general « nuclear-news

Stockpiles of nuclear weapons form increasing terrorist risk

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb, GovExec.com, By George C. Wilson, CongressDaily June 7, 2010Standing up like a red lighthouse of warning above the otherwise murky prose in President Obama’s new National Security Strategy document is this statement: “The American people face no greater or more urgent danger than a terrorist attack with a nuclear weapon.”……
“Indeed,” continues the white paper, “since the end of the Cold War the risk of a nuclear attack has increased. Excessive Cold War stockpiles remain. More nations have acquired nuclear weapons. Testing has continued. Black markets trade in nuclear secrets and materials. Terrorists are determined to buy, build or steal a nuclear weapon. Our efforts to contain these dangers are centered in a global nonproliferation regime that has frayed as more people and nations break the rules.”………….If nothing else can inspire a bipartisan response this election year, that presidential warning should.

Forward Observer: Nuclear Time Bomb (6/7/10) — GovExec.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Radioactive leaks continue to plague nuclear industry

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD June 7, 2010 The American nuclear industry, primed to begin new construction projects for the first time in 30 years, is about as eager for an operating problem at an old reactor as the oil industry was for a well blowout on the eve of opening the Atlantic coast to oil drilling.Nonetheless, a nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem……recently the new vessel head showed the same leakage pattern…..

The reactor has 69 nozzles, and the utility has modified 24 of them in preparation for starting up again in a few weeks. The long-term fix is yet another vessel head, with nozzles of a sturdier alloy, to be installed in 2014.

In the interim, the company said, it will opt for a shorter production run

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back – Green Blog – NYTimes.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Nuking the oil gusher could release the entire oil reserve into ocean

Detonation of Nuclear Device the only Solution to Stop Oil Spill | Seyoh BP Oil Spill Live Feed Updates 7 June 20201, – The unsuccesful attempts to finally seal off the oil gusher sparks a new plan from a group of scientist spearheaded by Matt Simons, Houston energy expert, to detonate a Nuke. This came after the problem with the containment system was announced. The scientist claims that the Russians used this unimaginable technique to seal their oil well during 1966. However, this is yet to be confirmed. Several group of legislature and scientist a like denounced this suggestion because this could do more harm than good. The radioactive fallout could literally destroy the ecology of the whole Gulf of Mexico and could spread even further. Moreover, it could even worsen the scenario and the whole oil reserve could be released by this explosion.

BP Oil Spill Live Feed Update: Detonation of Nuclear Device the only Solution to Stop Oil Spill | Seyoh

June 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radioactive | Leave a comment

Equipment for Iran’s uranium enrichment smuggled in via Dubai

Report: Iran smuggling German-made nuclear equipment via Dubai, Haaretz Daily Newspaper 06.06.10 Sunday Telegraph: Dubai intermediary sells Iran components bought from German manufacturer without its knowledge in violation of UN resolutions. Iran has been able to smuggle advanced technological equipment to its uranium enrichment plant in Natanz via a complex smuggling route based in Dubai, the Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday.
According to the report, an Iranian company has purchased control systems from one of Germany’s leading electronic manufacturers. The deal was negotiated with a Dubai trading company, which in turn sold Iran a range of electronic equipment for use at its enrichment facility, the British website reported…..According to the Sunday Telegraph, Iran has smuggled German computers, controllers, communication cards and cables into Iran. The equipment was sold to Iran via a Dubai intermediary, using false certificates for company .. Report: Iran smuggling German-made nuclear equipment via Dubai – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News

June 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste disputes go on; no end in sight

Nuclear waste wars BlueNC by James on Wed, 06/02/2010 It’s depressing to think how much money and time has gone into this bizarre lawsuit over North Carolina’s participation in an agreement to store low level nuclear waste. The U.S. Supreme Court handed North Carolina a victory Tuesday in an epic, decades-long legal battle with other states over plans for a low-level nuclear disposal site that would have been in Wake County. From reading the story, it’s hard to imagine the suit might have turned out any other way. When other states broke their funding commitments, the contract should have been – and was – voided. And while there’s relief that the lawsuit is settled, the looming problem of dealing with nuclear waste remains unaddressed. We keep making the stuff, without the slightest idea of what to do with it.North Carolina may have won this battle over nuclear waste, but the end of the war is nowhere in sight.

Nuclear waste wars | BlueNC

June 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Allegations of radiation sickness in security guards

Security Guards Allege Radiation Sickness, allAfrica.com, 3 June 2010, Maputo — Over 100 security guards working for the British-based security company Group Four Securicor (G4S) have complained that working near scanners in the port of Maputo is making them ill, and has even caused the death of some of their colleagues, reports Thursday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”.The guards claim that they are exposed to radiation from the scanners without any protective clothing, and that this has caused diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer. allAfrica.com: Mozambique: Security Guards Allege Radiation Sickness

June 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | Leave a comment

UK’s expensive nuclear white elephant

it is an expensive white elephant which produces as much carbon as a conventional power station over its lifetime….. [producing wastes] which will remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years – long after EDF, Britain and France have ceased to exist…..So thank you nuclear industry for hobbling all our futures.

NUCLEAR POWER REMAINS THE BIGGEST WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE WORLD, Andy Crick, 3 June 2010 Huhne has pointed out that the huge cost to his department of this necessary cleanup means that in effect it will be able to do nothing else, least of all invest in sustainable new technologies for energy generation.The outcome of this horrendous expense is likely to be the final death knell for any plans for new nuclear power stations, which the coalition has agreed can only go ahead if they are built with no public subsidy and clear plans for their full costs over their whole lifetime. Continue reading →

June 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Potential for wind and solar power to provide electricity for 5 U.S. states

A Bullish View of Wind Power Out West, NYTimes.com, By JOHN COLLINS, RUDOLF, June 1, 2010, Wind energy has plenty going for it: it is clean, unlimited in supply and the most economical source of renewable power. Its clearest drawback is unreliability: sometimes the wind just does not blow.But that intermittency – long considered a major shortcoming – may have little impact on the potential for wind to power much of the electric grid in the western United States, according to a new study by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab. Continue reading →

June 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, climate change, global warming, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wind | Leave a comment

Leaking and lying – time for Vermont Nuclear Plant to close

Nuclear Power Plant Leaking AGAIN AGAIN – IndyPosted, by Maggie Romuld May 31, 2010 The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant could close in March 2012 when its current license expires. While that might not be good news for some, it seems fair for a plant that has been plagued with problems for years, and leaked once again over the weekend. And, perhaps more importantly, when you consider that radioactive tritium was found in an underground pipe and plant officials “acknowledged they had misled state regulators and lawmakers regarding whether the plant had underground pipes that carried radioactive substances.”

Nuclear Power Plant Leaking AGAIN – IndyPosted

June 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radiation, reactor, reactors | 1 Comment

The nuclear industry promoted under the banner of non-proliferation

Statement by the President on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, Politics News, usgov, 31 May 2010 The NPT must be at the center of our global efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons around the world, while pursuing the ultimate goal of a world without them.This agreement includes balanced and practical steps that will advance non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which are critical pillars of the global non-proliferation regime. ..

Statement by the President on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference

June 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, peace | Leave a comment

Oil disaster now, nuclear later?

BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails Chronicle.com, May, 2010 “…Top Kill has failed to work and BP bosses have no idea as to why it failed. ….. Meanwhile people have started shooting off tough question in the eye of increasing oil leak problem. A disgruntled reader says, “They can’t control OIL. How will they control NUCLEAR ? These are the same energy billionaires that own nuclear power plants / giant CANCER machines. How will they control invisible highly radioactive cancer causing nuclear radiation when a nuclear power plant melts down ? AND DONT !! try to tell us accidents “never happen” You make your billions from us while you destroy us. And Obama just approved 54 billion in loan guarantee’s to build more nuclear power plants ! Why should we pay for the billionaires to build more cancer machines ? And we pay their insurance. Because they are uninsurable the government (with our money)” BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails : ndChronicle.com

May 31, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactors | 2 Comments

Emergency funds for U.S. troops to be diverted into propping up nuclear industry

Your actions now can stop $9 Billion in new nuke taxpayer loans! Nuclear Information and Resource Service – NIRS, 26 May. 2010, The Obama Administration is attempting to get $9 billion more in loans for new nuclear reactor construction this week. They’re trying to sneak this money on to an emergency supplemental funding bill intended to provide funds for our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq and to provide additional disaster relief money.But there is no emergency requiring new nuclear loans! Continue reading →

May 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

President Obama losing credibility on environment

In his State of the Union speech, President Obama called for “a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants.” After issuing $8 billion in nuclear energy loan guarantees in February, the administration is poised to announce another $9 billion for the nuclear energy industry. The Energy Department also just announced a $2 billion loan guarantee to French-owned Areva Inc. for construction of a uranium enrichment plant in Idaho after a ban on such private facilities since the 1970’s.

Are Obama’s Energy Plans Jinxed?, THE HUFFINGTON POST, D.A. Barber, 26 May 2010, President Obama’s inability — or unwillingness — to take control of the Gulf Coast oil disaster seems to be part of a larger pattern. Many environmentalists say they feel betrayed by a president they thought would end, or sharply limit, many environmental horrors of the past. Continue reading →

May 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | enriched, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

In U.S. Congress race, push for nuclear bomb testing strongly opposed

Matheson said the track record of nuclear weapons testing in Nevada should make future efforts out of the question…..……..If the largest nuclear threat to the U.S. is a terrorist getting a nuclear bomb, it wouldn’t make much sense to have more, candidate Claudia Wright said, adding that she doesn’t believe anyone who says underground testing is safe…

Nuclear testing hot topic in Congress race, The Spectrum, 25 May 2010, ST. GEORGE – Democratic Rep. Jim Matheson blasted two Republican Senate candidates Monday for saying they would support renewed nuclear weapons testing. Continue reading →

May 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Tony Blair joins nuclear promoting, supposedly “green” firm

Khosla Ventures is an investment group that says it specialises in environmentally-friendly technologies, including solar, wind and – ahem – nuclear energy start-ups..

Blair goes from “greenwash” to landing green job New Statesman, by Jason Stamper – 25 May 2010 Former PM lands green energy advisory role. The decision by Silicon Valley-based Khosla Ventures to hire Tony Blair as strategy adviser on green energy will surprise some environmental campaigners. Continue reading →

May 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, solar, uranium, wind | Leave a comment