nuclear spin « nuclear-news

Nuclear Regulatory Commission conning the American people on radioactive wastes

This latest decision will now block any attempt by environmental groups or concerned citizens to challenge the generation of irradiated nuclear fuel at atomic reactors, as in new reactor licensing proceedings or old reactor license extension proceedings, for NRC now considers the matter closed……concerned citizens should contact U.S. House Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey (D-MA), as well as U.S. House Domestic Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), urging that they launch investigative oversight hearings into this latest NRC “favor” for the nuclear power industry — approving unlimited generation of forever deadly high-level radioactive waste, while blocking citizen interventions seeking to prevent it.

NRC plays “Nuclear Waste Con Game” on the American people, Beyond Nuclear, 18 Sept 10

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday updated its “Nuclear Waste Confidence Rule,” expressing “confidence” that commercial irradiated nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste (implying reprocessing) can be stored safely and securely, either on-site or off-site, for 60 years after operation licenses have expired at atomic reactors. Continue reading →

September 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Niger- indigenous poverty, uranium riches for the West

VIDEO –BBC News – People starve in Niger despite having large uranium reserves BBC News, 17 Sept 10 -The kidnapping of five French nationals in Niger who were working on uranium production has thrown the spotlight on the West African state’s mineral wealth.According to the UN, Niger is the poorest nation on earth in development terms.The fact that its people are going hungry despite having the world’s second biggest reserves of uranium has fuelled growing resentment.Zeinab Badawi reports from Niger.

September 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uranium | antinuclear, AREVA, France, indigenous, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, uranium | Leave a comment

Drug against ionising radiation- a lucrative business?

appears to strengthen the body’s ability to recover from radiation exposure.

U.S. invests in drug to protect against radiation | Reuters, By Julie Steenhuysen, CHICAGO | Fri Sep 17, 2010 CHICAGO – Tiny biotech Cleveland BioLabs Inc has won a $45 million contract from the Department of Defense to conduct clinical trials of a drug to prevent cell damage in the event of nuclear attack…… Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

The end for South Africa’s failed Pebble Bed Nuclear Reactor

Hopes that a successful bid by a US consortium — which included Westinghouse, one of the PBMR’s partners — for the US’s next-generation nuclear plant programme would give the PBMR a new lease of life were dashed when Westinghouse withdrew in May.

Hogan ends pebble bed reactor project, BusinessDay The government’s decision to stop investing in the project supersedes its previous decision to downsize the PBMR company by 75%. LINDA ENSOR 2010/09/17 Public Enterprises Minister Barbara Hogan drew the final curtain yesterday on SA’s bid to be a leader in nuclear technology when she announced the closure of the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR), which has cost R7,4bn of taxpayers’ money……… Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | South Africa, technology | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology | Leave a comment

Nuclear power a goer only in new nuclear weapons states

…….. the nuclear industry, at heart, is a military industry holding up a battered commercial facade.

Nowhere is this more true than in the new markets of China, Russia and India – nuclear weapons states -.

Old-tech nuclear power is not the answer * Scott Ludlam The Australian * September 17, 2010 LET’S not expect a volatile, antiquated technology to solve any problems “…… All nuclear power stations are based on 1940s-era technology to build nuclear weapons. They are essentially plutonium factories, producing small quantities of plutonium while shedding vast amounts of heat.

In the 50s, Soviet and US engineers realised they could adapt these plants for power generation, hooking them up to steam turbines and promising electricity that was “too cheap to meter”. Now we have more than 400 of these hybridised weapons plants generating a shrinking fraction of electricity across the world. Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Western Australia’s sham uranium safety study panel

Sitting on the panel are pro-nuclear lobbyists and behind the scenes are corporate sponsors including some that are anything but independent.

BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are two of the sponsors – companies with operating uranium mines in Australia and uranium interests in WA.

Uranium industry’s record raises doubts, The West Australian, By Mia Pepper September 16th, 2010, The Barnett Government recently announced that the Australian Centre for Geomechanics had won a tender to form an “independent panel on uranium mining regulations”. Continue reading →

September 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, spinbuster | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Shelter in basement in the event of nuclear attack – oh yeah!

New Yorkers told to head for basements in the event of a nuclear attack – NYPOST.com, By CYNTHIA FAGEN, September 15, 2010 People living in large cities like New York have a better chance of surviving a nuclear attack if they go underground rather than head for the hills, according to a Stanford University risk-analysis study. Taking shelter in basements or behind thick office walls for 12 to 24 hours is safer than getting caught on clogged roads while being exposed to radiation, the researchers said.

New Yorkers told to head for basements in the event of a nuclear attack – NYPOST.com

September 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

USA has no strategic plan for nuclear detection

Senators demand a better plan for nuclear detection GovExec.com, By Norah Swanson nswanson@govexec.com September 15, 2010 Senators on Wednesday blasted a nuclear detection unit for failing to develop a strategic plan, and asked officials to produce one as soon as possible.The Homeland Security Department has spent nearly $4 billion on aspects of a system to find illicit radiological and nuclear materials, but has yet to complete a comprehensive strategy for the project, the Government Accountability Office testified during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing…….

Senators demand a better plan for nuclear detection (9/15/10) — GovExec.com

September 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

The nuclear energy Quick Fix reactors are sitting ducks for terrorism

These countries, exactly like China and India, are however committing themselves to the same gleaming high-tech Quick Fix nuclear solution to power shortages, to keep their economies growing at record rates. This will vastly extend the Doomsday threat of large reactors being treated as sitting duck military targets in regional conflicts……..Each new large-sized civil reactor is potentially a Chernobyl-type Dirty Bomb

Nuclear Renaissance or The End of Nations ? : The Market Oracle, By Andrew McKillop, 15 Sept 10, NUCLEAR RENAISSANCE T he 2010-2020 decade marks the world’s “Nuclear Renaissance” according to triumphal industry spokesmen. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | 2 Comments

USA will need to postpone vote on nuclear weapons treaty

Ratification requires 67 votes in the Senate. Democrats and their two independent allies hold 59 seats, meaning they cannot approve START without Republican support……

Top US senator: No nuclear treaty vote before elections, Google hosted news, (AFP) –15 sept 10, WASHINGTON — The US Senate should put off its final vote on a landmark nuclear arms control treaty until after November legislative elections, the senior US lawmaker leading the ratification effort said Tuesday. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Anti-radiation pills irrelevant in case of nuclear accident

In other words, if there’s an accident at McGuire and you live within 10 miles of it, you are essentially screwed: the roads are going to be clogged and probably at a standstill, so getting away in one, four, eight, or probably even 24 hours, is not real likely.

Poor nuclear evacuation plans offset KI pills’ benefits | theCLog, September 14th, 2010 by John Grooms in Boomer with Attitude, “……..Health departments in five counties, including Mecklenburg, will hand out potassium iodide (aka KI) to folks living within 10 miles of our area’s two nuclear plants, McGuire and Catawba. Taking the KI is supposed to reduce the risk of thyroid cancer resulting from radiation leaks during what is delicately termed a “nuclear emergency.” It’s a shame – and we mean that literally – that the whole thing is a charade. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear weaponry in the skies

The most likely candidates to unleash an atomic holocaust are rivals India and Pakistan, who share a border, a legacy of war, and a tendency to test nuclear weapons.

Neither country is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),

India’s Nuclear Weapons Take to the Skies, TakePart – Adam Trunell 15 Sept 10, With most of the Armageddon-fearing planet apparently losing its taste for nuclear weapons, India’s upped its investment in the end of civilization with the planned purchase of 40 nuclear-capable fighter jets. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, weapons and war | antinuclear, disarmament, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Merkel bypasses German Parliament in move to prolong nuclear power

Merkel has indicated that she believes she will be able to bypass the Bundesrat because the new deal prolongs the phase-out period, but does not actually overturn the 2002 law. This apparent skipping of parliamentary process in such a significant policy for Germany’s energy future will form the crux of the anti-nuclear lobby’s opposition……..The Social Democratic Party and the Greens have made it clear that if the deal goes ahead they will make it a major issue in the next election and overturn it if elected.

Germany’s ‘hot autumn’ of nuclear discontent, Sydney Morning Herald, James Norman and Dave Sweeney, September 15, 2010, “…….. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat coalition will move a new accord to extend the life-span of Germany’s 17 existing nuclear power plants by 12 years ….

The move has signalled a new “hot autumn” of anti-nuclear sentiment in Berlin and beyond. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics | antinuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Merkel’s murky deals with nuclear lobby now arousing German opposition

Opposition, both within her government and elsewhere, is on the rise……the cloak-and-dagger approach would only spark suspicions among the public that the government had reached a secret agreement benefiting the power companies.

Coalition Fission – Merkel’s Nuclear Plan Encounter Mounting Opposition :Free Internet Press, 13 Sept 10 Chancellor Angela Merkel had hoped that with a quick resolution, she could sidestep a national debate over nuclear energy. Many, though, see her new plan as a windfall for the country’s power utilities. Continue reading →

September 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Moscow facing up to its nuclear radiation mess

There is also an issue of unknown radioactive dumps. Tens of them are found every year all over Moscow…People just do not know whether any nuclear waste is nearby and what the level of radiation on the surface is.

Radiation scare for Moscow parks The Moscow News, – Evgeniya Chaykovskaya – 13 Sept 10, Levels of radiation on Moscow’s streets have reached a level so high that the authorities are about to spend 4.7 billion roubles to get rid of it.The $153 million clean-up will run from 2011-2013 amid reports of no fewer than 18 dangerous radioactive objects within the capital.