BBC News: Areva wins Niger uranium licence
‘The French nuclear energy group Areva has been awarded a licence to build and operate the Imouraren mine in Niger.’
Ynetnews: Elbaradei: Israel violated international law in Syria
‘Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Saturday thatIsrael "violated the rules of international law" by bombing an alleged Syrian nuclear reactor in September 2007.’
Bloomberg: U.K. Mediator to Probe Total Refinery Strikes as Action Spreads
‘Contractors at the refinery walked out on Jan. 28 after an Italian company brought in its own workers. Protests spread to power and natural-gas plants in Scotland, Wales and northwest England. Sellafield Ltd. yesterday said 900 contract workers will tomorrow discuss possible strikes at its nuclear site.’
New Vision Online: President Museveni invites uranium investors
‘[Ugandan] President Yoweri Museveni has called on investors to undertake uranium mining in the country, as an alternative energy source.’
Chester Standard: Revealed: the nuclear waste on Cheshire's roads
‘[UK] Emergency services went on full alert after a trailer carrying a load of low-level waste from Sellafield Ltd's Capenhurst decommissioning site to its repository at Drigg in Cumbria became unhitched from the HGV tractor towing it near the junction of the A41 and the A5117 at Great Sutton.’
Posted by Justin on February 2, 2009 7:04 PM
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In simple terms, the EPR reactor produces more of a radioactive isotope called Iodine-129 making its waste seven times more hazardous.
Iodine-129 is an isotope worth remembering. The numbers associated with it are staggering. It has a half-life of 16 million years but is still dangerous after more than 160 million years. To put it in context, the human race evolved from apes just five million years ago.
We as a species simply do not have the technology capable of storing this highly dangerous waste for such a huge length of time. Yet again we see how the nuclear industry’s claims about a ‘clean’ and ‘safe’ energy source are a lie. And that’s before we even get to discussing the enormous costs involved in attempting to dispose of this waste in anything close to a safe fashion (let’s not fool ourselves into thinking this is in any way achievable).
So, the much heralded EPR, this third-generation, state of the art, flagship beacon of technological triumph is about to make the world a more dangerous place - and not just for us but for those living in the distant future.
KDBC 4 News: Plutonium found in Los Alamos runoff
‘The state Environment Department says runoff last summer from part of Los Alamos National Laboratory contained high levels of plutonium and other radionuclides. The department measured elevated levels of plutonium, americium and strontium in the runoff that resulted from a large potable water spill and several storm events in Los Alamos Canyon in July and August.’
Reuters: Enough time to address Iran bomb concern: IAEA head
‘Iran could gain the capability to make a nuclear weapon in 2-5 years but there is ample time to deal with the concern, the head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said in a televised interview.’
Kyiv Post: Energoatom and Westinghousе specialists discuss production of US nuclear fuel batch for Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP
‘Specialists of the National Nuclear Generating Company Energoatom and Westinghousе Company at a meeting held on January 28 and January 29 at the Yuzhnoukrainsk NPP discussed the state of work on designing and producing U.S. a nuclear fuel assembly batch for the NPP, the plant's press service has reported.’
New York Times: Debating Next-Generation Nuclear Waste
‘Amid signs that nuclear power is on the verge of a renaissance are the voices of opponents of the technology who say the industry remains secretive and irresponsible — particularly about highly radioactive waste.’
Bloomberg: Tokyo Electric to Complete Repair of Reactor Tomorrow
‘Tokyo Electric Power Co., forced by an earthquake to shut the world’s biggest nuclear plant, will complete repairs of a reactor at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear plant tomorrow, paving the way for a restart.’
Bloomberg: Obama May Embrace Emirates Deal as Model for Nuclear Agreements
‘In her final days as secretary of state, Condoleezza Ricesigned a nuclear-energy accord with a Persian Gulf ally 50 miles from Iran, calling the measure “a powerful and timely model for the world.” President Barack Obama is likely to agree.’
Bloomberg: EDF Should Publish More Nuclear Outage Data, Regulator Says
‘Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power producer, should provide more information to the electricity market on outages at its nuclear reactors, the head of France’s energy regulator said. “There is not enough transparent information on the functioning of nuclear plants,” Philippe de Ladoucette, president of the Commission de Regulation de l’Energie, said in a telephone interview today. “There needs to be an improvement.”’
Yahoo! News: Energy chief urges Dutch to use more nuclear power
‘The head of the International Energy Agency urged the Dutch government Monday to expand its nuclear power base, but the country's environment minister said that's not in the energy equation for now.’
There’s some lovely nuclear propaganda in the Washington Times this week written by Stuart Butler, vice president for domestic-policy issues for the Heritage Foundation. It certainly makes nuclear power sound like the solution to all our energy problems with no nasty side effects. Just take Butler’s views on nuclear waste:
With modern techniques, spent nuclear fuel is safely removed and reprocessed to yield new reactor fuel, drastically reducing the amount of waste needing disposal. In fact, if you used nuclear power for your entire lifetime needs, the resulting waste would only be enough fill a Coke can. And this can be safely deposited in deep repositories. Compare that with the tons of plastic, batteries, tires and motor oil we’ll throw out to be buried in landfills.
Current reprocessing techniques take spent reactor fuel and from it extract 95 per cent uranium, one per cent plutonium, and three per cent highly radioactive waste. ‘Only one per cent plutonium and three per cent highly radioactive waste left over?’, you’re probably saying to yourself. ‘That’s fantastic!’
No. It’s really not.
Take for example, the UK’s 60,000 tonnes of high-level nuclear waste. Reprocessing that would still leave 1,800 tonnes of highly radioactive waste. That’s a lot of Coke cans – more than 4 million. Where shall we put them?
Where are the ‘deep repositories’ Butler talks about? The US’s Yucca Mountain project in Nevada is billions of dollars over budget, decades behind schedule, and technically full before it has even opened. President Obama is against the project. In Germany, 130,000 barrels of radioactive waste are currently leaking after being placed in a converted salt mine in Lower Saxony. (And that's only low and intermediate level waste that has been stored for a few decades – try to imagine what happens to highly radioactive waste that has to be stored for thousands and thousands of years…)
Other countries’ plans for geological storage of their nuclear waste – Finland, Sweden, Canada, Japan, UK - are all still at the planning stage. The technology is unproven. The human race has yet to build a structure able to last even a few thousand years let alone a few million. Meanwhile the global stockpile of high-level nuclear waste is growing by 12,000 tonnes a year.
But it’s nasty wind turbines and ugly solar panels that are ruining nuclear energy’s potential, according to Butler, not its own many problems and dangers. ‘Washington should create a level playing field for energy ideas,’ says Butler. ‘It's time to say no to lobbyist-driven subsidies and phase out existing ones.’
He should pray that never happens – an end to lobbyist-driven subsidies and a phase out of existing ones would mean the death of his beloved nuclear industry. The day it has to stand on its own two feet will be the day it falls over.
CTV Ottawa: Radioactive material found at water treatment plant
‘City of Ottawa officials insist the quality of the city's drinking water is safe despite the discovery of radioactive material at the municipal sewage treatment plant.’
allAfrica.com: Namibia: Govt Holds Its Line On Iran And Uranium
‘Prime Minister Nahas Angula says Namibia's position on uranium supply is guided by international agreements, which it has to honour, and is not shaped by calls from individual nations.’
KVEWTV: Hanford Crews Dig Up Contaminated Storage Basin
‘Highly hazardous materials are being uncovered at a site only 400 yards from the Columbia River. "Right now, at the upper level, we're not really seeing a lot of contamination, but we get near the base, it will be highly contaminated, both radiologically is our main concern" said Tom Teinor, Federal Project Director.’
China Daily: Nuke power capacity set to increase
‘The country is poised to revise its energy development plans by nearly doubling its nuclear power capacity in the next decade, [Chinese] energy authorities have said.’
Reuters: Areva wins EDF uranium deal, to sign India contract
‘France's Areva said it won a deal worth more than 5 billion euros ($6.43 billion) from French power giant EDF to enrich uranium and was set to sign an agreement to build two nuclear reactors in India.’
TheStar.com: Unions warm to French reactors
‘Once firmly in Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.'s corner, two major unions representing building trades and power-system professionals now say they would be equally happy if French nuclear giant Areva SA was selected to build a new nuclear plant in Ontario.’
Posted by Justin on February 4, 2009 1:50 PM
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Something strange happened during the Christmas holidays of 2008 in the Philippines.
Instead of celebrating the enactment of the Renewable Energy Law, a baffling report was published in the local newspapers.
“RP revives nuke program” proclaimed headlines in Philippinian newspapers.
According to reports, the Philippine government had officially restarted its nuclear energy development programme. It entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean government for a feasibility study on the possible revival of the mothballed Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). The MOU sought cooperation in the rehabilitation, operation and maintenance of the controversial BNPP which was abandoned following vociferous protests from civil society, ecologists and non-governmental organizations.
This was certainly not a bolt from the dark. Earlier in the year, in July, Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes had announced that “a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that inspected the power plant in Bataan months ago has reported that this could be rehabilitated in at least five years at a cost of $800 million.”
No one took Secretary Reyes’s statements seriously since it was clear that it was not IAEA’s role to go around reviving, rehabilitating, and resuscitating obsolete and inactive nuclear power plants.
New York Times: Sweden Wants to Lift Reactor Ban
'The Swedish plan was agreed by the center-right coalition government and foresees the building of new reactors at the 10 sites where reactors still are operating. Under the plan, which still needs approval from the country’s parliament, Sweden would replace existing reactors gradually.'
International Herald Tribune: Kazakhs may be top uranium producer in 2009
‘Kazatomprom Chairman Mukhtar Dzhakishev announced that the country's uranium output is expected to reach 11,935 tons in 2009, a more than 40 percent increase over the 8,521 tons produced last year, the statement said.’
Inquirer.net: Alvarez: No to nuke plant
‘MANILA, Philippines—Secretary Heherson Alvarez, the presidential adviser on climate change , has warned that a move in Congress to revive the $2.3-billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a “Star Trek solution” that is fraught with danger.’
Itar-Tass: Russian, Bulgarian presidents to discuss energy projects
‘The South Stream and Burgas-Alexandroupolis energy projects and the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant will be central at talks between the Russian and Bulgarian presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Georgy Pyrvanov. They will be held in the Kremlin on Thursday, the Russian president's aide, Sergei Prikhodko, said.’
Reuters: GDF Suez joins Iberdrola, SSE in UK nuclear plans
‘GDF Suez, Europe's biggest utilities provider, has joined Spain's Iberdrola and Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) in a bid to build the UK's next generation of nuclear reactors.’
Reuters: Areva says partial stock mkt listing not on agenda
‘Areva on Wednesday ruled out a partial stock market listing as an option to help the French state-controlled reactor maker fund its business development.’
Unhappy with the massive delays in the construction of the OL3 EPR reactor at Olkiluoto, Finland, utility TVO is demanding compensation from the builders, Areva and Siemens.
Such are the ludicrous sums of money being wasted on this disaster-prone project (a massive 85 per cent of Finland’s current energy investment budget), the compensation is almost enough to buy another EPR reactor. Under the terms of the original contract, TVO paid Areva and Siemens three billion euros for OL3. If TVO’s claim for compensation is successful, Areva and Siemens will have to give the vast majority of it back. Much more delay and TVO might expect to get their extremely late, over-budget and poorly built reactor for free.
Areva and Seimens have hit back at TVO saying there have been delays in the granting of the necessary construction permits. How this spin works, we’re not quite sure. Can you be too careful when building massively complicated and dangerous nuclear reactors? Areva and Seimens clearly think so.
Posted by Justin on February 5, 2009 5:20 PM
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Today’s Zaman: Consortium bids new price in nuclear tender
‘The Russian-led consortium that won the tender to build Turkey's first nuclear power plant and supply energy to the national grid has revised its price offer in an attempt to prevent its bid from collapsing. The Turkish-Russian joint venture Atomstroyexport-Inter Rao UES JSC-Park Teknik submitted a new offer, one much cheaper than its unexpectedly high bid of 21.16 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), to the Turkish Electricity Trading and Contracting Company (TETAŞ) in a letter submitted on Wednesday.’
Forbes: USEC To Gov't: Pay Up
‘The United States Enrichment Corp. is putting pressure on the U.S. government. The company, which is the only one in the country that enriches uranium, is telling the government to pay up or it will slow down its production of nuclear fuel.’
YLE: Fortum Wants New Nuclear Power Reactor in Loviisa
‘Energy company Fortum has submitted an application for a licence to build a new nuclear power reactor in Loviisa on the south-eastern coast. The power unit would be built on the island of Hästholmen in Loviisa, where Fortum already has two reactors.’
EasyBourse: Areva CEO: Will Keep Skills, Tech After Siemens Leaves JV
‘Areva SA's (CEI.FR) Chief Executive said Thursday the nuclear group will keep the skills and technology of Areva NP after Germany's Siemens AG (SI) leaves the joint venture.’
The Vancouver Sun: Treated radioactive water to enter Ottawa River
‘Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. will slowly release into the Ottawa River some treated radioactive water collected from an early December leak at its Chalk River Laboratory.’
The Register: World's power grids infested with (more) SCADA bugs
‘Areva Inc. - a Paris-based company that serves nuclear, wind, and fossil-fuel power companies - is warning customers to upgrade a key piece of energy management software following the discovery of security bugs that leaves it vulnerable to hijacking.'
Posted by Justin on February 6, 2009 2:11 PM
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In the Romanian province capital of Alexandria this week, mayors from the Teleorman province and Bulgarian opponents of the Belene nuclear power station project met with Greenpeace to discuss their concerns. The meeting room in the town hall was packed with representatives from all the larger towns and several villages on both sides of the Danube.
Mayors from the Bulgarian side and mayors from the Romanian side had earlier sent letters of concern to the German utility RWE that wants to take up a 49 per cent interest in the new Bulgarian nuclear power station project. In Belene, the Russian firm Atomstroyexport is to build two 1000 MW blocks in the form of an AES-92 nuclear power station.
It's a new and unproven design that is only currently under construction in India. With its new project, the Russian nuclear industry hopes to get a foot in the door in developing markets and for that anything goes. That means building a power station in a well known seismically active area that was deemed by Russian experts in 1984 as unfit as a site for a nuclear project.
The mayor of Alexandria, Victor Dragusin, showed with a recent newspaper article why he is concerned: In 1977, the region was hit by an earthquake that pulverised much of his town as well as heavily damaging other towns in the region like Bucharest, along with Tarnu Magurele and Zimnicea on the Romanian side of the Danube opposite Belene. On the Bulgarian side, the quake killed 120 people in Svishtov, only 13 kilometres from the Belene site.
The European Commission, however, have taken the word of a heavily criticised analysis in the Environmental Impact Assessment of the Belene nuclear power plant, that states that there is no seismic risk. Dragusin holds up his newspaper clippings covering recent research that estimates the chance of a heavy earthquake in the region in the coming twenty years is virtually 100 per cent. His eyes show that he is genuinely scared for the project and the adjacent nuclear waste storage site.
And so were most people in the room. One after another declarations and experiences were given under the eyes of observant Romanian and local Bulgarian press.
Observant press? Well, most of those with cameras and note-pads were. But a camera team of two people with a microphone cover for Antenna 1, a Romanian TV station, showed more interest than others to the people in the room and especially for what the anti-Belene activists and Greenpeace had to say.
It's just that they weren’t a TV team. An official from the Teleorman province finely pointed out that the two are known agents from the local branch of the national Romanian security services and were posing as a camera team. It’s good to be warned and hopefully they learned something from this that they can tell their masters: that there is genuine concern about mad nuclear projects in the region - not from fanatics, but from well informed local people, and national and international groups.
Just let's hope that RWE gets the message as well and pulls out. That would pull the plug on the whole project.
Posted by Justin on February 6, 2009 2:19 PM
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After reports heavily criticised safety procedures at the Forsmark plant in 2007, the plant’s managing director Lars Fagerberg resigned. That was not the end of the matter, however. Late last year, an inspection of the fuel rods in the Forsmark-3 reactor found that 25 per cent of the control rods, vital for controlling the nuclear reaction, were cracked. An identical problem had been found at Sweden’s Oskarshamn plant a month earlier.
A phase-out of nuclear power has been part of Swedish government policy since 1980 after a national referendum. The phase-out was due to be completed in 2010 despite only two of the country’s 12 reactors closing.
Unfortunately, despite this policy and after narrowly escaping a catastrophic nuclear accident just three years ago or being unable to find a safe way to dispose of highly-dangerous nuclear waste (radioactive water was found to be leaking from the Forsmark nuclear waste facility in 2005), the country’s government this week announced plans to overturn the 30 year ban on new nuclear power stations. The proposal must now go before the Swedish parliament.
‘I'm doing this for the sake of my children and grandchildren,’ said Sweden’s Center party leader, Maud Olofsson, on his decision to back a Swedish nuclear ‘renaissance’. Those children will certainly have to deal with the legacy of his decision – the massive costs and the highly dangerous nuclear waste that will blight the lives of their children and grandchildren too. It’s a strange thing to want to leave to one's descendants. Will they thank him?
Posted by Justin on February 6, 2009 2:21 PM
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Bloomberg: Tokyo Electric Gets Okay to Run Quake-Hit Reactor, Kyodo Says
‘Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been given approval by the country’s nuclear safety agency to restart a nuclear reactor shut by an earthquake in July 2007, Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed government officials.’
Honolulu Advertiser: Uranium tests due on Big Isle
‘HILO, Hawai'i — The Army plans to measure airborne uranium levels at three monitoring stations on the Big Island over the next 12 months. It has hired a contractor to do the testing for $150,000. The move comes after the Army in 2007 said it confirmed the presence of depleted uranium at Pohakuloa Training Area on the Big Island. The Army, after years of denials it used depleted uranium in the Islands, also said soldiers training in Hawai'i fired 714 spotting rounds containing depleted uranium in the 1960s.’
Mangalorean: Russian firm may sign nuclear fuel deal with India
‘Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL expects to sign a $780 million contract for fuel supplies to Indian nuclear power plants, a spokesman for Russia's state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has said. The contract, if signed, could make Russia the first country to supply nuclear fuel to India since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted a three-decade ban on nuclear fuel sales to the country on Sept 6, 2008.’
Daily Trojan: Nuclear scientist must be kept in check
‘This weekend nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan was released from house arrest by the Pakistani government. Though known worldwide as the dangerous head of a global nuclear proliferation scheme, to many Pakistanis he is nothing less than a national hero. And while the new Pakistani government might see his release as a brilliant domestic strategy, the international implications could be devastating. ’
The Independent: New nuclear plants will produce far more radiation
‘The revelations – based on information buried deep in documents produced by the nuclear industry itself – calls into doubt repeated assertions that the new European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs) will be safer than the old atomic power stations they replace.’
Posted by Justin on February 9, 2009 2:23 PM
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Report on Business: Uranium's next frontier: Niger
‘Responding to the siren call of 'one of the best uranium belts in the world,' Canadian mining firms are heading into Niger - despite rebel unrest, flak over 'slave wages,' and safety fears, highlighted by the kidnapping of two Canadian diplomats, Geoffrey York writes’
Reuters: EDF's 2008 profit seen hurt by provision
‘French power generator EDF is due to post lower profits, hurt by a well-flagged provision, with analysts focused on the outlook for tariffs in France and the integration of recent acquisitions such as British Energy.’
Gazette.net: Nuclear plans fuel cutbacks, new deals
‘USEC, a Bethesda supplier of enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants, is taking steps to slow down construction of its uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio, executives said.’
Digital Chosumilbo: Doosan Exports First Nuke Reactor to China
‘Doosan on Monday said it finished producing a 600 megawatt reactor and exported it to China. It will be installed as the no. 3 reactor at the Qinshan Phase 2 Nuclear Power Station in the Chinese province of Zhejiang.’
Kyiv Post: Diplomat: Westinghouse is ready to take part in building nuclear fuel plant in Ukraine
‘U.S. based Westinghouse is ready to take part in building a plant to produce nuclear fuel, a statement posted on the website of the Kyiv International Energy Club Q-Club referring to U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor.’
Washington Post: A Missile for Mr. Obama
‘IT HASN'T been easy for foreign governments to command the attention of the Obama administration in its opening days, but North Korea is doing its best. Last week, the secretive Stalinist regime was spotted transporting what looked like a Taepodong-2 missile toward a launch site. In theory, the rocket has a range of more than 4,000 miles, which would allow it to reach Alaska.’
What many people might have missed, however, is the emergence of a truly global nuclear superhero. We are, of course, talking about French president Nicholas Sarkozy and his alter-ego, The Salesman.
While Nicholas is in charge of running France’s economy, health care system, roads, railways, armed forces, and the rest, as The Salesmanhe flies around the planet – accompanied by his faithful sidekick Atomic Anne - championing nuclear power’s cause. How does he do it? We suspect nuclear energy has given him the ability to do without sleep.
Just look at him here strutting around the Flamanville nuclear power plant last week. No hard hat or high-visibility jacket for The Salesman! You might think he refused to wear them because the hat would spoil his perfectly coiffured hair and the jacket would mean he wouldn’t stand out as well in the publicity photos as he does in his stylish overcoat. But you’d be wrong. The Salesman has no such vain concerns – he simply has no need of safety clothing like us mere mortals.
The construction of the new third generation EPR reactor has been something of a disaster. Safety violations, budget and cost overruns, poor workmanship, faulty welding and cracked concrete in the reactor foundations, confusion over when the reactor will actually be ready. The roads leading to Flamanville are too narrow to transport the large reactor components.
But The Salesman is impervious to such concerns. They are too petty to slow him down. They bounce off him like bullets. Look! There he goes again, off into the sky to spread his radioactive legacy around the world! Up, up and away!
Posted by Justin on February 10, 2009 5:38 PM
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Financial Times: Power generators suffer shock to the system
‘Trouble is brewing for European power generators as industrial companies cut back on electricity consumption, threatening profit margins and future investment. Whereas only a few months ago the talk was of the lights going out in Europe because of an impending energy shortage, the short-term danger is now one of oversupply.’
World Nuclear News: Enrichment group to grow
‘Ukraine is soon to join the international uranium enrichment project set up by Russia and Kazakhstan. Diplomatic notes forming a deal for Ukraine's accession are to be exchanged.’
The Tennessean: TVA nuclear fuel supplier has fire safety issues: NRC
‘Fire safety violations at a Nuclear Fuel Services warehouse that stores nuclear materials in East Tennessee will be looked into Friday in a meeting between company officials and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff.’
DEBKAfile: Washington, Moscow at Cross-purposes on Nuclear Iran
‘While US president Barack Obama told the media early Tuesday, Feb. 10, that the US would pursue direct talks with Iran, an official Russian spokesman said his government would complete Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr within three months.’
ABC News: Rio tight-lipped on Ranger sales reports
‘A Rio Tinto spokeswoman says the company will not comment on media reports it is looking to sell its majority stake in Energy Resources Australia, which runs the Ranger uranium mine near Jabiru.’
The London Times: Centrica faces investor revolt on British Energy
‘A leading institutional shareholder in Centrica, the owner of British Gas, is urging the company to scrap its plan to acquire 25 per cent of British Energy from EDF of France and use the money to buy more gas assets instead.’
The London Times: Challenge to SNP on nuclear policy
‘The UK Government has no plans to change constitutional laws in order to allow nuclear power stations to be built in Scotland, Mike O'Brien, the Energy Minister, told a conference in Edinburgh yesterday, dismissing calls from Labour MPs for such a change.’
AFP: Japanese group to take stake in Canadian uranium producer
‘A Japanese consortium including high-tech giant Toshiba said Tuesday it would buy a 19.95 percent stake in Uranium One, a Canadian uranium producer, for about 220 million US dollars.’
Posted by Justin on February 11, 2009 2:39 PM
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After bizarrely likening a nuclear reactor to ‘a big stove’ this week, the Philippine Representative wanting to reopen the Bataan nuclear power plant (BNPP), Mark Cojuangco, finds himself in trouble with the Vatican.
While comparing massively complex and dangerous nuclear power plants to kitchen cookers, ‘Cojuangco told Philippine Daily Inquirer editors and staff that while some Filipino bishops were opposed to the BNPP, the Pope and Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, supported the peaceful use of nuclear energy.’
Pope Benedict XVI supports the use of nuclear energy but only for improving the medical field and helping the poor but not for generating electricity, Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas said Tuesday.
In an e-mail to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Villegas refuted Pangasinan Rep. Mark Cojuangco’s claim the Pope and Renato Cardinal Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, supported the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity.
A good guideline, if you’re going to distort someone’s words for propaganda purposes, is to make sure that the person saying them doesn’t happen to be one of the most famous and powerful people on the planet, whose every word is recorded and quoted. It’s worth remembering.
Posted by Justin on February 11, 2009 2:46 PM
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Bloomberg: German State Calls for Extension of Nuclear Power
‘Germany’s largest producer of wind- powered electricity, the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, should extend the use of its three nuclear power plants, a government minister said. A mix of energy, including nuclear power, is the most sensible way to guarantee energy security and cut carbon-dioxide emissions, said state economy minister Werner Marnette, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Party.’
USA Today: Missing: 67 computers from N.M. nuclear weapons lab
‘The Department of Energy confirms a public-watchdog's investigation that 67 computers are missing from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the AP reports. Of those, 13 have been lost or stolen in the past year.’
Reuters: U.S. seen naming Bosworth as North Korea nuclear envoy
‘Stephen Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is expected to be named as the U.S. envoy to six-party talks on curbing North Korea's nuclear ambitions, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.’
Nuclear Power Daily: Albania gets Croatia backing for nuclear plant
‘Plans by Albania to build a nuclear power plant were backed by Croatia as a project that could benefit the entire Balkan region at a meeting on Tuesday of the two countries' prime ministers.’
AFP: Iran may be running out of yellowcake: study
‘Iran may be close to exhausting its supply of uranium oxide, or yellowcake, raising questions about the commercial viability of its nuclear program, a new study said Wednesday.’
Reuters: Niger to build nuclear plant in medium to long term
‘Niger, one of the world's top uranium producers, plans to build a nuclear power station to help solve an energy shortage in the region at an unspecified time in the future, an official said on Wednesday.’
In that year, Abdul Qadeer Khan, often called the father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme, confessed to aiding and abetting the proliferation of nuclear technology on a massive scale. Libya, Iran and North Korea were all beneficiaries of Khan’s nuclear expertise.
The full extent of his dealings has never been revealed. Khan himself recanted part of his confession and alleged the involvement of the Pakistani authorities in the transport of nuclear centrifuge equipment to North Korea.
In Pakistan Khan is seen as something of a hero and the day after his confession he was pardoned by then-President Pervez Musharraf. Khan has however since been under house arrest where the Pakistani government has refused access to the likes of the International Atomic Energy Agency who wish to fully investigate the extent and activities of Khan’s nuclear network.
Currently, the international nuclear regime is a members only club. As long as it continues to be exclusive, more and more countries will be interested in developing nuclear energy and weapons. It’s time that the international community started cleaning their own house with a real nuclear disarmament effort.
No amount of vigilance stopped Khan giving nuclear technology to some of the worst regimes on the planet. It’s highly likely that there are other AQ Khans out there, waiting for the right opportunity and the highest bidder. As former US vice-president Al Gore once put it: ‘During my eight years in the White House, every nuclear weapons proliferation issue we dealt with was connected to a nuclear reactor program’
If nuclear power - and its so-called safe-guards - were as safe as its supporters claim, we’d have no need to worry.
Posted by Justin on February 12, 2009 5:44 PM
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The Guardian: Britain should prepare for massive loss of landmass, warn engineers
‘UK should change building design, transport and energy infrastructure ahead of climate change and high sea levels […] Although they were long-term predictions, the authors say Britain should be preparing for change today and they questioned whether Britain should be considering new nuclear power stations at places such as Sizewell on the Suffolk coast.’ The Jordan Times: Jordan, France form 5 nuclear cooperation taskforces
‘The Joint Higher Jordanian-French Steering Committee convened on Thursday to draw up a nuclear strategy and look into mechanisms to foster cooperation between the two sides. At the meeting, co-chaired by Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Khaled Toukan and Director General for Energy and Climate in France Pierre-Franck Chevet, Toukan said the committee was formed after signing an agreement on nuclear cooperation and a protocol between Jordan and France last year during His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to France.’ Reuters: Texas nuclear project to go ahead without Austin
‘Plans are still on track for the $10 billion addition of two nuclear units to the existing South Texas Project after Thursday's decision by Austin, Texas, not to participate, said NRG Energy, one of the two remaining players.’ Bloomberg: EDF to Sell Assets, Cut Debt as Earnings Decline
‘Paris-based EDF will focus on cutting net financial debt by at least 5 billion euros over this year and next following two acquisitions in the past six months. It agreed in December to buy half the atomic power business ofConstellation Energy Group Inc. for $4.5 billion and paid 12.5 billion pounds ($17.8 billion) for British Energy Group Plc to drive nuclear growth.’
Posted by Aslihan on February 13, 2009 4:14 PM
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The big news this week is that $50 billion dollars of loan guarantees for new nuclear power stations and ‘clean coal’ plants have been removed from the US economic stimulus bill.
This is a real victory for environmental activism. Many environmental organizations together with tax watchdog groups argued that the loan guarantee would be primarily use by the nuclear industry which would not produce any imminent jobs. Their efforts resulted in a clear victory.
The stripping of the loan guarantees from the bill sends a clear signal that nuclear power cannot and will not play a part in boosting the faltering US economy. With $20 billion being included in the stimulus package for renewable energy projects, it’s clear which direction the wind is blowing and the sun is shining.
Posted by Aslihan on February 13, 2009 4:33 PM
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BBC News: Nuclear future 'key for Scotland'
‘Scotland needs to have a nuclear future to secure energy supplies and jobs, the Scottish secretary has insisted. At a conference in Edinburgh, Jim Murphy is to underline Westminster's intention to promote the expansion of nuclear energy.’
The Washington Post: Clinton Criticizes Bush on N. Korea
‘ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska, Feb. 15 -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton cast doubt Sunday on a claim by the Bush administration that North Korea had a clandestine program to enrich uranium, and she said she will focus on getting the Pyongyang government to give up its stock of weapons-grade plutonium.’
Reuters: RWE wants to invest in Dutch nuclear power plants-CEO
‘German energy company RWE is prepared to invest in new Dutch nuclear energy power plants following its acquisition of Dutch peer Essent, its Chief Executive told a Dutch daily on Saturday.’
The Moscow Times: Turkish President Discusses $80Bln Nuclear Power Deal
‘President Dmitry Medvedev met with Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul in Moscow on Friday to discuss energy cooperation, including talks for Russia to build and run a $20 billion nuclear plant in Turkey. ’
Report on Business: AECL turns to Ottawa to cover $100-million overrun
‘In another damaging setback for the reputation of federally owned AECL Ltd., Ottawa has been forced to cough up $100-million in emergency funding to cover cost overruns incurred in the refurbishing of aging Candu reactors.’
Posted by Justin on February 16, 2009 4:31 PM
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Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo of Pampanga recently said that a bill seeking to commission the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in Morong, Bataan, is as good as passed. The chairman of the House energy committee reported that the bill already has the support of 190 out of 238 congressmen.
While the proponents of nuclear energy in Congress have closed ranks behind the bill authored by Rep. Mark Cojuangco of Pangasinan, their consensus has also roused widespread opposition—and not just from the usual green militants.
Interestingly, even an aide of the Pampanga representative’s mother has voiced his misgivings about Cojuangco’s proposal. Former Sen. Heherson Alvarez, now President Arroyo’s adviser on climate change, has warned that commissioning the BNPP would be “fraught with danger.”
[…]
In 1991, Bataan—like many parts of Luzon—was rocked by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in nearby Zambales province. Proponents pointed out that the BNPP withstood the cataclysmic event, and was thus shown to be safe.
The proponents, however, conveniently failed to mention that the nuclear plant was already mothballed by then—and nobody knows for sure if its reactor and other components would have endured the tremors that accompanied the eruption had the BNPP been in full operation.
The Guardian: 10-year-old Sellafield plant may be closed
‘One of the great white elephants of Britain's atomic industry looks set for closure, according to documents published by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The NDA is examining the closure of Sellafield's troubled "mixed oxide" or Mox production plant, which has performed badly since it was opened 10 years ago.’
The Japan Times: Japan firms played into Khan's nuclear hands
‘Comments by Pakistan's disgraced nuclear scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, and former employees of the companies reveal in detail for the first time how leading Japanese manufacturers knowingly and unknowingly helped Pakistan acquire nuclear capability and were incorporated into its supply framework.’
The Republican Eagle: Shipment's radioactivity was too high
‘A radioactive piece of equipment passed muster when it left Prairie Island nuclear plant, but the package exceeded safe radiation shipping levels by eight times when it reached Pennsylvania.’
UPI: India aims for 6,000 MW of nuclear energy
‘By the end of 2009, India plans to have about 6,000 megawatts of nuclearenergy online, all generated at domestic power plants. Since September 2008, when India received Nuclear Suppliers Group waivers, the country has joined the global civil nuclear commerce trade.’
Helsingin Sanomat: Estonia to prepare a decision in principle for nuclear power plant
‘The Estonian government is preparing a decision in principle with regard to building the country's first nuclear power plant. In its preliminary scrutiny, the state-run electricity company Eesti Energia has chosen six suitable sites for a nuclear reactor on the country’s northern coast.’
Reuters: Hungary govt to propose doubling nuclear power
‘Hungary's government will this spring formally propose doubling the country's nuclear power generating capacity at its Paks nuclear power plant, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany told Parliament on Monday.’
Posted by Justin on February 17, 2009 1:28 PM
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Imagine you’re the captain of the HMS Vanguard or the Le Triomphant submarines. You’ve both got a payload of 16 nuclear missiles (that’s 1,248 Hiroshimas each) and a nuclear reactor at the back that powers your boat. It sounds eminently sensible to not use a system that allows you to see where you’re going, doesn’t it? After, all what could possibly go wrong other than striking another submarine and risking putting Western Europe off limits for the next thousand years?
It’s a bit like having a board of nuclear scientists and experts able to advise on the direction and dangers of your nuclear industry and disbanding them without explanation or announcement. You know, to decide not to use them see where the nuclear industry is heading. Who would be stupid enough to do that?
An expert advisory committee has been quietly scrapped after it warned the future safety of Britain's ageing nuclear plants was being put at risk by poor performance, delays and budget cuts.
The Nuclear Safety Advisory Committee (NuSAC), which has been offering critical advice to Britain's health and safety watchdog for nearly 50 years, was disbanded without any public announcement.
With the British government expected to announce new third generation reactors before the end of the year, and the current generation of reactors proving difficult and dangerous to decommission, no new system is yet in place. The British government ‘is still considering what arrangements to make for a successor body.’
Just as the British nuclear industry is sailing into even darker and more dangerous waters, one of the vital safety systems has been turned off.
Posted by Justin on February 17, 2009 2:05 PM
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Haaretz: Report: Israel waging covert war against Iranian nuclear program
‘Israel is assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists as part of a covert war against the Islamic Republic's illicit weapons program, the Daily Telegraph reported yesterday, quoting Western intelligence analysts. ’
BBC News: Nuclear fuel rod removal begins
‘Work is getting under way on removing more than 38,000 spent uranium fuel rods from a former nuclear plant in southern Scotland.’
Bloomberg: U.S. Requires New Nuclear Reactors to Withstand Plane Crashes
‘New nuclear power plants must be built to ensure that a strike by a commercial airplane won’t result in a radioactive release, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said.’
Yahoo! News: Nuclear firm fined for radioactive waste leak: court
‘A court Tuesday ordered a company which managed a nuclear power plant to pay 400,000 pounds after it was convicted of allowing radioactive waste to leak into the ground over a 14-year period.’
World Nuclear News: Japco to delay Tsuruga 1 shut down
‘Japan Atomic Power Co (Japco) announced that it will postpone the shut down of its Tsuruga 1 nuclear power reactor beyond the originally scheduled 2010 due to delays in the construction of two new units at the site.’
In the 'funny if it weren't so scary' category we have the advert which ran last week in the Whitehaven News, the local paper for west Cumbria where Sellafield is to be found. As reported in the Guardian at the weekend, LLW Repository Ltd - the company which has recently taken over managing the site - have found there are significant holes in records detailing what radioactive waste was dumped in the repository at nearby Drigg; so they're appealing for people who worked at Sellafield in the 60s, 70s and 80s to rack their brains and fill in the gaps.
Now I'm not good at filing, but when I can't put my hands on my TV licence or gas account number, the only person to suffer is me. When it's companies with the responsibility of managing some pretty nasty waste, however, that's something else entirely. The story on the website of Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment draws the obvious conclusion that "given that the [waste] trenches have now been capped and sealed off for some years, those workers still alive will be hard pushed to recall exactly what they were chucking away up to fifty years ago, the inventory is unlikely ever to be completed."
Admittedly, it's not LLWR which is responsible for these administrative oversights (they haven't had much time to engineer their own cock-ups yet) but resorting to a public call for information is pure farce.
Greenpeace has been pointing out for years that waste management has been incompetent at best. Marge in our media team dug out a video from 1994 showing what happened when Greenpeace investigators snuck into the low level waste dump at Drigg, discovering improperly packaged junk and highly radioactive material which shouldn't have been there. The strong language of the investigator shows just how serious it was.
Government policy for dealing with nuclear waste is based on information provided by the companies managing (and hoping to manage) the nuclear facilities around the country. If that information is incomplete or just plain wrong, then the house of cards falls down. Again.
And then today we hear that the mixed oxide (Mox) production plant, also at Sellafield, is likely to be shut down after only 10 years of sporadic and inefficient operation. The Mox plant, you'll remember, was supposed to process new fuel from spent uranium and plutonium waste but since it began production, it has only managed to squeeze out less than 3 tonnes of fuel each year since 2002 - it was supposed to deliver 120 tonnes. It was also mixed up in a scandal over falsified plutonium safety records which led to the resignation of BNFL executive director John Taylor in 2000.
Now the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has said in a new report that it "[does] not believe that [the Mox plant] provides either the capacity or longevity to be used for the UK civil stockpile".
Not that we're one's to say 'we told you so' (oh alright, yes we are), but in 2001 Greenpeace took the government to court over concerns that it would end up costing the tax payer hundreds of millions. Although these claims were dismissed, it looks like the point we were trying to make is finally sinking in.
So, another set of false and over-inflated promises from the nuclear industry has led to millions of pounds and valuable resources being wasted. And we're going to trust them to build a new fleet of power stations, and deal with all the waste they'll generate?
Posted by Justin on February 18, 2009 1:45 PM
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Today's big stories from the nuclear industry: Guardian: Iran refusing to co-operate with nuclear inspectors, says UN
‘The UN's nuclear watchdog will report that Iran is continuing to obstruct its investigation into allegations of past work on nuclear weapons, but the country's uranium enrichment programme was expanding more slowly than expected.’
Reuters: GDF Suez drops Bulgarian nuclear reactor plan
‘French utility GDF Suez (GSZ.PA) has decided to pull out of Bulgaria's planned atomic power plant of Belene to focus on its other nuclear projects, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. GDF Suez's Belgian subsidiary Electrabel had been in talks to take part in German utility RWE's (RWEG.DE) 49-percent stake in Bulgaria's 4 billion euro plant.’ Platts: Lithuania says it is not asking EC to delay Ignalina-2 closure
‘Lithuania is not asking the European Commission for a delay in closing Ignalina-2, "but we are asking for solutions to the problems of closing," Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said at a press conference in Stockholm February 18.’
Reuters: Five U.S. nuclear plants make DOE loan short-list
‘HOUSTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The field of U.S. companies competing for $18.5 billion in government-backed loans to build new nuclear plants has narrowed to five from about 14 last year, company sources said.’
Gulf Daily News: Nuclear power 'best option for the Gulf'
‘NUCLEAR power is the best option for the Gulf states to meet their growing energy demands, but the key is to produce it collectively, experts said yesterday.’
China View: China eyes independent nuclear power development
‘China can rely on and will promote the use of its own technologies in developing nuclear power projects, a senior energy official said Wednesday. The proportion of domestic technologies and equipment used in the country's nuclear power projects should be required to reach a certain level, said Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration (NEA), at an NEA work conference here Wednesday.’
Posted by Aslihan on February 19, 2009 4:13 PM
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Today we learned that Kuwait has also decided to go down through the nuclear road. According to Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah: “A French firm is studying the issue.”
We do not think there would be any Nuclear Reaction reader out there wondering who that French firm could be. However if you are new to our blog: The announcement is made right after the visit of Sarkozy. Sarkozy, the Nuclear Salesman would hardly visit any country without Areva representatives with him. So here is a Nuclear Reaction scoop for you; the mysterious French firm Sheikh Sabah talks about is Areva.
Posted by Aslihan on February 19, 2009 4:22 PM
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MSNBC: IAEA finds graphite, more uranium at Syria site
‘U.N. inspectors found graphite and more uranium traces in test samples taken from a Syrian site Washington says was a covert graphite nuclear reactor almost built before Israel bombed it, officials said on Thursday.’
AlterNet: Is the U.S. Paying Off the Italian Government for Forging the Niger Documents?
‘[T]he contract for 28 Marine One helicopters was awarded to the Italian firm Finmeccanica as a thank you for Italy's participation in the Iraq War. The evidence, however, indicates that the contract was more specifically a payoff to the Italian government for supplying the forged documents showing Saddam had obtained weapons grade uranium from Niger.’
The Independent Weekly: Indigenous-mining dialogue group not a silver bullet: ACF
‘A group set up to bridge the gap between Aboriginal Australians and uranium mining companies has been criticised as being a tool to rob native title holders of their land.’
Nunatsiaq News: Baker Lake hunters, elders oppose uranium mine
‘Joan Scottie was on the front lines 20 years ago when the community of Baker Lake said an historic "no" to uranium mining - and she's still fighting the same battle today. But this time, key Inuit organizations have switched sides.’
People’s Daily Online: Vietnam speeds up preparation for 1st nuclear power plant
‘Vietnam Atomic Energy Commission (VAEC)'s director Vuong Huu Tan said that Vietnam is speeding up progress to appraise of the investment report, the Vietnamese online newspaper vnexpress.com reported on Thursday. ’
The Daily Times: Malawi to go nuclear as IAEA mission jets in
‘Department of Energy and Mining says the country, which was initially slated to join the club of nuclear energy producers like Iran by the year 2050 would do so sooner. As if paying homage to the country’s ambition, a team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts arrived in the country on Monday.’
Reuters: U.S. tells North Korea to end insults, return to talks
‘U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday told North Korea to stop being provocative and return to nuclear talks, warning that ties could not improve ties with Washington if it continued insulting South Korea.’
Posted by Justin on February 20, 2009 3:00 PM
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It’s difficult to get your head around the sheer massive size of nuclear reactors. The things are absolutely huge. Just to give you a flavour, in Flamanville, France, where EDF are building a ‘state of the art’ EPR reactor, the roads aren’t wide enough to transport the large reactor components to the construction site.
People sometimes forget that nuclear reactors are just kettles. Great big kettles. The hot nuclear fuel inside the reactor boils water which turns into steam which turns the turbines which generate electricity. Those turbines, as you can imagine, are also huge.
Being so large and heavy, they can’t be transported in any conventional way. Often they’re shipped on giant barges. They’re shipped very slowly and very carefully. Sometimes not slowly and carefully enough. You know where two $10-million 107-tonne turbines destined for the Canada’s Point Lepreau nuclear power station found themselves last October? Spending five days on the bottom of Saint John Harbour.
And that’s another of the major problems with nuclear power and why a so-called nuclear ‘renaissance’ will be impossible to achieve: the nuclear industry has no economies of scale. You cannot increase production of nuclear power stations anywhere near quickly enough to fulfil the promises made by the industry and save us from the worst of global climate change.
Wind turbines and solar energy couldn’t be more different. You can build a working wind turbine in two weeks. The renewable energy industry is a hugely scaleable one. Smaller and more readily available components make it far, far easier to expand production. Want a hundred kilometres of solar cells produced in a day? Mass-produced printable solar cells are already being trialled. The renewable energy technologies are ever improving.
The components of nuclear reactors are too large and complex to mass produce or produce quickly in the same way. Japan Steel Works, the only company in the world currently making specialised steel containers for reactor cores, already has a three year backlog. All those countries boasting of building new reactors in the near future are going to have to join a very slow-moving queue.
AP: Iran to begin operation of 1st nuclear power plant
‘Iran's first nuclear plant will begin long-delayed pilot operations on Wednesday, the state atomic energy agency said. A nuclear official in Russia, which is helping build the plant, however, said no major milestone is expected on that day.’
The Raw Story: Iran's nuke program not weapons-capable, UN official says: report
‘The anonymous official said the Iranian enrichment program is "under surveillance at all times" and that there is no evidence Iran is building a secret facility to produce the enriched uranium required for nuclear bomb fuel.’
Scoop: Potential jet crash at nuke reactors un-addressed
‘The ever-vigilant Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued milestone regulations requiring the builders of new nuke reactors to explain how their plants might withstand the crash of large commercial jetliners.But the NRC has exempted the reactors that matter most---the 104 licensed to operate RIGHT NOW. As you read this, jets hitting any of them could kill untold thousands of us and render entire regions of our nation permanently uninhabitable.’
The Canberra Times: Secret nuclear waste in Sydney
‘THE public has the right to know full details of a secret shipment of nuclear waste due to be trucked through Sydney streets in the next four months, the Greens say. Five years' worth of spent nuclear fuel rods from the Lucas Heights nuclear reactor will be transported to the US by the middle of the year, the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation says.’
Wall Street Journal: France's Areva Feels Its Power Wane
‘[T] he global recession has left Areva scrambling for cash. When Areva reports earnings Wednesday, executives are expected to urge the French government to act quickly to help fill a gap of as much as €3 billion, or around $4 billion, in Areva's 2009 investment budget -- a hole that should have been plugged several months ago. An Areva union said Friday that layoffs may be necessary if something isn't done soon.’
JoongAng Daily: Clinton casts doubts about a North uranium program
‘Striking a different tone from American intelligence officials, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cast doubt s on the existence of North Korea’s purported highly enriched uranium program, in what some observers here believe is an indicator of Washington’s changing priorities in talks on denuclearizing the reclusive country. ’
Posted by Justin on February 23, 2009 2:47 PM
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Well, you really have to hand it to Nicholas Sarkozy – he really believes there is no challenge too large for the French nuclear industry. What’s new on the agenda for Nuclear Nick? A new nuclear reactor for Iraq. That’s right. Iraq. Honest, we don’t make this stuff up.
On yet another overseas sales trip to the Middle East, at a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, Sarkozy said, ‘my coming here is to tell French companies: the time has come, come and invest […] We are ready to listen to the requests of the Iraqis.’
One of the first requests? ‘I am willing to enter into contacts with the French nuclear agency and to start to build a nuclear power plant,’ said Iraqi Electricity Minister Karim Wahid.
France and Iraq have a nuclear history together. France previously began building Iraq a nuclear reactor in 1979. The Israeli government bombed it 1981 to in an attempt to stop then Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein building nuclear weapons. This merely had the effect of Iraq’s nuclear programme going underground.
Even though there is talk of a new reactor for Iraq nobody even got around to clearing up the nuclear waste that escaped from the last research reactor before Greenpeace’s investigation in the area in 2003. Even after Greenpeace reported the problems, no health checks were offered to the local people who were using radioactive barrels taken from the nuclear facility to store water because it was too expensive for them to buy the three dollars barrels from the US Army.
Still, none of this is a problem to deter someone with the boundless optimism of Nicholas Sarkozy. The tonnes of nuclear waste France has lying around the place haven’t proved too much of a mountain for Sarkozy’s nuclear ambitions to climb. Why should Iraq’s?
Posted by Justin on February 23, 2009 2:53 PM
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Scripps News: Door still open for Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump site
‘The Obama administration remains steadfastly opposed to the Yucca Mountain project, but new Energy Secretary Steven Chu is leaving the door ajar for the government to continue seeking a license needed to open the nuclear waste dump site.’
Illawarra Mercury: City powerless over nuclear waste trucks on roads
‘Wollongong City Council's long-held position that the city is a nuclear-free zone could prove meaningless, as local government has no power to stop nuclear waste being transported along the area's roads.’
Let’s get a few things straight. Let’s address a few of the accusations and myths levelled at Greenpeace and our opposition to nuclear power.
Greenpeace does not campaign against nuclear power for fun or spite or just for the sake of it. It is a hard, frustrating battle against vastly better resourced opponents, some of whom aren’t averse to using dirty tricks.
Greenpeace does not want to make people poor or poorer.
Greenpeace does not want people to sit in the dark or the cold.
Greenpeace does not want us all to return to living in caves. (You wouldn’t believe how many times we hear that one.)
We are not anti-technology or anti-progress. We are the very opposite of those things. We look to the future. We embrace the exciting and rapidly growing renewable energy technologies, be they solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and the rest.
In the last few days, prominent environmental campaigners in the UK – previous opponents of nuclear power – have come out in support of it, arguing it is a vital tool in the fight against climate change.
The nuclear industry and its supporters will tell you nuclear power is clean, safe, cheap, reliable, secure and low-carbon. It is none of those things. If nuclear power is so wonderful, as is argued, why is the industry mired in corruption and cover-up?
Over the next few days we’ll be examining each of these claims in turn and showing why they are false and dangerous – that they are the real myths about nuclear power. We’ll explain why Greenpeace campaigns against nuclear power and why you should too.
NTI: U.S. Energy Department Cannot Account for Nuclear Materials at 15 Locations
‘A number of U.S. institutions with licenses to hold nuclear material reported to the Energy Department in 2004 that the amount of material they held was less than agency records indicated. But rather than investigating the discrepancies, Energy officials wrote off significant quantities of nuclear material from the department's inventory records.’
Reuters: Finmeccanica denies to replace Siemens in Areva NP
‘Italian aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica denied on Tuesday it would buy German Siemens 34 percent stake in Areva NP, a French maker of nuclear power stations.’
Typically Spanish: 12 million Euro a year for high level radioactive waste
‘The 600 or so residents of Yebra, a village in Guadalajara to the east of Madrid, say they do not want a nuclear waste cemetery to be built there, as rumours indicate. The Government has not announced any final decision for the site, but the Ministry for Industry has been looking for local town halls who would be prepared to host such a site, in exchange for extra funding, placed at as much as 12 million € a year.’
The York Daily Record: Three Mile Island re-licensing process continues
‘Midstate residents questioned whether Three Mile Island is safe and secure Tuesday as federal officials decide whether to renew the license for the nuclear power station.’
Moscow Times: EDF Interested in Russian Uranium
‘Electricite de France, the world's biggest nuclear-power producer, is interested in mining uranium in Russia, Sergei Kiriyenko, chief executive of Rosatom, said Tuesday. ’
Reuters: Race for U.N. nuclear watchdog helm may stall
‘A two-way race to succeed U.N. nuclear watchdog director-general Mohamed ElBaradei could snag in an inconclusive vote next month, throwing open the field to compromise candidates, diplomats say.’
World Nuclear News: Rio Tinto signs Jordanian exploration deal
‘The Jordanian government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering exploration and mining of uranium and other ores with British-Australian mining company Rio Tinto.‘
World Nuclear News: Vietnam to cooperate with Chinese power producer
‘The country has studied using nuclear energy since the 1980s but in recent years has progressed steadily with national energy plans which would see 2000 MWe of nuclear capacity constructed from 2014. A feasibility study on this is expected mid-year, although it had previously been slated for 2008.’
Republikein: Official nod given to Trekkopje
‘THE Areva Group has received the green light to develop the mining assets of the uranium deposit at Trekkopje. Mr Erkki Nghimtina, [Namibian] Minister of Mines and Energy, issued Mining License No. 151 recently after satisfying himself that full compliance with international standards of mining regulations according to industrial, social and environmental standards had been met. It is valid for 25 years with an option of renewal thereafter.‘
Posted by Justin on February 25, 2009 3:38 PM
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Time and time again the same questions must be asked: if nuclear power is the miracle its industry and supporters say it is, why must the taxpayer pay its bills, why must its public consultations be rigged, and why must it risk breaking the law?
Both the Bulgarian and Romanian governments today find themselves accused offering hundred of millions of euros in illegal state aid to the nuclear industry in violation of the EC Treaty.
In order to build the Cernavoda 3 and 4 reactors, the Romania government announced in August 2008 plans for loan guarantees to the Romanian state utility S.N. Nuclearelectrica for loans totalling 220 million euros, a payment of 350 million euros from the state budget for the provision of heavy water for the Cernavoda nuclear power plant between 2009 and 2012, and 800 million of direct investment from the country’s National Development Fund which is also part of the state budget.
In October last year, the Bulgarian Government announced the allocation of
300 Million Bulgarian Leva (154.5 million euros) from the state budget to state-owned energy group Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD and the National Electric Company (NEK) with the purpose of constructing of a new nuclear power plant at Belene. In December 2008, the Bulgarian Government announced a further allocation of 400 Million Bulgarian Leva (205 million euros) from the state budget for increasing the capital of Bulgarian Energy Holding.
At least the two governments can’t be accused of cover-up on this occasion. They made the announcements in public decrees (Decree 259 in Bulgaria and Decision 643/2007 in Romania).
The allocations of these massive sums favour the countries’ respective nuclear industries and so distort their energy markets. This is where Romania and Bulgaria risk violating the EC Treaty. How are other energy generators expected to compete against such blatant bias? Where are the similar sums for energy efficiency programmes and renewable energy technologies?
The Romanian and Bulgarian governments want to hand massive financial advantages to the nuclear industry in return for what? Certainly not energy security, jobs or meeting carbon emissions targets. Can’t the nuclear industry operate without these massive subsidies? If not, why not, is the question you should be asking yourself. Again.
Join Britain's leading environmental commentator tomorrow to discuss one of the most divisive of green issues: nuclear power. At 12pm [UK time, 1pm CET] this Thursday, George Monbiot will be online for a live web chat to answer your questions on the subject.
You can post your own questions and watch the debate here.
Posted by Justin on February 26, 2009 11:12 AM
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Barents Observer: Light houses from nuclear to solar energy
‘Since 2001 169 radioactive strontium batteries (RTGs) have been removed from light houses along the coast of the Kola Peninsula and in the White Sea area. The radioactive sources have been replaced with solar cell technology. Only 11 RTGs remain.’
AFP: Sources: Obama slashes money for Yucca
‘President Barack Obama is taking the first step toward moving away from building a nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada by slashing money for the program in his first budget.’
Scotsman: Western fears grow as Iran hails success of nuclear plant tests
‘A DEFIANT Iran has celebrated another major milestone in its controversial quest for nuclear power while rebuffing suggestions it has slowed down its uranium enrichment programme.’
NTI: Pakistan Needs Billions in Security Aid, U.S. Policy Leaders Say
‘Between $4 billion and $5 billion in immediate Western security assistance is needed to ensure stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan, two respected U.S. foreign policy leaders were set to tell lawmakers today.’
Seattlepi.com: Oregon joining lawsuit to speed Hanford cleanup
‘Oregon is joining the state of Washington in a lawsuit pressing the federal government to speed cleaning up radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation.’
EasyBourse: Alstom: Not Interested In Buying Siemens' Stake In Areva NP
‘French power-station equipment and train maker Alstom SA isn't eyeing a stake in compatriot Areva's nuclear unit Areva NP, which is being sold by Siemens AG (SI), a spokesman for the company said Tuesday. ’
The Independent: RWE lines up two Cumbrian sites for new nuclear power stations
‘RWE npower has an option to buy two sites in the North-west that could be suitable for a new nuclear power station, one of which already has an offer of a grid connection.’
Posted by Justin on February 26, 2009 4:41 PM
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So, the construction of the OL3 EPR reactor at Olkiluoto in Finland has been such a disaster, it is now directly impacting on the builder’s profits. French nuclear clowns Areva have today announced that their profits have been slashed by 20 per cent on last year, from 743 million euros to 589 million.
This single reactor – initially projected to cost three billion Euros – has now accumulated 1.7 billion euros in losses for the company who want to sell EPR reactors to the rest of the world. And this figure excludes the 2.4 billion euros that OL3’s buyers – Finnish utility TVO – are claiming in damages from Areva for massive schedule and cost overruns, and general all-round incompetence.
If the claim goes against Areva, OL3 could end up costing the company more than it was paid to build it. How’s that for nuclear economics?
Posted by Justin on February 26, 2009 4:50 PM
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Gizmodo: Google Maps Hack Allows Me to Nuke London In One Click
‘Created by CarlosLabs, the Ground Zero Google Maps hack shows you the blast radius of different nuclear weapons, from Little Boy—the 15-kiloton uranium bomb that obliterated Hiroshima—and Fat Man—its 21-kiloton plutonium counterpart that did the same with Nagasaki—to the Tsar Bomba, the 50 megaton beast produced by the Soviet Union in the 60s.’
AHN: Indigenous Leaders Call For End To Uranium Mining
‘Indigenous activists and leaders of Native American, Australian aboriginal and Tuareg communities are in Washington, D.C. Friday to press elected officials at Capitol Hill to stop uranium mining.’
Yahoo! News: Jordan, Russia sign nuclear deal
‘Russia, which is helping Iran build its first nuclear plant, inked a preliminary cooperation deal with Jordan on Thursday to pave the way for producing nuclear power in the energy-poor kingdom.’
Reuters: U.S. envoy to North Korea set for first trip
‘The U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy, Stephen Bosworth, will visit Asian capitals and Moscow next week to consult on how to rein in the North's nuclear weapons program, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on Thursday.’
Building Design: YRM to design first new nuclear power station
‘YRM has been confirmed as the first architect to be commissioned to design one of Britain’s new generation of nuclear power stations.’
IranVNC: Iran, Russia discuss 10-year nuclear fuel supply deal
‘Iran and Russia have discussed a deal under which Moscow would deliver nuclear fuel to Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr for ten years, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported Wednesday.’
The Canadian Press: Soldiers who cleaned up 1958 reactor accident sue government
‘The suit says they didn't get proper protective clothing, weren't correctly decontaminated after their shifts and that the government covered things up by purging their records of references to the incident at Chalk River, Ont.’
Bloomberg: Obama Rejects Nuclear Waste Site After 20-Year Fight
‘President Barack Obama won’t let nuclear waste be stored at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, rejecting the project after 20 years of planning at a cost of at least $9 billion.'
Posted by Justin on February 27, 2009 3:11 PM
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The dispute between the builders of Finland’s OL3 reactor, Areva, and its buyer, utility TVO, rumbles on. TVO are unhappy at the delay in building the plant (it’s three years behind schedule) and Areva are unhappy are what it sees as TVO’s delays in approving documentation.
As we pointed out yesterday, TVO are demanding 2.4 billion euros in compensation for lost electricity sales. Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon has countered this week with a demand of two billion euros from TVO – that’s 300 million euros than the 1.7 billion euros Areva has currently lost in building OL3.
It’s also been estimated that the reliance on the OL3 project will cost the Finnish public 3.5 billion euros in higher power prices.
OL3, with its third generation EPR design, was supposed to show the world the future of nuclear power. Who knew that future would look like two cats fighting in a sack while the rest of us have to pay a fortune to watch the spectacle?
Posted by Justin on February 27, 2009 3:49 PM
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Those gentlemen are armed policemen on the ship, the Pacific Pintail.
The Pintail is owned by British Nuclear Fuels and in the next few days – along with her sister ship the Pacific Heron – will transport 65 elements of plutonium Mixed-Oxide (MOX) nuclear fuel from Cherbourg in France to Japan.
The Pintail and Heron don’t just have armed guards – those policemen are standing next to the Pintail’s starboard naval gun. Transporting MOX is an extremely dangerous business for all kinds of reasons. It’s unsafe, insecure and unnecessary.
This is the first MOX transport to Japan for eight years. This will be the largest shipment of plutonium in history - the MOX fuel elements contain a total of 1,800 kg plutonium. That’s enough to make 225 nuclear weapons.
The cycle of MOX processing is a long and complicated one. This particular shipment began life as spent fuel in Japan which was shipped to the La Hague reprocessing plant in Normandy, France. After reprocessing the plutonium was transported 1,000 kilometres by truck through France to the MOX fuel fabrication plant MELOX in Marcoule. The MOX fuel elements were then transported by truck back to La Hague where they will be loaded into larger containers. More trucks then will take them to the harbour in Cherbourg where the Pintail and Heron will be waiting.
MOX actually increases the chances of nuclear proliferation. Plutonium in spent nuclear fuel is harder to extract for use in nuclear weapons than plutonium in MOX fuel. None of the 39 MOX reactors worldwide reactors effectively burn up plutonium. No wonder MOX and its waste travel under such huge security. On top of that, there is no evidence that the structural strength of the containers used for MOX transport is enough to withstand possible accidents.
Also, MOX is more even complicated and unstable that other nuclear fuels meaning it give lower performance and presents greater risks. In 1999 the poor quality of the MOX shipped to Japan from France meant it could not be used. Half is still being stored as waste in Japan and the other half was returned to Sellafield in the UK, its whereabouts currently unknown.
So there will be quite a few nervous people when the Pintail and the Heron set sail next week. Will those guns be needed? We’ll be watching…
(More information on MOX and this shipment is available here)
UPDATE: The Pintail and the Heron left their dock at Barrow-in-Furness in north west England at 12.30pm today (Friday) and are now on their way to Cherbourg.
This page contains all entries posted to Nuclear Reaction - A Greenpeace blog about nuclear power in February 2009. They are listed from oldest to newest.
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