radiation « nuclear-news

Anti-nuclear movement grows, with Germany’s unsolved nuclear waste problem

The decision by Britain to send waste to Germany has served as a reminder that the Germans have not solved the problem of how and where to store it. This uncertainty, and news of the mine in Saxony, is stoking the embers of the anti-nuclear movement — demonstrations are planned for this weekend — and reviving it as a political force.

German nuclear programme threatened by old mine housing waste TIMESONLINE By BEN EVANS
Associated Press Writer Roger Boyes in Berlin January 22, 2010

A leaky salt mine used as a radioactive dump is jeopardising Germany’s plans to cling on to nuclear power despite fierce political opposition. Continue reading →

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Highly radioactive nuclear waste begins its secret journey to Japan

Nuclear waste shipment leaves Britain for Japan Telegraph.co By Julian Ryall in Tokyo 21 Jan 2010 Environmentalists in Japan have expressed concern about the first shipment of highly radioactive waste to leave britain under a controversial repatriation scheme, saying any accident to befall the ship transporting the waste would result in an “environmental disaster”. Continue reading →

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Fire risks at nuclear plant

NRC cites fire hazards at Alabama nuclear plant WRAL.com 20 Jan 10WASHINGTON — Federal regulators are raising new concerns about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Brown’s Ferry nuclear plant in north Alabama. In a letter released Thursday, inspectors from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission found that equipment used to automatically shut down the plant’s reactors in an emergency was not properly protected from fire hazards. The NRC described the findings as significant “apparent violations.”..http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/6855064/

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Record high levels of Tritium found at Vermont Yankee nuclear plant

Much Higher Tritium Level Found at Nuclear Plant . Tritium search at Vermont Yankee turns up reading 90 times higher than previous record. ABC News/Money By DAVE GRAM Associated Press Writer
MONTPELIER, Vt. January 20, 2010 (AP) State officials said Wednesday more radioactive tritium had been found at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant — at levels more than 90 times higher than found in a test well nearly two weeks ago……………..State and Vermont Yankee officials said Wednesday they hoped the finding of much higher tritium concentration in the concrete trench might mean they had found the source of the contamination………..
Meanwhile, legislative leaders and the Douglas administration’s point person on utility regulation said the state Health Department should conduct its own tests for radioactive leaks at Vermont Yankee and not rely on the plant for information about testing around the Vernon reactor. That call came a week after it was revealed that Vermont Yankee, owned by New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., had misled state officials by saying the plant did not have underground piping of the type that could carry radioactive substances like tritium……http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9617971

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Local water supply might be ruined by uranium mining

(USA) Uranium threat to local lakes under study

The Warren Record January 20, 2010

A $437,000 study being conducted by the city of Virginia Beach, Va. will examine what might happen to the water quality in Lake Gaston and Kerr Lake if a proposed uranium mine in Chatham, Va. were struck by a Probable Maximum Precipitation (PMP) storm. “The state is attempting to get a study going through the National Academy of Science,” said Virginia Beach Director of Public Works Thomas Leahy. “But that study will not look at site specific issues or do any modeling of possible catastrophic events.”…..Leahy said the concern is that such a catastrophic event, should it occur, could raise the water radiation level in the lake significantly enough to force Virginia Beach to stop using it as a water source, a move that could cost the city over $500 million.

January 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA | antinuclear, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Secrets of Europe’s nuclear waste trade

How French solves nuclear waste , Jagadee’s English Webblog January 20, 2010 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation “.……….“The European nuclear power industry can’t deal with its waste mountain so it started dumping some of it in Russia. This is illegal and highly dangerous,” said Vladimir Tchouprov of Greenpeace Russia. “The secretive nuclear industry is claiming that this is legitimate nuclear trade – but the reality is that only a small fraction, 10%, of this nuclear material is processed and sent back to Western Europe – almost all of the waste has been dumped in Russia. Continue reading →

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | EUROPE, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Will cockroaches really inherent the post-nuclear war world?

Radiation & Roaches, Shortening & Oil San Diego READER By Matthew Alice Jan. 20, 2010 “…………Roaches can withstand much more radiation than people can. But fruit flies and flour beetles and a particular kind of wasp will be around long after roaches are gone. Continue reading →

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Animal lovers protest NASA’s plan to irradiate monkeys

PETA Protests NASA Experiments On Monkeys Newsnet5.com January 20, 2010 CLEVELAND — There was an unusual sight Wednesday as PETA protested NASA over planned radiation experiments on squirrel monkeys.To make their point, they protested in front of Cleveland’s Glenn Research Center Wednesday dressed as monkeys in cages. PETA said NASA’s planned tests on monkeys are cruel.

PETA Protests NASA Experiments On Monkeys – News Story – WEWS Cleveland

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA | antinuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Lawsuit on uranium mining, and accountability for wastes

Even as the expansion of uranium mining in Colorado is being challenged, conservation and citizen groups and elected officials are working to ensure that taxpayers do not pay to clean up contamination left behind by the uranium industry in the event of a new boom cycle.

Court Decision Aids Uranium Lawsuit The WATCH by Karen James , Jan 20, 2010 Efforts Also Underway For More Industry Accountability Continue reading →

January 21, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Legal, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, uranium | Leave a comment

Anxiety as the Western world losing dominance of the nuclear industry

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

First and Second World countries are starting to look better, when compared with what is coming.

With very dubious safety and occupational health regulations, and with a big lack of transparency, South Korea embarks on a nuclear sales program to the Middle East.

China and India enthusiastically aim for nuclear power – also both with dubious safety, and secrecy.

Nuclear opponents have become accustomed to criticising France, UK, USA, Russia, Japan, Israel. But these First and Second World countries are starting to look better, when compared with what is coming.

For the U.S.A. and U.K. we have a chance of learning through free media about nuclear incidents. And possibly even for France. Not so sure about Russia. But at least they’ve all had experience of this so very dangerous industry. But for China, and the Asian and Middle East nations there’s likely to be an unhealthy combination of inexperience and news censorship.

Now we have countries with little experience or expertise and with dubious or no oversight of plants and of waste dumps, or uranium mines. And – countries that purport to want only ‘peaceful’ nuke power, Yet with obvious other power resources – e.g. Saudi Arabia, why would they want nukes? The answer that springs to mind is – for nuclear weapons.

And nuke weapons are not the only worry. How vulnerable are these “non-Western” nukes to accident, theft of plutonium, terrorism, and response to mistaken attack?

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactor, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Risks of nuclear radiation are indeed real

The risks of nuclear energy are not exaggerated Most scientists in this field agree that there is danger even in small doses of radiation The Guardian, Ian Fairlie20 January 2010 You [The Guardian] reported the view that radiation risks are exaggerated, but left out vital information on radiation protection (Radiation health threat overstated – Oxford professor, 11 January). The article relied upon and extensively cited a retired professor of particle physics, Wade Allison, who is neither a radiation biologist nor an epidemiologist, and is not in my view an expert in radiation risks. Continue reading →

January 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | media, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Plan to examine health aspects of uranium mining

Uranium Mining in Virginia Symposium 11 March 2010

Appomattox Area Calendar By Linda on 18 January 2010 Join Friends of the Earth for a Uranium Mining in Virginia Symposium in Richmond, VA. The goals of the symposium are to examine the health and socio-economic impacts of proposed uranium mining in Virginia. Continue reading →

January 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1 | cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear waste company subjected black workers to more radiation

EEOC: Black workers got more radiation MEMPHIS, Jan. 16 (UPI) — A Tennessee company that processes nuclear waste has agreed to settle federal claims black employees were subjected to higher levels of radiation than others.
The Studsvik Memphis Processing Facility, formerly known as Radiological Assistance Consulting and Engineering, or RACE, has signed a consent agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported.

The EEOC alleged the company assigned black employees to work with radioactive waste and manipulated dosimeters to show lower levels of radiation than the actual ones. Black employees were also paid less and subjected to other kinds of discrimination.

EEOC: Black workers got more radiation – UPI.com

January 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA | antinuclear, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Heart disease and stroke linked to moderate ionising radiation

Moderate Radiation Tied to Heart Disease, Stroke Study does not clarify whether exposure from scans raises risk Business Week Jan. 15 (HealthDay News) –– New research based on the experiences of atomic-bomb survivors has found a link between exposure to moderate levels of radiation and higher levels of heart disease and stroke………….. Continue reading →

January 18, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Colorado anti-uranium movement gets a legal boost

Uranium Mining Lawsuit Gets a Boost as Judge Unlocks Feds’ Records Center for Native Ecosystems 15 Jan DURANGO, Colo.— A ruling handed down in federal court Thursday has significantly bolstered a legal challenge to the revival and expansion of uranium mining on public lands in the American West. Continue reading →