nuclear-news

The week that was, in climate and nuclear news

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

Arguably the biggest news –  the world’s species are disappearing (and hey! – we’re vulnerable, too).

Both issues – climate change, and nuclear wastes have been in the political  headlines in anglophone countries. A pity that these seem to be rarely reported in English language in other countries, and probably not reported at all in totalitarian countries.  Good News:  In Britain, climate activists, – Extinction Rebellion, and school children’s strikes have had their political impact, as UK declares a Climate Emergency.  In Australia climate ‘paralysis’ looms over its coming election.

In USA, the battle over where to put nuclear wastes heats up with renewed political turmoil over plan for Yucca Mountain, Nevada, as nuclear waste dump. Radioactive wastes continue to trouble Europe  and UK, though not a peep out of Russia, China about theirs.

Nuclear weapons companies doing very profitably out of governments. ICAN and PAX list the companies that make nuclear weapons.

Can the Non Proliferation Treaty and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons co-exist?  Hibakusha continue their mission to eliminate nuclear weapons.

High blood pressure risk from prolonged exposure to low-dose ionising radiation. Low level radiation exposure and increased risks of hypertension, cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Why cockroaches might be able to survive a nuclear attack.

INDIA. India Cyclone Kills at Least 33, Hundreds of Thousands Homeless.

JAPAN. The Olympics Clean-up: Fukushima, Okinawa, homelessness.

USA.

• Donald Trump still predicting nuclear deal with Kim Jong Un. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says that a nuclear deal with North Korea is still possible.  Discussion on nuclear weapons, between Trump and Putin.  Trump’s hypocrisy – talks of nuclear disarmament while spending $megabillions on new nuclear weapons.  Senator Chris Van Hollen on Gorging at the Nuclear Buffet Table. No evidence for this, but a Republican lawmaker says Russia has nuclear weapons in Venezuela.
• USA renews waivers of Iran sanctions for civilian nuclear work. 
• A national political conflict over USA’s nuclear waste dump plan for Yucca Mt, Nevada.  Cheaper and permanent, not temporary, disposal of nuclear waste.
• Southern Company says – no more nuclear projects after the costly Vogtle project in Georgia.
• USA Defense Dept knew that radiation causes birth defects. Now nuclear test veterans worry.
• 13 exposed to radiation at hazmat incident in Seattle .
• For how long can we tolerate dolts as leaders? Mike Pompeo rejoices in climate change and Arctic thawing.

ISRAEL. Report: Islamic Jihad threatens to strike nuclear reactor, airport.

CHINA. China says it won’t take part in trilateral nuclear arms talks.

UK. Highland Green MSP John Finnie points out the danger of transporting nuclear material across the Atlantic. Prince William booed and heckled at service to mark 50 years of Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines.

PACIFIC ISLANDS. The Blue Pacific and the legacies of nuclear testing .

UKRAINE. Rivetting new documentary series on the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwcNCrPRe_8&t=6s

SAUDI ARABIA.  Distrust of Saudi Arabia’s motives in building a nuclear reactor.

May 7, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

Climate and nuclear news – week to May 1st

On climate change – where to start? Dahr Jamail– covers the world-wide impacts that are already happening. It seems that only the very young, Greta Thunberg, and the very old, David Attenborough, are able to get the message across. So many different impacts – the latest big one is another cyclone, followed by flooding, in Mozambique.

On nuclear issues, also, where to start?   With the stalemate in nuclear weapons negotiations, in several countries, and India and Pakistan on the tightrope? Or with the nuclear financial messes in USA and UK?

Perhaps it’s best to find a note of optimism. Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, spoke convincingly, in Tokyo, about improving prospects for progress in nuclear disarmament.

$70 trillion cost predicted, as Arctic permafrost thaws.

Across the world, Extinction Rebellion climate activists stage “die-in“.  Secretive Fossil Fuel Lobby Group, “Global Climate Coalition”, Manipulated UN Climate Programs.

UN assesses world environment in new report – it’s a grim story.

Reviewing the state of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. New report warns that world is dangerously close to increased use of nuclear weapons.  Use of Artificial Intelligence in Nuclear Weapons Command and Control.

UKRAINE. 33rd anniversary of Chernobyl, the biggest nuclear plant disaster in history.

JAPAN. Exploitation of foreign workers in Japan’s Fukushima nuclear clean-up. As Tokyo Olympics approach, Japan’s futile push to repopulate cleaned-up parts of radioactive areas of Fukushima.  Despite World Trade Association ruling, Japan still asks S. Korea to lift ban on Fukushima seafood.  All Japan’s nuclear reactors may shutdown, as regulator is firm on safety measures. Japan’s nuclear regulators not impressed by nuclear facilities’ flimsy excuses about safety.

UK.

• Political leaders in Britain are not strong enough to tackle the climate change crisis- Lord Stern. UK Labour aims to declare a national climate emergency. “Climate Emergency Independents” emerge from Extinction Rebellion to stand for UK Parliament.  London’s Extinction Rebellion climate protestors made an impact, and they’re keeping on.
• Anglican church angry about ‘Thanksgiving’ service for nuclear weapons at Westminster Abbey. Rocketing costs of Britain’s nuclear weapons projects.
• Britain’s costly nuclear submarines – dead but not buried.
• Europe’s oldest nuclear reactors: safety problem at Hunterston B. Wastes from other nuclear stations could be dumped at Hinkley Point A.
• British govt about to give nuclear power a massive state-funded financial boost.

USA.

• Climate change poses huge flooding risk to USA’s nuclear stations, but this is ignored by Trump  administration.
• Lawmakers and media are being conned, as nuclear industry manipulates climate change rules.
• In USA most men support nuclear power, but most women do not.
• The cost of pretending that nuclear power is “clean”.  Subsidies to nuclear industry – legislation “anti-competitive” and “anti-consumer.” Opposition to nuclear subsidies in Pennsylvania.
• How a nuclear apocalypse could be launched: how a president’s power to do this could be restrained.   The Truth-Teller: From the Pentagon Papers to the Doomsday Machine.
• USA’s Dept of Energy fails to provide adequate funding for Hanford nuclear clean-up.
• More evidence that US may seek to prosecute Julian Asssange under the Espionage Act . Chelsea Manning is denied bail, by U.S. appeals court.

RUSSIA. Russia Wants Serious Talks on New Nuclear Deals With US. Russia wants to know details of Trump’s nuclear arms-control initiative. Russia’s President Putin supports North Korea, seeks multilateral talks on decnuclearising the Korean Peninsula.

NORTH KOREA. Kim Jong Un’s round of summits: the latest with Vladimir Putin.

NORWAY. Final closure of nuclear research reactors in Norway.

INDIA. Constant military posturing from both Pakistan and India. Narendra Modi using threat of nuclear bombing Pakistan, as an election campaign tactic.  Report on Modi’s remark on nuclear weapons sent to EC, says election official in Barmer.

PAKISTAN. Pakistan warns India against mentioning its nuclear power lightly.

TAIWAN. No to nuclear power: Taiwan’s president reaffirms anti-nuclear stance.

TURKEY. Turkish nuclear power project looks like being shelved.

IRAN. End of nuclear cooperation waivers could quietly kill Iran deal.

AUSTRALIA. Maralinga nuclear bomb test survivor reveals truth of what happened in the SA desert.

April 30, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Climate news, nuclear news this week

In London yesterday, police arrested 963 people who were part of the Extinction Rebellion climate protest. This movement is continuing, and spreading to other countries. They will also set up a political taskforce to take forward public negotiations with the Government. Climate awareness is gathering momentum.  Still, climate scientists seem unwilling and perhaps unable to talk to the general public, to explain the basic facts on climate change, and the complicating factors, such as the effects on oceans warning, on sea ice loss, on air current changes, on low pressure areas, the polar vortex.  There are two climate scientists who do make this effort. Paul Beckwith has made over 200 YouTube videos, and he does tackle the complicated science in an understandable way. Katherine Hayhoe almost deceptively makes climate science seem simple, and is well known for her entertaining video series Global Weirding.

This newsletter was always intended to inform on the nuclear threat. It’s just that the climate situation is now a global emergency.

Earth’s surface temperature steadily rose from 2003. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cRCbgTA_78  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tpzwqlj-d4   Extinction Rebellion can act as a catalyst for political debate and change .  Climate action: Invest in low-carbon but not in nuclear . Nuclear power plants in no way designed, or ready for, climate change extremes. “There is no such thing as a zero or near-zero-emission nuclear power plant”.

Climate Change Could Unleash Long-Frozen Radiation.

Debunking All The Smears Against Julian Assange.

EUROPE. More disappointments for Europe’s new nuclear stations– no nuclear future for Europe?

UKRAINE.  Life as a liquidator after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.  Chernobyl: How bad was it? .

UK.

• ‘We will never stop fighting’: Greta Thunberg joins London climate protest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv9EkxudXmw      Climate change rallies block London roads . Extinction Rebellion: The activists risking prison to save the planet.   Britain’s slow path to zero carbon emissions.
• Britain’s Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) notes that over 70 Welsh councils formally reject hosting nuclear waste dump.  UK’s EPA concerned over proposals for Sizewell new nuclear power station in Suffolk. Nuclear Transparency Watch warns on the unwisdom of UK government subsidising Small Modular Nuclear Reactors (SMRs).

JAPAN. Japan Atomic Power looks to a big business in cleaning up dead nuclear plants. Japan’s plutonium surplus, its history, and its danger. Japan’s massive task to clean up nuclear fuel pools of Fukushima stricken reactors.  Hazardous removal of spent fuel rods is just one step in the long Fukushima nuclear clean-up.  Japan has a new kind of visa to lure foreign blue collar workers for Fukushima clean-up.

USA. 

• An emerging hopeful trend for US nuclear weapons policy.  U.S. Ignored Russia’s Nuclear War Prevention Pact – Reports.  Trump’s administration speeds up the revolving door between Pentagon and nuclear weapons companies. Trump administration stops govt practice of disclosing numbers of nuclear weapons.  Pentagon’s strange and dangerous plan for small nuclear reactors at the battle scene.
• On climate change impacts, nuclear lobby has captured the regulators.  A conservative backlash against Trump, as he appoints fossil fuel insiders to federal agencies?
• Frida Berrigan’s personal story about nuclear weapons.
• Holtec’s nuclear decommissioning and wastes empire to grab Indian Point.
• U.S. Department of Energy seeks new certification for its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. North Dakota prohibits nuclear waste dumping in the state.
• State subsidies for nuclear power in USA are simply not necessary. America’s nuclear lobby spending up big to get $millions in State subsidies.  AARP Ohio, on behalf of its 1.5 million members and families, strongly opposes Ohio nuclear subsidies. U.S.nuclear bailouts – Exelon and the death of competitive energy markets.  U.S. Supreme Court rejects challenge to nuclear subsidy.
•  Lawsuit against Santee Cooper, claims that investors were deceived over nuclear project risks.
• The long-lasting unsolved problem of Three Mile Island’s radioactive trash.  Three Mile Island, and the nuclear industry’s legacy of cancer.
• USA Congressmen concerned at slow clean-up of dangerous San Onofre nuclear site.
• Conflicts of interest in the Trump group’s push to sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia.
• USA is preparing more charges against Julian Assange.

FRANCE. Some consternation in France, as EDF plans to split off its nuclear section.  Electricite de France (EDF) €33 billion debt, and more problems – its nuclear section to be nationalised.  EDF’s Belleville nuclear power plant to continue to have increased monitoring by France’s nuclear regulator.

CHINA.  China gambles on untested “Hualong One” nuclear reactor, and plans for international sales.

RUSSIA. Putin’s new super-dooper longest submarine packed with nuclear torpedoes.  More countries headed to go into nuclear debt to Russia.

INDIA. Dangerous electioneering: India’s Modi ramps up the nuclear weapons rhetoric.

CANADA. Canada’s Came co Corp slow to clean up groundwater contaminated with uranium at Saskatchewan mill.

BANGLADESH. China keen to sell nuclear reactor to Bangladesh – an inflated and costly project.

FINLAND. Finland to start constructing nuclear plant with Russian reactor in 2021 .

ISRAEL. History of Israel getting nuclear weapons.

April 24, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The past week in nuclear and climate news

This week, I’m briefly aberrating, to draw attention to the situation of Julian Assange. No, this is not directly relevant to nuclear or climate issues. But, knowing the corruption and lying ingrained in the nuclear and fossil fuel industries, it’s important to be mindful of the role of whistleblowers. The Australian government, which generously supports Australian convicted murderers and drug dealers in foreign lands, has done nothing to help Australian citizen, Julian Assange.  Assange is in dire danger of extradition to USA, of being locked up, “disappeared” forever, because in 2010 he exposed US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.   The branding of this truth teller as “criminal” should be a warning to the world.    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8j42o04AZA

On nuclear issues – India and Pakistan came close to the brink.

And the media is awash with propaganda about nuclear energy being essential to combat climate change. Especially propaganda about “new nukes” – small nuclear reactors (SMRs) . The reality is that it’s desperate hubris about a nonexistent technology without a future. Despite heavy promotion, SMRs are too expensive and there are no buyers.

CLIMATE – Climate change threatens millions of Bangladeshi children, warns UNICEF.     Some good news. Dozens of Countries Have Been Working to Plant ‘Great Green Wall’ – and It’s Holding Back Poverty.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIj764m7bys

Before we enter “a new nuclear age” – learn from the newly declassified Chernobyl health records.

Risk of nuclear weapons use is now at a record high.- Nuclear weapons accidents and losses 1950s – 2000s.

Book – “Deadly Dust – Made in the USA: Depleted Uranium Weapons Contaminating the World”

Challenges in Nuclear Verification– IAEA .

Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, and the campaign to criminalise whistleblowing.

Reflective roofs can reduce overheating in cities and save lives during heatwaves.

EUROPE. European Parliament votes to exclude nuclear power from receiving a green stamp of approval on financial markets.

JAPAN. Japan Business Federation, Keidanren, wants maximum service life of nuclear power plants extended to over 60 years.  Few evacuees are likely to return next week to parts of Okuma, host of Fukushima nuclear plant.  New legal action compensation claim by 25 Fukushim evacuees.  Japanese panel says that people under 40 should have iodine tablets ready, in advance of nuclear emergencies.

USA.

• Absolute stalemate in nuclear negotiations, but Trump says that his relationship with Kim Jong-un is“very good.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hopes that North Korea will just hand over its nuclear weapons to USA.
• U.S. Congress members angry at Trump govt’s approval of licences for exporting U.S. nuclear know-how to Saudi Arabia.  Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard slams decision to sell Saudi Arabia nuclear weapons tech.
• Green New Deal must not include nuclear power, which is not a viable solution to climate change- Friends of the Earth.
• Hanford nuclear mess; the clean-up is delayed by the Trump administration.
• Trump govt allowing nuclear power stations to Regulate Their Own Safety. Nuclear Regulatory Commission fails to recognise the real danger of dirty bombs. Nuclear Device Assembly Facility In Nevada Desert at risk of earthquakes.
• Another new nuclear gimmick going way over budget – the “Virtual Test Reactor”.
• Rewarding failure: Taxpayers on hook for $12 billion Vogtle nuclear boondoggle.  Nuclear industry is aggressively milking USA States for subsidies, despite Exelon profits.  New Ohio Bill to promote nuclear energy, excludes wind and solar.
• USA Nuclear Workers Compensation deliberately dragging out process?
•  60 years and $1.2 billion to dismantle Three Mile Island nuclear reactor.  Hanford contractor responsible for radiation spread avoids penalty.  USA’s Secretary For Promoting Nuclear Energy, Rick Perry, wants Yucca waste dump site, not a bit worried about earthquake danger.
• Climate change is getting REALLY serious – could produce Financial Crisis.

SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia moves forward on developing a nuclear industry.  Tensions in volatile Middle East region, as Saudi nuclear program accelerates.  Saudi Arabia resists IAEA’s inspection regime, as it completes its first nuclear reactor. IAEA head UN nuclear inspector asks Saudi Arabia to agree to safeguards on nuclear material.

CHINA. China will fall short of its nuclear power generation capacity target for 2020. China to Resume Approving Nuclear Power Plants.

SWEDEN. Doubts on safety of Sweden’s copper canisters for radioactive wastes.

UKRAINE. Ukraine’s President Poroshenko issues nuclear decree, demands new reactors be built.

FRANCE.  It’s likely that Flamanville nuclear reactor will be delayed yet again, with discussion on how to fix faulty welds.  France’s Orano (formerly bankrupt Areva) to send MOX fuel to Japan.  France’s ‘public consultation’ on old nuclear reactors – full of bureaucratic jargon – no debate took place.

KAZAKHSTAN. Research on gene mutations caused by nuclear radiation – Kazakhstan .  Russia keen to market nuclear reactors to Kazakhstan.

SOUTH AFRICA. Concerns about radioactive waste incidents – Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI)

UK. 

•   Britain’s Ministry of Defence’s failure to dispose of retired nuclear submarines.  Scottish National Party demands public inquiry into the decommissioning of nuclear-powered submarines. Britain’s nuclear submarines, intended to harm foreign lands, now pose grave danger at home!  Massive costs of managing UK’s dead nuclear submarines.
• Westminster Abbey urged to cancel nuclear weapons ‘thanksgiving’ service .
• UK: No talks, no sites identified” regarding nuclear waste burial.    Local Councils in England, Northern Ireland and Wales reject any involvement in nuclear waste dumping.
• UK and EU agree to continue nuclear fusion project in Britain, despite Brexit. Safety rules relaxed for some UK radioactive wastes, due to fears of supply disruption after Brexit.
• Doctors want UK to be at the forefront of international nuclear disarmament.
• 4 Sound reasons why Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) opposes Sizewell nuclear project.
• Explosion at Vulcan nuclear submarine site at Dounreay.

BRAZIL. Former Brazilian President Michel Temer indicted on corruption charges Involving nuclear plant bribes.

SPAIN. Spain to Shut Down Nuclear Plants And Push Forward Clean Energy Plan.

GERMANY.  Renewables provide over half of German net power in March .

CANADA.  Canada replaces largest North American coal plant with solar.

NEPAL.  Nepal assures South Asian doctors that UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weaponswill be ratified soon.

April 9, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Climate and Nuclear News: week to 2nd April

Serious indeed, as the nuclear threat is, the climate change threat is upon the world right now, and it’s accelerating.  Paul Beckwith’s videos explain how Every spring, for the past 25 years, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) releases their State of the Climate report. This years edition clearly shows how dire our climate situation is becoming e.  While the rich world braces for future climate change, the poor world is already being devastated by it.   It’s also an issue of generational injustice with the children at the losing end of this betrayal.

The unique role of the Earth Journalism Network (EJN).

Research group finds that ending the USA-Russia arms pact will bring about a nuclear weapons race.  The huge financial risks of nuclear incidents.

Age and Gender Bias in Radiation Research.

USA. 

• Trump’s ?ultimatum piece of paper to Kim Jong Un – insulting and provocative. U.S.
• Energy Secretary, Rick Perry, approved 6 secret nuclear technology companies’ sales to Saudi Arabia.   Concerns in USA Congress as the Trump administration OKs nuclear energy transfers to Saudi Arabia.
• Trump budget for fiscal year 2020 to spend up big on nuclear weapons.
• 15 USA senators re-introduce bill to promote new nuclear reactors.    Government funding for dodgy Westinghouse “micro-reactor”.
•  Three Mile Island nuclear accident exposed residents to far more radiation than officials claimed. 40 Years Ago: US President Jimmy Carter Pushed For Renewable Energy Funding After Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster.
• The very dangerous history of making plutonium weapons triggers – “pits” at Rocky Flats.
• Unanswered questions about the decommissioning of Pilgrim Nuclear Plant.
• Earthquake dangers near nuclear materials store at Nevada National Security Site.
• Denver-based Professional Case Management suing federal govt over delaying process in nuclear workers’ access to care.
• Fukushima Radioactive Contamination Detected in Northern Bering Sea Alaska.
• Eleven nuclear resisters with the Pacific Life Community were arrested, More arrests at Des Moines.
• Chelsea Manning back in prison after refusing to cooperate with a grand jury investigating Wikileaks.

JAPAN. “Tokyo 2020 – The Radioactive Olympics“.    Behind the Scenes / Labor shortage plagues nuclear industry.  ‘Shocked’ Fukushima evacuees say Tepco ruling fails to fairly compensate them for suffering.  Japanese people have turned away from nuclear power.

UK. UK Parliament: protesters disrupt Brexit debate by baring bottoms over inaction on climate change.  The insanity of building Sizewell nuclear power station on the beach.

IRELAND. Nuclear Resisters .

BELGIUM. Nuclear resisters. Members of European Parliament among 16 arrested at Belgian air base where U.S. nuclear weapons are stored.

NETHERLANDS. Catastrophic insect declines in Europe: butterfly numbers have fallen dramatically in Netherlands.

CANADA.  Proof now clear with evidence that Canadian government lied about the SNC Lavalin corruption case

INDIA.  India is waking up from nuclear energy dream, as renewables become safer, cheaper.

SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia announces 2.6GW solar project near Mecca .

April 2, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 1 Comment

This week, in climate and nuclear news

Why single out one ecological disaster – when there are so many? I originally dedicated this weekly post to nuclear issues. Now it’s hard to prioritise nuclear.  We have the biodiversity crash now going on, and picking up speed. Climate change is always there -its most notable expression this week is in the drowning of Mozambique.

A huge global wake-up call- the human devastation of climate change.

Drastic decline in insect numbers – the bugocalypse.

Small and Medium Nuclear Reactors (SMRs) – cost estimates, and what they cost to build.  The sorry history of small nuclear power reactors.

AFRICA. Cyclone Idai Lays Bare Deadly Reality of Climate Change in Africa.

SOUTH KOREA. Limits to South Korean President Moon’s ability to negotiate US-N. Korea nuclear deal.

UK. Strong opposition in Holywell County Council to hosting nuclear waste dump.  Despite £1 million just to listen , UK County Councillors not keen to host nuclear waste dump. Sizewell C and nuclear accidents. Bradwell B nuclear project – a risk to UK’s national security? The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) dismiss the need for Sizewell C nuclear station, and call for renewables.  Dangers of nuclear weapons convoys travelling through Northampton. Fukushima 8th Anniversary: 2 events in London.

BRAZIL. Brazil’s former president Michel Temer arrested on charges of corruption relating to Angra 3 nuclear plant.  Nuclear convoy in Brazil attacked by armed men.

USA.

• The nuclear industry mislead and misinformed the public about the Three Mile Island nuclear accident.
• Residents around Three Mile Island nuclear accident exposed to far more radiation than officials claimed.
• Trump tried to close federal loan program, but now wants it to fund Vogtle nuclear station!  Too cheap to meter – nuclear now needs a bailout? Despite recently renewed licences, Texas nuclear power stations look like closing before long. Pro nuclear governor and lawmakers to bail out Ohio nuclear plants?
• American nuclear lobby keen to market new nuclear reactors to overseas, to anyone!
• U.S. accuses Iran of plotting to restart nuclear weapons program.
• A battle in U.S. Congress over the extremely costly nuclear weapons modernisation.  Communities, lawmakers call for action to reduce nuclear threat.  Veterans Demand Congress End the Forever Wars.
• Proposed cuts to Hanford funding unacceptable.

FRANCE. French Nuclear test victim ordered to repay compensation. Earthquake in France, not that far away from nuclear reactors. Orano (makeover of bankrupt AREVA ) not getting anywhere in selling nuclear reprocessing plant to China.

CANADA. Ontario’s govt about to sabotage energy saving systems, – in the interests of the nuclear lobby.

JAPAN.  Cost of the Fukushima nuclear disaster estimated at up to 81 trillion yen.    To increase energy self-sufficiency after the 2011 nuclear disaster, renewables are Japan’s only option. REMEMBERING Katsuko Saruhashi THE TRAILBLAZING SCIENTIST WHO UNCOVERED NUCLEAR FALLOUT IN THE PACIFIC.

MIDDLE EAST.  In the Middle East, world’s most volatile region, nuclear power is taking off – what could possibly go wrong?

ISRAEL. UN raps Israel’s use of ‘unlawful force’ against Gazans .

SOUTH AFRICA. Energy expert dismisses Zuma’s nuclear deal comment.

SPAIN. Power firms agree on route to close Spain’s oldest nuclear plant.

March 27, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

The week in Climate and Nuclear news

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

The various human-caused threats to life on this Earth are becoming more apparent. Sometimes, it seems almost silly to separate them out -as climate change, pollution, deforestation etc, as they all add up to one grand global human disrespect for nature. The latest U.N. study reports loss of biodiversity as a even greater crisis than climate change.

It’s a global disgrace, that it’s been left to children to take the lead on climate action. World wide climate protests, by hundreds of thousands of school students. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtZ12FOat_8

Southern African States, Mozambique, Zimbabwe,  are now devastated by Cyclone Idai.  Sure, they’ve had cyclones before, but climate change is increasing the intensity, to record levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S5RlM7KGZI

On the nuclear scene, one veteran correspondent asks  “Who will be the world’s next nuclear policeman?”, as USA abandons its historic role as  the world’s chief advocate for de-nuclearis.ation.  Meanwhile, Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton leads us back to the Nuclear Precipice. Trump’s USA is committed to dominating the world – heading for weapons in space. 

Over 1.4 million young people went on strike for climate action.  Mary Robinson, international climate badass, on why green solutions require a feminist lens.

JAPAN. 

• Eight years after triple meltdowns and explosions at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan, major problems remain and many impacts are yet to manifest.   Fukushima radioactive water – a million tons, and still coming.  Court absolves government of blame in nuclear disaster. Fukushima forests contain ‘most of 2011 accident cesium’.  Congenital heart disease operations rose 14% after Fukushima nuclear accident.    Fukushima grapples with toxic soil that no one wants.  ‘Recovery Olympics’ moniker for 2020 Games rubs 3/11 evacuees the wrong way. Most evacuees under 50 from three Fukushima towns near nuclear disaster have no plan to return.  Fall in numbers of children in Fukushima municipalities.  Fukushima Prefecture to lose 15 high schools, due to population decline.
• Japan’s Tepco fights for return to nuclear power after Fukushima. TEPCO takes risk over soaring costs at Tokai nuclear plant.  Yamaguchi court rejects residents’ call to halt last Ikata nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture.

INDIA. Indian military confirms deployment of nuclear subs amid rising tensions with Pakistan.

USA.

• Democrats propose policy to use nuclear weapons only in response to attack. Democrat presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard calls for end of ‘wasteful wars,’ nuclear tension. Senators want probe of Trump admin nuclear energy talks with Saudi Arabia.
• Nuclear power plants under threat from climate change. The incessant statement that nuclear is “carbon free” is untrue, and the nuclear industry knows it.
• Trump to the rescue of nuclear industry – $3.7 billion in aid for troubled Vogtle nuclear project.  Nuclear industry pushes for weaker regulations:NRC Board dominated by Trump appointees.
• Continuing concern over thyroid and other cancers, due to Three Mile Island nuclear accident. Changes in Congenital Anomaly Incidence in West Coast and Pacific States (USA) after Arrival of Fukushima Fallout .
• Trump administration plans to cut spending on Hanford nuclear waste clean-up.  USA Government Accounting Office reports lack of financial oversight at Hanford and other nuclear sites.
• USA pushing mini-nuclear reactors for military reasons.
•  Chelsea Manning – an American hero! Daniel Ellsberg explains.
• Nebraska nuclear station  threatened by flooding, as Missouri River continued to rise. The climate change “generation gap” .  The children’s climate fight is a fight against despair.  How Leonardo DiCaprio is fighting climate change with finance.

NORTH KOREA. The merits of letting North Korea keep its nuclear weapons, for now.

UK. UK Labour undermines renewable energy pledges with state ownership plan for new nuclear power plant.  UK pledges to fully fund EU nuclear-fusion facility.  EDF Energy extends outages at UK’s Hunterston B nuclear plant.  Are the UK’s cracked Hunterston nuclear reactors safe?  UK communities not convinced by bribes to host nuclear waste. UK govt’s health study of nuclear veterans – but they’ve lost half the records.

RUSSIA. Danger in Russia’s nuclear- powered icebreakers parked at Murmansk.

BRAZIL. Nuclear transport trucks in the thick of gang gunfire in Brazil.

IRELAND. Irish Council opposes dumping of UK’s nuclear waste in any part of Ireland.

ROMANIA. NuScale includes Romania in its desperate search for taxpayer funding for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

NORWAY. Teenage Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Has Been Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize.

March 21, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

11 March – news on this Fukushima anniversary week

Today we remember the catastrophe at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station, and the fact that this is a continuing disaster for that local area, for Japan, and for the world.  Eight years later, Fukushima nuclear wreck is still resulting in mounting tons of radioactive water, with no solution in sight. Japan continues its  culture of cover-up and denial about this national tragedy. An indigenous leader continues the fight for the truth on Fukushima’ s radioactive impact on the world, and condemns the University of California, for its role in the cover-up and denial of the seriousness of the situation. Eight Years on, the Fukushima  disaster still poses health risks.  “Recovery Olympics” does not impress everyone.

Nuclear insanity – education is desperately needed to alert the world to the nuclear weapons danger.  IAEA calls for more funding for its safeguards activities. The very dubious “market” for Small Modular Nuclear Reactors.

Global politics made more dangerous by climate change.

Rising temperatures threaten health of fetuses, researchers say.  On this warming planet, mosquito-borne diseases are increasing. Climate change and the uncertain future for migratory birds.  Mining company Glencore behind global campaign to undermine climate change information.

ARCTIC. Melting of Arctic sea ice will greatly enhance warming in Arctic.

INDIA. Nuclear threat still hangs over India and Pakistan.

KASHMIR. People of Kashmir – stuck in a dangerous, potentially nuclear, conflict.

JAPAN. The stigma continues, however much the propaganda spouts about the Fukushima nuclear ‘recovery‘. “Ice wall” – the effort to contain Fukushima’s radiation. Fukushima No. 1 storage tanks hold 1.1 million tons of treated water.   Fukushima nuclear workers still facing radiation danger, eight years on. Accusations of scientific misconduct concern city in Japan. 8 Years On: Tainted Soil Use Plan Draws Backlash from Fukushima Residents.    Schools refitted in Fukushima, but enrolment remains dismal. Former PM Junichiro Koizumi now a formidable foe to the nuclear industry.

UK. The future of Britain’s Hinkley C nuclear project is in doubt.   Misleading inaccuracies in BBC report on Hunterston nuclear reactors.  Europe’s oldest nuclear reactors, with cracks in their barrels, Hunterston B – should not be restarted.  Ceredigion County Council has reiterated a long-standing nuclear-free commitment.

SAUDI ARABIA. International Atomic Agency would require Saudi Arabia to have the same nuclear safeguards as Iran has.

EUROPE. Nuclear lobby groups Foratom and Romatom propagandise for nuclear – at “climate-friendly” event.

LITHUANIA. Lithuania wants Belarus to convert its Russian-built nuclear power plant to gas.

SOUTH KOREA. South Korean President Moon Jae-in praised North Korea’s offer to dismantle a key nuclear production complex.

USA. 

• A former US missile-launch officer says Trump’s nuclear policy could get us all killed. U.S, Navy accelerates production of attack submarines.
• Act introduced to U.S. Congress- would stop Federal Govt from imposing a nuclear waste dump on any State.
• Mobile nuclear reactors for U.S. army -‘a COLOSSAL mistake’ – could bring about World War 3.
• A billion dollar bailout for Three Mile Island Nuclear Station? Beyond Nuclear challenges license extension for Peach Bottom nuclear plant. Atlanta Adopts Plan To Get Off Fossil Fuels And Nuclear By 2035.
• Claim that SCANA executives deliberately lied to investors about the future of a doomed nuclear construction project.
• Ohio has a lovely new ANTHEM in praise of nuclear power.
• Trump’s endeavour to nuclearise Saudi Arabia is driven by family business interests and tacitly approved by Israel.

FRANCE. Many infringements found in Orano’s (formerly Areva) nuclear site at Tricastin.  France France facing the burden of nuclear waste.  Nuclear industry manages to cancel a film showing, about Fukushima nuclear disaster.  Bay of Biscay graveyard of nuclear-armed Russian submarine.

RUSSIA. Russia considering making spaceplane powered by a nuclear reactor.  Russia ready to enter deal to build nuclear power plant in Czech Republic.  Russia keen to have Bulgaria go into debt to Russia, to implement Belne nuclear station.

GERMANY.  All use of nuclear power will end in Germany by end of 2022.

CANADA..  JUSTIN TRUDEAU FACES CALLS TO RESIGN RE: SNC-LAVALIN SCANDAL

SOUTH AFRICA. No nuclear power future for South Africa.  South Africa’s Jacob Zuma regime went all out for nuclear power, with secretive manipulations.

March 11, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 2 Comments

To 5th March – nuclear and climate news

Well, Donald Trump and Kim Jong had a nice little photo-shoot in Vietnam. Nothing actually came of it. But , look on the bright side.  It could have been a lot worse.  Meanwhile USA and South Korea officially call off annual military exercises amid nuclear talks with North Korea.

Climate change’s impact on the oceans is already affecting marine life, and the world’s seafood stocks are declining. How to face what is happening – global environmental collapse. Good news – The young are stepping up to the climate challenge – The Sunrise Movement

Cold War-like arms race is likely to follow the collapse of a historic nuclear treaty.

The possibility of nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Oxygen in oceans declining – climate change brings another threat to marine life

YouTube has become a leader in climate change denial.

Energy companies  should be planning for an industrial revolution driven by renewables.  Completely impractical to replace coal power with nuclear.

ARCTIC. Arctic ice – summers without it could happen sooner than predicted.

JAPAN. Japan’s long-drawn out nuclear “comeback” – safety and cost issues.  ‘Ionising radiation’ not so bad’ – subtle cover-up of the dangers, by Japan’s Centre for Environmental Creation. Japan’s nuclear watchdog concerned at possibility of volcano near nuclear station.

Nightmarishly high radiation levels –robots the only chance to deal with Fukushima reactors’ molten fuel. 2020 Olympics A grand propaganda effort – to minimise the reality of the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns. Fukushima’s mountains of radioactive soil – community opposition to recycling it.  The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster and the Tokyo Olympics. Along the 2020 Olympics torch route in Japan – higher radiation levels.   Japanese Govt Olympic Games campaign to “showcase” Fukushima’s recovery is not really working.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea’s major nuclear reactor has been shut down for months.  North Korea’s frighteningly strong non-nuclear artillery.

IRAN. International Atomic Energy Agency chief again confirms that Iran is keeping to the nuclear deal.

RUSSIA.  Vladimir Putin signs decree suspending Russia’s membership of  Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).  Russia to lease nuclear-powered attack submarine to India for a cool $3 billion.

PAKISTAN. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh warns on Pakistan’s readiness to use nuclear weapons.  Imran Khan to consult nuclear chiefs after India’s first air strike on Pakistan in decades.

USA.

• Despite U.S. Congress’s concerns, Trump is still pushing for sale of nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, helping Saudi Crown Prince towards getting nuclear weapons? Trump Ordered Officials To Give Kushner Security Clearance Despite FBI-CIA Concerns Re Kushner’s Foreign and Business Contacts With Israel, Russia, UAE, and Others.  Bipartisan pair of Michigan congressmen aim to limit any USA deal to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia.
• New report highlights the inability of USA to deal with nuclear waste.  No way to get rid of spent nuclear fuel (but they still keep making it anyway!) It was easy enough to build U.S army’s nuclear stations – but it’s difficult to get rid of them. Kim Kardashian West demands Trump, Newsom, lead cleanup of Santa Susana Nuclear Site.
• U.S. army wants risky small modular nuclear reactors. Is it safe to keep Peach Bottom and other ageing nuclear stations running until 2054?  Political push for small modular nuclear reactors in Utah. Santee Cooper continues search for new owner after failed nuclear project.  USA taxpayers again forking out money for dodgy new nuclear reprocessing.    Bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric wants to restart Diablo Canyon Nuclear Station,without prior inspection.
• A BIG boondoggle – Nuclear And Emerging Technologies For Space.
• Radiation in a crematorium traced back to a human body.
• Major presidential candidate in USA running on climate action policy.

UK. Faslane nuclear submarine base had hundreds of health and safety incidents in 2018. Rolls Royce largely getting out of the nuclear industry.

FRANCE. New defects, after a series of problems and delays, in France’s supposed “nuclear flagship” Flamanville. Huge workforce at Flamanville nuclear reactor, employed to fix unsafe welds.

March 5, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

To 27 February – Climate and Nuclear News

I’ve tried to find good news – we need it. But, good news, by its nature, is not news. Most people try to behave decently, reasonable. When they don’t – that’s actually unusual , remarkable – and therefore is news. Anyway – here’s a good bit.:

Changing climate change“2040” paints an optimistic picture of the future of the environment, Youtube 2040 teaser http://www.whatsyour2040.com/

Meanwhile  – New report warns of climate Armageddon in less than 150 years.  New research indicates that world efforts towards climate change targets are likely to be too slow to take effect.  Climate change bringing crises, population displacement, wars to Middle East countries.  Climate change taking its toll on the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bz2pmSw4aWU

Another good bit?  South Korea offers hope that the Trump-Kim nuclear summit could bring an end to the Korean War.

Meanwhile –  We are closer to a nuclear war than we would like to believe – new smaller bombs make this more likely. Indian and Pakistan relations have again reached a dangerous level.

What the planet needs from men .  New York Times – it’s time to panic about climate change. Sudden rises in methane levels – scientists warn on need for urgent action on climate change.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urges the United States and Russia to save nuclear arms safeguards.

Future is not looking good for thorium nuclear reactors.  The nuclear lobby’s dream of small modular nuclear reactors is not likely to come true

INDIA. India. With escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, could India consider a pre-emptive nuclear strike?  Union ministry of mines protects beaches from mining for thorium.

PAKISTAN.  Tensions in Kashmir: Pakistan readies for war.

RUSSIA. Russia flexes nuclear muscles , warns on its ability to strike nuclear targets in USA.  Call for Solidarity with the Russian Environmental Organization Ecodefense.

BELARUS. If USA US deploys nuclear weapons in Europe RUSSIA and Belarus will consider a joint military response.

JAPAN. Okuma, the host town of crippled nuke plant to lift evacuation order.  Japan and Tepco again ordered to pay damages to Fukushima nuclear disaster evacuees.  Tokyo governor won’t speculate on Olympic bribery scandal.  Robot claw grasped bits of molten nuclear fuel in Fukushima reactor.  Probe shows challenges posed by melted nuclear fuel at Fukushima plant.

NORTH KOREA.   North Korea sees nuclear weapons as key to its survival.   North Korea blasts Japan, claiming that Japan in “nuclear weaponizing”.

FRANCE. France’s nuclear corporation, EDF, faces the first of many mammoth nuclear plant burials.

FINLAND. Safety problem at Areva’s Olkiluoto nuclear reactor in Finland.

BELGIUM.  Three Green MP’s arrested after anti-nuclear protest at Belgian military base.

USA.

• Global weapons trade, war profiteers, booming, in the era of Donald Trump.  Danger signs in Trump and Co’s continuing push to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. Senior White House officials, retired generals and Trump’s close relatives continuing secret deal to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia.  U.S. Congress starts investigation into Trump administration’s plan to build nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia. Donald Trump involved in murky effort to get Qatari investment for the Tennessee nuclear power project.  Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner linked to unusual dealings about nuclear reactor sales to Russia – Congressional report.
• Ending The U.S. Doctrine of Perpetual War.
•  U.S. Department of Energy changed safety rules for nuclear lab – workers excluded from health oversight.
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant under federal investigation for worker exposure to radiation and chemical hazards. Utah Senate gives preliminary approval to bill that could usher in millions of tons of depleted uranium.    Bill Gates at Global Energy Forum just quietly did not mention his $7 billion involvement in unsatisfactory radioactive waste management company.
•  Utility JEA on the hook for billions of dollars for Vogtle nuclear station. Tough times ahead for America’s nuclear industry. Pressure on California’s Governor Newsom to Inspect Aged Diablo Canyon Nuclear Unit One Before it Re-Fuels.  Nuclear kickback scheme in tickets for sports events.
• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal seen as a winner. William Happer, a climate sceptic, to be appointed to USA’ s White House climate change panel.

UK. Britain’s energy policy in a right mess, as new nuclear power stations are shelved.  A hard Brexit is going to be really hard for UK’s nuclear industry.   Packed church in East Suffolk hears residents’ opposition to Sizewell C nuclear project. Church of England backs further action on climate change. Offshore wind could replace UK’s failed plans for new nuclear power.

CHINA. Wind and solar power in China – fast outstripping nuclear power

IRAN. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accuses USA of hypocrisy over planned nuclear technology sales to Saudi Arabia.    International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran is sticking to the terms of the nuclear deal.  Iran’s nuclear power station struggling financially.

SOUTH AFRICA. South Africa inquiry hears how former president Jacob Zuma pressed for ‘astronomically expensive’ nuclear deal.

February 27, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

Climate and nuclear news to 13 February

The discussion on climate change is subtly switching from warnings, and debates on, climate change impacts, to adaptation, preparation for those impacts.  What prevents us from thinking ‘meaningfully‘ about climate change.

While all seems quiet on the nuclear front, the nuclear arms race is now grimmer than ever.  Meanwhile angst over nuclear waste continues on both sides of the Atlantic. And I really wish that there were news from secretive Russia and China, about their waste problems.

Global warming temperatures to rise by 1.5 Celsius in 5 years – India to get knocked out. Climate change increasingly ranks as the world’s most pressing security threat – Pew Poll. Climate chaos ahead, as Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melt?

Increasing danger of the radioactive by-products from the nuclear industry.

Growing cancer rates: the focus must be on prevention, on researching environmental causes.

CENTRAL AMERICA. Central American immigration driven by climate change, but this fact is being ignored.

JAPAN. TEPCO firmly at fault for balking at payouts to disaster victims.  The State of Medical Nuclear Emergency Declared after the Fukushima Meltdown is Still On Today!  Japan’s Reconstruction Agency to air ad for Fukushima products on TV, online and at cinemas. Fire extinguisher system at nuclear plant freezes.

UK.

• British school children in their thousands will strike for climate action.
• Suddenly no public access to Scotland’s nuclear history.
• Likely areas of Wales to be targeted for nuclear waste dumping. UK radioactive trash for Northern Ireland? Newry is being considered. Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein warns about UK considering nuclear waste dumping in Northern Ireland. ‘Plutonium-fuelled ‘madness” – the idea of Britain’s nuclear waste transported for burial in Northern Ireland.
•  Scotland represented at Global Peace Forum, calling for Scotland as nuclear-free zone. Scottish Energy Minister pressed to back closure of Hunterston B nuclear power plant in favour of renewable energy.
• Calls to make Calder Hall the first nuclear reactor in the UK to be decommissioned.

BRAZIL. Brazil prosecutor calls for emergency safety measures at tailings dam at former Poços de Caldas uranium mine. Brazil moving towards nuclear-powered submarine.

BELGIUM. Google refuses to blur its satellite images of nuclear facilities. Belgium heading for a nuclear-free future.

RUSSIA. Russia is open to considering new proposals for a broader nuclear weapons treaty.  Russia’s very threatening new 100-megaton underwater nuclear doomsday device.

NETHERLANDS.  Red Cross urges Netherlands to sign UN nuclear weapons ban treaty.

USA.

• What is USA willing to offer to North Korea at Vietnam Summit?
• Investors in Northrop, Boeing, etc rejoice! USA to spend $500 billion on nuclear weapons.
• U.S. Congress needs to look hard at this – Are Washington’s ‘Advanced’ Reactors a Nuclear Waste?. Call for taxpayers not to fund Bill Gates’ small modular nuclear reactor folly.     Clinch River Breeder Reactor Project an example of the folly of nuclear reprocessing.
•  Potentially criminal activity in Trump campaign – a nuclear connection.
• Reclassifying nuclear wastes: Mayor of Richland, and Tri-City Development Council argue in favour of this.
• Economist doubts the need for New Jersey to subsidise nuclear power stations.
• U.S. Dept of Justice suing Hanford contractor for fraud.  Cost of USA’s cold war nuclear weapons waste clean-up now estimated at $377 Billion.  California disapproves of Federal Dept of Energy’s plan for cleaning up radioactive Santa Susana Field Lab.
•  California’s Dangerous Diablo Nuke Hangs in Gov. Newsom’s Hands.  Denver Federal Center nuclear reactor violations lead to fine, short shutdown.
•  Radioactive dust from nuclear work found in workers’ homes and beyond.
• Nuclear commission overrules judge, upholds license for company to mine uranium in southwest South Dakota.
• The Green New Deal goes to Washington. Controversy over nuclear power, as Green New Deal is unveiled.  Yes, the Green New Deal is expensive,but nothing to compare with the nuclear boondoggle.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea’s moves to hide its nuclear missiles from US strikes.

FRANCE. France to build hypersonic nuclear weapons.

ARCTIC. Secret USA nuclear base in Greenland revealed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a328G8sxoQ

AFRICA. Is nuclear power REALLY a clean-power fix for Africa – as Russia and China push it.

UGANDA. Despite the severe disadvantages to Uganda, of nuclear power, Uganda’s govt succumbs

February 13, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

The week to 5 February, in climate and nuclear news

This week has seen extreme weather in both North and South hemispheres. Yes, there have always been cold snaps and heat waves – “one in a hundred years” events, but climate change is making them more frequent and more extreme.

The world seems to be taking it all too calmly, – that USA and Russia are both about to withdraw from the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty , opening the way to a renewed arms race, and, with Putin and Trump in charge, increasing the risk of nuclear Armageddon.

2 billion people at risk, as Himalaya’s glaciers melt.  Paradoxically, extreme cold weather indicates that global warming is accelerating. Atlantic ocean circulation is being altered, by climate change.

China urges dialogue, as Russia and USA ramp up nuclear weaponry, pull out of weapons treaty.– Why so little public anxiety about risk of nuclear war? With Putin and Trump in charge!!

How the utilities financial system is rigged to give the nuclear industry the advantage.

Storage of nuclear waste a ‘global crisis’ as stockpile reaches 250,000 tons, Greenpeace warns.

Sending dummies into space, to test effects of radiation on women.

ITALY. Radioactive poisoning by the world’s military – the scandalous case of Sardinia. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6-6AYQYJm8&t=6s

JAPAN.

• Propaganda for 2020 Olympics, and for the nuclear industry is behind lifting evacuation order for irradiated town of Namie.  IAEA urges Japan to slow the Fukushima wastes clean-up – delay release to Pacific till after Olympic Games.  Radioactive cesium above legal limit detected in fish caught off Fukushima.  Governor of Fukushima Prefecture promotes Fukushima foods in Hong Kong.
• Radiation leaks at Japan’s Tokai plutonium lab; ‘no workers exposed’.
• Reflection on PM Abe’s sales pitch for nuclear at Davos.

USA. 

• There’s money in climate denialism, as 150 U.S. Congressional Republicans have found!  Extreme cold shuts down N.J. Nuclear Reactor, due to an unusual ice phenomenon.
• IAEA criticises USA’s efforts to sabotage Iran nuclear deal. Donald Trump confirms U.S. withdrawal from INF nuclear treaty.  Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduces Bill to outlaw first strike use of nuclear weapons.
• New radiation panel leader appointed by EPA in the interests of nuclear corporations, not of the public.   FirstEnergy nuclear bailout would be crony capitalism at its worst .
• USA’s $43 billion nuclear waste fund – but no nuclear waste has been buried. Nevada State Officials Are Outraged that the Trump Administration Secretly Shipped Plutonium in from South Carolina. Cleanup estimate for Hanford nuclear site increases by $82B.   North Dakota Community Alliance urges public to watch progress of Bill on high-level radioactive waste.     Clean-up of molten salt nuclear reactor continuing (shut in 1969)M – new plan to reduce the costs.
• Is Vogtle nuclear station expansion now further behind schedule? Report is delayed? Low-flying choppers monitoring radiation in Atlanta (fears of nuclear terrorism?)
•  Judge refuses to unseal criminal charges against Julian Assange.

UK. UK’s ageing nuclear power stations are likely to close early. UK’s Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit’s under-reported analysis – renewables cheaper than new nuclear.

INDIA. India’s Kudankulam nuclear power station means big debt to Russia.

HUNGARY. Countries going into deep nuclear debt to Russia; Hungary the latest victim of this political blackmail.

CANADA. SNC-Lavalin, with its record of corruption should be barred from federal contracts. Grim outlook for uranium industry -financial analyst Jayant Bhandari.

SWITZERLAND. Employee faked radiation test data at Swiss nuclear plant.

FRANCE. Pump malfunction causes shutdown at Flamanville nuclear reactor.

BANGLADESH. Nuclear power: Surviving on secrecy and misinformation.

TAIWAN. Taiwan to abolish nuclear power in 2025.

RUSSIA. Russia also to withdraw from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, weakening weapons control. Russia’s Plan to Solve the North Korea Nuclear Crisis?

CZECH REPUBLIC. Czech industry minister: nuclear reactor tender not realistic in 2019 .

February 5, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 7 Comments

The week that was, in climate and nuclear news

It must be harder for residents of the Northern hemisphere to get their heads around the idea of global warming causing extreme cold weather, but – climate scientists tell us that this is the case. Easier for residents of the Southern Hemisphere , especially Australia and New Zealand to accept the idea of global warming.

A great pity that government secrecy and the language barrier combine to prevent us learning anything about nuclear matters in China and Russia. Are they finding nuclear power cheap?  Do they have no problems with nuclear waste?  I doubt that.

Meanwhile the British government flounders about, pretending that its nuclear industry has a future, when informed opinion, and the stopping of new programmes indicate that it does not. In the USA, there’s a concerted push by nuclear companies, and some politicians, for “new nukes”, specifically for tax-payer funded Small Modular Nuclear Reactors – the push is led by Bill Gates.

A bit of good news – Radioactive Cesium-137 diminishing in 2 Fukushima rivers, after close to 8 years.

Rapid Arctic Warming Linked To Mid-Latitude Weather Extremes. How global warming can lead to extreme cold weather, too.

Climate change reshaping how heat moves around globe. Our global home”is on fire” – Greta Thunberg at the World Economic Forum 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7dVF9xylaw

Doomsday Clock at 2 minutes to midnight – “The New Abnormal”       Nuclear disarmament, non proliferation, “peaceful use” on the agenda as France, Russia, Britain and the United States meet in China. Storage of nuclear waste a ‘global crisis’: report

USA.

• Extreme cold to hit 55 million people in the US as polar vortex brings life-threatening temperatures. This Is Why Global Warming Is Responsible For Freezing Temperatures Across The U.S.
• A rosy time coming for investors, (such as Donald Trump) in nuclear weapons!  USA’s nuclear weapons modernisation plan to cost $494 billion over the next decade. America may be overspending on unnecessary nuclear weapons – the nuclear triad now obsolete?
• USA hoping to profit from nuclear power, by exporting waste clean-up technology.  Activists vow to stop Holtec’s nuclear waste plan for New Mexico.  Holtec defends plans for nuclear waste storage facility in New Mexico.
• Nuclear Regulatory Commission votes 3-2 to weaken nuclear power safety rules.  US Senator Markey Blasts Dangerous New Trump NRC Post-Fukushima Nuclear Safety Rule . Scrutiny on Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s decision to award funding to an advanced nuclear enrichment facility.   It makes sense to exclude Nuclear, Fossils With Carbon Capture,and Biofuels from the Green New Deal.
•  Bill Gates urging U.S. Congress to spend $billions of tax-payer money for developing new nuclear reactors.
• Tiny mobile nuclear reactors for U.S. military – a plan fraught with dangers.
•  Nuclear Regulatory Commission agrees to delay relicensing New Hampshire’s Seabrook nuclear power plant.

JAPAN. Greenpeace slams Japan’s plan to dump radioactive Fukushima water into the ocean.  TEPCO failed to spot leak of contaminated water.  Japan’s plans to sell nuclear plants overseas derailed.

EUROPE. NATO chief says ‘no real progress’ on nuclear treaty.

FRANCE.  France’s government snidely changes law to avoid paying compensation to Polynesian victims of atomic bomb testing. French nuclear company EDF considering retreating from operations in UK.

UK.

• Genetic effects of radiation, and other pollutants, in children of Gulf War veterans.
• Aldermaston – Britain’s bomb factory – it’s a slow motion train crash.
• UK’s new nuclear projects are a financial dead end.  A financial necessity – UK’s nuclear industry to fall into China’s hands. Nationalise the UK nuclear industry– the only way to save it – says Hitachi chairman.
• Tax-payer funding for yet another nuclear folly? Rolls Royce’s Small Modular Reactors.
•  In Britain’s new energy era of wind and solar, nuclear power just does not add up. As a nuclear power project collapses, leading utility chief calls on UK government to increase targets for offshore wind energy.

NORTH KOREA. North Korea’s Nukes and the ‘Forgotten War’.

SOUTH KOREA. South Korea looks for nuclear dismantling pledge by Kim at second summit with Trump.

GERMANY. Germany phasing out coal, but will not import nuclear power as replacement.

SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia could be planning for nuclear weapons. 5 countries scramble to sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia.

CZECH REPUBLIC. Shares slump for Europe’s biggest publicly traded power company, due to Czech Republic’s PM’s nuclear power dream.

HUNGARY. Hungary’s problems in financing new nuclear power plant.

January 31, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | Leave a comment

To 22 January – Nuclear and Climate News

I promised to find good news. It’s not that easy. But  – Sir David Attenborough says ’Human activity has created a new era, yet climate change can be stopped.    And, again, I am struggling with the reality that it is nearly, perhaps already is, too late, to stop the progress of global warming. Which makes climate change a more urgent problem than the nuclear threat.

Even if climate change is now irreversible, it’s no time to give up: the effort now must be to slow its progress, and to plan and adapt to its impacts.

Latest nuclear news indicates that Britain’s nuclear dream is collapsing. Japan’s plans for selling nuclear reactors overseas are collapsing. USA is embroiled in nuclear waste problems. Not so in totalitarian Russia and China, where the State runs the nuclear industry, education, and the media, and maintains secrecy about nuclear costs, unsafety, and waste problems.

GREENLAND. Greenland ice melt is happening at an unexpectedly fast rate.

ASIA. The threat to millions of people, as glaciers in Central Asia melt.

AUSTRALIA.   Australia leads the world in global warming – with the 15 hottest sites.  Australia bakes as record temperatures nudge 50C.   Australia faces ‘new normal’ of year-round bushfires . Heat in New South Wales – bushfires, health impact, and roads melting.

USA. 

• Increasing rate of melting in North American glaciers.
•  USA to begin pullout from Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, rejecting Russian offer.
• How US and China’s African nuclear mission could provide model for disarming North KoreaSC.      Trump plans North Korea nuclear summit with Kim Jong Un for February . The Trump administration’s dangerous strategy of provocation – led by John Bolton.
• The nuclear lobby has “zero chance” of nuclear getting into a Green New Deal in USA.
• The ‘fatally flawed’ nuclear waste storage facilities at the decomposing San Onofre nuclear site.  Federal Plan Could Reclassify Hanford Nuclear Waste — And Leave it in the Ground.
• Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board says that Los Alamos National Laboratory still has long-standing safety problems. T
• rump signs new bill to weaken nuclear energy regulation.  USA’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission extending license for Seabrook nuclear power BEFORE THE HEARING ON ITS SAFETY PROBLEMS.

NORTH KOREA. Kim Jong Un continuing to play to the vanity of Donald Trump?

UK.

• Britain’s severe nuclear financial headache.   UK government’s proposed ‘Regulated Asset Base’ (RAB) financing – a cover-up for a nuclear bailout.  Costly saga of Hitachi nuclear power project in North Wales comes to an end.  UK Secretary for Energy reveals the staggering amounts of tax-payer money offered to Hitachi to build nuclear reactors in Wales. Why the UK government is losing its enthusiasm for nuclear power.
• Dungeness B nuclear station – safety problems, reactors still shut down.
• Wind energy ready to supply UK electricity: time to remove the ban on onshore subsidies.  Renewable energy can replace UK’s Moorside, Wylfa and Sizewell C nuclear power at a much cheaper cost. Offshore wind leads, as UK’s renewable energy is on course to overtake fossil fuels.   UK govt’s plan to let down solar householders has not gone down well.
• UK government waits for nuclear test veterans to die, prevents research on genetic effects.

TAIWAN. The pitfalls of Direct Democracy- Taiwan’s referendum and the vote on nuclear power.

ISRAEL. Super Weapon: Israel Could Arm Stealth F-35s with Nuclear Weapons.  Secret Handwritten Memos Reveal How Israel’s Nuclear Program Came to Be.

JAPAN. High radiation levels in Fukushima area, but the Japanese government is pushing people back there.   Time to retire Japan’s aging nuclear reactor at Genkai.   Nagasaki: Life after Nuclear War – the past and the future.

RUSSIA. Russia’s plans for nuclear-powered unmanned underwater weapons.

CHINA.  Pentagon report on China’s nuclear weapons program, still “significantly below” the U.S.  Concerns about safety of China’s planned 46 nuclear reactors within a radius of about 100 km from Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese residents concerned over imports of rice produced near Fukushima disaster area.

GERMANY. Germany urges Russia to destroy missile to save nuclear treaty.

FINLAND. Wild mushrooms in Finland still containing high radioactive cesium from Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986.

January 22, 2019 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | 8 Comments