ASIA « nuclear-news

Very high radiation releases from Japanese nuclear reactor

Radiation rose to 2,100 times the normal level at Niigata plant. Japan Today: 17th September, NIIGATA —Radiation at about 2,100 times the normal level was detected in gaseous waste at a nuclear reactor at Tokyo Electric Power Co’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa power plant in Niigata Prefecture on Thursday but no harm was done to the surrounding environment, according to the company…..

.The power company said Sept 10 that it detected radiation at 27 times the normal level in gaseous waste at the reactor and was closely monitoring the situation.

In July last year, the company halted operation of the No.7 reactor after radioactive gas leaked from the capsular vessel in the fuel pin. The company replaced the fuel after the incident. Radiation rose to 2,100 times the normal level at Niigata plant › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Japan | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Delhi University teachers demand action on radiation scandal

Exposure to radioactive Cobalt-60 in the scrap market in Mayapuri in West Delhi had led to the death of one person and injuries to ten others in Delhi in April this year. The material landed there after an auction of some items from the DU chemistry lab.

VC Subverting Radiation Exposure Probe: DU Teachers, news.outlookindia.com , 16 Sept 10, The association of Delhi University teachers today accused Vice Chancellor Deepak Pental of trying to subvert an inquiry into the disposal of radioactive material by the institution and demanded that he be arrested to make way for an “unbiased” probe. Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment

In 15 years, America’s nuclear firms will be liable for accident costs!

Indians have little to gain from caving to U.S. pressure….nuclear electricity is still one of the most uneconomical ways for it to meet its near and mid-term power requirements……..

More important, domestic U.S. legal nuclear liability caps will sunset in 15 years and leave firms totally exposed in the case of a nuclear accident…….

India Unmasks America’s Nuclear Liabilities – WSJ.com, * SEPTEMBER 13, 2010 Private companies should insure themselves, not ask Delhi to do it for them. By HENRY SOKOLSKI

India’s parliament last week gave the U.S. nuclear industry the legal equivalent of a Bronx cheer: It passed a law that denied American firms legal immunity from being sued in the event of a nuclear accident. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear weaponry in the skies

The most likely candidates to unleash an atomic holocaust are rivals India and Pakistan, who share a border, a legacy of war, and a tendency to test nuclear weapons.

Neither country is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),

India’s Nuclear Weapons Take to the Skies, TakePart – Adam Trunell 15 Sept 10, With most of the Armageddon-fearing planet apparently losing its taste for nuclear weapons, India’s upped its investment in the end of civilization with the planned purchase of 40 nuclear-capable fighter jets. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | antinuclear, disarmament, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

India ramping up its nuclear weapons

Strategic Command to acquire 40 nuclear capable fighters – Hindustan Times, Press Trust Of India New Delhi, September 12, 2010, With an aim of increasing its lethal power, India’s tri-services strike force is planning to acquire 40 fighter planes capable of delivering nuclear weapons. The Strategic Forces Command (SFC) has submitted a proposal to the Defence Ministry for setting up two dedicated squadrons of fighteraircraft which will act as “mini-Air Force”, ministry sources said.This will be the first time that SFC, which at present depends on the Indian Air Force for delivering nuclear weapons under its command, will have its own aerial assets, they said……..Strategic Command to acquire 40 nuclear capable fighters – Hindustan Times

September 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China the ideal choice for renewable energy investors

Government backing, a growing market and flowing capital make China the ideal choice,

China Named Best Place To Invest In Green Energy NuWire INVESTOR September 10, 2010 by:Kerri Shannon China has taken over the top spot on the latest list of top countries for green energy investment, beating out the US, Germany and India. Continue reading →

September 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, renewable | climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, renewables | Leave a comment

India refusing to be a stooge for USA nuclear salesmen

Coming in the backdrop of the recent judgment of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the events thereafter, Indian opposition parties, and in many cases, even the Indian intelligentsia, is putting pressure on the government to make sure that the country is not seen as a ‘U.S. stooge’ within or outside the country.

Civil Nuclear Bill – The slip is showing – International Business Times, 10 Sept 10, It was meant to be a quid-pro-quo in return for the Bush administration-led efforts to get India into the global nuclear league. In return, the U.S. expected India to return the favor by ensuring that the U.S. industry benefits the most from the country’s civil nuclear effort. However, the bill, as passed by the India parliament last fortnight is anything but satisfactory to the U.S. industry. Continue reading →

September 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

China winning the clean energy export race

The Chinese clean energy technology production model is excellent, say analysts, who point out that it is now being exported around the globe.

China gives the world a sound – and clean – energy wake-up call, The Daily Maverick, 10 Sept 10, :Despite lingering Western hubris about China being the big lumbering lummox of the 21st century desperately playing catch-up, the world’s most populous nation is leaving the rest of world far behind in the race to create clean energy. Continue reading →

September 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, renewable | climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment

India’s govt resisting pressure from USA firms desperate to sell nuclear reactors

Well placed sources said the law could not now be amended in any way having been forged with the overwhelming backing of Parliament. “There is no likelihood of any changes…...

On US ‘advice’ to change nuclear liability law, govt says no, The Times of India, Rajeev Deshpande, TNN, Sep 10, 2010, NEW DELHI: Though expected to be a sweetner in India- US ties, the nuclear liability law is likely to remain an irritant, with Indian government ruling out any possibility of amendments in keeping with concerns voiced by American suppliers and echoed by the Obama administration. Continue reading →

September 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, reactors | Leave a comment

China outpacing the world in renewable energy investment

In the second quarter of 2010, China attracted $11.5 billion in asset-financing for clean technologies, more than Europe and the U.S. combined, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

China Supplants U.S. at Top of Ernst & Young Ranking for Renewable Energy, Bloomberg, By Alex Morales – Sep 9, 2010 China overtook the U.S. to lead a quarterly index of the most attractive countries for renewable energy projects for the first time, according to a list compiled by the global accounting firm Ernst & Young. Continue reading →

September 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, renewable | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, global warming, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment

USA needs to make India change its law, in order to sell U.S. nukes

the nuclear ndustry in the US too seems to have been taken aback by the Civil Liability for the Nuclear Damages Bill, 2010……..the legislation would be “a significant deterrent not only to US nuclear business but, equally importantly, to Indian and other international private business as well”.

Nuclear liability bill: US looks to ‘changes’; BJP cries foul – The Times of India, NEW DELHI: 8 Sept 10, Even before the collective sigh of relief in the government over safe passage to the nuclear liability bill in Parliament could end, the US on Tuesday queered the pitch yet again by stating that it was already looking at “changes” in the bill. Continue reading →

September 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Looming prospect of a failed nuclear state – Pakistan

And the specter of the world’s first failed nuclear state, coupled with the nightmare scenario of younger Islamist officers pushing the three stars aside and taking over in the name of Islam, was no longer idle cocktail chatter.

World’s first failed nuclear state?. “friday-lunch-club”:De Borchgrave:, September 8, 2010 “…Pakistan is reeling under the most devastating national catastrophe since independence 63 years ago. Continue reading →

September 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear salesmen in a turmoil over India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

The US India Business Council, representing 300 top US companies doing business with India, wanted India to adopt a nuclear liability regime “channelling absolute and exclusive liability to nuclear power plant operators, [not to the USA nuclear reactor suppliers]

US fears Indian nuclear liability law may deter foreign suppliers – The Economic Times, 7 Sept 10, WASHINGTON: The passage of a nuclear liability bill by Parliament making suppliers of nuclear equipment also potentially liable threatens to cast a long shadow over India’s plans to open an estimated $150 billion nuclear market to foreign companies. Continue reading →

September 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

USA, Russia desperate to sell nuclear reactors to the Third World

Nuclear power in Vietnam: the US and Russia compete, FT.com, September 6, 2010 by Matt Steinglass “…… today Russia and America are again jockeying for influence in Vietnam, and this time they’re offering reactors.The head of the Russian state-owned nuclear power monopoly Rosatom, Sergei Kirienko, (at left) was in Hanoi on Friday, shaking hands with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung………

Meanwhile, Hanoi has been working towards a Section 123 Agreement with the US, which would allow it to import American nuclear technology.

Westinghouse Electric and Japan’s Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, both of which use American technology, are bidding on the contract for Vietnam’s second reactor.

Nuclear power in Vietnam: the US and Russia compete | beyondbrics | FT.com

September 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Vietnam | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

Unstoppable move to renewable energy offers investment promise

“with the needs for energy security and energy demand from countries like China, the move to renewables is unstoppable, and you’re increasingly seeing renewable energy companies that are good value,”

China Goes Green, Keeps Bankers and Investors Busy – WSJ.com. By NISHA GOPALAN, 6 sept 10, Propelled in part by the backing of powerful Beijing bureaucrats, green-themed Chinese companies are set to reap billions of dollars from public offerings to new investors in coming months…. Continue reading →

September 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, renewable | climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment