No to progress or peril? Revisiting the case for or against nuclear energy
what’s the case against nuclear power? Business Mirror 25 May 09 “……………………It boils down to two things: safety and economics, according to Prof. Roland Simbulan of the University of the Philippines, National Chairman of the Nuclear-Free Philippines Coalition (NFPC). “The major issue is safety considering that we do not have an effective disaster management culture especially to handle nuclear technology,” Simbulan told the BusinessMirror.
“Even industrialized countries have difficulty confronting this problem.” Simbulan adds that the safety issue concerning storage of nuclear waste will hound the country considering the Philippines is an agricultural country dependent on a fishing industry.
He also argued that the BNPP was constructed under a “conspiracy of corruption” as it is an overpriced, unsafe plant and one that has left the Filipinos with $2.2 billion of debt. Simbulan suggests that the best alternative to nuclear power is safe, clean and less expensive renewable energy such as solar, wind, wave, tidal, geothermal energy, among others.
“We have an eternal abundance of these renewables. Also, energy conservation and efficient technologies that require less energy to generate can be considered such as light bulbs that consume less energy for more light. We also have to simplify lifestyles,” he explained. Simbulan adds that renewables are easier to utiilize compared to nuclear energy. “In the long run, they are cheaper…………………..
……………. “It is a known fact that nuclear power is an expensive technology that is risky to operate and creates deadly radioactive waste. Congress must realize that every Filipino citizen aspires for a safe and secure future. This will not be achieved through nuclear power technology,” said Greenpeace Southeast Asia campaigner Francis de la Cruz.
Greenpeace argued that the history of nuclear power in the world shows us that aside from being costly and risky, it discourages energy efficiency and impedes the development of renewable energy sources that are cleaner, sustainable and safe.
No to progress or peril? Revisiting the case for or against nuclear energy
Government Urged To Step Up Anti-nuke Campaign
Government Urged To Step Up Anti-nuke Campaign Voxy.co.nz 26 May, 2009 – 15:14
The Government should take the advice of former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and launch a new anti-nuclear campaign, says Labour’s disarmament spokesperson Phil Twyford.
Mr Fraser met the Prime Minister yesterday and is advocating New Zealand and Australia form a ginger group of countries to push for the abolition of nuclear weapons in light of US President Obama’s strong support for the cause.
“After meeting Mr Fraser, Mr Key told Radio New Zealand he would consider ‘whether we may maybe take a bolder and… larger step forward’,” Phil Twyford said.
“Because of our anti-nuclear legislation and longstanding commitment to disarmament New Zealand is well placed to champion the cause of ridding the world of nuclear weapons.
Quake prompts group to warn against BNPP operation anew
Earthquake prompts group to warn against BNPP operation anew
Business Mirror by Jonathan Mayuga / Correspondent Wednesday, 22 April 2009 22:20THE earthquake near Iba, Zambales, on Tuesday should serve as a warning to the government about the hazards of operating the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).Frances Quimpo of the Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines, a co-convenor of the No to BNPP Revival, said the earthquake, which registered 5.3 in the Richter scale, stressed the warnings of scientists that active faults lie within the range of the mothballed nuclear power plant.The earthquake, she said, may cause surface ruptures, which could spell disaster anytime another such earthquake occurs in the area.“Let us recall that the earthquakes in 1990 and 1994 caused substantial damage to structures and properties, as well as people’s lives,” she added.The Network Opposed to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant Revival (NO to BNPP!) commemorated Earth Day through a protest rally in front of the House of Representatives on Wednesday…………………………..revival.
“It will be a huge crime against the Earth and the environment if BNPP starts operating. The legislators should realize the grave consequence of running a defective and dangerous nuclear plant and should not be swayed by the strong influence of its proponents into making a decision of blunder,” said Giovanni Tapang, spokesman for NO to BNPP Revival! and chairman of the scientists’ group Agham.
One island for nuke waste?
One island for nuke waste?
Mb.com .ph By Atty. Romeo V. Pefianco
March 10, 2009, 12:00am
(Editor’s note: Telling 92.2 M of us that one island, of our 7,000, can be converted into a safe nuclear waste facility won’t do as noted by the author.
EVERYTHING seems easy to some proponents to make the Bataan nuclear plant generate energy for the first time in the unseen future: 1) only $1 billion R48,500,000,000) is needed and 2) just one of our 7,000 islands for waste disposal will suffice……………….. Of course, the 113,000 people living within 50 miles of Carlsbad, and the many New Mexicans beyond that radius were understandably opposed and fought its operation since the site was first proposed in 1974.
Carlsbad is not a facility for hazardous/radioactive waste from nuclear plant/reactor fuel as represented by the geologist………………
Protest passage of nuke waste
Lawyer: Protest passage of nuke waste
MANILA, Philippines — A lawyer has urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to place the Philippines among the countries that are protesting the shipment of radioactive waste, supposedly enough to make 225 nuclear bombs, which is intended for reprocessing in Japan.
Harry Roque of the Center for International Law (CenterLaw) said the shipment of Mixed-Oxide (Mox) fuel has been denied passage by Latin American countries because of the risks it present.
The only remaining route the shipment can take is from France to South Africa, across the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia, and the waters of South Pacific nations, including the Philippines, Roque said.
But the lawyer pointed out that several countries along this route, including Australia, are protesting the shipment.
“It is imperative…that the Philippines, together with other countries where the shipment would pass, should protest this shipment,” Roque said.
During a conference on Maritime Security in France, Roque said a member of the State Council, Edwige Belliard, made it clear that France feels it is under no obligation to clean up in case there anything goes wrong with the Mox shipment.
Deadly Plutonium Shipment Headed for Pacific | Regional | Solomon Islands News
March 07, 2009 – Sydney/Suva – Last night’s announcement by French nuclear company Areva that the largest ever plutonium (MOX ) shipment is enroute from France to Japan through the Pacific requires strong opposition from Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith.
About 1.8 tonnes of plutonium in MOX fuel, enough to make 225 nuclear weapons, will travel to Japan via the Cape of Good Hope, the Southern Ocean, the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand and the south-west Pacific Ocean, to arrive in Japanese waters by late-May.
Greenpeace protested against the departure of the shipment from Cherbourg this week. “MOX shipments are unsafe, insecure and unnecessary, and the nuclear industry knows it, that’s why there is so much security accompanying the shipment. You would never need such security levels when shipping solar panels or windmills,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigns director Stephen Campbell.
“An accident involving the ship while it is off Australia’s coast could have a catastrophic impact on the environment, and seriously affect our tourism and fisheries industries.” he said.
“Of great concern is the fact that Australia has no emergency response plan in the event of an accident, fire or terrorist attack onboard a nuclear shipment,” said Mr Campbell.
Australia should join with Pacific governments, who have publicly called for an end to such dangerous and unnecessary shipments.
In 2005 (1) and 2002 (2) Pacific nations made strong public declarations of opposition to plutonium and nuclear waste shipments through their waters and called for, “the immediate cessation of such practice, in order to prevent any occurrence of accidents that could seriously threaten their sustainable development and the health of their peoples.
Deadly Plutonium Shipment Headed for Pacific | Regional | Solomon Islands News
In case of doubt, No to nuke | Manila Bulletin
In case of doubt, No to nuke mb.com.ph By Atty. Romeo V. Pefianco March 5, 2009, “……………………
Radioactive for thousands of years
There’s a great insurmountable problem with nuclear waste: It’s radioactive and can remain that way for years, in some cases, thousands of years………………
One large issue in Bataan and RP
The raging debate here is about the structural safety of the Bataan nuclear plant. So far the zone/site for waste disposal has not been identified. One possible site is the South China Sea, with fierce opposition expected from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, etc.
Or the government may search for a cluster of sites on the mainland of Luzon Island.
No way
In both possible sites of nuclear waste disposal most readers foresee real/heated and fierce opposition from promdis in Bataan, Zambales, all of Central Luzon and such islands as Mindoro, etc.
There’s no way for this project to win approval!
The geological hazards of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
The geological hazards of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (Third of a series)STAR SCIENCE By Kelvin S. Rodolfo, PhD Updated March 05, 2009
New earthquake data
Since 1973, many more earthquakes have occurred around and even under Mt. Natib; one on June 24, 1991 with a magnitude of 4.6 occurred directly under Napot Point. Since 1981, six have occurred within 25 kilometers of the BNPP. Note that the largest nuclear complex in the world, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Japan, was shut down by a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in July 2007 only 19 kilometers away. It is still inactive today.
The Lubao lineament
In 1997, Prof. Fernando Siringan, his students and I began to study land subsidence in coastal Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan and Camanava. Very early, we noticed a sharp lineament in Lubao, Pampanga that trends southwest to Mt. Natib, where it abruptly disappears. Many earthquake epicenters plot along the lineament which, if extended farther, trends to Napot Point. The possibility that the lineament is a fault, and the possibility that it extends under Mt. Natib need urgently to be explored by scientists of Phivolcs and other institutions.
Professor Mahar Lagmay has established genetic relationships between faults and volcanoes, including Mt. Pinatubo and the volcanoes in Bicol.
Spent fuel pools
No country in the world has yet solved the problem of how to store nuclear waste permanently and safely for tens and hundreds of thousands of years. In the meantime, spent fuel is stored next to the plants, in pools of water that absorb the radiation and disperse the heat. The need for huge volumes of water to absorb excess heat from the reactor and from spent fuel is why the BNPP was built on the coast.
‘Keep out nuclear ships’:
‘Keep out nuclear ships’04/03/2009 News 24 (SA)
Cape Town – An anti-nuclear group has urged the South African government to make sure that two vessels carrying what is reportedly the biggest ever shipment of plutonium stay out of its waters.
“What we don’t want is an accident at sea where we as a country have to carry the consequences,” said Mike Kantey, chairman of the Coalition Against Nuclear Energy, on Tuesday.
The heavily armed Pacific Pintail and the Pacific Heron left Barrow-in-Furness in the north-west of England last week.
They will collect their freight – a load of MOX nuclear fuel containing what environmentalists say are 1800kg of plutonium – at Cherbourg in France, then head for Japan.
The route around the Cape is one of a number of possible routes the ships – which have been barred from the Suez Canal – may use.
In previous years the Pintail has used the Cape route when carrying nuclear materials……………………….The MOX on the two ships is intended for use at reactors of three Japanese power companies.
Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2009 : 03 : 04 : Nuclear waste ships can’t be stopped – Greens
Nuclear waste ships can’t be stopped – Greens Radio New Zealand 4 March 2009
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says there’s nothing the Government can do to stop ships carrying reprocessed nuclear fuel travelling in New Zealand waters.
Greenpeace says two vessels carrying 1.8 tonnes of mixed oxide have left France for Japan and could travel near New Zealand.
It claims the shipments are the largest-ever of reprocessed uranium and plutonium.
Ms Fitzsimons says the Government cannot force the vessels to stay out of New Zealand waters, but should demand that they stay out of New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.
Anti-nuclear legislation can only keep them out of New Zealand harbours.
Environment Minister Nick Smith says he will send a strong message to the Governments of Japan and France that the vessels keep to the high seas.
Radio New Zealand News : Stories : 2009 : 03 : 04 : Nuclear waste ships can’t be stopped – Greens
Nuclear power: Unacceptable risk
Last week the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) threw its weight behind the opposition to the proposed rehabilitation of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. It rejected the opening of the nuclear plant as “the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity.” It said multiple risks and the possibility of corruption (again!) outweigh imagined benefits.
We join the CBCP and other groups opposing the opening of the nuclear power plant because we believe that nuclear power is an unacceptable risk to the environment and to humanity. Greenpeace and other organizations have made a strong case against nuclear power plants:
Nuclear power produces radioactive waste that remains dangerous for tens of thousands of years. No proven solution exists for dealing with radioactive waste.
The technology of generating electricity from nuclear fission can also be used to produce nuclear weapons.
Nuclear power plants are a target for terrorist attacks.
Nuclear power is not carbon free. Fossil fuels are needed to run the nuclear cycle, from mining uranium ore to disposing of the radioactive waste.
Nuclear power is expensive and nuclear plants take a long time to build……………..Developments in the field of energy are moving in the right direction. In November 2000 the world recognized nuclear power as a dirty, dangerous and unnecessary technology by refusing to give it greenhouse gas credits during the UN Climate Change talks in The Hague. In April 2001, the world dealt nuclear power another blow when the UN Sustainable Development Conference refused to label nuclear power a sustainable technology.
Greenpeace has rightly said that nuclear power “belongs in the dustbin of history.” There are many safe, renewable, reliable and less expensive sources of energy. Why not study these alternatives, and find out which can be adopted in our country?
Catholic bishops reject nuclear power plant revival
CBCP rejects nuclear power plant revivalRecommends Bataan facility ‘must be dismantled’ Philippine Daily Inquirer 02/27/2009
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has thrown its weight behind the opposition to rehabilitating the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
In a pastoral statement, the CBCP urged Congress to “completely and irrevocably reject the opening of the nuclear plant as the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity.”
The statement was issued by the CBCP president, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
“Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits. We recommend with other anti-BNPP congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will be most hazardous to health and life of the people,” read the CBCP statement.
CBCP rejects nuclear power plant revival – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ Philippines
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ By Rina Jimenez-David Philippine Daily InquirerFirst 02/24/2009 – “…………………if anyone has reason to fear the presence of an operational nuclear power plant, that would be the people living near it, who would arguably be the first to feel the effects — including being killed — as a result of any accident, mishap or neglect involved in running the plant.
Yesterday, residents of Bataan, among them members of the Catholic clergy and hierarchy, took part in a rally against the plant’s reopening. The march and rally drew various sectors from all corners of Bataan, among them youth and parish delegations and civil society groups, converging at the Balanga Cathedral…………………………..If the intent is to delay or reverse the effects of global warming
, then reviving the BNPP makes little sense, avers Green Peace. Said Baconguis: “Our congressmen must face the simple, indisputable facts: 1) Nuclear power is the most dangerous way to generate electricity, there is also no known scientific solution to safely storing plutonium and its deadly radioactive waste-product which remains radiotoxic for 200,000 years; 2) it is the most expensive source of power: aside from pricey construction costs, nuclear power involves expenses for decommissioning, as well as storage for nuclear waste, each of which can cost as much as a new power plant; 3) it cannot solve climate change — the contribution it can potentially make is negligible, especially if you consider that the processing of uranium as fuel uses so much electricity; and 4) importing more fuel, in this case uranium, is not the way to achieve energy security.”
Anti-nuclear and ‘pro-life’ – INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
Philippines Activists hold rally to oppose revival of mothballed nuke plant
Activists hold rally to oppose revival of mothballed nuke plant
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 02/22/2009Hundreds of protesters urged legislators on Sunday not to support a bill in Congress to revive the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP).
Volunteers of environmental activist group Greenpeace and members of a network opposed to the BNPP also formed a human banner at the UP sunken garden forming the words – “NO TO BNPP.”
They called on members of the House of Representatives who indicated their support to the bill to withdraw their signatures and ensure it does not get past the House Committee on Appropriations……………………Protesters said reviving BNPP is not the answer to the country’s energy problem, adding neither will it solve climate change. Instead, they said government should expand the country’s renewable-energy capacity and promote energy-efficient technology.
Members of the Network Opposed to the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant revival also held a rally in front of UP Diliman’s Quezon Hall to call attention to the surcharge that would be imposed on power consumers if the bill is passed.
The group also called for the junking of House Bill (HB) 4631 which proposes the recommissioning of the BNPP. The group also said the BNPP revival will not address the expected energy crisis. They urged government to turn to indigenous energy sources instead.
Activists hold rally to oppose revival of mothballed nuke plant | ABS-CBN News Online Beta
Nuke site seeks world heritage status
Herald Sun February 20, 2009
BIKINI Atoll, the site of the United States’ largest hydrogen bomb test and the place that lends its name to the skimpy two-piece swimsuit, is seeking recognition as a world heritage site.
“Nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll shaped the history of the people of Bikini, the history of the Marshall Islands and the history of the entire world,” according to the Bikini proposal released today.
The 86-page document, to be presented to UNESCO’s World Heritage program, has been drawn up by Bikini liaison official Jack Niedenthal and Australian-based consultant Nicole Baker. A world heritage nomination involves a multi-level review and a decision is unlikely to be made before June next year, Ms Baker said…………………………”There are only a few 20th century sites, few are in the Pacific and few have confronting values,” she said, referring to Bikini’s status as a nuclear test ground zero as “nuclear colonialism”.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25081441-5012752,00.html
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