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Exorbitant costs for atomic vets seeking compensation

Nuclear tests victioms’ outrage as legal bill soars to 16 million pounds sterling Mirror.co.uk By Susie Boniface 13/12/2009

Lawyers have charged £16million in the battle to get justice for Britain’s nuclear test veterans.

The money has been spent by legal teams for the UK Ministry of Defence and the veterans during a fiercely contested High Court action. It means the final bill could be much higher than any com-pensation eventually received. Continue reading

December 14, 2009 Posted by | Legal, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear plants will be very slow in coming

India-defers-npower-target-by.15 years to 2035

Natalie Obiko Pearson / Bloomberg 10 Dec 09

Mumbai: India has deferred by 15 years its target to build 40,000MW of nuclear power capacity amid policy delays, an official at a state-owned utility said. Continue reading

December 11, 2009 Posted by | India, spinbuster | , , , | Leave a comment

US firms push for India to cover nuke accidents

This legislation specifies that legal jurisdiction in the event of an accident will lie within India. US nuclear firms close in on Indian market  Business Standard Ajai Shukla / New Delhi December 11, 2009, Stakes in India’s nuclear power generation programme are among the highest in the world………. Continue reading

December 11, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , | Leave a comment

Why don’t they count radioactive wastes in nuclear costing?

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

In today’s news we learn that the USA’s existing nuclear wastes could cost $225 billion. Of course, the government is up for these costs, not the nuclear industry.  So somehow – well, then, the pretty well eternal waste storage and security is not part of the costing for nuclear power!

That’s a pretty nice bit of sleight of hand, isn’t it?  But the non-democracies do it even better. Nobody has any idea what are the real costs of France, Russia, China’s nuclear wastes, nor who actually ends up paying for them.

December 10, 2009 Posted by | business and costs, Christina's notes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

$225 billion could be the cost of U.S. nuke waste storage

Report: Spent fuel storage costs may run $225B By BOB AUDETTE BRATTLEBORO REFORMER 9 Dec 09 — If no federal repository for spent nuclear fuel is opened in the next 100 years, the nation’s taxpayers could be on the hook to pay for on-site storage, such as the dry casks at Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. Continue reading

December 10, 2009 Posted by | 1, USA, wastes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant must pay up for workers’ radiation exposure

December 9, 2009 Nuclear plant owners fined after contractors suffer radiation exposure in Ireland   Daily Commercial News BELFAST, Ireland Operators of the Sellafield nuclear plant were fined $135,000 in court and ordered to pay $46,000 in costs after two contractors suffered radiation exposure.The contractors were drilling through a concrete floor contaminated with plutonium in a waste facility when the incident happened at the Cumbrian reprocessing plant.The men were exposed to higher-than-anticipated levels of radiation in the incident in July 2007,

Nuclear plant owners fined after contractors suffer radiation exposure in Ireland – Daily Commercial News

December 10, 2009 Posted by | 1, Legal, UK | , , , , | Leave a comment

Time we all woke up to the pro-nuclear con!

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

On today’s page I include an article on India and the planned nuclear reactors there.  I was struck by the fact that it will be a “multi-billion dollar market to American firms” .  But, at the same time, those  firms want to make sure that the Indian government (i.e the Indian taxpayer) will pay for any “industrial accident”.  (Quote ‘ India’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear market to American firms. US firms already worry over delays such as writing a new Indian law to limit US firms’ liability in case of an industrial accident’)

The nuclear industry wants the money – but not the responsibility.  They must think that the danger is important, to be concerning themselves so much about such liability.  Yet at the same time, they’ll tell us all that the industry is so very safe.

Do we take note of these contradictions?  Is this a new and so much more sophisticated version of Western colonial oppression?

December 9, 2009 Posted by | Christina's notes, India, spinbuster | , , , , , | 2 Comments

Indian villagers oppose US nuclear industry taking their land

US-India atomic deal – Land scarcity causes worry

News Centrer 8 Dec  2009

US nuclear firms said on Monday they were worried land scarcity in India could further delay a joint atomic deal already hobbled by policy holdups over issues such as accident liability protection.

A 50-member US business delegation this week is seeking to push the implementation of the deal, which promises to open up India’s multi-billion-dollar nuclear market to American firms.US firms already worry over delays such as writing a new Indian law to limit US firms’ liability in case of an industrial accident Continue reading

December 9, 2009 Posted by | India, politics | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear too slow, too late, too dirty, to stop climate change

Nuclear: wrong warming reaction Nuclear plants produce radioactive waste and are both slow and expensive to construct.
Minnesota Daily 12/07/2009

By Dan Endreson“………..nuclear power cannot stop global warming. Although nuclear power emits less carbon dioxide than coal, it is impossible to build enough nuclear plants to slow the effects of global warming. To make a difference, hundreds of new nuclear plants would need to be built over the next 20 years. Currently, construction of a new plant takes 10-15 years and costs over $6 billion.

We do not have the time or the money to rely on nuclear reactors to stop global warming………… If one wants to champion nuclear power in this country, they must also be willing to accept the possibility that Minnesota may one day be a permanent nuclear waste dump.

I would urge our policymakers to use our taxpayer dollars to further the development of true clean energy sources, such as wind and solar, rather than nuclear power, which leaves a legacy of radioactive waste and increased costs to ratepayers….http://www.mndaily.com/2009/12/07/nuclear-wrong-warming-reaction

December 9, 2009 Posted by | climate change, USA | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Safety always an issue with nuclear plants

Nuclear plant still requires vigilance SeaCoastOnline.com 8 Dec 09 “………..Just recently, we learned the local plant is dealing with a problem faced by almost every nuclear plant in the country — debris that collects in the water that pools at the bottom of the building that houses the reactor and can be used to cool the plant in the event of an accident. Continue reading

December 9, 2009 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear a contributor, not a solution, to global crisis

Can nuclear power be green and safe?

Socialist Worker Online Tony Staunton Dec 09 – the persistent problems with nuclear power

The threat of climate change has led some in the environmental movement to back nuclear power as a green source of energy.

But nuclear power is not part of the solution – it is part of the problem. Continue reading

December 9, 2009 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change, spinbuster | , , , , | Leave a comment

Theft of uranium in Mumbai

Mumbai police arrest three with yellowcake news TRAK In

Mumbai, Dec 8 (ANI): The Mumbai Crime Branch Police have arrested three persons with five kilograms of uranium in Panvel, Navi Mumbai here.

According to the information received from the Police sources, the three people have been arrested with Yellowcake that is used in the preparation of uranium for nuclear fuel.

The seized uranium has been sent to the Bhava Atomic Research Center for testing.

The officials at the Department of Atomic Energy said the Mumbai Police has sent the sample of the uranium for testing…..http://trak.in/news/mumbai-police-arrests-three-with-yellowcake/32805/

December 9, 2009 Posted by | India, safety | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian economist counters the nuclear fallacies

Get Ready For These Nuclear Fallacies New Matilda By Mark Diesendorf 7 Dec 09 “…. With the election of Tony Abbott as Opposition leader, a renewed burst of pro-nuclear propaganda is being spread by some of his colleagues, building on the existing campaign by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and other vested interests. Many fallacies and lies are being disseminated to the media and the public. Here are refutations of the most common ones. Continue reading

December 8, 2009 Posted by | 1, spinbuster | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Secrecy in India about troubled nuclear industry

India’s atom state The Daily Mail Ramachandra Guha 7 Dec 09 THE most secretive institution in India is the Atomic Energy Commission. Although its power plants profess to produce goods for the benefit of the public, they are not judged by the standards of profitability and accountability that the market imposes on other industries. Continue reading

December 7, 2009 Posted by | 1, India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AREVA’s money troubles: drive to sell its nuclear reactors

FOCUS: Areva Still Needs Cash Despite T&D Sale
CNN Money By Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires 4 Dec 09 PARIS Despite selling its transmission and distribution business for EUR4.1 billion, French state-controlled nuclear engineering Areva SA ( CEI.FR) still needs billions more of funding to realize its substantial expansion program.

And to come up with the EUR7 billion or so of additional money for investment, Areva may have to sell more of its family silver, possibly as soon as 2010. “Financing remains an issue,” SGCIB’s analyst Gael de Bray said…… Continue reading

December 5, 2009 Posted by | 1, business and costs, France | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment