Nuclear News: French nuclear workers see risks as conditions worsen
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Today's big stories from the nuclear industry:
French nuclear workers see risks as conditions worsen
Worsening working conditions, inadequate pay rises, pressure to work faster and safety concerns -- these are the familiar grievances of a disaffected work force. When such complaints arise in France's most sensitive industry -- nuclear power -- alarm bells start ringing. Cyril Bouche and his colleagues at the Tricastin nuclear plant in the rolling hills of the Drome region say the state-owned utility EDF, which runs France's 58 nuclear reactors and has been expanding into the United States and Britain, is not only cutting costs, but also cutting corners. The 39-year old, who works for one of EDF's many subcontracting firms, says working conditions at the plant -- hit by a series of incidents that shook public trust in 2008 -- have deteriorated over the past five to 10 years. "Today France is selling reactors abroad but it should first put its own house in order," said Bouche, the only one of 10 workers interviewed by Reuters who was prepared to be identified.
Arms found on ship bound from North Korea to Iran
Weapons including rocket-propelled grenades were found on an Australian-owned ship seized by the United Arab Emirates while travelling from North Korea to Iran, Australia's transport minister confirmed Sunday. Anthony Albanese said Australia was investigating the vessel ANL Australia, which was reportedly stopped earlier this month carrying a shipment of North Korean arms. The vessel's seizure marks the first time a nation has acted on UN sanctions to stop the communist state's arms proliferation, a UN diplomat told AFP Friday. North Korea responded furiously to the sanctions, vowing to expand its nuclear programme and bolting from a six-nation disarmament agreement. Pyongyang in the past acknowledged selling military technology overseas, declaring it to be a sovereign right.
India set to get rights to mine Namibian uranium, diamond
As Canberra continues to hold out on supplying uranium to New Delhi, India is actively engaging the African sub-continent to fuel its nuclear programme. Namibian president Hifikepunye Pohamba's visit to India, which started on Sunday, is linked to India sourcing uranium from the African nation, which is the sixth largest producer of uranium in the world. Sources said that discussions on uranium mining and supplies have been ongoing with Namibia for some time now. Ahead of Mr Pohamba's visit, the Cabinet approved signing of an MoU on mining, which covers not just uranium but also other minerals like copper and diamonds. The MoU, which is likely to be signed after discussions between Mr Pohamba and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday, will give India the opportunity to tap Namibia's rich mining sector. This includes the chance to get exclusive prospecting rights and the possibility of joint ventures in the sector.
German Nuclear Waste Dump Contains More Plutonium Than Reported
A German nuclear waste dump formerly run by Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen GmbH contains three times as much toxic plutonium as previously reported, the Environment Ministry said. A review of records at Helmholtz's Munich headquarters shows 28 kilograms (61.7 pounds) of plutonium stored at the underground dump in Lower Saxony, rather than the 9 kilograms previously recorded, the ministry said today in a statement. A reporting error is the likely cause of the discrepancy, it said. The Federal Office for Radiation Protection took over operation of the Asse II dump in January after Helmholtz failed to inform regulators that water was leaking into the site. Unauthorized contaminated material was also found in the shaft, which was opened in 1967 to store low- and medium-radioactive waste from nuclear power plants.
Anti-nuclear trek to Berlin
Where to store Germany's nuclear waste? The issue - decades old and still unresolved - has injected controversy into campaigning ahead of Germany's federal election on 27 September. Farm residents at Gorleben in northern Germany have long opposed a proposal that salt caverns under their feet be used as the nation's long-term underground nuclear waste disposal site. Driving tractors, they have begun a week-long road trek to Berlin to press their anti-nuclear case. Equipped with a rolling kitchen, they aim to spearhead a demonstration in the capital next Saturday. En route, the tractor trekkers plan stopovers at three other sites used variously as nuclear storages and all controversial - the former Konrad iron mine near Salzgitter; Asse, a mine with water leaks near Wolfenbüttel; and Morsleben, an old salt mine near the former East-West-German border. Nuclear industry proponents accuse detractors of exaggerating the risks.
