nuclear spin « nuclear-news

Virginia Beach’s water threatened by uranium mining

Virginia Beach city officials have said they oppose the mining proposal because it could threaten the city’s water supply which includes Lake Gaston…..

Experts at Va. symposium see risks in uranium mining | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com. March 12, 2010By Rex Springston, Richmond Times-Dispatch | MCT Regional News Virginian-Pilot writer Cindy Clayton contributed to this report.Mining uranium can create health and economic problems, experts said yesterday.A company called Virginia Uranium Inc. wants to mine uranium in Pittsylvania County in south-central Virginia. Continue reading →

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment

Safety check required for U.S. Nuclear Plants

US Nuclear Power Plants To Undergo Safety Check By Madhuri Dey
Washington,March 12th, 2010, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has received an appeal from Entergy Nuclear Operations to be granted some more time to upgrade the security systems in the Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant.
The upgradation of the security systems have been a measure that has been approved by the administration of President Barack Obama, after it came to light that there are enormous loopholes in the security systems of the power plants. The recommendation was issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, with the aim of safeguarding the materials contained in the plants, and in turn protect the plants as well. In fact, it is not only the Pilgrim Station Nuclear Power Plant, but a number of other plants too that has given a petition for an extension.

March 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Nobody knows the future of USA’s nuclear wastes

“I would like to address an “elephant in the room” –What about the Blue Ribbon Commission? The Energy Collective 12 March 2010,

blue_ribbonSolutions to the issue of spent nuclear fuel won’t be decided solely at the NRC, nor with or without funding or a license application to review. A Blue Ribbon Commission, appointed by Energy Sec. Chu, will hold its first meeting March 25 & 26 in Washington, DC, to hash out policy alternatives. It will take them 18 months to produce a draft report. Alternatives include finding another geologic repository for spent fuel, reprocessing, use of fast reactors, and a lot of other ideas. No one has a lock on the future of what this body does.

A tale of two speeches

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Stalemate on U.S. Russia’s nuclear arms reduction talks

Russia U.S. Arms Deal stalled, Fox News, March 11, 2010 – by: Dana Lewis, A high level Russian government source tells me an nuclear arms agreement to replace the expired START Treaty, (Strategic Reduction Arms Treaty) which was “weeks away” from being finalized in November, and “days away” from a final draft in Dcember, and “close to being finished” in January, is “still not done and not being done for a reason”, “stalled”, “threatened”, and “going sideways” in March.

The source says Russia is disappointed and frusturated with the Obama adminstration because it is “being run now by the hawks”…..The Russians are angry America is now talking about locating a missle defense shield in Romania and Bulgaria. And the source says Russia, now firmly see’s nuclear talks and discussion of a missile defense shield firmly linked.

Russia U.S. Arms Deal stalled « Liveshots

March 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Russia joins the rush to sell nuclear reactors to India

Putin Visits India in Race With U.S. for Arms, Nuclear Deals, BusinessWeek, March 11, 2010, By Lucian Kim and Bibhudatta PradhanMarch 11 (Bloomberg) –– Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi tonight to fend off competition from the U.S. and Europe to supply arms and nuclear energy to India.Putin is set to meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh tomorrow to oversee the signing of more than $10 billion in deals, including a refurbished aircraft carrier, MiG-29 fighter jets and two nuclear reactors.

Putin Visits India in Race With U.S. for Arms, Nuclear Deals – BusinessWeek

March 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin | Leave a comment

Middle Eastern countries being sold short on nuclear disarmament

Israel which is strongly suspected of having a nuclear arsenal has refused to sign the NPT, as have both India and Pakistan, which have carried out weapons tests.

Mideast feels ‘tricked’ by nuclear arms treaty, (AFP) – Google News 11 March 2010, GENEVA — Middle Eastern countries feel tricked by the 40-year-old nuclear non proliferation treaty, an Egyptian diplomat warned on Wednesday, less than two months before crucial talks on the arms control deal. Continue reading →

March 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | MIDDLE EAST, weapons and war | cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK concerns about safety of French European Pressurised Reactor (EPR).

“the design of the EPR presents a serious risk of a major nuclear accident – a risk deliberately taken by EDF to increase its profitability.”

Design flaws in new nuclear reactors ‘could lead to UK’s Chernobyl’ | Ekklesia, 9 March 2010, Local authorities have written to the nuclear watchdog following new concerns over the design safety of nuclear reactors planned for the UK and of fears about a Chernobyl-type accident. Continue reading →

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, EDF, France, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry’s “Safety Cultures” questioned

Aging Reactors Put Nuclear Power Plant ‘Safety Cultures’ in the Spotlight The New York Times By PETER BEHR , March 9, 2010 “…..”The resurgence in interest [in nuclear power] is dependent upon the sustained faith and reliability performance of the current fleet,” NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki said last year. “The nuclear industry remains … just one incident away from retrenchment.”..

Aging Reactors Put Nuclear Power Plant ‘Safety Cultures’ in the Spotlight – NYTimes.com

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactor | Leave a comment

France’s Sarkozy keen to sell nuclear reactors, but just to help poor countries!

+jordanFrench President Sarkozy Says Nuclear Power Key To Economic Growth, Clean Environment, Examiner.com March 9, Examiner, Michael Zey “…In his speech Sarkozy reiterated France’s support for the continued development of nuclear energy throughout the world. However, Sarkozy made an even more important pronouncement: aggressive development of technologies such as nuclear power is key to lifting the developing nations out of poverty and increasing the net wealth of the planet…..Of course, the French president’s own candidate for best new nuclear plant design is the one France’s own Areva has developed. Areva has designed the European Pressurized Reactor (EPR), a third-generation reactor design that France considers the most advanced in the world.

+jordanFrench President Sarkozy Says Nuclear Power Key To Economic Growth, Clean Environment

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, spinbuster | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactor | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear power industry stalled in Parliament

Now, nuclear liabilities bill under a cloud, Business Standard, New Delhi March 10, 2010, The Bharatiya Janata Party, the largest opposition party that helped pass the women’s Bill, has now told the government that it would do nothing to jeopardise the Finance Bill and the Vote on Account — which needs to be passed by March 16 when Parliament goes into recess.

But it would not help it pass the critical Civil Liability for Nuclear Damages Bill…..The nuclear liabilities Bill is considered essential to jump-start civil nuclear commerce. …If the UPA could have banked on SP and RJD’s support, it could have ignored the opposition’s objections. But in the current environment, it is entirely possible that if the Bill is introduced in the lower House, it could be defeated.

Now, nuclear liabilities bill under a cloud

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

France taking a moral posture on its nuclear sales pitch

French PM: EPR Reactor Is World’s Safest In Its Class – WSJ.com, By Adam Mitchell Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES PARIS (Dow Jones) 10 March 2010, –France’s flagship EPR-type nuclear reactor is the world’s safest in its class and the French nuclear-safety arrangements are the most complete in the world, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said Tuesday.Fillon’s speech to a nuclear conference contrasts with recent allegations by an anti-nuclear group, Sortir du Nucleaire, which cast aspersions on the EPR-type reactor’s safety….
The prime minister also said that France ….. has a “responsibility” to promote civil nuclear technology around the world.

UPDATE: French PM: EPR Reactor Is World’s Safest In Its Class – WSJ.com

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, spinbuster | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Obama’s nuclear greenwash just doesn’t wash

Don’t buy Obama’s greenwashing of nuclear power | Erich Pica | guardian.co.uk, 10 March 2010, Last month, inspectors found dangerous chemicals in the groundwater near the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. The situation demonstrates that from the mining of uranium ore to the storage of radioactive waste, nuclear reactors remain as dirty, risky, and as costly as they ever were. If President Obama’s recent enthusiasm for nuclear reactors has led you to believe otherwise, you’ve bought in to the administration’s greenwashing of nuclear. Continue reading →

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin | 1 Comment

President Obama the nuclear industry’s Golden Boy

Obama’s Nuclear Dreams: Resurrecting a Noxious Industry, He may soon be called the nuclear industry’s Golden Child. t r u t h o u t |, 10 March 2010, No president in the Obama’s Nuclear Dreams: Resurrecting a Noxious Industrylast three decades has put more taxpayer dollars behind atom power than Barack Obama. And there may be good reason why the president is salivating over the prospect of building new nuclear power plants around the country. … Continue reading →

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Israel pushing for Iran nuclear sanctions

Israel tries to jump-start calls for Iran nuclear sanctions

By Glenn Kessler and Janine Zacharia

Washington Post Staff Writer
March 9, 2010, Israeli officials are beginning to signal impatience with the slow pace of diplomacy aimed at restraining Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Continue reading →

March 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

AREVA warns on nuclear industry safety shortcuts

No “two-track” nuclear industry, warns Areva | Business News, 9 March 2010, The CEO of nuclear reactor builder Areva has warned against cutting corners on nuclear reactor projects at an international nuclear conferenceBy Chris Farnell
The conference took place at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Speaking to the conference, Areva Chief Executive, Anne Lauvergeon, said: “We cannot see a two-track nuclear industry develop, with a low-cost one for some and high standards for others.”….

United States Deputy Secretary of Energy, Daniel Poneman, who also attended the OECD conference, said there could be no compromise on safety at nuclear plants.

“We still must focus on security. A nuclear accident anywhere is a nuclear accident everywhere,” he said.