nuclear « nuclear-news

Radioactive tritium leaking from 20 USA nuclear plants

Last week brought more disturbing discoveries of radioactive tritium leaking into groundwater from Vermont Yankee, the aging nuclear plant in southern Vermont….In fact, the nuclear industry has contaminated groundwater with radioactive tritium at nuclear power plant sites all across the country.

Nuclear Power’s Threat to Clean Water | Greenpeace USA, by Jim Riccio – October 15, 2010 , Today is blog action day, an annual event held every October 15 that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day, and this year the topic is water. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, water | Leave a comment

American families unwilling to cop the financial risk exposure of nuclear power

The struggle for a nuclear renaissance has been and remains a struggle over allocation of economic risk. U.S. power markets allocate that risk to investors and lenders, who will not put up the money for new nuclear…… southeastern states decided to allocate that risk to their customers, some of whom have begun to rebel. Congress is being asked to allocate it to taxpayers. However, with each new reactor requiring the allocation of close to $100 in risk exposure to every family in America, this is proving a tough sell.

Honey, I Shrunk the Renaissance: Nuclear Revival, Climate Change and Reality, CleanEnergy Footprints, by Peter Bradford, 15 Oct 10, “……Did the nuclear renaissance jump, or was it pushed? In truth, the nuclear renaissance has always consisted of the number of plants that government was willing to build. This is true not only in the United States but also in every other country now building new nuclear units. Continue reading →

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

USA worried about Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal

US watching ‘closely’ Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal, Google hosted news, (AFP) – 16 Oct 10, WASHINGTON — The United States said Friday it was keeping a close eye on a deal under which Russia will build and operate Venezuela’s first nuclear power station.”This is something that we will watch… very, very closely,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters……AFP: US watching ‘closely’ Venezuela-Russia nuclear deal

October 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, reactors | Leave a comment

Compensation for nuclear workers for radiation induced cancers

Former Ames Lab workers eligible for compensation – chicagotribune.com, 15 Oct 10, AMES, Iowa —Federal authorities have decided to make compensation available faster for former Ames Laboratory workers who developed cancer from radiation exposure.U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a directive stating all employees of the Department of Energy who worked at the lab from 1955 through 1960 for 250 consecutive days would be eligible for compensation.Harkin called the announcement “welcome news” for the workers and families. He says they handled “incredibly dangerous” materials in the early days of the Cold War…… Former Ames Lab workers eligible for compensation – chicagotribune.com

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 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

Pakistan wants USA to do a nuclear deal

A report in April by Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs found Pakistan’s stockpiles faced “immense” threats of theft “from nuclear insiders with extremist sympathies, al Qaeda or Taliban outsider attacks, and a weak state.”

Pakistan to Push for Nuclear Deal in U.S. – WSJ.com, By TOM WRIGHT, 14 Oct 10, ISLAMABAD—Pakistan’s renewed push to clinch a civilian nuclear deal with Washington threatens to further strain relations that are already tense over Islamabad’s refusal to attack Taliban havens on its soil. Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Pakistan, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, reactors | 1 Comment

Germany wants old U.S. nukes removed from Europe

Germany demands Nato show greater commitment to nuclear disarmament France opposed to Berlin’s efforts to link support for new missile defence system with removal of ageing US nuclear weapons Ian Traynor in Brussels * guardian.co.uk, 14 October 2010 Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, plutonium | Leave a comment

Ionising radiation danger – NASA astronaut warns

Radiation is the single biggest threat to the health of astronauts.

Space Station Living, Radiation and Monkeys Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chaio discusses his personal space radiation experiences and why monkeys shouldn’t be our guinea pigs .Discovery news, Oct 14, 2010 Continue reading →

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Yet more delays in reviving Point Lepreau nuclear reactor

Point Lepreau delayed until fall 2012. CBC News – New Brunswick , 14 Oct 10, The $1.4-billion Point Lepreau refurbishment project is now delayed until the fall of 2012, NB Power said Thursday.The refurbishment of Atlantic Canada’s only nuclear reactor is now three years behind schedule……..The project was supposed to be completed in September 2009……. CBC News – New Brunswick – Point Lepreau delayed until fall 2012

October 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Canada | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactor | 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

UK nuclear industry teetering as two sites dropped from plan

“The apparent withdrawal of these two sites, in the heartland of the nuclear industry, is excellent news for local people”. – Jean McSorley

(UK) Greenfield sites dropped from list of new nuclear reactors, Two sites in Cumbria appear to have been dropped from the government’s list of proposed areas for new reactors Tim Webb * guardian.co.uk, 13 October 2010 The government has scrapped plans to build nuclear reactors on greenfield sites, according to documents seen by the Guardian, in the latest blow to the industry’s stuttering programme. Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

India will not change its Nuclear Liability Law to accomodate USA nuclear salesmen

they (the US) also know in a parliamentary system of democracy the bill becomes the law of the land…The minister was replying to questions on whether the government was planning amendments to the Civil Nuclear Liabilities law, which fixes stiff liabilities on suppliers in case of accidents,

Govt rules out any amendments in civil nuclear law, The Hindu, New Delhi, October 13, 2010 Government on Wednesday ruled out any amendments to the recently-enacted civil nuclear law to accommodate concerns of American companies on the issue of suppliers’ liability as a package during the coming visit of President Barack Obama to India next month. Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Obama – Nobel Peace Prize winner, but nuclear weapons tester

He was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. What was that all about? How will the U.S. government apologize to A-bomb survivors?”….

A-bomb survivors outraged at Obama over subcritical nuclear test – The Mainichi Daily News, 14 Oct 10, Victims of atomic bombings expressed their disappointment at U.S. President Barack Obama after his administration carried out its first subcritical nuclear test last month. Continue reading →

October 14, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, opposition to nuclear | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment