nuclear-news

Nuclear disarmament – a realistic and achievable goal

NAGASAKI PEACE SYMPOSIUM: Nuclear disarmament not Utopian thinking, say experts  Asahi Shimbun August 04, 2012 By HIROSHI MATSUBARA/ AJW Staff Writer NAGASAKI–Most of us probably cannot imagine a time when the world will be nuclear-free.

But experts say the disarmament process itself is a “realistic” political option that makes sustainable global peace achievable.

That is the message that came out of the International Symposium for Peace 2012, held here July 28. The event drew experts of international politics and nuclear weapons issues from Japan, China and the United States. The annual symposium, first held in Hiroshima in 1995, now meets every other year in Nagasaki.

It offers a venue for experts to discuss ridding the world of nuclear arsenals with citizens of two cities that lived through the August 1945 atomic bombings. Continue reading →

August 4, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Appeals court puts off ruling on Yucca Mountain as nuclear dump WP, By Associated Press, August 3 WASHINGTON — An appeals court has put off deciding whether to force the government to act on a license for a proposed nuclear waste dump in Nevada.

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia panel won’t rule before year’s end on whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission must act on a license for the Yucca Mountain site.The dump’s supporters argue NRC broke the law last fall by letting the Obama administration move to close the site. The NRC cited “budgetary limitations” imposed
by Congress in approving the shutdown.

The court on Friday ordered updates by Dec. 14 about congressional action on the commission’s budget for 2013….. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/appeals-court-puts-off-ruling-on-yucca-mountain-as-nuclear-dump/2012/08/03/bc0b6348-dd85-11e1-8ad1-909913931f71_story.html

August 4, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

India’s huge electricity blackout – but Solar Electricity was OK

India’s Massive Blackout Proves Solar Energy’s Mettle http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3322  by Energy Matters, 3 Aug 12,  In what has been described as the world’s largest blackout event, solar panels again proved their worth.
India is plagued by electricity shortages, due in part to massive demand on ageing and inadequate infrastructure. Some of the increased demand isn’t just attributable to a growing population, but how the population utilises power – for example, the popularity of energy hungry air-conditioners.

The country’s hydro-electric stations are also suffering due to a poor monsoon season and coal is in short supply in some areas.  While regular blackouts are a part of life in many of the nation’s regions, an incident on Tuesday set a new and unenviable record when over 600 million people simultaneously found themselves without mains power –  the equivalent to nearly 55 times the population of Australia.

The event occurred just after Monday’s failure of India’s northern grid, which left 370 million people without electricity.
The nation’s capital, New Delhi, was not spared. Some forms of public transport ground to a halt and the financial impact on businesses is said to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.  However, the New York Times points out some of India’s “energy poor” were winners during the events. Many households in affected rural areas had the lights stay on thanks to their small off grid solar power systems that incorporatedeep cycle battery storage.

With the possibility of another such event occurring, decentralized energy generation using renewable energy sources will likely gain even more attention in India.

The nation already has ambitious goals for solar power; having set a target of20,000MW of installed solar capacity by 2022. The nation’s grid-connected solar energy capacity had reached 1030.66 MW at the end of June and off-grid solar panel system capacity (1kW+) was estimated to be 85.21 MW.

August 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

NHK: Criminal inquiry into nuclear accident begins — Fukushima disaster “a criminal act by the gov’t and Tepco”? — Multiple prosecutors coordinating investigation  http://enenews.com/nhk-criminal-inquiry-nuclear-accident-begins-fukushima-disaster-criminal-act-govt-tepco-multiple-prosecutors-coordinating-investigation\ Japanese Prosecutors will start investigating the Fukushima nuclear accident as a criminal act by the government and Tokyo Electric Power Company.Title: Prosecutors: criminal inquiry in nuclear accident Source: NHK WORLDDate: Aug. 1, 2012

Prosecutors in the 3 districts [Fukushima, Tokyo, and Kanazawa] on Wednesday officially accepted the complaints and decided to open the case, coordinating with each other.

August 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

USA’s Nuclear Socialism – costs to tax-payer, profits to private investor

Reactor owners in the United States, therefore, have never been economically responsible for the full costs and risks of their operations. Instead, the public faces the prospect of severe losses in the event of any number of potential adverse scenarios, while pri­vate investors reap the rewards if nuclear plants are economically successful. “For all practical purposes, nuclear power’s economic gains are privatized, while its risks are socialized.”

Who Benefits From Nuclear Power Plants In India? By   Buddhi Kota Subbarao. Ph.D. 02 August, 2012 Countercurrents.org“…….In the United States, the nuclear industry and its allies are now pressuring all levels of US government for large new subsidies to support the construction and operation of a new generation of reactors and fuel-cycle facili­ties.

While it may be necessary in the United States for the private nuclear business houses to make strenuous efforts to realise large subsidies, in India it is easy for the government controlled Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) to obtain all the necessary funds
for the asking of it since the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) of the Central Government is under the direct control of the Prime Minister who is the Executive head of the central government.

But it will be an eye opener for the Indians to know the contents of the report of Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)  where the UCS report catalogued in one place and for the first time the full range of subsidies that benefit the nuclear power sector in the United States. Continue reading →

August 3, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons proliferation danger in Australia selling uranium to unstable Middle East

by Dave Sweeney, 2 August 12, The federal government’s decision to sell uranium to the United Arab Emirates lacks credibility and has the potential to undermine efforts towards nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East, the Australian Conservation Foundation said today. “In the shadow of Fukushima – an ongoing crisis directly fuelled by Australian uranium – nuclear power is under a cloud as an energy source.

 “Japan closed all its nuclear plants for safety testing, Germany has committed to get out of nuclear power within a decade and nations such as Switzerland, Belgium and Italy are moving away from nuclear power.    “Plans for new nuclear power reactors in the UK and USA face increased community resistance and scrutiny and increased regulatory compliance costs.

“But despite repeated domestic and international calls, including from the UN Secretary General, the federal government has done nothing to review or enhance nuclear security regimes, bi-lateral safeguards or chain-of-custody arrangements.

“The United Arab Emirates, an alliance of seven monarchies in which each monarch retains absolute power, sits in the middle of an unstable region.  “The Arab Spring has not fully sprung in the UAE.  “To state that Australian uranium will not be misused because it is in the UAE’s interest not to misuse is naïve and lacks credibility.

“This move by the federal government has the potential to undermine efforts to advance nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East. “Australia’s uranium export policy continues to be driven by commercial interests, not the national interest. “The Australian Conservation Foundation has serious concerns about the adequacy and capacity of the international nuclear safeguards regime.”

August 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Japan’s nuclear radiation “no immediate risk” – code for “long term danger”

Reuters: ‘No immediate risk to health’ is same as saying there is a ‘long-term risk to health’ -Farmer http://enenews.com/reuters-no-immediate-risk-to-health-is-same-as-saying-theres-a-long-term-risk-to-health-farmer  August 1st, 2012    By ENENews 
Title: Fukushima residents say resounding no to nuclear energy  Source: Reuters
Author: Kiyoshi Takenaka Date: Aug 1, 2012
Get out of nuclear power and do it fast, angry Fukushima residents told Japanese government officials on Wednesday at a public hearing on energy policy held in an area ravaged by a nuclear disaster that has whipped up opposition to atomic power….

“I want all the reactors in Japan shut immediately and scrapped,” a grey-haired woman, who introduced herself as a farmer living 65 km (40 miles) from the Fukushima plant, said at the public hearing in the prefecture capital.

“Many people are now aware that the government’s talking of ‘no immediate risk to health’ is tantamount to ‘long-term health risk’,” she said to the applause of about 200 residents packed in a small concert hall.

August 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Uranium mining offers less grand legacy, Star Tribune,  Richard Dixon, 1 Aug 12  “……By all accounts, the uranium industry’s presence here would not even match that of Dan River Mills. It might last 50 years with some luck. And during that time it might just provide a few jobs – mining and milling dangerous ore – which just might give the county enough tax money to clean up the mess the industry makes.
But the legacy of the uranium industry would be far less grand than that of Dan River Mills. There would be no stately buildings to renovate, no White Mill or red-bricked buildings along the river to turn into shops, medical offices or museums.
Instead, the landscape of this county would be pock-marked with tailings ponds, to be tended at tax-payer expense for a long, long time.
Would agriculture return and flourish after the 50 years are over? Would the area attract positive growth, or would the industries here long established be gone forever?
These are deep, serious questions for all…..
http://www.wpcva.com/opinion/article_6d0fb8b2-dbfe-11e1-a249-001a4bcf887a.html

August 2, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Close nuclear and coal plants early, says clean air alliance
The Star July 31, 2012 Closing Ontario’s coal burning power plants and the Pickering nuclear station ahead of schedule could save Ontario $720 million a year, says the Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

In a new paper , the alliance says the plants could be closed early without threatening the province’s energy security….  http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1234876–close-nuclear-and-coal-plants-early-says-clean-air-alliance

August 1, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Reid: Nuclear official is a ‘first-class rat’ and a ‘treacherous, miserable liar’
http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/240995-reid-dem-nuke-agency-member-is-a-first-class-rat-and-liar By Ben Geman     – 07/30/12   Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has launched a blistering verbal assault against William Magwood, a Democratic member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission nominated by President Obama, calling
him a “liar,” a “first-class rat,” and a “s**t-stirrer.”

Reid, in an interview with The Huffington Post, also calls Magwood a “tool of the nuclear industry” and says he’s “unethical” and “incompetent.” Continue reading →

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

Japan’s nuclear power utilities paid candidates for regulatory body

Candidates for nuclear regulatory commission paid by power utilities, Asahi Shimbun July 27, 2012 By SATOSHI OTANI  Two of the five prospective commissioners of a new nuclear regulatory commission received payments from operators of nuclear power plants but likely did not violate guidelines intended to ensure neutrality, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.. . subsribers only http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201207270093

July 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Uranium-mining meetings questioned By: REX SPRINGSTON | Richmond Times-Dispatch  July 28, 2012  RICHMOND, Va. — Some environmentalists say the public was not adequately notified of six meetings scheduled in August to discuss uranium mining in
Virginia. Continue reading →

July 30, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Fukushima’s children – guinea pigs for the nuclear industry

Fukushima – Local Children Unwitting Guinea Pigs, Scoop,   By. John C.K. Daly of Oilprice.com  27 July 2012,  Fukushima – Local Children Unwitting (and Unwilling) Radioactive Guinea Pigs Seventeen months after the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s six-reactor complex at its Fukushima Daiichi, discussions continue about the possible effects of the radiation “dusting” the prefecture’s inhabitants received, and their consequences.

Far outside most media coverage, 2012 is shaping up to be the media battleground between the massed proponents of the ongoing ‘safety’ of nuclear power, as opposed to a motley coalition of environmentalists, renegade nuclear scientists and anti-nuclear opponents, largely bereft of media contact.

The 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami double punch that effectively destroyed Tokyo Electric Power Company’s power plant complex has effectively become the newest “ground zero” in the debate over nuclear power. Advocates pro and con debate the implications of everything from the amount of damage to the release of radionuclides to the long term health effects on the Japanese population.
The stakes are high – quite aside from Japan’s multi-billion dollar investment in civilian nuclear energy, dating back to the 1960s, there remains the issues of Fukushima’s radioactive debris polluting neighbours.

All sides in the debate are playing for massive stakes, with the Japanese government and the nuclear industry broadly indicating the issue is under control. Accordingly, every issue from the amount of radiation released to the long term health consequences of the Fukushima disaster are subject to acrimonious debate.

That said, there is an involuntary irradiated “test” Fukushima group monitored since March 2011 displaying disturbing health abnormalities that may ultimately decide the debate, should the global media report it, forcing governments to debate its consequences. –   the children of Fukushima Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

My Second Amendment Right to Own Nuclear Weapons HUFFINGTON POST,  07/25/2012  My Second Amendment right to own nuclear weapons. Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? And yet this is the argument used by the NRA to support anybody’s access to any weapons. I am one of a few who could actually design and build his own nuclear bomb. Should I be allowed to do so? Obviously not. Can you imagine the Aurora shooter with a nuclear bomb?…….,

the NRA has become so obsessed with politics there is a need for a group to replace them as a club for gun users and hobbyists. Today we are way beyond colonial muskets, cannons and horses of the 1700s. The idea that anyone can oppose a modern military — trillion dollar budgets, supersonic aircraft and missiles, GPS satellites and communications for millions of soldiers — with a gun is childish Hollywood at best.

Back to reality, we have an enemy that is killing thousands of Americans every year, wounding many more than even our wars. If this were a direct attack on us, like 9/11, we would respond. Are we unable to respond to this threat because we are afraid that lobbyist or politician will throw an irrational temper tantrum?

Weapons, like everything in life, have limits. America is no longer the colonial frontier of 300 years ago, but a large technological society of 300 million. Time to grow up and plan for today.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gareth-harris/my-second-amendment-right_b_1698099.html

July 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Seabrook nuclear protest film to start local series  http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID= 20120727/NEWS/207270355/-1/NEWSMAP  July 27, 2012 SEABROOK — A film chronicling the events that sparked the creation of a grassroots antinuclear power movement across the country 35 years ago will be shown at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 1, at the Seabrook Public Library at 25 Liberty Lane.

“Seabrook 1977” is the next film in the “Nuclear Dangers — Past, Present, and Future” summer film series sponsored by the Seacoast Anti-Pollution League.

Admission is free and open to the public. A complete listing of film dates, locations and descriptions is available at SAPL’s website www.saplnh.org . Continue reading →

July 29, 2012 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment