nuclear technology « nuclear-news

Iran urges focus on Israel’s nuclear weapons, in fair nuclear talks

President Ahmadinejad also urged the P5+1 countries to announce their views about Israel’s nuclear bombs.

Iran welcomes ‘fair’ nuclear talks, Press TV, 19 Oct 10, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says Tehran welcomes fair and purposeful talks with the West over its nuclear program. Continue reading →

October 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Breach of nuclear security at Sellafield nuclear plant

information on the stick that suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency technicians visiting the site were not sufficiently briefed on health and safety regulations…..

Nuclear Station Suffers USB Data Breach | eWEEK Europe UK, 19 Oct 10, An investigation has begun after a USB stick containing sensitive information about Sellafield was found in a hotel room * By: Tom Jowitt * October 19, 2010 The data breach threat posed by USB sticks has once again been exposed after nuclear processing company Sellafield began an investigation into the loss of a USB device, said to contain information about its business operations. Continue reading →

October 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology | Leave a comment

India’s nuclear negotiations run into trouble with Japan

The deal with Japan is crucial also for implementation of India’s nuclear pacts with the US and France. Both French nuclear major Areva and a US’s General Electric use reactor vessels from Japan Steel Works Limited and GE is hugely dependent on Hitachi Limited for nuclear reactors

India-Japan N-deal runs into hurdlesJayanth Jacob , Hindustan Times New Delhi, October 15, 2010 Negotiations for a crucial civil nuclear cooperation pact between India and Japan have run into hurdles over Tokyo’s insistence on stringent provisions for New Delhi’s non-proliferation actions and commitments as well as clauses dealing with a future nuclear test. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Old nuclear plants have low market value, new ones not viable

..Constellation’s finances have stabilized but demand for electric power has fallen, reducing not only the market value of old power plants but the viability of building new ones.

Constellation’s fallout with French firm unfortunately the new business as usual, The Washington Post, By Steven Pearlstein, October 14, 2010 If you were looking for an example of the erosion in standards of business behavior, you couldn’t do better than the story of Constellation Energy and its recent falling-out with the French nuclear energy company EDF….. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear “renaissance” looking riskier than ever, with cancellation of Maryland plant

There’s no gainsaying that nuclear construction projects are looking riskier all the time, especially in the United States, where many factors have conspired to spoil dreams of a big nuclear renaissance: declining energy demand since the onset of the global economic crisis (down 4 percent since 2007 in the States); plummeting natural gas prices (down almost half from what they were a few years ago); collapsing prospects for enactment of a U.S. climate bill (which would have raised the costs of fossil-fuel-generated electricity); and soaring reactor construction costs (with EDF’s current reactor 40 or 50 percent more expensive than originally billed).

Cancellation of Maryland Plant Delivers Double Whammy IEEE Spectrum: Bill Sweet , October 13, 2010 Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

USA nuclear test comes as a shock to Hiroshima mayor

The subcritical nuclear test, which took place in Nevada on Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Energy Department, clearly came as a shock to the mayor, who has supported Obama and initiated an antinuclear campaign using the president’s name.

Hiroshima mayor hits U.S. subcritical nuke test, The Japan Times Online, Kyodo News, Oct. 14, 2010 The first U.S. subcritical atomic test under President Barack Obama, who has called for a world without nuclear arms, drew harsh fire from Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba. Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Nuclear regulators cutting corners on safety, just as oil regulators did

another case of regulators cutting corners to accommodate industry’s needs, just as the now-renamed and revamped Minerals and Management Service did for the oil and gas industry before the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Nuclear watchdog groups say corners cut on fire safety, Politics AP – MiamiHerald.com, By RENEE SCHOOF 14 Oct 10, WASHINGTON — Nuclear watchdog groups say that an internal report by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on fire safety at nuclear plants shows that regulators don’t have enough information to know whether its new fire rules will ensure safety…… Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Just how much is President Obama beholden to the nuclear industry?

President Barack Obama has called for an increase to $54 billion in loan guarantees. The U.S. needs a “new generation of clean, safe nuclear power plants,” Obama said in his State of the Union address Jan. 27. …
The administration must weigh its support for nuclear power against limiting the risk that taxpayers will be stuck with the bill should a nuclear utility default,

Constellation Nuclear-Loan Pullout Tests Obama Resolve to Revive Industry, Bloomberg, By Jim Snyder and Katarzyna Klimasinska – Oct 13, 2010 A U.S. loan-guarantee program is testing how much risk the Obama administration is willing to take to revive the nuclear-power industry. Continue reading →

October 13, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Constellation Energy about to kill nuclear reactor project

Constellation Energy says loan backstop too costly, MontereyHerald.com :By DANIEL WAGNER 10/10/2010 WASHINGTON—Constellation Energy Group Inc. says it won’t tap a government program necessary to build a new nuclear plant in Maryland, in a move likely to kill the project, according to a published report on Sunday.The U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee came with “unworkable” terms and an “unreasonably burdensome” cost, Constellation said Saturday, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal……..The government guarantee was necessary for Constellation to finance the planned Calvert Cliffs 3 plant in Calvert County, Md. Lenders require developers of nuclear sites to obtain the guarantee. The projects are too costly and high-risk to qualify for regular loans…….. Constellation Energy says loan backstop too costly – MontereyHerald.com :

October 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactor, uranium | Leave a comment

Safety and costs – the top concerns about keeping aging nuclear reactors

two questions — safety and economics — lie at the heart of the research agenda now under way on plant aging…..the environment inside nuclear plants is like nothing else, subjecting reactor components to intense heat, stress, vibration and neutron bombardment that could potentially cause hidden weaknesses in reactors, pipes, joints, wiring and other components…if one were to have a seismic event — an earthquake — would the structures withstand the forces?”.

Experts Weigh Extending the Lives of Nuclear Power Plants to 80 Years- NC WARN , September 22nd, 2010 By PETER BEHR of ClimateWire Next year, when two nuclear reactors near Syracuse, N.Y., are shut down for normal refueling operations, technicians will enter their cavernous containment structures looking for signs of aging in the thick steel walls surrounding shrouds of concrete. Continue reading →

October 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

South Korea will lend $10 billion to beat AREVA in selling nukes

Beating GE, Areva. Korea Electric, the country’s biggest electricity provider, beat General Electric Co. and Areva SA of France for rights to build the U.A.E.’s first nuclear reactors.

South Korea Plans to Lend $10 Billion for U.A.E. Nuclear Plants – Bloomberg, By Ayesha Daya – // Oct 6, 2010 South Korea expects to lend about $10 billion for the United Arab Emirates’ first nuclear plants, more than doubling pledges it has already made this year to finance construction projects in the Middle East. Continue reading →

October 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, South Korea | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

France in scramble to sell nukes to India

When asked if the ministry had set a deadline for clearing the project, Ramesh said, “There is no deadline for the approval of the project but since the French President is coming in December, we hope to take a decision on it before his arrival.”
Ramesh hints at clearance for Jaitpur N plant before Sarkozy visit, The Hindu, October 6, 2010, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday voiced hope that concerns raised by locals on a nuclear power plant to be built in collaboration with France in Maharashtra would be addressed and decision taken on the project before President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit in December……..

The six-unit nuclear power project is to be set up at Jaitpur in Ratnagiri using the technological know-how from France but there has been strong opposition from local NGOs who are demanding that it be scrapped citing radiation threat and alleged inadequate land compensation.

A nod by Ramesh’s Ministry to the project before the French President’s visit would save the authorities from an embarrassment as signing of a final agreement on the plant is understood to be high on Sarkozy’s agenda. The Hindu : News / National : Ramesh hints at clearance for Jaitpur N plant before Sarkozy visit

October 7, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology | 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

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