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New USA Energy Secretary must commit to cleanup of Hanford radioactive pollution

wastesSen. Wyden wants nuclear cleanup commitment from next Energy Flag-USAsecretary THE HILL, By Zack Colman- 02/20/13 The Senate Energy Committee chairman said Tuesday that any Energy secretary nominee must agree to clean up high-level nuclear waste at a Washington facility to get his support. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | USA, wastes | Leave a comment

Secret transport of highly enriched uranium, from Ontario to South Carolina

secret-agent-SmHow should any public right to know be weighed next conflicting needs of secrecy and security?

radiation-truckUranium convoy heading your way? North Country Public radio, February 17th, 2013 by   “….sometime soon an armed convoy of trucks carrying depleted uranium may be trundling down roads between a nuclear facility in Chalk River Ontario and a reprocessing site in South Carolina.

For obvious reasons, specifics about transporting highly-enriched uranium (HEU) are not being publicized. As the crow flies, though, such a journey could easily involve cutting across New York State.

Here’s the story as reported in the Ottawa CItizen this week by Ian MacLeod:

…a 2011 federal government memo says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) considers it unnecessary to hold public sessions that would allow citizens to ask questions and comment on the HEU repatriations to the U.S. The CNSC declined to comment on the memo Tuesday.

Documents from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission say an “expedited” approval is being sought for transport of the liquid HEU. It is believed to be the first time such a highly radioactive solution has been transported by road in North America and, according to U.S. commission documents, could happen as early as August. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Obama under mass pressure to act on climate change

US protesters urge Obama to act on climate  http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/us-protesters-urge-obama-to-act-on-climate/story-e6frfkui-1226579935196#ixzz2LC6PreLO   news.com.au  by: Chantal Valery   AAP February 18, 2013  TENS of thousands of protesters have gathered in Washington to urge President Barack Obama to take concrete measures to fight global warming. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Vogtle new nuclear plant is not signalling a nuclear power revival

Vogtle is progressing but nuclear revival is not ajc By Kristi Swartz, 17 Feb 13, When major construction started at Georgia Power’s Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion project near Augusta a year ago, all eyes were on what was supposed to be the rebirth of the nuclear industry after more than a generation without new plants.

The stakes were high for Georgia Power and its parent, Atlanta-based Southern Co., which became responsible for showing the nation that the nuclear industry could build two reactors without major technical problems, delays or cost overruns. Consumers already were on the hook, paying for Georgia Power’s $6.1 billion portion of the project through a fee on their monthly utility bills.

The $14 billion Vogtle expansion in Waynesboro — one of the largest economic development initiatives in state history — is behind schedule, and the nuclear revival hasn’t worked out the way the industry had hoped. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Utah Bill designed for ratepayers to pay upfront for new nuclear reactors.

The bill is basically an admission that nuclear power plants are far too expensive, and far too risky an investment, to be bankrolled through the private capital market.

Nuclear speculation SB199 would shift risk to ratepayers, Salt Lake Tribune Feb 20 2013  When the ink isn’t even dry before the sponsoring lawmaker starts distancing himself from a bill he just introduced, the possibility of that bill becoming law seems remote indeed.

Which is good, because Sen. Curt Bramble’s SB199 is a horrible idea.

The bill, dropped in the hopper at the behest of developers who just won’t give up the foolish idea of building a nuclear power plant on Utah’s Green River, would take the extraordinary step of allowing a power utility to start charging its customers for certain generating stations long before the station is actually generating. And it would provide a loophole in the current law that requires utilities operating in the state to provide their customers with the cheapest power available. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

Rocky Flats development raises dangers of ionising radiation

Judith Mohling: Rocky Flats development risks exposure to nuclear radiation http://www.dailycamera.com/letters/ci_22620349/judith-mohling-rocky-flats-development-risks-exposure-nuclear 02/20/2013  Dr. Daniel A. Kinderlehrer illuminated many reasons for the current myriad of mental and physical illnesses in the United States (Guest commentary, Feb. 10). However, his excellent guest commentary and description of the “toxic chemical soup” we are all living in left out at least one major toxin: nuclear radiation. Continue reading →

February 21, 2013 Posted by | environment, USA | Leave a comment

Radioactive liquid leaking from Hanford nuclear waste tank

Hanford-waste-tanksHanford Nuclear Tank in Wash. Is Leaking Liquids
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/tank-hanford-nuclear-site-wash-leaking-18515755
By SHANNON DININNY and MIKE BAKER Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. February 16, 2013 A waste tank is leaking
radioactive liquids at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear site,
raising new concerns about delays and budget overruns in a plan to
treat material at the federal Hanford site.

The U.S. Department of Energy said Friday that liquid levels are
decreasing in one of 177 underground tanks at the nuclear reservation.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said the tank is leaking liquids in the
range of 150 to 300 gallons annually. Continue reading →

February 16, 2013 Posted by | USA, wastes | 1 Comment

Secret funding supplied to USA anti-wind power front groups

secret-agentMedia campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/15/media-campaign-windfarms-conservatives/print  , US environment correspondent   guardian.co.uk,  15 February 2013  

Secretive funding network channelled millions to stop state governments moving towards renewable energy Conservatives used a pair of secretive trusts to fund a media campaign against windfarms and solar projects, and to block state agencies from planning for future sea-level rise, the Guardian has learned.

The trusts, Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, served as the bankers of the conservative movement over the past decade. Promising anonymity to their conservative billionaire patrons, the trusts between them channelled nearly $120m to contrarian thinktanks and activists, wrecking the chances of getting Congress to act on climate change.

Now the Guardian can reveal the latest project of the secretive funding network: a campaign to stop state governments moving towards renewable energy.

The campaign against wind and solar power was led by a relatively new entity, theFranklin Centre for Government and Public Integrity. The Franklin Centre did not exist before 2009, but it has quickly become a protege of Donors Trust. Continue reading →

February 16, 2013 Posted by | renewable, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | Leave a comment

Military pressure for USA to increase drones, spying etc, in Africa

US general urges Pentagon to boost its African spying missions by 15-fold, Press Tv, 15 Feb 13,  A US general nominated to lead American military’s Africa Command has called for a 15-fold surge in US spying missions in Africa amid reports of Pentagon’s plans to further expand its growing military presence in the continent.Army General David Rodriguez estimated in a written statement submitted to the US Senate Arms Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Thursday that the American military needs to boost its “intelligence-gathering and spying missions in Africa by nearly 15-fold,” The Washington Post reports Friday. ….”necessary to protect American interests and assist our close allies and partners,” said the four-star general ..

Rodriguez, Gen David

… Rodrigues further emphasized during the hearing that Africa Command requires additional drones, other spying aircraft and more satellite imagery…. The development comes as the American military has intervened over the past two years in internal conflicts in African nations of Somalia, Libya and Mali, as well as central Africa.

This is while the US Air Force is building its fourth assassination and spying drone base in the poor African state of Niger as American Navy warships are expanding their missions along the coastlines of East and West Africa, according to the report….. there is a growing pressure to add even more bases in North and West Africa as the US military is set to build an assassination drone base in the West African country of Niger, which borders Mali, Libya and Nigeria,

February 16, 2013 Posted by | AFRICA, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Cyber terrorism dangers for USA nuclear weapons laboratory

computer-spy-nukeNUCLEAR LAB REMAINS VULNERABLE TO CYBERSTRIKES, ENERGY IG SAYS, Nextgov, 15 Feb 13,  A leading U.S. nuclear arms site has taken significant steps in recent years to defend against strikes on its computer systems, but key weaknesses remain to be fixed, the Energy Department’s inspector general said this week.

The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico uses a host of information systems and networks to carry out its duties, which include research and production programs in support of maintaining the nation’s nuclear arsenal, Inspector General Gregory Friedman said in a memorandum attached to a cybersecurity report. Continue reading →

February 16, 2013 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

US service personnel affected by Fukushima radiation – but now “on their own”

Fukushima Rescue Mission Lasting Legacy: Radioactive Contamination of Americans, New Jersey News, 31 JANUARY 2013 BY ROGER WITHERSPOON
The Department of Defense has decided to walk away from an unprecedented medical registry of nearly 70,000 American service members, civilian workers, and their families caught in the radioactive clouds blowing from the destroyed nuclear power plants at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan.

The decision to cease updating the registry means there will be no way to determine if patterns of health problems emerge among the members of the Marines, Army, Air Force, Corps of Engineers, and Navy stationed at 63 installations in Japan with their families. In addition, it leaves thousands of sailors and Marines in the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group 7 on their own when it comes to determining if any of them are developing problems caused by radiation exposure. Continue reading →

February 16, 2013 Posted by | health, radiation, Reference, USA | Leave a comment

AUDIO: Medical issues of US navy sailors affected by Fukushima radiation

Hear-This-wayAUDIO “I’ve got people who are bleeding from their behinds, who have sores all over their bodies” -Attorney for U.S. Navy sailors exposed to Fukushima radiation (AUDIO) http://enenews.com/ive-people-bleeding-behinds-sores-all-bodies-attorney-navy-sailors-exposed-fukushima-radiation
  February 12th, 2013 
Title: 70,000 US Service Personnel Exposed To Radiation: Operation Tomodachi 3/11
Source: Nuked Radio with RadChick
Date Published: Feb 9, 2013

Attorney Paul C. Garner, representing U.S. service members who were in Japan after 3/11: Kim Geiseking who was on the Reagan, and she was pregnant at the time and didn’t know it.

Her fetus, her baby is now a couple of years old and doesn’t speak.

I’m not an expert, but experts say the fetus takes up most of the radiation, more than the mother does.

Then I’ve got people who are bleeding from their behinds, who have sores all over their bodies.

More from the U.S. service members:

February 15, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013, health, Resources -audiovicual, USA | Leave a comment

NRC plans for San Onofre nuclear safety report be made public

San Onofre: Mitsubishi told to hand over nuclear plant report LA Times, February 14, 2013  The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has asked Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to hand over a redacted version of a proprietary report on equipment issues at the now-shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant.

The commission, which has already reviewed the full report, said it intends to make the redacted version public. Continue reading →

February 15, 2013 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Obama aiming for action on climate change

Obama reaffirms support for renewable energy, PVTECH, By Felicity Carus – 13 February 2013, The president used his state of the union speech to underline his commitment to renewable energy President Barack Obama last night restated a renewed commitment to clean energy and pledged to return manufacturing jobs to the US in his state of the union address.

America was “finally poised to control our own energy future” and had begun to turn a corner in competing for clean energy capacity with China, he said.

“Last year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the year – so let’s drive costs down even further. As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we.”….. Echoing his passionate comments on climate change in his inaugural address last month, the president also said that more needed to be done to tackle global warming “for the sake of our children and our future”. He added that if Congress did not enact “a market-based solution to climate change”, he would.

“I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy.”

Clean energy business groups welcomed the president’s comments last night…… http://www.pv-tech.org/news/obama_reaffirms_support_for_renewable_energy

February 15, 2013 Posted by | politics, USA | Leave a comment

UK, USA, paralysed, but need permanent deep burial of nuclear wastes

Elephant--blue-ribbon-commissionIn the United States, efforts to build a repository are in the doldrums

 At the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan, spent fuel stored above ground at reactors is likely to have been a major source of contamination following the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. At the last count, the clean-up there is expected to cost trillions of yen, or hundreds of billions of dollars.

In a hole It is in Britain’s best interests to keep looking for a site for a deep nuclear-waste repository. Nature, 05 February 2013  The best way to dispose of nuclear waste is to bury it deep underground. With the right mixture of geology and engineering, researchers think, it should be possible to contain highly radioactive material safely for the many thousands of years that it will take to decay.

Scientists agree on this. The industry thinks the same way, and so do regulators, politicians and most environmental groups. Yet despite the expert endorsement, plans for a deep geological repository in Britain effectively ground to a halt last week, after a local council voted against plans to look for a suitable site…….

why has the process come up empty again? The answer is a lack of political will at almost every level of government. Critics say that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the body responsible for the repository, never did much to try to sell the facility to local residents or to address their concerns about what it might do to property prices or tourism. At a national level, politicians offered only the vaguest promise of ‘economic development’ in exchange for taking the waste. Meanwhile, local politicians advocated an alternative plan: to build more short-term storage at Sellafield, thereby creating jobs in the near-term without making long-term commitments.

“There are moral, financial and environmental reasons to make deep geological disposal work.” Continue reading →

February 11, 2013 Posted by | UK, USA, wastes | Leave a comment

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