Bradwell BNuclear power plant consultations cancelled amid coronavirus fears
Nuclear power plant consultations cancelled amid coronavirus fears, East Anglian Daily Times, 13 Mar 20, Public consultations for the proposed Bradwell B power plant in Essex have been cancelled amid growing coronavirus uncertainty.
Project partners EDF and China General Nuclear (CGN) took the decision to cancel the stage one events in the interest of public safety.
In total, 10 of the events will no longer take place, including exhibitions in Brightlingsea, Great Barrow and South Woodham Ferrers.
A spokesman for the project said: ‘The Bradwell B project has been closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation relating to Covid-19 and listening both to advice from Public Health England and to the concerns of the public, our staff and other stakeholders……
Those who wish to have their say on the plans can still do so until May 27, with consultation documents still available online and at various libraries and council offices in the county. ……
So far, 590 people have been diagnosed with the virus – including six in Essex.
Those who wish to obtain hard copies of the documents or have questions about the proposals can contact developers on 01621 451451 or by email here. https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/bradwell-b-events-cancelled-amid-coronavirus-fears-1-6559799
The lies about nuclear waste dumping in Scotland – from U.S. nuclear submarines
We were lied to in the past about dumping of nuclear waste https://www.thenational.scot/politics/18295704.lied-past-dumping-nuclear-waste/
By Iain Ramsay, Greenock & Inverclyde 11 Mar 20, QUITE a few years back, when I was a local SNP candidate here in Inverclyde, the local small boat owners and fishermen’s association approached me with their worries and problems, which resulted in me taking up the cudgels on their behalf.One of their spokesmen, who had a prawn fishing boat, was the late Brian Penny, who explained the problem and gave me the astounding fact that all the sea life had died in the Holy Loch.
The obvious cause of this was the USA nuclear submarine base of Polaris submarines, which must be discharging or dumping nuclear waste into the loch. With the help of the Greenock Telegraph we made a complaint to the far-off powers in Westminster who (according to them) sent a naval investigation team and took samples of sand, and water from the Loch, and assuring all concerned, that there was no need for any worry, as their tests had shown that the Loch was clean and no contamination was found.
So who was to be believed, our local men who worked the river, or the boffins from the Anglo/Brit Navy? It was their expert word against our on-the-spot working fishermen. The result was that, as usual, nothing happened, until long after the USA navy left, the commander of the Holy Loch base retired and confessed to dumping tons of radio active waste into the loch.
Along with this admission was his statement that the base would have been illegal in America, as such nuclear bases have got to be more than 20 miles from the nearest town.This Holy Loch base was bang in the middle of the river Clyde, and only two miles from Greenock, the second-largest town in Scotland.
This confession by this former USA commander made the Royal Navy tests a total lie. No such tests were made. Proof of the pudding resulted in a permanently based dredger, working for well over a year on the very spot where the American commander’s mother ship was moored. I hope since that panic clean-up, sea life may have made a comeback, although some types of nuclear waste are a danger for a hundred years or more. I hope the USA were back charged for this long and hazardous clean-up, or did we taxpayers foot that bill also?
This doesn’t end the story of contamination, and if anything is only the beginning of a long line of attacks on our fragile environment. The English-flag-flying Royal Navy have taken over where the Yankees left off. Just across the river we have a nuclear submarine base, which not only admits to discharging radioactive waste from Faslane into the Gairloch but announces that this will increase by 50% when the new nuclear subs arrive.
The fact is, the only enemy attack we have to thole right now is from this highly dangerous Cobalt-60 and Tritium cocktail, a GIFT from the Royal Navy. However if you look up GIFT in a German dictionary, it means poison or venom. There are no contingency plans for our children’s health, when only less than two miles away we have a unique seawater swimming pool in Gourock which will eventually filter this contamination through, to be shared by all.
No, to Mr Donald Doull, the base commander, don’t install that new pipeline which will spew out this dangerous filth into our beloved Clyde. Rather fill your navy tankers with the effluent, and sail it down to the River Thames, when opposite the Westminster Parliament discharge this contaminated water into the river. Let’s see how long the Londoners would tolerate such muck spreading on their patch. You will find the English are not as gullible as to accept your stupid comment that this waste is of an acceptable radioactive level. Acceptable by whom, may I ask?
Groups question the viability of the three coastal sites for UK’s new nuclear plants
Hinkley, Sizewell and Bradwell, Stop Hinkley 10th March 2020, A meeting between representatives of groups opposing new nuclear development, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) the independent nuclear safety regulator, and the Environment Agency discussed how the ONR regulates against external hazards.2018. According to minutes of meetings held by ONR’s group of climate
change experts, projections of sea level rise for the year 2100 contain
“considerable uncertainty” and ” small changes to UK storm systems can
alter the height of storm surges significantly”. Crucially, sea level has a
huge effect on the severity of storm surges. An increase in sea level of
one metre could mean that a storm of a severity currently expected only
once every thousand years is likely to occur once every decade. The meeting
took place in Bridgwater on 28th January 2020. Stop Hinkley was joined by
Together Against Sizewell C (TASC) and Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group
(BANNG). The groups are questioning the viability of the three coastal
sites which are all vulnerable to the impacts of flooding, storm surges and
coastal processes which will inevitably intensify in coming years.
Government advisers warn Britain against costly new nuclear reactors
Times 7th March 2020, Net Zero Report. Plans for nuclear plants in Britain face fresh uncertainty after government advisers warned against backing costly new reactors. The nuclear industry wants the government to commit to a funding system to back the construction of reactors, including EDF’s proposed Sizewell plant in Suffolk.
However, the National Infrastructure Commission, set up in 2015 to provide impartial advice to the government, reiterated concerns in a report about backing more nuclear plants. It noted that there had been cost reductions in renewable power technologies such as wind and solar over the past ten years, but “costs of building and running nuclear power stations have not
fallen consistently, even in countries that have built fleets of similar reactors”. Given the potential for other non-intermittent technologies to complement renewables, it said that this “weakened the case for committing to a new fleet of nuclear power stations”.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/advisers-raise-doubts-over-new-nuclear-plants-8hd85cr6d
Worker at Hinkley Point nuclear station has now developed coronavirus COVID-19
Nuclear and other toxic wastes dumped in Beaufort’s Dyke, which lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland
The National 4th March 2020, FOR decades, Scotland has been used by the Ministry of Defence to dump
everything from nuclear waste to unwanted munitions. For example,
Beaufort’s Dyke, which lies between Scotland and Northern Ireland, is
packed with laboratory waste, chemical munitions and artillery rockets. The
decision by the MoD to use it as a dumping ground has effectively ruled out
any possibilty of using that crossing for a Scotland to Northern Ireland
bridge (if ever such a thing was viable in the first place).
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18280377.uk-used-scotland-nuclear-dumping-ground-decades/
We can now see the full horror of nuclear plans for Bradwell B
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BANNG 4th March 2020, Bradwell B to use Cooling Towers. At last we can see the full horror of what is proposed for Bradwell B! The pre-application for planning permission public consultation documents have just been published by the Chinese developer.
TV 4th March 2020, People in Bradwell-on-Sea in Essex will get to have their say on plans for a new nuclear power station from today. A 12 week public consultation is starting on proposals for Bradwell B – a twin reactor on the same site as a power station which stopped operating in 2002. The consultation will include fifteen exhibition events across Essex which will give local residents the chance to review the proposals. |
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Protesters call for Capenhurst Urenco nuclear plant to be closed down
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Protesters call for Capenhurst nuclear plant to be closed down https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/protesters-call-capenhurst-nuclear-plant-17873816 Demonstration held as Urenco celebrated its 50th birthday By
David HolmesChief reporter 6 MAR 2020
Urenco’s nuclear plant at Capenhurst this week celebrated 50 years since the government-owned international company was founded . But outside protesters lamented the damage to human health and the environment caused by disasters like Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan. Close Capenhurst campaigners argued the sector was unsafe from uranium mining to nuclear power production and the transportation and storage of highly radioactive waste.
Concerns have been raised about the Urenco plant itself which enriches uranium for use as fuel in nuclear reactors with the depleted uranium – a low level radioactive and toxic byproduct of the process – stored on site. Marianne Birkby, an anti-nuclear campaigner from Cumbria, speaking at the small demonstration outside the plant, said: “The start of the nuclear fuel cycle is here and where it ends up is Sellafield in Cumbria and every day, virtually, there’s nuclear waste transported on the roads, rail, sea and nobody wants the waste. “It’s all very well for Urenco to say ‘enriching the future’ and how fantastic it all is but nobody wants nuclear waste at the end of the day. And nuclear waste is the product of nuclear power.” Japanese campaigner Kaori Mikata-Pralat read out a statement on behalf of a group pursuing legal action against the Tokyo Electric Power Company over the 2011 Fukushima disaster when a tsunami swamped the plant leading to the release of radioactive contamination. Explaining that Fukushima had alerted her to the dangers, she told CheshireLive: “I wasn’t quite aware of the scale of the problem of this nuclear industry.” She has met victims of nuclear accidents, adding: “What they want is this tragedy should not be repeated any where in the world. Fukushima people suffered a lot.” Kaori said the ocean had also been poisoned. Even nuclear power stations functioning normally affected the eco-system as sea and river water was used to cool the reactors with the hot water put back, harming fish and plant life. Pointing at the sun, fellow protester Philip Gilligan said: “That nuclear power station up there is supplying the energy. It’s the only nuclear power station we want. So the energy coming to earth could easily be used with zero carbon output and zero nuclear. The problem is we need a bomb. And it’s hidden in statements like ‘energy as cheap as water’ which was current when Sellafield went critical in the ‘70s.” Urenco highlights the alleged green credentials of nuclear because there are no CO2 emissions during energy generation but the protesters claim the carbon footprint is ‘enormous’ after taking into account uranium mining, transport and the manufacture of thousands of tons of concrete for the installations. But what of the job losses if plants like Capenhurst, which employs 550 people, were closed? The campaigners argue the Government should reskill the workforce to produce renewable technology like solar panels. |
Nuclear power project Bradwell B public consultation to go live this week
Nuclear power project Bradwell B public consultation to go live this week, Maldon Standard , 4 Mar 20, By Pape Gueye @PMGueye “……… Proposals for Bradwell B were unveiled today as the first stage of consultation gets under way.
The consultation will run for 12 weeks until May 27, with exhibitions taking place at 15 venues across Essex…..
The proposals for Bradwell B will be developed over several years before the project submits an application to the UK Planning Inspectorate.
The final decision whether to grant permission will be taken by the Secretary of State.
A group campaigning against Bradwell B is urging residents to attend the EDF energy and Chinese General Nuclear stage one consultation events and make their views known.
Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) has been campaigning against the power station plan.
A spokesman said: “Any support will be gratefully welcome, ranging from just turning up to spending the whole time at a venue demonstrating your concern.”
The first consultation takes place tomorrow at Steeple Village Hall from 2pm until 8pm.
To see the other consultation dates, visit banng.info. https://www.maldonandburnhamstandard.co.uk/news/18280459.nuclear-power-project-bradwell-b-public-consultation-go-live-week/
Visit bradwellb.co.uk.
Radioactive wastes into River Clyde could have devastating effects on community and wildlife
 Row over MoD River Clyde nuclear waste dump plans
By Herald Scotland Online 1 Mar 20, Scotland’s national environment watchdog has denied claims the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is planning to increase discharges of radioactive waste into the River Clyde.Under the plans, liquid waste from reactors which power Royal Navy submarines at the Faslane and Coulport nuclear bases would be drained into the Gare Loch via a new pipeline.
Campaigners warned the rising discharges could have a devastating effect on surrounding wildlife and communities after a report by investigative journalism platform The Ferret stated emissions of one byproduct, cobalt-60, could rise by more than 50 times. …….. The Ferret reported the discharge of cobalt-60 would rise to 23.4 million units of radioactivity annually – around 52 times the current level. It added emissions of a second substance, known as tritium, would increase by 30 times to around 175,000 units, or ‘megabecquerels’, every year…….. SEPA’s public consultation is open until 13th Match and we welcome all responses. All responses will be reviewed in detail to ensure we continue to safeguard the environment and human health.” The bases are due to receive at least five more submarines in the coming years, including an ageing Trafalgar vessel and three new Astute submersible. The Ferret said a 50-strong group of Nuclear-Free Local Authorities (NFLA) had objected to the discharges. NFLA Scotland convener, Glasgow SNP councillor Feargal Dalton told The Ferret: “NFLA is particularly concerned about the considerable uncertainties in modelling doses and an under-appreciation of the effects of tritium”. “There are effective alternatives to nuclear powered submarines, as pioneered by the likes of Japan, and the Ministry of Defence should make a serious attempt to look at them.” https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18272691.mod-planning-dump-50-times-nuclear-waste-river-clyde/ |
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Is Cumbria about to become the world’s plutonium dump?
February 24, 2020During the last search process for a burial site for the UK’s nuclear waste, which ended in January 2013, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) offered repeated assurances that only the UK’s nuclear waste would be buried in a UK Geological Disposal Facility (GDF). Many questioned at the time whether the NDA could be trusted to keep its word, and it became apparent in mid-2012 that it could not be trusted. The NDA had accepted 4 tonnes of plutonium from Germany in a ‘commercially advantageous arrangement’ according to Charles Hendry, the UK’s Energy Minister at the time. In other words the NDA had been paid to take ownership of the German plutonium.Nuclear station Sizewell C will cause environmental damage on an unprecedented scale
Telegraph 23rd Feb 2020 Suffolk Wildlife Trust: We have serious concerns over the effect upon wildlife of Sizewell C and, despite years of working closely with EDF, we are far from convinced that the electricity giant is taking the impacts seriously.
We also believe that it will be impossible wholly to mitigate or
compensate for much of the negative impact on wildlife. The current plans
suggest that we will lose between 20 and 30 acres of nationally important
land that is supposedly protected by its Site of Special Scientific
Interest status. This equates to covering roughly 10 football pitches of
rare fen habitat in concrete. Invariably there will be devastating habitat
loss for birds such as kingfisher and for rare mammals such as water vole
and otters. EDF has made little attempt to minimise these losses.
Suffolk Preservation Society: The proposed nuclear power plant at
Sizewell C will cause environmental damage on an unprecedented scale in a
highly sensitive location, much of which is designated an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty. The construction phase will bring massive
disruption to communities in East Suffolk over many years and will
permanently change our landscapes. Suffolk’s environment is remarkably
undeveloped and is characterised by a sense of remote wildness. The
tranquillity provides a high quality of life for residents and is a major
draw for tourists. However, this isolation is fragile and could easily be
lost forever. The impact of a development such as Sizewell C upon heritage
sites – including an abbey, churches, farmhouses and other vernacular
buildings that contribute to the special qualities of Suffolk – will be
considerable. The intrusion of new roads to cope with a massive increase in
HGV traffic, spoil heaps, borrow pits, and accommodation for up to 3,000
workers will be felt across numerous locations. Development of the Sizewell
site cannot be at unlimited cost to the quality and character of our county
and its communities.
Outage’s at EDF’s Hinkley nuclear station extended until June
EDF Energy extends outages at Hinkley Point B nuclear plant https://www.reuters.com/article/edf-energy-nuclear/update-1-edf-energy-extends-outages-at-hinkley-point-b-nuclear-plant-idUSL5N2AO3DT
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – EDF Energy has extended two planned outages at Britain’s Hinkley Point B nuclear plant to June to complete further inspections of the reactor cores, the company said on Monday.|
A planned outage at Britain’s Hinkley Point B-8 nuclear reactor has been extended by three months, data from EDF Energy shows. The 480 megawatt reactor went offline on Friday night and was originally due to return to service on March 17. The restart date has now been extended to June 5.
An upcoming outage from April at Hinkley Point B-7 reactor has been extended to June 20 from May 19.“We have decided to take more time to complete the forthcoming inspection outages at Hinkley Point B to allow for additional analysis and review of the core inspection findings which as always we will share with our regulator, ONR,” a company spokesman said, referring to the Office for Nuclear Regulation. The reactors have to undergo such inspections after cracks developed faster than expected in graphite bricks in the reactor core at another of the company’s nuclear fleet in Britain. Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Edmund Blair and Jane Merriman
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Extradition case for Julian Assange – how it will proceed
Julian Assange’s extradition case is finally heading to 
court – here’s what to expect more https://www.sbs.com.au/news/julian-assange-s-extradition-case-is-finally-heading-to-court-here-s-what-to-expeFebruary 24, 2020 Holly Cullen, Adjunct professor, University of Western AustraliaThe extradition hearing to decide whether to send Julian Assange to the United States to be tried for publishing classified military documents on Wikileaks is expected to finally begin today in London.Assange is charged with 17 counts under the Espionage Act, involving receipt, obtaining and disclosing national security information. He has also been charged with one count of conspiracy to assist Chelsea Manning to crack a US Department of Defense password to enable her to access classified information.
Assange has been in Belmarsh prison since his arrest in April 2019. He had been in solitary confinement in a prison medical unit, but was recently moved into a less isolated section of the prison due to concerns about his mental health.
From May to September of last year, Assange served a sentence for bail absconding, but since then has been waiting for the extradition hearing.
How will the process play out? Continue reading
Britain buying new nuclear warheads from USA: Pentagon knew about it, UK Parliament did not
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The revelation has dismayed MPs and experts who question why they have learned of the move – which will cost the UK billions of pounds – only after the decision has apparently been made. It has also raised questions about the UK’s commitment to staunching nuclear proliferation and the country’s reliance on the US for a central plank of its defence strategy. Earlier this month, Pentagon officials confirmed that its proposed W93 sea-launched warhead, the nuclear tip of the next generation of submarine-launched ballistic missiles, would share technology with the UK’s next nuclear weapon, implying that a decision had been taken between the two countries to work on the programme. In public, the UK has not confirmed whether it intends to commission a new nuclear warhead. The Ministry of Defence’s annual update to parliament, published just before Christmas, says only: “Work also continues to develop the evidence to support a government decision when replacing the warhead.” But last week Admiral Charles Richard, commander of the US strategic command, told the Senate defence committee that there was a requirement for a new warhead, which would be called the W93 or Mk7. Richard said: “This effort will also support a parallel replacement warhead programme in the United Kingdom, whose nuclear deterrent plays an absolutely vital role in Nato’s overall defence posture.” Ed Davey, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: “It is totally unacceptable that the government seems to have given the green light to the development of new nuclear weapon technologies with zero consultation and zero scrutiny. Britain under Johnson increasingly looks like putty in Trump’s hands. That Britain’s major defence decisions are being debated in the United States, but not in the UK, is a scandal. Under Johnson, it seems that where Trump leads, we must follow.” ………. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/feb/22/pentagon-gaffe-reveals-uk-deal-replace-trident-nuclear-weapon |
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1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
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
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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