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Colorado bill will force uranium mills to clean up

“Taxpayers have given a one billion dollar bailout to uranium companies to clean up past mill sites, just in the state of Colorado,”s.hauser@krdo.com

Bill Announced To Crack Down On Uranium Mills NEWSCHANNEL 13 by Sean Hauser Jan 27, 2010 FREMONT COUNTY – A major bill was announced in Canon City Tuesday to deliver a message to Uranium Mills in Colorado that enough is enough. Continue reading

January 27, 2010 Posted by | politics, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Utah’s heavy burden from uranium

Depleted uranium gets more and more hazardous for at least 1 million years. In contrast, most of the Class A waste at the Utah site is supposed to pose virtually no radiation risk after 100 years………..

Public largely critical of depleted uranium disposal –  State has already borne a heavy burden from the nuclear industry, one Utahn says. By Judy FahysThe Salt Lake Tribune: 01/26/2010 Utah’s depleted uranium regulations should ensure no harm will come to the public or the environment as long as the waste remains dangerous — and that, said some Utahns on Tuesday, means the radioactive waste does not belong in a shallow disposal site in western Utah. Continue reading

January 27, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Price of uranium staying down

The term uranium market was even quieter, with no new demand or transactions reported in the term market last week.

Uranium Continues Its Retreat ninemsn Money 27/01/2010  By Andrew Nelson With only a handful of deals reported last week, the uranium spot price continued its new year retreat. Industry consultant TradeTech’s U3O8 Spot Price Indicator showed a decline of US$1.25/lb to US$42.50/lb over the course of last week…………….

It is the discretionary nature of current demand that is encouraging sellers to further discount their material in an effort to generate some turnover. However, the continuing trend of discounting is making a major contribution to the downward pressure on the consultant’s Spot Price Indicator…………

without any real demand currently present in the market, the consultant expects spot uranium prices will remain soft in the weeks ahead.

The term uranium market was even quieter, with no new demand or transactions reported in the term market last week…..the conversion and enrichment markets were similarly quiet last week, with no new activity reported.

Uranium Continues Its Retreat

January 27, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs | , , | Leave a comment

Greenpeace blocks nuclear waste shipment in France

Activists block nuclear shipment in France Google News (AFP) – 26 Jan 2010 CHERBOURG, France — Greenpeace activists said Monday they were blocking a train transporting nuclear waste to the French port of Cherbourg from where it was to be shipped to Russia.Four activists who had chained themselves to the railway line near the harbour were removed early Monday morning by police but more activists were blocking the line at a different location, they said. Continue reading

January 26, 2010 Posted by | France, politics | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Call for UN to investigate Israel’s use of depleted uranium in Gaza

Israel Uses Depleted Uranium against Palestinians in Gaza TEHRAN (FNA) 24 Jan 2010 A London-based Palestinian activist announced that the buildings damaged in the Gaza Strip after the Israeli onslaught last year all showed signs of contamination with depleted uranium. Continue reading

January 26, 2010 Posted by | depleted uranium, Israel | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Australian scientists warns of the social, environmental, costs of mining

Call to levy mining firms for green fund KIM MACDONALD, The West Australian January 26, 2010,

Former scientist of the year Jorg Imberger has called for a five per cent levy on mining companies to pay for social and environmental programs, amid revelations only a fifth of export sales money stays in WA. Continue reading

January 26, 2010 Posted by | environment | , , , | Leave a comment

Global Petition against Depleted Uranium Weapons

  • Stop Phosphorus Bombs & Depleted Uranium Bullets – The Petition Site 25 Jan 2010 “…..Depleted uranium has even more lasting effects.  Used as a blunt projectile for armor piercing.  The aerosol produced during impact and combustion can be inhaled by civilians or military in a large area near the impact.  During a 3 week period in the 2003 Iraq War,  1000 to 2000 tonnes of DU (depleted uranium) was used mainly in cities. The European Parliament has requested a moratorium on the ban of Depleted Uranium weapons.  Though they still support the same wars where it is used.  The health effects are traumatic and long term, even spreading to family, and unborn children.  It is believed that DU can cause major birth defects, and also brain and organ malfunction.  Bottom Line:  Whether it is a radioactive weapon being used, or a phosphorus gas, this is an unfair way to attack an enemy, and can only be viewed as cruel and inhumane.  Stop the use of these harmful weapons now!!

Stop Phosphorus Bombs & Depleted Uranium Bullets – The Petition Site

January 25, 2010 Posted by | general | , , , , | 1 Comment

Nuclear industry will produce increasing C02 emissions

Stop oldbury: Response to Consultation on Nuclear National Policy Statement,  Philip Booth 23 Jan 2010 “……….Electricity Produced by Nuclear Power (NP) is not CO2 free. “The use of nuclear power causes, at the end of the road and under the most favourable conditions, approximately one-third as much CO2-emission as gas-fired electricity production. The rich uranium ores required to achieve this reduction are, however, so limited that if the entire present world electricity demand were to be provided by nuclear power, these ores would be exhausted within four years. Use of the remaining poorer ores in nuclear reactors would produce more CO2 emission than burning fossil fuels directly.” (ref: http://www.oprit.rug.nl/deenen)

stop oldbury: Response to Consultation on Nuclear National Policy Statement

January 25, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, climate change | , , , | Leave a comment

Enriched uranium stolen in Brazil

Brazilian police disover 450kg of enriched Uranium Follow The Money 25 Jan 2010 Police in the north Brazilian state of Amapa have unearthed a cache with 450 kg of enriched uranium ore, a dangerous mineral used for nuclear arms production.The operation to seize radioactive material was a result of four-month work by investigators, who found a bag of pitchblende on Friday in a remote area of tropical rainforest.

Brazilian police disover 450kg of enriched Uranium « Follow The Money

January 25, 2010 Posted by | safety, SOUTH AMERICA | , , , | Leave a comment

Depleted uranium and Iraq’s deadly war legacy

Legacy of War: TEHRAN TIMES January 25, 2010 Iraq littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, study finds By Martin Chulov Radiation and dioxins, with three decades of war and neglect having left environmental ruin in large parts of the country, an official Iraqi study has found.Areas in and near Iraq’s largest towns and cities, including Najaf, Basra and ­Falluja, account for around 25% of the contaminated sites, which appear to coincide with communities that have seen increased rates of cancer and birth defects over the past five years. Continue reading

January 25, 2010 Posted by | weapons and war | , , , , | 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 | environment, USA | , , , | 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 | Legal, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

South Africa: uranium mine loses authorisation

Environmental authorisation withdrawn at First Uranium project  (South Africa) Mining Journal20 Jan 2010 First Uranium Corp says an environmental authorisation (EA) for a tailings storage facility at its Mine Waste Solutions (MWS) tailings recovery project has been withdrawn by the authorities.

The “unexpected” decision was taken by the North West Provincial Government’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Rural Development (NWDACE).

Mining Journal – Environmental authorisation withdrawn at First Uranium project

January 21, 2010 Posted by | Legal, South Africa | , , , , | 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's notes, politics international | , , , , , , , , , | 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 | 1 | , , , , | Leave a comment