USA government reports calculate and confirm that nuclear power is highly dangerous
Nuclear power plants and the process of atomic fission in them are inherently dangerous—at a scale of technological disaster that is unparalleled.
now there are numerous and truly safe, clean energy technologies available that render nuclear power totally unnecessary. Thus, we can avoid sinking with the atomic Titanics which the nuclear power promoters insist we board.
Nuclear Titanics – The Perils of Technological Hubris, Counter Punch, by KARL GROSSMAN 16 April 12, On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, The Japan Times yesterday ran an editorial titled “The Titanic and the Nuclear Fiasco” which stated: “Presenting technology as completely safe, trustworthy or miraculous may seem to be a thingof the past, but the parallels between the Titanic and Japan’s nuclear power industry could not be clearer.”
“Japan’s nuclear power plants were, like the Titanic, advertised as marvels of modern science that were completely safe. Certain technologies, whether they promise to float a luxury liner or provide clean energy, can never be made entirely safe,” it said…
the same kind of baloney behind the claim that the Titanic was unsinkable is behind the puffery that nuclear power plants are safe. The nuclear power promoters are still saying that despite the sinking of atomic Titanics: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and now the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plants.
In fact, underneath the PR offensive are government documents admitting that nuclear power plants are deadly dangerous. The first analysis of the consequences of a nuclear plant accident was done in 1957 by Brookhaven National Laboratory, Continue reading
Appeals Court hearing of call to block license for Georgia nuclear power plants
Southern Nuclear Power Plant Foes Ask Court to Block License Bloomberg, By Andrew Harris, Brian Wingfield and Tom Schoenberg – Apr 18, 2012 Southern Co. (SO)’s license from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. to build two nuclear power plants in Georgia should be blocked, opponents of the project said in a U.S. appeals court filing.
The NRC rejected a request by nine environmental groups that it halt construction at the two facilities on April 16, setting the stage for today’s filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington. The agency approved the license on Feb. 9 by a 4-1 vote
“Issuance of a stay is in the public interest,” the groups said in their filing today, arguing that that NRC failed to fully consider lessons learned from Japan’s Fukushima Dai- Ichi power plant disaster caused by a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Continue reading
Fire at Idaho nuclear research laboratory
Fire prompts evacuation at nuclear research lab in Idaho SALMON, Idaho, April 16 (Reuters) – A welder’s torch ignited a small fire on the roof of a building at a nuclear research laboratory in Idaho on Monday, prompting an evacuation, but no one was hurt and no radioactive material was involved, lab officials said.
Nearly 100 employees were cleared from the building, part of a complex that includes facilities housing spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste at the Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Energy Department’s leading facility for nuclear reactor technology. Continue reading
Rapid increase in brachytherapy for breast cancer, but is this wise?
“The most plausible explanation for our data is that women treated with brachytherapy were at increased risk of having a recurrence of cancer in their breast”
A large federally funded study is trying to clarify the risks and benefits of brachytherapy for breast cancer. But the results won’t be out for years.
includes audio. Wider Use Of Breast Cancer Radiation Technique Raises Concern http://www.npr.org/blogs health/2012/04/09/150088892/wider-use-of-breast-cancer-radiation-technique-raises-concern?ps=sh_stcathdl “…..there’s an intense debate under way about whether the approach is being used too widely before there’s clear evidence it’s as effective as the traditional approach. Continue reading
Vermont rallies to keep its right to veto nuclear power plants
“We are demanding justice for an agreement made 40 years ago,” said Sanders, who drew the loudest cheers. He said the state had the right to determine a “safe energy future for our kids and grandkids.”
Organizers estimated the crowd at between 1,500 and 2,000 people.
Shumlin, Sanders rally anti-nuclear protesters By Susan Smallheer, Rutland Herald, April 15, 2012, BRATTLEBORO — More than 1,200 anti-nuclear protesters flocked to the Brattleboro Common on Saturday and listened to three of the state’s top politicians — Gov. Peter Shumlin, U.S. Sen. Bernard Sanders and Attorney General William Sorrell — take turns criticizing Entergy Nuclear and its Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. Continue reading
Thousands of gallons of radioactive water into the river
NRC reveals radioactive water spill at Limerick nuke plant, The Mercury, By Evan Brandt 04/12/12 LIMERICK — “Several thousand gallons” of water containing as much as five-times the government’s “safe” level of radioactive tritium was accidentally released at Exelon Nuclear’s Limerick Generating Station last month and then flushed into the Schuylkill River, The Mercury learned Thursday….. http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120412/NEWS01/120419797/nrc-reveals-radioactive-water-spill-at-limerick-nuke-plant&pager=full_story
60 years of government welfare to the nuclear industry. Time to stop this.
Stop the nuclear industry welfare programme After 60 years, the taxpayer should not continue to subsidise multibillion-dollar corporations in the nuclear energy sector Bernie Sanders and Ryan Alexander guardian.co.uk, 13 April 2012 ‘It is shocking that the nuclear industry continues to receive so much federal support at a time of record debt.’
The US is facing a $15 trillion national debt, and there is no shortage of opinions about how to move toward deficit reduction in the federal budget. One topic you will not hear discussed very often on Capitol Hill is the idea of ending one of the oldest American welfare programmes – the extraordinary amount of corporate welfare going to the nuclear energy industry.
Many in Congress talk of getting “big government off the back of private industry”. Here’s an industry we’d like to get off the backs of the taxpayers. Continue reading
The cleanup of Moab uranium tailings – 17 more years to go?
Lack of funding to slow cleanup of uranium tailings (includes video) KSL.com Utah By Geoff Liesik , 13 April 12, MOAB — Environmental crews have removed more than 5 million tons of radioactive tailings from the banks of the Colorado River in less than three years.They still have about 11 million tons to go, but the pace of the cleanup is about to slow down. Continue reading
Farmers boost their income by also farming sunlight
“It is the sweet spot,”.. it doesn’t interfere with existing farming or grazing on prime lands. “It’s a way of getting yield from land that’s not paying enough.”…..
the benefits of generating green energy are great, but the best part is that once the 20-year solar lease expires, the land can return to agricultural use….. “Years down the road it could revert to [agricultural] land,” .. “It was a win-win for everyone.”
Solar Energy Grows on North American Farms,13 Apr 2012, CNBC.co By: Trevor Curwin, A California solar power project developer is teaming with farmers to expand use of the alternative energy. “It’s basically an opportunity to farm the sun,” says Recurrent Energy CEO Arno Harris, about his firm’s plans to build 500 megawatts of solar photovoltaic, PV, installations on farms in California and the Canadian province of Ontario.
The firm has contracted dozens of farmers in both areas, building five- to 20-megawatt solar PV installations on otherwise marginal farmland. Continue reading
Florida’s Governor withstands Tea Party intimidation, and supports renewable energy
Scott defies tea party on renewable-energy bill, Orlando Sentinel, April 13, 2012|By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott late Friday disregarded pressure from tea party and conservative groups and a controversial measure including tax breaks for renewable-energy production to become law without his signature.
Scott’s decision effectively gives a victory to Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and lawmakers who say the state needs to take steps toward developing renewable fuels. …. Putnam issued a statement thanking Scott for his consideration of the bill (HB 7117),
which the commissioner described as a step toward a “smart, long-term energy policy.”
Tea party members and conservative groups such as The Heartland Institute and Americans for Prosperity had inundated Scott with calls to veto the bill …
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-04-13/news/os-renewable-energy-bill-20120413_1_renewable-fuels-tea-party-tax-incentives
Taxpayers have to take legal action to get the facts on safety of nuclear facilities
Why Do Taxpayers Have to Sue to Get Oversight of Nuclear Facilities? http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2012/04/why-do-taxpayers-have-to-sue-to-get-oversight-of-nuclear-facilities.html Project on Government Oversight, (POGO) By ANA LIEBELSON, 13 April 12,
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has just released the Performance Evaluation Reports (PER) for its eight nuclear weapons sites. But that’s only thanks to the activist group Nuclear Watch New Mexico, who filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for a FY2009 PER for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and then sued the agency for the report’s release after its request was denied.
The NNSA went ahead and gave Nuke Watch the FY2011 PERs that the group had also asked for through FOIA. These kinds of oversight reports are invaluable to the public, and we shouldn’t have to endure years of litigation to get them. Continue reading
Navajo’s continuing cancer danger from uranium mines
Navajos will continue to be exposed to uranium and its decay products, radon and radium. This means that they are at great risk for bone, liver, breast, and lung cancer, among other health problems….
Uranium Mines Still Pose Serious Health Threat on Navajo Land, Web Wire 12 April 12, In 2010, a Navajo cattle rancher named Larry Gordy discovered an abandoned uranium mine in the middle of his grazing land in Cameron, AZ, according to the New York Times. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) visited the site and found dangerously high levels of uranium, but the agency has yet to begin the clean-up.
The EPA found that the radioactivity there measured one million counts per minute, meaning that two days there would expose a person to more external radiation than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers safe for an entire year. A dose would lead directly to malignant tumors and other health problems. Continue reading
The danger of nuclear powered drones, and plutonium for spacecraft
The Deadly Folly of Nuclear Power Overhead HUFFINGTON POST, Karl Grossman: 04/12/2012 The crash last week of a U.S. drone on the Seychelles Islands– the second crash of a U.S. drone on Seychelles in four months — underlines the deadly folly of a plan of U.S. national laboratory scientists and the Northrop Grumman Corp. for nuclear-powered drones. Continue reading
Florida rebellion of ratepayers against “Nuclear Cost Recovery”
Florida AARP joins suit to overturn nuclear fees to utilities, Tampa Bay Times, By Ivan Penn, Times April 13, 2012 Florida’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit senior organization joined a lawsuit Thursday to overturn a state law that requires utility customers to pay in advance for new nuclear plants.
In opposing the advance nuclear fee, the Florida AARP said many of its members already face difficulty meeting rising utility costs on their low and fixed incomes. To add fees for proposed nuclear plants that might never get built, the organization said, is an undue burden. “During this period of economic hardship, the rising cost to provide current electric utility service is severe enough to raise alarm,” the AARP stated in a brief to the Florida Supreme Court.
The AARP submitted the brief in support of a lawsuit filed by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, an advocate for energy efficiency and clean energy…..
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/energy/florida-aarp-joins-suit-to-overturn-nuclear-fees-to-utilities/1224791
The new Florida reactor projects are clearly in trouble, plagued with cost overruns and expensive delays. This increases the likelihood that the projects will not be completed,
Officials: Backlash Spreading in Florida Against “Nuclear Cost Recovery” Financing Scheme for Proposed Reactors Unlikely to Ever Be Built Market Watch, JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — No Refund Rip-off for Consumers: Bipartisan Filings in Legal Challenge Before the Florida Supreme Court and Growing Local Opposition Spells Big Trouble For Tapping Ratepayers for 4 Nuclear Reactors That Are Unneeded, Unaffordable and Unsafe.
Florida ratepayers are not rolling over for the major utilities that want to pick their wallets in advance for new nuclear reactors that may never actually be constructed.
State and local officials made it clear today that bipartisan opposition continues to grow in Florida to the controversial use of so-called “nuclear cost recovery” (NCR) to force ratepayers in the state to pay in advance for costs associated with four Progress Energy
of Florida (PEF) and Florida Power & Light (FPL) nuclear reactors that are increasingly unlikely to ever be built. Continue reading
USA States reaping the benefits of renewable energy progress
A spotlight on renewable success, Climate Spectator, 13 Apr 2012, Richard Caperton Center for American Progress New Jersey, Texas, and California have very different energy profiles. They use different types of energy to power their economy. They have
different types of utility systems. And they have different expectations of their energy system.
But these states share one important trait: They’re reaping the benefits of renewable energy. 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
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