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Everybody near Sizewell nuclear site will get anti-radiation pills

Suffolk: Whole town to get anti-radiation pills as part of N-plant
safety plan, EEADT24 By David Green, January 7, 2013 THE entire
population of a Suffolk town will be issued with “standby” supplies of
anti-radiation pills if proposals put out to public consultation today
are approved.

potassium-iodate-pills
People living and working in Leiston, as well as schools, would also
be given annual calendars setting out the procedures for use in the
event of a major release of radioactivity from the Sizewell nuclear
site. Continue reading →

January 8, 2013 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Inadequate emergency plan for UK’s Sizewell nuclear power station

Sizewell nuclear incident plan post Fukushima ‘inadequate’, BBC News,
7 Jan 13,  Sizewell C could be built next to the existing A and B
nuclear power stations

Changes to Suffolk’s emergency plan for Sizewell nuclear power station
after the Fukushima disaster in Japan have been called “totally
inadequate”.

Suffolk Resilience Forum, made up of local councils and groups, is
reviewing incident plans for nearby residents.

An inner emergency zone is to be extended from 1.5 miles (2.4km) to
2.3 miles (4km) with an outer precautionary area of 9 miles (15km).

Shut Down Sizewell campaigners said the danger zone should be 18 miles
(30km)……..
Charles Barnett, from the Shut Down Sizewell Campaign, welcomed the
review but called the 1.5 mile (4km) radius of danger “totally
inadequate”.

He said: “The precaution zone should be 18 miles (30km) so that
hundreds of thousands of people would be made aware of the dangers.

“Fukushima has demonstrated that nuclear power stations should be
closed down as the only safe precaution and we are working towards
that….. Consultation and information documents have been circulated
and views are invited from the public up to the closing date of 8
April for publication of a detailed plan in June.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-20937668

January 8, 2013 Posted by | safety, UK | Leave a comment

Trident nuclear weapons dangerous for English city – but NOT for Scottish?

Angus Robertson, SNP Defence Spokesman, said: “Ironically the UK
government is content to dump Trident nuclear weapons near Scotland’s
biggest city, but is unwilling to station them on the south coast of
England, for safety reasons. That speaks volumes for Westminster’s
attitude to Scotland.

Scottish Independence: MoD says Trident nuclear weapons not safe
enough to be stored at English base
http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/scottish-independence-mod-says-trident-nuclear-weapons-not-safe-enough-to-be-stored-at-english-base-1-2721194
  by SCOTT McCARTNEY
 6 January 2013 
THE Ministry of Defence has said that Britain’s Trident nuclear
weapons could not be removed from Scotland to England as they are not
safe enough for Devonport.

• Faslane in Scotland currently home to UK’s nuclear deterrent.

• MoD believes 11,000 people in Plymouth would be at risk from accident.

• Ministry rules out moving weapons out of Scotland.

According to reports, the MoD says that Devonport does not have the
safety clearance to house the trident nuclear weapons and there are
currently no plans to chance that, despite the Scottish Government
saying it would remove nuclear weapons from Scotland as soon as
possible in the event of independence. Continue reading →

January 7, 2013 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Just what are the UK govt’s plans for relocating nuclear submarines?

Vote yes for a nuclear free England, January 04, 2013 by Rev. Stuart
Campbell In a slightly surprising development reported late this
afternoon by the Guardian, the Ministry of Defence appeared to
suddenly and officially confirm what most supporters of independence
have asserted for some time: that if Scotland becomes independent the
UK will lose its nuclear deterrent, as it has nowhere else to put it. Continue reading →

January 5, 2013 Posted by | politics, UK | Leave a comment

UK’s Hinkley Point nuclear plans could be derailed by France’s probe into EDF

Reports: EDF inquiry could disrupt UK nuclear plans Financial Times suggests investigation could complicate strike price negotiations and unsettle investors
 BusinessGreen  03 Jan 2013   The UK’s ambitions for a new fleet of nuclear reactors could be disrupted by a French government probe into state-owned generator EDF, whose UK arm is currently in negotiations to build a £14bn nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
The formal inquiry established in the last days of 2012 is billed as an industry-wide investigation, but French media are reporting it is specifically focused on EDF and its relationships with China.
The Financial Times said yesterday that the inquiry casts doubt over the future of EDF chief executive Henri Proglio, who has been unable to replicate the close relationship he enjoyed with former President Nicolas Sarkozy with his successor, François Hollande. , observers are concerned the probe could have a knock-on effect on EDF’s stance towards building a new reactor at Hinkley Point, especially if the French government decides it should not take the risk of subsidising UK energy consumers. Any shift in EDF’s position would further complicate ongoing negotiations with the UK government over the level of subsidy, or strike price, that will be provided to support the Hinkley Point plant.

Last year, it was reported EDF Energy was looking for a payment of between £100 per megawatt hour (MWh) and £140/MWh to go ahead with the plant and that a final investment decision had been delayed from the end of 2012 to April 2013….. http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2233578/reports-edf-inquiry-could-disrupt-uk-nuclear-plans

January 4, 2013 Posted by | France, politics international, UK | Leave a comment

UK stuck with fairly useless nuclear submarines – mainly to save face

The Trident Debate: UK’s Strategic Nuclear Deterrent – Analysis By:
IPCS, January 2, 2013  By Debak Das Stuck in a world order where it
represents the lower rung of the club of ‘Nuclear Weapons States’, the
United Kingdom’s (UK) now delayed decision to upgrade its Trident
submarine nuclear missile system raises some important questions.

What does the deterrent mean for the UK and what is the need for it
now? And secondly, what are the implications of the upgradation of
this missile system along with the new £315 million pound deal to work
on the replacement of the Royal Navy’s Vanguard class of submarines.

Why Does The UK Need The Nuclear Deterrent?  The Vanguard class of
submarines and the Trident submarine missile systems are a relic of
the Cold War…. Why then the deterrent? The answer to this question
lies in two propositions. First, the nuclear deterrent is a symbol of
the ‘great power’ that Britain once was. Continue reading →

January 3, 2013 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Inquest on gun murder aboard UK nuclear submarine

HMS Astute nuclear submarine officer shot tackling gunman BBC News 2
Jan 13, A navy officer was shot in the head as he tried to stop a
junior rating killing others on a nuclear-powered submarine, an
inquest heard.

Lt Cdr Ian Molyneux, 36, of Wigan, Greater Manchester, was shot at
close range on board HMS Astute while docked in Southampton in 2011.

The inquest into his death heard he would have fallen unconscious
immediately and died shortly after.

Able Seaman Ryan Donovan was jailed for at least 25 years for murder.

The navigator yeoman also pleaded guilty to attempting to murder Lt
Cdr Christopher Hodge, 45, who he shot in the stomach, Petty Officer
Christopher Brown, 36, and Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37.

Donovan’s attack, on 8 April 2011, was only stopped when the then
leader of Southampton City Council, Royston Smith, and its chief
executive, Alistair Neill, wrestled the weapon from
him…..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-20893271

January 3, 2013 Posted by | Religion and ethics, UK | Leave a comment

UK nuclear lobby desperate to keep the industry alive, therefore needs waste dump quickly

cartoon-waste-discussion without a positive decision, new nuclear development could be put
at risk.

Ministers are thought to be working on plans to try to ensure the
new-build programme is not derailed. Final investment decisions and
approvals for EDF’s proposed nuclear plant in Somerset are expected
next year.
a “no” vote in Cumbria in January would be likely to
deter a consortium that is at the early stage of planning a new plant
in the county, as it would have to invest hundreds of millions of
pounds before seeking planning permission….

Nuclear sector pushes for green light on waste dump. Telegraph By
Emily Gosden  30 Dec 2012
Britain’s nuclear industry has warned that a “no” vote by local
councils on crucial plans to assess sites for a major radioactive
waste dump would be “an injustice to future generations”. Continue reading →

December 31, 2012 Posted by | politics, UK, wastes | 1 Comment

Nuclear firm AREVA hedging its bets- making wind turbines now

wind-turb-smAreva plans 750 jobs with Scottish wind turbine factory, Telegraph,
By Emily Gosden  19 Nov 2012 French energy company Areva has
unveiled plans for a wind turbine factory in Scotland that could
areva-medusa1create up to 750 jobs.
The plant at the Firth of Forth would manufacture turbines for use off
the coast of the UK, each generating 5 megawatts of electricity, which
could supply 6,000 homes a year.
The move was hailed as “brilliant news for Scotland” by Prime Minister
David Cameron, who added: “Growth of the renewable energy sector isn’t
just good for our environment, it’s good for our economy too.”…..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/9689022/Areva-plans-750-jobs-with-Scottish-wind-turbine-factory.html

December 31, 2012 Posted by | France, renewable, UK | Leave a comment

Renewable energy is increasingly powering UK’s electricity grid

renewable_energyUK RENEWABLE ENERGY POWERS FORWARD Waste flag-UKManagement World, LONDON, Dec. 27 — The Department of Energy and Climate Change issued the following press release: Renewable energy is powering forward in the UK, according to the 2012 update to the Renewable Energy Roadmap published today by Energy Secretary Edward Davey.
Significant progress has been made on the rollout of renewable energy across the United Kingdom from July 2011 to July 2012, including:
* A 27 percent increase in overall renewable electricity generated;
* A 40 percent increase over the same period in renewable electricity capacity. Now over 10 percent of all electricity generated is coming from renewables;
* A 60 percent increase of offshore wind capacity to 2.5 gigawatts, and;
* A five-fold increase in solar PV capacity. Continue reading →

December 28, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

3000 km away, and nearly 30 years later Chernobyl’s radiation is a BIT better

text ionisingWhile other areas of Europe, such as Scandinavia, continue to record substantial levels of radioactivity in stock animal populations, the UK has provided happy evidence that the impact of Chernobyl radiation is diminishing.

British Sheep vs. Chernobyl Radiation 18 December 2012 by Stephanie Swift,   http://www.scilogs.com/mmmbitesizescience/british-sheep-and-chernobyl-radiation/
The explosion of reactor number four of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 is widely regarded as the worst radiation disaster in human history. The radioactive fallout spread from Northern Ukraine throughout Northern Europe, dispersing large quantities of radioactive elements, including two caesium isotopes, Cs-134 and Cs-137. Continue reading →

December 20, 2012 Posted by | environment, UK | Leave a comment

Plutonium now called “material” as it travels from Scotland to Wales

PuBreeder is classed as material and not as fuel or waste, by NDA.

Nuclear material moved by train from Scotland to England , BBC News,  17 December 2012  The first of 90 rail shipments of nuclear material from Dounreay in Caithness to Sellafield in Cumbria was made overnight.

The journey was understood to have been made under armed escort. Forty-four tonnes of breeder material in total will be transported by train to Sellafield for reprocessing. Continue reading →

December 18, 2012 Posted by | - plutonium, UK | Leave a comment

World’s largest offshore wind farm fully operational by Spring 2013

wind-farm-oceanConstruction complete at world’s largest offshore wind farm REM, 14 December 2012 The 175th and final turbine has been installed at the London Array offshore wind farm marking the end of major construction activities, Dong Energy announced.

Turbine installation began in January 2012 and has been completed by MPI Discovery, A2SEA’s Sea Worker and Sea Jack. Now that all the turbines are in place and the majority now connected and supplying power to the national grid, the wind farm is on track to
be fully operational in Spring 2013.

DONG Energy, which holds a 50 percent stake in the project, said the wind farm has been generating energy since October 2012 when the first turbine began producing power. Continue reading →

December 15, 2012 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

UK new Trident nuclear submarine fleet an insane waste of money

Harvey said it would be cheaper for the government to give every worker £2m “so they could go an live in the Bahamas”.

Trident-nuclear-submarineSea-based nuclear deterrent expensive and ‘insane’ – ex-defence minister Former armed forces minister Sir Nick Harvey urges need for Trident alternatives in evidence to Nuclear Education Trust Nick Hopkins guardian.co.uk,   13 December 2012  Keeping a constant sea-bound nuclear deterrent is “complete insanity” that costs too much and is militarily illogical, a former defence minister has said.

Sir Nick Harvey, who was armed forces minister until September, said the UK had to properly consider other options before any decisions were taken about whether to replace the Royal Navy’s four ageing Trident submarines. Continue reading →

December 14, 2012 Posted by | UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Britain’s taxpayers up for more than 100 billion pounds in nuclear cleanup

coffin-reactorNuclear clean-up to cost £100bn and take 120 years. Decommissioning, no2nuclearpower, 9 December 2012 BRITAIN’S taxpayers will be landed with a bill of more than £100bn for cleaning up radioactive waste from sites such as Sellafield and Dounreay, according to the chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

The amount represents a near-doubling of the £56bn cleanup cost announced when the NDA began operating in 2005, and could rise still more. The warning comes as NDA highly-recommendedengineers start work on some of the biggest and most expensive engineering projects seen in Britain — building giant robotic grabs to lift deadly nuclear waste from Sellafield’s decaying 1950s repositories.

The buildings being targeted include Sellafield’s B29 and B30 cooling ponds, where decaying 1950s fuel rods are stored. This weekend John Clarke, chief executive of the NDA, said he was spending £3bn a year on the cleanup, with about £1.6bn of that going on Sellafield alone. Such sums are similar to those spent on the London Olympic site at the peak of construction.

Figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change show that, since Britain’s first nuclear power station opened in 1956, they have generated 2.5 billion megawatt hours of electricity — worth £125 billion at today’s prices. If the cost of building Britain’s 20-odd nuclear power stations (around £10bn-£12bn each in today’s money), is included, it would far exceed the value of the power produced, say experts.

Such figures show why power companies, which would be responsible for the waste, are refusing to build new nuclear power stations without government guarantees of a consumer subsidy that will almost double the market price for their power.
Sunday Times 9th Dec 2012 more >>   http://www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/news/daily12/daily.php?dailynewsid=343

December 13, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, decommission reactor, politics, Reference, UK | 1 Comment