nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Impact of radiation on workers ignored in India’s Nuclear Liability Bill

In its haste to introduce the N-liability bill, the government ignored the health ministry

(India) Nuclear liability bill silent on impact of radiation on plant workers, Daily News and Analysis, (DNA)  , Aug 19, 2010, By Vineeta Pandey | One basic problem with a nuclear installation is radiation, which affects the health of workers at the plant and the people living around it. Yet this factor has been completely ignored in the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill. Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | health, India | , , , , | Leave a comment

Peaceful protestors arrested in demonstration against new nuclear weapons plant

The activists condemn the plant, which will replace one nearby and will be the first new nuclear weapons plant built in the United States in over 30 years.

Anti-nuclear activists arrested during Honeywell plant protest – Kansas City News Mandy Oaklander,  Aug. 17 2010 Protesters from as far away as Florida convened at the Honeywell plant construction site yesterday in south Kansas City. The protest was the culmination of a three-day gathering for the KC Nuclear Weapons Plant Conference Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | opposition to nuclear, USA | , , , | Leave a comment

Germany struggles over question of its aging, dilapidated nuclear facilities

“There is no reason to negotiate with the nuclear power companies,” ….“A fuel tax is not needed to pay for extending the life of the plants but to keep the taxpayers from footing the bill of up to €10 billion for refurbishing old, dilapidated waste storage facilities.”….

analysts argue that the more Germany expands the renewable energy sector, whether for domestic consumption or exporting the equipment, the greater the potential for creating jobs.

Merkel Takes an ‘Energy Trip’, By JUDY DEMPSEY NYTimes.com, August 18, 2010 BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing intense pressure from nuclear power companies to extend the life of their plants, began a cross-country tour Wednesday before deciding on a long-term energy policy with far-reaching implications for Germany, which has Europe’s largest economy…… Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | Germany, politics | , , , , | Leave a comment

German Govt offered billions to keep aging nuclear reactors going

German utilities offer billions in nuclear deal,  Business Week, By VERENA SCHMITT-ROSCHMANN, 16 Aug 2010, Germany’s utilities are offering to pay the government billions to let them keep their nuclear power plants running longer instead of shutting them down as mandated under current law, energy giant RWE AG said Monday.The companies also want the government to back off a proposed tax on nuclear fuel as part of the deal………German utilities offer billions in nuclear deal – BusinessWeek

August 19, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Germany | , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. taxpayers fork out for commercial nuclear radioactivity cleanup

USEC now is an investor-owned corporation and has consolidated its enrichment operations at a facility in Paducah, Ky…….

The department rejected a previous request for a loan guarantee in 2009.

Separately, Duke Energy Corp. and Areva SA in mid-2009 announced tentative plans for a 1,650-megawatt nuclear power plant on the Piketon campus. That project remains unscheduled pending site review and exploration of potential federal government financial assistance.

Piketon plant to get $2.1 billion for cleanup work – Business First of Columbus, August 18, 2010, Environmental cleanup of a former uranium processing plant in south-central Ohio will get a boost under a $2.1 billion, 10-year contract the U.S. Department of Energy awarded on Aug. 16. Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia supplying fuel for Iran’s nuclear reactor

Iran’s Nuclear Power Plant to be Fueled, Fox News, August 13, 2010 by: Amy Kellogg Moscow has announced that it will start loading fuel into Iran’s first nuclear power plant on August 21st……according to Mark Fitzpatrick, it can’t even manufacture the fuel for Bushehr. Continue reading

August 19, 2010 Posted by | Iran, politics international | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant taken offline at Quad Cities

Exelon takes Unit 2 of Quad Cities nuclear power plant offline in Illinois |   Canadian Business Online, 19 Aug 2010, CORDOVA, Ill. (AP) – Exelon Corp. took Unit 2 of its Quad Cities nuclear generating station offline when one of two reactor recirculation water pumps tripped.According to Exelon, the pumps balance water flow through the reactor. In a statement, the electric utility said technical experts are looking into why the equipment did not function properly….

Exelon takes Unit 2 of Quad Cities nuclear power plant offline in Illinois | Markets | Market News | Canadian Business Online

August 18, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , | Leave a comment

Domini Social Investments will invest in energy, but not nuclear

Before nuclear power can be seriously considered to be an effective answer to climate change, we need to solve the nuclear waste problem and we need to address the link between nuclear power and nuclear weapons proliferation.

To date there is no way to distinguish between the uranium enrichment process that is necessary to fuel a nuclear power plant and the enrichment of uranium for use in a nuclear bomb.

Domini does believe that companies with stronger social and environmental profiles should perform better in the long term, and that the use of social and environmental factors can help manage certain types of investment risk.

Social funds: BP, the 1960s, and greed | The Energy Collective, August 16, 2010 by Marc Gunther“.…..I heard from Adam Kanzer, who is managing director and general counsel at Domini Social Investments.….. Continue reading

August 18, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

India’s govt makes several changes to the Nuclear Liability Bill

it [ The Indian Government]has been keen that a liability law is in place ahead of  U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to India in November. .

Amended Bill blocks private role in nuclear power – India – The Times of India, 18 Aug 2010, NEW DELHI: The government has ensured a safe passage for the civil liability for nuclear damage bill after sealing a deal with BJP on Tuesday by agreeing to bump up the “no-fault” liability from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,500 crore and a guarantee against private firms running nuclear power plants. Continue reading

August 18, 2010 Posted by | India, Legal | , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia censoring news about wildfires and radiation

Shoigu also demanded that those who reported on the spread of radiation fro fires burning in contaminated areas be made known to authorities.
As a consequence, public information about fires in areas posing a potential radiation hazard were ripped down from government websites,

Russia emergency minister threatens to ‘deal with’ those spreading radiation ‘rumours’ about wildfires in contaminated areas NEW YORK/ST PETERSBURG –Bellona,  Charles Digges, Alexander Shurshev contributed from St. Petersburg , 17Aug 2010,  Russian emergency officials have come up with a novel tool to smother the spate of heat wave caused wildfires that threaten to tear through radioactively contaminated forests and lands during the country’s hottest summer, releasing radiation: pull information about fires in radioactively contaminated areas and threaten punishment for those spreading “rumours.”  Continue reading

August 17, 2010 Posted by | Russia, secrets,lies and civil liberties | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No ‘nuclear renaissance’ – in fact it’s a decline

The view that the amount of energy derived from nuclear power worldwide will continue its slow decrease during the coming years is further supported by the 2008 annual report of the Euratom Supply Agency, which coordinates the long-term uranium needs of nuclear power plants within the European Union. According to the agency’s forecast, uranium demand in Europe will fall from 21,747 tonnes in 2010 to roughly 16,000 tonnes by 2024.

The reality of nuclear energy is inconsistent with dreams of a renaissanceNuclear energy is not on the rise – the hard facts point to a continuing, slow phase-out around the world   Michael Dittmar   guardian.co.uk,  16 August 2010 Repeatedly in recent years there have been calls for a revival of nuclear power. Yet that renaissance never seems to come. Continue reading

August 17, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, EUROPE | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Russia’s top nuclear centre surrounded by fires

“Wildfires have surrounded the nuclear centre from all sides,” said Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, on Sunday.

Russian nuclear centre still under threat, THE HINDU, Vladimir Radyuhin, 16 Aug 2010, Russia’s main nuclear centre in the town of Sarov in central Russia is still threatened by forest fires after two weeks of desperate efforts to bring the situation under control. Continue reading

August 17, 2010 Posted by | Russia, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Financial problems stall new nuclear projects in Brazil

“These nuclear projects take a long time to get off the drawing board and generate a lot of controversy, so they’ll likely be last in line to receive financing,”

Brazil’s Plans For Nuclear Energy May Face Financing Problem,  WSJ.com By Paulo Winterstein, Dow Jones Newswires; AUGUST 16, 2010SAO PAULO, Brazil –Brazil’s plan to build at least five nuclear power plants over the next two decades may run into a financing problem as federal budget constraints limit spending by government-controlled utility Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA (ELET6.BR, EBR). Continue reading

August 17, 2010 Posted by | Brazil, business and costs | , , , | Leave a comment

Uncertainty over nuclear power plants in Canada

Quebec N-station repair delayed amid AECL uncertainty Nicolas Van Praet, Financial  Post ·  Aug. 16, 2010 MONTREAL — Hydro-Québec is pushing back the revamp of its Gentilly-2 nuclear station amid the continuing uncertainty of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Continue reading

August 17, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, Canada | , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear plant shut down

Braidwood Nuclear Plant Shuts Down, Vents Steam http://www.wbez.org, by Gabriel Spitzer , August 16, 2010 Reactors at the nuclear power plant in southwest suburban Braidwood shut down early this morning. Large plumes of steam could be seen escaping from the plant, but its owner says there’s no safety concern………….

City Room™ – Science – Braidwood Nuclear Plant Shuts Down, Vents Steam

August 17, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , | Leave a comment