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Obama and 200 corporate heavies to India to sell nuclear technology

Over 200 US corporate chiefs are accompanying Mr Obama, including Jeffrey Inmelt of GE, seeking to sell to India civil nuclear equipment worth billions of dollars.

US trade drive in India includes arms and civil nuclear material – The Irish Times – Sat, Nov 06, 2010, RAHUL BEDI in New Delhi US PRESIDENT Barack Obama arrives in India today on a three-day official trip that promises to be high on ceremony and sentiment but somewhat low on tangible “deliverables”…. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Sarkozy selling France’s nuclear rechnology to China

a slew of business deals including a $3.5 billion contract with energy firm Areva

France, China to form nuclear power partnership | Reuters -Areva signs three deals with China, eyes EPR sale China signs $20 bln of business contracts in France PARIS, Nov 4 (Reuters) – France and China have agreed to form a strategic partnership in civilian nuclear power that ranges from building reactors in common to exploiting uranium mines, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Thursday. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, France, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

Entergy trying to sell Vermont Yankee nuclear plant

State lawmakers have reacted vehemently to a series of misstatements and missteps by Entergy and leaks of radioactive tritium at the plant, in Vernon, Vt., on the banks of the Connecticut River near the Massachusetts border….

Vermont Nuclear Plant Up for Sale, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD November 4, 2010 Entergy Nuclear, evidently convinced that the Vermont legislature will not allow the company to run the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant for another 20 years, announced on Thursday that the plant was up for sale. Continue reading →

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

BNP Paribas banking group to fund a dangerous obsolete nuclear reactor

This reactor fails to meet international safety standards, in addition its outdated, decades old technology would never be permitted in France itself. It is a dangerous nuclear project that should not go ahead – yet BNP Paribas wants to finance it. This money would come partially from customers’ savings – which make up 45% of the banking group’s global revenue.

Why isn’t BNP Paribas ‘sharing’ its nuclear projects on Facebook? Greenpeace International, by Laura K. – November 4, 2010 Two weeks ago we revealed banking group BNP Paribas, the world’s leading investor in the nuclear industry, is planning to fund an obsolete, dangerous nuclear reactor in Brazil – Angra 3. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, reactor | Leave a comment

Australia’s new big role in USA’s military strategy

the Australian development is part of a new U.S. strategy to step up its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, after reviews of strategic policy concluded that the U.S. government’s attempts to project power from North America were not working.

Australia, U.S. agree to major escalation of military co-operation 06 November 2010 FOCUS News Agency Canberra. Australia has agreed to a major escalation of military co-operation with the U.S., Xinhua informed. According to The Weekend Australian newspaper, the move will include more visits by American ships, aircraft and troops and their forces exercising. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, weapons and war | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

UK nuclear powered submarine ran into rescue vessel

U.K.’s Stricken Nuclear Submarine HMS Astute Collided With Rescue Vessel, Bloomberg, By Chris Spillane – Nov 5, 2010 HMS Astute, the British nuclear- powered submarine that ran aground off Scotland’s Isle of Skye last month, collided with one of the vessels charged with its rescue, the defense ministry said……Astute, which was commissioned into the Royal Navy on Aug. 27, is “the U.K.’s most powerful attack submarine,” the ministry said on its website. Built by BAE Systems Plc, it is quieter than other submarines in the fleet, even though it is 50 percent bigger, and can circumnavigate the world without surfacing…… U.K.’s Stricken Nuclear Submarine HMS Astute Collided With Rescue Vessel – Bloomberg

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Israel asked George W.Bush to bomb Syrian nuclear facility

Bush: Olmert asked me to bomb Syrian reactor – Israel News, Ynetnews, 6 Nov 10, Former President George W. Bush says he considered ordering a US military strike against a suspected Syrian nuclear facility at Israel’s request in 2007, but ultimately opted against it. Continue reading →

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, reactor | Leave a comment

Trouble in selling a troubled nuclear reactor

Anyone Want to Help Build a Reactor?, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD, November 1, 2010, A partnership between Constellation Energy and Electricité de France to build a new reactor in Maryland has broken up, with Constellation concluding that the economics are unfavorable because of electricity market conditions and the terms demanded by the Energy Department for a loan guarantee.
But Electricité de France wants to go forward and has bought out Constellation’s share of the joint venture, Unistar Nuclear. The problem is that American law requires that the plant have an American partner as a majority owner. Whom could the company recruit?….

Another possiblity for EDF would be to seek a change in the law, to allow foreign ownership of a nuclear reactor. (That rule dates from the cold war days.) But on Friday, the chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, was noncommittal when asked what he thought of this idea.

The commission’s job, he said, is to enforce the law, and “I’m not aware of any proposals in Congress” for changes…….. Anyone Want to Help Build a Reactor? – NYTimes.com

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Strategic deal between USA and New Zealand

US, New Zealand sign strategic deal after nuclear row , BBC News -4 November 2010 New Zealand and the US have signed a strategic co-operation document to restore relations after a 25-year row.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully signed the Wellington Declaration at parliament.It commits the two countries to regular foreign ministry, trade and military talks.

Military ties were damaged 25 years ago when New Zealand refused to allow US nuclear-armed ships to dock.

New Zealand has banned nuclear-armed and nuclear-powered ships visiting its ports since 1985. The US traditionally refuses to say whether its ships are nuclear-powered or not, so New Zealand has refused entry to all of them…..BBC News – US, New Zealand sign strategic deal after nuclear row

November 6, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Irresponsible to continue with nuclear power without solution to nuclear waste

“Nobody should be taken in by this spin. These proposals fail to address the core issues and citizens’ concerns on dealing with dangerous nuclear waste….
“Clearly, the absence of any solution on how to deal with dangerous nuclear waste makes current calls for a ‘nuclear renaissance’ in Europe all the more irresponsible.”…..

Mixed response to EU nuclear waste plan THE PARLIAMENT, By Martin Banks – 3rd November 2010 Today’s proposals on new EU rules for nuclear waste seem to be little more than a cheap PR exercise – Rebecca Harms EU energy commissioner Günther Oettinger has urged member states to bury radioactive nuclear waste, saying burial is the safest form of disposal. Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, reactors | Leave a comment

Dirty tricks in the nuclear industry, using Stuxnet computer worm?

if Areva wanted to harm Siemens reputation or make it less attractive to Rosatom, what better way than to demonstrate the unreliability of its control system software?

British Nuclear Power Plant Goes Dark. Stuxnet Worm To Blame?, Forbes, The Firewall , Nov. 1 2010 – by Jeffrey Carr, British Energy, owned by France’s EDF Energy PLC, has reported an “unplanned outage” at its Heysham 1 nuclear power plant yesterday. A company spokesperson told the Associated Press that repairs to one of the reactors are ongoing but didn’t say when the plant was expected to resume operations.
According to Siemens’ website, EDF Energy is a customer of the German technology giant, whose infrastructure software has suffered from a global infection of the sophisticated Stuxnet worm……. Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, AREVA, EDF, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactor | Leave a comment

EU struggles with nuclear waste problem, plans to ban exports of waste

no final repositories exist for the roughly 7,000 cubic meters of high-level waste produced each year….the majority of the toxic substance is kept in interim storages..

EU nuclear waste proposals include export ban EUobserver, ANDREW WILLIS 03.11.2010 BRUSSELS – New European Commission proposals will require EU member states to bury their radioactive waste deep underground, with overseas exports of the toxic byproduct also set to be banned. Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

Despite Republican win, USA’s nuclear industry is stalled

A renaissance in nuclear power may be stalled regardless of action by Congress, said Chris Gadomski, the lead analyst for nuclear power with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Nuclear Power Gains in Republican House Victory; `Cap and Trade’ Suffers – Bloomberg, By Jim Efstathiou Jr. and Jim Snyder – Nov 4, 2010 “…………Nuclear power remains a tough sell …. The U.S. has no long-term plan to dispose of spent reactor fuel, and building nuclear plants remains prohibitively expensive without government subsidies, said John Walke, clean- air director for the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council. Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation’s cancer risk just as great for older persons

Recent analysis of the statistical evidence from long-term studies of atomic bomb survivors in Japan indicates that for radiation exposure after about age 30, the risk of developing radiation-induced cancer does not continue to decrease.

Radiation exposure: cancer risk in middle age, The Hindu , K.S. PARTHASARATHY, 4 Nov 10, The risk of cancer associated with radiation exposure in middle age may not be lower than the risk with exposure at younger ages. Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Japan | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Like everyone else, Europe has no solution to nuclear waste

“Safety is indivisible. If an accident happens in one country, it can have devastating effects also in others,” said EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger.

Nuclear waste storage problem must be addressed: EU BBC News November 2010 Europe needs to identify sites for long-term storage of nuclear waste, Continue reading →

November 4, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment