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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Resistance to pro Nuclear Bills now in USA Congress

If there are going to be voices to counter the insanity of new bomb plants in the name of arms control, they will have to be ours. If there are going to be people standing to say NO!, they will have to be us.”

Bills making their way through Congress right now include the largest single increasein nuclear weapons funding in history.

(USA) Morning of Resistance’ at Y-12 July 5 | Frank Munger, knoxnews.com, 9 June 2010, “The timing is right–and not just because2010 marks the anniversaries of such auspiciousorganizations and actions. Last year, President BarackObama declared himself committed to a world freeof nuclear weapons. Whatever his ambitions mayhave been, they have gotten waylaid by the statusquo power brokers who are determined to maintain nuclear dominance and a highly funded industry that is determined to build more nuclear reactors at taxpayer expense. Continue reading

June 10, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear fusion dream becoming a financial nightmare

the cost of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is out of control

Costly nuclear fusion demo worries cash-strapped EU, NewsDaily:, By Pete Harrison BRUSSELS, June 9, 2010 (Reuters) — A funding battle is brewing in Europe over a 16-billion-euro ($21.5 billion) experiment to crack the puzzle of commercializing nuclear fusion — the process that powers the sun. Continue reading

June 10, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, technology | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste casks, pools, piles, are ticking time bombs

(USA) Ticking time bombs: what should we do with nuclear waste?, SmartPlanet, By Andrew Nusca | Jun 8, 2010 “……..the WSJ report outlines some scary figures:

  • More than 800 filled casks await a final destination, holding 14,000 metric tons of waste.
  • Another 49,000 metric tons is being held in spent-fuel pools, waiting to be placed in vessels.
  • A further 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is created every year.

The problem is that the next wave of nuclear reactors are already on the drawing board.

June 9, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

At least the USA TALKS about nuclear wastes!

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

This website might well give the impression that it is anti-American, anti-British etc, – especially on the subject of nuclear wastes.

But – spare a thought for those two countries. At least the nuclear waste subject is RAISED there. (That’s how we can publish it)

Very hard to get  a few lines about Russia’s nuclear wastes.

As for China, France and also a few other countries (India, Korea, European states , Israel...) – well there’s nary a word about their nuclear wastes!  What do they do with radioactive wastes?  It’s a worry.  And it seems to me to be complete lunacy for countries like Australia to piously claim safety policy, while selling uranium to such countries.

June 3, 2010 Posted by | Christina's notes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Britain faces ever-increasing debt with nuclear wastes

Chris Huhne warns of £4bn black hole in nuclear power budget, guardian.co.uk, Patrick Wintour, 1 June 2010 Energy secretary blames predecessors for avoiding tough decisions in ‘classic example of short-termism’ Chris Huhne, the new energy secretary, said: ‘What we are effectively paying for here is decades of cheap nuclear electricity.’
Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs, Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary disclosed tonight. Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | UK, wastes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dirty deals between Areva and Siemens nuclear power companies?

EU probes Siemens, Areva nuclear deal,  KansasCity.com, 2 June 2010, The Associated Press European Union regulators said Wednesday that they are investigating nuclear power non-compete deals between France’s Areva SA and Germany’s Siemens AG after Areva took over their joint venture. Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Highly radioactive wastes from “next generation” nuclear reactors

waste from the next generation plants that use enriched uranium fuel would be two to 158 times more radioactive than waste from existing Canadian reactors….. unfairly paid for by taxpayers, ratepayers and future generations.”

Waste from proposed nuclear plants more radioactive: report The Vancouver Sun, By Mike Desouza, Canwest News Service May 31, 2010 The latest generation of proposed multi-billion dollar Canadian nuclear plants could be up to 158 times more hazardous than their predecessors, opening the door to massive cost overruns and possibly forcing taxpayers to pick up the tab, warns a report to be released today……….. Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | Canada, wastes | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No solution to ever-growing nuclear wastes

the intractability of the nuclear-waste problem confronting the power sector and the failure of policymakers to find a permanent solution.……the president and the energy secretary are looking to a new blue ribbon commission to recommend “a safe, long-term solution” to the waste problem

Solutions Remain Few on Issue of Nuclear- Waste Storage – Atomic Waste Gets ‘Temporary’ Home, WSJ.com, JUNE 1, 2010 By REBECCA SMITH Three months after the U.S. cancelled a plan to build a vast nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, the country’s ad hoc atomic-storage policy is becoming clear in places like Wiscasset, Maine. Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Terrorists seeking nuclear materials in Russia

Terrorists still trying to access nuclear materials in Russia and former-Soviet republics: Russia by : RIA Novosti , June 02 2010  PoliJAM, Terrorists have not given up their attempts to access nuclear materials in Russia and former-Soviet republics, the head  of the Russian Federal Security Service said on Wednesday.

“We have information that terrorists are continuing their attempts to access nuclear materials, as well as biological and chemical components,” Alexander Bortnikov said at a news conference after a meeting of the heads of security services from the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Breaking News, Politics, US and World News, and Entertainment – The PoliJAM Times

June 3, 2010 Posted by | Russia, safety | , , , , , , , | 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 | general | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Massive taxpayer payouts to UK nuclear executives

all the directors listed  have since moved into other jobs in the nuclear industry.

Nuclear costs spiral as clean energy budgets face axe,  Left Foot Forward, 2 June 2010, “…..there’s a need for an independent and open audit of NDA spending to examine the room for greater cuts there when you look at these examples of the organisation’s largesse:

* The ex-managing director of Sellafield, Barry Snelson, who ran the site on behalf of the NDA, was recently given a £2,000,000 golden adieu for “loss of office.”

* His colleague David Bonser, head of the thermal oxide reprocessing plant (THORP), was given a £1m pay off at the same time. He was in charge of the site, during the 2007 THORP leak that went unnoticed Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, UK | , , , , | Leave a comment

Thousands of tons of nuclear wastes in above ground casks

– Atomic Waste Gets ‘Temporary’ Home, WSJ.com, JUNE 1, 2010 By REBECCA SMITH “……Power companies are likely to rely on casks even more in coming years. About 80% of reactor sites in the U.S. intend to move used fuel to casks because their storage pools are filling up.

So far, more than 800 casks have been filled and they sit tucked away behind fences on reactor sites. They hold 14,000 metric tons of waste, an amount that is steadily growing. There is an additional 49,000 metric tons being held in spent-fuel pools, used fuel’s first stop after it leaves reactors. Each year, another 2,000 metric tons of nuclear reactor waste is created. Continue reading

June 3, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Oil disaster does not augur well for uranium amd nuclear industry

One virtually certain outcome of the environmental disaster currently blackening the Gulf of Mexico is that federal regulators will take a harder line on enforcement of environmental regulations. Uranium miners are likely to be particularly hard hit because there isn’t a person in the US who doesn’t fear the consequences of radiation exposure…….Playing fast and loose with the environment is no longer a winning strategy.

Uranium Miners Get Some Good News and Some Bad  24/7 Wall St., Paul Ausick, June 1, 2010 “....The first installment of the investment will help USEC to continue its deployment of its American Centrifuge Plant which produces enriched uranium for use in nuclear power generation. The cash will also help support USEC’s $2 billion loan guarantee application with the US Department of Energy. The not-so-good news for uranium companies was delivered Continue reading

June 2, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear Non-Proliferation not solved, nor is Nuclear Waste

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

As the May Nuclear Non Proliferation conference ends, the nuclear industry and President Obama continue to use this story as a selling point for the “peaceful” nuclear industry. And for June, perhaps the critical issue is – how to convince the world that nuclear wastes are OK, that this problem is solved, – when it’s not!

Other selling points are emerging now – perhaps a sign of the desperation of the industry?

There’s a push to use a nuclear bomb as a cure for the oil spill – based on Russian experience – for goodness’ sake!  Who in their right mind would trust the Russian history of things nuclear?

Then there’s the push for little reactors, thorium reactors, instead of uranium-fuelled reactors. Anything to look as though the nuclear industry is forging on.  But it’s not – except for nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, despite all the propaganda, and lack of real government incentives, renewable energy technologies are forging on.

June 1, 2010 Posted by | Christina's notes | , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The nuclear industry in decline

Ockham’s Razor – 30 May 2010 – Nuclear energy: a panacea for climate change?

Nuclear energy: a panacea for climate change?. ABC Radio National, Ockham’s Razor, Dr Adam Lucas – 30 May 2010 “………..What is the status of nuclear energy in the world at the moment? And do the arguments of its proponents stand up to scrutiny? Continue reading

June 1, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment