$27 Billion Jump in USA’s nuclear weapons costs
U.S. Nuclear-Arms Cost Estimate Jumps Up $27 Billion GLOBAL SECURITY NEWSWIRE, 13 Dec 13 National Journal, An 18-year spending outlook for U.S. nuclear arms has shot up by $27.1 billion, and costs could rise further still, congressional auditors said this week.
Investigators found the increase by comparing the Obama administration’s latest cost estimate for maintaining and updating U.S. nuclear weapons over a set period — fiscal years 2014 through 2031 — to the U.S. estimate from two years ago for the same timeframe, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday……http://www.nationaljournal.com/global-security-newswire/u-s-nuclear-arms-cost-estimate-jumps-up-27-billion-20131213
USA government has lost enthusiasm for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors
DOE Drops the Ball on Nuclear Design Funding The Motley Fool, By John Licata December 13, 2013 …The Department of Energy (DOE) was expected to announce two winners of the first round of small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) design funding which was delayed several times in 2012. However, only one award was announced last November and that award went to Babcox & Wllcox (NYSE: BWC ) . Now over one year later and past the most recent deadline of September 2013 for two more design award announcements, the DOE continues to delay further commitment to SMR designs….
US politicians and indigenous people fight Lake Huron nuclear waste dump
Saugeen Ojibwe and U.S. Politicians Oppose Nuclear Waste Burial Near Lake Huron, Indian Country, Martha Troian12/12/13
A controversial proposal to bury nuclear waste a half mile from Lake Huron’s shoreline in Ontario is proceeding over indigenous objections in a plan that has repercussions on both sides of the U.S.–Canada border.
Opposition to the plan, which would inter low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste about 2,230 feet underground in solid rock, is sparking opposition from Indigenous Peoples and U.S. politicians alike. …… Continue reading
More USA sailors afflicted by exposure to Fukushima radiation
Another 20 Navy Sailors: USS Ronald Reagan crew with thyroid cancers, leukemia, brain tumors, bleeding, blindness after Fukushima disaster — Young kids developing problems — Gov’t and Tepco involved in major conspiracy (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/another-20-navy-sailors-uss-ronald-reagan-crew-with-thyroid-cancer-leukemia-brain-tumors-bleeding-blindness-children-becoming-sick-after-responding-to-311-crisis-japan-govt-and-tepc
Nuclear Hotseat #129, Dec. 10, 2013:
Charles Bonner, attorney representing sailors from the USS Ronald Reagan: They’re not only going to the rescue by jumping into the water and rescuing people out of the water, but they were drinking desalinated sea water, bathing in it, until finally the captain of the USS Ronald Reagan alarmed people that they were encountering high levels of radiation. As a result of this exposure, the 51 sailors that we represent right now have come down with a host of medical problems, including cancers and leukemias, all kinds of gynecological problems […] people who are going blind, pilots who had perfect eyesight but now have tumors on the brain. These service men and women are young people 21, 22, 23 years old and no one in their family had ever (inaudible) any of these kinds of illnesses before…
Bonner: These sailors had none of these kind of medical problems, now they have back pains, memory loss, severe anxiety. They have testicular cancer, they have thyroid cancers, they have leukemias, they have a host of problems, rectal and gynecological bleeding, a host of problems that they did not have before […] And it’s only been 3 years since they went in. […] The Japanese government is in a major conspiracy with Tepco to hide and conceal the true facts….
Bonner: We’ll be adding approximately 20 sailors, bringing the total number in the lawsuit to 70 to 75…
Bonner: 21 and 22 year-olds who are just beginning to start their lives, start their families, and many have little children and now they’re sick. They are going constantly to the doctors, their children are sick — we even have small children as some of our plaintiffs, because they too have developed problems.
Full interview available here
US govt chooses small Oregan company for grant for small nuclear reactors
Small Oregon Nuclear Power Plant Company Gets Massive Federal Backing OPB | Dec. 12, 2013 Portland, Oregon NuScale Power, a spin-off business out of Oregon State University, will receive up to $226 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.
NuScale Power is designing a small nuclear reactor — about the size of a semi-trailer standing on its head.
Chief commercial officer Mike McGough says the money will be spent getting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to certify the design — a task that’s expected to cost about $1 billion……
If NuScale secures certification, a reactor isn’t expected to be up and running until at least 2023.It would be built in Idaho.
Oregon has tight restrictions on the construction of nuclear power facilities. For example, it would have to be approved by voters and builders would need to be able to demonstrate the safe disposal of high level waste….http://www.opb.org/news/article/small-oregon-nuclear-power-plant-company-gets-massive-federal-backing/
Fracking as a solution for nuclear waste – not really feasible
Scientist sees fracking as the way to dispose of nuclear waste Tia Ghose LiveScience 13 Dec, SAN FRANCISCO — Nuclear waste could one day be disposed of by injecting it into fracking boreholes in the Earth, at least if one scientist’s idea takes hold.
The method, presented here Monday at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union, would mix nuclear waste with other heavy materials, and inject it a few miles below the Earth’s surface into drilled holes. …….But the idea is still theoretical, and at least one expert thinks there are too many practical and safety concerns for the scheme to work.
“I can’t see it being a feasible concept, for many reasons,” said Jens Birkholzer, head of the Nuclear Energy and Waste Program at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif. Continue reading
US government not funding Westinghouse, Ameren , for little nukes
Westinghouse, Ameren lose out in nuclear reactor funding By Tim Bryant tbryant@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8206 Government funding of up to $226 million to develop small modular nuclear reactor technology will go to an Oregon firm instead of a group that included Ameren Missouri.
The Energy Department funding was awarded Thursday to NuScale Power of Portland, Ore.
NuScale and the government will move next to negotiate an agreement that lays out a five-year funding program………
Ameren Missouri and Westinghouse said in April they would pursue federal funding of a small-scale nuclear reactor that could be built in central Missouri. The companies sought a similar grant last year. But the Energy Department chose then to fund a consortium led by Babcock & Wilcox, known for making nuclear reactors for ships and submarines.
US Navy deception over Treasure Island radiation danger
Navy Subcontractor Breaks Silence About Treasure Island Radiation, NBC Bay Area 13 Dec 13, A radiation expert among the first to sound the alarm about radiation at Treasure Island speaks publicly for the first time about the Navy’s attempts to conceal information from the public A health physicist commissioned to survey San Francisco’s Treasure Island for radiation has revealed for the first time to the Investigative Unit his belief that people never should have been allowed to live there.
Radiation expert Don Wadsworth was hired on a multimillion dollar contract to perform routine tests for radiation on the former naval station beginning in 2007. He says Navy officials told him they didn’t expect to find any radiological contamination on the island beyond what the Navy had already identified. But Wadsworth said he found radioactive material on sites throughout Treasure Island, including locations adjacent to occupied residences.
“My job is to protect the people and the environment and it’s not getting done,” Wadsworth said. ……Wadsworth warns that the radiological material must be dealt with and cleaned up correctly.
“It’s a very nice location,” he said. “I can see why people want to develop it. But, having people live there and just cover it over, it’s going to have a significant impact on people’s health.” http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Navy-Subcontractor-Breaks-Silence-About-Radiation-Contamination-at-Treasure-Island–235499911.htm
Aging nuclear power plants very costly to ratepayers
Report: Ratepayers Could Save $1.7 Billion If Aging Nuclear Plant at Hanford, Washington Is Closed By: Washington and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility Yuba Net.com SEATTLE/ PORTLAND – December 11, 2013 – Ratepayers could save at least $1.7 billion over the next 17 years if the Columbia Generating Station nuclear power plant on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is closed according to a new report by McCullough Research of Portland, Oregon.
The report can be found online at http://www.psr.org/chapters/oregon/news/new-report-ratepayers-could.html.
The Columbia Generating Station, the only nuclear plant completed of the five plants begun by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS), contains a General Electric boiling water reactor similar to those destroyed during Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
“We believe this report demonstrates clearly that aging nuclear reactors, in addition to having safety problems, are having trouble competing in the electric power market,” says Dr. Catherine Thomasson, PSR national executive director. The report was commissioned by the Washington and Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility local affiliate chapter.
The report makes four recommendations: the plant should be displaced by less expensive market solutions; Bonneville Power Administration should ask suppliers for firm bids to displace the plant; the displacement power should be purchased by plant owner Energy Northwest and supplied to BPA under an existing contract; and Energy Northwest should use a combination of training and employing current workers in plant decommissioning…….http://yubanet.com/usa/Report-Ratepayers-Could-Save-1-7-Billion-If-Aging-Nuclear-Plant-at-Hanford-Washington-Is-Closed.php#.UqtFG9JDt9U
Russia keen to sell nuclear reactors to USA
Megatons to Megawatts 2.0: Russia eyes new nuclear project with US energy industry Rt.com December 11, 2013 “……..Rosatom enters US nuclear energy market Marking the end of the HEU-LEU agreement signed in 1993, the head of Russia’s Rosatom 
nuclear energy corporation, Sergey Kiriyenko, has met with his American counterpart in Washington, the US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and his deputy Daniel Poneman.
The parties “compiled a list of mutually interesting projects” Kiriyenko told journalists on Tuesday. The head of the Russian nuclear energy industry named one such project: an international fast-neutron reactor, but refrained from specifying the others.
Kiriyenko said that the HEU-LEU agreement has become “unique experience” which paved the way for future Russia-US cooperation in the nuclear energy sphere.
Rosatom has already signed more than $5.5 billion worth of direct contracts, with US nuclear power generators outside the framework of the HEU-LEU agreement, Kiriyenko acknowledged.
“It is the basis that allows our companies to discuss further cooperation options after the completion of this project,” Kiriyenko said…….. http://rt.com/news/heu-leu-agreement-over-037/
General Electric (GE) apparently quite ignorant about Fukushima nuclear disaster
GE Designed the Faulty Fukushima Nuclear Reactors… And Their Official Response May Surprise You http://themindunleashed.org/2013/12/ge-designed-faulty-fukushima-nuclear-reactors-official-response-may-surprise.html THE MIND UNLEASHED on 11 December, 2013 By: Ethan Indigo Smith, Guest Contributor, General Electric were the designers of the flawed reactors that blew up in Fukushima Japan.
I called General Electric Corporate headquarters in Fairfield, Connecticut today to find out what they had to say. The phone number there is 203 373 2211. I initially spoke with Linda who, to my absolute astonishment, knew nothing of Fukushima. ……..the reaction speaks volumes to me……..
……….It was obvious I was the first reporter/living, breathing human being to call there and inquire about this mess; their representatives were completely clueless……… And they apparently have nothing to say about it.
Please assist me in inquiring of GE what they think about the ongoing disaster in Japan. As the designer of the faulty nuclear reactor, their silence about its ongoing effects on planet Earth is not good enough.
Call their corporate office on 203 373 2211 and/or specifically Christopher White from GE corporate communications on 910 819 6121.
Peace on Earth, only for real.
Resources:
[2] http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/16/fukushima-reactor-flaws-were-predicted-%E2%80%93-35-years-ago/
Iran nuclear deal – “delicate” diplomacy needed
John Kerry defends Iran nuclear deal to Congress sceptics BBC News 10 Dec 13, US Secretary of State John Kerry has defended the six-month nuclear deal struck with Iran to a sceptical panel of congressmen.
Mr Kerry said if the US Congress imposed new sanctions against Iran, it would risk the “delicate” diplomatic effort needed for a larger deal.
The US and other world powers have promised no new sanctions in exchange for a curb of Iran’s nuclear programme.
But US critics of the deal say it gives Iran cover to expand the programme.
And they have called for even tougher sanctions now, saying they would strengthen the hand of the so-called P5+1 group of nations engaged in negotiations with Iran…………
“I would state to you unequivocally, the answer is yes, the national security of the United States is stronger under this first-step agreement than it was before,” Mr Kerry said…….
During the hearing in the House foreign affairs committee, Mr Kerry was accused of grovelling to the Iranian government and letting down allies, the BBC’s Jonny Dymond reports.
But our correspondent says Mr Kerry pushed back against every suggestion of weakness on Iran, stressing that without a deal, the country would be closer to developing nuclear weapons.
“We are asking you to give our negotiators and our experts the time and the space to do their jobs and that includes asking you while we negotiate that you hold off imposing new sanctions,” Mr Kerry told the panel……http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25326782
Arkansas nuclear plant fire
Fire at Arkansas nuclear plant contained – report http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/09/energy-nuclear-fire-idUSL1N0JO0WK20131209 Dec 9 (Reuters) – A fire at a nuclear plant in Arkansas operated by Entergy Corp is contained, local media reported on Monday, citing a company spokeswoman.
The Courier News newspaper reported the fire broke out in a transformer at the plant, near the town of Russellville, and that Unit 2 was down, while Unit 1 was still operational. The newspaper also reported a possible explosion at the site.
Call for a priority removal of Florida’s nuclear ‘advance fee’
AARP seeks repeal of nuclear ‘advance fee’ as a priority in 2014 Ivan Penn, Tampa Bay Times, 9 Dec 13 In its December newsletter, the AARP pledged that one of its 2014 legislative goals is the repeal of the state law that allows utilities to charge customers in advance for new nuclear projects.
AARP said it is backing a small but growing coalition of lawmakers who believe the law is an unfair tax on consumers who may get nothing from the charges. The Nuclear Cost Recovery Clause or so-called “advance fee” has been a growing point of contention since Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light began using the statute for proposed nuclear plants that may never get built.
In August, Duke canceled its proposed project in Levy County after running up $1.5 billion in costs that customers still must pay. In addition, the utility spent hundreds of millions as part of the failed upgrade of the Crystal River nuclear plant that permanently closed in February……http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/aarp-seeks-repeal-of-nuclear-advance-fee-as-a-priority-in-2014/2156258
US government to triple renewable energy use
Obama Aims to Triple Government’s Renewable Energy Use http://www.care2.com/causes/obama-aims-to-triple-governments-renewable-energy-use.html by Kevin Mathew December 9, 2013 Believing that change begins at home, President Barack Obama has called for the federal government to triple its use of renewable energy within the next six years.
Currently, the government receives 7% of its energy from renewable sources, but the goal is to hit at least 20% by 2020. Thanks to technological advancements and a rising interest in weaning the country off of foreign oil, the Obama administration believes the 20% figure is a reasonable mark to hit by the end of the decade.
According to the President, this step is necessary “to promote energy security, combat climate change, protect the interests of taxpayers, and safeguard the health of our environment, the federal government must lead by example.” He’s right: there’s no better way to demonstrate to the American public that we can rely on sustainable energy sources than by having government agencies become early adopters. http://www.care2.com/causes/obama-aims-to-triple-governments-renewable-energy-use.html#ixzz2n60E7UNT
1 This Month
23-25 October – on Zoom – World BEYOND War’s annual global conferenc
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
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Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
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