Olympic Dam EIS: Impact of the world’s biggest mine
Incomparable and unimaginable are not synonymous, but Olympic Dam is both. It will be the world’s biggest hole-in-the-ground, the largest copper and uranium quarry on the planet, the highest artificial mountain range on Earth and the richest mine since King Solomon………………….
The company will ultimately dig a hole 7.5 kilometres long, five kilometres wide and more than a kilometre deep.
Stacked up, the 44 billion tonnes or so of overburden would effectively create a new mountain range. Depending on its shape, it might be 20 kilometres wide in each direction and almost as high as Mt Lofty’s 720 metres………………………BHP has said it will not comment on the EIS after the weekend even though reporters can’t possibly read all the documents in the time available………..
………….The Independent Weekly understands that the Federal Government is planning much tougher safeguards relating to uranium sales to China, even if it’s gift-wrapped in copper concentrate. BHP does not yet have export permits for that uranium. In May next year nuclear non-proliferation nations, Australia included, will meet in New York. Australia may want a new international treaty to make sure Olympic Dam uranium does not end up in Chinese bombs………….
…………….here’s a prediction. Tomorrow’s EIS will say the project can go ahead on environmental grounds. The company will start moving to begin expansion and hope for a global economic recovery to coincide with increased production. BHP will pass the break-even point on its multi-billion investment within the first two decades, and after that it’s money in the bank all the way down to the year 2100.
But first, there’ll be new legislation presented in State Parliament to legalise the process. It will be a new form of the 1982 Roxby Downs Indenture Ratification Act. It will, once again, over-ride every other Act of Parliament passed up to now and into the future. The first that South Australians see of that legislation will be after the state election.
And BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam will have an economic and environmental impact that is synonymous with mining on this scale: incomparable and unimaginable.
A cautionary history of the nuclear age | Cautionary tales
The nuclear age Cautionary tales
Apr 30th 2009 The Economist …………….The expectation of electricity “too cheap to meter” brought hopes in some quarters of an end to world poverty. Yet nuclear power proved costly and far from risk-free. Some presumed that by the turn of the 20th century there could be more than 500 fast-breeder reactors, fuelled by expanding stockpiles of plutonium.
By the millennium’s end not a single fast-breeder was in commercial operation (the necessary experimental forerunners produce plutonium in quantities useful for bomb-making). The Bush administration’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership sought to revive the breeder idea (renaming it a fast-burner), but plans had to be shrunk due to cost, technological complexity and the danger of proliferation.
Whatever the nuclear technology used, the by-products thus far have been accidents (Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were among the worst but there have been plenty of others), pollution and piles of nuclear waste. Meanwhile technologies and materials acquired to keep the lights on can be misused in weapons.
Spread around generously in the 1950s and 1960s, “atoms for peace” helped get Argentina, Brazil, India, Israel, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan and others started in the bomb business. (Other secretive programmes—in Iran, Libya, North Korea—thrived mostly on black-market connections.)
Now, once again, nuclear suppliers are signing up governments with nuclear ambitions, arguing that co-operation will help ensure the technology is put to proper use. But history suggests that no one can be sure where all this will lead.
A cautionary history of the nuclear age | Cautionary tales | The Economist
Native Americans: Power for the persecuted
Native Americans: Power for the persecuted DIAMONDBACKONLINE Matt DernogaIs- 4/28/09 “……………Native American reservations contain large quantities of natural resources, including energy. There is little to no access or control over as to how they are used – 65 percent of North America’s uranium lies on these reservations, as is 80 percent of all the uranium mining and 100 percent of all the uranium processing in the country.
The result has been high rates of cancer, respiratory ailments, miscarriages and birth defects. The water and soil are loaded with lead, radium, thorium and other toxins. People who work in the mines rarely receive clothing, protection, medical evaluation or compensation. There is almost no wealth to show for this exploitation, and our tax dollars subsidize it daily through our funding of uneconomical nuclear power…………….
………..The reservations on the Great Plains have a windpower potential that tops 300 gigawatts, half our annual electric generation. Everyone wins with a clean energy economy, but I can’t think of a group in this country who would benefit more than Native Americans.
This would explain why I’ve been seeing and hearing a lot more of groups like the Indigenous Environmental Network. A good climate bill, a green energy bill and a new electric grid only benefit indigenous people if they are involved in the legislative process. We can’t abuse their renewable resources like we’ve abused their traditional resources. They need to be a partner, not a tool. The less we understand about their culture and history, the harder this will be.
Espionage and the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’
Espionage and the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ The New York Times April 28, 2009,By James Kanter Accusations of spying and corporate hacking are swirling in Europe’s nuclear industry. – “………………
French judges last month opened an investigation into allegations that the power company’s executives may have been involved in espionage — including breaking into computer systems at Greenpeace offices.
Another dimension to the affair could involve Britain, where Greenpeace is concerned that spying activities also took place.
E.D.F. has suspended two staff members from their duties while the French inquiry continues………………………….The allegations of espionage are important for the future of nuclear power because they do little to help generate trust in major operators like E.D.F., which are seeking to rebuild an industry plagued by giant cost overruns and the legacies of nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
Espionage and the ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com
Fears over safety after nuclear waste leaks into Clyde revealed
News Scotsman.com 28 April 2009
By David Maddox
CONCERNS have been raised about safety at Faslane after it was revealed nuclear waste has leaked into the Clyde.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has said that if Faslane was a civilian installation it would consider closing it down.
The worst breaches included leaks of radioactive coolants from nuclear subs in 2004, 2007 and 2008, according to documents acquired under freedom of information requests by Channel 4………. http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Fears-over-safety-after-nuclear.5210867.jp
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
Israel stands ready to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites
TimesOnLine The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government…………………. An Israeli attack on Iran would entail flying over Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, where US forces have a strong presence.
Ephraim Kam, the deputy director of the Institute for National Security Studies, said it was unlikely that the Americans would approve an attack.
“The American defence establishment is unsure that the operation will be successful. And the results of the operation would only delay Iran’s programme by two to four years,” he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article6115903.ece
Radiation from 1960s nuclear tests are still hurting my family – Times Online
Radiation from 1960s nuclear tests are still hurting my family THE TIMES April 27 2009 The Government is to hold an inquiry that may finally lead to compensation for British servicemen exposed to radiation during nuclear testing in the 1950s and 60s. ……………………………………………………
Within a few years many of the men had developed cancers and the rate of miscarriages among their partners grew to alarming levels. Evidence is now growing of damage having been caused to their DNA, damage which may have resulted in gene mutations that caused illnesses and congenital deformities among their children.
In research conducted by the independent environmental consultants Green Audit in 2007, the rate of congenital deformities among nuclear test veterans’ children was almost ten times higher than that of an average control group. Among veterans’ partners, the rate of miscarriage was three times the average……………………
“These men have been treated extremely shabbily,” says Gibson. “Successive governments have been dodging their responsibilities while families have been suffering. The MoD’s denial of a link between nuclear tests and ill health looks increasingly shaky now that children and grandchildren of veterans are experiencing congenital disease and early death.” Gibson and Baron’s efforts led to last week’s announcement of Government-backed research.
Only a small number of people have seen the mushroom cloud from an atomic explosion close up. Most of them are dead. Those who survive endure not only their own awful ailments but must, in many cases, wince and weep while their children and now grandchildren suffer before their eyes.
Radiation from 1960s nuclear tests are still hurting my family – Times Online
Riot policemen against participants of “Chernobyl Way” in Minsk (Photo, video) – Charter’97 :: News from Belarus – Belarusian News – Republic of Belarus – Minsk
Riot policemen against participants of “Chernobyl Way” in Minsk
Charter 97 27 April 09 The spot near the Academy of Sciences was a sanctioned assembly point for participants. At the noon about a thousand and a half protesters gathered there. Protesters raised white-red-white flags, unfurled streamers “We oppose nuclear power station construction in Belarus”, “No to new Chernobyl”, “Return us our welfare benefits”, “No to chemical Chernobyl”, “No to toxic chemicals plant near Minsk”, “We are against nuclear reactor”. Dozens of white-red-white flags and flags of the European Union were fluttering………………..
………….an associate of the Academy of Sciences Ivan Nikitchanka called upon the regime not to hush up the aftermaths of the Chernobyl catastrophe at the state level, to return welfare benefits to people affected by the disaster and cleanup veterans, and not to construct the atomic power station in Belarus…………….
…………Viktar Ivashkevich called upon demonstrators remain unprovoked by secret services: “You see that authorities have sent riot policemen against a peaceful rally,” he addressed the participants. “I call upon you not to be drawn and walk along the official route Surhanau- Khmelnitski- Karastayanava- the Chernobyl Chapel.”
Nuclear issues can’t be ignored
Nuclear issues can’t be ignored
Times Argus Robert Lincoln April 26, 2009 A recent opinion perpetuated the myth about nuclear waste reprocessing. Few countries in Europe and Asia have such programs because these have been financially and environmentally catastrophic.
The Bush administration began the new push for a Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. In 1979, a United States naval nuclear engineer and future President Jimmy Carter ended this dangerous program.
Reprocessing spent nuclear fuel was supposed to be one alternative to lots and lots of mining forever and forever. The biggest experiment in reprocessing was at Sellafield in Britain. In 2005, after decades of contamination and leaks and general spewing of horrible matter into the ocean, air, and land around the reprocessing plant, Sellafield was shut down because a bigger-than-usual leak of fuel dissolved in nitric acid — some tens of thousands of gallons-was discovered. It contained enough plutonium to make about 20 nuclear bombs.
A nuclear dump site just six miles from the famous Champagne vineyards in France is leaking radioactive waste into the groundwater. According to the French nuclear safety authority, the “wall of a storage cell fissured” while concrete was being added to a recent layer of nuclear waste. It showed levels of radioactivity leaking from another dump site run by the same company in Normandy — at up to 90 times above European safety limits. That waste has seeped into underground water used by farmers, with contamination spreading into the countryside and threatening dairy production. The Champagne site will receive a total of 4,000 terabequerels of tritium — more than three times the amount of tritium waste as the dumpsite in Normandy………..………….Reprocessing will not solve our country’s nuclear waste problem because it will make more waste streams that must be managed and cannot eliminate the need for a geologic repository. The United States has not cleaned up the mess from past reprocessing. The only private commercial reprocessing facility in the United States, West Valley in New York, resulted in radioactive waste that is still threatening the Great Lakes watershed more than 30 years later and will cost $5.2 billion to clean up.
U.S. taxpayers are also on the hook for more than $100 billion to clean up the reprocessing waste at the U.S. nuclear weapons sites that reprocessed to get plutonium for nuclear weapons, as well as reprocessed naval fuel. Let’s all think about our children for once.
Rutland
Chernobyl fallout continues | The Courier-Mail
Chernobyl fallout continues
April 26, 2009 12:00am
THE charity flights arrive at London’s Gatwick Airport twice a week. On board are sick, disadvantaged or dying children from areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
More than two decades after the world’s worst nuclear accident, thousands of youngsters are still being brought to the UK each year.
Born up to 15 years after the event, they spend a month recuperating with volunteer families from the Chernobyl Children Life Line………………
………….for charity founder Victor Mizzi, who personally greets almost every flight, there is no question that Chernobyl is an ongoing tragedy.
“The situation is just as bad now with cancer and leukemia as it was in 1986,” claims Mizzi, who has brought more than 46,000 children from affected areas to Britain…………………………
More than 340,000 people were evacuated from the surrounding area over the following years, never to return to their contaminated homes.
Today, the area around Chernobyl remains a wasteland, with habitation banned in a 30km “zone of alienation”.
In the abandoned city of Prypiat, once bustling with a population of 50,000, decaying shells of buildings are all that is left…………
………….Greenpeace, for one, has estimated more than 90,000 people will die from cancer and that other illnesses will send the toll soaring into the hundreds of thousands.
85,000 radioactive baby teeth
85,000 radioactive baby teeth. Now that we have your attention…
Forgotten about for 50 years, an odd stash yields clues about above-ground nuclear tests and cancertHE sTAR.COM Apr 26, 2009 “…………………The fallout came from hundreds of above-ground nuclear tests in America and other parts of the world. The radioactive isotope Strontium-90, one of the by-products of the bombs, spread into the atmosphere, fell onto the land, was ingested by dairy cows and passed into the milk supply. Strontium-90, like calcium, was concentrated in children’s teeth in detectable amounts.
In 1958 scientists in St. Louis began a campaign to collect baby teeth to study the link between above-ground testing and human exposure. The undisputed link between the tests and a radioactive element in baby teeth provided much of the impetus for the 1963 Test Ban Treaty, which outlawed above-ground nuclear weapons-testing.
The rediscovery of the 85,000 samples, about a quarter of the total collected, has spurred a new effort to study the link between early childhood exposure and health problems in later life.
There is already evidence that 1950s children in St. Louis grew into adults with a higher-than-average rate of cancer. Now researchers at the Radiation and Public Health Project, based in Brooklyn, are attempting to find more than 6,000 of the teeth donors to track their health problems or, in some cases, their premature deaths.
The link between radioactive fallout and subsequent health problems is an international issue.
Earthlife ridicules nuclear power generation plans
Earthlife ridicules nuclear power generation plans
Namibia Economist 24 April 2009 11:34Propagators of the myth that nuclear power being safe, clean and climate friendly are misleading Namibians, according to Bertchen Kohrs of Earthlife Namibia.Few people are properly informed about the real dangers of the nuclear industry, she added.Earthlife Namibia has repeated its concern over the possibility that government might opt for nuclear power generation in Namibia.Kohrs said instead of opting for a nuclear power plant or coal-fired plant, the country could play a leading role in the development of renewable energy in Africa.“This kind of clean energy production would put Namibia on the world map attracting energy experts and tourists alike. Namibia would receive carbon credits when opting for carbon-free power generation. This money could be used to subsidize power from renewable sources,” said Kohrs.
She also pointed out that Namibia does not have specialists who can run a nuclear power plant and that the country will make itself dependent on foreign experts, whereas there are people who are capable of maintaining a solar or wind power plant.
Another disadvantage such a nuclear power plant would pose for Namibia is the high level of waste as there is no solution for safe storage……………….………Earthlife and the Labour Research and Resource Institute (LaRRI) are working together on an ongoing awareness campaign, which aims to inform the public of the dangers of a nuclear power plant.
As part of this campaign, Earthlife produced a booklet “Uranium – Blessing or Curse” informing about general issues regarding the uranium industry, while LARRI published a booklet ‘Uranium Mining in Namibia: The mystery behind ‘low level radiation’, which focuses on the impacts of uranium on mine workers’ health
Oyster Creek’s safety issues unresolved
Oyster Creek’s safety issues unresolved
APP.com By JANET TAURO • April 24, 2009 Samuel J. Collins, regional director for the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, is barring the public from attending an upcoming safety meeting between the owners of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station and federal regulators. He is doing so even though the safety issues would never have been considered had citizens not identified them and intervened in relicensing proceedings.
By barring public participation, Collins further erodes public trust and disregards congressional demands for government transparency. Though the commission recently relicensed Oyster Creek for another 20 years, it did so with recommendations that NRC staff enhance enforcement of safety commitments made by Exelon to monitor corrosion of the reactor’s drywell shell, the steel containment shielding the public from radiation. The commission recommended that NRC staff increase enforcement because “Exelon’s series of errors . . . directly contradicts Exelon’s ability to meet the commitments.”
If Exelon and NRC staff were confident ongoing corrosion is resolved or that minimum safety standards are assured, they would welcome the public with open arms. Instead, Collins’ refusal to involve citizens exacerbates the perception of industry coziness and disdain for the public……………….
Oyster Creek’s safety issues unresolved | APP.com | Asbury Park Press
illicit transfer of nuclear materials
FG to halt illicit transfer of nuclear materials
The Federal Government is making moves to tackle the problem of illicit trans-shipment of nuclear materials in and out of Nigeria,………………..
………….companies like Halliburton Nigeria Limited, AES Nigeria Limited and Greenik Maritime Nigeria Limited had been tried by the government at different times for involvement in illegal and dangerous movement of radioactive sources in the country. The companies repackaged radioactive sources and declared it as mould for export, only to be discovered in Germany.Such occurrences, according to Egbogah,The Presidential Adviser on Petroleum Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, reflected the country‘s inadequate radiation security facility and training of the officials at the sea and air ports.
Navajo uranium mine workers seek health assistance
Navajo uranium mine workers seek health assistance— By Brendan Giusti — The Daily Times 4/22/2009 — A grassroots effort to help uranium mine workers’ children affected by diseases and birth defects is picking up steam on the Navajo Nation.The Navajo Nation Dependents of Uranium Workers Committee will meet for the second time in a month to update community members and hear feedback from residents who suffer from cancer, kidney disease, birth defects and other illnesses resulting from prolonged radon exposure from uranium mines……………………
uranium mine workers were exposed to high levels of radon, which has caused inter-generational bouts of illnesses in communities across the Navajo Nation.
“A lot of people don’t want to talk about this in the public,” Harrison said………………………….
momentum in the fair-compensation movement is growing.
Community members, especially those directly affected by the lingering health issues, are ready to travel to Washington to lobby the federal government for compensation, said Gilbert Badoni, president of the Navajo Nation Dependents of Uranium Workers Committee, a co-sponsor of the meeting.
The group plans to hold meetings across the Navajo Nation before making the trek to the nation’s capital later this year.
Badoni estimates there are 15,000 dependents of uranium mine workers affected today from various diseases and birth defects.
From 2004 to 2005 only 8 percent of Navajo claims were paid, Harrison said.
This, according to Harrison, is because many Navajo don’t have the proper medical records, marital records, birth certificates, proof of residency or work history required under the act.
Navajo uranium mine workers seek health assistance – Farmington Daily Times
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
World Nuclear Power. Reactors 1951-2026, 75 Years of Nuclear Power.
Interactive Map– https://dv.worldnuclearreport.org/
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
-
Archives
- April 2026 (211)
- March 2026 (251)
- February 2026 (268)
- January 2026 (308)
- December 2025 (358)
- November 2025 (359)
- October 2025 (376)
- September 2025 (257)
- August 2025 (319)
- July 2025 (230)
- June 2025 (348)
- May 2025 (261)
-
Categories
- 1
- 1 NUCLEAR ISSUES
- business and costs
- climate change
- culture and arts
- ENERGY
- environment
- health
- history
- indigenous issues
- Legal
- marketing of nuclear
- media
- opposition to nuclear
- PERSONAL STORIES
- politics
- politics international
- Religion and ethics
- safety
- secrets,lies and civil liberties
- spinbuster
- technology
- Uranium
- wastes
- weapons and war
- Women
- 2 WORLD
- ACTION
- AFRICA
- Atrocities
- AUSTRALIA
- Christina's notes
- Christina's themes
- culture and arts
- Events
- Fuk 2022
- Fuk 2023
- Fukushima 2017
- Fukushima 2018
- fukushima 2019
- Fukushima 2020
- Fukushima 2021
- general
- global warming
- Humour (God we need it)
- Nuclear
- RARE EARTHS
- Reference
- resources – print
- Resources -audiovicual
- Weekly Newsletter
- World
- World Nuclear
- YouTube
-
RSS
Entries RSS
Comments RSS
nuclear-news 