antinuclear « nuclear-news

Russia’s nuclear power sales now going to Bangladesh

Dhaka signs deal with Moscow on nuclear power The Daily Star, 22 May 2010, DhakaBangladesh on Friday signed a crucial framework agreement with Russia on cooperation for its maiden nuclear power plant.A foreign office statement said State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes with Director General of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation or “Rosatom” Sergey Kirienko, former Russian prime minister, in Moscow.

Dhaka signs deal with Moscow on nuclear power

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | ASIA, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology | Leave a comment

UK could save billions by cutting back on Trident nuclear submatrines

Billions could be saved by scaling down Trident | Reuters(Reuters) 22 May 2010, – Britain may be able to save about 11 billion pounds in defence costs if it were to end its policy of keeping at least one nuclear armed-submarine at sea at all times, a prominent defence think-tank said.UK | David CameronDefence spending is a prime candidate for cuts as Prime Minister David Cameron seeks ways to reduce a budget deficit set to reach 163 billion pounds this financial year.Cameron’s government outlined plans on Thursday to reduce the deficit, before an emergency budget due on June 22, including cutting defence ministry running costs by 25 percent.Controversy has swirled around Britain’s submarine-based nuclear weapons system, or Trident, with the Liberal Democrat party, the junior partner in the new coalition government, arguing that it should be replaced with a cheaper alternative.The Conservative Party, the coalition’s senior partner, wants to keep Trident.

Billions could be saved by scaling down Trident | Reuters

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, UK | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

U.S. nuclear power loan guarantee goes to French company AREVA

DOE Picks Areva for Nuclear Facility – WSJ.co By CASSANDRA SWEET 21 May 2010, Siobhan Hughes contributed to this article.The U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday that it has approved a $2 billion loan guarantee for French nuclear power developer, AREVA.

“…..The loan guarantee is part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to stimulate the development of a U.S. supply base for producing enriched uranium.

A condition of the loan guarantee is that Areva obtain a combined construction and operating license for the Idaho facility from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The French state owns directly and indirectly around 93% of Areva…..the decision to award Areva a guarantee drew criticism from Ohio, where USEC has a partly-constructed enrichment facility. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R.,Ohio) said the DOE’s decision contradicts a promise by President Obama “to support the American company applicant and build a facility in Ohio.” Ms. Schmidt estimated that the Ohio plant would create 4,000 jobs. DOE Taps Areva to Build Enrichment Plant – WSJ.com

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactor, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant in Georgia faces more safety inspections

Regulators step up inspections of Ga. nuke plant By RAY HENRY Google hosted news, (AP) – 22 May, 2010, ATLANTA — A nuclear power plant operated by The Southern Co. will face more federal inspections because the electronics controlling an emergency power system on one of its reactors failed to work, federal regulators said Friday.The problems affected an automatic control system for one of the diesel generators attached to a nuclear reactor at Plant Hatch near Baxley in southeast Georgia. The commission said the problem was a low-to-moderate safety risk and ordered an additional round of inspections since it previously identified another problem at the plant related to an emergency diesel generator.In a February report, NRC inspectors said the plant failed to satisfy preventive maintenance requirements on parts of the electrical system that automatically start up the backup diesel generators. The power plant relies on power from those generators to safety shut down its nuclear reactor should the plant lose electricity. The Associated Press: Regulators step up inspections of Ga. nuke plant

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety | antinuclear, nuclear, reactor | Leave a comment

Navajo fight to protect land from uranium mining

Navajo to Protest Uranium Mining Expansion Censored News, 20 May 2010, On May 25-27 a delegation of Navajo community leaders will come to Denver to protest US Government support for expanding the nuclear industry that has already had a devastating impact on Native American and Chicano communities in New Mexico.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Mining Association will host a “Uranium Recovery” conference designed to make it easier for mining companies to move forward with a new era of uranium mining. Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | indigenous issues, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation | 1 Comment

Failures of AREVA’s, Westinghouse’s and Hitachi’s new nuclear reactors

Free nuclear advice for the Polish Energy Group , Greenpeace International by jmckeati – May 20, 2010 “…………The Polish Energy Group (PGE) wants to build two new nuclear reactors. Which designs are they considering? Oh dear. AREVA’s EPR, Westinghouse’s AP1000 and GE Hitachi’s ABWR and ESBWR……… Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

For some older women, radiation unnecessary after cancer surgery

Study: No radiation after surgery ok for certain breast cancer patients By Miriam Falco Paging Dr. Gupta – CNN Medical News May 20, 2010, Older breast cancer patients who have their small tumors surgically removed get little benefit from radiation treatment, according to a study released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncologists. Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Strange life of Trident nuclear submarine crew

instructions include allying with the US, travelling to Australia if Europe has been destroyed and, ultimately, firing the weapons.

Life on Trident: three months under the waves with 48 nuclear warheads Patrick Barkham, The Guardian, 20 May 2010 “…..Powered by a nuclear reactor, the submarines are almost silent and virtually undetectable. While on patrol, direct communication with navy bosses back home ceases, so potential enemies cannot intercept any signals. The crew are almost completely cut off from the outside world……… Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Tribal women’s campaign for uranium-mining free water

….only the federal legislature can provide for the land’s permanent protection from mining…….

Grand Canyon uranium threatens tribal water, High Country News, Caitlin Sislin | May 18, 2010 Last week, a delegation of leaders from Arizona’s Havasupai Tribe traveled to Washington D.C., to advocate for the protection of the Grand Canyon region from a potential onslaught of uranium extraction activities. These four women – tribal council members and traditional elders – voiced their concern for the safety of the land, the purity of the water and the health of the community, and called for the passage of the Grand Canyon Watershed Protection Act (H.R. 644). Introduced in 2009 by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) this law would ban mineral exploration and the establishment of new mining claims pursuant to the 1872 Mining Law, on about one million acres of public lands surrounding Grand Canyon National Park. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment

South of UK shows the way to truly clean energy living

An ambitious and comprehensive plan that relies on greatly increased renewable energy usage and a 50% reduction in primary energy demand in the town, it concentrates on community engagement and showing how attractive life in 2030 could be without fossil fuels.

A Swell Day for Renewable Energy in the South West – Better Generation (UK) 18 May 2010, The South-West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) have released an update informing the renewable energy world that “Wave Hub,” the world’s largest offshore wave energy testing facility, is on course to be deployed this summer with fabrication of sub-sea cables and the hub itself nearing completion. The site will create a “grid-connected socket on the seabed… To which wave power devices can be connected and their performance evaluated.”………. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, UK | antinuclear, energy efficiency, renewable energy, renewables, solar, wave power, wind | Leave a comment

Pay many $thousands and get a nuclear bomb proof bunker

Luxury nuclear apocalypse bunkers launched, newslite.tv, May 19, 2010 A US firm has started taking reservations from apocalypse scaredy-cats who want to book their place in a luxury nuclear bomb-proof bunker. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Texas: renewable energy goals reached 15 years ahead of schedule

Wind power boom ensures Texas hits renewable energy goals 15 years ahead of schedule Industrial Fuels and Power May 19th, 2010 The state of Texas has reached its goal of 10,000MW of installed renewable energy capacity this year, 15 years earlier than scheduled, thanks to the explosive growth of wind farms. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, USA | antinuclear, climate change, energy efficiency, renewable energy, renewables, wind | Leave a comment

Tactical nuclear weapons will remain in Europe

A Nuclear Europe | ATTACKERMAN, Spencer Ackerman, 20 May 2010, Looping back to the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, one of the decisions that document deferred was about the future of tactical nuclear weapons in Europe. The NPR figured that NATO’s forthcoming report on its new Strategic Concept was the right venue for determining if Europe (specifically, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Germany) should still host the so-called ‘tacs.’ So as it turns out the Strategic Concept recommendations task force delivered its work to NATO civilian headquarters in Brussels earlier this week. And here’s what the task force said on the subject: As long as nuclear weapons remain a reality in international relations, the alliance should retain a nuclear component to its deterrent strategy — at the minimum level required by the prevailing security environment. Under current security conditions, the retention of some U.S. forward-deployed systems on European soil reinforces the principle of extended nuclear deterrence and collective defence. A Nuclear Europe | ATTACKERMAN

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, weapons and war | antinuclear, disarmament, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Indian Point Nuclear Reactor may be first to lose licence

If the DEC does not provide the facility with a water permit, it would mark the first time in the history of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a nuclear power plant was unable to renew its federal license

New York officials claim power plant is killing endangered fish, Eat, Drink and Be, By Julian Martin. May 19, 2010 New York’s largest power provider may be shut down amidst concerns endangered fish species are threatened by the plant. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactor, water | Leave a comment

Skin cancer risk from Airport Radiation Scanning

The research also shows children are more vulnerable to radiation damage, because they have more cells dividing at any one time than when fully grown and a radiation-induced mutation can lead to cancer in adulthood……

Airport scanners may increase risk of cancer Alfred Woody Wang’s Kewl Blog, 20 May 2010, Radiation “dangerously underestimated” * Skin around face, neck most at risk US scientists are warning that radiation from controversial full-body airport scanners has been dangerously underestimated and could lead to an increased risk of skin cancer – particularly in children. Continue reading →

May 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment