nuclear spin « nuclear-news

American city mayors call for a stop to nuclear weapons modernisation

“The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on the U.S. Congress to terminate funding for modernization of the nuclear weapons complex and nuclear weapons systems, to reduce spending on nuclear weapons programs well below Cold War levels, and to redirect funds to meet the urgent needs of cities.”

U.S. Conference of Mayors Calls on Congress to Slash Nuclear Weapons | WarIsACrime.org, 18 June 2010, Spending and Redirect Funds to Meet the Needs of Cities Mayors for Peace congratulates the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) for unanimously adopting a groundbreaking resolution, Supporting U.S. Participation in Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and Redirection of Nuclear Weapons Spending to Meet the Needs of Cities, at the conclusion of its 78th annual meeting in Oklahoma City on June 14, 2010. Continue reading →

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Just like oil, nuclear ‘safety reviews’ rubber-stamped industry analyses

the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Office of Inspector General reported in 2006 that NRC staff “safety reviews” of atomic reactor 20 year license extension applications were regularly “cut and pasted” directly from nuclear utility analyses, sometimes verbatim. NRC has thus far rubberstamped approval for every single one of the over 50 license extension requests it has recieved, with many more awaiting approval.

House hearing ion Gulf catastrophe should serve as a warning on reactor risks, Beyond Nuclear 18 June 2010, The grilling of BP and other oil company executives at a June 15, 2010 U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Environment Subcommittee hearing on the BP Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe should serve as a warning that very similar risks exist in the nuclear power industry, albeit radiological rather than petrol. Continue reading →

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Taxpayer would cop major cost of UK nuclear wastes

The real costs of nuclear power ,The Guardian, Darren Johnson , 17 June 2010, Paul Spence says the nuclear industry expects to pay the full cost of decommissioning a new generation of nuclear power stations (Response, 15 June). But his words about “our full share of waste management and disposal costs” were carefully chosen. The consultation document reveals that EDF considers their full share of these costs to be around 20% of the total. As our report Nuclear Power? No Point! highlighted last year, nuclear is only responsible for 4% of the energy consumed in the UK. More energy can be saved by energy conservation measures in homes and businesses. Focusing on the nuclear industry takes resources away from building new renewable capacity, which, given sufficient political will, could provide more than enough electricity for the UK.

Letters: The real costs of nuclear power | Environment | The Guardian

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Australian union’s stand on danger of nuclear industry is echoed in UK

“We will be urging unions in the UK to join in the stand opposing nuclear- rather than joining the industry’s Compensation Scheme for Radiation Linked Diseases which has thousands of applicants and has paid out millions of pounds – with the caveat that you don’t talk about it,”

Radiation Free Lakeland backs Aussie unions’ nuclear stance , GETNOTICEDONLINE Uk 14 June 2010 Radiation Free Lakeland is supporting Australian unions who have banned members from working in the nuclear industry.Largely unreported in the British press, the Victorian branch of the ETU has given its full support to the Queensland and the Northern Territories branches’ decision to ban members from working in uranium mines, nuclear power plants or any part of the nuclear fuel cycle. Continue reading →

June 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, UK | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Bill Gates’ pie in the sky idea for prolonging the agony of declining nuclear industry

TerraPower’s Multibillion-Dollar Nuclear Reactor Plan – Venture Capital Dispatch – WSJ, 16 June 2010, By Yuliya ChernovaIf your first product is due on the market in nine years, at a cost of between $3 billion and $4 billion, can you raise venture money now? In the case of TerraPower LLC, the answer is yes. The Bellevue, Wash.-based nuclear technology developer announced this week it raised $35 million in its Series B round from new investor Khosla Ventures and returning backers Charles River Ventures and Bill Gates.
…………. there are still years of engineering and development work ahead for the team………
Besides having to overcome technological and financial challenges, TerraPower would also have to deal with a difficult regulatory framework. In the U.S., the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issues licenses for new nuclear power plant designs; it typically takes years to secure one.

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

In light of new tax, Europe’s nuclear industry faces uncertain future

other countries could adopt similar measures on all utilities, or on target nuclear….the new move will bring uncertainty in the European nuclear sector,

Huge nuclear tax on the cards in Germany, World Nuclear News, By Rumyana Vakarelska, 15 June 2010 The German Ministry of Finance has envisaged an additional €2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) per year ‘windfall tax’ on nuclear operators as part of the 2011 Federal Budget and its financial plan up to 2014………..According to the German Finance Ministry the charge “will be necessary, as part of an overall energy concept, to prolong the operational life of nuclear power plants.” At a time when Germany is looking for tens of billions of euros in budget savings, the ministry said that the money will be used to meet nuclear decommissioning and final repository costs…… Continue reading →

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Germany | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Video: Australia imposing nuclear waste dump on Aboriginal land

VIDEO Australia nuclear waste dump row – Asia-Pacific – Al Jazeera English Australia nuclear waste dump row – Asia-Pacific – Al Jazeera 17 June 2010, Australia’s government is pushing its plans for a nuclear waste dump in a remote part of the country’s Northern Territory.It has signed an agreement with the traditional owners of the land who will receive $10m in compensation, most of it in cash.But the proposed nuclear dump has divided local people while and environmentalists warn it could one day be used to store waste from overseas.Al Jazeera’s Azhar Sukri reports.

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, wastes | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear liabilty Bill designed to protect Westinghouse and General Electric

“What Westinghouse and General Electric want is that even the limited liability that accrued to the Union Carbide in the case of Bhopal [$470 million as per the settlement approved by the Supreme Court] should not fall on them.”

Bill meant to safeguard U.S. firms, says Karat, The Hindu , 17 June 2010, NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh-led government is under pressure from Washington on the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill and the proposed legislation bears the handiwork of the U.S. nuclear industry lobby. Continue reading →

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment

U.S.- Russia agreement designed to further commercial nuclear power

The Importance of the US-Russia 123 Agreement, ClimateIntel. June 16, 2010 The Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation for Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (also known as the 123 Agreement) serves not only non-proliferation, but also the commercial interests of both countries…..

The U.S.-Russia agreement for peaceful nuclear cooperation would create a legal framework for:

exporting U.S. nuclear technology, material, or equipment;
importing Russian nuclear technology;
jointly developing advanced nuclear technologies;
reprocessing in Russia of U.S.-origin spent nuclear fuel from various U.S. partners (i.e. South Korea, Taiwan)….

The International Nuclear Energy Cooperation (INEC) initiative seeks to “foster the safe, reliable, and environmentally sustainable use of nuclear energy

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Oil spill should awaken us to nuclear danger

Waging Peace Today: Scenarios For Nuclear Catastrophe, David Krieger, 16 June 2010, “….. Continued offshore oil drilling runs the risk of future offshore oil leak catastrophes that will destroy large aquatic and shoreline habitats. Applied to nuclear weapons, the proposition could be restated in this way: Continued reliance on nuclear weapons runs the risk of future nuclear catastrophes that will destroy cities, countries and civilization……. Continue reading →

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium endangering rare seal

to protect marine mammals and other marine life from……….highly toxic materials like depleted uranium that have been deposited by the military.

Saving the world’s rarest seal from uranium, guardian Uk, 17 June 2010, Dr Anastasia Miliou was interviewed by Georgina Kenyon“....Greek conservationists from the Greek NGO, Archipelagos, work to protect endangered common dolphins and monk seals and also the region’s marine ecosystems from the effects of overfishing, shipping, and the military. Dr Anastasia Miliou, manager and head scientist from Archipelagos Institute of Marine and Environmental Research of the Aegean Sea, based on the Greek island of Samos in the eastern Aegean, explains about seals, uranium deposits and sonar Continue reading →

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Greece | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Saudi Arabia planning to enrich uranium?

Kingdom may enrich uranium for nuclear plants By AMENA BAKR | REUTERS Arab News, Jun 17, 2010 DUBAI: Saudi Arabia may mine and enrich uranium to fuel power plants if it embarks on a civilian nuclear energy program, a consultant preparing a draft nuclear strategy for the Kingdom said on Wednesday….

Saudi Arabia and the United States signed a nuclear cooperation deal in 2008. France said in 2009 it was close to finalizing a civilian nuclear agreement. The Kingdom has also talked to Russia about nuclear cooperation. Any program would likely be similar in value and size to the UAE’s plan, Elkuch said. Kingdom may enrich uranium for nuclear plants – Arab News

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, Saudi Arabia | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, uranium | Leave a comment

UK CLAIMS to support nuclear energy without tax-payer subsidy

The government’s energy priorities are becoming clear – and nuclear tops the list, Ever , BusinessGreen Blog, 16 june 2010,Ever since taking office as energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne has tried to appear even-handed in the on-going debate between the nuclear and renewable energy sectors.He has elegantly distanced himself from his previous opposition to nuclear, admitting that he would support new reactors if energy firms can demonstrate that they will be built without public subsidy….

..The problem is that while the rhetoric indicates a balanced energy policy, what little action we have seen since the new government took office suggests the nuclear industry is beginning to establish itself as top dog…..it has been the nuclear industry that today received a clear signal from energy minister Charles Hendry that the government will remove the “unnecessary” barriers it faces. In fact, Hendry’s speech boiled down to a remarkably unequivocal message: “don’t worry, we’ll look after you”.

The government’s energy priorities are becoming clear – and nuclear tops the list – BusinessGreen Blog

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear weapons policy is designed to fail

it’s designed to fail. U.S. policy is designed to keep a hold on power and wealth, and the people running the country believe nuclear weapons are useful in that quest….

No Nukes/No Empire: Pax Christi Australia NSW The Abolition of Nuclear Weapons Requires the End of the U.S. Empire by Robert Jensen
CommonDreams.org June 15, 2010 “….the world can change — if the dominant military power in the world, the United States, can change. If the United States could give up the quest to consume a disproportionate share of the world’s resources and disavow its reliance on securing that unjust distribution of wealth through the largest and most destructive military in the history of the world, things could change. Continue reading →

June 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

U.S. company Halliburton slyly selling nuclear technology to Iran

Halliburton Sells Nuclear Tech to Iran The Sly Oyster, by James Furbush June 15, 2010 · Interesting. Seems like Halliburton has found a way to profit from every conceivable scenario. Can’t even fault them, really, savvy business practices. It’s just unfortunate they’re able to take advantage of the system set up.

So, Halliburton creates offshore entities to circumvent the U.S. ban on doing business in Iran, and part of what passes through this truly ridiculous loophole is nuclear enabling technology. All of the profit ends up in a Cayman Islands shell company so there’s no U.S. tax burden, and when we have to go interdict anuclear armed Iran Halliburton gets paid again supporting our military in the conflict. Halliburton Sells Nuclear Tech to Iran