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To February 1st – nuclear news

Crisis within a crisis: Responding to COVID-19 around the world.

Climate crisis: world is at its hottest for at least 12,000 years – study.  Scientists say temperatures globally at highest level since start of human civilisation.

On nuclear news –  there’s a kind of hush, all over the world.…..     Well, I suppose that this could be seen, in one twisted way – as good news. This is the fact that the coronavirus pandemic is putting the brakes on nuclear development, in UK, and the USA.   As always, we don’t know much about its impact on Russia and China.

Still, the global nuclear lobby keeps up its unrelenting propaganda on nuclear power  as the (false) cure for climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0poNgL57kc&feature=emb_title         Also distressing is the move for nuclear reactors to be permitted to operate for 100 years, a cunning, but dangerous, way to avoid costs of decommissioning them,

A bit of good news –.  Oh dear, I had trouble finding it this week – had to revert to one a few weeks back – What went right this week: hope for stabilising the climate.

 

Avoiding a ‘Ghastly Future’: Hard Truths on the State of the Planet.

The most dangerous situation humanity has ever faced – Doomsday Clock stays at 100 seconds to midnight.  Who’s next? Experts worry about East Asia and the Middle East getting nuclear weapons.  Nuclear weapons proliferation can be contagious.

Nuclear wastes – deliberately left to our grandchildren.

Why nuclear power is a bad way to balance renewable energy .

French parliamentarians nominate Julian Assange for Nobel Peace Prize.

AFRICA.  All-Africa Conference of Churches welcomes Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty.

JAPAN.  Fukushima nuclear clean-up delayed as new radioactive contamination found.  Fukushima businesses battle for survival, as few former residents return.  “The Toxic Pigs of Fukushima” a contender for the Oscar Awards.

UK.  Britain’s unaffordable nuclear power plans collapse, one by one.    Ho hum – another delay, another cost rise – for the beleaguered Hinkley nuclear power project.  Half a £billion here, half a £billion there – the costs of Hinkley Point C go up again.

In its failed search for a national dump site, UK govt rebrands its nuclear waste agency, promises honesty this time.   EDF plans 2 new sites for dumping radioactive mud dredged from Hinkley Point. From both UK and Ireland – calls for independent review into dumping Hinkley nuclear mud into the sea.     Isle of Man Wakes Up to What is Planned – sub sea nuclear dump.  Huge legacy of radioactive trash in UK, much of it already in Cumbria.   It is all over for Britain’s £20bn Wylfa nuclear project.

In Burghfield, homes to built dangerously close to nuclear weapons establishment.

RUSSIA.  Russian lawmakers  approve New START nuclear treaty extension.

IRAN.  Iran rejects reversing nuclear steps before US lifts sanctions.

USA.

FRANCE.  Should France extend the life of its oldest nuclear reactors?  Use of illegal workers at Flamanville nuclear site..

TURKEY. Dire problems at Turkey’s Akkuyu nuclear Project.

GERMANY.  Get the Nuclear Weapons Out of Germany.

ITALY. Italian government lists 61 potential sites for nuclear waste dumping.

ARMENIA. Armenia’s nuclear power station a danger to Azerbaijan and the region.

CZECH REPUBLIC. Anxiety in Czech Republic about nuclear supplies from China, or from Russia

SOUTH KOREA.  South Korea considered setting up a nuclear power station with North Korea.

AUSTRALIA   Kimba nuclear waste dump issue is in limbo in the Australian Senate.  The Australian government’s Radioactive Waste Bill does not meet required IAEA standards.

February 1, 2021 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

The week in nuclear news

Of course, the big world news is the coronavirus. Climate is as always, the vital second issue.

There was much favourable reaction to the nuclear ban treaty coming into force last week. The critics and sabotage from the nuclear weapons nations will no doubt come later.

Apart from the ban treaty, nuclear news has been very much in the background.  The global nuclear industry is not wasting this ”quiet” time, but instead is ramping up and reorganising for a 2021 propaganda blitz.

Some bits of good news –   Arctic Oil Drilling Plans Suffer ‘Stunning Setback’ as Almost ‘No One Shows Up’ For the Sale. UK Prioritizes Climate Crisis By Supporting Sustainability in Developing Countries With $4 Billion Plan.  Startup Builds 3 Huge Indoor Farms in Appalachia Turning Coal Country into Agricultural Hub

 

International Physicians for the Preve.ntion of Nuclear War comment on “The great evasion “.    Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – a major step towards a safe world. Praise from United Nations, Pope Francis, for nuclear ban treaty coming into force.  5 nuclear activities that are now Illegal under international law.  Nuclear Ban Treaty obligates countries to assist nuclear victims and remediate environments.

Russia and USA exchange documents to extend the NEW START nuclear weapons agreement.

Quietly, under the brouhaha of the pandemic, the global nuclear lobby prepares a propaganda onslaught.

Pro nuclear publicist James Conca made a very big gaffe about Fukushima disaster.

GREENLAND.  Uranium mining plunder of Greenland, and the threat to the sub-arctic environment.

JAPAN.

USA.

RUSSIA.  Russia to withdraw form Open Skies Treaty, EU concerned.  Russia welcomes US proposal to extend New Start nuclear treaty.

UK.

FRANCE.  The hidden costs of France’s old, past-their-use-by-date nuclear reactors.  Radioactive releases from the Golfech nuclear power plant accumulate downstream. Serious shortcomings in the file on Bure (Meuse) underground nuclear waste storage.  EDF collapses on the stock market amid difficult negotiations in Brussels..

CANADA.  We need parliamentarians to stop project, prevent Ottawa River from being permanently contaminated — Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area.  Canada’s nuclear regulator updates its drug and alcohol testing requirements.

IRAN.  President Hassan Rouhani has urged U.S. President Joe Biden to return America to the nuclear deal.

PAKISTAN. Pakistan test-fires nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile.

SOUTH AFRICA, South Africa the only country to have nuclear weapons, then abandon them.

MOROCCO.  Another bit of boring nuclear propaganda – from Morocco this time.

ALGERIA. Investigation of Algerians affected by France’s nuclear bomb tests.

TAIWAN.  Taiwan. Nuclear power plant referendum set to take place in August.

AUSTRALIA. Morrison government gets in early to disparage nuclear ban treaty, but Labor supports it.   Australia could sign the Nuclear Ban Treaty and still keep its military co=operation with America.

January 27, 2021 Posted by | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Quietly, under the brouhaha of the pandemic, the global nuclear lobby prepares a propaganda onslaught

”If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. A lie told once remains a lie but a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth ” – Joseph Goebbels 

This month, I’ve concentrated my efforts on the ground-breaking and historic UN Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons coming into force. Of course, the nuclear weapons states will try to destroy that Treaty.   Failing destruction, they will aim for pooh poohing and rubbishing that Treaty. Finally they’ll go for a favourite strategy – ignoring it, and hoping that the world will just forget about it.

I don’t think that the world will forget about it. The challenge will be to help those workers and communities that depend on nuclear-weapons-making to be helped out of that toxic situation, and into life-sustaining work and activities.

MEANWHILE, as media and science correctly focus on the global coronavirus pandemic, the issue of nuclear power has pretty much disappeared from view.  Nothing is happening?

Not so. Things are happening, and the nuclear lobby is busy planning a big propaganda push – a Goebbels-worthy spinfest, for 2021.

Today, the nuclear weapons industry is pretty much the only reason for”peaceful” nuclear power.  ”Peaceful nukes” provide the trained experts, the technology development necessary for the weapons industry.  If governments and universities can be persuaded to back commercial nuclear energy, this solves a lot of probems. Especially, it helps to blur the picture on the astronomic costs of nuclear weapons, as quite a lot of costs are covered by ”peaceful” nuclear development.

There’s another pressing reason to keep nuclear power going. It’s the horrible and never-ending cost of shutting down reactors and dealing with their toxic wastes.  How much cheaper to just relicense them for 100 years?    That way, the present responsible officials will all be gone, and they don’t have to worry about that problem. Heck – they’ve handed it over to our great-grandchildre,  What a fine idea!  NOT!!

Against this background, the nuclear lobby is girding its loins for the public perception battle.

Armed with lies –  that nuclear fixes climate –  that it’s cheap, is clean, works great with renewables, essential for society –  blah blah,  the nuclear lobby is preparing its onslaught. They generally try pretty hard to ignore matters like comparative costs, and wastes problems.  But they can just lie again, if put on the spot about such problems.

Just a few quotatios from World Nuclear News :-

The barrier to nuclear is perception“

”addressing perceptions of its alleged drawbacks”

Bilbao y León –  “the nuclear industry has responsibly managed all its used nuclear fuel and waste “from day one”.

“We know where every ounce of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste is because we have been managing it throughout the history of the nuclear industry.  …….

“The real challenges to nuclear are external”  – ”small modular reactors ..cheaper, safer, better, and going to provide more discreet financial solutions” [the discreet bit is true?]

The government nuclear regulatory authorities are, unfortunately, usually well onside with the industry –  in what is known as “regulatory capture”.   Again, from World Nuclear News –

”The hurdles advanced nuclear developers face‘ – ””We, as the regulator, are working on building public trust, confidence and social acceptance in these new technologies.’‘ 

Joseph Goebbels would be proud of the skills of Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of the World Nuclear Association. She’s great with language (as the global nuclear lobby has realised, in appointing her, and several other women, to top promotional positions.)

January 26, 2021 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Christina's notes, spinbuster | 1 Comment

A good week coming up in nuclear news?

An eventful week coming up.  And from the point of view of nuclear issues, a good week!

On 22nd January the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force.   Yes, nuclear weapons will still be there, but no longer respectable, acceptable, and no longer an attractive investment option. The humanitarian cause for ending nuclear weaponry is made clear and legal.

This week is good news, too, for the immediately more pressing problems, coronavirus and climate. The inauguration of President Joe Biden on 20th January means that the American government will suddenly take the pandemic seriously and take action. Equally important, it will take action on climate change, and will rejoin the world in the Paris climate treaty.

The new administration under Biden will not play nuclear war brinkmanship, as Donald Trump did  –  (remember ”fire and fury”).  There is hope for some rational negotiations internationally on arms control.

However, as Obama was, Biden will be firmly in the grip of the nuclear lobby.  You don’t get to be President of the United States unless you have the backing of the nuclear industry.

Some other bits of good news – Stories of change from children in the Asia-Pacific  .

Catholics welcome Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons coming into force.

Global nuclear policy is stuck in colonialist thinking. The weapons ban treaty offers a way out.

Scientists must tell the truth on our consumerist, ecology-killing Ponzi culture.

Nuclear power, too inflexible, is in conflict with sustainable development goals.

Investigative journalism – ‘Mini-Nukes, Big Bucks: The Interests Behind the SMR Push.

Hydrogen from wind and solar systems could be the ultimate solution to the planet’s pollution problem..

JAPAN.

Investigative journalism – Thyroid cancer at ages 0 and 2 at the time of the nuclear accident-Health survey in Fukushima Prefecture January 2021. 

Why Japanese people should say ‘Sayonara’ to nuclear energy- a nun’s voice for nuclear victims.  13.7 million sign petition urging all nations to ban nuclear weapons.

USA. 

CANADA. Why Won’t Canada Back a Nuclear Weapons Ban?  Small modular reactor plan bolsters nuclear industry‘s future, but renewables could address energy issues now.  Big doubts on small nuclear reactors – on economics, on waste problems.  New consultations in Ignace, Ontario, over nuclear waste site.

EUROPE. While European organisations discuss nuclear wastes, UK unveils plan for Cumbria waste burial

UK.

INDIA.  India must oppose dumping of radioactive waste into the Pacific, but IAEA and Indian govt downplay the dangers.

RUSSIA.  Russia eager to salvage START nuclear weapons treaty, once Biden is USA president . The horror of Russia’s nuclear submarines and nuclear trash dumped at sea.

ISRAEL. Israeli Defence Force drawing up plans to strike Iran’s nuclear program.

CZECH REPUBLIC.  Czech government plans to impose nuclear dump on municipalities against their will.

IRAN.  Iran tests missiles under apparent watch of US nuclear sub.

FRANCE. France says Iran is building nuclear weapons capacity, urgent to revive 2015 deal.

BELARUS. Belarus Nuclear Plant Taken Offline After ‘Protection System Activated’.

AUSTRALIA.   How will Entry Into Force of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty impact non weapons states parties, including Australia?

Why did ANSTO shut down National Medical Cyclotron, that made medical isotopes without nuclear waste?  ANSTO gets a blank cheque for its nuclear waste production at Lucas Heights?  Because ANSTO shut down cyclotron, Australia has the problem of importing a short-lived medical isotope.

Australia’s environmental scientists intimidated, silenced by threats of job loss.

 

January 18, 2021 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

to 11 January – nuclear news this week

Midst all of the Trumpian circus, and the dire problems of the pandemic, it’s hard to find news about the underlying grave problems of the climate. I did vow to stay off that subject.  But that’s hard to do, when global heating has accelerated over 2020, when it should have been a cooler year, with La Nina prevailing.   Not only accelerating – climate change is here with us. The Earthbound Report lists 10 big impacts in 2020.

But – to return to the nuclear, it hasn’t been just a background problem lately, as the Washington mayhem raises anxieties about Donald Trump’s finger on the trigger of nuclear war.

A bit of good news – The good news hidden within one of America’s darkest weeks

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: The Road There and the Road Ahead.  Beatrice Fihn: How to implement the nuclear weapons ban treaty.

Multinational effort could help solve U.S.-Russia nuclear issue.

Geopolitics Of Nuclear Generation Delayed Renewables By Decades To Fossil Fuel Industry Benefit, Our Detriment.

Ten compelling reasons to stay away from nuclear power .

Judge’s refusal to extradite Julian Assange is still part of cowardly process to deny freedom of information.

JAPAN.   High court drops TEPCO’s appeal against order for compensation to affected Fukushima worker.  Radiation levels at Fukushima plant found worse and more lethal than previously assumed. Only 30% of Fukushima residents happy with disaster recovery progress.

INDIA.  Military strategy relying on nuclear weapons – a dangerous myth.

CANADA.  Canada vocal about nuclear disarmament, but silent about the Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Canada shows how nuclear reactors are not needed for production of technetium-99m.    Creating jobs and community opportunities -Pickering City Council wants immediate dismantling of nuclear station.

UK. 

USA. 

ITALY. Seven regions in Italy to take legal action against plan for nuclear waste dumping.    Beautiful Italian regions furious at sites recommended for nuclear trash.

IRAN. Iran will expel U.N. nuclear inspectors unless sanctions are lifted.

NORTH KOREA. Kim Jong Un signals plans to develop new nuclear weapons.

INDONESIA.  Indonesia’s nuclear ambitions could prove disastrous for the Southeast Asian region.

FRANCE.  France’s declining nuclear production.  Nuclear in France: why bother? This technology is on the way out.  France conducts enhanced thermonuclear missile test.  Government control over nuclear and radiation information; firing of sociologist Christine Fassert.

ISRAEL.  Restoring Iran nuclear deal is good for Israel.

LEBANON.  Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief says nuclear button with “crazy fool” Trump.

AUSTRALIA.  Australian govt has quiet nuclear deal with China, but condemns Victoria-China medical research.

January 11, 2021 Posted by | Christina's notes | 3 Comments

Nuclear news for the first week of 2021

“News” is by its nature , all about the bad stuff, while the majority of people, trying to live a decent, co-operative, life, are not reported. No surprise the, that 2020 news has been all about the bad stuff.

And bad it has been, and still is, with world-wide coronavirus cases heading to 90 million, and economic disruption resulting from the situation. At the same time, global heating moves on inexorably, with polar ice melting changing the world ecosystem.

The pandemic and global heating have been, still are, the defining problems of our time.  BUT, the nuclear danger is equally important, and it is the one that could be addressed, if the deceptive propaganda of the nuclear industry were to be countered. The industry has done a great job of keeping its issues out of the public eye, with its subtle theme that only technical experts can have an opinion.

That’s why, reluctantly, I decided to concentrate on nuclear issues, and leave those other critical topics to the media.

This month is especially important, with the coming into force of the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, on January 22.  There will be voices rubbishing this Treaty. But it complements existing agreements, and most significantly it will make nuclear weapons look, (like chemical and biological ones), unacceptable and immoral as well as illegal 

Some bits of good news  -Amid 2020’s gloom, there are reasons to be hopeful about the climate in 2021.

What went right in 2020:  some big wins for the environment, society and culture, human rights, even health.

 

Legal case on extradition of Julian Assange is an alarming precedent for freedom of speech.

Pandemic, climate, nuclear weapons – lessons for survival in 2021.This is the sort of letter that citizens need to be writing – in support of the nuclear weapons ban.

Mary Olson on the 6 mentors who guided her on gender and radiation study.

The Nuclear Industry’s Really Bad Safety Analysis.

How the USA and Soviet Union planned to use nuclear radiation as a weapon.

Get ready for a 2021 barrage of pro nuclear spin, from a desperate industry.

JAPAN. Fukushima nuclear clean-up hugely affected by discovery of lethal radiation levels.   Tokyo Olympics Impossible.  Never give up! 95 year old Hibakusha welcomes the UN nuclear ban treaty.  In March 2011 Japan’s government considered evacuating the then Emperor Akihito further away from Fukushima.

USA.

Plowshare anti nuclear-weapons activists again face prison . Joe Biden must end the cover-up of, and the huge money to, Israel’s nuclear weapons.  Nuclear Command and Control: Session 3 of the Congressional Study Group.  LGBTQ Activists Jump Into the Atlantic to upport Treaty banning nuclear weapons.  Biden Wants US Back in Iran Nuclear Deal (Video).

Doubtful that aging Los Alamos National Laboratory could safely produce plutonium triggers, no matter how much funding it gets.

UK. 

POLAND.  Trump’s nuclear construction deal with Poland – strained with Biden victory ?

SOUTH KOREA.  South Korean government to cut nuclear power generation.

CANADA.  Small modular reactor plan – a dangerous distraction from climate change action.  The gigantic Chalk River Mound (the so-called ‘NSDF’) would not reduce Canada’s radioactive waste liabilities and could in fact increase them.

INDONESIA.  In Indonesia – small nuclear reactors as a prelude to nuclear weapons?

SLOVAKIA.  Slovakia: Krško nuclear power station shut down as a precaution after quake.

TURKEY.  Turkey’s aspirations to become a nuclear weapons power.

RUSSIA.  How a Soviet spy helped to avoid nuclear war

AUSTRALIA. The Australian government’s shameful record in the Kimba nuclear dump fiasco.  The decay of mainstream media in Australia – and the rise of new independent media.

January 4, 2021 Posted by | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

9 of the important nuclear stories of 2020

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

In the news media, nuclear news has today gone very quiet.

Of course, it’s not only the “festive” season, but more importantly, the global tragedy of pandemic that is afflicting the lives of so many millions of people. In turn, the economic disruption is affecting society, and grinding down activities, including nuclear ones.

Today, even the advertorials promoting small nuclear reactors,, fusion, and the “need” for more nuclear weapons have gone quiet.

So, it seems a good opportunity to revisit some of the many significant stories of 2020.  So, below this post, I’m listing just 9 of these.

December 29, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Briefly, nuclear news this week

The good news from 2020: 10 sunny stories from an otherwise dark year.

In ‘Huge Victory for Polar Bears’, Court Rejects Arctic Offshore Drilling Project.  U.S. “climate mayors” are hopeful that a Biden administration will help cities accelerate progress toward climate goals.

 

The Madness of Nuclear Deterrence.

Nuclear power ridiculously expensive and uncompetitive – the market has spoken.

ARCTIC.  Russia marketing small nuclear reactors to the Arctic , (who cares about the toxic wastes?).

JAPAN.  Fukushima nuclear debris removal to be delayed due to pandemic.

USA.

UK. Unacceptable secrecy by the nuclear industry in Sizewell documentation.  UK’s quest for nuclear fusion.  No acknowledgment, no compensation, for a British nuclear test hero.

EUROPE. Chinese demands on nuclear power investment complicate EU talks.  Marketing nuclear technology to Slovakia.

UKRAINE.  Are forest fires unlocking radiation in Chernobyl?  Dredging of the Pripyat river poses danger of Chernobyl radioactivity to drinking water of 8 million people.  Storage of Chernobyl nuclear waste – in reality unsafe for 1000s of years.

SOUTH KOREA.  South Korea: mayors and governors of all 17 major cities and provinces call on Japan not to dump Fukushima radioactive water into the ocean.

NORTH KOREA.  Economic crisis forces North Korea to put new nuclear parade facilities on ice..

BELARUS.  EU visit to Belarus nuclear plant called off, deepening safety concerns.

IRAN.  Iran nuclear deal: ‘Heated rhetoric and the heightened risk of miscalculation’ widen differences.

CHINA.  China rejects reports of hitch in investment pact talks with EU.

RUSSIA.  Russia keenly marketing nuclear technology to Bolivia.  Russian Army Chief Warns of Nuclear Risks in Cyber Hacks, Space .  Russia’s nuclear-powered ice-breaker in trouble.

AUSTRALIA. Curiouser and curiouser – the dishonest acrobatics of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

December 28, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news – week to 22 December

‘Tis the season to be jolly.  But, honestly, I can’t.  If you want to know what’s really going on in this human-species-afflicted planet, I recommend Radio Ecoshock.  Here you will learn about  Climate Collapse & The Plastic Plague

It’s not about some distant future problem. It’s about now, and how we are living on a trashed planet.  And we’re and adding more to this with all our festive junk and unnecessary gifts.

Having said that –    there are so many good people trying to clean up, and keep clean, our fragile planet.   For some examples – I recommend  99 Good News Stories From 2020 You Probably Didn’t Hear About.

Also, I am reading “The Good Germans – resisting the NAZIs  1933 – 1945“, by Catrine Clay. I find this book a very timely reminder that in very worst of modern times, there were so many people who saw evil being done, and resisted it, and also helped the persecuted, as best they could.

 

Sleepwalking Toward the Nuclear Precipice.

The insanity of nuclear power in space.

About writing about the nuclear crisis. We’re in a storytelling crisis”: Advice for writing on nuclear issues, from the author of “Fallout”.

Unveiling New Billboards: “Nukes Are Now Illegal!” (Nuclear Weapons) .

AUSTRALIA. 2020 in Australia – a successful year for resistance to nuclear pollution.

CANADA.  Canada’s Small Modular Nuclear Reactor ‘Action Plan’ banks on private sector nuclear pipe dreams.    NuScale exultant that their scam small nuclear reactors have conned the Canadian government.  Many Canadian organisations dispute the government’s plan for small nuclear reactors.

JAPAN.

75% of the Japanese public want Japan to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Major Japan life insurers shun investing in nuclear weapons-linked firms.

Uninhabitable:   Booklet by citizen scientists uncovers true extent of radioactive contamination in Japan’s soil and food.

2 million yen ($19,300) incentive for families to move to near crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Investigation of mass alterations of data on nuclear safety by Japanese company.

Mutsu Mayor Soichiro Miyashita made it clear that spent nuclear fuel facility will not go ahead.  44 year old Mihama nuclear station, with waste disposal problem may be allowed to restart.  Nuclear waste plan spells doom for a Hokkaido fishing community.

UK. 

USA. 

CHINA.  China has 350 nuclear warheads, compared to USA and Russia’s many thousands of them.

RUSSIA.  Russian environmental defenders under attack.

IRAN.  World powers renew commitment to preserve Iran nuclear deal.   Iran’s Rouhani: No conditions or negotiations on nuclear deal.  Iran builds at underground nuclear plant.   Iran Rejects New UN Report over Nuclear Violations.  West yet to condemn Iranian nuclear scientist’s assassination.

US Navy nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine and 2 warships sail through Strait of Hormuz, (Persian Gulf-Gulf of Oman).

EUROPE.  European Leadership Network appeals to nuclear weapons States to reduce nuclear risks.

UKRAINE.  34 years later, food crops near Chernobyl still contain ionising radiation.

TURKEY.  Turkey’s unfinished nuclear plant already redundant.

DENMARK.  Big boasts for small nuclear reactors on ships – but are they a recipe for disaster?

JORDAN.   Did a research reactor in Jordan leak?

December 22, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

About writing about the nuclear crisis

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

This is such an important article (– We’re in a storytelling crisis”: Advice for writing on nuclear issues, from the author of “Fallout”)    Whether we like it or not, an issue becomes important to people  – not because it actually IS vitally important, but because it is described, pictured, written about as something that is important to the simplest non-expert, ordinary person.

In this pandemic period, the nuclear lobbyhas done a damn good job in just not covering the true importance of nuclear weapons. The mindless mainstream media happlygoes along with this impressive non coverage at all.

On January 22nd, the Trarty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will become international law.    The global nuclear lobby will be working overtime to portray this as silly, ineffectual, counter-productive – blah blah.

It will be a challenging time for journalism.  The need is to show that this Treaty is as valid as existing  treaties banning inhuman weapons of mass destruction, and that this Treaty enhances existing disarmament agreements, and does not conflctwith national security agreements (e.g as betweenUSA and Australia.     This Treaty is based on humanitarian concerns, an idea which the technocrats find hard to understand.

December 17, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

The week in nuclear news

The pandemic and the development of the vaccine have dominated the news this week.  Also, the impending USA electoral college vote is holding media attention, along with the potentially violent movement to overthrow Joe Biden’s election win.

The U.N.  Climate Change Action Summit drew attention both to the scale ofthe action needed, and to the efforts being made by different nations .

On the broad news, nuclear issues are in the background. For me, life has been busy, too. So this week’s notes are mercifully short.

Dr Helen Caldicott on the nuclear lessons of the past – time to take note of them.

Greenhouse gas emissions transforming the Arctic into ‘an entirely different climate’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOV9QB4c4BA

Google headline news on “Nuclear” – articles are strongly pro nuclear, and for “Small Modular Reactors”, even more so.

Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) if they work, will arrive too late to make a difference to global heating.

Uranium Film Festival 2020 – a huge success under difficult circumstances.

Microwave Radiation ‘Most Plausible’ Cause Of Diplomats’ Ailments.

USA.

UK.

CANADA.  Canada’s Coalition for Responsible Energy Development is sceptical about Small Nuclear Reactors.  Federal funding for new nuclear reactors is a serious mistake that blocks swift ation on climate.  With Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) Canada is back in the nuclear weapons business.  Growing political opposition in Canada to Small Nuclear Reactors.

EUROPE.  European Commission excludes nuclear power from the EU’s proposed green finance taxonomy,

FRANCE.  France and European Union have not yet agreed on  nuclear reform–  Four organisations join in legal action aimed at stopping the Flamanville nuclear power project.  Botches and crisis in France’s nuclear energy system.

JAPAN. Japanese govt trying to entice people by money grants, to come and live in Fukushima .  For the first time ever, a Japanese court rules against a government approval on nuclear safety.  Nuclear power industry stunned by Osaka District Court ruling canceling central government approval for reactor restarts. For safety the 40 year limit on nuclear reactor’s life should be kept.  Japan’s power companies consider opening up Aomari nuclear waste site to other utilities.

 IRAN. Iran hastens nuclear legislation in response to the assassination of its nuclear scientist.  Iran’s President Rouhani ready to restore the nuclear deal. Iran clearly wants to maintain the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).  Iran Awards Military Medal To Nuclear Scientist Assassinated Last Month,

RUSSIA. Russian Ambassador to U.S. Sees Hope for Nuclear Arms Treaty Extension.  Thieves steal equipment from Russia’s nuclear war ‘doomsday’ plane..

UKRAINE –Shutdown of 3 uranium mines in midst of dispute could lead to ecological disaster in Ukraine.

MARSHALL ISLANDS.  The continuing tragedy and nuclear abomination of U.S. tests on the Marshall Islands.

AUSTRALIA.  Far from “broad community consent”– nuclear waste dump plan for Kimba South Australia..

December 14, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

This week’s nuclear news

The big news worldwide continues to be about the coronavirus, which is still raging in many countries, especially in the USA.  Meanwhile the race to develop and implement vaccines is already on.

It’s not as if global heating has stopped,  but this newsletter is sticking to the nuclear subject.   That seems to be going quiet,  but not so, really, While the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into force next month, there seems to be a rush by the nuclear weapons states to ramp up their nuclear arsenal.
This week, I didn’t add up the numbers of headlined articles on nuclear issues, in Google News.  But I did add up the ones on Small Modular Reactors.  Today – there were over 80 of them, the vast majority enthusing mindlessly about them.  There were 8 articles that raised questions, doubts about the viability of small nuclear reactors.
 

Today’s Google headlines on nuclear issues – weapons and Iran dominate the stories.

The global energy revolution.

Correcting 5 wrong opinions about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Living with the Nuclear Prohibition Treaty: nuclear weapons states would be unwise to attack it.

Nuclear power hinders fight against climate change.

Standard nuclear reactor designs are still too costly, and safety features are only a third of nuclear costs.

Solar energy is bullish in the market; the same can’t be said for nuclear.

The creeping carbon costs of digital communication.

Book review: The Case for Degrowth.

Extradition hearing of Julian Assange – defence witnesses destroy myths, demonstrate his integrity

JAPAN.  Japanese local governments depend on “nuclear money”.    Destructive potential of over a million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific.  Fukushima nuclear reactor no.1 – debris prevented from falling into fuel storage pool.  Nuclear disaster: Fukushima schools frozen in time.  Survey finds that most Fukushima evacuees do not intend to return.  No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa nuclear power plant for restart, despite problems.  Surveys to identify nuclear waste disposal site begin in Hokkaido.

TAIWAN.  Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea.

UK

 

 

USA.

 

INDIA.  Cybersecurity breach at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) undetected for over 6 months.

EUROPE.  The effect on Europe of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

FRANCE.  Extended shutdown for work on Flamanville nuclear reactor build.  Greenpeace launches legal appeal against French nuclear safety authority allowing extension of lifetime of nuclear reactors.  Concern in France over lack of expert inspection of nuclear sites.  Orano, formerly Areva, targeted by judicial investigation for corruption.  Corruption investigation into AREVA’s sale of Nigerian uranium. New comic book investigates the dilemma about France’s nuclear wastes.

CANADA.  Canada’s environmental groups join to oppose experimental Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs).    Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, the nuclear industry’s latest pipe dream.  Canadian government’s misplacing funding into unviable small nuclear reactors for North West Territories.  Safety dangers of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).  In the face of public opposition, Ottawa delays small nuclear reactor plan.  Ontario could get clean renewable energy from neighbouring provinces, with no need for nuclear power.

IRAN.  Architect of its nuclear programme assassinated – Iran vows retaliation.   Tehran’s UN ambassador says rival Saudi Arabia is looking for an excuse to build nuclear weapons and blaming Iran.  Iran admits breach of nuclear deal discovered by UN inspectorate.  Iran slams European criticism on expanding nuclear programme. What’s behind the assaisnation of Iran’s top nuclear scientist?

BANGLADESH.  Bangladesh draws up a nuclear disaster response plan.

GERMANY.  Uranprojekt –The Nazi Nuclear Program.

RUSSIA. Russia’s latest nuclear icebreaker had to abort maiden Arctic voyage.  Russia claims to have successfully tested an “unstoppable” nuclear missile.

UKRAINE.  First canister of used nuclear fuel loaded into Chernobyl storage facility.  Comprehensive research now shows that irradiated areas near Chernobyl have fewest mammals.

SAUDI ARABIA.  Saudi minister says nuclear armament against Iran ‘an option’.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears.

ROMANIA. European Commission approves Romania’s purchase of nuclear reactors.

RWANDA..  Growing opposition to nuclear power in Rwanda

AUSTRALIA  Victorian Parliament: Legislative Council Committee finds that nuclear ban should stay.    Victorian Government Inquiry confirms that there is no future in nuclear power.  Inquiry confirms nuclear energy’s ‘proven risks’.  Victorian Inquiry finds nuclear power costly and risky.

December 7, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The week in nuclear news

The global corona virus – deaths nearly 1.5 million. Global heating moves on – Arctic events affect the world. BUT- the nuclear threat is also still with us, always there, and must not be forgotten.

With the assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist, the world is yet again teetering on the brink.

Some bits of good news –  Britain Helps World’s Most Remote Inhabited Islands to Establish Biggest Marine Sanctuary in the Atlantic.

Optimism with the development of Covid-19 vaccines.

 

Today’s Google headlines on nuclear issues – weapons and Iran dominate the stories.

The global energy revolution.

The Australian government”s intimidation of whistleblowers – the torture of Julian Assange.

Correcting 5 wrong opinions about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Living with the Nuclear Prohibition Treaty: nuclear weapons states would be unwise to attack it.

Nuclear power hinders fight against climate change.

Standard nuclear reactor designs are still too costly, and safety features are only a third of nuclear costs.

Solar energy is bullish in the market; the same can’t be said for nuclear.

The creeping carbon costs of digital communication.

Book review: The Case for Degrowth.

Extradition hearing of Julian Assange – defence witnesses destroy myths, demonstrate his integrity

JAPAN.  Japanese local governments depend on “nuclear money”.  No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa nuclear power plant for restart, despite problems.  Surveys to identify nuclear waste disposal site begin in Hokkaido.

Fukushima. Destructive potential of over a million tons of radioactive water into the Pacific.  Fukushima nuclear reactor no.1 – debris prevented from falling into fuel storage pool.  Nuclear disaster: Fukushima schools frozen in time.  Survey finds that most Fukushima evacuees do not intend to return.

TAIWAN.  Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea.

UK

USA.

INDIA.  Cybersecurity breach at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) undetected for over 6 months.

EUROPE.  The effect on Europe of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

FRANCE. Orano, formerly Areva, targeted by judicial investigation for corruption.  Corruption investigation into AREVA’s sale of Nigerian uranium. New comic book investigates the dilemma about France’s nuclear wastes.

  Extended shutdown for work on Flamanville nuclear reactor build.  Greenpeace launches legal appeal against French nuclear safety authority allowing extension of lifetime of nuclear reactors.  Concern in France over lack of expert inspection of nuclear sites.

CANADA.  Canada’s environmental groups join to oppose experimental Small Nuclear Reactors (SMRs).    Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, the nuclear industry’s latest pipe dream.  Canadian government’s misplacing funding into unviable small nuclear reactors for North West Territories.  Safety dangers of small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).  In the face of public opposition, Ottawa delays small nuclear reactor plan.  Ontario could get clean renewable energy from neighbouring provinces, with no need for nuclear power.

IRAN.  Architect of its nuclear programme assassinated – Iran vows retaliation.   Tehran’s UN ambassador says rival Saudi Arabia is looking for an excuse to build nuclear weapons and blaming Iran.  Iran admits breach of nuclear deal discovered by UN inspectorate.  Iran slams European criticism on expanding nuclear programme. What’s behind the assaisnation of Iran’s top nuclear scientist? UAE, Jordan Condemn Killing of Iranian Nuclear Scientist, Call for Self-restraint.

BANGLADESH.  Bangladesh draws up a nuclear disaster response plan.

GERMANY.  Uranprojekt –The Nazi Nuclear Program.

RUSSIA. Russia’s latest nuclear icebreaker had to abort maiden Arctic voyage.  Russia claims to have successfully tested an “unstoppable” nuclear missile.

UKRAINE.  First canister of used nuclear fuel loaded into Chernobyl storage facility.  Comprehensive research now shows that irradiated areas near Chernobyl have fewest mammals.

SAUDI ARABIA.  Saudi minister says nuclear armament against Iran ‘an option’.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears.

ROMANIA. European Commission approves Romania’s purchase of nuclear reactors.

RWANDA.   Growing opposition to nuclear power in Rwanda.

AUSTRALIA.  Investigative journalism – Australian children targetted for propaganda by the weapons industry.    – Australia’s Department of Defence captured by foreign weapons makers Thales, BAE.

November 30, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news – week to 23 November

As I decided previously, I’m leaving out the news on Coronavirus and Global Heating,  important though they are.

Even so, this newsletter is too long. Especially as we seem to be in a sort of timewarp, waiting for a resolution in the USA, waiting for a new direction in the pandemic.

Some bits of good news – Future Crunch’s summary of good news.  Jeff Bezos Created $10 Billion ‘Earth Fund’ to Meet Climate Crisis, First Grants of $800M Go to Iconic Environmental Groups

 

Correcting 5 wrong opinions about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Nuclear power hinders fight against climate change.

Standard nuclear reactor designs are still too costly, and safety features are only a third of nuclear costs.

Solar energy is bullish in the market; the same can’t be said for nuclear.

The creeping carbon costs of digital communication.

Book review: The Case for Degrowth.

Extradition hearing of Julian Assange – defence witnesses destroy myths, demonstrate his integrity

JAPAN.   No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co’s Onagawa nuclear power plant for restart, despite problems. Resident against Japanese nuclear reactor OK’d for restart says safe evacuation impossible.  Surveys to identify nuclear waste disposal site begin in Hokkaido.

Nuclear disaster: Fukushima schools frozen in time. Forests affected by Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.  Japan Set to Decide Timing of Fukushima Water Release As Early As This Year.  Release of Fukushima’s radioactive water into sea will harm entire Asia’s coasts: Indian experts.

TAIWAN.  Taiwanese protest plan to dump water from Japan nuclear plant into sea.

UK –

USA. 

FRANCE.  Extended shutdown for work on Flamanville nuclear reactor build.  Greenpeace launches legal appeal against French nuclear safety authority allowing extension of lifetime of nuclear reactors.

CANADA.  Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, the nuclear industry’s latest pipe dream.  Canadian government’s misplacing funding into unviable small nuclear reactors

IRAN.  Tehran’s UN ambassador says rival Saudi Arabia is looking for an excuse to build nuclear weapons and blaming Iran.  Iran admits breach of nuclear deal discovered by UN inspectorate.  Iran slams European criticism on expanding nuclear programme.

BANGLADESH.  Bangladesh draws up a nuclear disaster response plan.

GERMANY.  Uranprojekt –The Nazi Nuclear Program.

RUSSIA. Russia’s latest nuclear icebreaker had to abort maiden Arctic voyage.

UKRAINE.  First canister of used nuclear fuel loaded into Chernobyl storage facility.

SAUDI ARABIA.  Saudi minister says nuclear armament against Iran ‘an option’.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea sparks new nuclear weapons fears.

AUSTRALIA. Australia’s Department of Defence captured by foreign weapons makers Thales, BAE.

November 23, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Nuclear news – week to 16 November

As in last week. the media continues to be preoccupied with the American presidential situation, and after all, that IS pretty important.  The really big global stories are the global coronavirus and climate change.

Still, nuclear issues continue – simmering tensions in nuclear weapons states, and the remarkably co-ordinated promotion of Small Nuclear Reactors to governments around the world, in both rich and developing countries.  The nuclear-news.net  site will now have to stick to just NUCLEAR news.

 Some bits of good news –          Vaccine Alliance Raises $2 Billion to Buy COVID Shots for Poor Nations. Renewable Energy Defies COVID-19 Downturn To Hit Record Growth in 2020.

Hibakusha renew their push for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Julian Assange ‘targeted as a political opponent of Trump administration and threatened with the death penalty’.

Topics in today’s “Nuclear” headlines on Google News.

JAPAN.   TEPCO claims it is running out of space to store radioactive water and simply must discharge it into the Pacific.  Over one million tons of radioactive water will be discharged into the sea from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Disposal plan all at sea? apan’s nuclear regulator maintains view on Fukushima reactor 3 blasts.  Radioactive Isotopes Measured at Olympic and Paralympic Venues in Fukushima Prefecture and Tokyo, Japan.

Governor of Miyagi Prefecture approves plan to restart Onagawa nuclear reactor. Japanese govt rules out new nuclear reactors for 10 years.

USA.

UK.

MIDDLE EAST.  Financial problems, proliferation concerns put the brakes on nuclear development in the Middle East.

EUROPE.  U.S and Russia battling it out to market new nuclear reactors to Eastern Europe countries.
Source: UxC Research.  New European Court of Auditors report has concerns about the EU’s nuclear fusion project.

BELARUS.  Belarus shuts down its newly inaugurated nuclear power plant to replace equipment.

IRAN. Iran’s president calls on Biden to return to nuclear deal.  Iran moderates hail Biden win, but any nuclear talks expected to be fraught.

SOUTH AFRICA. NuScam pushing to sell its ”small” nuclear reactors to South Africa.

INDIA. Nuclear lobby gets its tentacles into education in India

RUSSIA. Putin and officials discuss huge new underground bunker almost completed.   Russia shuts down West Russian nuclear reactor.

CANADA.  Canada’s Greens call on federal government to abandon nuclear and invest in renewables.

AUSTRALIA.  Senate dumps on the Australian government’s radioactive waste plan.

November 16, 2020 Posted by | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

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