nuclear secrecy « nuclear-news

USA nuclear, coal, policy-makers leave, in troubled election climate

The major shift in DOE leadership is afoot as the Obama administration prepares to grapple with a new and more hostile Congress….“I can’t recall . . . this many leaving at the same time.”

Energy Department changes continue as heads of nuclear, coal offices depart, The Hill’s E2-Wire, By Ben Geman – 10/04/10 The directors of the Energy Department’s offices of nuclear power and fossil energy – which includes programs to trap carbon emissions from coal plants – are leaving the agency, signaling a major change in DOE’s upper ranks. Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Keeping terrorists from working in nuclear plants

Report: Changes needed to keep terrorists out of nuclear plants, KGAN CBS 2 – National News, October 04, 2010 ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) –– The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it’s already on it.Federal auditors today recommended that the NRC be given better access to criminal databases and foreign travel histories of job applicants to keep terrorists from getting jobs inside the nation’s nuclear power plants…..Sen. Charles Schumer requested the review after a suspected al-Qaida member was found to have worked in a New Jersey nuclear power plant for six years. Schumer says the plants are not filled with terrorists, “but all you need is one.” ……KGAN CBS 2 – National News

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, reactors | Leave a comment

Russia might have targeted Iran’s nukes with the Stuxnet computer worm

“The Russians, … have shown increasing unease at the prospects of an Iran that would really have nuclear weapons.As regards to opportunity and expertise, the Russians stand at the top of any suspect list.

Stuxnet—a Russian worm?, Capital J | JTA – Jewish & Israel News, By Ron Kampeas · October 4, 2010 At the National Interest, David Kay, the weapons inspector who determined that Saddam Hussein was not, after all, anywhere near reviving his WMD program, wonders whether Russia is behind Stuxnet, the nuclear-disrupting worm the Iranians have blamed on israel and the United States: Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, reactor | Leave a comment

Secrecy over six month shutdown of nuclear reactor

It’s our flagship nuclear power station and it’s been out of action for the last six months and the local people don’t know and have not been told enough about how or why.

(UK) Consultant speaks out over N-plant ‘secrecy’, East Anglian Daily Times, By Chris Harris Monday, 4 October, 2010 A NUCLEAR expert who co-founded Greenpeace UK has hit out at “secrecy” surrounding a Suffolk nuclear power station’s six-month closure. Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, reactors | Leave a comment

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions secretive about radiation incident

Delay clouds SRS probe | The Augusta Chronicle, by Rob Pavey, 4 Oct 10, A Savannah River Site contractor’s refusal to share timely information clouded the Energy Department’s inquiry into a June accident in which a worker was contaminated with plutonium. Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive | Leave a comment

Russian and American concern over decommissioning nuclear reactors

Russian-Norwegian delegation visits US to talk about nuclear decommissioning, The Canadian Press:By The Associated Press (CP) 54 Oct 10, SOUTH ROYALTON, Vt. — A group of Russian and Norwegian nuclear scientists, regulators and activists is visiting Vermont and Massachusetts to learn about nuclear decommissioning. Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear decommissioning, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Stuxnet worm ushers in cyber war threat to nuclear plants

For advanced industrial nations, cyber-warfare is simultaneously a huge opportunity and a huge threat.

An undeclared war in cyberspace, FT.com m By Gideon Rachman : October 4 2010 In recent months, senior western officials have become discernibly more relaxed about the Iranian nuclear programme. It is not that they suddenly welcome the prospect of an Iranian bomb. It is just that, as one official put it recently: “We’re having quite a lot of success, disrupting what they are doing.”…..The Iranian government complains that it has been hit by “electronic warfare” in the form of the Stuxnet virus that has infected more than 30,000 computers in their country. Continue reading →

October 5, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Stuxnet “spies” arrested in Iran

Iran arrests ‘nuclear spies’ – The Times of India, 4 Oct 10, LONDON: Iran has arrested several “spies” who were involved in an attempt to sabotage the country’s nuclear programme, said Iranian intelligence minister Heydar Moslehi.The arrest followed an attack on Iran’s industrial computer network by a software bug Stuxnet that targeted Iranian nuclear facilities, including its main Bushehr power plant, British newspaper The Guardian reported Sunday.
Iran had discovered the “destructive activities of the arrogant (western powers) in cyberspace” and “different ways to confront them have been designed and implemented”, The Guardian quoted Moslehi as saying.

The Stuxnet attack infected more than 30,000 computers in Iran. Suspicions have also been growing in recent days that the Stuxnet worm may have been designed as much to spy on the systems as to destroy them.

Iran arrests ‘nuclear spies’ – The Times of India

October 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy | Leave a comment

Nuclear cooling pond an environmental and terrorist danger

Not only does nuclear waste pose an environmental risk, opponents say, the ever-growing collection of spent fuel rods inside the power plant also makes it an inviting target for terrorists…..

Nuclear waste to lingerTown unhappy as Pilgrim rods stay, PLYMOUTH The Boston Globe By Robert Knox October 3, 2010 A new ruling by nuclear power regulators that concludes it’s safe to store nuclear waste at a nuclear power plant for 60 years after the plant closes — the previous limit was 30 years — has led Plymouth officials to concede that nuclear waste will remain in town longer than anybody wants. Continue reading →

October 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Earthquake danger to Armenian nuclear reactor

Concerned over the plant’s high-risk location and ageing facilities, the European Union in 2004 offered to provide 100 million euros (135 million dollars) in compensatory aid if Yerevan agreed to shut down the reactor.

Environmentalists decry risks of new Armenia nuclear reactor, Google hosted news, By Mariam Harutunian (AFP) –4 Oct 10, YEREVAN — A short drive from the Armenian capital, the enormous cooling towers of the Metzamor nuclear power station sit in a seismic zone that has suffered one of the worst earthquakes in modern history. Continue reading →

October 3, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, reactor | Leave a comment

Security of Supply Obligation – the nuclear industry’s latest con

From being a piece of history, the nuclear industry – a fading dinosaur that has wasted billions and left a toxic legacy that will cost billions more – is pushing itself back into the headlines, rebranded as the only source of the cheap, secure and clean energy demanded by modern Britain……the nuclear industry’s real agenda: a new system of subsidies to ensure it is never again exposed to the chill winds of a free market. The industry even has a name for it: the Security of Supply Obligation.

When PR Goes Nuclear – Hybrid Guide, 29 Sept 10, In the plush surroundings of the Army & Navy Club on London’s Pall Mall, Mike Alexander, chief executive of British Energy, was holding court. Assembled before him were more than a hundred leading figures from the UK’s energy industry – all there at the behest of the Energy Industries Club, an industry body that keeps its membership secret.. Continue reading →

October 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, Ukraine | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Secret code inside Stuxnet worm suggests Israel is the source

The Secret Code Inside The Supervirus Attacking Iran Nuclear Power | Gizmodo Australia, By Jesus Diaz on September 30, 2010 Software engineers analysing the code inside Stuxnet, the supervirus that is focusing its attacks in Iran power plants, have found a secret code word that may point to its country of origin. The origin may be, oh surprise, Israel. Engineers reportedly found the word “Myrtus” inside the virus, which could be an allusion to the Book of Esther…… the Stuxnet virus didn’t kill anyone or caused any fatal damage to Iran’s nuclear plant. Designed to attack Siemens’ Simatic S-7 controllers—used in nuclear power plants as well as oil pipelines and electrical power grids—the worm has been found in China, India, and Indonesia, but it has been especially virulent in Iran. According to experts consulted by the New York Times, the secret code may not be a sloppy or whimsical reference from its developers, but a tool of psychological war. In recent years, Iran has been feeling the heat in their nuclear program, with scientists defecting and their secrets being compromised. The signature may just be a way of telling them “may no mistake, we are onto you.” The Secret Code Inside The Supervirus Attacking Iran Nuclear Power | Gizmodo Australia

October 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, reactor | Leave a comment

China’s nuclear plants now threatened by computer worm

Stuxnet ‘cyber superweapon’ moves to China, Google hosted news, 1 Oct 10 (AFP) – BEIJING — A computer virus dubbed the world’s “first cyber superweapon” by experts and which may have been designed to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities has found a new target — China.The Stuxnet computer worm has wreaked havoc in China, infecting millions of computers around the country, state media reported this week.Stuxnet is feared by experts around the globe as it can break into computers that control machinery at the heart of industry, allowing an attacker to assume control of critical systems like pumps, motors, alarms and valves.It could, technically, make factory boilers explode, destroy gas pipelines or even cause a nuclear plant to malfunction………AFP: Stuxnet ‘cyber superweapon’ moves to China

October 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Questions on Stuxnet’s ability to get into world’s top nuclear facilities

Among the questions that experts would like to answer concern the origin of the virus, its exact purpose and how it was able to spread between the protected and isolated infrastructures of some of the world’s top nuclear facilities.

All Eyes On Stuxnet At Annual Virus Researcher Summit, threat post September 29, 2010, The world will know more about the mysterious Stuxnet virus by week’s end, after top virus researchers reveal the findings of their post mortem on Stuxnet at the annual Virus Bulletin Conference. Continue reading →

October 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Slow progress in cleaning up uranium groundwater contamination

State records and Denver Water testing data indicate the pumping has failed to reduce uranium levels that far exceed drinking-water standards in Ralston Creek, which flows into Denver Water’s Ralston Reservoir.

Cotter Corp. puts a price on clean By Bruce FinleyThe Denver Post, 30 Sept 10, The federal government reimbursed Cotter Corp. nearly $3 million for cleanup of its toxic uranium mill near Cañon City — and could pay $3.3 million more for work in the future. But the work mopping up tailings and contaminated groundwater that began in 1984 is not scheduled to be complete until 2027. Continue reading →

October 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium, USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | Leave a comment