nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Several nuclear waste trains in Germany next year?

Several nuclear waste trains in D next year? Indymedia 17 April Diet Simon

Several transports of highly radioactive nuclear waste may roll through Germany next year, nuclear opponents have researched, and another 1,000-1,250 tonnes of depleted uranium are being readied for transportation to Russia in about 25 railcars.

The Bürgerinitiative Umweltschutz Lüchow-Dannenberg (BI), which fights waste dumping at the northern village of Gorleben, and other anti-nuclear activists have found out that waste consignments are due next year to all three “interim” dumps at Ahaus (45 linear km northwest of Münster), Lubmin (120 km east of Rostock) and Gorleben (155 km northeast of Hannover).

The BI comments that “thousands are going to take to the streets to oppose this” and says the anti-nuclear movement has had a surge in numbers since last autumn 16,000 delayed another waste load to Gorleben.

“In the autumn we’re doing a tractor run to Berlin to generate pressure to end the crazy plan to make Gorleben the final repository and to get out of nuclear power production.“In 2010 there’ll be a stocktaking across the country, the waste transport continue to be a provocation because they symbolize the disposal dilemma” (of there being no safe storage system anywhere on the globe).

Several hundred nuclear casks with highly radioactive waste, so-called Castor CSDC 28’s, are to be taken from the French plutonium factory at La Hague and a German research facility at Jülich (65 km west of Cologne) to Ahaus. A special high-pressure waste compacting facility has been built in La Hague for the purpose.
The BI notes that this creates a new category of waste which starts medium-active and becomes highly active from heat……………

……..Meanwhile activists have observed another large depleted uranium train being assembled in Germany’s only uranium enrichment factory at Gronau, to go to Russia for dumping in the open air…………………..

………..Anti-nuclear activists are planning an inter-regional demonstration in Münster for 25 April. It will be one of three central ones taking place throughout Germany on the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion. The other two will be outside nuclear power stations at Krümmel (40 km southeast of Hamburg) and Neckarwestheim (170 km south of Frankfurt) on the 26th.

de.indymedia.org | Several nuclear waste trains in D next year?

April 17, 2009 Posted by | Germany, safety | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear-waste dumping site also poisonous

Nuclear-waste dumping site also poisonous

BERLIN, April 16 (UPI) — A leaking nuclear-waste storage site in Germany is also contaminated with several toxic substances.

The problematic site in the Asse mountain range in northern Germany has been abused for several years by companies eager to get rid of toxic substances, including mercury, lead alloy and arsenic, German news magazine Stern reports………………………

Asse was meant to be a place for temporary storage and research but was instead used by companies for careless dumping of waste never intended to see the light of day again.

The cleanup of Asse is estimated to cost at least $2.5 billion.

Nuclear-waste dumping site also poisonous – UPI.com

April 17, 2009 Posted by | Germany, wastes | , , , | Leave a comment

15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany with 52 kilometres of light

15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany  Sydney Indymedia February 27th, 2009 by Diet SimonBy Diet Simon Despite icy weather and light rain some 15,000 Germans demonstrated against nuclear power generation their Thursday evening, our early Friday morning, with a chain of light 52 kilometres long.The route linked Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel and Salzgitter in the north, an area that contains two frighteningly failing underground nuclear waste dumps, Asse II and Morsleben, and another to start operating in 2013, Schacht Konrad in Salzgitter.Although most protesters were from the region, people travelled from all over Germany to the demo, called by trade unions, churches, advocacy groups, local governments, neighbourhood associations, firms, farmers with their tractors, to protest against irresponsible handling of nuclear waste……………………..

The anti-nuclear movement is particularly incensed about a recently passed law that will have taxpayers footing the bill for nuclear dumps although the waste in them was produced by power companies, which will not be paying.

If waste disposal costs were completely factored into the power price, opponents say, the legend of cheap nuclear electricity would be blown away.

15,000 demonstrated against nuclear power in Germany with 52 kilometres of light | Sydney Indymedia

February 27, 2009 Posted by | Germany, politics | 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

    Next Entries »