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AREVA’s financial problems with new nuclear reactors

Finnish delays headache for French nuclear firm PARIS (AFP) 28 June 2010, – Standard & Poor’s said on Monday it had lowered its rating on French nuclear group Areva by two notches because of delays to the construction of a reactor in Finland.The agency downgraded Areva to BBB+/A-2 from A/A-1, citing the company’s announcement of an additional provision of 400 million euros (493 million dollars) for the Finnish European Pressurised Reactor project…… Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | AREVA, AUSTRALIA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA’s untested nuclear reactors not likely to go ahead in Canada

.…they do not believe the Areva-New Brunswick project will see the light of day.New Brunswick is too small for such an expensive nuclear reactor and does not need the power to meet its own power usage, they argued. “The designs Areva is proposing are untested prototypes so I doubt the private sector would ever assume the risks,”….(CAnada) N.B. overhaul attracts skeptics, Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post · , Jul. 8, 2010 Paris-based Areva SA, the world’s biggest builder of nuclear reactors, said it will study the feasibility of building a second nuclear generating station in New Brunswick and of creating a new “clean energy” park on the same site. Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Ever more radioactive – they don’t know what to do with Depleted Uranium

Depleted uranium, unlike other forms of nuclear waste, grows more dangerous as it ages, making storage difficult.

DOE seeks home for depleted uranium, SALT LAKE CITY, July 9 (UPI) — The U.S. government is looking for even a temporary storage site for 10,000 drums of depleted uranium from a South Carolina nuclear plant, Utah officials said.The waste was supposed to have been stored permanently in Utah by EnergySolutions Inc. But the state intervened as the first shipment arrived, seeking more information from the Salt Lake City company and a review of the site………

Depleted uranium, unlike other forms of nuclear waste, grows more dangerous as it ages, making storage difficult.

The first shipment from the Savannah River site, 5,400 barrels, is now in an EnergySolutions storage cell in Utah. The rest is still in South Carolina.….DOE seeks home for depleted uranium – UPI.com

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

China building nuclear plants in earthquake area

Nuclear power stations in south China not affected by earthquake. English.news.cn 2010-07-10 GUANGZHOU, July 9 (Xinhua) — Two nuclear power stations under construction have not been affected by a mild earthquake that struck south China’s Guangdong Province Friday, company officials said.According to the provincial earthquake monitoring network, an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter Scale Friday hit the junction of Taishan City and Yangjiang City where the two nuclear power stations are located.Nuclear power stations in south China not affected by earthquake

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Hanford radioactive waste needs more, not less, safety regulation

A nuclear disaster at a cleanup site like Hanford is to be avoided at all costs. The persistence of radioactivity in the environment for thousands of years makes large areas of land uninhabitable, and wreaks an ongoing and incalculable human health toll. Prevention, rather than reaction, to such tragedies should be driving law and policy.

(USA) Nuclear cleanup regulation could put public at risk, Seattle Times, July 9, 2010, The weaknesses of federal regulatory agencies have been exposed by recent high-profile accidents. Tom Carpenter fears the Department of Energy will reduce its oversight of cleanup at the nation’s nuclear waste sites.
Millions of gallons of oil gush continue to rush unabated from BP’s mile-deep well in the Gulf of Mexico, and 11 workers are dead from the massive explosion that caused the biggest oil spill in decades. Weeks before this event, the news was dominated by the preventable explosion that killed 29 West Virginia coal miners……………. Is nuclear next? Continue reading →

July 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment

Magnificent Nuclear Deception by France’s AREVA corporation

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Are Americans and Canadians really that stupid? Are they going to fall for AREVA’s deceptive sales strategy? The sales pitch is that nuclear power is clean, green and economic. All grand lies.

I suppose that France’s AREVA had to think up such a confidence trick – faced with the ruthless success of South Korea’s KEPCO in selling its wares to the Arabs, and USA’s Westinghouse pitching nuclear to India.

So – AREVA came up with the con trick of the “Clean Energy Park” – combining nuclear reactors with renewable energy generation. Not only does this pretend that nuclear energy is clean, – it also carries a threat – no nuclear, no renewable energy. What a toxic marriage!

Still judging from the actions of the USA government in funding AREVA’s uranium enrichment – Americans and perhaps Canadians, too, ARE that stupid.

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors, renewable energy, renewables, solar, uranium, wind | Leave a comment

USA govt $2 billion funding to France’s nuclear company AREVA

Areva accepts $2 bil US loan guarantee for uranium enrichment plant, Washington (Platts)–8Jul2010/ Areva Wednesday said it accepted the US Department of Energy’s offer of a $2 billion loan guarantee to help finance construction of the Eagle Rock uranium enrichment plant in Bonneville County, Idaho, which Areva estimates will cost $3 billion to build. The DOE offer to Areva is the first of two loan guarantees DOE is expected to extend to front-end nuclear facilities, with USEC the expected recipient of the second. Platts: RSS Feed Detailed News

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

AREVA spruiking its nuclear wares pre elections in Canada

the French nuclear company has been courting New Brunswick with the idea of a second reactor at Point Lepreau, along with solar and tidal power alternatives.

(Canada) Areva deal smacks of politics: PCs, Greens, CBC News, 7 July 2010, The Liberal government’s planned announcement with France’s Areva on Thursday regarding a possible second nuclear reactor is being derided by New Brunswick’s opposition political parties. Continue reading →

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactor, uranium | Leave a comment

Point Lepreau nuclear reactor costing $millions daily

“I mean, you look at Lepreau right now, it’s gushing a million bucks a day [in extra fuel costs due to the delay] and more probably – and they’re talking about a second nuclear reactor.”

(Canada) No new reactors: Greens, 7 July 2010, “…………The Green leader said the provincial government shouldn’t be entertaining new nuclear energy talks when the Point Lepreau reactor is so far behind schedule. Continue reading →

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactor, uranium | Leave a comment

GE-Hitachi, Westinghouse face risk of increaded nuclear weapons proliferation

The renewed risk of nuclear proliferation in one of the world’s most unstable regions is the latest hurdle for companies including US-based firms GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp, trying to enter India’s nuclear energy sector

Nuclear proliferation, Manila Bulletin, By SANJEEV MIGLANI, July 8, 2010, SINGAPORE (Reuters) — A 2008 civilian nuclear energy pact between the United States and India was meant to lift a 34-year-old embargo on nuclear trade despite New Delhi’s longstanding weapons program, a move seen as bolstering it as a counterweight to China. Continue reading →

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Community push to shut down Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor

NRC Chairman To Meet With Vermont Yankee Critics, wbztv.com, Jul 8, 2010 BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) ― The chairman of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is traveling to Vermont next week to meet with groups critical of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.Gregory B. Jaczko will hold a round-table discussion on Wednesday in Brattleboro.Invited participants include representatives of Citizens Awareness Network, Safe and Green Campaign, Conservation Law Foundation and Vermont Public Interest Research Group.The discussion will be held at the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center and the public is invited to listen.The groups want Vermont Yankee shut down until repairs can be completed to ensure any leaks of radioactive substances have stopped.

NRC Chairman To Meet With Vermont Yankee Critics – wbztv.com

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Radioactivity in British sheep – the long legacy of Chernobyl

Before farmers in restricted areas can sell or move any of their livestock, they must have each animal tested..

Scottish sheep farms finally free of Chernobyl fallout – Science, News – The Independent, By Kevin Rawlinson and Rachel Hovenden, 7 July 2010 Farmers in affected areas have to have each of their animals tested before they can move or sell any livestock Continue reading →

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Military talked Nixon out of nuking North Korea

Richard Nixon planned nuclear strike on North Korea, Telegraph, 7 july 2010, The United States drew up plans for a tactical nuclear strike against North Korea in 1969, but quickly stepped back from the brink fearing it would trigger an all-out war, newly declassified documents in Washington have shown. By Peter Foster in Beijing 08 Jul 2010.…… Documents released by the National Security Archive in Washington detail plans for Operation Freedom Drop which included conventional war and a nuclear attack using bombs 20 times the size of that dropped on Hiroshima……… “But constantly you find the military saying, ‘But the risks probably still outweigh the potential gains,’.” Richard Nixon planned nuclear strike on North Korea – Telegraph

July 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Delays, cost, opposition, to UK’s nuclear waste plans

Budget cuts caution on UK nuclear waste plan, BBC News, 7 July 2010 The UK’s deep store for nuclear waste should open for business around 2040 – but spending cuts could delay the plans, and community support is vital. These are the key messages in a report from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the agency charged with managing the nation’s waste………….

The UK’s nuclear waste problem is considerably bigger than either of the Scandinavian countries……….

The total volume of waste from past and present operations amounts to about 500,000 cubic metres, although there is a huge variety in types of waste, the level of radioactivity and how long it will remain dangerously radioactive.

The coalition government has said it is committed to finding a long-term solution for the UK’s nuclear waste problem………..If no communities want the repository, said Alun Ellis, it will not be built.

“The government’s answer to this question is that Plan B is to make Plan A work,”

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Civil Liability Bill for the benefit of USA nuclear industry, not India

In the event of a tragedy, tax payers will have to cough up the compensation while foreign companies will go scot free,… foreign nuclear companies have seen their market dry up in the US, UK and France because no new plants have been set up there in 20-30 years, and therefore, India was a plum market. And it is with an eye on securing these companies’ interests that the US and other developed nations are insisting that India pass the Nuclear Civil Liability Bill.

Public hearing nukes civil liability bill Indian Express07 Jul 2010 HYDERABAD: Speakers at a public consultation on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 held here today pilloried the Union government for learning nothing from the Bhopal gas tregady. They described as a sellout the Bill’s provision to impose a ceiling on the compensation payable by foreign nuclear suppliers in the eventuality of a nuclear accident. Continue reading →

July 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment