Dounreay: New two radioactive particles found at Sandside beach
Two new radioactive particles have been found at Sandside beach near
Dounreay. The discoveries, reported this week, were found on September 27
and October 16, and are categorised as “minor”. The depth of the
earlier find could not be ascertained due to tides, but the more recent
particle was at a depth of 8cm. The total number of finds at Sandside in
2023 now stands at five. Dounreay says that “an important part of the work
to close down Dounreay is to address the legacy of radioactive particles in
the marine environment around the site”.
John O’Groat Journal 1st Nov 2023
https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/dounreay-new-two-radioactive-particles-found-at-sandside-be-331553/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #radiation
Sizewell C campaigners wait for ruling on latest court fight over nuclear plant
Campaigners opposed to the building of a new nuclear power plant near
Sizewell in Suffolk are waiting to see if they have won the latest stage of
a legal battle with the Government.
Protest group Together Against Sizewell
C objects to a decision, made in 2022 by then business secretary Kwasi
Kwarteng, to give the development the green light. The group lost a High
Court fight in June and has now asked three Court of Appeal judges to
consider its concerns. Sir Keith Lindblom, Lady Justice Andrews and Lord
Justice Lewis on Thursday finished overseeing a Court of Appeal hearing in
London and said they would deliver a ruling on a date to be fixed.
Lawyers representing the group told judges the central issue relates to whether a
“development consent order” was lawful “without any assessment” of
the environmental impacts of an “essential” fresh water supply. A
spokesman for Together Against Sizewell C said in a statement outside
court: “It is clear that the business secretary needed to guarantee how a
permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C would
be obtained, before giving consent.
Belfast Telegraph 2nd Nov 2023
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/business/uk-world/sizewell-c-campaigners-wait-for-ruling-on-latest-court-fight-over-nuclear-plant/a781818743.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Russia Says Intends to Continue Nuclear Test Moratorium
Moscow Times, 3 Nov 23
Russia intends to stick to a nuclear test ban moratorium despite withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
“We intend to keep the moratorium that was introduced more than 30 years ago in place,” said a ministry statement.
But any nuclear tests by the United States would “force us to do the same,” it added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed off on a law revoking Russia’s ratification of the treaty.
The 1996 treaty outlaws all nuclear explosions, including live tests of nuclear weapons, though it never came into force because some key countries — including the United States and China — never ratified it……………………………………………………………
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has urged Russia to continue its commitment to the treaty, including the use of monitoring stations capable of detecting the slightest explosion in real-time. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/03/russia-says-intends-to-continue-nuclear-test-moratorium-a82998
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‘Nobody Believes in Our Victory Like I Do.’ Inside Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight
Public support for aid to #Ukraine has been in decline for months in the U.S., and Zelensky’s visit did nothing to revive it.
Despite the recent setbacks on the battlefield, he does not intend to give up fighting or to sue for any kind of peace. On the contrary, his belief in Ukraine’s ultimate victory over Russia has hardened into a form that worries some of his advisers. It is immovable, verging on the messianic. “He deludes himself,” one of his closest aides tells me in frustration. “We’re out of options. We’re not winning. But try telling him that.
The cold will also make military advances more difficult, locking down the front lines at least until the spring. But Zelensky has refused to accept that.
with the outbreak of war in Israel. The focus of Ukraine’s allies in the U.S. and Europe, and of the global media, quickly shifted to the Gaza Strip………………. on its own, Ukraine aid no longer stands much of a chance in Washington.
At the start of the Russian invasion, Zelensky’s mission was to maintain the sympathy of humankind. Now his task is more complicated. In his foreign trips and presidential phone calls, he needs to convince world leaders that helping Ukraine is in their own national interests, that it will, as Biden put it, “pay dividends.” Achieving that gets harder as global crises multiply.
BY SIMON SHUSTER/KYIV, NOVEMBER 1, 2023 , ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: OCTOBER 30, 2023 https://time.com/6329188/ukraine-volodymyr-zelensky-interview/
Volodymyr Zelensky was running late.
The invitation to his speech at the National Archives in Washington had gone out to several hundred guests, including congressional leaders and top officials from the Biden Administration. Billed as the main event of his visit in late September, it would give him a chance to inspire U.S. support against Russia with the kind of oratory the world has come to expect from Ukraine’s wartime President. It did not go as planned.
That afternoon, Zelensky’s meetings at the White House and the Pentagon delayed him by more than an hour, and when he finally arrived to begin his speech at 6:41 p.m., he looked distant and agitated. He relied on his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, to carry his message of resilience on the stage beside him, while his own delivery felt stilted, as though he wanted to get it over with. At one point, while handing out medals after the speech, he urged the organizer to hurry things along.
The reason, he later said, was the exhaustion he felt that night, not only from the demands of leadership during the war but also the persistent need to convince his allies that, with their help, Ukraine can win. “Nobody believes in our victory like I do. Nobody,” Zelensky told TIME in an interview after his trip. Instilling that belief in his allies, he said, “takes all your power, your energy. You understand? It takes so much of everything.”
It is only getting harder. Twenty months into the war, about a fifth of Ukraine’s territory remains under Russian occupation. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed, and Zelensky can feel during his travels that global interest in the war has slackened. So has the level of international support.
Continue reading“Enhanced regulation” as Aurora – new £2.5bn plutonium facility – is added to UK”s AWE Aldermaston
Project Aurora, a new plutonium manufacturing facility at AWE Aldermaston
was added to the government’s 2023 list of major projects, and is
currently estimated to cost between £2bn and £2.5bn. The facility, which
was originally planned as part of the Nuclear Warhead Capability
Sustainment Programme (NWCSP) at AWE, will likely replace the current A90
facility at Aldermaston, which was built in the 1990s.
Nuclear Information Service 31st Oct 2023
The Chief Nuclear Inspector’s 2023 annual report has revealed that AWE
Aldermaston and the Devonport Royal Dockyard (DRDL) are to remain under
enhanced regulatory attention. Aldermaston has been under enhanced
attention since 2013 and Devonport since 2014. Of the three categories of
regulatory attention used by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR),
enhanced is the second highest. The highest category is used only for the
four most hazardous facilities at Sellafield. ONR said that for both sites
the decision for them to remain in this category was due to “longstanding
issues”.
Nuclear Information Service 31st Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes #plutonium
Magnox rebrands to Nuclear Restoration Services as its decommissioning portfolio expands
Magnox has become Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) ahead of taking
ownership of closing EDF nuclear sites. NRS, part of the UK’s Nuclear
Decommissioning Authority (NDA) group, is responsible for safely
decommissioning first generation nuclear reactor and research sites across
the UK and restoring them for future use.
As Magnox, the company was
responsible for safe and secure cleanup of 12 nuclear sites. In April, it
additionally took on the decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear site in
Scotland when it merged with Dounreay Site Restoration (DSR).
The site is owned by NDA, but DSR was contracted to deliver its decommissioning
programme. Two years ago, it was agreed that NDA would become responsible
for decommissioning EDF’s seven advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), once
power generation had ended and defueling had been completed. Hunterston B
was the first AGR to come offline in January last year, followed by Hinkley
Point B in August 2022. EDF expects all the sites will stop operating by
2028. Ownership of Hunterston B is expected to transfer in 2026, with the
others to follow on a rolling basis over the next decade.
The Chemical Engineer 2nd Nov 2023
https://www.thechemicalengineer.com/news/magnox-rebrands-to-nuclear-restoration-services-as-its-decommissioning-portfolio-expands/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNuke
How well protected are Ukraine’s nuclear power plants?
“This incident again underlines the extremely precarious nuclear safety situation in Ukraine, which will continue as long as this tragic war goes on,” Grossi said. “The fact that numerous windows at the site were destroyed shows just how close it was. Next time, we may not be so fortunate.”
DW, Lilia Rzheutska, 1 Nov 23
Ukrainian air defense systems recently downed Russian attack drones near the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant. But falling debris still damaged the site. Are power plants in danger?
On the night of October 25, Ukrainian authorities reported downing Russian Shahed kamikaze drones near the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant, in the country’s west. Falling debris and a wave of detonations caused significant damage to the town of Netishyn, where power plant employees live. The nearby town of Slavuta was also affected. Some buildings belonging to the nuclear facility itself were also damaged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the drones were likely sent to attack the power plant.
Experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who are at the nuclear plant confirmed two loud explosions had occurred near the plant. They were later informed that two drones had been shot down at a distance of five and 20 kilometers, respectively.
AEA director General Rafael Grossi later stated on the organization’s website that powerful explosions near the power plant that night had temporarily cut off power to two radiation monitoring stations. According to Grossi, the detonations did not, however, disrupt the plant’s operations, nor did they affect the power grid. The explosion did, meanwhile, shatter several windows at the plant. “This incident again underlines the extremely precarious nuclear safety situation in Ukraine, which will continue as long as this tragic war goes on,” Grossi said. “The fact that numerous windows at the site were destroyed shows just how close it was. Next time, we may not be so fortunate.”
……………………………… A nuclear power plant is more than just a reactor, says Dmytro Humenyuk, who heads the safety and analysis unit of Ukraine’s scientific and technical center on nuclear and radiation safety. It is a complex facility that consists of safety systems that provides electricity for the plant itself, and transports power generated by the plant. Falling debris or shelling powerlines and substations could lead to a power outage at the nuclear power plant and trigger a dangerous situation, Humenjuk says.
High-voltage substations, through which electricity produced at the nuclear power plant is fed into the power grid and without which the facility cannot function safely, must be well protected from missile and drone attacks well as falling debris. “When substations come under fire, the nuclear power plant’s emergency protection is activated,” says nuclear energy expert Olha Kozharna. “Such an emergency stop is very dangerous for the power plants.”…………………………………………………………… https://www.dw.com/en/how-well-protected-are-ukraines-nuclear-power-plants/a-67271615 #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
2
Sizewell C nuclear plant project disputed at Court of Appeal
Yahoo! Lifestyle, Ben Parker and Brian Farmer, – BBC News and PA Media, Thu, 2 November 2023
A group campaigning against the construction of a £20bn nuclear power station in Suffolk has started to have its case heard in the Court of Appeal.
Together Against Sizewell C has argued the government failed to assess the environmental impact of the project when granting planning permission.
The two-day hearing will focus on how a permanent water supply to the site will be provided.
In June, a High Court judge said the planning permission was lawful.
But Together Against Sizewell C successfully overturned the decision in September, triggering the latest hearing at the Court of Appeal in London.
Lady Justice Andrews and Lord Justice Lewis are presiding over the case, but a result is not expected for some time.
Barrister David Wolfe KC, leading Together Against Sizewell C’s legal team, told the judges the central issue related to whether a “development consent order” was lawful “without any assessment” of the environmental impacts of an “essential” fresh water supply.
A Together Against Sizewell C spokesman said in a statement outside court: “It is clear the business secretary needed to guarantee how a permanent water supply of two million litres per day for Sizewell C would be obtained, before giving consent.
However, the environmental impact of such a plant was not included in the planning application for the nuclear power plant, and therefore was neither assessed nor taken into account.”…………………………….. https://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/sizewell-c-nuclear-plant-project-170938633.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Court of Appeal hearing into Sizewell C set to begin
The decision to approve the new Sizewell C nuclear power station will come
under scrutiny tomorrow (Wednesday) when a legal hearing begins at the
Court of Appeal.
Campaigners opposed to the dual reactor development are
appealing against a High Court decision to refuse a judicial review into
then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to give the go-ahead for
the power station in July 2022.
The appeal relates to the issue of whether
a desalination plant will be needed to guarantee a permanent water supply
for the power station. Campaigners Together Against Sizewell C (TASC)
argued that the environmental impact of the plant was not included in the
planning application for the power station and therefore was neither
assessed nor taken into account when approval was given. However, Court of
Appeal Judge Lord Justice Coulson decided that TASC’s arguments for the
desalination plant should be looked at again.
East Anglian Daily Times 31st Oct 2023
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23890892.court-appeal-hearing-sizewell-c-set-begin/
Court of Appeal hearings on Sizewell C will start at 2pm today (1st
November) and continue on Thursday at 10am. You can follow the proceedings
live on You Tube.
Court of Appeal 1st Nov 2023
https://www.youtube.com/@courtofappeal-civildivisio3851/streams
#nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Macron pursues nuclear deals in Russia’s back yard
French president hopes to secure uranium supply in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Politico, BY GIORGIO LEALI, OCTOBER 31, 2023
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron travels on Wednesday to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, where he hopes to secure uranium for his country’s nuclear plants.
The trip comes as geopolitical tensions grow with the EU’s current major suppliers, Niger and Russia.
Macron’s visit to the two countries aims to expand French influence in an area which has strong ties with Russia and is now also growing closer to China, an Elysée official said………………….
Last summer a military junta took over Niger, which supplies 15 percent of France’s uranium needs, sparking questions as to whether the African country can continue to be a reliable source. Uncertainty has also surrounded imports of Russian uranium since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Niger raises questions, Russia could raise questions in the long term [if] the EU imposes sanctions on the nuclear sector.
An Elysée official said that new contracts and business partnerships will be announced during the trip, including in the energy sector. ………………………………………………………………………..
EDF has also positioned itself to become a supplier of nuclear reactors for Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant.
The visit comes as Brussels competes with China for influence in the region via investment programs focused on infrastructure.
Both Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are benefitting from Chinese investment under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, with their presidents attending a high-level meeting on the subject in Beijing in October. The EU is trying to gain influence in the two countries by involving them in cooperation and investment projects under its “Global Gateway” initiative, the bloc’s response to Belt and Road. https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-nuclear-deal-russia-back-yard-kazakhstan-uzbekistan/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Switzerland continues its nuclear safety awareness with iodine pills distributed to the population
Bloomberg, By Paula Doenecke and Kevin Whitelaw, October 28, 2023
ZURICH — Switzerland is in the middle of a ritual it performs once a decade: distributing a fresh round of iodine pills to protect its people should something go wrong with one of its nuclear power plants.
Residents who live within 50 kilometers of one of the nation’s three nuclear power plants will find an orange package with a dozen tablets in their mailbox by next April. The delivery replaces the lilac box of thyroid cancer prevention medication that the government handed out 10 years ago.
The campaign may seem like a Cold War relic to some — newly arrived expatriates are often startled to be handed a voucher for their pills when they first register at the town hall. But the idea is that sirens would sound in the event of a nuclear accident so that people could take a dose before any fallout reaches them.
The pills containing the compound potassium iodide are distributed free of charge, including in the financial and industrial centers of Zurich and Basel. People living within the 50-kilometer radius, but on the German side of the border, are left to fend for themselves.
The logistical effort costs 34 million Swiss francs (€35.9 million) — a third of which is financed by the nuclear power plant operators. Beyond protecting the health of the Swiss people, the strategy is part of the country’s long-standing identity of neutrality, dubbed Reduit Switzerland, or Swiss Fortress. That pride of self-defense still manifests today in a multitude of well-maintained tank stoppers and bunkers spread throughout the Swiss Alps.
While Germany and France are battling these days over the role of nuclear power in Europe’s energy transition, Switzerland is proceeding on its path of risk mitigation — keeping its remaining three atomic plants running as long as they are functioning, as decided by a public vote in 2017. It retired a fourth in Muehlenberg in 2019…….. more https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-10-28/switzerland-s-once-a-decade-nuclear-ritual #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
EU may become complicit in ‘genocide’ – Spanish official
https://www.rt.com/news/586147-spain-minister-gaza-genocide/ 30 Oct 23
The social rights minister called on European countries to take concrete measures to stop the hostilities in Gaza
Spanish Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra has urged European leaders to take immediate action against Israel, including severing diplomatic ties and imposing economic sanctions, amid the intensified bombing and expanded ground operations against Hamas militants in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
She also called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be prosecuted for the alleged war crimes committed against civilians in Gaza.
“After this hellish night in Gaza, I have a very simple but very important message for European leaders. Do not make us complicit in genocide. Act. Not in our name,” Belarra said in a passionate video message on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.
More than 8,000 Palestinians, including 3,342 children, have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s air campaign began, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. The unprecedented Hamas raid into Israel, as well as hundreds of rocket strikes on Israeli territory earlier this month, left around 1,400 people dead, while 230 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
Addressing the severity of the current situation in Gaza and Israel’s disproportionate retaliation, the minister highlighted the termination of internet and telephone services in the strip, claiming that the move “has a very clear objective” of guaranteeing that “Israel commits crimes against humanity without consequences.”
“Our inaction is turning us into accomplices,” the minister stressed, arguing that “Israel believes that its international alliances guarantee its impunity.”
“We have to act now, tomorrow will be too late,” she continued, voicing her message to the EU leaders: “Cut diplomatic relations with the State of Israel. Carry out exemplary economic sanctions against those responsible for this genocide. And without a doubt, let’s take Netanyahu before the International Criminal Court, so that he can be tried for what he is, a war criminal.”
She also appealed to EU citizens to take to the streets and raise their voice so that “this genocide” comes to an end.
The IDF escalated air and ground attack on Gaza on Friday, causing a near-total communication blackout. Connectivity was partially restored over the weekend, but the Israeli blockade of Gaza continues; Netanyahu announced the “second stage” of the war against Hamas on Saturday. #Israel #Palestine
Russia says Ukrainian drone rammed nuclear waste storage facility of Kursk nuclear power plant
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman calls attack ‘nuclear terrorism’
AA, Elena Teslova |29.10.2023 – MOSCOW
A Ukrainian drone rammed a nuclear waste storage facility of the Kursk nuclear power plant, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday.
Ukrainian armed forces purposefully attacked the Kursk nuclear power plant with three drones. One armed with explosives, crashed into the wall of the storage facility and two fell on the plant’s administrative buildings, Zakharova said in a statement.
According to preliminary data, components used to build drones were supplied by Western countries, she said, adding that such actions “could not be carried out without approval if not direct instruction of the Western supervisors.”
Zakharova criticized Kyiv and said, “What happened proves that it has no boundaries,” even in issues of acts of nuclear terrorism……………………………..more https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/russia-says-ukrainian-drone-rammed-nuclear-waste-storage-facility-of-kursk-nuclear-power-plant/3036552 #nuclear #antinuclear #NoNukes #radiation
Hinkley Point C nuclear station-£16.7bn overbudget: Estimated to be 5 years late
From
From HS2 to Wembley, why can’t Britain build on budget? Our
infrastructure projects are invariably late and over-budget compared with
European neighbours. Our planning system, political wrangling and a lack of
civil service expertise is to blame. Hinkley Point C: Final Cost £32.7bn:
£16.7bn overbudget: Estimated to be 5 years late. #nuclear #antinuclear #NoNukes
Times 29th Oct 2023 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/from-hs2-to-wembley-why-cant-britain-build-on-budget-9k6xgs8c6
Experts fear Ukraine will run out of ammo in 2024 – Le Monde
Rt.com 29 Oct 23
Russia has a distinct arms production advantage, multiple European analysts told the newspaper
The Ukrainian military will run out of ammunition next year, and Kiev’s Western backers won’t be able to fully restock it until 2025, European military experts told Le Monde on Friday. With Russian arms production in full swing, Moscow is better prepared for a war of attrition, the analysts warned.
In a lengthy article dissecting the failure of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive, the French newspaper highlighted three key factors: Russia’s decision to voluntarily withdraw from Kherson and construct an elaborate line of defenses in late 2022, Ukraine’s insufficient tactical prowess, and Russia’s “greater strategic depth” – or its ability to replace lost men and materiel.
“2024 is going to be fraught with danger for the Ukrainians,” risk consultant Stephane Audrand told Le Monde. “The equipment that has already been delivered to them will be depleted, but they will only be able to partially reconstitute it, as Western production capacities will not be optimal until 2025.”…………….
Meanwhile, the Pentagon emptied its stockpiles of 155mm ammunition in South Korea and Israel to keep Kiev’s guns firing. With Israel also asking for this increasingly rare ammo, Washington has reportedly diverted tens of thousands of shells back into its Israeli depot, having originally set them aside for Ukraine…………………
Even if the entire Western world were to mobilize its entire arms production capacity exclusively for Ukraine, “that will be not enough for this war,” Ukrainian Strategic Industries Minister Aleksandr Kamyshin told Politico on Monday. https://www.rt.com/russia/585972-ukraine-run-out-ammunition/
1 This Month
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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