nuclear costs « nuclear-news

Not hard to get hold of Highly Enriched Uranium, especially in Russia

What’s It Take to Build a Nuclear Weapon? | TakePart by Adam Trunell, 25 June 2010, The Nuclear Material “………The most important ingredient in a nuclear bomb is the nuclear stuff itself, which is also the hardest to get. No way can you find nuclear material like plutonium or highly enriched uranium stockpiled in a tool shed behind some half-hearted padlock. Right? Wrong.

Every nuclear-powered nation on the planet has nuclear material, and not all of it’s under lock and key. Civilian stockpiles in Europe and Japan aren’t staffed by armed guards, nor are most nuclear research reactors on U.S. college campuses.But if you’re looking for a truly easy score, try Russia. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Australia’s Northern Territory asks new Prime Minister to stop nuclear waste dump plan

Former Prime Minister John Howard planned to build the dump on Muckaty Station, in Central Australia, because the Northern Territory did not have the constitutional strength to block the move.

Hendo urges Gillard to dump Muckaty, Northern Territory News, NICK CALACOURAS June 26th, 2010 AUSTRALIA’S new Prime Minister Julia Gillard should rethink her predecessor’s decision to build a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory, Chief Minister Paul Henderson said. Continue reading →

June 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, wastes | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Cartel to promote nuclear power sales meets in New Zealand

Although the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG ) claims to serve the interests of the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, its consultations and decision- making are closed to 144 of the 190 states party to the treaty. It is not accountable to the decision-making organs of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Thrashing out nuclear deals a juggling act for New Zealand, Stuff.co.nz, By BOB RIGG 24/06 New Zealand has found itself between a rock and a hard place as it chairs a meeting trying to juggle competing superpower positions on who gets enriched uranium and nuclear technology that could encourage the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Continue reading →

June 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Move to weaken U.S. nuclear security regulation, despite oil spill disaster

Certain nuclear energy supporters are trying to weaken regulation of new nuclear reactors in any proposed climate and energy or energy-only legislation.

Did the Nuclear Industry and Politicians Learn Anything from the BP Oil Spill? : CleanTechnica, by Zachary Strachan, 24 June 2010, A major factor causing the BP oil spill to be the disaster that it is turning out to be is deregulation of the oil industry. You would think that if people, especially politicians, learned one thing from this disaster, it would be that we need strong government oversight of risky technologies.It seems right now that some in the nuclear industry and Congress have missed that completely or just haven’t heard the news about the BP oil spill at all. Continue reading →

June 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, reactors, wastes | Leave a comment

British govt plays waiting game on compensation for nuclear test veterans

Nuclear test veteran fears he may not live to see final decision, Burton News & Staffordshire Newspaper by ROB SMYTH, 24 June 2010, A NUCLEAR test veteran has described how he believes his battle for compensation from the Government may not be won in his lifetime.Archie Ross, of Oak Close, Castle Gresley, made the claim as an appeal by the Ministry of Defence, against a decision to allow compensation for more than 1,000 servicemen, continues. Continue reading →

June 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive | Leave a comment

Enrichment of uranium continuing in Iran

Iran has produced 17 kilos of 20% enriched uranium Tehran Times June 24, 2010 TEHRAN – Iran has produced 17 kilograms of uranium enriched to the 20 percent level, an official announced on Wednesday. “(We) have produced over 17 kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, and we have the ability to produce 5 kilograms a month, but we are not in a hurry,” Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Ali Akbar Salehi said during a visit to the ISNA news agency. Iran will continue to enrich uranium up to the purity level of 20 percent to the extent the country needs, Salehi stated….. tehran times : Iran has produced 17 kilos of 20% enriched uranium

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Gloom persists in uranium market

Quiet uranium market impacts on prices | Industrial Fuels and Power, 24 June 2010, “……..The market was very quiet with muted buying interest and discretionary demand. While the price spread between buyers and sellers has continued to narrow to US$0.50-0.75, the gap appears to be too large still to bridge, according to TradeTech.

Meanwhile, the Noble Group, the world’s second-largest commodities trading and logistics company, has bought a 5.1 per cent share in USEC, the sole American-owned provider of enriched uranium for use in civilian nuclear reactors. The acquisition is seen by some quarters as China’s move into the enrichment industry as the Chinese government’s sovereign wealth fund owns a minority stake in Noble. Noble wants to become USEC’s partner in marketing uranium enrichment for reactors in Asia, particularly mainland China, according to Richard Elman, Noble’s founder and executive chairman………. Quiet uranium market impacts on prices | Industrial Fuels and Power

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, uranium | Leave a comment

China investing in USA’s USEC uranium enrichment comany

Fuel Maker for Reactors Has China as Investor – NYTimes.com, 24 June 2010, “…….Even a passive Chinese government stake in USEC could draw attention in Washington for its strategic and diplomatic implications. USEC, the parent of the United States Enrichment Corporation, is a cornerstone of America’s nuclear establishment, with classified operations that date back to the initial development of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project in World War II……

With $2 billion a year in sales, USEC holds about 30 percent of the worldwide uranium enrichment market for commercial reactors.

And it has been at the center of an Energy Department-administered program to take highly enriched uranium from former Soviet military stockpiles and dilute it for USEC to sell as fuel in civilian nuclear reactors, the so-called megatons-to-megawatts program. It may now do the same for the United States military after President Obama and President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia signed an agreement in April calling for deep cuts in nuclear weapons…….

Fuel Maker for Reactors Has China as Investor – DealBook Blog – NYTimes.com

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, uranium | Leave a comment

Germany to introduce tax on uranium fuel rods

Merkel rebuffs industry opposition to tax on uranium fuel, Monsters and Critics, Jun 23, 2010, Berlin – Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday rebuffed opposition from German industry to a planned tax on the uranium fuel rods used in nuclear power stations, her spokesman said. Current legislation requires all the German reactors to cease operation by about 2022……….. Continue reading →

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Germany | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, uranium | Leave a comment

Radiation risks for nuclear plant workers

Nuclear plant balks at regulator request to test all employees for radiation Globe and Mail , Jun. 23, 2010 Federal regulators at the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission have asked the operator of an Ontario power plant to test hundreds of its workers by this Friday for exposure to cancer-causing alpha radiation, but the company is balking at the request……….. Continue reading →

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Low uranium prices, concerns about Uranium One merger

Uranium One shares in limbo ahead of merger – MarketWatch By Rebecca L. McClay, 24 June 2010, SAN FRANCISCO — While Uranium One executives wade through the details of granting a Russian government-owned company a controlling stake, minority shareholders must decide whether to keep their stock or sell it…….analysts say investors have had serious concerns about the change of control, including political risk and Russian corporate governance. Uranium One , one of Canada’s largest uranium mining companies, announced June 8 that ARMZ, a Russian company controlled by the state, will acquire a 51% stake in the Vancouver-based company………..
Uranium prices have fallen sharply in the past two years………

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Uranium One company to be controlled by Russia

Russia’s ARMZ gains control of Canada’s Uranium One, Industrial Fuels and Power, 9 June 2010, Russia’s ARMZ has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in Canada’s Uranium One Inc by buying 356m new shares, effectively raising is current 23 per cent holding to at least 51 per cent. ARMZ will pay the Toronto-based company US$610m cash as well as interests in two Kazakh mines. Uranium One will gain 50 per cent of the Akbastau mine and 49.7 per cent of Zarechnoye in the south of the country.
The acquisition is part of the expansion plans of Rosatom Corp, ARMZ’s parent company and represents the first North American uranium venture for the firm. Russia’s state-owned nuclear company is seeking more uranium sources to supply the nuclear reactors its is building outside Russia. Last month, it revealed plans to invest US$1bn in Namibian uranium deposits. “We’ll use Uranium One as a platform for growth,” Rosatom CEO Sergei Kiriyenko said.

Russia’s ARMZ gains control of Canada’s Uranium One | Industrial Fuels and Power

June 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, uranium | Leave a comment

A nuclear radioactive mess under London’s Olympic Games site?

Tonnes of radioactive waste casts doubt over London’s Olympic stadium legacy• Presence of waste on site could complicate redevelopment after 2012 Games | UK news | The Guardian, Ian Griffiths 20 June 2010,
The development of the Olympic site in east London after the Games have finished could be in jeopardy because of radioactive waste buried beneath the site, experts have warned. Continue reading →

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Questions in Washington on costs of nuclear weapons

Langevin calls for precise tally of nuclear weapons costs , Projo 7 to 7 News Blog | Rhode Island news | The Providence Journal Jun 22, 2010 | John E. Mulligan, Washington bureau
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. James R. Langevin has joined a Republican colleague in calling for a more precise accounting of what it costs to develop and maintain the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Continue reading →

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear company’s violations of waste storage regulations

FPL fined $70,000 for nuclear waste storage problem, SunSentinel.com, by Julie Patel on June 22, 2010The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Tuesday that it will fine Florida Power & Light Co. $70,000 for three violations related to its waste storage at its Turkey Point plant near Miami.In December, NRC officials said they found the amount of Boraflex in a nuclear waste storage pool at Turkey Point was lower than it should be. (Boroflex panels in the pool absorbs neutrons so there isn’t a mini-reaction as the nuclear waste is being cooled.)…………The Commission will hold informal information meetings in July on FPL’s proposal to build two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point

June 23, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment