nuclear « nuclear-news

Germany: costly transport of nuclear wastes through protest

17,000 policemen, at a cost of up to 50 million euros ($70 million), were used over the weekend to keep an estimated 35,000 people from blocking the path of the train,

Mounting disappointments boost anti-nuclear protests Deutsche Welle Ben Knight, 08.11.2010 “……..The ongoing civil disobedience campaign against a train delivery of nuclear waste to a storage facility in Gorleben is being reported as one of the biggest of its kind ever in Germany. Continue reading →

November 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, opposition to nuclear | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

USA misled workers on health risks from nuclear weapons plant

General Services Administration gave wrong or misleading responses to employee questions about environmental conditions, lacked a clear understanding of its responsibilities and failed to document possible health hazards.

U.S. faulted on nuclear parts plant health threat, KANSAS CITY Nov 8 (Reuters) – Federal workers were kept in the dark about possible health risks from a plant making parts for nuclear weapons next door to their Kansas City offices, Continue reading →

November 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Obama’s nuclear concessions to India, despite India not joining Nuclear non Proliferation Treaty

Both the Missile Technology Control Regime and the nuclear exporters group mandate that nations seeking membership join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. India has not done so

Obama Eases Nuclear Export Controls on India, Washington and New Delhi also inked a memorandum of understanding that outlines areas the United States can collaborate with India as the South Asian state establishes the Global Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership, the White House announced, Global Security Newswire, Nov. 8, 2010 President Obama on Saturday declared the United States would ease some controls on high-tech trade with nuclear-armed India, restrictions originally put in place in response to the South Asian nation’s 1998 nuclear tests, Continue reading →

November 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear decommissioning, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

World at risk from 27.000 nuclear weapons

27,000 nuclear weapons threaten the world: Iran’s IAEA envoy, Tehran Times , 8 Nov 10, TEHRAN – Today the world is threatened by 27,000 nuclear weapons, Iran’s permanent envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency said during a conference on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in Vienna on Monday.The bilateral agreements known as START 1 and START 2 distract attention from the need to immediately dismantle all nuclear weapons, Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh stated…….tehran times : 27,000 nuclear weapons threaten the world: Iran’s IAEA envoy

November 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

17,000 police can’t get nuclear waste train through German protest

Police used tear gas, baton charges, horses, water cannon, pepper spray and human brute force but wave after wave of protesters continued to swarm on the last stretch of track before the city of Dannenberg.

Fierce battles as nuclear ‘train of death’ held up in GermanyA nuclear waste train inching through Germany was unlikely to reach its destination until Monday after massive protests along every foot of railway line. Telegraph By Allan Hall in Berlin 07 Nov 2010 “….The security operation to ensure the cargo of reprocessed fuel from nuclear power stations in Germany reaches its destination is one of the biggest ever mounted with 17,000 police officers on duty. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, opposition to nuclear | antinuclear, Copenhagen, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

No, Mr President, we can’t ‘restart’ the nuclear industry

A “commercial” nuclear reactor would cost upwards of 15 billion dollars to build in America today and require massive government subsidies which could be invested in, for example, offshore wind power and transmission lines instead.

A response to President Obama on nuclear industry, Media With Conscience , By Ace Hoffman, 8 Nov 10, During a press conference after the elections this week, President Obama made a short reference in vague support of nuclear energy. He said:”There’s been discussion about how we can restart our nuclear industry as a means of reducing our dependence on foreign oil and reducing greenhouse gases. Is that an area where we can move forward?” Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, renewable energy, renewables, uranium | Leave a comment

“Backscatter”scanners at airports increase risk to health

“It is important to note that there are “backscatter” AIT devices now being deployed that produce ionizing radiation, which could be harmful to your health,”

Pilots boycott full-body scanners over health fears By Kate Schneider news.com.au November 08, 2010 THE world’s largest pilot’s association has boycotted full-body scanners over health risks but passengers wishing to avoid the devices may instead be faced with “invasive” pat-down searches. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation risks to airline crews and to frequent fliers

passengers could be subjected to increasing risk to cancer due to such radiation levels..

Airline frequent fliers ‘radiation poisoning risks’ from space ‘solar flare’ storm activity – Telegraph By Andrew Hough 05 Nov 2010 Researchers found passengers faced the “hazard” of space radiation, which created unhealthy levels of exposure while flying at “typical cruise altitudes” of 40,000 feet. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

16 nuclear submarine crashes, admission by UK Ministry of Defence

The incident involving HMS Astute was clearly not a one-off, and the MoD must explain why previous groundings have not been made public,…….

Revealed: MoD admits to 16 nuclear submarine crashes – Herald Scotland Rob Edwards, 7 Nov 2010 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been accused of a “catalogue of blunders” after admitting there have been 16 crashes involving British nuclear-powered submarines since 1988. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) a target for smuggling

the world should phase out the civilian use of HEU, which is still used to fuel more than 100 research reactors around the world, many with minimal security measures in place.

Nuclear smuggling: The expert view, Insider thieves are the new nuclear threat. Protect the materials and prevent the terrorism, Matthew Bunn, guardian.co.uk, 7 November 2 The dark netherworlds of nuclear smuggling still pose a terrible danger to us all. Terrorists are seeking nuclear weapons and the materials to make them. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take a Manhattan Project to make a crude nuclear bomb – numerous government studies have warned that a sophisticated terrorist group might pull it off, if they could get enough nuclear material. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Uranium | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

US nuclear missile systems are not proven effective

The authors conclude that the new US nuclear strategy is based on an alarming “technical myth” that GMD and SM-3 systems are proven and effective………

US nuclear safety claim is a ‘dangerous fantasy’, Eureka Alert, London, UK (November 1, 2010) – In April 2010, the US government adopted a new nuclear strategy that depends on the conclusion that the current missile defense systems will reliably protect the continental United States in the extreme circumstances of nuclear-armed combat. Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Secret trial reveals illicit trade in nuclear materials

The trial, which is being held in camera, has underlined how little about the illicit trade in nuclear smuggling is known.

Armenian smugglers tried to sell nuclear material to terrorists The former Soviet republic of Armenia has emerged as a potential flashpoint for nuclear smuggling after it was revealed that two Armenian nationals tried to sell highly enriched uranium to people they thought were terrorists in March. Telegraph By Andrew Osborn in Moscow 07 Nov 2010 Continue reading →

November 8, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Time running out for Vermont nuclear plant

An Uncertain Nuclear Countdown, November 5, 2010, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD If the clock is ticking on the lifetime of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant, when will it actually close? Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

AREVA illegally storing radioactive nuclear waste

These containers are highly radioactive, and the rail terminal has not been classified as a basic nuclear installation – a classification necessary for any building storing nuclear waste. Greenpeace has therefore filed a complaint against French nuclear giant Areva for use of an undeclared basic nuclear installation, by storing nuclear waste in a place not designed for this purpose.

Complaint against AREVA for illegal storage of nuclear waste Greenpeace International, by JulietteH – November 4, 2010, On Tuesday, at 3pm, Greenpeace conducted a citizen inspection at the entrance of the railway terminal in the small town of Valognes, France. Activists carried out radiation measurements by monitoring the passage of trucks that have been carrying containers of highly radioactive nuclear waste for a week. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Radioactive rabbit near highly radioactively contaminated Hanford

Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site English.news.cn 2010-11-06 SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) — The Washington State Department of Health workers have been searching for contaminated droppings after a radioactive rabbit was caught north of Richland in southeastern Washington, home to the Hanford nuclear site, local media reported Friday.
According to Tri-City Herald, the rabbit, which was highly contaminated with radioactive cesium, caught the health authorities’ attention because it was close enough to the nuclear site’s boundaries to potentially come in contact with the public…..Hanford currently is the most contaminated nuclear site in the United States and is the focus of the nation’s largest environmental cleanup. Last year, 33 contaminated animals or animal materials such as droppings were found on the site. Radioactive rabbit caught near U.S. nuclear site