Nuclear contamination
‘NEXT week Henri Proglio will become the boss of EDF Group, the state-controlled French firm which is the world’s biggest listed utility and operator of nuclear reactors. With its proud corporate culture, its devotion to long-term planning and its powerful unions (the Confédération Générale du Travail jointly runs the firm, in effect), EDF is sometimes described as a miniature version of France itself. Last year it began a vigorous campaign to build nuclear plants around the world. But to the dismay of advocates of a nuclear renaissance, the cost and complexity of embarking on several big projects at once is weighing on the firm, despite its size and government backing.’

The myth of proliferation-resistant technology
‘The spectre of nuclear proliferation must be understood as both a political issue and a technological one. For the intent of would be proliferators needs to be addressed together with the science. Writing in the journal Science in 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin observed the existence of a category of problems for which there was no technical solution. Focusing on the challenge of feeding a burgeoning global population, Hardin argued, "It is fair to say that most people who anguish over the population problem are trying to find a way to avoid the evils of overpopulation without relinquishing any of the privileges they now enjoy. They think that farming the seas or developing new strains of wheat will solve the problem-technologically. I try to show here that the solution they seek cannot be found." There is nothing wrong per se with technology that makes the diversion of nuclear material harder or more likely to be detected. Yet a failure to appreciate fully the political dimension of non-proliferation risks makes the concept of proliferation resistance at best irrelevant and
at worst counterproductive.’

Smoke rises from Japan nuclear plant
‘TOKYO — Smoke rose on Thursday from the world's largest nuclear power plant in Japan, which was shut down by an earthquake two years ago, but the operator said no-one was injured and there was no radiation leak. The smoke was caused by friction from the brake of a crane in a reactor's turbine room, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said in a statement. "We reported immediately to the fire station and used fire extinguishers and now the smoke has stopped," the statement said. "There were no injuries nor any radiation leak" in the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata prefecture, 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Tokyo, it said. The company said it would thoroughly investigate. Kashiwazaki city was rocked by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in July 2007. The epicentre was just 16 kilometres from the plant, where a fire started and a small amount of radiation leaked out, leading to the plant's shut-down.’

GE Hitachi returning to UK nuclear new build race
‘LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - GE Hitachi is poised to resume efforts to build new nuclear power stations in Britain after putting these plans on hold last year to focus on the U.S. market, a company executive said. Britain wants to build nuclear power stations to replace its ageing fleet of reactors and many of Europe's biggest utilities are lining up to take part. GE Hitachi is in talks with utilities that have bought land to build plants and expects to have one or two of its new design ESBWR reactors in service in Britain by 2025, Daniel Roderick, vice president of GE Hitachi's new plant projects, told Reuters on Thursday. "We believe, even though we stepped out for a little bit, we will come back into the process and be able to get through the process much quicker," he said in an interview. "They (the customers) have the desire to have the plant in operation by 2020 ... So somewhere between 2019 and 2025, we will see one or two units in service in the UK."’

Diplomats enter fray as nuclear bid race concludes
‘The US$40 billion UAE nuclear deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the year. The race to win a US$40 billion contract to build the first nuclear plants in the UAE is reaching its final stages, with one consortium even bringing in diplomatic intervention on their behalf. The South Korean foreign minsister, Yu Myung-hwan, met with UAE Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a regional visit earlier this month, where he promoted the competence of Korean plants, according to the Korea Times newspaper.’

On last stop of Asia tour, Obama targets Iran, North Korea
‘Osan Air Base, Osan, South Korea - There was no doubt it. President Barack Obama got by far the loudest cheers of his six-day East Asian odyssey Thursday in a rousing 15-minute talk before about 1,000 troops. At Osan Air Base here, troops from all services repeatedly interrupted with applause as the president spoke in words that applied immediately to concerns over North Korea's nuclear program. His remarks also had implications for his get-tough policy toward Iran as enunciated hours earlier in Seoul after his summit with South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak. "We've seen indications that for internal political reasons or perhaps because they are stuck in some of their own rhetoric, they are unable to get to 'yes.' As a consequence, we have begun discussion with our international partners" about sanctions, Mr. Obama said. On the final day of a tour that took him to Japan, Singapore, China, and South Korea, Obama could be sure in these friendly surroundings of real agreement on America's role as a military superpower on fronts extending from northeast Asia to the Middle East.’

The nuclear option: too slow, too costly
‘The spruikers for nuclear energy never say die. Climate change has given them a whole new lease of life. No-emission nuclear power should, they say, be part of Australia’s response to climate change. This week ANSTO chief Ziggy Switkowski said we should aim for 50 nuclear plants by 2050. It won’t happen until the ALP fundamentally changes its policy on nuclear power. The Coalition is too scarred by their experience in the last election, when John Howard’s flirtation with the debate led to a Labor scare campaign about nuclear reactors in every backyard. Clearly the nuclear industry is yet to begin recovering from the slump in reactor building worldwide after its peak in the mid-1980s. That poses two problems for any “nuclear renaissance” and its capacity to provide a legitimate, timely response to climate change. Firstly, the global “fleet” of reactors is ageing. Then there’s the second, and more problematic issue: nuclear power plants take an extraordinarily long time to build. It’s not radioactivity or scare campaigns that are the nuclear industry’s biggest problem, it’s the maths. The numbers show that for decades to come, it will offer less and less of a solution to climate change, and it simply takes too long and costs too much to develop.’

Electricity imports hit France's energy autonomy
‘PARIS - News of the imports prompted the environmental group Greenpeace to say that this was further proof that France's policy of producing three quarters of its electricity from nuclear power was a big mistake. France decided after the 1970s oil crises to rapidly expand its nuclear power capacity in order to build up reliable energy supplies, and has long exported power to its neighbours. But ever-rising demand for electricity combined with ageing nuclear reactors have brought that policy under increasing scrutiny. "Selling the idea of energy autonomy was commercial dressing for the nuclear lobby," said an expert on France's nuclear industry, who asked not to be named. Greenpeace said in a statement Tuesday that "nuclear energy is not among the solutions for the climate. "Investing in the nuclear sector diverts important financial resources which, if allotted to the development of renewable energy and energy-saving systems, would enable us to fight efficiently against climate change."’

China helps the powerful in Namibia
‘BEIJING – Like parents everywhere, mothers and fathers in Namibia, an impoverished southern African nation, worry about college costs and opportunities for their children. The Chinese government has stepped forward to help – for a select and powerful few. So far this year, the Beijing government has secretly awarded scholarships to study in China to the offspring of nine top officials, including to the daughter of Namibia’s president, Hifikepunye Pohamba. Two young relatives of Namibia’s former president and national patriarch, Sam Nujoma, also received grants. The disclosure of the scholarships, first revealed by a feisty Namibian newspaper, has unleashed a wave of fury from the nation’s civil society groups and youth organizations. In a country where five in six students end their academic career at high school graduation, many find it unconscionable for well-paid government leaders to accept overseas university scholarships for their children. In July, the ministry renewed a license that gives a subsidiary of a state-owned Chinese company sole rights to search for uranium and other minerals in a prime prospecting area.’