uranium « nuclear-news

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerned about in-situ uranium mining

The federal agency is concerned that injecting wastewater underground could pollute drinking water supplies.

Wyo. OK’ing uranium permits despite EPA concerns, THE HUFFINGTON POST, 16 April 2010, CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is proceeding with permits to allow uranium developers to inject wastewater underground despite federal regulators’ concerns. Continue reading →

April 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Police recognise radiation risk, seek warning devices

Delhi Police to buy radiation meters, Prokerala.com 16 April 2010, After having been caught unprepared during the radio-active Cobalt 60 exposure in the capital that affected seven people, the Delhi Police is now procuring sophisticated devices to monitor radiation…………. Continue reading →

April 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, safety | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium mine contaminating water in Denver

Defunct uranium mine contaminating groundwater near reservoir, The Denver Post,By Bruce Finley, 04/16/2010 A defunct uranium mine in Jefferson County is contaminating groundwater near a reservoir, but government regulators and mine executives have yet to settle on a plan for cleanup.Uranium concentrations in groundwater 30 feet beneath the brim of the Schwartzwalder Mine exceed the human health standard for uranium by more than 1,000 times, according to state records reviewed Thursday.Unhealthy concentrations also were detected in Ralston Creek, which eventually enters Denver Water’s Ralston Reservoir. The reservoir supplies water to Denver and Arvada.

Defunct uranium mine contaminating groundwater near reservoir – The Denver Post

April 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, water | antinuclear, nuclear, uranium, water | Leave a comment

U.S govt’s nuclear spending contradicts its disarmament rhetoric

the 2011 federal budget for nuclear weapons research and development is likely to be more than $7 billion. If the Obama administration has its way, it could reach $8 billion per year by the end of this decade. This steady and growing investment contradicts the White House’s promising rhetoric of disarmament.

The New Anti-Nuclear Movement, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Frida Berrigan:, 16 April 2010, “………the upcoming Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty Review Conference will take place at the United Nations next month…..According to a Pew Research survey last fall, a little more than a half of the American public believes that “an attack on the United States with a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon is a greater danger now than it was 10 years ago.” Continue reading →

April 17, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | spinbuster, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Pakistan keen to sell nuclear technology to other countries

Pakistan Offers Global Nuclear Fuel Services Again, Planet Ark: 15-Apr-10 Louis Charbonneau Pakistan, the country of the disgraced nuclear scientist who provided Iran, Libya and North Korea with uranium enrichment technology, is once again offering its atomic fuel services to the world. Continue reading →

April 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Pakistan | antinuclear, disarmament, enriched, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear weapons, plutonium, reprocessing, uranium | Leave a comment

Community opposes uranium exploration in Balpakram National Park

Uranium exploration opposed in BNP, Nagaland Post, SHILLONG, APR 15: A proposal to de-notify 8 sq km of forest for an exploratory drilling at a newly-surveyed uranium site inside the Balpakram National Park (BNP) has been opposed.
According to a report in UNI, the 400-sq km BNP in Meghalayas South Garo Hills district is habitat for Asian elephant, tiger and other endangered animals such as, Hoolock Gibbon and Slow Loris, apart from being home to rare and endemic plants.
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has requested for de-notification of 8 sq km of forest under the national park for an exploratory drilling in the ecologically fragile Rongcheng plateau of the Park.
The Rongcheng Plateau is one of the ‘most potential’ sites for ‘high grade, large tonnage uranium deposits’, which requires confirmation.
The exploration exercise is aimed at to confirm feasible uranium deposits in the area, a DAE official said.
However, the Ministry of Forest and Environment is yet to issue a clearance certificate to the DAE….The Kylleng-Pyndenhsohiong-Mawthabah uranium mining project in Meghalayas West Khasi hills is lying pending since 1992 after several anti-nuke groups and political parties opposed the project citing radiation effect on human health and environmental degradation. Uranium exploration opposed in BNP – Regional – Nagaland Post

April 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics | antinuclear, nuclear, uranium | 1 Comment

Nuclear Security Summit, a start, but limited

What the summit did not address in any detail was the likelier and more easily achievable possibility that a terrorist organisation might obtain highly radioactive material and attach it to a conventional, crudely made dirty bomb that could still spread lethal material over a wide area.

World takes aim at nukes , THE AUSTRALIAN, Brad Norington, April 16, 2010 Obama’s plan, endorsed at the summit by all attending countries including Australia, is to conduct an enormous accounting exercise with the objective of securing all nuclear materials across the world during the next four years.A 12-point communique not only affirmed the responsibility of countries to maintain security of nuclear materials under their control. It also agreed to the goal of stopping “non-state actors” from obtaining the information or technology required to use nuclear materials for malicious purposes……

A further nuclear security summit has been scheduled for Seoul in 2012 to check progress.

If Obama succeeds in prompting a large-scale lockdown of nuclear materials, this week’s summit could turn out to be significant moment in redefining the global order and combating the scourge of terrorism in the modern age……

There are weaknesses, however, in the commitments given by nations this week.

Chief among them, apart from the ambitious four-year timeframe, is the lack of anything legally binding or a regime of enforcement.

Obama acknowledged at a media conference at the summit’s end that the agreement was voluntary and its success would depend on goodwill…..

As evidence of likely success, he singled out Ukraine, Chile and Mexico for their willingness to give up their entire stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, and Canada for giving up a significant portion.

Other nations, such as Pakistan and Argentina, agreed to measures to prevent nuclear smuggling and strengthen port security.

Russia used the occasion to announce it would close its last weapons-grade plutonium production reactor.

The US and Russia signed an agreement for each to eliminate about 70 tonnes of plutonium or enough for 17,000 nuclear weapons…..

Obama focused the attention of countries on securing materials that could be used by al-Qa’ida to construct a nuclear weapon.

In hindsight, events manipulated by the Obama White House in the lead-up to the summit look very much timed to encourage other nations to think seriously about their contributions to making the world a safer place. That was as far as it went. World takes aim at nukes | The Australian

April 16, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, general | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, plutonium, reprocessing, uranium | Leave a comment

Recycling nuclear fuel, dangerous and dirty

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by Christina Macpherson 15 April 2010, It all sounded so good – removing stockpiles of Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) and plutonium from international sites, and using them to provide fuel for nuclear reactors in USA and Russia.

And one part is good. This program would end the dirty, dangerous, uranium mining industry.

However, nobody’s talked about :

1. the dangers of transporting this stuff, – risk of accident, as in the movement of HEU from Chile, theft, terrorist attack

2. what to do with the final resulting highly radioactive waste from this process of recycling . It all still ends up with even more toxic, dangerous nuclear wastes. Still a risk of theft. still a target for terrorists, still extremely long-lasting wastes, and no-one has found a way to safely dispose of nuclear wastes.

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes, spinbuster | antinuclear, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear renaissance, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Nuclear Summit kept quiet about dangers of recycling nuclear fuel

Recycling fuel should end: Evans, Sydney Morning Herald, April 15, 2010, WASHINGTON: A former Australian foreign minister, Gareth Evans, was at the centre of a dispute over reactor suppliers recycling nuclear fuel even as US officials sought to skirt the issue during a summit in Washington organised by the President, Barack Obama.

Mr Evans is co-chairman of the Australian government’s international non-proliferation and disarmament commission. On Monday, at a conference of experts which is being held in parallel with Mr Obama’s nuclear security summit, he called for an end to fuel recycling.Mr Evans and a former US ambassador-at-large, Robert Gallucci, said recycling created stockpiles of dangerous materials ripe for theft………
The issue was not among those central to the Obama summit. Administration officials said last week they had deliberately avoided some of the more contentious issues that would not have won support from all participants. Gareth Evans

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, nuclear wastes, nuclear weapons, plutonium, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Earthquake danger for transporting Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Quake rattles Chilean-U.S. uranium move , SANTIAGO, Chile, April 14 (UPI) — A Chilean-U.S. nuclear waste disposal arrangement was nearly derailed, with dangerous consequences for North and South America, when a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile Feb. 27, interfering with deliveries of radioactive waste to U.S. processing plants. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Uranium ivestors – bleak outlook following Nuclear Security Summit plan to recycle nuclear fuel

Nuclear Summit Changes Uranium Outlook ninemsn 14/04/2010 By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck US President Obama’s success in convincing world leaders the best way forward is through the conversion of hundreds of thousands of tons of weapons-usable nuclear fuel into non-military fuel for power stations might be good news for world peace, but probably not so for investors in uranium companies.

This week’s nuclear summit in Washington has ended with a general pledge by participants from all over the globe to convert hundreds of thousands of tons of weapons-usable nuclear fuel by 2014, plus an intention to set a 2012 summit in South Korea to measure progress.This inevitably means the supply-outlook has dramatically changed for the sector this week. Nuclear Summit Changes Uranium Outlook

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, business and costs | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, recycling, uranium | Leave a comment

Iran has produced Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium, Google News Hosting, (AP) – 15 April 2010, TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi says his country has produced five kilograms of 20 percent enriched uranium, a move in open defiance of the U.N. demands to halt the controversial program.

Iran says it needs the material for a medical research reactor, and the level of enrichment is far below the more than 90 percent pure uranium needed to build a nuclear weapon. But U.S. officials have expressed concern the process could be a step toward greater enrichment.The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon, a claim Iran denies. The Associated Press: Iran announces batch of higher enriched uranium

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Iran, politics international | antinuclear, enriched, nuclear, nuclear spin, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

New Zealand makes a practical contribution to nuclear security

Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz NZ contributes to anti-nuclear fund By TRACY WATKINS in Ottawa 15 April 2010, ANTI-NUCLEAR PROJECT FUNDING New Zealand will contribute $685,000 to a Canadian-led project which aims to help prevent the illicit trafficking of nuclear and radiological materials.The money will fund radiation detection equipment for a major Russian nuclear facility.The project was part of the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The funding was announced during a trip to Canada by Prime Minister John Key on his way home from President Obama’s two-day nuclear security summit.In a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr Key said the project was a practical way for New Zealand to reduce the risk of nuclear materials ending up in the wrong hands.New Zealand has committed almost $6 million to G8 Global Partnership projects since 2004. Call in while Down Under, Obama told | Stuff.co.nz

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | New Zealand, safety | antinuclear, depleted, enriched, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear weapons, radiation, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Russia doesn’t count depleted uranium as ‘nuclear wastes’

The Russian state-media report adds the uranium isn’t considered waste material because it can be reprocessed. Depleted uranium, however, has severe health consequences from long-term exposure.

Greenpeace irked by Russia’s uranium, ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, April 14 (UPI) –– A ship from the environmental group Greenpeace arrived Wednesday in St. Petersburg, Russia, to protest nuclear fuel waste shipments from France. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, spinbuster | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, uranium | 1 Comment

Ukraine’s enriched uranium to go to Russia

“We are receiving money for the recycling (of the uranium) and the recycling will take place, chiefly, in Russia,”

Russia is likely to take Ukraine enriched uranium, Arab News By REUTERS Apr 14, 2010

KIEV: Russia will take the highly enriched uranium which Ukraine has announced it is giving up, senior officials on both sides said. Ukraine announced on Monday, at a 47-nation summit in Washington on prevention of nuclear terrorism, that it would get rid of a stockpile of highly enriched material by 2012. Continue reading →

April 15, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, Ukraine | antinuclear, enriched, fast breeder, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear spin, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment