of it has been sent back to India. The rest is being stored by the companies that discovered the radioactivity, pending a decision on how to safely dispose of the material……………………..

Authorities noted that there is already a European Union directive designed to prevent the import of radioactive materials. Enforcement, however, apparently remains problematic………………..

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,607840,00.html

February 17, 2009 Posted by | environment, Germany, India | Leave a comment

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany DETSCHE WELLE 15 Feb 09

Germany is investigating 150 tons of steel items imported from India which were contaminated with radioactivity, a leading newsmagazine said in a report to appear in its Monday issue.

It said the most serious case was five tons of stainless steel wool which had to be disposed of by a nuclear-waste company, GNS.

 

The contamination was thought to be the result of the radioactive isotope cobalt 60, which is used in nuclear medicine, being inadvertently mixed with steel scrap and being melted down at three Indian steel works.

 

Anyone near the container of steel wool, which had been intercepted in August last year in the German port of Hamburg, would have received one millisievert of radiation in 24 hours.

 

Der Spiegel said German regulations treated more that one millisievert in an entire year as unsafe………………….

The ministry also said it would like to see an initiative developed on the international level to address the issue of irradiated goods.

In France, Sweden and the Netherlands, radioactive steel from India was discovered which in some cases had been used to manufacture buttons used in elevator control panels.

 

Tons of Radioactive Material From India Found in Germany | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 15.02.2009

February 16, 2009 Posted by | environment, Germany, India | Leave a comment

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News

N-commerce gets going, pact signed with French firm Bhagyashree Pande Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 4
Taking the first major step towards undertaking nuclear commerce after the NSG waiver, India today signed a preliminary sales agreement with French atomic reactor giant Areva for setting up two nuclear reactors in India.

Areva, the world’s biggest maker of atomic reactors, inked the MoU with state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) for building the country’s first large-capacity plants using overseas equipment.

This will end India’s nuclear trade isolation marking a new chapter in strategic relationship with France……………………Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon said her company was committed to supply fuel for the lifetime of the reactors, which, she pegged at about 60 years. She said Areva would meet the fuel requirements through its uranium mines located in various countries, including Australia, Kazakhstan and Niger. Though the MoU provides for supply of two nuclear reactors, the order may be stepped up to six at a later date. The cost of one EPR has been estimated at between $5.2 and 7.8 billion, although final costs are subject to negotiations…………………….Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Power, said signing of the MoU signals end of India’s nuclear isolation and its emergence as a responsible nuclear state. He hoped that this relationship would go further in form of forging technological alliance to export nuclear reactors from India to various countries.

The Tribune, Chandigarh, India – Main News

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February 5, 2009 Posted by | India, politics | Leave a comment

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