NRC turns over depleted uranium documents
NRC turns over depleted uranium documents
By BROCK VERGAKIS Associated Press Writer © 2009 The Associated PressApril 22, 2009, Houston Chronicle 23 April 09SALT LAKE CITY — The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has turned over thousands of pages of documents that might help explain why it recently decided to classify large quantities of depleted uranium as the least hazardous type of low-level radioactive waste.
The NRC’s March decision could open the door for more than 1 million tons of depleted uranium to be disposed of in Utah and Texas at private disposal sites in the rural western parts of both states.
Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste because it becomes more radioactive over time for up to 1 million years…………………….
Matheson and Markey contend the NRC erred in its 3-1 decision, which was made along party lines.
The two sit on the subcommittee that oversees the NRC and have called the ruling an “arbitrary and capricious mischaracterization” of the waste.
“The commission’s action to classify depleted uranium as Class A even though it poses more severe risks to health and safety, and requires much greater effort for disposal, seems to be unsupportable and inconsistent with the intent of the law,” they wrote to NRC Chairman Dale Klein.
NRC turns over depleted uranium documents | AP Texas News | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
Lehman Brothers and yellowcake
Lehman Brothers and Yellowcake BIZMOLOGY by Larry Bills, April 20th, 2009 “………It turns out that Lehman Brothers, the powerful investment bank which collapsed last year and signaled the beginning of the economic meltdown, owns 500,000 pounds of uranium “yellowcake,” slightly less than what’s needed to make one nuclear bomb……………….. I don’t know if I’m crazy about a bankrupt company — struggling to pay off creditors — stockpiling uranium.
Bizmology » Blog Archive » Lehman Brothers and yellowcake
Fallout from the fire of 1957: radioactive plume led to 200 cancer cases
Fallout from the fire of 1957: radioactive plume led to 200 cancer cases
The Observer, Sunday 19 April 2009 Sellafield is the site of Britain’s worst nuclear accident. A blaze in 1957 in the reactor of Pile 1 released a massive plume of radioactive caesium, iodine and polonium that spread across Britain and northern Europe.
Up to 200 cases of cancer – including thyroid and breast cancer and also leukaemia – may have been triggered by the fire’s emissions, according to estimates which were published by epidemiologists led by Professor Richard Wakeford, of Manchester University, two years ago.
…………………… After the fire the government placed a six-week ban on consumption of milk from cows grazing within 200 miles of Windscale (as Sellafield was then known). However, the weather carried nuclear contamination far beyond that boundary.
The reactor was left in such a dangerous state of intense radioactivity that it has lain undisturbed ever since and is still considered too dangerous to decommission. As a result, Pile 1 is destined to be one of the last sites to be cleaned up during the decommissioning of Sellafield.
……………………… In 1983, British Nuclear Fuels Limited, or BNFL, which was then the operator of the Sellafield plant, was fined £10,000 after radioactive discharges containing ruthenium and rhodium 106 were found to have contaminated a beach near the power station.
The plant – which was originally expected to make profits of around £500m for Sellafield’s operators – is now expected to make losses of up to £1bn and has been earmarked for closure by the year 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/19/sellafield-nuclear-plant-cancer-cases
Yankee nuke extension increases risk
Yankee extension increases risk
Kewaunee nuclear power plant shut down
Kewaunee nuclear power plant shut down
By Rick Romell of the Journal Sentinel
April 20, 2009 The Kewaunee nuclear power plant remains out of operation after being shut down late Thursday night because of an instrumentation problem.
………………….. An event report posted on the site of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicates that a problem with calibration procedures was discovered about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The problem was considered reportable to the NRC under three regulations, including one covering “any event or condition that results in the nuclear plant being in an unanalyzed condition that significantly degrades plant safety.” http://www.jsonline.com/business/43179997.html
Why one remote Taiwan village is giving nuclear waste the red carpet treatment
Why one remote Taiwan village is giving nuclear waste the red carpet treatment Minnesota Post By Jonathan Adams21 April 09 “……………………Critics of the plan say this poor village is merely being bought off by the government’s generous compensation proposal, and is low-balling the health risks. The debate highlights the growing problem of nuclear waste, as more nations — and especially, neighboring China — turn to this “cleaner” energy source to fuel their economies. It also points to a global phenomenon. Whether it’s inner-city America or a remote Aboriginal village in Taiwan, toxic and other waste often ends up dumped near the poorest, most marginalized communities. In Taiwan, Nantian Village is about as poor and marginal as they come……………….. Taiwan’s Aborigines — 2 percent of the population — are the island’s least advantaged, with poverty and alcoholism rates similar to those on Native American reservations in the U.S. Villagers talk about 5 billion — the payout, in New Taiwan dollars (about $150 million) — that the power company has said will go to the county. How much of that would go directly to these villagers is still unclear………………………..” http://www.minnpost.com/globalpost/2009/04/20/8193/why_one_remote_taiwan_village_is_giving_nuclear_waste_the_red_carpet_treatment
Italian Nuclear Waste to be Dumped in Utah
Italian Nuclear Waste to be Dumped in Utah AllGov News by Noel Brinkerhoff April 17, 2009 A uranium isotope is a uranium isotope, regardless of its country of origin. But for two Democratic congressmen, there’s a problem with low-level nuclear waste from Italy being dumped in Utah………………………….
Since the NRC won’t help, Matheson and Gordon have decided to sponsor a bill that would ban the importation of low-level radioactive waste unless the nuclear material originated in the U.S. or the waste was imported for a strategic national purpose. The two congressmen have been joined by Utah’s Republican governor,. Jon Huntsman, who is opposed to the waste coming to his state.Huntsman can’t get legislation passed in his own state banning the importation of nuclear waste, thanks to the numerous political donations that EnergySolutions has spread around among state lawmakers, and its army of lobbyists. In fact, one of the company’s former lobbyists is Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), whose district includes the dump site.
Several nuclear waste trains in Germany next year?
Several nuclear waste trains in D next year? Indymedia 17 April Diet Simon
Several transports of highly radioactive nuclear waste may roll through Germany next year, nuclear opponents have researched, and another 1,000-1,250 tonnes of depleted uranium are being readied for transportation to Russia in about 25 railcars.The Bürgerinitiative Umweltschutz Lüchow-Dannenberg (BI), which fights waste dumping at the northern village of Gorleben, and other anti-nuclear activists have found out that waste consignments are due next year to all three “interim” dumps at Ahaus (45 linear km northwest of Münster), Lubmin (120 km east of Rostock) and Gorleben (155 km northeast of Hannover).
The BI comments that “thousands are going to take to the streets to oppose this” and says the anti-nuclear movement has had a surge in numbers since last autumn 16,000 delayed another waste load to Gorleben.
“In the autumn we’re doing a tractor run to Berlin to generate pressure to end the crazy plan to make Gorleben the final repository and to get out of nuclear power production.“In 2010 there’ll be a stocktaking across the country, the waste transport continue to be a provocation because they symbolize the disposal dilemma” (of there being no safe storage system anywhere on the globe).
Several hundred nuclear casks with highly radioactive waste, so-called Castor CSDC 28’s, are to be taken from the French plutonium factory at La Hague and a German research facility at Jülich (65 km west of Cologne) to Ahaus. A special high-pressure waste compacting facility has been built in La Hague for the purpose.
The BI notes that this creates a new category of waste which starts medium-active and becomes highly active from heat…………………..Meanwhile activists have observed another large depleted uranium train being assembled in Germany’s only uranium enrichment factory at Gronau, to go to Russia for dumping in the open air…………………..
………..Anti-nuclear activists are planning an inter-regional demonstration in Münster for 25 April. It will be one of three central ones taking place throughout Germany on the 23rd anniversary of the Chernobyl explosion. The other two will be outside nuclear power stations at Krümmel (40 km southeast of Hamburg) and Neckarwestheim (170 km south of Frankfurt) on the 26th.
de.indymedia.org | Several nuclear waste trains in D next year?
Volunteers protest nuclear power use
Volunteers protest nuclear power use Thu, April 16, 2009
The London Free Press (Ontario) By NATASHA MARAR, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIAcheckCookie();
Greenpeace members wore masks of a character from The Simpsons TV show in a protest yesterday in London against nuclear power.
The demonstration was held in front of the Hilton hotel, where public hearings into the province’s proposed Green Energy Act were taking place.
Protesters wore plastic masks depicting Simpsons character Mr. Burns, a nuclear plant owner.
“Our main problem with the act is that it’s a lot of greenwashing,” Greenpeace volunteer David Major said.
“It’s presented as a green energy act, but it focuses a lot on nuclear.”
London Free Press – Local News- Volunteers protest nuclear power use
Toxic waste, including nuclear, behind Somali piracy
Toxic waste behind Somali piracy
Axis of Logic By Najad Abdullahi
Al Jazeera
Monday, Apr 13, 2009 Somali pirates have accused European firms of dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast and are demanding an $8m ransom for the return of a Ukranian ship they captured, saying the money will go towards cleaning up the waste.
The ransom demand is a means of “reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years”, Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.
“The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas.”
The pirates are holding the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and military hardware, off Somalia’s northern coast………………
………….Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera the world body has “reliable information” that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline……………
………Mustafa Tolba, the former UNEP executive director, told Al Jazeera that he discovered the firms were set up as fictitious companies by larger industrial firms to dispose of hazardous waste.
“At the time, it felt like we were dealing with the Mafia, or some sort of organised crime group, possibly working with these industrial firms,” he said. “It was very shady, and quite underground, and I would agree with Ould-Abdallah’s claims that it is still going on… Unfortunately the war has not allowed environmental groups to investigate this fully.”
The Italian mafia controls an estimated 30 per cent of Italy’s waste disposal companies, including those that deal with toxic waste……………
………………Mohammed Gure, chairman of the Somalia Concern Group, said that the social and environmental consequences will be felt for decades.
“The Somali coastline used to sustain hundreds of thousands of people, as a source of food and livelihoods. Now much of it is almost destroyed, primarily at the hands of these so-called ministers that have sold their nation to fill their own pockets.”
Ould-Abdallah said piracy will not prevent waste dumping. “The intentions of these pirates are not concerned with protecting their environment,” he said. “What is ultimately needed is a functioning, effective government that will get its act together and take control of its affairs.”
Nuclear plant data falsified
N-plant pipe data falsified
The Yomiuri Shimbun 14 April 09 Hitachi Ltd. and Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy Ltd. announced Monday that they had found falsified data in the inspection records of components they manufactured for use in nuclear power plants.
The falsified data related to the welding of pipes to moisture separator reheaters manufactured by the companies for use in the No. 5 reactor of Chubu Electric Power Co.’s Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, and the No. 3 reactor of Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Shimane nuclear power plant, which is under construction, in Matsue. .
Fire breaks out at Nuclear plant
Fire breaks out at N-plant
NIIGATA–A fire broke out Saturday night at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. in Kashiwazaki and Kariwamura, Niigata Prefecture, scorching the motor of an air conditioner. No radiation leaks or injuries were reported.
According to TEPCO, the fire broke out at about 10:25 p.m. at a storage space. Wiring connected to the motor burned out, and its steel cover was scorched.
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Though the machine has been in use since May 1992, its wiring was not periodically inspected.
The nuclear plant was struck by the Niigata Prefecture Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake in July 2007, and all its seven reactors were shut down. Since the earthquake, there have been nine fires at the plant, including the latest one.
………………….Kashiwazaki Mayor Hiroshi Aida on Monday summoned Akio Takahashi, the head of the power plant, to a meeting at which he demanded that the plant come up with preventive measures. Aida told Takahashi that he was concerned about the fact that a fire had broken out at a time when concerned municipalities are considering whether to approve the restart of the No. 7 reactor.
Pro nukes would prefer nicer name for depleted uranium’s risk
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Nuclear Test Downwinders
RECA, clinic help Nuclear Test Downwinders
“…………………..From 1951 to 1958 and for the month of July 1962, an estimated 22,000 people living in Southern Utah, northern Arizona and southeastern Nevada received a large amount of fallout from above-ground nuclear testing conducted at the Nevada Test Site.
These Downwinders, as they have come to be known, show abnormally high rates of malignant and non-malignant thyroid disease and leukemia and over the last decade have shown a higher then expected incidence of lymphoma, breast and thyroid cancers, according to the Utah Cancer Registry……………
Superfund priority cleanup site. The UC: America’s Most Ecocidal “Green” University
Superfund priority cleanup site. The UC: America’s Most Ecocidal “Green” University,
Part II by WIll & Darwin Sunday Apr 12th, 2009
“……………………………………………The military exists in a constant state of mobilization and preparation for warfare, a process that increasingly involves experimentation with toxic pollutants, dumping of hazardous wastes, and militarization of previously thriving ecosystems. The US military is responsible for over one-third of the US’ toxic waste, more than that generated by the top five pollution corporations housed in the US combined. The pollutants it has introduced into the total environment – with consequences that remain relatively unknown and unpredictable — have included pesticides and defoliants like Agent Orange, solvents, petroleum, perchlorate (a component of rocket fuel), lead, mercury, and of course depleted uranium. Within the U.S., one out of every ten Americans lives within ten miles of a military site that has been listed as a Superfund priority cleanup site.
………………………………..It is here that we come to another particularly important point: Most humans targeted by military production’s “Universal Soldier” — pollution — are working class and impoverished people of color and, even more disproportionately, indigenous people. Thus, the military’s environmental wreckage is out of sight, out of mind for the most privileged of our planet, such as the vast majority of mainstream US environmental activists, especially students and graduates of elite universities…………
……….The primary source of environmental degradation in Iraq, however, is of course depleted uranium — a bi-product of the same radioactive processes that have created the vast “national sacrifice areas” and “clans of one-breasted women” in the United States, Russia, and elsewhere.
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!
23 April – WEBINAR – Why new nuclear reactors are the wrong tools for decarbonization Thursday, April 23 • 1 AM – 2 AM AEST
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
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