nuclear « nuclear-news

Popular opposition to Merkel’s government’ nuclear plans

Anti-nuclear groups challenge Merkel – New Europe, 26 September 2010 Anti-nuclear groups claimed a turnout of 100,000 at their first big demonstration on 18 September against German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s plans to extend the running times of nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

New START nuclear treaty critical issue – beyond party politics

Standard-bearers and negotiators for nuclear weapons controls in the United States span the spectrum from conservative to liberal. This is a subject so momentous it defies partisan politics. Or it should.

National security at greater risk without New START, The Cap Times, Susan Shaer, 26 Sept 10, “………..The United States and Russia maintain over 90 percent of the world’s arsenal of some 23,000 nuclear weapons. The original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between our two countries providing for inspections and monitoring of these weapons expired nearly a year ago. The Senate now must ratify the New START treaty by a two-thirds margin (67 votes) to preserve the security protections of on-the-ground intelligence we have relied on. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

USA’s ‘Blue Ribbon Commission’ looking for answer to nuclear waste

President Barack Obama created the commission after his administration abandoned a proposed nuclear waste storage site in Nevada. The commission is supposed to make the first of its recommendations in the fall of 2011

Nuclear waste panel to visit Georgia site | ajc.com, 26 Sept 10, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionA panel examining how the United States should store nuclear waste will visit Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina next year. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes | Leave a comment

Why Israel will not attack Iran’s nukes

Israel will not attack Iran’s nuclear facilities partly because Iran is far away and would be very difficult and costly to attack, but mainly because it’s not necessary

The Persian Bomb – Living Lake Country, By Al Neuhauser

Sept. 26, 2010 Lot of folks seem to be exercised over the potential of Iran developing an atomic bomb to loft into Israel or even across the pond to us. Equally dire is the potential for Israel to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Scotland – people and government reject nuclear energy

First Minister Alex Salmond has said he will not allow the creation of any new nuclear power stations once the existing sites at Torness and Hunterston are decommissioned in 2023 and 2016 respectively.

Only 18% of Scots say ‘yes’ to new nuclear power stations, Scotsman.com News, : 27 September 2010By Jane Bradley, Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, reactors | Leave a comment

Radiation safety protocols needed for CT scans

Currently, there are no safety protocols in place to measure and record the radiation doses being administered to patients who receive CT scans.

CT machines and radiation overdoses: SB1237 would help – latimes.com, 26 Sept 10, “……..the machine that was meant to diagnose me and guide my treatment was also exposing me to excessive levels of radiation capable of causing lethal harm. Apparently, the scanner had been set improperly, so each CT brain perfusion scan bombarded my head with at least eight times the allowable dose of radiation. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radioactive | Leave a comment

Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed

Uranium author visits Shiprock, Farmington Daily Times, By Alysa Landry The Daily Times 09/25/2010 SHIPROCK — The book begins much the same as did the betrayal of the Navajo people during the boom of Cold War-era uranium mining — with Anglo men creeping onto its pages like poison.The book is “Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed.“Its author is Judy Pasternak, a former investigative reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Its story, based on two years of research, unfolds with a clarity spared from the Navajo miners who were never told that the “yellow dirt” they mined would be a devastating character in the tale of the Diné people…….

Uranium author visits Shiprock – Farmington Daily Times

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general, Uranium | antinuclear, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Indian insurance company to cover nuclear accidents?

Irda to allow cover for N-accidents, New Delhi:, 27 Sept 10, The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has decided to frame guidelines for allowing insurance cover for nuclear accidents.The agency is awaiting the the nuclear liability law to provide framework for the proposed rules. “Insurance companies would be happy in providing cover for nuclear accidents, if the customers show interest,” Irda chairman J Hari Narayan said. India is all set to engage in nuclear commercial trade with various countries following the clearance of a Nuclear Liability Bill in Parliament during the monsoon session. The bill now awaits for the nod of the President before becoming a law.More from News

Irda to allow cover for N-accidents

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, India | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, radiation, reactors | Leave a comment

Royal British Legion supports nuclear veterans call for justice

Now the respected British Legion – the nation’s leading armed forces charity – has said it will put up £25,000 to pay for 17 veterans to fight the MoD at the tribunal.

THE ROYAL British Legion has pitted itself against the Government by backing veterans of British nuclear weapons tests who are seeking compensation from the Ministry of Defence. By joseph watts telegraph.co.uk 26 Sept 10, The veterans took part in the UK’s nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s in Australia and the South Pacific and say they now suffer health problems from being exposed to radiation. Continue reading →

September 27, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Smart software designed to sabotage nuclear power plant

“This was assembled by a highly qualified team of experts, involving some with specific control system expertise,”

Software smart bomb fired at Iranian nuclear plant: experts, Google hosted news, By Glenn Chapman (AFP) –24 Sept 10, SAN FRANCISCO — Computer security experts are studying a scary new cyber weapon: a software smart bomb that may have been crafted to find and sabotage a nuclear facility in Iran. Malicious software, or malware, dubbed “Stuxnet” is able to recognize a specific facility’s control network and then destroy it, according to German computer security researcher Ralph Langne Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology | Leave a comment

Solar energy electricity getting cheaper than nuclear

The conclusion is that as of 2010, North Carolina is witnessing a historic crossover between the price of nuclear power and that of solar PV….the conclusions of such study are ……..about the final cost to consumers, given the existing incentives.

Nuclear vs Solar: Clash of the Numbers Environmental News Network, 24 Sept 10, A very interesting and controversial study emerged recently, comparing nuclear and solar costs no less.The study, “Solar and Nuclear Costs — The Historic Crossover”, was prepared by John O. Blackburn and Sam Cunningham for NC Warn, a climate change nonprofit watchdog. The paper, focused on the costs of electricity in North Carolina (US), describes the solar photovoltaic (PV) business, summarizing its history of sharply declining prices, along with the very different path taken in recent years by nuclear power, whose costs have been steadily rising. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, energy efficiency, nuclear, nuclear costs, renewable energy, renewables, solar | 1 Comment

AREVA in trouble in Niger: Paladin uranium gets out

Paladin Energy Ltd: Defeating Conditions Triggered Regarding Bid for NGM Resources Ltd – MarketWatch, 25 Sept 10, ” On September 16, 2010, forces associated with al-Qaida in the Magreb (North Africa) (AQIM) entered the town of Arlit in Niger’s uranium mining region and abducted seven people, employed by the French uranium company Areva and its construction contractor, Vinci. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Niger, safety, Uranium | antinuclear, AREVA, France, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, uranium | Leave a comment

International Atomic Energy Agency refuses to urge Israel to join Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on the last day of its annual general conference, voted against a non-binding resolution urging Israel to accede to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

UN atomic watchdog rejects resolution against Israel, Google hosted news, By Simon Morgan (AFP) – 25 Sept 10 VIENNA — The UN atomic watchdog rejected Friday an Arab-backed resolution against Israel which the United States and its Western allies feared could have jeopardised newly relaunched Middle East peace talks. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons | Leave a comment

Highly sophisticated computer worm might have targeted Iran’s nuclear reactor

suggestions that Israel, known for its high-tech prowess and (ahem) deep suspicion of Iran’s nuclear programme, might be behind it….if Stuxnet has been deliberately aimed at Iran, one possible target is its Bushehr nuclear reactor

The Stuxnet worm: A cyber-missile aimed at Iran? | The Economist, Sep 24th 2010, THE internet is abuzz this week with speculation about Stuxnet, a “groundbreaking” computer worm that attacks industrial-control systems. Put that way, it doesn’t sound very exciting. But the possibility that it might have been aimed at one set of industrial-control systems in particular—those inside Iranian nuclear facilities—has prompted one security expert to describe Stuxnet as a “cyber-missile”, designed to seek out and destroy a particular target. Continue reading →

September 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactor | Leave a comment

VIDEO Bangkok against nuclear power

VIDEO Rainbow Warrior open boat days in Klong Toey Port, Bangkok, 18 to 19 September. | Greenpeace Southeast Asia Hundreds of people visited the Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior when she was docked at Bangkokog Klong Toey Port last weekend.. Rainbow Warrior open boat days in Klong Toey Port, Bangkok, 18 to 19 September. | Greenpeace Southeast Asia