nuclear-news

Mayors of Japanese cities agree to nuclear restart, but public not happy

Most Japan cities hosting nuclear plants OK restart: survey, Google
News, 6 Jan 13, (AFP)     TOKYO — The majority of Japanese towns and
cities hosting nuclear plants said they would agree to the reactors
being restarted if the government guaranteed the safety of the
facilities, a survey said Sunday.
All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors remain closed for safety checks
following the Fukushima nuclear disaster triggered by the March 2011
quake-tsunami and must get the blessing of a new regulator before
being restarted.
Despite the Fukushima crisis, 54 percent of the 135 mayors of
communities located near nuclear plants said they would accept the
restart of the reactors, according to the survey by the Yomiuri
Shimbun newspaper.
Only 18 percent said they would not support reactor restarts, while 28
percent refrained from clarifying their position, the Yomiuri said,
while two did not give valid answers.
The results run contrary to public opposition to reactor restarts, as
the Fukushima nuclear meltdown has fuelled fear of nuclear power in
Japan….. The majority of the public have called for the end of or a
significant reduction in nuclear plants
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5ipmTkc7fUvrHSvDChAK6zT0Q4yyg?docId=CNG.59fd5ac563140bc140510455504de8ec.3b1

January 7, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Duke/Progress Energy fleecing ratepayers on Chrystal River nuclear plant

Bland comments: Note using the lower estimate of $1.5 Billion,
Duke/Progress could build a brand new combine cycle natural gas plant
on the existing site or in Levy County producing 1600 MW,
approximately twice the output of the CR#3 nuke plant.

This would eliminate nearly all of the 600 24/7 dedicated staff for CR#3.

More importantly the additional capacity would defer or eliminate the
need to build the Levy Nuke and get rid of the existing prebilling for
its future construction of $24 Billion.

This makes too much sense and therefore probably will not
happen………..instead let’s continue fleecing the ratepayers……

desert scorpion 
The CEO of Duke is a Democrat, Mr. Rodgers was instrumental in
bringing the DNC to Charlotte,,, the Duke CEO made a personal
contribution of $100,000 dollars to the Barack Hussein Obama
campaign… This mess goes beyond political parties.. both Republicans
and Democrats are responsible for the obscene fleecing of
Duke/Progress Energy customers…

January 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

7 January hearing on Duke Energy’s Chrystal River nuclear plant

The status update on the Crystal River nuclear plant will be at 10
a.m. Monday at Betty Easley Conference Center, Room 148, 4075
Esplanade Way, Tallahassee. Follow the hearing online at
www.floridapsc.com.

New hearing on status of Crystal River nuclear plant
By Ivan Penn, Times, January 4, 2013 State regulators have scheduled a
hearing Monday to receive an update on the broken Crystal River
nuclear plant, which continues to sit idle with its future uncertain.

Duke Energy and its local subsidiary, Progress Energy Florida, have
yet to decide whether to repair the crippled plant or permanently shut
down the reactor.

Eduardo Balbis, a member of the Public Service Commission, scheduled
the hearing as part of an ongoing review of the nuclear plant. Continue reading →

January 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear Power – Never Again! says German Minister

German minister says ‘never again’ to nuclear power The Economic Times,  BERLIN 4 Jan 13, : German Environment Minister Peter Altmaier said Friday his country would never again return to nuclear energy, hitting back at a top EU official who doubted Berlin’s commitment to phase out nuclear power.

“I cannot see any plausible political line-up that would enable a revival of nuclear power in Germany,” Altmaier told Friday’s edition of the Leipziger Volkszeitung regional daily.

January 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Doubtful economic benefit to Virginia in uranium mining

Is Virginia’s uranium worth the digging? KATIE WHITEHEAD, Times
Dispatch,  Virginia’s current prohibition on uranium mining protects
us and provides us the opportunity to understand not only the risks
and possible benefits involved if we were to allow uranium mining in
Virginia. It also gives us the chance to look at who would bear those
risks — and how any benefits that might materialize would be
distributed….. The unpredictability of the uranium market offers no
guarantee that Coles Hill uranium would bring a high enough price to
attract private investors or justify Virginia developing regulations
and hiring enforcement staff.
If our legislators allow future uranium mining, market uncertainties
could threaten the stability Southern Virginia needs to transition
from dependence on manufacturing and tobacco toward a diverse,
agriculture- and knowledge-based economy that can be relied upon to
sustain our well-being. The proposed uranium project in Pittsylvania
County has been controversial, divisive and economically unsettling.
Even if there is never a mine, the possibility alone threatens
relationships and fundamental civility……
http://www.timesdispatch.com/archive/is-virginia-s-uranium-worth-the-digging/article_4443c8bb-763b-554c-87b0-e8a6141fadc1.html

January 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Investigation into fire at Pickering nuclear plant

Fire at Pickering nuclear plant under investigation http://www.durhamregion.com/community/article/1561169–fire-at-pickering-nuclear-plant-under-investigation Tara Hatherly Jan 04, 2013 Fire extinguished quickly, no injuries reported…

January 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Alaskan oil crisis, as Shell oil rig runs aground

Shell oil rig filled with fuel runs aground in Alaska — Worst development yet in crisis — “So it just happened, it’s dark, no one has seen it” http://enenews.com/nytimes-shell-oil-rig-filled-fuel-runs-aground-alaska-worst-development-crisis-happened-dark-one
 January 1st, 2013
Follow-up to: NYTimes: Breakaway Oil Rig, Filled With Fuel, Runs Aground
Title: Shell drilling rig grounds off Kodiak Island after towlines fail again 
Source: Alaska Daily News
Author: LISA DEMER
Date Updated: Jan 1, 2013 at 12:25p ET
h/t Anonymous tips

Royal Dutch Shell’s Kulluk drilling rig […] grounded off Sitkalidak Island, at the northern end of Ocean Bay, officials said. […]

The grounding was the worst development yet in a crisis that began Thursday night […]

The Kulluk was carrying about 150,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 12,000 gallons of lube oil and hydraulic fluid. […]

Statements:

“So it just happened. It’s dark. No one has seen it” -Susan Childs, Shell’s incident commander
“We are now entering into the salvage and possible spill response phase of this event” -Alan Wien of the state Department of Environmental Conservation
“We’ve got a pattern of failures. I’m saying no, there’s no way that I can see any feasibility of drilling in the Arctic, especially with the extreme conditions that we’re seeing, not only with Mother Nature right now but also just the technical aspects of the failures that we’re seeing with the fleet.” -Carl Wassilie, a Yup’ik Eskimo who coordinates a grass-roots group called Alaska’s Big Village Network

January 4, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | 1 Comment

Nuclear leak scare in Iran

Iran to Citizens: Flee Isfahan, Washington Free Beacon,  Iranian
officials tell citizens to vacate city located near nuke site BY: Adam
KredoJ anuary 2, 2013
Iranian officials have instructed residents of Isfahan to leave the
city, renewing concerns that a nearby nuclear site could be leaking
radioactive material. Continue reading →

January 4, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Despite police repression, protestors gather against Jaitapur nuclear plant

 “The government
instead of unleashing the police on the villagers, should respect the
people’s sentiments,”

Villagers court arrest against Jaitapur nuclear plant
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/villagers-court-arrest-against-jaitapur-nuclear-plant/article4266213.ece
, 3 Jan 13,  ALOK DESHPANDE Thousands of villagers from around the
proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant (JNPP) site in Maharashtra’s
Ratnagiri district on Wednesday launched a ‘jail bharo’ agitation
demanding scrapping of the 9,900 MW plant.

The agitators attempted to take out a peaceful protest march to the
project site. But they were stopped three kilometres away, arrested
and later released. The protesters had planned to surround the site to
convey the symbolic ‘stop-the-work’ notice to the administration. Continue reading →

January 4, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Time for genuine negotiations with Iran to settle nuclear dispute

Nuclear Talks With Iran: Time to Make an Offer
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/02/opinion/nuclear-talks-with-iran-time-to-make-an-offer.html?_r=0
DAVID KEPPEL
January 1, 2013 Re “Another Try at Nuclear Negotiations” (editorial,
Dec. 24): With President Obama’s re-election, it is time to drop the
pose of toughness and make a realistic nuclear offer to Iran. Only a
negotiated settlement can both deter an Iranian nuclear weapons
program and avoid another war that the United States cannot afford, a
war that would plunge the region into further chaos and only stiffen
Tehran’s resolve to build a bomb.

We must acknowledge Iran’s right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty to enrich uranium for nuclear power, a point of Iranian
national pride shared by much of the Iranian opposition. And in return
for verifiable curbs on weaponization, Washington should offer to lift
broad sanctions that hurt the Iranian people far more than the regime.

We should work toward a Middle East free of nuclear weapons —
including Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal.

January 4, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

More sharemarket interest in renewable energy

January 3, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Is Tanzania ready for the catastrophe of uranium mining?

Analyst gives caution on uranium mining safety The Citizen, Tanzania
31 December 2012  By Zephania Ubwani, The Citizen Bureau Chief
 Arusha. Stringent measures must be taken to ensure that uranium
mining does not compromise the safety of people and the environment,
an academician has suggested.
Dr Priva M. Moshi of Tumaini University, Masoka Campus in Moshi, said
Tanzania must learn from other countries on the necessary safety
measures needed in uranium mining before commencement of extraction of
the radio-active mineral.

“Uranium mining has been problematic even in the developed countries
because of its life-threatening hazards. Are we ready for its
catastrophe?” he asked during a forum which ended here yesterday
(Sunday) on Post 2015 Global Development Agenda. Continue reading →

January 3, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Japan’s new government expecting nuclear power to be back soon

Japan bids for early return to nuclear energy
http://www.vision.org/visionmedia/visionvideos.aspx?id=63615  30 Dec
12
As safety checks continue in the wake of disaster last year, Japan has
an ambitious plan to get its controversial nuclear program up and
running.
The new government announced Friday that it hopes to complete safety
checks and determine whether to restart all reactors within three
years.
All but two of Japan’s 50 reactors remain shut down after a March 2011
earthquake and tsunami resulted in one of the worst nuclear disasters
in history at the Fukushima Daiichi station.
The minister in charge of energy says the government will follow the
Nuclear Regulation Authority’s recommendations about which reactors to
restart.
But the agency’s chairman said Friday that the three-year deadline is
impossible to meet.
As part of its inspections, the authority is determining which plants
sit on active faultlines vulnerable to earthquakes.
Last year’s meltdown has prompted large protests as reactors are
restarted, giving momentum to the movement to scrap Japan’s nuclear
energy program altogether.

December 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Our Intolerable Risk: Nuclear Weapons Threaten Us All

For 67 years we have poured money and lives into nuclear security,
only to realize that it is a very costly illusion. Nuclear weapons are
suicide weapons. There are no problems that can be solved by
indiscriminately incinerating human beings or by gradually destroying
the genetic basis of human life with fallout radiation. Taking these
warheads off their delivery systems is a first step toward greater
security for all people. Surely we humans are clever enough to be rid
of this terrible, fruitless risk.

Nuclear energy brings more problems than coal
 http://www.huntingtonnews.net/52703
 December 29, 2012 – 20:13
BY PETER G COHEN
In a 2012 Status of World Nuclear Forces report, The Federation of
American Scientists (FAS, founded in 1945 by many of the original
group of scientists who invented and built the first atomic bombs and
who later came to oppose them) estimates that 1,800 Russian and U.S.
nuclear warheads are on “high alert,” ready to strike at the push of a
button.  This, two decades after the Cold War ended. While it is
difficult to ascertain how many nuclear warheads exist in each nation
without access to classified information, based on publicly available
information, the FAS counts approximately 16,200 stockpiled nuclear
warheads, of which almost 4,000 are “operational.”

That this level of risk is holding the people of the world hostage is
intolerable. At any moment, a miscalculation, human, electrical,
mechanical, or electronic hacking could plunge us into a worldwide
nuclear holocaust. Continue reading →

December 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

World Future Energy Summit, Masdar January 15 -17

200 million homes worldwide now collect solar hot water, and globally
there are 5 million jobs created in renewable energy industries.

The sixth World Future Energy Summit, from 15 – 17 January 2013,
hosted by Masdar, is the centerpiece of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
(ADSW) and will be co-located with the inaugural International Water
Summit, also hosted by Masdar.

Sun shines on renewable energy as economic force United Arab Emirates. AME Info, 

December 29 – 2012 As the global energy demand continues to
rise, and governments invest further in renewable sources, the
sustainable energy industry is emerging as an economic powerhouse. It
is not just the development of alternative energy sources, like solar,
wind, geothermal or hydropower, that is driving this spectacular
industry growth, domestic sustainability and green jobs are all
playing a major role in the sector’s rapid expansion.
The REN21 Renewables 2012 Global Status Report, the sister publication
of the Renewables Global Futures Report which will be launched during
the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi from 15 – 17 January 2013,
highlights over $257bn were invested in renewable energy in 2011. Continue reading →

December 31, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment