Russia « nuclear-news

Fight to save Russian nuclear plants takes two soldiers’ lives

..Two members of the Russian armed forces were killed Monday fighting wildfires around the major nuclear research centre in Sarov, a town still closed to foreigners as in Soviet times.

Russia battles to defend nuclear sites from fires, Google hosted news, By Stuart Williams (AFP) – 11 Aug 2010, MOSCOW — Russia fought a deadly battle Tuesday to prevent wildfires from engulfing key nuclear sites as alarm mounted over the impact on health of a toxic smoke cloud shrouded over Moscow. Continue reading →

August 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Four nuclear sites in Russia at risk from fires

The Mayak plant can process 400 tonnes of waste a year. It was the scene of one of the former Soviet Union’s major nuclear disasters in 1957 when a liquid waste accident affected some 260,000 people and forced the evacuation of several towns.

Russia nuclear sites under threat from the flames, Khaleej Times, (AFP)9 August 2010, MOSCOW — Here is a list of sensitive nuclear sites threatened by the spread of fires raging in Russia since late July.· Continue reading →

August 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reprocessing | Leave a comment

Russia’s wildfires: state of emergency in nuclear town

Nearby the town of 90,000 is the large-scale Mayak facility, once a source for Soviet plutonium and now processing nuclear waste and materials from old nuclear weapons.

Russia Declares Emergency in Nuclear Town – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency, August 9, 2010 On account of the raging wildfires Russian authorities declared a state of emergency in the town of Ozersk, where a large Russian center for processing of nuclear materials is located.Ozersk (Ozyorsk) is located between the cities of Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk in the eastern part of European Russia. Continue reading →

August 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, global warming, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

A second Russian nuclear facility endangered by wildfires

With Russia still suffering from ongoing heat and dry conditions up to 40C, nearly 500,000 acres of land were currently ablaze.

Fire threatens Russian nuclear centre, By Benedikt Von Imhoff AAP * August 09, 2010 THE battle against forest and peat bog fires around Russia continues, with new fires at one nuclear research site just after firefighters had succeeded in securing another one. Continue reading →

August 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | antinuclear, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Russia’s wildfires threaten radioactive areas from Chernobyl

“Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said heat from fires in the Bryansk region, which already has nuclear contamination from the Chernobyl disaster more than 20 years ago, could release harmful radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

Nuclear Concerns as Russian Wildfires Spread Near Chernobyl, The Atlantic Wire, By Max Fisher, August 06, 2010 The hundreds of wildfires still spreading through Russia are beginning to approach areas affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown. Continue reading →

August 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, Chernobly, Chernobyl, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Russian efforts to save nuclear weapons plant from wildfires

Russian troops have dug a eight kilometre long canal to keep wildfires away from a nuclear arms site. Radio New Zealand News, 2010 : 08 : 08 Forest and peat fires in Russia, caused by a heatwave, have killed at least 52 people and destroyed thousands of homes.Smoke from the wildfires has blanketed the capital, Moscow, forcing people to wear surgical masks to filter out the smog.

A Russian radio station says army troops have excavated a canal around the Sarov nuclear arms facility, 350km east of Moscow, which is ringed by forest……..Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2010 : 08 : 08 : Russian troops dig canal to protect nuclear site

August 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, plutonium, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Russian fires pose nuclear radiation danger

heat from fires in the Bryansk region, which already has nuclear contamination from the Chernobyl disaster more than 20 years ago, could release harmful radioactive particles into the atmosphere.

Russia fires pose nuclear threat, death toll hits 50 | Reuters, 6 August 2010, Emergencies Ministry warns of nuclear threat By Amie Ferris-RotmanMOSCOW, Aug 5 (Reuters) – The Russian government warned on Thursday that the country’s deadliest wildfires in nearly four decades posed a nuclear threat Continue reading →

August 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Russia | antinuclear, global warming, radiation | Leave a comment

Wildfire danger to Russia’s top secret nuclear facility

Russian Wildfire Threatens Nuclear Facility, Voice of America, James Brooke | Moscow, 5 Aug 2010, As record hot temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius continue to bake Russia, wildfires threaten the nation’s nuclear-weapons laboratory and other military facilities. A thick haze of wood smoke blankets Moscow……
Eight firefighting planes and 20 trucks are helping to keep flames out of Sarov, the location of the country’s top-secret nuclear research facility and a city closed to foreigners……..

Russian Wildfire Threatens Nuclear Facility | Europe | English

August 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Russian public wary on nuclear disarmament

More than a quarter of Russians (27 percent) said the pact benefited the entire world.

Most of Russians against nuclear disarmament – poll | Russia | RIA Novosti, 15 July 2010, The majority of Russians (60 percent) are against further nuclear disarmament, with numbers in favor dropping significantly since the end of the Soviet era, the Russia Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) said on Thursday. Continue reading →

July 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Moscow to get 5000 nuclear bomb safety bunkers

Moscow arms against nuclear attack – RT, 12 July, 2010, Nearly 5,000 new emergency bomb shelters will be built in Moscow by 2012 to save people in case of potential attacks. Moscow authorities say the measure is urgent as the shelters currently available in the city can house no more that half of its population.In the last 20 years, the area of air-raid defense has been developed little, and the existing shelters have become outdated. Moreover, they are located mostly in the city center, which makes densely populated Moscow outskirts especially vulnerable in the event of a nuclear attack……. Moscow arms against nuclear attack – RT

July 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Russia’s Rosatom nuclear corporation now in control of Uranium One

Uranium One gives up control, FINANCIAL POST, June 2010, The company has negotiated a complex deal in which it will hand over a controlling stake of at least 51% in itself to the state-owned Russian uranium companyJSCAtomredmetzoloto (ARMZ). It is a subsidiary of Rosatom, the world’s biggest integrated nuclear firm… Continue reading →

July 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Russia | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

The world’s most dangerous project – Russia’s floating nukes

their flexibility also brings a phalanx of new risk considerations to the nuclear bargain — particularly one like this that’s designed to change locales. No surprise then that Greenpeace Russia has dubbed the Akademik Lomonosov the world’s most dangerous nuclear project in a decade…

Russia Launches Floating Nuclear Power Plant, EEE Spectrum, 2 July 2010, Russian nuclear engineering group Rosatom launched the world’s first floating nuclear power plant Wednesday, Continue reading →

July 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Not hard to get hold of Highly Enriched Uranium, especially in Russia

What’s It Take to Build a Nuclear Weapon? | TakePart by Adam Trunell, 25 June 2010, The Nuclear Material “………The most important ingredient in a nuclear bomb is the nuclear stuff itself, which is also the hardest to get. No way can you find nuclear material like plutonium or highly enriched uranium stockpiled in a tool shed behind some half-hearted padlock. Right? Wrong.

Every nuclear-powered nation on the planet has nuclear material, and not all of it’s under lock and key. Civilian stockpiles in Europe and Japan aren’t staffed by armed guards, nor are most nuclear research reactors on U.S. college campuses.But if you’re looking for a truly easy score, try Russia. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Share price plummets because of Uranium One’s risky deal with Russia

Uranium One shares dive as Russia deal questioned Reuters, Jun 9, 2010 Shares tumble 11 pct one day after Russian deal State-owned ARMZ to take controlling stake in company* Analysts cite rising risk, wonder about approval.By Cameron FrenchTORONTO, – Uranium One (UUU.TO) shares deepened their slide on Wednesday, a day after the company agreed to sell a controlling stake to Russia‘s state-owned nuclear company, with some analysts cutting share-price targets and questioning whether the deal will be approved….. Uranium prices have been in decline since hitting a record high in 2007, and were at $40.75 a pound this week… UPDATE 1-Uranium One shares dive as Russia deal questioned | Reuters

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Russia | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

Australian uranium mine to come under Russian control

Moscow moves on global uranium mines The Australian June 10, RUSSIA has moved to boost its holdings in global uranium mines, with state-owned Rosatom agreeing to take a controlling stake in Canada’s Uranium One……If the deal goes ahead, it will put the Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, scheduled to come into production at the end of the year, under the control of the Russian government…… Uranium One has sold its recently acquired 3 per cent stake in Australia’s Paladin Resources,…….Uranium One owns 51 per cent of Honeymoon Well mine, which means it will come under Rosatom’s control.Honeymoon Well, 75km northwest of Broken Hill, is expected to cost $138m to develop.The other 49 per cent is owned by Japan’s Mitsui…. Moscow moves on global uranium mines | The Australian