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

Nuclear lobbyists in Britain getting favoured treatment

Thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money have been spent on special meetings between ministers and the nuclear industry in Britain, prompting allegations the government is giving the sector an unfair advantage over renewable energy.

Ministers’ meetings with nuclear lobby raise concerns of favouritism The renewable energy industry is concerned that the government has spent thousands meeting nuclear lobbyists guardian.co.uk, 7 November 2010 Continue reading

November 8, 2010 Posted by | spinbuster, UK | , , , , | Leave a comment

No, Mr President, we can’t ‘restart’ the nuclear industry

A “commercial” nuclear reactor would cost upwards of 15 billion dollars to build in America today and require massive government subsidies which could be invested in, for example, offshore wind power and transmission lines instead.

A response to President Obama on nuclear industry, Media With Conscience , By Ace Hoffman, 8 Nov 10, During a press conference after the elections this week, President Obama made a short reference in vague support of nuclear energy. He said:”There’s been discussion about how we can restart our nuclear industry as a means of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gases.  Is that an area where we can move forward?” Continue reading

November 8, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

16 nuclear submarine crashes, admission by UK Ministry of Defence

The incident involving HMS Astute was clearly not a one-off, and the MoD must explain why previous groundings have not been made public,…….

Revealed: MoD admits to 16 nuclear submarine crashes – Herald Scotland Rob Edwards,  7 Nov 2010 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been accused of a “catalogue of blunders” after admitting there have been 16 crashes involving British nuclear-powered submarines since 1988. Continue reading

November 8, 2010 Posted by | safety, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) a target for smuggling

the world should phase out the civilian use of HEU, which is still used to fuel more than 100 research reactors around the world, many with minimal security measures in place.

Nuclear smuggling: The expert view, Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat. Protect the materials and prevent the terrorism,  Matthew Bunn,  guardian.co.uk,  7 November 2 The dark netherworlds of nuclear smuggling still pose a terrible danger to us all. Terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and the materials to make them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a Manhattan Project to make a crude nuclear bomb – numerous government studies have warned that a sophisticated terrorist group might pull it off, if they could get enough nuclear material. Continue reading

November 8, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Secret trial reveals illicit trade in nuclear materials

The trial, which is being held in camera, has underlined how little about the illicit trade in nuclear smuggling is known.

Armenian smugglers tried to sell nuclear material to terrorists The former Soviet republic of Armenia has emerged as a potential flashpoint for nuclear smuggling after it was revealed that two Armenian nationals tried to sell highly enriched uranium to people they thought were terrorists in March.  Telegraph By Andrew Osborn in Moscow  07 Nov 2010 Continue reading

November 8, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radioactive rabbit near highly radioactively contaminated Hanford

Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site English.news.cn 2010-11-06 SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) — The Washington State Department of Health workers have been searching for contaminated droppings after a radioactive rabbit was caught north of Richland in southeastern Washington, home to the Hanford nuclear site, local media reported Friday.
According to Tri-City Herald, the rabbit, which was highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, caught the health authorities’ attention because it was close enough to the nuclear site’s boundaries to potentially come in contact with the public…..Hanford currently is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation’s largest environmental cleanup. Last year, 33 contaminated animals or animal materials such as droppings were found on the site. Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site

November 6, 2010 Posted by | environment, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

BNP Paribas banking group to fund a dangerous obsolete nuclear reactor

This reactor fails to meet international safety standards, in addition its outdated, decades old technology would never be permitted in France itself. It is a dangerous nuclear project that should not go ahead – yet BNP Paribas wants to finance it. This money would come partially from customers’ savings – which make up 45% of the banking group’s global revenue.

Why isn’t BNP Paribas ‘sharing’ its nuclear projects on Facebook?  Greenpeace International,  by Laura K. – November 4, 2010 Two weeks ago we revealed banking group BNP Paribas, the world’s leading investor in the nuclear industry, is planning to fund an obsolete, dangerous nuclear reactor in Brazil – Angra 3. Continue reading

November 6, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australia’s new big role in USA’s military strategy

the Australian development is part of a new U.S. strategy to step up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, after reviews of strategic policy concluded that the U.S. government’s attempts to project power from North America were not working.

Australia, U.S. agree to major escalation of military co-operation 06 November 2010   FOCUS News Agency Canberra. Australia has agreed to a major escalation of military co-operation with the U.S., Xinhua informed. According to The Weekend Australian newspaper, the move will include more visits by American ships, aircraft and troops and their forces exercising. Continue reading

November 6, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, weapons and war | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel asked George W.Bush to bomb Syrian nuclear facility

Bush: Olmert asked me to bomb Syrian reactor – Israel News, Ynetnews, 6 Nov 10, Former President George W. Bush says he considered ordering a US military strike against a suspected Syrian nuclear facility at Israel’s request in 2007, but ultimately opted against it. Continue reading

November 6, 2010 Posted by | Israel, politics international | , , , , | Leave a comment

Dirty tricks in the nuclear industry, using Stuxnet computer worm?

if Areva wanted to harm Siemens reputation or make it less attractive to Rosatom, what better way than to demonstrate the unreliability of its control system software?

British Nuclear Power Plant Goes Dark. Stuxnet Worm To Blame?, Forbes, The Firewall , Nov. 1 2010 by Jeffrey Carr,  British Energy, owned by France’s EDF Energy PLC, has reported an “unplanned outage” at its Heysham 1 nuclear power plant yesterday. A company spokesperson told the Associated Press that repairs to one of the reactors are ongoing but didn’t say when the plant was expected to resume operations.
According to Siemens’ website, EDF Energy is a customer of the German technology giant, whose infrastructure software has suffered from a global infection of the sophisticated Stuxnet worm……. Continue reading

November 4, 2010 Posted by | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India cracks down hard on anti-nuclear protestors

Several prominent figures, including a former Supreme Court judge, Justice P B Sawant, former Magsaysay award winner Admiral Ramdas were intending to join the protests, but are reported to have been arrested on the highway, about 20km from the site.

600 people arrested in India for opposing nuclear plant, hundreds more voluntarily risk jail | Greenpeace International, by Justin – November 1, 2010, World’s largest nuclear park is planned in Jaitapur, in Ratnagiri district on the coast of southern Maharashtra. The park would comprise up to six large nuclear reactors bought from the French nuclear giant- Areva. In addition to the inherent hazards of nuclear power, the project threatens the livelihoods of about 10 000 farmers and fishermen and their families. Continue reading

November 2, 2010 Posted by | civil liberties, India, opposition to nuclear | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India’s anti-nuclear protesters ignored by govt

Protest against Jaitapur nuclear power project, The Hindu, 31 Oct 10, Hundreds of villagers on Friday staged a silent protest against the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Ratnagiri district and courted arrest at Madban near the project site.According to local activists, nearly 3,000 people staged protests and were picked up by police.The police also prevented activists from entering the project area, with Admiral (retired) L. Ramdas and Justice (retired) P.B. Samant being prevented from going to Madban…..
On Thursday, a 14-member expert appraisal committee for nuclear projects visited Madban. The committee, which was under heavy police escort, did not meet any of the local villagers. The Hindu : States / Other States : Protest against Jaitapur nuclear power project

October 31, 2010 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear accident a greater danger than nuclear war

Barrasso’s Nuclear Idiocy, Wonk Room, 29 Oct 10, In a sane world, the the malfunction of a squadron of ICBMs would cause great alarm at the instability of the US maintaining so many irrelevant nuclear missiles on a hair trigger alert.

After all, the Cold War ended 20 years ago and the US has no peer nuclear threat. Yet, in the current reality-warped world of tea-party gripped America, the mechanical failure of a squadron of ICBMs has actually prompted demands for more nuclear weapons.

Last week, a mechanical failure caused the Air Force to lose control of 50 ICBMs. This is not the first incident of its kind; a few years ago a B-52 flew across the country with “hot” nuclear weapons aboard, unbeknownst to the pilots and crew. Also, throughout the nuclear age there have been a number of mechanical and human errors that have almost led to absolute catastrophe, making a nuclear accident in many ways a greater and more likely danger than nuclear war…….

October 29, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Survey finds Cumbria site wrong for nuclear waste dump

Cumbria not suitable for nuclear waste repository: survey | TopNews United Kingdom, 30 Oct 10, The initial study into the possible dumping grounds for nuclear waste has suggested that West Cumbria is unsuitable for the purpose. However, is still in the running for providing the deep geologic storage of nuclear waste.The study conducted by the British Geological Survey ruled out a tract of land alongside the coast, ranging from St Bees Head to Maryport…….

The government is in search for an apt ‘dumping ground’ for the nuclear industry as there are plans for building more nuclear power stations on eight sites, which require deep geologicalstorage by 2040….Cumbria not suitable for nuclear waste repository: survey | TopNews United Kingdom

October 29, 2010 Posted by | UK, wastes | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

USA quietly getting Australia deeply into its military machine

The facility will play a major role in an emerging Cold War in space.

WA joins space race, The Age, October 30, 2010 –  Australia will become a key partner in the international battle for space supremacy, with Western Australia to host a new multimillion-dollar US defence base Continue reading

October 29, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, weapons and war | , , , , | Leave a comment