SOUTH AMERICA « nuclear-news

Nuclear submarines for Brazil

Brazil to build nuclear submarines which will dramatically alter balance of power in South America, By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 17th July 2011, The Brazilian government has started work on a submarine programme which will include the construction of South America’s first nuclear subs.

The move will boost Brazil’s claim to be the strongest force in the region, and strengthen the country’s military assertiveness….http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015731/Brazil-build-nuclear-submarines-dramatically-alter-balance-power-South-America.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

July 19, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Brazil, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Renewable energy cheapest for drought stricken Chile

 "Renewable energies require a greater investment but they
have low production costs," said Mabel Weber, an energy analyst
with Banchile Investments. "The more prices rise, the more
viable alternative energies look."...Energy prices have nearly tripled in five years, leading

companies to covet the cost stability offered by wind, solar
and geothermal power......

Costly Chile power may jolt renewable energy Feb 10, 2011 By Brad Haynes OVALLE, Chile, Feb 10 (Reuters) – A long drought has dried up hydroelectric power production in Chile, sending electricity costs soaring and making renewable power sources like wind, solar and geothermal more attractive, Continue reading →

February 11, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, SOUTH AMERICA | 1 Comment

Chilean public not happy as USA and France push for selling nuclear technology to Chile

international environmental activists, Chilean naturalists and the Chilean public in general upset and displeased that the country keeps heading toward the nuclear power option.

U.S. and Chile Seeking Cooperative Nuclear Energy Deal, Despite Displeasure of Many Chileans, Hispanically Speaking News, January 28, 2011 Continue reading →

January 29, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, SOUTH AMERICA | 1 Comment

USA scorns Venezuela’s nuclear energy ambitions

A confidential cable from John Caulfield, the deputy chief of mission, said Washington had little reason to fear Venezuelan plans to exploit uranium with Iranian help and build a reactor with Russian help…….

WikiLeaks cables dismiss Hugo Chávez’s nuclear ambitions guardian.co.uk Rory Carroll in Caracas guardian.co.uk, 9 December 2010 Leaked dispatches describe Venezuelan government as too shambolic and broke to exploit uranium or build reactors Continue reading →

December 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, SOUTH AMERICA, Wikileaks | Leave a comment

Columbian rebels seek nuclear materials to make a ‘dirty’ bomb

emails found on the computers proved that since 2005 the Farc had been trying to buy nuclear material in Ukraine.

Colombia tries to stop rebels from getting nuclear arms, BBC News, 20 October 2010 Colombian police have created the first counter-nuclear arms unit in the region dealing with leftist rebels. The new Centre for Nuclear Security will try to prevent members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) from obtaining nuclear material to make a “dirty bomb”. Continue reading →

October 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Venezuela about to bring nuclear weapons to Southern hemisphere

there is compelling evidence that Venezuela’s government and banks, with the help of the Ahmadinejad government and Iranian shell companies, are providing Iran with uranium mined in southeastern Venezuela

Venezuela Is Going Nuclear, and We Should Be Worried, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Rizwan Ladha, 8 Oct 10, You may know that the entire world, south of the equator, is one huge nuclear weapon free zone (NWFZ). Continue reading →

October 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | SOUTH AMERICA, weapons and war | nuclear, nuclear weapons | 9 Comments

Hurricane forces shutdown of Mexican nuclear plant

Nuclear Shutdown The storm also forced Mexico to suspend operations at its Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in eastern Veracruz State, according to the national electricity commission.

Hurricane Karl Nears Mexican Coast, Closes Oil Wells – Bloomberg, By Brian K. Sullivan – Sep 18, 2010, “………Karl was the strongest storm ever to form in the Gulf of Mexico’s Bay of Campeche, Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, reactor | 1 Comment

Mexico finding that gas is cheaper than nuclear power

Mexico Delays Decision on New Nuclear Plants as Gas Price Falls, By Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) — Mexico, one of three Latin American nations that use nuclear power, is delaying by as much as two years a decision on building nuclear plants as lower natural-gas prices reduce the attraction of the alternative energy source…

…A final decision on whether to build new nuclear plants and the quantity will be based on cost-effective “technical” factors, including the outlook for gas prices, Kessel said……In the U.S., lower gas prices, combined with less demand for electricity because of the weak economy, has slowed investments in renewable-energy projects and may prevent expansion of nuclear energy, NextEra Energy Inc. Chief Executive Officer Lewis Hay said in a June 23 interview.

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, gas, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Financial problems stall new nuclear projects in Brazil

“These nuclear projects take a long time to get off the drawing board and generate a lot of controversy, so they’ll likely be last in line to receive financing,”

Brazil’s Plans For Nuclear Energy May Face Financing Problem, WSJ.com By Paulo Winterstein, Dow Jones Newswires; AUGUST 16, 2010SAO PAULO, Brazil –Brazil’s plan to build at least five nuclear power plants over the next two decades may run into a financing problem as federal budget constraints limit spending by government-controlled utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6.BR, EBR). Continue reading →

August 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Brazil, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactor | Leave a comment

Brazil enriching uranium, and potential for nuclear weapons

Brazil continues to have a program to produce enriched uranium for power plants, and opened its first uranium enrichment plant in 2006.

The Folly of Brazil’s Exceptionalism, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Daniel Wagner: 9 Aug 2010, “……..Brazil first embarked on a nuclear program in the 1930s and pursued a covert nuclear weapons program until the 1970s. It retains the ability to create nuclear weapons but agreed not to do so under the terms of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Agreement, and as a signatory to the 1994 Treaty of Tlatelolco, which bans nuclear weapons in Latin America. Continue reading →

August 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Brazil, politics international, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, plutonium, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Earthquake danger for transporting Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Quake rattles Chilean-U.S. uranium move , SANTIAGO, Chile, April 14 (UPI) — A Chilean-U.S. nuclear waste disposal arrangement was nearly derailed, with dangerous consequences for North and South America, when a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile Feb. 27, interfering with deliveries of radioactive waste to U.S. processing plants. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Mexico sending its highly enriched uranium to USA

Mexico agrees to give up highly enriched uranium Los Angeles Times April 13, 2010 The nations of North America said they will work to eliminate highly enriched uranium from Mexico’s research reactors, an effort to protect against the proliferation of nuclear materials, the White House announced on Tuesday.The agreement was announced on the second
“The conversion of the reactor’s use of highly enriched uranium to low enriched uranium fuel will enable the elimination of all the remaining highly enriched uranium from Mexico. Mexico agrees to give up highly enriched uranium | D.C. Now | Los Angeles Times

April 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | SOUTH AMERICA, technology | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactor, uranium | Leave a comment

First shipment to USA of highly dangerous Highly Enriched Uranium

A team of Americans finally shipped it out last month just after the country’s massive earthquake, weaving a convoy of trucks around shattered highways in the middle of the night to reach a functioning port.

Chile gives its last weapons-grade uranium to US By MICHAEL WARREN and MEG KINNARD (AP) – Google News Hostimg 12 April”.…..”It” is highly enriched uranium 235, HEU for short. It’s the material that most worries anti-terrorism experts. Just 25 kilograms (55 pounds) of it in a nuclear bomb could devastate an entire city, in the same way the United States destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. Continue reading →

April 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

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