nuclear-news

Nuclear news – week to 22 June

Pandemic.    COVID-19 Is Still Raging in Much of the World  South America Is Now Covid-19 Hot Spot, With Eight Times the World’s Death Rate.

Climate.Warming stripes show that climate change is here and now. Climate in a Fiery World.

NUCLEAR.  Not a lot is happening, probably  largely due to the pandemic.   There is, of course, the continued stream of articles in the mainstream media,extolling the virtues of new nuclear reactors –  most look like handouts from the industry, faithfully regurgitated by relatively ignorant journalists.  
A  leak at China’s showcase Taishan nuclear reactor has raised global concern for the industry. Radioactive leak at Chinese reactor could finish French nuclear exports.

A bit of good news – The pandemic has revived hope that a more sustainable world is possible.

INTERVIEW/ Daniel Ellsberg: Smart statesmen can make bad decisions leading to nuclear war. Biden and Putin agree: ‘Nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’. Why can’t world leaders agree that a nuclear war should never be fought?  ICAN chief urges Biden and Putin to push for deep cuts in nuclear arsenals, encourage China to back away from arms race.

‘‘Advanced” nuclear reactor designs – the latest version of nuclear wishful thinking.

Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says.

Julian Assange and the Collapse of the Rule of Law.

JAPAN. The Fukushima nuclear disaster and the Tokyo Olympics.

EUROPE. NATO’s hostility to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty is in conflict with its true goal – to become a non-nuclear alliance . NATO readies for a collective response to attacks in space.

UK. Fire at Hinkley Point C building site. We don’t need costly, slow, nuclear power: solar, wind, tidal and wave power can amply do the job. House-building plans thrown into doubt as doubts grow about Wylfa nuclear project.

USA. 

•  The real welfare cheats are weapons makers. U.S. Space Force wants to use directed-energy weapons for space superiority,.
•  The Pentagon’s Project, Pele Military micro-reactors – creates more problems than it solves.  
•  20 Years After Pentagon Papers, Ellsberg Reveals US weighed 1958 nuclear strike on China over Taiwan, 
•  Why Utah really does not need Bill Gates’ small nuclear reactors. 
•  Nuclear Regulatory Commission launches special investigation at Southern Georgia Vogtle 3 nuclear unit. 
• Tough when even a pro nuclear voice has to deplore the corruption in the nuclear industry. Countering a love letter to the nuclear industry .
• Renewable energy consumption grew in 2020 as fossil fuels and nuclear shrank.

CHINA. Is China covering up a nuclear leak? What actually happened at Taishan? French nuclear company and Chinese government once again have a problem with their much vaunted EPR nuclear reactor design. About the radiation leaks at Taishan nuclear power station. The public is always the last to know. Safety concerns on Taishan reactor, but China wants to be world’s nuclear leader by 2050.

RUSSIA. Collaboration between Russia and Europe finally cleans up the most dangerous nuclear ship in the Arctic..

FRANCE. Is the leak in a nuclear reactor in China due to a Framatome manufacturing defect ? Climate and weather hazards to France’s nuclear reactors in summer 2021.

IRAN. U.S. wants nuclear deal done before Iran’s new president takes power.

LIBYA. For the first time, drones autonomously attacked humans.

PAKISTAN. No need for nuclear arsenal once Kashmir issue is resolved: Pakistan PM.

AUSTRALIA. Nuclear waste storage facility legislation passes Senate. Racism on show in the Australian Senate. Premier Marshall must enforce South Australia’s legislation prohibiting nuclear waste dump. 

June 22, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

This week’s nuclear news

Climate ‘tipping points’ could push us past the point-of-no-return after less than 2 degrees of warming.

Some bits of good news – G7: World leaders promise one billion Covid vaccine doses for poorer nations.

Elimination of the Cold War’s Nuclear Heritage: 20 years of international cooperation.

The G7 meeting of world leaders made some progress on action about the pandemic and climate change.  But they ignored that other global menace,nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear war.  Well, not entirely –  as they managed to bring the world closer to war, with the focus on ”standing up to China”.

“IT’S VERY PROFITABLE to prepare for omnicide,” A People’s Guide to the War Industry -5: Portfolio of Conflicts. Growing support for the nuclear ban treaty in public opinion polls , voters and lawmakers in NATO’s 30 countries. Nuclear energy – Nuclear weapons – the inseparable link. Nuclear weapons numbers building up again. The world’s narrow escape from nuclear war.

We don’t need nuclear power to tackle climate change – Jonoathon Porritt. Nuclear energy – The solution to climate change?

Pacific Ocean was once a garbage dump for nuclear waste, now Japan’s doing it again.

Is Bill Gates ‘a nice man in a jumper’ or a power-hungry egotist?   

ANTARCTICA. Fears Antarctic glacier could melt faster as it speeds up and ice shelf ‘rips apart’.

INDONESIA. Euphoria about nuclear costs, especially about decommissioning – Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) warns Indonesia.

UK. UK spent more than £8000 every minute on nuclear weapons in 2020, NFLA report on UK plutonium policy amid new concerns over plutonium dumped in the Irish Sea. ‘Unsustainable, unmanageable, unacceptable and unsuitable’- both Bradwell B and Sizewell C projects   

FRANCE. France’s problem with nuclear wastes is becoming critical.

HUNGARY. Austria and other European countries concerned about safety aspects of Hungary’s nuclear power plant

ROMANIA. Romania’s dilemma – nuclear power or clean energy.

RUSSIA. Russia beefs up its sub-critical non-nuclear experiments at its top secret far remote Novaya Zemlya site.expansion. How many nuclear weapons does Russia have in 2021? Russia’s Approach to Nuclear Power in Outer Space.

INDIA. Explosion forced Indian Navy to return nuclear submarine to Russia? ‘EU aware of nuclear material proliferation incident in India:’

ISRAEL. Israel’s 1981 bombing of Iraq nuclear reactor may have fuelled Saddam’s nuclear ambitions. Israel’s outgoing top Mossad chief reveals that they caused recent attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme and murdering their scientists.

SOUTH  AFRICA. ‘Koeberg Nuclear Plant is like an old car that simply can’t be kept on the road’

PHILIPPINES. USA still has ban on major foodstuffs from Fukushima region. Why did Philippines lift their ban?

NEW ZEALAND. Harrowing stories reveal decades of fallout for nuclear test veterans .

AUSTRALIA. Australia’s incompetent leadership – continued subservience to American militarism. Dr Jim Green gives an update on the Australian government’s new strategy to get a nuclear waste dump at Kimba, South Australia. Change in Resource Minister Keith Pitt’s strategy: what’s next for his Kimba nuclear dump project?

June 14, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear news – week ending 7 June

Coronavirus –  India records 100,636 new cases, tally hits 28,909,975

Climate crisis to shrink G7 economies twice as much as Covid-19, says research.
Chernobyl Guards Have Befriended Abandoned Dogs, Feeding Them and Bringing Medical Care,    I00-Year-Old Galápagos Giant Tortoise Found on Fernandina Island is Indeed Member of ‘Extinct’ Species, (but this is a ”good news – bad news’‘ story)

On the nuclear scene, while not a lot is actually happening, in nuclear weapons countries,  the determined nuclear weapons push continues, most politicians seem to have been well and truly bought by the industry.
With an eye to the November Climate Summit meeting in Glascow, the nuclear lobby revs up its push for small nuclear reactors, or indeed, any, nuclear reactors as the climate cure.

• The nuclear lobby’s desperate push to be included in COP26. Nuclear lobby spins its frenzied propaganda – with  flimsy arguments for new nuclear power.  Only renewables — and not nuclear power — can deliver truly low-carbon energy.
  ‘‘Fallout: The Hitoshima Cover-up and the Reporter Who Revealed It to the World”Ice sheets melting, ocean currents, and the risk of climate tipping points.
  The Rio de Janeiro International Uranium Film Festival 2021 has awarded two film-makers on nuclear disarmament issues.
• JAPAN. Fukushima waste water dumped in Pacific Ocean – a critical environmental issue threatening marine pollution.
• USA. 
  •  Biden Dangerously Accelerating the New Cold War with China. Pentagon’s creepy shift from nuclear deterrence to the use of nuclear weapons. President Biden’s budget backs new nuclear weapons, contradicting his policy while campaigning. Progressive Democrats slam Joe Biden’s about-face on nuclear weapons spending. 
  •  Exelon and NRG share prices fall as U.S. nuclear power firms to be hit by plunge in grid payments. 
  •  The transition to clean energy is held back by subsidies to the nuclear industry.
  •   Elevated cancer deaths in Monroe may be result of nuclear plant. 
  •  Production of new plutonium triggers at Savannah River Site to mean more radioactive trash for South Carolina
  • Assange’s Father on US Tour, includes Minneapolis/St. Paul.
  • UK. 
  • Launch of bigger Stop Sizewell C campaign in UK. 
  •   Lakes Against Nuclear Dump (LAND) call to Boris Johnson for a moratorium on the push for ”Delivery of a Geological Disposal Facility”. 
  •   Critique No 1 of BBC documentary Building Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Power Station. Critique No 2 of BBC documentary Building Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Power Station. Critique No 3 [a boys-with-toys view] -BBC documentary Building Britain’s Biggest Nuclear Power Station. 
  •  Old nuclear grinding to a halt in Britain. 
  •  Secret papers reveal the British spying on Scottish anti-nuclear activists, who were labelled as ”terrorists”.
  • PACIFIC ISLANDS. Pacific Islands forum wants answers on the effects of Japan’s Fukushima waste water to be dumped into the Pacific Ocean
  • .CHINA. China warns of ‘nuclear showdown’ with the United States. China again urges Japan to revoke decision to dump nuclear wastewater
  • GERMANY. Germany’s search for a nuclear waste solution.
  • CANADA, Debunking myths about the Chalk River Mound nuclear waste plan
  • .FRANCE. France’s government criminalises anti nuclear activists.
  • BELARUS. European Commission worried that Belarus will start the Astravets nuclear power plant without the recommended EU safety guidelines.
  • AUSTRALIA. Australia’s nuclear waste policy shambles. Australia’s Climate Change Authority now taken over by the nuclear lobby, and influenced by ”secret society” of nuclear promoters. 

June 7, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Nuclear News – week to 1st June

Covid 19 coronavirus: Around the world – situation update

Climate change behind global heat deaths

Nuclear.  The coronavirus, with its global effects on health, human suffering is also, of course, affecting the economy, and most (though not all) businesses. The ”commercial” nuclear industry is affected, but not the nuclear weapons industry. The nuclear-armed nations are revving up their weapons expenditure. The USA is the shiningly obscene example. Clearly the nuclear weapons industry has captured the American government, it hardly matters whether the administration is in Democratic or Republican hands.

Some bits of good news:  Chernobyl Guards Have Befriended Abandoned Dogs, Feeding Them and Bringing Medical Care. World’s Largest Wind Turbine Manufacturer Says All Its Blades Will Soon be Fully Recycled.

A People’s Guide to the War Industry .

The appalling mistreatment of Australian citizen, Julian Assange, – by USA, UK, and Australia. Targeted surveillance threatens human rights defenders.

“Unqualified” —who is allowed to talk about nuclear power ?

Report on the threat of nuclear terrorism.

New technology comes nowhere close to solving the problem of nuclear waste. Despite the Small Nuclear Reactor push from Bill Gates and the rest of the nuclear lobby, we already have the technologies to decarbonise our global economy.

 New research highlights need for international standards to safeguard against plutonium ”hot” particles.    

Ionising radiation the big danger to astronauts.

The time to divest from Bitcoin is now.

1st U.N. nuclear ban meeting may be postponed until after Non Proliferation Treaty review.

U.S. Energy Information reports uranium at lowest price since 2007.

  As electric vehicles take off, we’ll need to recycle their batteries. 

 USA. 

5 Republicans and 1 Democrat – the U.S. Senate nuclear caucus – Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Coalition – bribed by nuclear weapons companies to pour $1.7trillion into new and ‘modernised’ nukes. USA’s $634Billion nuclear weapons budget. For USA, health care is too costly, while weapons makers wildly profitable -as $634 Billion to go to nuclear arms.   Ain’t it lovely to see USA Democrats and Republicans in full agreement – on spending $squillions in unnecessary nuclear weapons, of course?.      Senator Markey and Rep. Blumenauer introduce Bill to cut $73 billion from USA’s bloated nuclear weapons budget. Costs of upgrading USA’s nuclear arsenal has jumped up by $140 billion in just 2 years 

 In 1958,U.S military had plans to use nuclear weapons against China, in a crisis over Taiwan. 

Biden’s Budget Proposal Funds Most of the World’s Dictators . 

Biden’s Budget Proposal Funds Most of the World’s Dictators . 

• US military running a massive undercover army and conducting warrantless surveillance of Americans. 
• Three U.S. Democrat Senators introduce Bill to prop up nuclear industry. 
•  Another former Westinghouse executive pleads guilty to lying in South Carolina nuclear power scandal. The sixth high-ranking FirstEnergy executive fired, in Ohio nuclear corruption scandal. 
•   Nuclear reactors in space, – enthusiasm by corporations and governments ignores the dangers.
•  In 1958,U.S military had plans to use nuclear weapons against China, in a crisis over Taiwan.
•  Biden’s Budget Proposal Funds Most of the World’s Dictators . 
•  US military running a massive undercover army and conducting warrantless surveillance of Americans. 
• Three U.S. Democrat Senators introduce Bill to prop up nuclear industry. 
•  Another former Westinghouse executive pleads guilty to lying in South Carolina nuclear power scandal. The sixth high-ranking FirstEnergy executive fired, in Ohio nuclear corruption scandal. 
•   Nuclear reactors in space, – enthusiasm by corporations and governments ignores the dangers.

CANADA. Canadian government in the grip of the nuclear lobby’s ”NICE” dishonest spin about small nuclear reactors. American experts warn Trudeau that Moltex small nuclear reactors are likely to prove a nightmare for Canada.

EUROPE. NATO’s U.S. nuclear weapons in Europe not safe. U.S. soldiers’ Flashcard Apps reveal secrets.

ASIA. Abdul Khan and the illegal and immoral world of nuclear proliferation.

IRAN. Iran agrees to extend IAEA nuclear monitoring deal for one month. UN nuclear watchdog chides Iran over uranium enrichment .

JAPAN. TEPCO’s history of covering up radioactive water risks. China says Japan ‘repeatedly betrayed public trust‘ in Fukushima response . Radioactive Fukushima soil stored in flood zones.

FRANCE. Corrosion in the fuel cladding at France’s Chooz and Civaux nuclear stations.

UK. 

•  The USA-UK nuclear cabal . E
• DF’s report on silo collapse at Hinkley Point C nuclear construction raises more questions than answers. 
•  UK’s Sizewell B nuclear complex continues to be offline for safety reasons. Further outages at UK’s Dungeness nuclear power plant: its future in doubt. 
•  Activists force shutdown of Israeli weapons factory in UK . 
•  Secrecy and connivance between UK’s coal and nuclear lobbies in Cumbria. 
• Nuclear test veterans: ‘My dad was treated like a guinea pig’. 
•  How decentralised energy will massively reduce grid costs.  

UKRAINE. Fission reactions have been spiking in an inaccessible Chernobyl chamber since 2016 – possibility of a runaway nuclear reaction.

RUSSIA. Russia’s plans for nuclear-powered spacecraft to Jupiter. Russia launches a mission to investigate te Komsomolets, Soviet nuclear submarine sunk 32 years ago .

AUSTRALIA. 
 Australia, the USA’s only ”best friend” in the Indo Pacific, to deploy more USA military equipment, heightening the threat against China.

June 1, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

This week in nuclear news

Coronavirus. I can’t keep up with pandemic news – but it’s not going to go away –   for a long time.It’s still looking like vaccination as everyone’s best hope.

Climate. G7 environment ministers have agreed that they will deliver climate targets in line with limiting the rise in global temperatures to 1.5C.

All quiet on nuclear developments this week. One news item from the UK (Hinkley project delays)  clearly illustrates that very real, but rarely acknowledged connection between the coronavirus pandemic, and the fizzling out of activity in the ”peaceful” nuclear industry.But nothing stops the weapons makers and the Pentagon from pushing for more $billions for nuclear weapons. No doubt Russia, China then follow suit.

The effects of radioactive waste water released into the ocean.

Scaling back missile defense could prevent a nuclear attack .

A world based on 100% renewable energy by 2035 is technically and economically feasible.   Both Germany and Britain are decarbonising while nuclear production is greatly reducing.  We already have 95% of the technologies and know how to slash emissions, remove air pollution and provide energy security and jobs.

“Advanced” isn’t the answer — New reactors as an answer to climate change are an illusion.

Scientists turn a blind eye to the fraud that is the ITER nuclear fusion project.

Should Bill Gates be viewed as a man of character and a trusted adviser to world leaders?

Tesla’s Bitcoin about-face is a warning for cryptocurrencies that ignore climate change.  

Uranium Film Festival – Online for free from May 20 to May 30.

We already have 95% of the technologies and know how to slash emissions, remove air pollution and provide energy security and jobs.

JAPAN. Discharging Fukushima radioactive waste water to the ocean would violate Japan’s legal and environmental obligations. Nuclear emergency guidelines on thyroid radiation exposure under review in Japan . Flaws found in anti-terror measures at Fukushima No. 2 nuclear plant .

UK. 

•  Plans to raise cap on Trident nuclear warhead stockpile may breach United Nations treaty. Boris Johnson’s plan for more nuclear weapons in Scotland ‘breaks international law‘. How many nuclear weapons does Britain have? Non-Proliferation explained .
•   New study on children, wives and widows of UK nuclear test veterans. 
•   Rolls Royce plans fleets of small nuclear reactors. At approx £2billion per reactor (that’s approx $2.8billion) how much will each fleet cost? 
•  Anxieties on the impact of pandemic on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project, -major delays could result.
•  “You can forget about the protection of an area of outstanding natural beauty because if Sizewell C nuclear goes ahead nowhere is safe” Suffolk County Council not happy with present plans for Sizewell nuclear power project. Sizewell nuclear project will harm Suffolk’s tourism industry. Conservative Suffolk MP Therese Coffey warns of “some large environmental impact changes”in the Sizewell C nuclear project. 

•  EDF’s Sizewell B nuclear station: steel components wearing out. EDf to close Hinkley Point B in Somerset and Hunterston B in Scotland early. 
•  Over 440 safety incidents have been recorded at Scotland’s nuclear bases over the last three years. 
• Weatherwatch: does nuclear power really keep the lights on? 
• Dalgety Bay – 20,000 tonnes of radioactive material from the area to screen, – clean-up begins at last.

EUROPE. Poor outlook for the nuclear industry in Europe.

GERMANY Despite Germany’s nuclear phaseout, the secure supply of electricity in Germany will remain guaranteed at the current high level for the foreseeable future.

USA. 

 Senator Bernie Sanders pushes resolution to stop $735 million in US military sales to Israel. Senator Bernie Sanders unveils Bill to force Pentagon to pass audit, citing “fraud” and “waste”. Pentagon hypes up the ”China threat’‘, in its deceptive propaganda to get more $billions from Congress. A trillion reasons to scrutinize the US plan for more than $1.5 trillion spend on nuclear weapons.  

United States considered nuclear strike on China over Taiwan in 1958, classified documents reveal   
 Biden must end sanctions against North Korea — and finally end the Korean War. 

U.S. tiptoes through sanctions minefield toward Iran nuclear deal .  

White House environmental justice advisers express opposition to nuclear .

Yet more delays in USA’s costly, troubled Vogtle nuclear project.  

 Renewable energy cheated in uneasy coalition with Exelon nuclear, in Illinois. 

 The dark legacy of a nuclear meltdown – The Santa Susana Field Laboratory.  

Early atomic bomb research – the ‘demon core’ that killed physicist Harry Daghlian .  

Changes to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could hide plan to expand this nuclear waste facility.  Alabama hospital installs radiation-free spine imaging tool.

RUSSIA. Russia’s Arctic Council leadership now facing up to the problem of nuclear reactors dumped in the ocean.

UKRAINE. Chernobyl is showing signs of a possible new nuclear accident.

ISRAEL. Mossad co-operating with Saudi Arabia in devising military action against Iran? Israeli public opinion makes a US-Iran nuclear deal urgent .

IRAN. Talks in Austria with UK, France and Germany head towards nuclear agreement. Iran says IAEA access to nuclear sites images has ended.

NEW ZEALAND. Pacific Nuclear test veterans encouraged quest for apology will succeed  

CHINA. Japan slammed for not addressing nuclear wastewater dumping concerns. China building uneconomic closed fuel cycle nuclear breeder reactors – for plutonium for nuclear weapons?.

GREENLAND. French mining company Orano stops all uranium exploration in Greenland.

AUSTRALIA. New research on the complexity of particles from plutonium resulting from British atomic bomb tests at Maralinga. Plutonium ”hot particles” are not as stable as we assumed. 

May 24, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

The week in nuclear news

NUCLEAR . Not much happening this week.  Intensified push for small nuclear reactors (SMRs) in Canada and UK.

CORONAVIRUS: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly Epidemiological Update.  No easy fix for global vaccine shortage.

CLIMATE CHANGE. Third of global food production at risk from climate crisis.A bit of good news –  ‘The Manta’ Sailing Vessel is Designed to Feed on Plastic Waste for Power–While Cleaning Oceans.

Ionising radiation was scientifically proven to be bad for dogs. Does that mean it’s good for humans?

Nuclear industry survives on its false claim that it helps the fight against climate change.

How Bill Gates bankrolls the news agenda. Corruption in the pharmaceutical industry – the Bill Gates connection. Bill Gates with his  GAVI (the Global Alliance for Vaccine Initative) has the power of a member State in the WorldHealth Organisation.

Fusion: Ten Times More Expensive Than Nuclear Power.

NO, nuclear lobby, a nuclear reactor is NOT the only, nor the best, way to produce medical Technetium TC99.

Energy effuciency – the most ignored form of climate action – and the most effective.

If Bitcoin is virtual, why are there environmental concerns?

Avoiding an unintentional space war: Lessons from Cold War nuclear diplomacy. Master of Space: Corporate plans for the militarization & privatization of space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJB8uHm3Nq8

ARCTIC. Radioactive gas seeping out in the Arctic, as permafrost thaws.

JAPAN. Safety and security issues at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station. Restarting nuclear power in Japan. Will the old ”Nuclear Village” bribery factor trump safety concerns? Japanese government and TEPCO planning release of radioactive water, via a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean.

SOUTH KOREA. South Korean fishermen sue Japanese government over Fukushima nuclear plant water.

NORTH KOREA. How to deal with a nuclear-armed Kim Jong Un.

ISRAEL. Hamas Targets Israeli Oil And Nuclear Facilities With Rocket Attacks In April, Syrian missile landed near Dimona nuclear reactor, interception failed.

RUSSIA. Tallying up Russia’s nuclear weapons.

USA. 

•  Cyberattacks grind Hanford nuclear energy workers’ benefit program to a halt. 
•   Endangered sea turtles sucked into nuclear power plant pipes.
•   Biden administration promises progress on nuclear waste. US Nuclear is significantly overvalued. USA govt to delay removing plutonium nuclear waste from the decommissioned Hanford nuclear reservation. Opportunities for US-Russian collaboration on the safe disposal of nuclear waste.

CANADA. Canadian government hand in glove with the nuclear lobby for a ”NICE” nuclear future. Scepticism in Canada, about the government’s push for small nuclear reactors. Saugeen First Nation do not want Canada’s nuclear waste. Nuclear Waste Management Organization says the project will not be built without their consent. Small nuclear reactors – a way to get indigenous people to then accept nuclear waste?

INDIA. India is operating the world’s most dangerous, fastest-growing, nuclear weapons and missile programs in the world.

UKRAINE. Nuclear fission reactions are happening at Chernobyl again. Human intervention may be required at Chernobyl as radiation levels spike. Chernobyl nuclear tomb will eventually collapse. Sellafield, too, will need £132 billion, at least, to decommission.

UK . 

• Glascow City Council calls on UK Government to scrap plans to replace nuclear arsenal. The possession of nuclear weapons is not about war. It’s all about power, status and money.
•  Rolls-Royce rocked by a £4 billion loss . Rolls Royce desperate for investors for its £2bn Small Nuclear Reactors. 
•  UK’s Magnox nuclear reprocessing plant to close, leaving world’s largest stockpile of separated civil plutonium. UK’s radioactive pollution at Dalgety Bay to be cleaned up after 31 years.     
•   Nuclear fusion is an energy mirage, and these are the reasons why. 
• Dungeness nuclear power station could be shut down earlier than planned.  .

IRELAND. Sellafield’s plutonium waste has continued to circulate in the Irish Sea.

FRANCE. Will the French government break troubled nuclear company EDF up into 3 companies?

SOUTH AFRICA. The corruption surrounding the South African government’s push for nuclear power

ALGERIA. Sixty years on, Algerian desert region still struggles with effects of French nuclear tests.  

May 17, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Nuclear News – to 3 May

Nuclear issues seem to be on the back burner, in Australia, and pretty much everywhere else. South East Asia is the exception, with countries worrying about Japan’s plan to release the Fukushima nuclear waste water into the Pacific Ocean.    Still, I’ve found far too much nuclear news this week, for what is supposed to be a short newsletter.  Perhaps that’s an indication that anxieties about the nuclear industry are simmering away,below the surface, and behind the media trivia.

At least the pandemic is getting the media attention that is so desperately required.    The world is in the midst of its worst coronavirus crisis so far.
The one great lesson of the pandemic is surely that global issues should trump national greediness, and call for global cooperation..   Tackling climate change too requires global policies.

A bit of good news –  Countries step up to supply oxygen and medicine to India. Pakistanis express solidarity with India over its COVID crisis, pledges supplies and medical aid.

ICAN addresses Mount Isa City Council after nuclear appeal pledge .

UK in secret talks with Australia and others, about mining rare earths.  

INTERNATIONAL

We must continue to expose and refute the lies of nuclear industry.

Paul Beckwith on the failure of universities to address real world problems https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-orLuh7lj0

The huge carbon footprint and massive energy use of online activities and of Bitcoin.

For climate action, renewables clearly beat nuclear power.

Chernobyl disaster and the U.N. response – a global matter.

Nuclear fallout from the Cold War might be killing our bees.

Growing aggressive behaviour by nuclear proponents – is nuclear facing obsolescence?

INDIA. In India’s pandemic nightmare, India and Pakistan need to invest in health, not nuclear weapons.

JAPAN. Thyroid cancer increased 20-fold in Fukushima children. Radioactive leakage from nuclear waste containers near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Even with water release to the Pacific, Fukushima nuclear plant needs more storage tanks.

Governor of Fukui Prefecture to approve restart of aging nuclear reactors, but local community is opposed.

SOUTH KOREA. South Korean fishermen protest against the dumping of Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific Ocean.

USA. 

• When USA attacks a foreign state, the media calls it ”Defense”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYRoXCdkmAY    Like Trump, Biden administration to ramp up nuclear bomb-making. Mobile nuclear reactors? Scathing report slams ‘disturbing’ military program.   Sen. Angus King: Cybersecurity a major concern in U.S. nuclear command-and-control system.
•  Following Biden climate summit, USA govt keen to promote amd export Small Nuclear Reactors, Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) for space rockets has everything to do with the military, and funding for weapons makers. The purpose of USA space research is clearly military – they don’t even pretend any more. Elon Musk’s expensive and dangerous space delusion. 
• Poor prospects for small nuclear reactors (SMRs) as a cure for climate change. No future for new nuclear. Subsidies for New Jersey’s nuclear power stations. Do the New Jersey nuclear power plants really need a handout? 
• Feds: Underground nuclear waste tank at Hanford Nuclear Reservation may be leaking. Texas legislators must reject proposal to lower human health and safety measures at nuclear waste dump. 
•  Whistleblower can’t sue U.S.Dept of Labor, because it has ‘sovereign immunity’.

MARSHALL ISLANDS. The US Should Apologize to the Marshall Islands for Nuclear Tests.

UKRAINE. University of Sheffield researchers do detailed study of radioactive materials inside the wrecked Chernobyl nuclear reactor. On 35th anniversary of Chornobyl disaster, Ukraine opens new nuclear waste site. Chernobyl nuclear disaster: ‘Three-day evacuation lasted 35 years’. Corrosive corruption continues in Ukraine’s nuclear industry.

RUSSIA. Soviet Documents Reveal Cover-Ups At Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Before 1986 Disaster.

UZBEKISTAN. Does Uzbekistan really need a nuclear power plant?

EUROPE. France and Russia portray nuclear hydrogen as ”green’‘- arousing anger of several European nations. The dangers of extending the operating lives of old nuclear reactors.

FINLAND. Delays, increased costs and geopolitical uncertainties throw doubt on construction of nuclear power station in Finland.

CZECH REPUBLIC. Czech Republic’s nuclear plan hangs on hope for European Commission to call nuclear ”green”.

UK

•  Extinction Rebellion climate activists block Faslane nuclear base. Most Scots feel unsafe about having nuclear weapons base on the Clyde. Bangor City Council supports the U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, as do over 400 other jurisdictions. 
• The health effects of Chernobyl nuclear disaster as far away as Scotland. 35 years after Chernobyl disaster, nuclear power industry is struggling and is not part of climate change solution. 
• UK’s £41 billion nuclear submarine project beset by delays, safety problems, cost overruns.   
• UK anti-nuclear groups plan to stand candidates for elections, opposing Bradwell new nuclear station.    China’s big stake in UK’s new nuclear projects.   UK govt wants sovereign wealth funds to invest in nuclear power, -calling it ”green”, but there are doubts that nuclear projects will go ahead. Many hurdles to jump before Bradwell nuclear station starts construction. Meanwhile renewables race ahead. Sizewell C nuclear plant could kill 500m fish. 
• Top Trump Cronies: Nuclear Waste and the UK’s First Deep Coal Mine in 30 years. 
• Nuclear safeguards changed, new regulations to fit in with Brexit. 
• Call for debate and scrutiny of proposed nuclear fusion power plant.

PACIFIC ISLANDS. ‘If it’s safe, dump it in Tokyo’ – Pacific Islanders don’t want Fukushima waste water. France tested 41 nuclear weapons in the Pacific, and grossly underestimated the radioactive fallout.

SOUTH AFRICA. Cabinet appoints critic as member of nuclear regulator board.

CANADA. Canadian government rejects Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty, but majority of Canadians support it.

IRAN. Iran’s foreign minister criticises influence of Revolutionary Guards and speaks of nuclear deal in leaked audio.

SWITZERLAND. City of Geneva calls for the closure of French nuclear station in Bugey.

RUSSIA. Not to be forgotten – the 1957 nuclear explosion in Mayak centre, Russia, that continues to poison the region.

FRANCE. High level of radioactivity near France’s uranium processing factory.

NEW ZEALAND. New Zealand nuclear veterans want apology and compensation from the government.

MALAYSIA. Malaysia needs to speak out on Japan releasing nuclear waste into the sea .

AUSTRALIA. Australian government plan for a nuclear waste dump tears apart the small rural community of Kimba. ‘‘Low Level” radioactive trash to be removed to USA from posh Sydney suburb, while govt plans to send Higher Level nuclear waste to Kimba, rural South Australia

May 3, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

This week in nuclear news

Forgive me for being so remiss – I’ve neglected to cover Prince Philip’s funeral. He deserves remembering for some good work that he did for the environment.

NUCLEAR.  Heightened anxiety about keeping, repairing the Iran nuclear agreement, and a suspicious accident at Iran’s nuclear enrichment site.   Continued pressure from the nuclear lobby to get Europe to decide that nuclear power is “clean and green”.

CORONAVIRUS .  The news is not good. A”shocking imbalance” in the distribution of coronavirus vaccines between rich and poor countries. Covid cases, deaths surging around the world as variants spread, vaccination lags.

CLIMATE. Radio Ecoshock covers the issue of Future Cities: Hot and Flooded.

A bit of good news – COVID-19 success story for Rwanda is a wake-up call for wealthy West.

Investigative journalism – “Fair” exposes in detail how corporate media uses “Tropes” to win intelligent people over to USA militarism. 

Two years since Julian Assange was seized from the Ecuadorian Embassy.

Let’s get rid of nuclear weapons before they ruin us.   Artificial Intelligence and the risk of catalytic nuclear war.

U.S. – China co-operation on cyber security.

Nuclear power – a way to stop other, faster, and cheaper, climate solutions. Despite the influence of Bill Gates, experts find that nuclear power is the wrong climate solution.

Japanese engineering firm EPC joins with NuScale in small modular reactor investment.

Racism, inequities move to the center of the climate debate.

Rapid global increase in energy consumption.

IRAN. Accident at Iran’s Natanz nuclear station. Iran calls Natanz nuclear enrichment site blackout ‘nuclear terrorism’. Iran nuclear talks to continue next week after breakthrough. It’s getting too late for an effective missile deal with Iran. Iran frees South Korean ship as more nuclear talks planned in Vienna.

GREENLAND. Opposition to uranium and rare earths mining – party wins Greenland election

EUROPE. Greenpeace warns European Commission on nuclear energy classification. Dodgy European Taxonomy report was favourable to nuclear power – but it’s far from a done deal. Nuclear nation France exerted pressure on European Commission. Climate taxonomy deal threatened by possible inclusion of nuclear as ”virtuous”.

FRANCE. France fully nationalises debt-laden EDF nuclear company, – EDF can now focus on renewable energy. New defects found in France’s Flamanville nuclear project. Doubts that it will start-up on time, – or indeed ever!.

CANADA. Canada’s tax-payer funded small nuclear reactors unlikely to succeed. Pickering Nuclear plant at risk of ‘Fukushima-type accident.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea’s new tactical nuclear weapons means new dangers, new U.S. strategy needed.

SOUTH KOREA. Climate change probably increasing this problem – nuclear reactors halted because of jellyfish-like sea salps.

JAPAN. Crookedness, fraud, in 10 years of Fukushima nuclear clean-up. Japanese government and Tepco must pay monthly compensation to 3550 Fukushima residents displaced due to continued radioactivity. Japan’s Prime Minister getting ready to release Fukushima waste water into the Pacific ocean? Japan poised to release Fukushima nuclear cooling water into the sea. 4,000 Fukushima waste bags contain unidentified radioactive materials.

Japanese government continues Japan’s ”Nuclear Village” generous grants to keep ageing nuclear reactors going. Niigata governor wants Japan’s Nuclear Regulator to reassess Tepco, following security lapses. Japan halts restart of nuclear plant over poor anti-terror measures. Japan has the ability to become both coal-free and nuclear-free.

USA.

• Pentagon and tax cheats already cost taxpayers far more than Biden’s job plan. Biden’s Announcement That Trump Got Military Spending Just Right Is Dead Wrong . Scientists urge Biden administration to reduce spending on nuclear weapons.
• Ohio’s Electric Power Association happy to see the end of customer-funded nuclear subsidies.
• Records falsified at Turkey Point nuclear power station.
• An American village made dependent on the nuclear industry. Perry schools’ crisis if the nuclear power station shuts down.
• Nuclear waste director: Proposed New Mexico nuclear waste storage facility is illegal, Texas lawmakers want to ban dangerous radioactive waste.
• Explanation of a nonsense tweet from U.S. Strategic Command.

UK. UK losing credibility with its new, ambiguous, nuclear weapons policy. Sleekit’ increase in Trident nuclear warheads on the Clyde.

Britain needs to rethink – whether it really needs new nuclear power, in view of tensions with the supplier, China. Chinese-French nuclear power station planned for Bradwell UK – issues raised that might prevent its construction. Uncertain future for EDF’s Dungeness nuclear power station. It may have to shut down early.

POLAND. In a positive move, Polish utilities remove their investment from nuclear power development.

RUSSIA. Russia planning to test a ‘doomsday’ nuclear-powered torpedo in the Arctic. Putin amassing, testing, huge military arsenal in the Arctic.

CHINA. Bitcoin mining to consume more electricity than whole of Australia by 2024. Like the other nuclear powers, China wants to put a dirty great radioactive waste dump on indigenous land.

ALGERIA. French Prime Minister visiting Algeria. The question of radioactive dust from nuclear tests will be on the agenda.

SOUTHEAST ASIA. Southeast Asia can leapfrog uncompetitive nuclear energy, and go straight to renewables.

AUSTRALIA. There’s a long and devastating history behind the proposal for a nuclear waste dump in South Australia. Who Says There Is No Kimba Dump Opposition? Australia’s part in continuing nuclear havoc in Pacific islands – legacy of atomic bomb tests.

April 12, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Nuclear news – week to 22 March

Not a lot of remarkable news on nuclear this week . The nuclear lobby is doubling down on its media propaganda, touting nuclear as the solution to climatev change. Also it is determinedly promoting the Tokyo Olympics – the so-called ‘recovery Olympics’, despite the fact that international visitors are banned.

Coronavirus.  Incidence of new cases globally continues to rise, but death numbers are falling. Problems in distribution of vaccines.

Climate.   Developments in global heating are covered each week in Radio Ecoshock, which is a jump ahead of most news media. This week, it’s been about the predicted high temperatures in the world’s cities. Also, it’s a warm\ning that climate tipping points are coming sooner than expected.

A bit of good news.  March 20 was the U.N.’s International Day of Happiness.  For the fourth year in a row, Finland has been named the happiest country in the world, with Iceland coming in second, followed by Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.

Investigative journalism –  Advanced nuclear reactors : Assessing the Safety, Security, and Environmental Impacts of Non-Light-Water Nuclear Reactors.  New science report: advanced nuclear reactors no safer than conventional nuclear plants.  The economics of nuclear power plants are not favorable to future investments.

Nuclear power has become irrelevant — like it or not.   Why the Fukushima disaster signalled the end of Big Nuclear.

New research to determine plutonium pollution and its sources.

Don’t believe hydrogen and nuclear hype – they can’t get us to net zero carbon by 2050

Review of Michael Shellenberger’s book on ”Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All”.

JAPAN.  The nuclear lobby holds too much sway over governments, particularly in Japan.  Serious security lapse at a Japanese nuclear plant.    Japanese regulator decides against restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa No. 7 nuclear reactor.

New type of large and highly radioactive particles found in Japan.  Fukushima disaster 10 years on: How long will it take to clean up the nuclear waste?

UK. 

• How the British government reacted to the Fukushima catastrophe – with propaganda promoting the nuclear industry.
• Boris Johnson joins Britain up to a perilous, uncontrollable, nuclear weapons race.  UK should build foreign policy on aid, conflict resolution, not on reversing nuclear disarmament.  UN expresses concern over UK’s move to increase nuclear weapons arsenal.  UK govt – cutting costs on troops as it expands nuclear missile numbers
• New report on human and environmental impact of Hinkley Point C nuclear project. Hinkley Point C nuclear power station ‘could suck up 182 million fish a year’ from Severn Estuary.   Dilemma over plan to dump Himkley radioactive mud off Cardiff coast.  Hinkley Point nuclear reactors with cracks are allowed to resume limited operations.

USA.

• Production of plutonium must cease, for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty to work.  Plutonium used at Japanese reactor will be glassed, stored at Savannah River Site.
• With ”regulatory capture” of USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission, California’s got nuclear fuel buried 108 feet from the sea  .
• Duane Arnold nuclear reactor, same type as Fukushima Daiichi, vulnerable to extreme weather.
• Georgia’s  Vogtle nuclear station likely to yet again miss a deadline.
• Report alleges elevated cancer deaths in Monroe may be result of nuclear plant.
• Sudden death of defendant in Ohio nuclear corruption case.
• Deb Haaland -new U.S. Secretary for Interior, – first Native American in a U.S. presidential cabinet.

RUSSIA.  Russia planning to dispose of highly dangerous nuclear reactor cores of submarines at bottom of Kara Sea.

IRAN.  United Nations nuclear watchdog says it’s possible to return to the Iran nuclear deal.

FRANCE.  France must restructure debt-laden EDF (Electricite de France) and reform nuclear sector by October.  Flamanville nuclear reactor: 3 new welds do not meet safety requirements.

PACIFIC ISLANDS.  Outcry in Tahiti over nuclear fallout study.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Unitede Arab Emirates $32 billion Barakah nuclear plant poses environmental, safety, and security problems.

AUSTRALIA.  Minerals Council of Australia trying to influence European Commission, to push for fossil fuels and nuclear.

March 22, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

Nuclear news – week to 15th March

Fukushima: “How Japan was blinded to the predicted certainty of disaster“.     10 years after Fukushima – still nuclear regulatory capture, and poor safety culture.  Whitewashing of Fukushima meltdown by United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

Nuclear power faces a wobbly future.  Ten years on from Fukushima, nuclear power continues to struggle with deeper problems.  Nuclear power is unpopular: promoted only by those with vested interests.

Billionaire Bill Gates’ nuclear ambitions would make climate disaster worse.

Global nuclear industry in decline since 1996, even without Fukushima disaster.

The long-term problem of ”peaceful” plutonium.

The radiation danger to astronauts– cancer, heart disease -an ethical problem.  Space radiation – harmful to astronauts, not only with cancers, but also with heart and blood vessel effects.  Low doses of radiation used in medical imaging lead to mutations in cell cultures.

The growing threat of space debris.

How the world came close to nuclear war catastrophe.

‘Every euro invested in nuclear power makes the climate crisis worse‘.  Small modular reactors not the solution, says German nuclear authority .

Need to establish compensation schemes for future nuclear accidents.

So-called ”cloud” computing means huge electricity use in data so-called ”farms”.

JAPAN.

 The truth about Fukushima today – and the cover-up – Thomas A Bass.   Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Nearly ‘Ended The Japanese State’. Harm done to people by the Fukushima evacuation, but radiation was still the root cause of all this.    The Asahi Shimbun continues to warn against nuclear power -Japan’s risk of another “Fukushima -type” disaster.

Japan’s Nuclear Clean-Up Has No End in Sight.   1.2 million tonnes of contaminated water and nowhere to put it – Fukushima’s continued legacy.   Review of film ”Fukushima 50”.       The thought of the Olympics – the only hold-up to emptying contaminated water to the ocean.

Impossible timetable set for returning Fukushima nuclear site to ‘greenfield”.  Japanese government hopes that not-yet-designed robots might clean up Fukushima nuclear mess.  Part of Tomioka, 6 miles from Fukushima, is still a no-go zone.    Radiation from Fukushima meltdown collects in timber in affected region.

Tokyo Olypics: is it safe to promote Japan’s so-called “recovery” by sending athletes into a nuclear exclusion zone?  United Nations Scientific Committee on Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) report on Fukushima health effects -rushed, inadequate, inconsistent.

Cash-strapped Japanese nuclear company funds road plans near idle nuclear plant.

Japan’s main opposition party -”Japanese society is viable without operating nuclear power plants”.

FRANCE. French Nuclear tests: revelations about a cancer epidemic.

PACIFIC ISLANDS.  France has consistently underestimated the devastating impact of its nuclear tests in French Polynesia.  110, 000 people in French Polynesia affected by the radioactive fallout from atomic bomb tests.  Time to clean up Bikini Atoll, to right the nuclear wrongs done to the Pacific islands people.

USA.

• Investigative journalism – Can the Energy Department store 50 tons of weapons-grade plutonium for 10,000 years?     Biden on horns of a dilemma for Iranian nuclear deal.   This is how the biggest arms manufacturers steer $millions to influence U.S,. policy.  USA’s new $100billion nuclear missile – a white elephant?
• Ohio House passes its version of Bill rescinding nuclear subsidies.
• Report: Cancer death rates rising near Fermi nuclear plant .
• Problem in accepting higher level radioactive wastes in Texas.

GERMANY.  Germany pledges to work towards a nuclear-free Europe.   The Greens are likely to be propelled into government in the national vote.

UK. Nuclear power losing out in the UK – not a good omen for the global nuclear industry.      Trident nuclear warhead numbers set to increase for first time since cold war, despite commitment to decrease nuclear weaponss stockpile.  Safety breaches at Sellafield have raised fears of a Chernobyl-style disaster.

CHINA.  China maintains only a lean nuclear weapons force – aimed at survival if attacked..

TURKEY. Anxieties over Turkey’s new Russian-backed nuclear plants.  Turkey’s nuclear ambitions bring fears of a ”new Chernobyl” in the region.   – Turkey’s nuclear power plant could prove irresistible to terrorists.

NEW ZEALAND. New Zealand groups oppose launch of U.S. military nuclear satellite.

TAIWAN.  Nuclear power not an option for Taiwan.  Taiwan environmentalists to hold anti-nuclear rally in June.

SLOVENIA.  Slovenia’s hazardous old nuclear reactor in an earthquake zone.

AUSTRALIA. Australian uranium fuelled Fukushima .  Australia must learn the lessons of Fukushima.–  Time for Australia to clean up uranium mining damage, and end this toxic industry – Western Australia could lead the way. its nuclear tests in French Polynesia.  110, 000 people in French Polynesia affected by the radioactive fallout from atomic bomb tests.  Time to clean up Bikini Atoll, to right the nuclear wrongs done to the Pacific islands people.

March 15, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Nuclear news this week- Fukushima anniversary week

The global nuclear lobby will be glad when March is over. They were glad to see the end of January – too much public interest then in the U.N. Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

March is worse, especially because of the 10 year anniversary (11th March) of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown, with clean-up nowhere in sight. The half-hearted hype is now on for the Olympic Games in July. The whole plan was for the Games to demonstrate that the nuclear catastrophe was actually nothing much to worry about, and yet again, to promise a ‘nuclear renaissance’.

International Women’s Day – today 8th March, is a bit of a worry for the nuclear industry.  Ionising radiation is more damaging to women than to men, and polls consistently show that women oppose nuclear power.  Women are rarely part of decision-making, and when they are –  shock horror!  With nearly equal female representation in Switzerland’s parliament – it decided to shut down the nuclear industry.   In Germany, that very strong Chancellor Angela Merkel, was a supporter of nuclear power – but after the Fukushima catastrophe, she changed her mind.  It’s all a dilemma for the nuke lobby –   trying to get some (preferably  young and glam) women into the nuclear career,  – but oh dear, they might put too much emphasis on health, children’s future, etc – and hysterically change their mind, as Merkel did.

1st March – Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day.  This day commemorates for Pacific islanders, the nuclear colonialism, that brought atomic bomb testing, radiatio-induced cancers, and continuing environmental pollution to their previously pristine lands and waters.  Today, militaristic colonialism is still in full swing across the region, and is still resisted.

CLIMATE.  I cannot resist referring you to the wonderful Katherine Hayhoe, interviewed on Radio Ecoshock. This woman, who is also a religious communicator, has the gift of explaining climate change entertainingly and with clarity.

Some bits of good news The first real-world data for COVID vaccines is in – and it’s really good news.   

In a Japanese village ravaged by tsunami and nuclear disaster, two farmers grow indigo to rebuild community and heal

Nuclear Games.

Elon Musk and Bill Gates: beware of gurus toting solutions to climate change.

Nuclear energy proponents downplay its unresolved moral and ethical concerns.  Despite the problems, small nuclear reactor salesmen aggressively marketing: it’s make or break time for the nuclear industry.

Some bits of good news The first real-world data for COVID vaccines is in – and it’s really good news.   

In a Japanese village ravaged by tsunami and nuclear disaster, two farmers grow indigo to rebuild community and heal

ANTARCTICA.  Ominous news; Antarctic ice is melting at an accelerating rate.

JAPAN.

Ex-PMs Kan, Koizumi urge Japan to quit nuclear power generation .    10 years after Fukushima nuclear disaster, – poor prospects for nuclear revival in Japan.

• Fukushima. Reuters gives a timeline of events: Fukushuma 2011 – 2021 –Heroism of Fukushima’s nuclear emergency workers.
• Fukushima nuclear decommissioning not really under control- persistent highly radioactive debris remains.  Japan’s daunting task – to decommission Fukushima nuclear plant, over many decades. Fukushima wrecked nuclear plant: area remains a health and environmental disaster.  Fukushima resident still can’t return home 10 years after nuclear disaster. Most 2011 quake, Fukushima crisis survivors back ending nuclear power.
• Fukushima’s Olympic makeover: Will the ‘cursed’ area be safe from radioactivity in time for Games?  Fukushima Daiichi 2011-2021: The decontamination myth and a decade of human rights violations.–
• Lawsuit over the exposure to radiation of residents of Litate, after Fukushima nuclear meltdown.
• The man who saves forgotten cats in Fukushima’s nuclear zone .
• Isolated and alone – Suguru’s story reveals bullying, ostracization and government whitewash

UK.

Opinion poll – 77% of Ayshire public support a total ban on all nuclear weapons.

Hinkley Point B nuclear station to close ‘early’ due to aging graphite blocks.

Concern about the marketing of radioactively contaminated scrap metal.

Proposed Cumbrian coalmine. But is the real purpose a high level nuclear waste dump?.

How Scotland’s Dunoon became an American nuclear base, and a target.  Scottish Council calls on big pension fund to stop investing in weapons makers.

USA. 

• Food for thought –  The war-mongering lobby embraces AI (artificial intelligence) 
• Biden’s illegal bombing of Iranian-backed militias in Syria jeopardises nuclear negotiations.  The American media sanitises the Biden administration’s killings in Syria.
•  Biden’s first budget should reduce excessive expenditure on nuclear weaponry. Why the US wastes $billions on nuclear weapons it doesn’t need. Bill in U.S. Congress to stop new nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile.  Battle coming in U.S. Congress over spending on nuclear weapons.
• Nuclear workers plagued by leukaemia, cancers and other illnesses.
•  Ohio Senate votes unanimously to repeal nuclear plant bailout.  Nuclear power bailout Bill to be eliminated by Ohio law-makers. Public Service Enterprise Group trying to force ratepayers to act as guarantors for nuclear power debts.  Montana legislatures to review the law restricting nuclear developments.
• Michigan Attorney General wants review of nuclear plant license transfer to Holtec.
• Washington State and others want to overturn Trump rule that weakens Hanford nuclear waste rule.
• The Trump personality cult is still a threat.

IRAN.  UN’s nuclear watchdog agency will not be ‘bargaining chip’ in Iran nuclear deal.  President Rouhani says that Iran is prepared to fulfil nuclear deal commitments.

GERMANY.  Germany to pay nuclear operators 2.4 bln euros for plant closures.  Widespread public support for Germany’s nuclear phaseout, as renewable energy expands.

ALGERIA.  French report on the unfairness of France’s nuclear history in Algeria.

RUSSIA. Russia’s most high-tech multi-purpose nuclear submarine further delayed.

CHINA.  China to ramp up its nuclear weapons, in the interests of its own survival.

FRANCE.  Safety expert recommends shutdown of several of France’s old, dubiously safe, nuclear reactors.  France’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has safety concerns about Flamanville nuclear power plant .  A new setback for France’s Flamanville nuclear reactor.

SWITZERLAND.  Women in government – the key to getting rid of nuclear power.

LUXEMBOURG. Hopes in Luxembourg for the closure of Cattenom nuclear power plant.

ARMENIA. Armenia should shut down, not repair, its dangerous nuclear power station.

SOUTH AFRICA. South Africa, with no way to deal with radioactive waste, must not develop new nuclear power.

PACIFIC ISLANDS.  Nuclear Free And Independent Pacific Day 2021.

TURKEY.  Dust with French nuclear test residue threatens Turkey.

IRAN.  Iran’s foreign minister says Tehran will offer a constructive plan for nuclear talks.

INDIA.  In India, Google and Facebook help a vicious government campaign against environmental activists.

AUSTRALIA. Australia dodged a bullet in not getting nuclear power.

March 8, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The week in nuclear news – to March 1

Like most people, I have not been able to keep up with the pandemic news. Figures on the incidence of Covid-19, and on deaths, seem to fluctuate.  Amidst the uncertainties about types of vaccines, new virus strains, and the anti-vaxxer movement, still there is an atmosphere of optimism.  Vaccine acceptance is rising in many countries, and health workers and many volunteers are putting in the efforts to administer vaccines , and care for those who are ill.

David Attenborough warns the U.N. Security Council –  the world risks ‘collapse of everything’ without strong climate action.

A bit of good news – Pollution in the Mississippi River Has Plummeted Since The 1980s

The role of the Churches in promoting the U.N. Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.  Nuclear-weapons treaty the right way forward.

The media revels in rockets to Mars, ignores the horrible risk of plutonium pollution.

Why is the media fawning over nuclear businessman Bill Gates?  Nuclear power-not clean, not renewable – Bill Gates is wrong.

Dr Helen Caldicott on Independent Australia tells The Truth About Nuclear Power.

JAPAN. Investigative journalism – Fukushima nuclear containment system failed: this kind of disaster will happen again.  Fukushima nuclear station seismometers not functioning when latest earthquake happened.  Fukushima nuclear mess 2021 – the tasks ahead.  Fukushima evacuees on return visits find radiation signs confusing.  The Fukushima nuclear catastrophe – far from over, 10 years later.

CANADA.  What would go into the Chalk River Mound?  Opposition to nuclear dump plan for upstream at Chalk River.  Ways in which Near Surface Radioactive Waste Disposal would leak.

FRANCE.  France’s nuclear reactors’ lives to be extended beyond 40 years.  France slow to leave nuclear power, (cheaper to extend lives of reactors).

IRAN. IAEA and Iran strike three-month deal over nuclear inspections.  Iran lawmakers call for president’s prosecution over IAEA deal.  Iran talks ‘avert’ impact of nuclear inspection deadline.  Some Iranians and Israelis in full agreement on wanting to stop Iran nuclear deal.

USA.

• New leader of USA’s Department of Energy gives clearly pro nuclear answers. Jennifer Granholm becomes U.S. Energy Secretary: the nuclear lobby is pleased. but not certain. Jennifer Granholm seems more muted in her support for nuclear, compared to previous Energy Secretaries.
• Is it wise for the Biden administration to fund Small Nuclear Reactors?
• Ohio House and Senate wrestle with Bills about the nuclear bailout law.
• Yakama Nation, state of Washington and environmental groups call on Jennifer Granholm to reconsider nuclear waste rule. USA’s continuing nuclear waste debacle blamed on government contractors.  Lawsuit to prevent dangerous dismantling of San Onofre nuclear power station.

UK.  Assange’s partner exposes ongoing denial of his legal and democratic rights,  Jeremy Corbyn – Britain Should Join Nuclear Ban Treaty and Scrap Nukes.  Labour’s nuclear weapons stance needs a rethink.   RSPB petition on Sizewell C with over 105,000 signatures shows the depth of public concern with this development – highlighted in upcoming NFLA meeting.

INDIA.  Influence of Biden administration brings peaceful push between India, China, Pakistan.

SOUTH AFRICA.  New nuclear build would face legal stumbling blocks.

EUROPE.  Radioactive dust over Europe – from France’s nuclear bomb tests in the Sahara!    Luxembourg’s continued fight against nuclear power in Europe.

ISRAEL.  Israel should come clean about the expansion at its secret nuclear weapons plant.

AUSTRALIA. Australian federal and state governments keeping laws banning nuclear power, despite Murdoch pro nuclear propaganda.  Legislation banning nuclear power in Australia should be retained.

March 1, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Nuclear, coronavirus, climate -news to 22 February

Coronavrus update:

• Global Tracker: Cases exceed 111.2 million; deaths pass 2.4 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 202 million shots given worldwide
• Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces transmission by 89%, study shows

Climate;  disinformation is rampant.   –”we have allowed governments around the world to throw away the time when we could have stopped the endless killer heat waves, fires, rising seas, superstorms, dying coral, dying everything. We let governments from Monarchies to Oligarchies to alleged Democracies endanger life on this planet, including our kids future.

If we can’t change that, we really are doomed.” – Alex Smith, Radio Ecoshock.

Nuclear – it is disappointing to me to listen to interviews with Bill Gates-  he is not questioned on his statements pushing nuclear power for climate. It seems that being a billionaire entrepreneur qualifies him for a kind of reverent belief and trust . Meanwhile, a real climate expert , Michael Mann, has just published an authoritative book on the subject.

Hunting for good news – but it’s tricky. Lots of good news on things like individuals being kind to homeless people. But there’s a dearth of news about public, government, action to provide homes for the homeless.

Nuclear lobby planning to take over the U.N Climate Change Conference.

Living longterm in radioactively contaminated areas damages our health.

On nuclear power as climate solution, Bill Gates shows alarming ignorance.  Bill Gates’undemocratic approach to climate crisis.  New books on climate change; Michael Mann versus (nuclear promoter) Bill Gates.

The “negaWatt” – the best energy is the energy you don’t use.

JAPAN.    ICAN chief urges Japanese govt to attend UN Nuclear Ban Treaty meeting.  Japan town mayor OKs restarting nuclear reactor over 40 years old– A decade after the Fukushima meltdown, this Japanese region faces a new nightmare — radioactive water in the sea. Water leaks indicate new damage at Fukushima nuclear plant.  New highly radioactive particles found in Fukushima .

EUROPE.  Nuclear industry very nervous about EU evaluation of its’green’ claims.

CANADA.  Community fights Canadian govt’s slick propaganda pushing for high-level radioactive waste dump.  Canada’s nuclear waste storage ”“cannot and will not go forward without the informed and willing consent of potential host communities”

UKRAINE.  New documentary explores Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

USA.

• Investigative  journalism. -‘Medical Scientific’ committee, stacked with nuclear executives, promotes nuclear power in space.
• Biden Must Take Immediate Action to Reduce the Risk of Nuclear War.  USA to join in multilateral talks with EU and Iran, on return to nuclear deal.  The world came much closer to nuclear war than we realized in 1983. Nuclear weapons — they’re illegal.
•  There Were Doomsday Ships Ready To Ride Out Nuclear Armageddon Before There Were Doomsday Planes.
• USA to join in multilateral talks with EU and Iran, on return to nuclear deal.
•  Beyond Nuclear files suit to stop massive radioactive waste dump .
• Keep the public vote on nuclear energy in Montana .  Big trouble ahead, on regulation issues, for countries desperately trying to export small nuclear reactors.
• EPA awards $220 million for uranium mine cleanup on Navajo Nation.
•   Green energy sources are not to blame for the winter storm power blackouts in Texas. Lies in Texas, as Republicans blame renewable energy for cold weather traumas.
• The ”New Yorker” sinks to sloppy sentimentalpraise of pro nuclear advocates.   I am appalled at the idea of ‘‘Mothers For Nuclear”.

BRAZIL.  Global nuclear industry – rotten to the core: it’s not just Brazil.

UK.

• The Children with Cancer UK conference: nuclear power and nuclear weapons are two sides of the same coin.
• Lancaster City Council will call on UK to join nuclear weapons ban.
• Is this the end of the road for UK’s Bradwell nuclear project?  Relief that Bradwell nuclear project has stalled.
• Over 100,000 people sign petition to stop Sizewell nuclear, save nature reserve. City giant Legal and General will not be funding Sizewell nuclear project.
• Lobbyists from West Cumbria Mining appointed to Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM).
• Residents fear nuclear waste is buried beneath land being earmarked for development.

IRAN.  Iran foiled series of assassinations planned by Israel – says Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi.  Iran vows to limit nuclear inspections if partners fail to act.

POLAND.  Germany concerned about Poland’s nuclear energy plans.

BULGARIA.  Bulgaria prosecutes former energy ministers over mismanagement of Belene nuclear power project.

SOUTH AFRICA.  South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa ignores nuclear his State of the Nation Address.  South Africa: an example of how nuclear waste costs are passed on to later generations.

ISRAEL.  Israel expands Dimona nuclear facility previously used for weapons material.

FRANCE. Significant safety incident at EDF nuclear power plant in Flamanville.

AUSTRALIA. Wise warning to Australian government to withdraw embarrassing Nuclear Waste Dump Bill.

February 22, 2021 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments