nuclear-news

America keeps building up nuclear trash

What is to be done with the country’s 70,000 tons of commercial spent nuclear fuel and the 3,000 additional tons per year that the nation will produce?

What to do with United States’ nuclear trash? – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs 13 April 11″……The Japan incident has American politicians advocating to move the United States’ nuclear waste, often stored in pools and casks on the grounds of nuclear power plants, away from highly populated areas. Continue reading →

April 13, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

A Fukushima chill growing over global nuclear energy business

Will Fukushima crisis chill civilian nuclear energy deals? Experts warn that Fukushima should sound an alarm on the safety and security dangers inherent in the spread of civilian nuclear fuels and the proliferation of nuclear technology. CSMonitor.comBy Howard LaFranchi, April 11, 2011Washington

A year after President Obama’s landmark nuclear security summit brought dozens of world leaders to Washington, global powers are making progress at locking down unsecured nuclear materials, some experts say. But at the same time, others caution that the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan should put the world – including the United States – on notice about the dangers of spreading nuclear energy technology around the globe….. Will Fukushima crisis chill civilian nuclear energy deals? – CSMonitor.com

April 12, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Continued decline in uranium price

Uranium Prices Drop as Demand Declines on Japan Crisis, Ux Says,  Bloomberg By Jason Scott – Apr 12, 2011 “…..The magnitude-9 earthquake and ensuing tsunami on March 11 that caused radiation leaks at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.- operated plant led buyers of the nuclear fuel to retreat, according to Ux. The crisis is likely to hurt the atomic power industry’s credibility more than the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, UBS AG analysts said April 4.
“Activity on the spot market remains limited with very few active buyers or sellers,” Ux said in the report. “Sellers that had been active appear to be taking a more protracted approach to the market,……

April 12, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Goanese join opposition to Jaitapur nuclear plant

No to Jaitapur Nuclear Project, The Times of India, TNN | Apr 12, 2011, PANAJI: A group of around 60 Goans voiced their opposition against the Jaitapur Nuclear Project by participating in a candlelight vigil at Bandodkar Samadhi, Miramar at 6pm.   The protesters held candles and placards to express their solidarity with the people of Japan on the one month anniversary of the nuclear catastrophe. Similar vigils were held in 10 cities across India on Greenpeace National Day of Action against Nukes. Continue reading →

April 12, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Society gambles with finance and nuclear industries

In the US and elsewhere, even plants that have the same flawed design as Fukushima continue to operate. The nuclear industry’s very existence is dependent on hidden public subsidies – costs borne by society in the event of nuclear disaster, as well as the costs of the still-unmanaged disposal of nuclear waste….

As a society, we are gambling – with our big banks, with our nuclear power facilities, with our planet…..the lucky few – the bankers that put our economy at risk and the owners of energy companies that put our planet at risk – may walk off with a mint. But on average and almost certainly, we as a society, like all gamblers, will lose.

One egg; one basket – you weigh the risk, The Age, Joseph Stiglitz, April 8, 2011 Joseph Stiglitz is university professor at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate in economics. Once-in-a-lifetime events are raining down thick and fast.

THE consequences of the Japanese earthquake – especially the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant – resonate grimly for observers of the American financial crash that precipitated a big recession. Both events provide stark lessons about risks, and about how badly markets and societies can manage them….. Continue reading →

April 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Japan nuclear disaster puts spanner in the works of USA’s energy policy

Why Japan’s Nuke Disaster Could Upset US Energy Policy Assumptions WSJ By Russell Garland, 7 April 11, Although the extent and consequences of the Japanese nuclear disaster are still unknown, it will ripple through U.S. energy policy and could upset an underlying assumption, according to an energy expert speaking at the annual meeting of the National Venture Capital Association in Boston.

Ernest Moniz, a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and director of MIT’s Energy Initiative, gave four “very sure bets” about the effects of events at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power complex.

Two seem givens: that nuclear industry costs are going to go up and that there will be an end-to-end review of waste-storage practices. But Moniz also predicted that 20-year license extensions “are going to be looked at with a lot more scrutiny.” Some that have already been granted might be revisited, he said……

April 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Scientists measure radiation in the Pacific

Voyage measures radiation in the Pacific, Australian Network News, 8 April 11, Scientists aboard the Malaspina Expedition ship will search for signs of radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant in the Pacific.  Sally Block 8 April 11, Scientists aboard a Spanish research ship are about to search for signs of radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant in the Pacific Ocean.The Malaspina Expedition ship is making a brief stop in Sydney, Australia, after surveying the southern ocean for effects of climate change.Samples of water and air have been taken to measure for pollution temperature and carbon dioxide….
Plankton has been collected to discover how it is already capturing carbon.The next task for the scientists is to measure the amount of radiation in the central Pacific.Radiation from Japan has already been discovered in fish in Spain.However, the scientists on board the ship say the radiation is unlikely to travel south……
Australia Network News:Stories:Voyage measures radiation in the Pacific

April 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Are they telling you the truth about the nuclear situation in Japan?

Here’s my question to you: Do you believe you’re being told the truth about the nuclear accident in Japan?

Tell Jack how you really feel   – Do you believe you’re being told the truth about the nuclear accident in Japan? CNN’s Jack Cafferty, 7 April 11, :A 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook northeastern Japan today, the strongest aftershock since the massive 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that followed devastated the nation four weeks ago. Continue reading →

April 8, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Nuclear power’s secrets and lies to protect the industry from public scrutiny

Secrets, lies and why we need scrutiny of the nuclear industry The Guardian, David Byers, Founder director, Renewable Energy Association, ex-nuclear integrity scientist, 7 April 2011 “…..the essential truth. Civil nuclear power is shrouded in the UK not to protect facts from terrorists but because it has well understood risks and is captured under the Official Secrets Act. The economics, the legacy situation and the carbon cycle are hidden from the population. The Sellafield site is “privately managed” but publicly owned, its liabilities being passed like a parcel between successive “managers”, because of its toxic contents.
I am not anti-nuclear but pro-renewable energy. The scrutiny exacted upon renewable energy is absent when it comes to nuclear energy. My objection is not the nuclear option, it is the secrecy. This is a political and economic decision related to energy futures, security of supply and carbon. I find it mesmerising when journalists and politicians conspire to debate the issue, never telling the technical truth of the legacy, mostly because they don’t know.
I call for a public and independent assessment of our UK Sellafield complex. Risks and costs need to be explained to the population. If this technology is part of our future energy mix, take the lies and the secrecy away. Letters: Secrets, lies and why we need scrutiny of the nuclear industry | Environment | The Guardian

April 7, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Serious threats remain at Fukushima nuclear plant

New Dangers Emerge at FukushimaA confidential document includes new information about the damage at the plant, and new threats. Technology review,  Kevin Bullis 04/06/2011 A confidential Nuclear Regulatory Commission document obtained by the New York Times details serious threats still facing workers at the severely damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, as well as previously undisclosed details about what has happened at the plant so far. Ordinarily, fuel in a nuclear plant cools to the point that it is easy to manage within several days after the reactor is shut down. But difficulty circulating water and damage to the fuel rods suggest keeping them cool could be a challenge for months….
New Dangers Emerge at Fukushima – Technology Review

April 7, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Global nuclear power industry can’t do “business as usual” – UN chief

UN nuke chief: Japan crisis a ‘major challenge’, STRAITS TIMES 5 April 11VIENNA – JAPAN’S reactor crisis poses a major challenge with enormous implications for nuclear power, the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog said on Monday, while separately appearing to criticise the operator of the crippled complex.Yukiya Amano, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, also stressed that the global nuclear community cannot take a ‘business-as-usual approach.’ Lessons must be learned from the fact that the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant has been leaking radiation into the environment ever since it was hit March 11 by a massive tsunami, he said…….UN nuke chief: Japan crisis a ‘major challenge’

April 5, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

Uranium miners desperately hyping their product

Buying Opportunity: Uranium Prices And Producers Are Poised To Rebound ETF DAILY NEWS, Jason Simpkins, 4 April,11 …….those closest to the situation do not believe that Japan’s disaster will be the death knell for nuclear power. On the contrary, they see it as a short-term blip that will drive antsy speculators out of the market and make room for investors looking to profit from the energy of the future…….there is still a gaping need for an alternative energy source that doesn’t carry the monetary [?] or environmental [?] cost of fossil fuels…….. A Buying Opportunity Indeed, the growth prospects for nuclear power remain strong, as do the prospects for its yellow cake fuel……..

April 5, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

The unknown present and future costs of nuclear power

the total costs of nuclear power are, in any meaningful sense, incalculable. Investors face cost overruns that could burn through even the deepest pockets. The true cost of waste disposal still is not known. The cost of decommissioning, even decades away, is also a big unknown. And the cost of catastrophic failure is more than a company as large as GE is willing to face. How can any investor calculate the return on investment with such large uncertainties?……

The incalculable cost of nuclear power, guardian.co.uk,  Thomas Noyes , 3 April 11 Despite the Fukushima catastrophe, nuclear energy has green advocates. Low carbon it may be, but are they pricing it right? “……the costs and uncertainties of the industry cast serious doubt on the prospects for a nuclear renaissance….. Continue reading →

April 4, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

At UN meeting, call for renewable energy

Activists call for renewable energy at UN meeting (AP)  Google news, 4 April 11, BANGKOK — Citing the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, environmental activists at a U.N. meeting Sunday urged bolder steps to tap renewable energy so the world doesn’t have to choose between the dangers of nuclear power and the ravages of climate change. The call came at the opening of the six-day meeting aimed at implementing resolutions tabled at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico, in December.

Senior officials from governments and international organizations will already be playing some catch-up as deadlines — including one for the formation of a multibillion fund to help developing nations obtain clean-energy technology — have been missed along a roadmap leading to another climate summit at the end of the year in Durban, South Africa…….

One of the issues taken up in Bangkok will be the formation of the Green Climate Fund, which is to aid developing nations obtain clean-energy technology. Governments have agreed to mobilize $100 billion a year, starting in 2020, but a “transition committee” to design the fund, which was to have been formed last month, is still being discussed along with exactly how the money will be raised…….The Associated Press: Activists call for renewable energy at UN meeting

April 4, 2011 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment