SOUTH AMERICA « nuclear-news

Chile’s highly enriched uranium and the earthquake

Bomb Chasers: How a Potential Nuke Was Rescued from the Chile Quake – TIME By Eben Harrell Apr. 08, 2010 “….The Chilean earthquake carried the power of 10,000 Hiroshima bombs. It severed power and communication lines, closed highways, sparked looting and led the country’s President to declare a state of emergency. Within minutes of the quake, Bieniawski had gathered the NNSA officials in a hotel lobby, where the group spent the next four hours trying to make contact with two sites — a military base and research reactor — where the uranium had been stored. Continue reading →

April 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | Leave a comment

AREVA and INB’s false claims on radioactive drinking water wells

Why do nuclear companies always start by denying there is a problem, when there is a problem, only admitting it when there is a lot of pressure hoping the issue is already forgotten? For years AREVA denied the problems in Niger and now in Brazil! With such track record do they really expect us to believe anything they say?

Hot’ drinking water near uranium mine in Brazil Continue reading →

January 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Enriched uranium stolen in Brazil

Brazilian police disover 450kg of enriched Uranium Follow The Money 25 Jan 2010 Police in the north Brazilian state of Amapa have unearthed a cache with 450 kg of enriched uranium ore, a dangerous mineral used for nuclear arms production.The operation to seize radioactive material was a result of four-month work by investigators, who found a bag of pitchblende on Friday in a remote area of tropical rainforest.

Brazilian police disover 450kg of enriched Uranium « Follow The Money

January 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, uranium | Leave a comment

Call for safety shut-down of Brazil’s nuclear plants

Mayor of slide-slammed city seeks precautionary closer of Brazil’s 2 nuclear plants Google News By Tales Azzoni (CP) – 4 Jan 2010 SAO PAULO, Brazil — The mayor of a mudslide-devastated city urged a precautionary shutdown of Brazil’s only nuclear power plants on Sunday due to blocked highways while the discovery of more bodies raised the region’s storm-caused death toll to 75.Angra dos Continue reading →

January 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive | Leave a comment

Veterans sue govt for nuclear radiation harm

FORMER SOLDIERS SUE STATE FOR NUCLEAR RADIATION DAMAGES Santiago Times By James Fowler 23 October 2009 Conscripts Were Exposed To High Levels Of Radiation Former soldiers suffering from radiation poisoning are suing the Chilean treasury and Nuclear Energy Commission for US$85 million. The men were exposed to high levels of radiation whilst guarding the same nuclear facility in Santiago in the late 1980’s. Continue reading →

October 24, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, health, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment

Chile: tidal power more likely than nuclear

Chile sees tidal power filling energy gap

SANTIAGO, Chile, Aug. 17 (UPI) — Chile is actively considering several tidal energy installations as a way of filling a major gap in its future energy needs and reducing dependence on coal-fired power generation. A feasibility study on the potential for exploiting the renewable energy resource in Chile found the country had a “unique” wealth of natural sites that, if harnessed only up to 10 percent of available tidal power, could exceed the installed capacity of Chile’s central grid. The study was conducted for the Inter-American Development Bank by Garrard Hassan energy consultancy, based in Bristol, England………………….. Electricity generation from tidal waves is a proven technology, more predictable than solar or wind power, and already used on a commercial scale by France since 1966. The French tidal barrage at Rance, operated by Electricite de France, produces 240 megawatts at peak time. Uses of tidal power in mills date back to Roman times. Tidal power generation units of varying capacity are in different stages of completion or operation in the United States, Canada, China, Russia, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand and India…………………… Chile’s tentative tilt toward tidal power follows intense debate over a switchover from coal-fired electricity generation to “clean” nuclear power, but the idea has led to an outcry from environmental campaign groups………………… If the environmental groups win the argument for renewable sources such as tidal power, Chile’s nuclear power generation program could be pushed to the back burner……………………. Chile’s environmental groups oppose the nuclear option also because they cite the country’s earthquake fault lines as a major risk. Amid the ongoing discussions, for now at least, tidal power seems to stand a greater chance of winning friends among politicians who will fund its introduction to Chile. Chile sees tidal power filling energy gap – UPI.com

August 18, 2009 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, renewables | Leave a comment