radiation « nuclear-news

Nuclear company AREVA’s waste dumping in Russia

Less than 10% of the uranium mass shipped from France to Russia over the past four years “came back”….Considering the fact that the total amount of spent fuel reprocessed in France is about 38,000 tons, a significant share has gone elsewhere. It is clear now that most of it ended up in Russia

End of reprocessed uranium exports to Russia? Fissile material, By Mycle Schneider on May 29, AREVA’s controversial shipments of uranium wastes from France to Russia could be terminated as early as July 2010, according to media reports and a press release by the French chapter of the environmental group Greenpeace. Continue reading →

May 31, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, wastes | antinuclear, AREVA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Vermont nuclear plant likely to be source of radiation in fish

it was impossible to establish a baseline for strontium-90 in Connecticut River fish, because the state had not tested for it before this year.

Bad news: Radioactive fish found near Vt. nuclear plant; Worse news: Fish said to be ordinary, Washington Examiner, By: DAVE GRAM, Associated Press05/30/10 MONTPELIER, VT. — When a fish taken from the Connecticut River recently tested positive for radioactive strontium-90, suspicion focused on the nearby Vermont Yankee nuclear plant as the likely source. Continue reading →

May 31, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Oil disaster now, nuclear later?

BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails Chronicle.com, May, 2010 “…Top Kill has failed to work and BP bosses have no idea as to why it failed. ….. Meanwhile people have started shooting off tough question in the eye of increasing oil leak problem. A disgruntled reader says, “They can’t control OIL. How will they control NUCLEAR ? These are the same energy billionaires that own nuclear power plants / giant CANCER machines. How will they control invisible highly radioactive cancer causing nuclear radiation when a nuclear power plant melts down ? AND DONT !! try to tell us accidents “never happen” You make your billions from us while you destroy us. And Obama just approved 54 billion in loan guarantee’s to build more nuclear power plants ! Why should we pay for the billionaires to build more cancer machines ? And we pay their insurance. Because they are uninsurable the government (with our money)” BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails : ndChronicle.com

May 31, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, reactors | 2 Comments

AREVA’s uranium enrichment plant a danger to Idaho’s groundwater

Areva uranium enrichment plant in Idaho would threaten aquifer, Beyond Nuclear, 28 May 2010, The $2 billion in federal loan guarantees just awarded to Areva by the U.S. Department of Energy for a new uranium enrichment plant in Idaho, will produce depleted uranium (half-life of 4.5 billion years) and will threaten the Snake River Aquifer, say leaders of the Snake River Alliance.

Areva plans to build a new uranium enrichment plant “on the upstream end of the Snake River Aquifer a few miles east of the Idaho National Laboratory,” stated the Alliance in a press release. “INL’s nuclear activities have already contaminated the aquifer and have left substantial radioactive waste behind. Addressing these environmental challenges has already cost billions of taxpayer dollars and will continue for decades”. Continue reading →

May 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, AREVA, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

One Australian Aboriginal thwarts AREVA’s uranium mining plans

”Jeffrey Lee has put country and culture ahead of personal profit and his vision means this magnificent place will be protected for all people and all time,”

Owner wants uranium-rich land to be added to Kakadu, Sydney Morning Herald, LINDSAY MURDOCH IN KAKADUMay 29, 2010 The world heritage-listed Kakadu National Park will be expanded to include thousands of hectares of ecologically sensitive land that contains uranium worth billions of dollars. In a generous act, the Aboriginal traditional owner, Jeffrey Lee, has offered the land to the federal government so that it can become part of Kakadu, where he works as a ranger. Continue reading →

May 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues | antinuclear, AREVA, AUSTRALIA, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

UK not getting new nuclear reactors any time soon

U.K. Energy Policy In A Muddle – WSJ, By Selina Williams, 24 May 2010, “……….Not all the policies required for the construction of new nuclear power plants–a key source of low-carbon electricity–are finalized and it’s unlikely that any will be built until after 2020, the report adds. Decomissioning of old nuclear power plants and what will be done with the waste have yet to be completely pinned down. And the new coalition government’s decision to do away with the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which the previous government set up to streamline and speed up planning decisions for new nuclear, could create more delays to investment…….U.K. Energy Policy In A Muddle – The Source – WSJ

May 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Radioactive carbon in human teeth – thanks to nuclear bomb testing

The Radioactive Clock In Your Teeth – Forbes.com Jonathan Fahey, 05.21.10, How bomb testing in the 1950s is helping scientists determine a person’s age.“……….They had discovered that a bygone era of world political history had made it possible to date unidentified human remains more precisely than other forensic methods. Aboveground testing of nuclear bombs in the 1950s and early 1960s created elevated levels of radioactive carbon that soon became incorporated into all living things. Continue reading →

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, environment | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Radioactive exposure guinea pigs – the Marshall Islanders

…. The desire to study humans living in a radiation-contaminated environment appeared to be a major element of this decision…” by far the most contaminated place in the world.”

The Legacy of U.S. Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez: 23 May 2010, The radiological legacy of U.S. nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands remains to this day and will persist for many years to come. Continue reading →

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | OCEANIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | 1 Comment

No real solution for Hanford’s deadly nuclear weapons waste

one of the biggest challenges the US nuclear weapons complex, and consequentially, the Department of Energy, has ever had to deal with………… the tanks were leaking, and the government had failed to report the leaks and the spreading contamination……….

Cleaning Up After The Cold War: Hanford’s Tank Waste, Daily Kos:by Page van der Linden May 23, 2010 “…..the remote sites around the United States, consisting of laboratories and manufacturing facilities, the complex that made The Bomb possible. And unless you’re very familiar with this complex, or you’re a resident of the Pacific Northwest, you may not know about a remote part of Washington State known as the Hanford Site Continue reading →

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, wastes | Leave a comment

High cancer rates in Iraq believed due to depleted uranium

..“2,000 new cancer cases are reported in Basra annually. Our patients come from Basra, An-Nasiriyah, Amara and other provinces,” Doctor Jivad Ali, an oncologist, said…..

Battlefields contaminated with depleted uranium bred cancer, RT Top Stories 23 May, 2010, Depleted uranium has been used for nearly 20 years as sub-ammunition of artillery shells in international conflicts like the two Iraq Wars and the NATO conflict with Serbia, but the long-term effects of it are unknown.
In Iraq, many doctors believe that the radiation leaked from old weapons used by foreign forces in 1991 and 2003 are continuing to have a deadly impact. Continue reading →

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, Iraq | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 2 Comments

Uranium mining’s radioactive pollution of World Heritage National Park

Mine fears grow as pollutants flow to Kakadu, Sydney Morning Herald, LINDSAY MURDOCHMay 24, 2010

MILLIONS of litres of radioactive water from the Ranger uranium mine have flowed into internationally acclaimed and World Heritage-listed wetlands in Kakadu National Park. Continue reading →

May 24, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, environment | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Essential to remove nuclear industry pressure from Radiation and Health Study

Beyond Nuclear, 22 May, 2010, The time for a full-scale bona-fide health study on the impacts of radiation exposure to communities downwind and downstream of US nuclear power facilities is long overdue. The responsibilities to assure that this study is fair and independent are immense.

Given the growing political promotion of nuclear power currently underway, the study’s development, execution and interpretation will no doubt be a tug-of-war. The effort for an independent health study on the impacts from nuclear power facilities raises many of the same questions that have dogged the nuclear industry from the exposure of “down winders” in St. George, Utah to atomic testing fallout, the communities around the Three Mile Island accident, the Massachusetts cancer study around the Pilgrim nuclear power plant and entire countries contaminated by the Chernobyl explosion.

One continuing focus among many will to be to monitor how the NAS policy will be applied to the review and vetting of hundreds of potential committee members for final committee selection. The recusal of Dr. Meserve with his obvious”impaired objectivity” is a good first step and welcome sign. However, the task to watchdog this massive government effort in the public interest is only beginning.

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Radiation study chairman resigns as conflict of interest is exposed

(USA) Nuclear industry leader pulls out of radiation health study

Beyond Nuclear, 22 May 2010 In a May 10, 2010 letter, Dr. Richard Meserve resigned as Chair of the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences (NAS) from all committee activity related to a massive national health study that is taking shape around nuclear power facilities in the United States.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has requested that the NAS conduct a health study around past, present and future nuclear power facilities. As Beyond Nuclear identified in an April 29, 2010 letter requesting that the NAS conduct a conflict-of-interest review, Dr. Meserve currently serves on the Board of Directors for Luminant Corporation which owns the Comanche Peak nuclear power station in Texas and Pacific Gas and Electric which operates the Diablo Canyon reactors in California. Dr. Meserve also serves on an advisory board to UniStar Nuclear Corporation (Constellation Energy and Electricite de France) which has applied to the NRC to build new reactors around the United States.

May 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Navajo fight to protect land from uranium mining

Navajo to Protest Uranium Mining Expansion Censored News, 20 May 2010, On May 25-27 a delegation of Navajo community leaders will come to Denver to protest US Government support for expanding the nuclear industry that has already had a devastating impact on Native American and Chicano communities in New Mexico.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the National Mining Association will host a “Uranium Recovery” conference designed to make it easier for mining companies to move forward with a new era of uranium mining. Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | indigenous issues, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation | 1 Comment

Failures of AREVA’s, Westinghouse’s and Hitachi’s new nuclear reactors

Free nuclear advice for the Polish Energy Group , Greenpeace International by jmckeati – May 20, 2010 “…………The Polish Energy Group (PGE) wants to build two new nuclear reactors. Which designs are they considering? Oh dear. AREVA’s EPR, Westinghouse’s AP1000 and GE Hitachi’s ABWR and ESBWR……… Continue reading →

May 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, EUROPE | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium, Westinghouse | Leave a comment