Old Hanford nuclear reactor closed – no plan for permanent disposal
Hanford workers mothball 6th nuclear reactor, Workers at south-central Washington’s Hanford nuclear reservation have finished the process of closing and “cocooning” the longest-running of nine nuclear reactors built there for the U.S. atomic weapons program. Seattle News, By SHANNON DININNY Associated Press YAKIMA, Wash. 14 June 12, —
Workers at south-central Washington’s Hanford nuclear reservation have finished the process of closing and “cocooning” the longest-running of nine nuclear reactors built there for the U.S. atomic weapons program. Continue reading
Another USA govt handout to a nuclear-related company
“The real risks of this nuclear bailout is for taxpayers, who will be on the hook for questionable government handouts that are worth more than the entire company,”
Energy Department Steps in to Help Uranium Enrichment Company, NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD, June 13, 2012, WASHINGTON — The Energy Department announced Wednesday that it was stepping in to shore up an ailing company it created in the 1990s to privatize uranium enrichment, Continue reading
Judge invalidates Colorado radioactive materials license for uranium mill
License to build uranium mill in southwest Colorado nixed by Denver judge, 06/14/2012 Denver Post, By Bruce Finley, A state judge has invalidated a radioactive materials license that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued to allow construction of a new uranium mill in southwestern Colorado. Continue reading
San Onofre nuclear plant, do we need its danger?
Pasadena is about 70 miles from San Onofre, but 8.5 million people in Orange and San Diego Counties live within 50 miles of the plant and would be in the greatest danger if a serious accident were to occur at San Onofre.
To a great extent, [Japan will implement] a drastic conservation program that will include minimal use of air conditioning and the turning off of all unnecessary lights. Japan has become a living laboratory that will test the feasibility of such a program.
If Japan is successful in eliminating nuclear power, perhaps we can eventually do the same.
Nuclear deals with the devil?, US could learn from Japanese example in reducing nuclear energy dependency, Fourth in a series on the performance of California utilities, Pasadena Weekly, By John Grula 06/14/2012, Continue reading
Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee calls for cuts in nuclear weapons spending
Senator Urges Bigger Cuts to Nuclear Arsenal, NYT By THOM SHANKER, June 14, 2012 WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee called on the Obama administration on Thursday to seek cuts in nuclear warheads far beyond the requirements of current treaties. The chairman, Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, said the administration “should consider going far lower” than the warhead caps set by the New Start agreement withRussia, to bring the nation’s arsenal in line with a diminished nuclear threat and tighter military budgets. Continue reading
Nuclear company NuStart Energy Development LLC to disband
Nuclear power partnership to disband ww.power-eng.com/articles/2012/06/nuclear-power-partnership-to-disband.html, Jun 12, 2012 After achieving its goal of licensing the first new nuclear power plants in decades and spurring more than $2 billion in private investment in new nuclear energy development, NuStart Energy Development LLC on June 12 said it will disband and reallocate its resources back to its 10 member companies effective June 30, 2012. Continue reading
USA poliarised on political party views on energy
Republicans, Democrats at odds on energy issues Fox News, 
June 13, 2012 WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats seem to be living on different planets when it comes to how to meet U.S. energy needs. Republicans overwhelmingly push for more oil drilling. Democrats back conservation and new energy sources such as wind and solar power.
A survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that the polarized positions on energy that have divided Congress and emerged in the presidential campaign also run deep among the public.
While majorities in both parties say energy is an important issue, the poll shows that partisan identification is closely tied to people’s perceptions of the causes of the country’s energy problems and possible solutions. No other demographic factor — not race, age, gender or income level — is as consistently associated with opinions on energy as political party identification……..
The poll, made possible by a grant to the AP-NORC Center from the Joyce Foundation, illuminates one driver of this campaign season’s divisive political rhetoric: Both parties are playing to their bases.
So it’s no surprise that presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other Republicans push for more drilling for oil and natural gas, and President Barack Obama emphasizes renewable energy development as part of what he calls an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy. http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/06/13/republicans-democrats-at-odds-on-energy-issues/#ixzz1xnz3id6w
Dirty work at the crossroads – how the NRC got rid of Gregory Jaczko
Sen. Sanders says ‘McCarthyite’ tactics were used against outgoing nuke chief
The Hill, By Ben Geman – 06/13/12 Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman Gregory Jaczko is on his way out the door, but Capitol Hill lawmakers aren’t done with battles over his controversial tenure atop the agency.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), at a Senate hearing to vet Jaczko’s replacement, defended the outgoing chairman against the various attacks over his management and behavior that have come from other NRC members and GOP lawmakers. “I am upset about the level of personal attacks that have been waged against him from within this committee and the NRC itself,” Sanders said at the Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.
Defenders of Jaczko — a Democrat who is a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) — say the attacks have stemmed from opposition to his nuclear safety efforts.
“Those personal attacks were a smokescreen for a philosophical divide that exists within the NRC,” Sanders, a critic of nuclear power, said Wednesday. “I think he was subject to McCarthyite tactics, and I hope we don’t see a repeat of that.”…. Jaczko announced his resignation in May but will remain with the agency until the Senate confirms his replacement….. http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/232539-sen-sanders-slams-mccarthyite-attacks-on-outgoing-nuke-agency-chief
Allison MacFarlane suggest New Mexico as USA’s nuke dump site
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Nominee Talks New Mexico and Nuke Waste http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2012/06/13/politics/nuclear-regulatory-commission-nominee-talks-new-mexico-and-nuke-waste.html By Michael Coleman, ABQ Journal, Jun 13, 2012 President Obama’s nominee to chair the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told Congress Wednesday that the U.S. can learn all it needs to know about disposing of nuclear waste by looking at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.
Allison MacFarlane, President Obama’s nominee to head up the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, made the comment at her confirmation hearing Wednesday, according to an article posted on the the Washington Post website today. I don’t think we even need to look to other countries for lessons [on how to handle nuclear waste],” MacFarlane said. “We’re the only country with a deep geological repository already up and running — and it’s in New Mexico.”
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future made a similar observation in January, when it released a comprehensive report on the thorny issue of nuke waste storage. I wrote about that report here.
Some in Carlsbad would like to see a move to store high-level waste in the area, citing high-paying tech jobs and science they think is now safe and sound. Anti-nuke foes in the state strongly oppose such a move. For now, with Nevada’s Yucca Mountain on ice, many pro-nuclear power advocates are taking an especially keen interest in New Mexico.
New Mexico as site for USA’s national nuclear waste dump?
Study: NM Could Lead in Nuclear Waste Solution, ABQ Journal, By Michael Coleman / Jan 27, 2012 WASHINGTON – America has a serious nuclear waste problem that can be fixed only with dramatic changes to national policy, and New Mexico could help lead by example, according to a major federal study released Thursday.
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future – a panel of policy experts commissioned by Energy Secretary Steven Chu that included former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. – issued its 180-page report Thursday after nearly two years of study. The report cites the Waste Isolation Pilot Project, which stores nuclear waste near Carlsbad, as a premier example of how to site a nuclear waste disposal. Continue reading
Court ruling about USA nuclear waste is helpful to Vermont’s legal case
Nuclear Waste Ruling Could Strengthen Vt. Court Case http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/94831/nuclear-waste-ruling-could-strengthen-vt-court-cas/ Vermont Public Radio , 06/12/12 John Dillon A federal court decision on nuclear waste could strengthen the state’s
hand as regulators review Vermont Yankee’s bid to operate for another 20 years.
The state of Vermont was part of a lawsuit that challenged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision to allow radioactive waste to be stored at nuclear plants around the country for 60 years or more. Late last week, the federal appeals court in Washington agreed that the NRC failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of using multiple storage sites.
Attorney General Bill Sorrell thinks the ruling provides an opening for Yankee opponents to question the economic and environmental impacts of storing nuclear waste in southern Vermont.
“That decision is going to be cited in any number of proceedings involving Vermont but (also) other states here going forward,” Sorrell said. Continue reading
Virginia uranium study panel – bias in favour of uranium companies
“What we’re concerned about here is they appear to have hired a group that has only done work for uranium mining companies and that they’re going to go with them behind closed doors and come up with a uranium mining law and a set of regulations,”
Uranium mining foes take aim at Va. study panel, Bloomberg, By STEVE SZKOTAK, 13 June 12, RICHMOND, VA. Two environmental groups opposed to ending a 30-year state ban on uranium mining in Virginia have raised new complaints about a state panel studying the issue and the hiring of a consultant they say has too many industry ties. Continue reading
Medical alarm over increase in CT scans, and the risks of cancer
Physicians are not required to inform patients in writing about the radiation risks of CTs. But Dr. Richard Semelka, director of MRI services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the time has come for that to change.
“It should be abundantly clear by now that ionizing radiation does carry with it the risk of cancer,”
Use of imaging tests soars, raising questions on radiation risk,, Study finds use of CT scans has nearly tripled in the last 15 years. Such radiation exposure increases the risk of cancer. By Jon Bardin, Los Angeles Times June 13, 2012
The use of CTs, MRIs and other advanced medical imaging tests has soared over the last 15 years, according to new research that raises questions about whether the benefits of all these scans outweigh the potential risks from radiation exposure and costs to the healthcare system. Continue reading
Connecticut welcomes Appeals Court decision discouraging decades of nuclear fuel storage
Spent nuclear fuel storage decision praised, West Hartford News, June 12, 2012 By Luther Turmelle A federal appeals court is forcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rethink its rules regarding how long spent nuclear fuel can be stored on site at current and former reactors.
State Attorney General George Jepsen called Friday’s unanimous decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia a landmark ruling. Connecticut was one of several Northeast states that challenged changes made in 2010 by the NRC to rules
governing waste storage at reactor sites.
Before the change, spent fuel could be stored on site for up to 30 years after a reactor closed. But the NRC increased the period of time to 60 years and made other changes to its rules governing the storage of spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants. Continue reading
USA’s nuclear plant relicensing now stalled by a federal appeals court
at Indian Point and other facilities going through license renewal, those [radioactive waste] issues will be back on the table
Court Forces a Rethinking of Nuclear Fuel Storage , NYT, By MATTHEW L. WALD , June 8, 2012, WASHINGTON — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission acted hastily in concluding that spent fuel can be stored safely at nuclear plants for the next century or so in the absence of a permanent repository, and it must consider what will happen if none are ever established, a federal appeals court ruled on Friday .
The commission has relied on its conclusion that spent fuel rods can be safely stored at plants to extend the operating licenses of dozens of power reactors in recent years and to license four new ones. Continue reading
1 This Month
Shut down the radiation-damaged Heysham nuclear reactors now
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
Say No to NASA’s Reckless Nuclear Reactor on the Moon
-
Archives
- October 2026 (256)
- September 2026 (339)
- August 2026 (330)
- July 2026 (355)
- June 2026 (287)
- May 2026 (306)
- April 2026 (356)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (267)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
