Hinkley Point C nuclear station – construction costs $388.9 million every month
S&P 20th Oct 2020, EDF Energy is spending GBP300 million ($388.9 million) a month on the
construction of the 3.2-GW Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant that it is
building with its equity partner China General Nuclear Corp. in western
England, a company executive said at a London webinar Oct. 20.
Humphrey Cadoux-Hudson, managing director, nuclear new build at EDF Energy, was
speaking at a webinar on the future development of the UK nuclear power
industry organized by the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport
Forum. He said that EDF Energy had been spending this amount monthly on
Hinkley Point C “since 2018” and intended to continue at the same rate of
monthly expenditure until the plant’s completion.
The two EPR Hinkley Point C plant in western England is currently scheduled to start operations
during 2025. The plant is 66.5% owned by EDF Energy and 33.5% owned by CGN.
Do the UK authorities really understand the hazards of radioactive waste mud dumping off Cardiff?
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Nation Cymru 20th Oct 2020, Richard Bramhall, Secretary of the Level Radiation Campaign. Tomorrow the
Senedd will debate a petition calling for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be undertaken ahead of any further dredged material from Hinkley Point being disposed of at the Cardiff Grounds disposal site. This is taking centre stage as Electricité de France (EDF) seeks a licence
to dredge huge amounts of mud from the Severn Estuary and dump it on a shallow sandbank less than two miles from Cardiff. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 requires decision-makers to take great care and to consult widely when there are uncertainties. We argue that there are large uncertainties
about how many uranium oxide fragments are in the mud, and about where they would go if dumped on Cardiff Grounds, how much genetic damage they would do to the population of Wales and whether the people who must make the licensing decisions understand the relevant science. https://nation.cymru/opinion/why-were-calling-for-more-testing-before-more-mud-from-hinkley-point-is-dumped-near-cardiff/ |
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Royal Navy officer in charge of submarine’s nuclear weapons, sent back to UK, alleged to be drunk on duty
Royal Navy officer in charge of sub’s nuclear weapons sent back to UK for ‘clocking on after night of drinking’ Lieutenant Commander Len Louw was carrying a bag of barbecue grilled chicken when he arrived for work. Sky News ,By Lucia Binding, news reporter, Monday 19 October 2020 ……….Lieutenant Commander Len Louw was declared unfit for duty when he arrived at HMS Vigilant to take charge of nuclear missiles last month………..
Lieutenant Commander Louw was responsible for all weapons and sensors on the vessel. ……https://news.sky.com/story/royal-navy-officer-in-charge-of-subs-nuclear-weapons-sent-back-to-uk-for-clocking-on-after-night-of-drinking-12108234
In Germany , a new dispute over the old abandoned Gorleben nuclear waste site
16 October 2020 Pledge Times (India/Germany)
New dispute over Gorleben
In an interview, the President of Germany’s Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management says it was problematic that Gorleben (current interim but beleaguered radwaste site) has been ruled out in the first review stage of the process to identify a geological repository site. The Green Party responded that the President “did not understand the procedure for which he is in charge. The search for a repository follows scientific criteria.”
USA aiming to beat Russia, China etc, in marketing nuclear reactors to Poland
 US to cooperate on Poland’s nuclear plans, Argus 9 October 2020, The US and Poland are set to sign an agreement to co-operate on Poland’s nuclear development programme, envisaging construction of 6-9GW of nuclear generation capacity, with the first unit to start in 2033.US secretary of energy Dan Brouillette and Poland’s secretary of energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski today agreed to sign a long-term agreement between the governments of both countries to co-operate on Polish nuclear development.
The agreement, which had been already signed by the US side and is to be signed by Poland in the near future, provides that over the next 18 months the countries will work together on a financial and technical report on Poland’s nuclear power programme. This report will be the basis for US long-term involvement and for the Polish government to take final decisions on construction of nuclear power plants in the country, the US Department of Energy said……….. Earlier this year a Polish nuclear consortium led by government-controlled PGE sold its stakes in the PGE EJ 1 subsidiary, which initially was to be developing nuclear plants. In 2009 PGE said it planned to develop 6GW of nuclear capacity. Since then the company has struggled to come up with a financing model, and it recently opted to abandon its nuclear plans and focus on renewables. Under the current financing model, Poland plans to set up a joint venture with strategic foreign investors for development of the plants, with the Polish government maintaining at least 51pc. Tentative partners, beyond US companies, include firms from France and South Korea. https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2151529-us-to-cooperate-on-polands-nuclear-plans |
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France’s anti nuclear activists to train citizen scientists to measure radioactivity levels around a nuclear site
La Depeche 17th Oct 2020, The actinists who have been mobilizing on the ground for years against the
Orano-Malvesi plant (conversion and enrichment of uranium ore), want to
train citizens to take samples themselves to measure the radioactivity
around the nuclear site.
Britain’s zero emissions policy will bring many 1000s of jobs, investing in green infrastructure
help to achieve Boris Johnson’s national renewal mission, a report
published today says. Investment in green infrastructure and technologies
will prevent long-term scarring of the labour market in the wake of the
Covid-19 crisis, the report by the London School of Economics adds.
this summer to “build back better, build back greener, build back
faster” after GDP collapsed by a record 19.8 per cent as a result of a
national lockdown.
government investment would create the maximum number of jobs while also
helping to achieve the UK’s commitment of carbon neutrality, including
renewable energy infrastructure, electric vehicle production and home
energy efficiency retrofits. The UK was the world’s first major economy
to enshrine in law a commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/net-zero-goal-will-be-ally-of-recovery-w09wcx7hn
Swedish council votes in favour of nuclear waste disposal facility
French nuclear company EDF disdains the Suffolk community with its cavalier change of plans
Stop Sizewell C (Instagram) 16th Oct 2020, This morning the East Anglian Daily Times published a story about EDFwanting to change its Sizewell C proposals, and plans to hold a new 30-day
consultation. This has generated much confusion and outrage – but having
spoken to the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) we have a little more
information about what this means.
looks like a 30-day consultation could be held from 16 November until 15
December during which we would be expected to send feedback to EDF.
Authority, which would then decide whether to accept these revised
proposals for examination. Whether new Relevant Representations would have
to be made, or whether the Examining Authority would decide the examination
timetable based on the ones already sent, is not totally clear to us.
cavalier treatment of people. Since it is not credible that EDF has only
just come up with these changes since 30 September (when Councils and MPs
expressed such strong concerns), EDF should have told us before 30
September that changes were coming, paused the process in order to conduct
their consultations, and then restarted it, so that everyone could make
their Relevant Representations based on up to date information.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaTm8TJ6Fw/?igshid=101p11ihmpbc2
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ReplyForward
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Sizewell nuclear project: EDF messes Suffolk communities about, with yet another public consultation, after 1200 responses already
C plans which have been submitted just days after more than 1,200
respondents gave their views on the project.
– and a 30-day public consultation is to take place next month.
materials for the massive project, with an increase in trains and
alterations to the proposed beach landing facility. It was only a few days
ago that the opportunity to comment on the project closed and the Planning
Inspectorate is still verifying each of the 1,287 submissions from people,
businesses, councils and agencies.
that people are likely now to be asked all over again to submit comments on
EDF’s revised proposals. Stop Sizewell C said it could not believe EDF
had only just realised after years of consultation that Suffolk people
didn’t want a road-led transport strategy for delivery of construction
materials that would put 1,000 HGVs on the roads.
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/sizewell-c-changes-provoke-frustration-from-campaigners-1-6887930
France’s nuclear company EDF promises a new design pressurised water nuclear reactor (EPR)
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EDF plans to announce new EPR nuclear reactor by mid-2021By Reuters Staff https://www.reuters.com/article/us-edf-nuclear-idUSKBN2701B8, PARIS (Reuters) 18 Oct 20, – EDF EDF.PA aims to unveil a new, cheaper-to-build version of its EPR nuclear reactor by mid-2021, the French power company said on Thursday. EDF has faced costly delays in the construction of some plants, including its Flamanville 3 nuclear project in France which is more than a decade behind schedule. The French state last year called on the company to improve its record. EDF, which is majority-owned by the government, said in a presentation that next generation EPR reactors would benefit from a reduction in necessary preparatory studies. The group said it was also planning on bringing in new oversight measures for its major projects, after a government audit last year highlighted planning deficiencies and poor coordination at some sites. EDF added in its presentation that it would introduce more of a results-driven relationship with suppliers. The government has put off a decision on whether or not to build new nuclear reactors until after the Flamanville 3 project is operating, which is now expected at the end of 2022. Other EDF projects include the planned Sizewell C nuclear plant in eastern England. EDF is already building Britain’s first new nuclear plant in more than two decades, Hinkley Point C, with backing from China’s CGN. Reporting by Benjamin Mallet, writing by Sarah White; editing by Jason Neely |
France has more nuclear waste than shown in official inventory, reports the nuclear regulator
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There is more nuclear waste in France than what is currently in the official inventory. This is one of the conclusions of the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) in a report released on Thursday October 8 that went relatively unnoticed. They assert that a significant part of what was until now considered radioactive material intended to be reused to produce electricity actually corresponds to radioactive waste, which will have to be managed and stored. An orientation against the tide of the doctrine defended for years by the French nuclear industry. This report follows the public debate on the National Plan for the Management of Radioactive Materials and Waste (PNGMDR), the fifth edition of which is under preparation. Currently, the law provides that radioactive waste is an ultimate residue that can no longer be used, while radioactive material is potentially recyclable……. (subscribers only) https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2020/10/15/le-volume-des-dechets-radioactifs-est-revu-a-la-hausse-par-l-autorite-de-surete-nucleaire_6056058_3244.html |
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Dangerous radiation levels from fracking
I have raised this concern in several letters to the Guardian over the past seven years. Indeed, seven years ago this month, Public Health England said in a review of potential risks that “there is … the potential for radon gas to be present in natural gas extracted from UK shale”.
Eight years ago, Dr Marvin Resnikoff, of Radioactive Waste Management Associates, estimated that radon levels from the Marcellus gas field in the eastern US were up to 70 times the average, and suggested that the radiation from some shale gas deposits was as much as 30 times as high as natural background levels.
Hence, there is undoubtedly a risk of radon gas being pumped into citizens’ homes as part of the shale gas stream. Unless the gas is stored for up to a month to allow the radon’s radioactivity to naturally reduce, this is potentially very dangerous.
Dr David Lowry
Senior international research fellow, Institute for Resource and Security Studies
Putin suggests extending the START nuclear weapons control treaty for another year
Russia’s Vladimir Putin proposes yearlong extension of New START nuclear treaty with U.S. “It would be extremely sad if the treaty ceases to exist without being replaced by another fundamental document of the kind,” Putin said. Oct. 17, 2020, NBC News, By The Associated Press, MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday made a strong call to save the last existing nuclear arms control pact between his country and the United States, proposing to extend it at least for one year.Putin’s statement comes amid conflicting signals from Russian and U.S. diplomats about the fate of the New START treaty that is set to expire in February unless Moscow and Washington agree on its extension.
Speaking at a meeting of his Security Council, Putin said that “it would be extremely sad if the treaty ceases to exist without being replaced by another fundamental document of the kind.”
“All those years, the New START has worked, playing its fundamental role of limiting and containing an arms race,” he noted.
The New START treaty was signed in 2010 by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The pact limits each country to no more than 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, and envisages sweeping on-site inspections to verify compliance.
After both Moscow and Washington withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty last year, New START is the only nuclear arms control deal between the two countries still standing.
Russia previously offered its extension for five years without any conditions, while the U.S. administration pushed for a new arms control agreement that would also include China. Moscow has described that idea as unfeasible, pointing at Beijing’s refusal to negotiate any deal that would reduce its much-smaller nuclear arsenal.
Putin on Friday proposed to “extend the existing treaty without any conditions for at least one year” to allow for “substantive talks,” instructing Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to get a quick U.S. answer to the offer. He emphasized that Russia is ready to discuss the new weapons it deployed in future arms talks with the United States.
Earlier this week, Lavrov voiced skepticism about reaching a deal on New START, noting that Russia can’t accept the conditions put forward by the United States for its extension.
Lavrov specified that Russia can’t agree to the U.S. proposal to limit battlefield nuclear weapons alongside nuclear warheads that arm strategic missiles and bombers until the U.S. agrees to withdraw its tactical nuclear weapons from Europe.
He also noted that Moscow wouldn’t accept the U.S. demand to have intrusive verification measures like those that existed in the 1990s when inspectors were positioned at missile factories……… https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-s-vladimir-putin-proposes-yearlong-extension-new-start-nuclear-n1243741
In Scotland, UK’s old nuclear submarines are left to rot
The nuclear graveyard just five miles from Edinburgh, where Cold War submarines are left to ‘rot’There has been repeated criticism of the fact seven contaminated nuclear subs have been laid up at Rosyth dockyard since the 1980s. Edinburgh Live, By
A recent viral tweet has brought fresh attention to a decades-old controversy in Edinburgh’s back yard: namely, a hulking fleet of decommissioned, but still radioactive, Cold War nuclear submarines. The seven defunct submarines – Dreadnought, Churchill, Swiftsure, Revenge, Resolution, Repulse and Renown – have been laid up since the 1980s, stored at Rosyth in Fife while arrangements are made to safely dispose of them.
All of the subs have had their toxic fuel removed, but parts of the vessels, including the reactor compartments, are still contaminated with radiation.
Seven of the submarines have been in storage for longer than they were in service with the Royal Navy.
A lack of money and a lack of suitable disposal sites are amongst the issues causing lengthy delays to the disposal process. In 2016 the Ministry of Defence admitted it could take until 2040 to completely dispose of the retired fleet.
This week, an Edinburgh Twitter user took to the social media platform to complain about the fact the historic submarines were still in the Forth, saying they had been ‘dumped’ to ‘rust’ in the dockyard. The tweet has since been shared over 800 times………
The MoD has said it will dispose of the fleet “as soon as practically possible”.
According to an article on Scottish investigative journalism site The Ferret, in the 1980s the UK government tried to hatch a secret plan to dump the radioactive hulks of the problematic and hard-to-dispose of subs in the sea off north west Scotland, documents released by the National Archives reveal.
The Ferret say that a survey for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 1989 identified six sites for “seabed storage” of defunct naval submarines near the islands of Skye, Mull and Barra for up to 60 years – and probably longer.
According to one MoD official the aim was “to remove submarines from public view”. Another hoped that “everyone will forget about these submarines and that they will be allowed to quietly rot away indefinitely.”
The 1989 sea-dumping plan was dropped in the end, but the continuing presence of these ancient nuclear behemoths in the Forth makes it very clear that the MoD’s problem of what to do with the Cold War relics isn’t going away any time soon. https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/nuclear-graveyard-just-five-miles-19118105
1 This Month
19 May – Webinar No To Nuclear: Why Nuclear Power Destroys Lives, Derails Climate Progress and Provokes War
1 June Webinar – The High Cost of Nuclear Power – Register
of the week– Nuclear Reactor Information Task Force
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