4 east African countries are going for nuclear power – why this is a bad idea
The Conversation, Hartmut Winkler, Professor of Physics, University of Johannesburg, 8 Dec 23
The east Africa region has the fastest growing population in Africa. Between 2013 and 2017, its growth rate was twice the African average. The region is also experiencing strong economic growth. It’s sub-Saharan share of GDP has risen from 14% in 2000 to 21% in 2022.
Such growth translates to higher electricity demand. Among a variety of new energy proposals is building nuclear power plants. Earlier this year, Uganda announced plans to construct a 2,000MW nuclear plant 150km north of Kampala, with the first 1,000MW operational by 2031. Rwanda also recently signed up to a deal to build a nuclear reactor, while Kenya and Tanzania have made more or less similar announcements.
It is in many ways tempting for these countries to pursue a nuclear power plant build. Even a single large-scale nuclear reactor would typically double national electricity generation capacity. In addition, it is technology that is – in theory at least – able to provide a constant electricity output independent of weather, season or time of day.
Another factor that motivates many potential entrants to nuclear power is that it has historically been perceived in many quarters as confirmation of high technological status and proof of national respectability. This is despite many of the world’s technologically and economically strongest nations now having shut down their nuclear plants. Germany and Italy are examples.
But there are several risks of choosing the nuclear path. The biggest in my view is financial. The costs of constructing, maintaining and later decommissioning a nuclear plant make this one of the most expensive forms of electricity generation. The actual cost is invariably a lot higher than originally announced.
Along with that, the construction period is usually many years longer than declared at the start.
In addition, safety issues can never be discounted when dealing with nuclear energy, as the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan amply illustrated………………………………………………………………………………..
East Africa’s likely future energy mix
In view of the financial risk and high cost, and as global experience has shown that it typically requires ten or more years to set up a new nuclear plant from project approval to electricity production, east African countries should pursue alternatives for electricity production.
New medium-scale solar, wind and geothermal power-generating facilities would likely dominate the expansion of east African electricity generation capacity in the coming decade as they are cheap in comparison. Typical construction timescales are also much lower than nuclear or hydro megaprojects.
………………………………………………………………… Given all these factors, investing in a large and expensive nuclear build with uncertain completion timeframes that may end up being way more expensive than projected is ultimately simply not worth it.
https://theconversation.com/4-east-african-countries-are-going-for-nuclear-power-why-this-is-a-bad-idea-218046
Risk of total shutdown of Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station continues to increase
The risk of both nuclear reactors at Eskom’s Koeberg nuclear power station in Cape Town being shut down simultaneously for life extension continues to increase…………………………………… (Subscribers only) https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-10-20-koeberg-nuclear-power-station-rising-risk-of-total-shutdown/ #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Film examines France’s nuclear history in Algeria
Documentary gives voice to villagers who lived through explosions and still suffer from deadly effects
Melissa Gronlund, Sep 29, 2023 https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2023/09/29/france-algeria-atom-bomb/
etween 1960 and 1966, the French government detonated 13 atom bombs in the Algerian Sahara. The tests signalled France’s accession to the nuclear club and were hailed in Paris as a victory.
“Hoorah for France,” wrote President Charles de Gaulle the morning after the first blast, in a message to his army minister.
Little is known about the bomb’s effect in Algeria itself. According to a witness, 60 people died in 1962 after an explosion went wrong.
Inhabitants of the nearby village of Mertoutek say they were evacuated for 24hours and then told it was safe to return. More than 60 years later, they still say the land and water beneath it is contaminated. When they perform ablutions before prayers, for example, the water hurts their skin.
The international incident, which has been gaining exposure over the past few years, is the subject of a new short film And still, it remains by British filmmakers Arwa Aburawa and Turab Shah.
The husband and wife team had been thinking about how to represent the end of the world and the nuclear tests presented them with the example of a community who had – when they heard the detonations – believed the world was ending.
But when they began investigating the event, they realised there was only documentation of the French side of the story.
“[There was] nothing about the villagers themselves and absolutely nothing in terms of what happened next,” says Aburawa, who grew up in Manchester, UK, in a Palestinian family. “We were interested in the lack of perspective of people on the ground. How did they experience this moment, and then how did they experience life after that?”
Commissioned by the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival to look into how the climate crisis is affecting the Arab world, Aburawa and Shah spent two years researching the tests. In 2022, they travelled to the small village of Mertoutek.
Located in the foothills of the Hoggar Mountains, Mertoutek is profoundly isolated. Most of the villagers have never been to the nearest town, which is four hours away – itself a two-hour plane ride from Algiers. Most trace their ancestry to tribes from Mali and Niger who migrated to the village 400 years ago.
Aburawa and Shah were prepared to be ignored, but they were instead immediately welcomed. The villagers were keen to tell their side of history, the pair say, and were as interested in Aburawa and Shah as the filmmakers were in them and their stories.
Aburawa, who could communicate in Arabic with some of the elders of the village, was invited into gatherings with the women, who wanted to know how she celebrated her traditions as a Palestinian. Every morning, the young girls of the village would come by their house to see if she wanted to come herd the goats, she says, or to teach her their games.
The villagers ended up changing the shape of the film. Aburawa and Shah had initially been taken by the very poetic metaphor that followed the detonations – that the dust cloud of radioactive material travelled along the northern winds towards France, in effect returning to pollute the country that had perpetrated the tests.
“But when we visited Mertoutek, we learnt they have a long, long history. They told us how their families had been in the village for hundreds of years, and people before that for thousands of years,” says Aburawa.
“Suddenly, our concept of time and how to place a community’s experience in the moment massively shifted. We wanted to acknowledge that people have long histories and the land has an even longer history.”
And still, it remains treats the landscape as a main character. The pair filmed with a wide anamorphic lens in order to bring in more of the surroundings, and they pay attention to the sensory feel of life outdoors – fingers dig holes in the soft sand to create a board game; the wind whips painfully through spindly leaves.
Longer sequences give the sense of the world turning. In one stunning scene, the sky turns from bright, almost lurid orange to a faded pink, as the sun rises and the craggy mountains transform from outlines to legible sandstone edifices.
“What’s happening right now in the climate crisis and what happened in colonialism are so deeply connected,” says Aburawa. “They are both colonial mindsets of extraction and toxifying without thinking of the consequences.
“The situation in Algeria is saying, ‘You can’t escape these things. They don’t just disappear. A bomb exploded in the 60s, but it hasn’t gone away. It still remains with us.’ And that’s what inspired the title of the film.”
Today, the townspeople of Mertoutek still live in danger. At one point, one of the villagers recounts in the film that her father and some other men from the village went to the test site to take scrap metal to use for their gardens. The men all got sick. The recounter’s father got brain cancer and died.
“We asked them, did you ever think of leaving?” says Shah. “And they said, ‘But where would we go?’ There wasn’t anywhere for them to leave to. It was never an option.”
And still, it remains is showing at Lux in Waterlow Park, London, until October 14. More information is available at lux.org.uk
In Kenya, police break up an environmental meeting that was explaining nuclear hazards
by BRIAN OTIENO Correspondent, Coast Region 24 September 23 https://www.the-star.co.ke/counties/coast/2023-09-24-police-break-up-environmental-training-on-nuclear-reactor/
Police break up environmental training on nuclear reactor
The training was to enlighten the residents on the effects of a nuclear reactor.
In Summary
- Uyombo is a village next to the beach in Matsangoni, Kilifi county and has been earmarked to host Kenya’s first nuclear reactor.
- The residents and environmental activists however remain unconvinced and still maintain there is greater risk to their health than the benefits they will get from the reactor.
Environmental activists in Kilifi county have accused the government of trying to force a dangerous project on Uyombo residents.
Uyombo is a village next to the beach in Matsangoni, Kilifi county and has been earmarked to host Kenya’s first nuclear reactor.
On Thursday, the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environment Action organized the training to enlighten the residents on the effects of a nuclear reactor on the environment and how to best protect themselves from possible harm.
However, police disrupted the training before it even started and dispersed the residents who had gathered there.
They said the meeting was illegal.
On Sunday, CJGEA executive director Phyllis Omido termed the police action “extrajudicial, punitive and abuse of power by the state officers”.
“We tried to reason with them but they refused. They kept whisking our chairs away and were determined to prevent the meeting from happening,” Omido told the Star.
She said the security and administrative agencies have been holding meetings over the same and she has been attending them.
“Why is it that when we call the meeting, it suddenly becomes illegal and suddenly there are security risks?” she posed on the phone Sunday.
However, Matsangoni police boss Kenneth Maina told the Star the activists were inciting the locals against the project.
“You know the other day we had a meeting with the PS there and it was successful. Nobody is denied the right of picketing, demonstrating and the like but these people did not get a permit or notify the police,” Maina told the Star on the phone.
He said police never deny anyone any right to do anything, but procedures must be followed.
“There was no confrontation. When the OCS arrived at the scene and asked them to disperse, they did,” Maina said.
CJGEA, Ujamaa Centre, Muslims for Human Rights and Turtle Watch are among the environmental and human rights groups opposed to the setting up of the nuclear reactor there.
There have been several meetings between Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea) officials, the residents and the local administration as part of discussions over the intended establishment of the plant.
The plant is set to be established in 2034 if all goes to plan which includes putting in place all the safety measures, according to Nupea.
The residents and environmental activists however remain unconvinced and still maintain there is greater risk to their health than the benefits they will get from the reactor.
Omido said they were shocked to learn that the area administration had quickly planned another baraza on the same day as their training and asked all residents to attend.
USA can’t get investors for Small Nuclear Reactors: no problem – flog them off to Ghana!
U.S. Announces New Support for Ghana’s Civil Nuclear Energy Program under the FIRST Capacity Building Program
US Embassy in Ghana 16 Sept 23
Accra, Ghana – U.S. Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Ann Ganzer joined Ghanaian counterparts today to announce further U.S. support for establishing Ghana as a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor (SMR) Regional Training Hub and center of excellence for the sub-Saharan African region……………………………………………………………………………………….
Germany advises against nuclear power in Uganda
The Independent September 13, 2023
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Matthias Schauer, has advised against plans by Uganda to invest in nuclear power plants.
Ambassador Schauer joins a number of local and international experts who have advised Uganda against plans to put up 2000-megawatt nuclear.
Schauer, whose country continues to support Uganda’s clean energy projects and policies said nuclear power generation is not only costly but environmentally sensitive.
He was speaking at the launch of the Energy Policy for Uganda 2023 at the Sheraton Hotel in Kampala.
He said the plans to put nuclear power plants seem not to fit in the goals of the new policy.
According to the ambassador, Uganda is envied by industrial nations including Germany for its abundant hydropower and huge potential for solar power.
Germany stopped producing any electricity from its nuclear power plant in April this year.
He said Germany shut down its nuclear power plants for fear of disasters like the Chornobyl disaster in 1986 and the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster.
The Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Irene Bateebe last year indicated that Uganda needs nine billion dollars to put up a nuclear power plant.
But the Ambassador says putting up a nuclear power plant costs between $15-20 billion.
The new policy which is replacing the one developed in 2002 identifies the development of nuclear as part of the plans for Uganda’s energy mix.
The policy among other strategies suggests Public-private partnership investments, including decommissioning, spent fuel, and radioactive waste management, in nuclear power development.
The government has in the past suggested a phased approach towards putting up the first reactors for the 2000-megawatt nuclear power plant by the end of 2031……………………………….
https://www.independent.co.ug/germany-advises-against-nuclear-power-in-uganda/
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Does Europe need Niger’s uranium?
Will the lights go out in Europe if Niger were to prevent France from mining more of its uranium? DW asked experts in Niger and Europe about the energy supply chain in the wake of the coup. Niger’s greatest treasure lies underground: Uranium is the most
important commodity in the Sahel state. But coup plotters have been in
charge for just over a month, fuelling fears that the uranium supply to
global markets is in jeopardy. France, the former colonial power in Niger,
is in a particularly tight spot. Around two-thirds of its electricity comes
from nuclear power plants powered by uranium sourced in Niger. It also
exports electricity to other countries in Europe that have no nuclear
plants of their own.
Deutsche Welle 4th Sept 2023
https://www.dw.com/en/does-europe-need-nigers-uranium/a-66711717
Niger is Far From a Typical Coup
Rather than send troops in response to the coup, France and the U.S. seem to favor a “Rwanda” type solution applied in Mozambique earlier this year, writes Vijay Prashad. Only this time ECOWAS would apply force.
SCHEERPOST, By Vijay Prashad / Peoples Dispatch 20 Aug 23
In July 26, 2023, Niger’s presidential guard moved against the sitting president—Mohamed Bazoum—and conducted a coup d’état. A brief contest among the various armed forces in the country ended with all the branches agreeing to the removal of Bazoum and the creation of a military junta led by Presidential Guard Commander General Abdourahamane “Omar” Tchiani. This is the fourth country in the Sahel region of Africa to have experienced a coup—the other three being Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mali
The new government announced that it would stop allowing France to leech Niger’s uranium (one in three lightbulbs in France is powered by the uranium from the field in Arlit, northern Niger). Tchiani’s government revoked all military cooperation with France, which means that the 1,500 French troops will need to start packing their bags (as they did in both Burkina Faso and Mali).
Meanwhile, there has been no public statement about Airbase 201, the US facility in Agadez, a thousand kilometers from the country’s capital of Niamey. This is the largest drone base in the world and key to US operations across the Sahel. US troops have been told to remain on the base for now and drone flights have been suspended. The coup is certainly against the French presence in Niger, but this anti-French sentiment has not enveloped the US military footprint in the country.
Hours after the coup was stabilized, the main Western states—especially France and the United States—condemned the coup and asked for the reinstatement of Bazoum, who was immediately detained by the new government. But neither France nor the United States appeared to want to lead the response to the coup. Earlier this year, the French and US governments worried about an insurgency in northern Mozambique that impacted the assets of the Total-Exxon natural gas field off the coastline of Cabo Delgado. Rather than send in French and US troops, which would have polarized the population and increased anti-Western sentiment, the French and the United States made a deal for Rwanda to send its troops into Mozambique. Rwandan troops entered the northern province of Mozambique and shut down the insurgency. Both Western powers seem to favor a “Rwanda” type solution to the coup in Niger, but rather than have Rwanda enter Niger the hope was for ECOWAS—the Economic Community of West African States—to send in its force to restore Bazoum.
A day after the coup, ECOWAS condemned the coup. ECOWAS encompasses fifteen West African states, which in the past few years has suspended Burkina Faso and Mali from their ranks because of the coups in that country; Niger was also suspended from ECOWAS a few days after the coup. Formed in 1975 as an economic bloc, the grouping decided—despite no mandate in its original mission—to send in peacekeeping forces in 1990 into the heart of the Liberian Civil War. Since then, ECOWAS has sent its peacekeeping troops to several countries in the region, including Sierra Leone and Gambia. Not long after the coup in Niger, ECOWAS placed an embargo on the country that included suspending its right to basic commercial transactions with its neighbors, freezing Niger’s central bank assets that are held in regional banks, and stopping foreign aid (which comprises forty percent of Niger’s budget).
The most striking statement was that ECOWAS would take “all measures necessary to restore constitutional order.” An August 6 deadline given by ECOWAS expired because the bloc could not agree to send troops across the border. ECOWAS asked for a “standby force” to be assembled and ready to invade Niger. Then, ECOWAS said it would meet on August 12 in Accra, Ghana, to go over its options. That meeting was canceled for “technical reasons.” Mass demonstrations in key ECOWAS countries—such as Nigeria and Senegal—against an ECOWAS military invasion of Niger have confounded their own politicians to support an intervention. It would be naïve to suggest that no intervention is possible. Events are moving very fast, and there is no reason to suspect that ECOWAS will not intervene before August ends.
Coups in the Sahel
When ECOWAS suggested the possibility of an intervention into Niger, the military governments in Burkina Faso and Mali said that this would be a “declaration of war” not only against Niger but also against their countries…………………………………………………………………………….. https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/20/niger-is-far-from-a-typical-coup/
US/France Threaten Intervention in Resource-Rich Niger: Fears of War in West Africa
SCHEERPOST, August 8, 2023, By Ben Norton / Geopolitical Economy Report
The US and France have threatened foreign intervention to re-install a pro-Western regime in Niger.
The US and France have threatened intervention to re-install a pro-Western regime in Niger, which produces uranium needed for nuclear energy, has untapped oil reserves, and hosts strategic US drone bases and French troops. This follows coups led by nationalist, anti-colonial military officers in West Africa.
Niger is a major producer of gold and uranium, the latter of which is needed for European nuclear energy. The country has significant oil reserves to which foreign corporations have wanted access. It also hosts large US drone bases.
These Western threats follow coups led by nationalist, anti-colonial military officers in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, whose governments have warned that intervention would be considered an act of war, and could thus set off a regional conflict.
West Africa is rich in natural resources. It is also very strategic for the United States and France.
Almost all of West Africa was colonized by France, which committed brutal atrocities in the region.
Still today, France maintains neocolonial policies, effectively controlling West African economies by forcing them to use the CFA franc as their national currency.
Senegalese development economist Ndongo Samba Sylla described the CFA franc as “a colonial currency, born of France’s need to foster economic integration among the colonies under its administration, and thus control their resources, economic structures and political systems”.
Paris dictates the monetary policies and even holds much of the foreign exchange reserves of numerous West African nations, including Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.
The CFA franc is a “a barrier to industrialisation and structural transformation” in these countries, explained Sylla, who characterized it as a “neocolonial device that continues to destroy any prospect of economic development in user nations”.
The United States has one of its largest and most important drone bases in Niger: the Air Base 201, which cost $110 million to build, and an additional $20-30 million per year to maintain – in one of the poorest countries on Earth.
Niger is geostrategically important for the Pentagon’s Africa strategy. It is located in the middle of the Sahel, a region with a lot of US and French military activity, where thousands of troops are stationed on a regular basis.
Washington uses its drone bases in Niger, in the heart of the Sahel, to project military dominance in North and West Africa, in coordination with the forces that US Africa Command, or AFRICOM, has deployed across the continent.
If Washington loses its ally in Niger, the new nationalist military government may try to close the foreign military bases and kick out the roughly 1000 US soldiers in the country.
Niger’s historically subordinate relationship with the Western powers has not brought the Nigerien people any prosperity.
The country is a major producer of gold, but more than 40% of Nigeriens live in extreme poverty.
Niger is also one of the world’s largest producers of uranium. This radioactive material is crucial for nuclear energy in Europe, especially in France, where roughly one-third of electricity comes from nuclear power.
Less known is that Niger also has sizeable oil reserves………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Soon after the coup in Niger, there were similar reports that the nationalist military government decided to block exports of uranium and gold to the West.
The prospect of a foreign military intervention in Niger and potentially other West African nations is truly on the table. It is by no means an empty threat…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Anti-colonial nationalists rise to power in West Africa
Some of the nationalist military leaders who have taken power in West Africa are invoking the historical legacy of anti-colonial movements………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Threats of intervention in West Africa
The leaders of the new government in Niger publicly warned that France is plotting military intervention.
Paris is looking “for ways and means to intervene militarily in Niger”, the authorities said, stating that French officials met with the chief of staff of Niger’s national guard “to obtain the necessary political and military authorisation”, The Guardian reported.
The British newspaper described Niger’s toppled president, Bazoum, as “an ally of western powers”.
Along with Paris, the US State Department is actively coordinating with Bazoum and plotting to put its ally back in power.
To give supposed “multilateral” cover to their plans for intervention, the US and France have been working closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Reuters reported that ECOWAS and “West African defence chiefs have drawn up a plan for military action if Niger’s coup is not overturned”.
The UK-based news outlet emphasized, “Given its uranium and oil riches and pivotal role in the war with Islamist rebels in the Sahel region, Niger has strategic significance for the United States, China, Europe and Russia”.
ECOWAS imposed sanctions on Niger, and the country’s southern neighbor Nigeria has begun establishing a de facto blockade……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Niger is a leading producer of uranium, needed for European nuclear energy
One of the principal economic interests that Western powers have in Niger is its uranium.
The anti-poverty organization Oxfam published a report in 2013 detailing how France was making a killing profiting off of the uranium in Niger, which is one of the poorest countries in the world.
The people of Niger, who are known as Nigeriens (not to be confused with Nigerians from Nigeria), have seen almost no benefits from this uranium extraction.
Oxfam cited a Nigerien activist who noted, “In France, one out of every three light bulbs is lit thanks to Nigerien uranium. In Niger, nearly 90% of the population has no access to electricity. This situation cannot continue”.
“It is incomprehensible that Niger, the world’s fourth-largest uranium producer and a strategic supplier for Areva and France, is not taking advantage of the revenue from this extraction and remains one of the poorest countries on the planet”, an Oxfam researcher added.
……………………………………………………………………………………. Since the coup in Niger, both France and EU leadership have insisted they will not be affected, stating that they have enough uranium in their reserves to last a few years.
But if the nationalist government remains in power in Niger and abides by its alleged pledge to cut off uranium exports, Europe could face economic consequences.
This also comes at a complicated moment for Europe, which has pledged to boycott Russian oil exports and reduce imports of Russian gas………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Niger hosts strategic US military bases
In addition to foreign economic designs on West Africa, the US military has a massive footprint on the region – particularly in Niger, where it operates multiple bases.
A 2019 report in PBS noted an increasing US military presence in Africa, revealing that the Pentagon had nearly 800 personnel stationed in Niger. (That figure later rose to roughly 1000.)………………………………………………………………..
General Thomas Waldhauser, the commander of US military forces in Africa, described Niger’s pro-Western government as “a good partner in a very, very bad neighborhood”.
PBS indicated that the US military was creating a base in Agadez, Niger, which “will be the largest installation Air Force personnel have ever built”.
“The U.S. has been operating drone missions out of another base in Niger’s capital since 2013”, the media outlet wrote, adding, “The CIA is also believed to be using another drone base in Northeastern Niger”.
Investigative journalist Nick Turse, reporting in 2023, described this US facility in Niger, Air Base 201, as “the linchpin of the U.S. military’s archipelago of bases in North and West Africa and a key part of America’s wide-ranging intelligence, surveillance, and security efforts in the region”……………………………
What is striking is the neocolonial symbolism of the United States maintaining these high-tech military facilities worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Niger, one of the poorest countries on Earth, where the majority of the population doesn’t even have access to electricity.
Before the July 2023 coup, Washington saw the Nigerien government as a key ally in its attempt to isolate China and Russia.
Antony Blinken took a historic trip to Niger in March, in the first-ever visit by a US secretary of state………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Washington sees the continent as highly strategic in its new cold war against China and Russia.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..The nationalist governments in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali are very unstable, and the threat of Western-sponsored military intervention could destabilize the countries, fueling more coups, and potentially setting off a regional war.
The transparent goal of the United States and France is to re-impose political control over the region, to exploit its plentiful natural resources and geostrategic location…………. more https://scheerpost.com/2023/08/08/us-france-threaten-intervention-in-resource-rich-niger-fears-of-war-in-west-africa/
Uranium profits in Niger. France is grabbing it all
Meillure Ecole du Senagal 24 April 23
Of the 5504 billion CFA francs (US$ 5504 millions) in annual uranium revenues, Niger earns only 86 billion CFA francs and France quietly takes the 5418 billion CFA francs.
Niger mines 43,000 tonnes a year, selling for 43 million CFA francs a tonne (US$ 64 000) at 43,000 CFA francs a kilo (US$ 64). Niger’s uranium is listed on the stock market, more specifically on the Chicago exchange. A kilo of uranium dioxide sells for 128 million CFA francs(US$ 128 000), not forgetting that on the international market the cost of materials fluctuates.
On the basis of current figures (128 million CFA francs (US$128 000 X 43,000 tonnes = 5504 billion CFA francs (US$ 5504 millions), we realize that out of the 5504 billion CFA francs (US$ 5 504 millions), Niger will only be entitled to 86 billion CFA francs (US$ 86 millions) i.e. a shortfall of 5418 billion CFA francs (US$ 5418 millins) for the country of Niger.
Niger’s 20 million tonnes of radioactive waste
Uranium tailings in Niger are blowing in the wind and poisoning the water
By Linda Pentz Gunter
Note: In late July, a military coup ousted Niger’s president, Mohamed Bazoum. Since then, those who have declared themselves in charge have announced a halt to uranium exports to France. France relies on Niger for around 17% of the uranium that fuels its troubled commercial reactor fleet (with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan the main suppliers). Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European countries have been wrestling with their uncomfortable dependence on Russian-sourced uranium supplies. The Russian mercenary group, Wagner, already has a strong presence in Africa, and one that is now growing.
The grey mountain looms, mirage-like, on the horizon of the uranium mining town of Arlit in Niger. (Picture below is of Kyrgyzstan’s mountain of uranium tailings, not Niger’s – but the same type)
This lethal legacy has been confirmed by the independent French radiological research laboratory — Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité — known in international circles simply as CRIIRAD. The lab, and its director, Bruno Chareyron, have been studying the situation around uranium mines in Niger for years. In 2009 his lab measured the radioactive levels of the wastes at 450,000 Becquerels per kilogram.
In a recent video, CRIIRAD describes the waste pile— mostly radioactive sludges — as “a sword of Damocles hanging over the drinking water supply for more than 100,000 people.” (You can watch the video below, in French with English subtitles. If you understand French, you can also listen to the CRIIRAD podcast episodes on this topic on Spotify.)
Under its subsidiary, Cominak, Orano exploited mines near Arlit for 40 years. Much of the uranium extracted was used as fuel for reactors in France and other countries in the European Union.
As part of the extraction process, radon gas was released into the air along with fine radioactive dusts, inhaled by the uranium mine workers and local residents. Radioactively contaminated materials ended up in workers’ homes, used to fashion furniture and utensils and even as construction materials for the homes themselves. And yet, no effort was made by Orano to contain this waste. Instead, as the Radio France International report says, “it was simply dumped on the ground.”
Some workers who were treated in the local Areva-run hospital were told their illnesses had nothing whatever to do with the uranium mines.
Diners along the Seine, sitting under their Parisian fairy lights, rarely if ever thought about the workers in Arlit who helped turn those lights on, and who suffered all the negative health consequences while enjoying none of the financial gain. Niger remains one of the world’s poorest countries.
Niger is yet another example of colonialism, its people burdened effectively with a radioactive smallpox blanket. It’s a story and a pattern that repeats itself across the world where people of color toil in uranium mines or other foreign-imposed government or corporate methods of exploitation, working to benefit white western customers thousands of miles away.
And it’s an exploitation that could now be prolonged at Orano’s only remaining uranium mine in Niger — Somair. Earlier this year, Orano and the then Niger government signed an agreement to extend operations at Somair until 2040, 11 years longer than its originally projected closure date. That agreement may now be in doubt under the current political uncertainty brought about by the July coup.
Imouraren in northern Niger, with potentially 200,000 tonnes of uranium deposits, is still also potentially within Orano’s sights, although what would become the world’s biggest uranium mine has been on hold for some time, even before the current coup.
Meanwhile, in Arlit, many live without electricity at all. Or even running water. That water, according to Chareyron, has already been contaminated by the 40 years of waste discharges from the mines —chemicals and heavy metals along with radioactive uranium and its daughter products such as radium and polonium— which have migrated into groundwater. Absent other alternatives, local populations are obligated to keep drinking it.
According to the Radio France International report, “Orano’s Niger subsidiary, Cominak, said that it will cover the radioactive mud with a two-metre layer of clay and rocks to contain the radiation.” But, even though it is a necessary first step to prevent further dispersal into the air, the measure will scarcely be an enduring barrier, given the wastes will be dangerous to human health for hundreds of thousands of years.
But while it is dangerous for Arlit locals to wash their hands in their radioactively contaminated water supply, has Cominak washed its hands of them? In the two years since the mines closed, nothing has happened to safeguard the waste piles.
Almoustapha Alhacen, a former mine worker who heads the local NGO, Aghir’n Man and collaborates with CRIIRAD, told Chareyron that the reason given for inaction is lack of financing.
In reality, the problem is an even bigger one than miserly corporate inaction. Worldwide, points out Chareyron, authorities have yet to figure out how to confine lethal radioactive waste safely over the longterm. The simple answer is that, when it comes to radioactive waste, no one really knows what to do.
Why The Niger Coup Has Sparked Concerns About Nuclear Power
Forbes, Ana Faguy, Forbes Staff, 1 Aug 23
When a coup left Niger’s democratically elected president detained and rebellious soldiers in charge of the West African nation last week, it also sparked concern about how the supply of uranium to European countries, used to fuel nuclear reactors, might be at risk —those fears materialized Monday when the junta reportedly said it was suspending exports if the heavy metal to France, but some European agencies are squashing those concerns and noting there’s enough uranium inventories to last a few years regardless of what happens in Niger.
While Niger only accounts for a small percentage of global production of uranium—about 5% according to the World Nuclear Association—it is a major supplier of uranium for France, which receives some 15% of its uranium supply from the Western African nation, according to Politico and the EU which gets more than 20% of its uranium from Niger, according to the Euratom Supply Agency.
The junta purportedly said it was suspending exports of uranium to France—Niger’s once longtime colonial ruler—immediately, the Financial Times reported Monday.
…………………………………EU officials have also tried to downplay concerns, with European Commission spokesman Adalbert Jahnz noting that EU utilities have sufficient inventories of natural uranium to mitigate short-term supply risks and “for the medium and long term there are enough deposits on the world market to cover the EU needs,” he said to AFP.
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The need for uranium in many European countries could prevent the EU from adopting nuclear sanctions against Russia, Phuc-Vinh Nguyen, an energy expert at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris, told Politico. Uranium, and nuclear power more generally, is currently not subject to EU sanctions. If the supply of uranium decreases from Niger, then EU countries could look elsewhere to find supply. Meanwhile, Russia is one of the world’s largest uranium exporters, producing some 2,500 tons in 2022, according to the World Nuclear Association.
…………………………..If the militant leaders who took over in the coup—and expressed their dismay for how the Nigerien president has run the country—took Wagner up on his offer, it’s possible that his support could affect the amount of uranium supplied to the EU. https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/08/01/why-the-niger-coup-has-sparked-concerns-about-nuclear-power/?sh=253224392738
Kenya has restated its commitment to ensuring nuclear energy and nuclear weapons are not used in the continent.
Kenya reiterates stand on nuclear weapons during exhibition
Ogola noted that Kenya recently enacted the Nuclear Regulatory Act 29 of 2019.
Star 16 July 23
In Summary
- The Treaty of Pelindaba is the international agreement that establishes Africa as a zone free of nuclear weapons.
- Hence contributing to peace and security in Africa.
Kenya has restated its commitment to ensuring nuclear energy and nuclear weapons are not used in the continent.
This was when stakeholders in the Energy sector convened on Saturday to commemorate the 14th Anniversary of the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone treaty.
The treaty is called the Treaty of Pelindaba.
The Treaty of Pelindaba is the international agreement that establishes Africa as a zone free of nuclear weapons, hence contributing to peace and security in Africa.
The event took place at the Trademark Hotel in Nairobi under the auspices of the Kenyan government.
Former Prisons Commissioner Wycliffe Ogola, while speaking on behalf of Energy CS Davis Chirchir, reiterated Kenya’s stand against possession of nuclear weapons adding that Kenya recognises the pivotal role the treaty plays in protecting civilians against nuclear weapons.
Ogola noted that Kenya recently enacted the Nuclear Regulatory Act 29 of 2019.
“The Act has committed the country to exclusively exclude uses of nuclear technology, recognising the need to meet Kenya’s obligation under various international considerations and criminalised access to nuclear material and radiation sources,” Ogola said.
He called for more forums to allow for the exchange of ideas on how to ensure nuclear weapons and technology are not used in Africa. ………………………. more https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-07-16-kenya-reiterates-stand-on-nuclear-weapons-during-exhibition/
French nuclear group Orano (previously Areva) evacuates foreign workers to Niger capital following security threat
NIAMEY, May 12 (Reuters) – French nuclear group Orano has evacuated 18 expatriate workers from a uranium mining site in Arlit, northern Niger, to the capital Niamey on Friday, following a security threat, a spokesperson for the company said in statement to Reuters.
Orano ceased exploiting uranium at the mine in 2021 due to the depletion of reserves, but plans to operate in the country to retrain workers and remediate the mining site for at least a decade.
The spokesperson did not give details about the security threat but said it occurred in a village halfway between the border with Mali and Arlit, which lies some 800 km (500 miles) to the northeast of the capital.
South Korea coming for a slice of Africa’s emerging nuclear power market
As African countries firm up their nuclear power ambitions, South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), a subsidiary of state-owned Korea Electric Power Corporation is coming for a share of the continent’s emerging market.…… (Subscribers only) https://www.theafricareport.com/293984/south-korea-coming-for-a-slice-of-africas-emerging-nuclear-power-market/
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