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The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Complexity of shipping Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)

These reactors are using highly enriched uranium fuel pure enough for a bomb. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. government has grown increasingly worried that terrorists could steal the material or buy it. ….. these reactors aren’t very well guarded.

Nuclear Road Trip: Shipping Uranium A Complex Task,  NPR, by Geoff Brumfiel, 11 Oct 10, A shipment of bomb-grade uranium arrived at a secure facility in Russia on Monday, sent from a research reactor in Poland as part of a race to secure dangerous radioactive material around the world. Continue reading →

October 12, 2010 Posted by | EUROPE, safety | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Massive anti-nuclear protest in Munich

Tens of thousands take part in Munich anti-nuclear protest | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 09.10.2010Richard Connor (dpa/AFP) Opponents of the German government’s plans for nuclear power claim success after a major demonstration in Munich. The event was the largest of its kind in Bavaria for more than two decades. Tens of thousands of people turned out on the streets of Munich on Saturday against the nuclear power policy of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition government.A focus of the protest was the formation of a human chain, about 10 kilometers long, through the center of the city…..Tens of thousands take part in Munich anti-nuclear protest | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 09.10.2010

October 11, 2010 Posted by | Germany, opposition to nuclear | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear weapons are criminally illegal by international law

The time for preventive action is now! And civil resistance by all of us human beings is the way to go.

The Criminality of Nuclear Deterrence Today, Media With Conscience,By Francis Boyle , 10 Oct 10, “……………..I was brought up to believe that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had saved my father’s life and thus made mine possible, although my father never raised me to be anti-Japanese or anti-German. But when I came to study international relations, I realized: This simply was not true. Continue reading →

October 11, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Constellation Energy about to kill nuclear reactor project

Constellation Energy says loan backstop too costly,  MontereyHerald.com :By DANIEL WAGNER 10/10/2010 WASHINGTON—Constellation Energy Group Inc. says it won’t tap a government program necessary to build a new nuclear plant in Maryland, in a move likely to kill the project, according to a published report on Sunday.The U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee came with “unworkable” terms and an “unreasonably burdensome” cost, Constellation said Saturday, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal……..The government guarantee was necessary for Constellation to finance the planned Calvert Cliffs 3 plant in Calvert County, Md. Lenders require developers of nuclear sites to obtain the guarantee. The projects are too costly and high-risk to qualify for regular loans…….. Constellation Energy says loan backstop too costly – MontereyHerald.com :

October 11, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Foreign countries taking over USA uranium industry

the disintegration of boundaries in the uranium-mining industry, a trend that has picked up in uranium-rich Utah……..
foreign companies with claims to U.S. minerals pay no royalties under the 1872 Mining Act…….

Russian company may get Utah town and uranium | The Salt Lake Tribune, By JUDY FAHYS  Oct 10, 2010 “…..the town itself, the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill a few miles up the highway, more than 10,000 acres of uranium claims in Utah and holdings in South Dakota, Wyoming and Texas — all of it will be in the portfolio of ARMZ’s parent company, Rosatom, the Russian nuclear agency, which last month provided fuel for Iran’s nuclear power plant….. Continue reading →

October 11, 2010 Posted by | politics international, Uranium, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ballooning costs of nuclear waste cleanup at Savannah River Site

Also, $600 million of the $1.4 billion cost increase has little to do with the actual cleanup – it’s money the Energy Department is spending to make up for recessionary losses in SRS worker pensions, the GAO said…..

Cleaning Up Nuclear Waste at SRS to Cost More Than Expected, wltx.com | Columbia, SC News, By RAJU CHEBIUM ,Tony Santaella : 9/14/2010 WASHINGTON (Gannett News Service) – Emptying, cleaning and sealing 22 underground nuclear-waste storage tanks at Savannah River Site will cost substantially more and take longer than previously thought, a new report says. Continue reading →

October 7, 2010 Posted by | USA, wastes | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dangerous ionising radiation lingers at Scottish beach

Some of the particles found on the foreshore near a sailing club used by thousands of families are so highly radioactive that they could be lethal if they found their way inside the body. According to Sepa, outside the body they are “hot” enough to cause radiation burns on exposed skin.

Visitors at risk as MoD stops radiation monitoring at resort – Herald Scotland | News, Rob Edwards,  3 Oct 2010The health of visitors to one of Scotland’s most popular coastal resorts is being put at risk from radioactive contamination because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stopped monitoring the area. Continue reading →

October 4, 2010 Posted by | environment, UK | , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sri Lanka worried about safety of Indian nuclear plant

Sri Lankan government to discuss safety precautions of nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu with the Indian authorities Oct 03, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government has expressed concern over the safety precautions adopted by a nuclear power plant being set up in Tamil Nadu in Southern India.The government has initiated a dialogue with Indian authorities on the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant that is currently under construction in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu in South India.
Power and Energy Minister Champika Ranawaka has been quoted in the local media as saying that Sri Lanka would discuss the safety precautions adopted by the Kudankulam nuclear power plant. Sri Lanka : Sri Lankan government to discuss safety precautions of nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu with the Indian authorities

October 4, 2010 Posted by | ASIA, safety | , , , , | Leave a comment

Theft of uranium discovered in India

Man caught with uranium in Purulia – The Times of India, 4 Oct 10, PURULIA: A criminal with alleged links to gangs across the country and even Afghanistan was nabbed in Purulia with nearly 1 kg of uranium on Sunday. The market value of the radioactive element is said to be about $7 million……Man caught with uranium in Purulia – The Times of India

October 4, 2010 Posted by | India, safety | , , , | Leave a comment

In situ mining subject to stricter rules and higher fees

New rules take effect for Colorado uranium mines | San Francisco Examiner, Associated Press. 09/30/10 PDTDENVER — New rules for uranium mining in Colorado are now in effect.State lawmakers passed three bills in 2008 that prompted the changes, and the new rules took effect Thursday.The legislation was aimed at protecting groundwater during in-situ uranium mining, which involves injecting a chemical mixture into a site to draw uranium out. The laws also updated mining fees and pushed for disclosure of more information during prospecting activities.Now, all uranium mines must have detailed environmental protection plans. Applicants for in-situ leach uranium mines have to show the technology they want to use has been used before without harming groundwater quality, and they can’t be in violation at another operation. New rules take effect for Colorado uranium mines | San Francisco Examiner

October 1, 2010 Posted by | Legal, Uranium, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Slow progress in cleaning up uranium groundwater contamination

State records and Denver Water testing data indicate the pumping has failed to reduce uranium levels that far exceed drinking-water standards in Ralston Creek, which flows into Denver Water’s Ralston Reservoir.

Cotter Corp. puts a price on clean By Bruce FinleyThe Denver Post, 30 Sept 10, The federal government reimbursed Cotter Corp. nearly $3 million for cleanup of its toxic uranium mill near Cañon City — and could pay $3.3 million more for work in the future. But the work mopping up tailings and contaminated groundwater that began in 1984 is not scheduled to be complete until 2027. Continue reading →

October 1, 2010 Posted by | Uranium, USA, water | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New laser uranium enrichment technology fraught with problems

Regulatory agencies are worried that laser enrichment of uranium could lead to the proliferation of nuclear weapons….GE and Hitachi “are betting that there will be an upsurge of nuclear power plant construction—that’s a huge and extremely risky bet.”….laser enrichment has been held back by substantial technical hurdles.

Laser Uranium Enrichment Makes a Comeback The controversial technology poses proliferation risks, but nuclear firms press on, IEEE Spectrum: By Sandra Upson  1 October 2010 Two technology giants, GE and Hitachi, are betting big on a nuclear renaissance. Continue reading →

October 1, 2010 Posted by | technology, Uranium, USA | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The costly reality behind AREVA’s funky nuclear spin

the reality behind this romantic green image of a nuclear panacea to future energy needs is something altogether different….obsessional ad campaign run by the French Areva state-backed nuclear monopoly, under the banner of “semi-private” as portrayed in the business press.

Funky Town Finance Meets The Nuclear Renaissance :: The Market Oracle  by Andrew McKillop (Project Director, GSO Consulting Associates Former chief policy analyst, Division A Policy, DG XVII Energy, European Commission )30 Sept 10, Like a Marlene Dietrich show in a remake of 1945 Berlin, surrounded by Soviet troop hordes, the nuclear sales show has to go on. Continue reading →

September 30, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, spinbuster | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Small modular nuclear reactors, costly, dangerous, and proliferation risk

SMRs are not only unlikely live up to the hype, but may well aggravate cost, safety, and environmental problems,….”Amidst the evaporating hopes for a nuclear renaissance, nuclear power proponents are pinning their hopes on small modular reactors without thinking carefully about the new problems they will create

IEER/PSR: ‘Small Modular Reactors’ No Panacea for What Ails Nuclear Power – Fact Sheet Explores Cost, Safety and Waste Issues Glossed Over by IndustryWASHINGTON, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire – The same industry that promised that nuclear power would be “too cheap to meter” is now touting another supposed cure-all for America’s power needs: the small modular reactor (SMR). Continue reading →

September 30, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology | , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nuclear finance squabble as France’s debt-laden EDF in dispute with USA’s Constellation

Moving up a long way in funky financing, state-to-state bilateral deals in the nuclear power sector are now in high gear. Amounts in play are usually well above US $ 10 billion per project, and very complex mix-and-mingle methods and processes are used for their financing

From Put Options to Development Aid The French EDF ex-monopoly electricity supplier with the biggest number of nuclear reactors of any traded power company in the world, also the most debt-laden traded company in France, and with a share price down about 25% through Jan-Aug 2010, is using financial engineering to keep a foothold in the US nuclear power market. Continue reading →

September 30, 2010 Posted by | business and costs, USA | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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