radioactive « nuclear-news

Non existent nuclear security for USA’s railroads and coastlines

DHS Effort to Counter Nuclear Terrorism Leaves Huge Gaps, Expert Says | Security Debrief -1 July 2010, The Department of Homeland Security office responsible for protecting the nation against nuclear terrorism grew so distracted over efforts to develop next-generation radiation detectors that it failed to draft a strategic plan to coordinate interagency counterterrorism efforts, a government expert told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday.

The absence of a plan has led to a major security gap, Eugene E. Aloise, director of the GAO’s Natural Resources and Environment Division, said. Because it has focused on improving equipment to detect nuclear materials entering U.S. seaports and border stations, which already have monitors, the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) neglected to build capacity along international railroads and the coastline, where defenses don’t exist, he said.

DHS Effort to Counter Nuclear Terrorism Leaves Huge Gaps, Expert Says | Security Debrief – a blog of homeland security news and analysis

July 2, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

BP oil spill puts safety of nuclear plants at risk

A May 12 situation report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability acknowledged the potential for problems.
“If water supply for these facilities becomes contaminated with oil, cooling water systems could be damaged,” it said.

Gulf Coast nuclear plants at risk from BP oil spill, FACING SOUTH, 1 July 2010, Watchdog groups are warning about the BP oil spill’s potential damage to Gulf and Atlantic coast nuclear power plants that use seawater to cool pumps and other safety equipment. Earlier this month, representatives of the nuclear watchdog groups Beyond Nuclear, Three Mile Island Alert and Unplug Salem wrote a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission seeking details on oil plume monitoring efforts to guard against damage to plants’ safety systems. The letter was copied to the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Continue reading →

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Cracks at Texas nuclear waste site

No room for error at radioactive waste site Dallas Morning News, 1 july 2010 Cracked asphalt provides a stark reminder of the nonexistent margin for error at a controversial radioactive waste dump in West Texas. When state inspectors visited the site in Andrews County, they found cracks up to an inch wide in asphalt near canisters of radioactive material. While cracked asphalt is fairly inconsequential – and pretty much par for the course – when it comes to our city streets, it can be a dangerous proposition at a radioactive waste dump.

A spokesman for Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists, which operates the low-level radioactive waste site, dismissed the cracks as superficial and said they have been repaired. But as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has noted, that asphalt pad is an important safeguard against ground contamination…..

Editorial: No room for error at radioactive waste site | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Opinion: Editorials

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment

Uranium mining, radiation and indigenous land

VIDEO Another Green World: McCain declares (nuclear) war on Navajo & Sioux McCain declares (nuclear) war on Navajo & Sioux, Another Green World, 1 July 2010 ‘Our Mother is suffering….’Radiation levels rising, uranium mining for ‘clean’ nuclear power is killing indigenous land in Arizona and McCain wants more, bet it would be different if his house was next to a radioactive mine.posted by Derek Wall

July 1, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | indigenous issues, USA | antinuclear, cancer, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

USA’s nuclear waste crisis- the turmoil continues

NRC panel: Nuclear waste dump process continues, Google hosted news, By KEN RITTER (AP) – 30 June 2010, LAS VEGAS — A Nuclear Regulatory Commission legal panel put a proposal for a national nuclear waste dump in Nevada back on track Tuesday, at least until the full commission decides whether the Department of Energy can withdraw its plan. Continue reading →

June 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Climate Change is Real, but Nuclear Power is Not the Answer

Time is running out for the expensive, dangerous, dirty, nuclear power industry. The nuclear lobby’s desperate propaganda is that the industry is clean, and is a solution to global warming. That is a lie.

June 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes | antinuclear, climate change, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

Airport scanning radiation risk much worse than previously thought

(UK) Airport body scanners deliver radiation dose 20 times higher than first thought, warns expert Daily Mail 30th June 2010 Full body scanners at airports could increase your risk of skin cancer, experts warn…. scientists say radiation from the scanners has been underestimated and could be particularly risky for children. They say that the low level beam does deliver a small dose of radiation to the body but because the beam concentrates on the skin – one of the most radiation-sensitive organs of the human body – that dose may be up to 20 times higher than first estimated…..
The most likely risk from the airport scanners is a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma, …..Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research said: ‘There really is no other technology around where we’re planning to X-ray such an enormous number of individuals. It’s really unprecedented in the radiation world.’ Airport body scanners deliver radiation dose 20 times higher than first thought | Mail Online

June 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, UK | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive | Leave a comment

Uranium milling’s legacy of cancer

One family who left the area knows well the paradox uranium has brought to the region. They lived in Uravan in the 1960s and paid a tragic price for living in the old mill town. Three daughters died of cancer. The parents each have lost cancer-ridden body organs. They still have ties to the area and requested anonymity given the contentious nature of the uranium debate in the valley.

Is It Time to Restart the Uranium Industry in the U.S.? Scientific American By Nathan Rice and The Daily Climate June 29, 2010 A proposal to build the nation’s first uranium mill in 25 years has divided opinions Continue reading →

June 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Uranium, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Eight Big Questions about Nuclear Energy

Nuclear Power? 8 Questions Need to Be Answered, THE HUFFINGTON POST, by Brendan Smith 29 June 2010, Here are eight questions that we should answer before, not after, we head down the nuclear path:
1. Are nuclear hazards any different from other hazards we accept every day?…..The scale, deadliness, and unstoppability of radiation after leakage or an accident at a mine or power plant make nuclear energy unique. Dare we create an energy system where one mistake could turn an entire American region into another Chernobyl? Continue reading →

June 30, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | antinuclear, cancer, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Fake nuclear waste rattles Hong Kong’s Environment Bureau

Greenpeace warns of nuclear power hazards, The Standard, MaggieQiu, , June 29, 2010 Greenpeace yesterday protested against the government’s plan to expand the use of nuclear energy, warning of its danger.Four Greenpeace activists, wearing protective suits and masks, delivered two empty drums marked “radioactive waste” to the Environmental Bureau. (photo from Greenpeace send nuclear waste to Hong Kong’s Secretary for the Environment | Greenpeace International)

They waved a banner reading: “Nuclear is not the solution.”A suspicious leakage of radioactive iodine from the Daya Bay nuclear plant on May 23 once again points to its potential danger, Greenpeace campaigner Koo Wai-muk said….. He also said there has been no effective method to deal with radioactive waste, and instead the waste would only be packaged and transferred to some remote areas where it can be buried Greenpeace warns of nuclear power hazards – The Standard

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | China, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Forgotten victims of uranium mining

Shades of hope for uranium’s forgotten victims — The Daily Climate, by Nathan Rice, 28 June 2010 “………. as the uranium industry revives in the West, health problems from the last boom still plague communities, and victims are still fighting for recognition…… Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive, reactors, uranium | 1 Comment

French govt’s nuclear veterans’ cancer compensation inadequate

Veterans unhappy with French government’s compensation for nuclear tests, Google hosted news, By The Associated Press (CP) 29 June 2010, ARCUEIL, France — Veterans and workers who fell ill after France’s nuclear tests in Algeria and the South Pacific have said the government’s measures to compensate victims did not go far enough…..victims’ associations said Monday the government has ruled out compensating many people who should qualify. Continue reading →

June 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, weapons and war | antinuclear, cancer, France, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

How can nuclear energy go ahead, with no waste disposal solution?

The Feds Must Address Nuclear Waste Storage Problem By STUART PRICE | TIMES-DISPATCH June 27, 2010 Richmond, Va.

Last January, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy was creating a new group, the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, to review the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle and challenge national practices in place for more than 50 years.

One of the commission’s opportunities will be to determine if spent nuclear fuel rod assemblies can be safely recycled, thereby reducing the final quantity of waste requiring disposal. The commission’s challenges will include defining permanent nuclear waste solutions and selecting final repository sites. In July 2010, a commission subcommittee on waste disposal will meet in Washington. The commission’s final report is expected in January 2012.

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear, uranium, workers need health compensation

the health impacts on families of uranium workers and residents of uranium-development communities.

Senators want uranium compensation on fast track, GJSentinel.com, June 26, 2010 Colorado’s two U.S. senators are seeking a hearing on a bill that would expand the compensation program for the nation’s nuclear-weapons industry workers. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Land grab from Australian Aboriginals for the nuclear industry

Uranium mining has to go, along with the racist government policies used to justify and continue the theft of Aboriginal land.

Youth candidates to witness NT intervention , Zane Alcorn, candidate for Newcastle , Green Left Weekly, 26 June 2010, We need to stand behind the first people of this country and fight for their land and cultural rights. The government’s so-called concern for Aboriginal welfare and living conditions is nothing but a cloak for a blatant land grab.

The uranium-rich land of central Australia is coveted by government and private mining corporations alike. Aboriginal land rights are a direct threat to this potential source of huge wealth. Continue reading →

June 28, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, indigenous issues | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, indigenous, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium | 1 Comment