reactors « nuclear-news

Survey finds Cumbria site wrong for nuclear waste dump

Cumbria not suitable for nuclear waste repository: survey | TopNews United Kingdom, 30 Oct 10, The initial study into the possible dumping grounds for nuclear waste has suggested that West Cumbria is unsuitable for the purpose. However, is still in the running for providing the deep geologic storage of nuclear waste.The study conducted by the British Geological Survey ruled out a tract of land alongside the coast, ranging from St Bees Head to Maryport…….

The government is in search for an apt ‘dumping ground’ for the nuclear industry as there are plans for building more nuclear power stations on eight sites, which require deep geologicalstorage by 2040….Cumbria not suitable for nuclear waste repository: survey | TopNews United Kingdom

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, wastes | antinuclear, Copenhagen, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Turkey’s govt suppresses peaceful anti-nuclear protest

The petition we tried to bring before the parliament was signed by 170,000 people. This is one of the proofs that the vast majority of people are against nuclear power”…….

(Turkey) Anti-Nuclear Protestors on Trial, Bianet, 29 Oct 10, Anti-nuclear protestors stand trial because of their protest actions against the agreement with Russia on a nuclear power station. Diken from Greenpeace criticized, “We are tried because we made use of our freedom of expression”.Erhan ÜSTÜNDAĞerhan@bianet.orgAnkara -29 October 2010, Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | opposition to nuclear, secrets,lies and civil liberties, Turkey | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

France’s EDF faced with ‘sluggish’ nuclear revival in USA

before it can proceed with building and operating new plants, unlikely before 2012, the French state-controlled utility will have to line up a new partner with the endurance necessary for an increasingly sluggish U.S. nuclear renaissance…..

EDF’s Expensive U.S. Divorce – WSJ.co, 27 Oct 10, By MATTHEW CURTIN Paying to get out of a marriage that isn’t working isn’t unusual. But in the U.S. nuclear industry, where foreign operators require local partners to build and operate new plants, going it alone isn’t a long-term option. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, EDF, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear industry framing German govt policy?

Opponents accuse the government of pandering to energy companies. Thursday’s Greenpeace banner accused Merkel’s party of shaping “policies for the nuclear industry.

Anti-nuclear protests in Berlin, Bloomberg, 29 Oct 10, BERLIN Greenpeace protesters have rappelled from the roof of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party headquarters and hung a massive anti-nuclear banner over the facade as parliament debates government plans to extend the lives of Germany’s nuclear power plants. Continue reading →

October 29, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

South Carolina residents to pay up in advance, for nuclear power station build?

customers should not be billed upfront for project expenditures that have not actually been incurred.

SCE&G seeks to recoup up to $200MM for nuclear expansion project, Penn Energy, October 26, 2010 By Dorothy Davis South Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) plans to return to state regulators to request up to $200 million from customers in the form of gradual rate increases for expenses related to its nuclear expansion project in Fairfield County. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

General Electric and AREVA negotiating with Japan to further their nuclear sales

The launch of bilateral talks in June on the nuclear cooperation accord triggered an immediate outcry from survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945……

Uncertainty over tests stymies India nuclear pact, The Japan Times Online, By MAYA KANEKO, Kyodo, 26 Oct 10, Torn between economic gains and a national credo of abolishing nuclear weapons as the only country struck by them, Japan faces a dilemma in negotiating a civilian nuclear cooperation pact with India. Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, reactors | Leave a comment

Aging nuclear reactors, like Indian Point, raise safety fears

He believes that the NRC does not enforce nuclear safety strictly enough, and he is especially concerned with the degradation of older reactors like the ones at Indian Point.

Concerns Raised Over Pipeline Near Indian Point : NPR, 25 Oct 10, A former utility executive and nuclear opponent is raising concerns about the presence of two large underground natural gas pipelines that cross within a few hundred feet of the Indian Point nuclear facility in Buchanan, N Y Continue reading →

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

Germans take anti-nuclear protest to Angela Merkel’s office

Germans protest extension of nuclear energy programs and nuclear waste disposal plans, Google hosted news, The Canadian Press:By The Associated Press (CP) – 26 Oct 10, BERLIN — Demonstrators have marched through Berlin to protest planned nuclear waste storage in northern Germany and the government’s continued support of nuclear energy.Around 100 protesters walked to the German chancellor’s office in the capital, surrounding a truck carrying a mock nuclear waste storage barrel.
Chancellor Angela Merkel approved a law in September extending use of Germany’s nuclear power plants by an average of 12 years, a decision the majority of Germans opposed.

The demonstrators are also protesting the planned transportation in November of 11 nuclear waste containers to the tiny town of Gorleben. It was chosen as a nuclear storage site three decades ago, and has since become a rallying point for tens of thousands of anti-nuclear protesters. The Canadian Press: Germans protest extension of nuclear energy programs and nuclear waste disposal plans

October 26, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

U.S. ambassador sheds doubt on Bulgaria’s nuclear plant

Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency, 24 Oct 10, US Ambassador James Warlick has expressed misgivings about the feasibility of Bulgaria’s planned second nuclear plant at Belene.”There are two questions that Bulgaria must ask itself – if the Belene NPP is an economically feasible project, and, second, if it provides Bulgaria and the entire region with energy security. I am not sure that there are answers to these questions. We are talking about billions of leva here, and the decisions that will be made with respect to Belene will affect Bulgaria’s energy system for decades to come,” Warlick said on the Bulgarian National Radio Sunday……Bulgaria: US Ambassador Questions Feasibility of Belene Nuclear Plant – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency

October 25, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Bulgaria, business and costs | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Even top nuclear officials now doubt the future of nuclear energy

Says Claude Mandil, head of atomic energy for the French ministry of industry, “If France is unable to solve this [nuclear waste] issue, I do not see how we can continue the nuclear program.”…The bottom line: Even some of its biggest users are now doubting the wisdom of continuing dependence on nuclear energy, while claims that the atom is one answer to global warming don’t hold water.

Thomas D. Elias: Pro-nuke arguments deeply flawed Colusa Sun-Herald, 22 Oct 10, “………despite its dependence on the atom, France has no more solved the problem of nuclear waste disposal than we have. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | France, politics | antinuclear, AREVA, climate change, EDF, energy efficiency, France, global warming, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

India not giving in to U.S. pressure on Nuclear Liability Law

In the run-up to President Barack Obama’s visit here in November, the U.S. side is looking for substantive changes in the nuclear liability law…..American companies such as GE and Westinghouse insist they will be unable to supply nuclear equipment to India unless they are fully insulated from all liability claims in the event of an accident.

India resists U.S. pushback on nuclear liability, The Hindu , Siddharth Varadarajan, 22 Oct 10, No change in the Act is possible, government tells U.S. NEW DELHI: After initially trying to dilute the nuclear liability law at the draft stage to accommodate the concerns of American suppliers, the Manmohan Singh government has told the United States that the Act, as passed by Parliament, is final and that no changes in any of its provisions are possible. Continue reading →

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics international | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Strikes, maintenance – closures of France’s nuclear plants

France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike Vancouver Sun, By Henry Samuel, The Daily Telegraph October 21, 2010 France was forced to start importing electricity Thursday as unions announced that strikes would spread into the next two weeks.The unions said production had been cut at four nuclear power plants because of a 10-day rolling strike, while at least 12 of France’s 58 reactors are closed for maintenance……………………France buys electricity as its nuclear plants are hit by strike

October 22, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, France | antinuclear, France, nuclear, nuclear costs, reactors | Leave a comment

Nuclear renaissance bubble losing its puff

the simple reality is that a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. will be impossible if new reactors remain too expensive to build and natural gas remains “dirt cheap” while renewable energy costs continue to decline and consumer demand remains on a downward spiral……

underestimated costs, ignored risks, political ballyhoo and prodigious but inadequate subsidies — now make clear that we are dealing not with a renaissance but with a bubble. The main remaining question is just how much taxpayer money will go into keeping it inflated.”

Reactor under microscope South Maryland News, Constellation, officials working to keep CC3 project going, Oct. 20, 2010, By MEGHAN RUSSELL“.………..even if EDF agreed to take the project under its wing, many skeptics, like the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, doubt the conditions are right for a “nuclear renaissance” and believe Calvert Cliffs 3 was doomed from the start. Continue reading →

October 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear technology, reactors, renewable energy | Leave a comment

Nuclear corporations big squabble over Maryland project

E.D.F. and Constellation Step Up Nuclear Battle. NYTimes.com, October 19, 2010,The romance is over for Électricité de France and the Constellation Energy Group, partners in a nuclear power joint venture. Their very public squabble was ostensibly set off by Constellation’s withdrawal of its application to the Energy Department for a loan guarantee for the Calvert Cliffs 3 nuclear project in Maryland…..

E.D.F. and Constellation Step Up Nuclear Battle – NYTimes.com

October 20, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear technology, reactors | Leave a comment

Another dead nuclear reactor problem – Hanford

The other cocooned reactors are being left in long-term storage for 75 years to let radioactivity decay to more-manageable levels.

Energy Department wants to remove Hanford reactor | Seattle Times Newspaper,The Associated Press Tri-City Herald.20 Oct 10, TRI-CITIES, Wash. —The Energy Department wants to tear down the K East Reactor at Hanford rather than cocooning it like five other old reactors on the nuclear reservation. Continue reading →

October 19, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | decommission reactor, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear decommissioning, nuclear secrecy, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment