Japan
Japan’s science ministry says radiation levels of up to 0.17 millisieverts per hour have been detected about 30 kilometers northwest of the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Experts say exposure to those levels for 6 hours would result in absorption of the maximum level considered safe for 1 year. The government has instructed residents living within a 20 to 30 kilometer radius of the plant to stay indoors.The ministry also observed radiation levels of 0.0183 to 0.0011 millisieverts per hour at most of the observation points.
NHK 17th March 2011 more >>
The (Japanese) government has instructed local governments to conduct tests for radioactivity levels in domestically produced foods using a provisional standard set up by the government for the first time ever, as a result of the evolving nuclear crisis at a Fukushima power plant crippled by last Friday’s magnitude 9.0 earthquake, ministry officials said Thursday. The standard, which the ministry set up based on the reference index by the Nuclear Safety Commission, is relatively higher than international standards, Otsuka said. The decision is likely to spark criticism from food distributors. A store manager in Tokyo said he may be unable to sell foods produced in the vicinity of nuclear power plants as the tests may evoke harmful rumors about products from the area.Some local municipalities have started preparations for the test, to be launched Friday at the earliest. Otsuka said the official standards will be set after research and monitoring using the provisional ones. The standard sets a limit of 200 becquerel cesium per 1 kilogram of milk and dairy products, 500 becquerel per 1 kg of vegetables, grains, meat and eggs, while for levels of radioactive iodine, the standard allows 300 becquerel for 1 kilogram of drinking water and 2,000 becquerel for a kilogram of vegetables.
Kyodo News 18th March 2011 more >>
An unprecedented attempt to douse an apparently overheating spent fuel pool with tons of coolant water at a stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima bore some fruit Thursday, but the emission of smoke newly confirmed at another pool suggests the difficulties that lie in the way of resolving the crisis triggered by the March 11 quake and tsunami. Up to 64 tons of water were aimed by helicopters and fire trucks of the Self-Defense Forces as well as a water cannon truck of the Metropolitan Police Department into the pool at the No. 3 unit of Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Kyodo News 18th March 2011 more >>
Ian Sample explains what’s been going on.
Guardian 17th March 2011 more >>
Helicopter crews and teams of police officers in water cannon trucks are battling intense radiation at the crippled Fukushima power station in Japan in a desperate bid to douse overheating fuel rods with tonnes of water. Authorities have drafted in extra workers and turned to ever more radical tactics as fears grow that pools used to cool down spent fuel rods have leaked, leaving the rods exposed and in danger of catching fire, which could release huge amounts of radiation into the air.
Guardian (19.20) 17th March 2011 more >>
1924: If you’re just joining our live coverage of Japan’s ongoing emergency, welcome. To recap today’s main developments: Emergency engineering teams at Fukushima nuclear plant have been laying new power cables to the pumps that should be keeping the reactors cool – the aim is to stop the fuel-rods overheating and causing a nuclear disaster.
1849: Engineers hope that they can restore power so it is possible to restart the pumps needed to pour cold water on overheating fuel rods at the plant.
1836: An official at Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), the plant operator, said the pool at the no 4 reactor at Fukushima “seemed to have water” on Wednesday, based on aerial observations carried out by the military helicopters, AFP reports. Another TEPCO spokesman said: “We have not confirmed how much water was left inside but we have not had information that spent fuel rods are exposed.”
1005: More from Prof Grimes: “I think things deteriorated a lot more than many of us thought… Over the last 24 hours or so, we’ve not seen any more explosions and the emissions seems to have gone down somewhat. That’s not a guarantee that nothing else is going to happen, it might be perhaps a glimmering of light at the end of the tunnel, but it might not be.”
1001: The director of nuclear engineering at Imperial College, London, Professor Robin Grimes, says he is not convinced using helicopters is the best way to flood the plant with water: “The sea water is dispersing quite a lot as it impacts onto those reactors. Actually in some ways, that’s good because you wouldn’t want the full force of all that water which is, of course, many, many tonnes of water hitting in one place.”
0940: Behind Japan’s escalating crisis sits a “scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses”, AP reports in a piece looking at bungling and cover-ups in Japan’s nuclear industry.
BBC 17th March 2011 more >>
Radhealth
Journalists and others may find helpful a new fact sheet, “Radiation and Human Health,” from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER):
IEER 11tyh March 2011 more >>
Implications
Mike Weightman, chief nuclear inspector and head (director) of the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate, the UK’s independent nuclear safety and security regulator, said: “Since Friday, the Health and Safety Executive’s Nuclear Directorate has been monitoring events in Japan closely. We have provided specialist technical advice to the UK Government and ensured there are no immediate implications for the safety of the UK nuclear facilities. Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, has asked me to provide a report on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry. There will be an interim report by mid May 2011 and a final report within six months
HSE 17th March 2011 more >>
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Chris Huhne today set out further detail on the UK Chief Nuclear Inspector’s report into the implications of events at Japanese nuclear reactors on existing and new plants in the UK. This came as Ministers met with representatives from the nuclear industry in London. The Energy Secretary has asked Dr Mike Weightman for an interim report by mid May 2011 and a final report within six months. Both reports will be made public.
DECC 17th March 2011 more >>
Nuclear Industry Association Policy Statement: It must be remembered that nuclear is vital to secure the UK’s long-term environmental and security of supply needs into the future.
NIA 17th March 2011 more >>
We now have a government captured by special interests, paralyzed by partisanship, and confused by astroturfing political groups and phony scientific experts for sale to the highest bidder. Our democracy and our regulatory agencies are husks of what they once were. It is unclear that such a system is capable of learning any lessons or indeed of doing anything much beyond generating speeches and passing the responsibility for failure back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball between our two yapping political parties. While we are distracted by the theater of Congress and the White House, our fate lies in other hands.
Bulletin of Atomic Scientists 17th March 2011 more >>
Protest
As the tragedy at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in north-east Japan continues to unfold, campaign group Kick Nuclear is joining anti-nuclear activists from around the UK to plan a series of demonstrations and direct action events.
Stop Nuclear Power 17th March 2011 more >>
Wylfa
CAMPAIGN groups have urged the government to abandon plans to develop a new nuclear power station on Anglesey following the current disaster affecting a plant in Japan.
North Wales Chronicle 17th March 2011 more >>
Tory Candidate for Delyn: It is now that the lessons from Fukushima should be learnt here in the UK, particularly on Anglesey which has known fault line. DECC needs to look with care at the proposals from both Horizon and National Grid to ensure that those risk factors are urgently addressed and consideration given to subsea cable to Deeside, as a matter of nuclear safety.
Antionette Sandbach 17th March 2011 more >>
Hinkley
THE nuclear crisis in Japan has prompted renewed calls to scrap plans for another power plant at Hinkley Point. Campaigners claim the explosion at the 40-year-old Fukushima power plant shows nuclear energy is unsafe – but officials have reassured members of the public. The scheme could also bring 5,000 jobs to the area but if a 30km exclusion zone – such as the one imposed at Fukushima – were ever in place around Hinkley Point, it would include Minehead and Taunton.
This is the West Country 17th March 2011 more >>
Keir and Bam Nuttall have beaten off competition from the likes of Balfour Beatty/Vinci and Costain/McAlpine to be awarded preferred bidder status for the earthworks package at the Hinkley C Nuclear power station. This sees the first significant construction contract at the power station planned by EDF Energy, with the prize contract being a £1.2bn main civils deal. The earthwork contract will involve moving 4.5 million cubic metres of rock and earth for the new power station. It is the second success for the joint venture team after signing a £4m site preparation deal with EDF last year.
Project Datafile 17th March 2011 more >>
Oldbury
We feel for the people of Japan during this time of natural and, potentially, man made disaster. We are all reeling from the shock of the events of the last few days and our thoughts are with them at this dreadful time. A fire in an ancillary building at Oldbury only a few years ago led to the release pictured above. How close did we come to a Fukushima then? The existing plant at Oldbury is older and long past its sell by date. What emergency plans really exist here?…. none of us know what to do or where to go…. none of us have been given any instructions, let alone tablets. They would have to evacuate many many more people from their homes including the whole of Bristol, Thornbury, Chepstow, Gloucester and more!
See the evacuation areas involved for yourself on a map included in Eon’s scoping report showing the distances from Oldbury in 5km circles.
Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy 17th March 2011 more >>
Sellafield (New Reactors)
COPELAND’S community leaders are calling on the government not to hold up new nuclear build for too long – despite worldwide concerns over Japan’s nuclear reactor disaster. Copeland’s Labour MP, Jamie Reed, said yesterday: “Any rushed judgements would be foolish, public confidence in the nuclear industry is key. Public and environmental safety are paramount but there is no reason why Britain’s nuclear future and plans should not progress as planned.” Ex-energy minister Brian Wilson, who now heads up Britain’s Energy Coast West Cumbria which backs reactor build at Sellafield, said: “It is a time for cool heads.”
Whitehaven News 17th March 2011 more >>
MORE must be done to close a skills gap in the nuclear industry to ensure new developments go-ahead by 2018, the Government has warned. Land in West Cumbria is among sites put forward to house a new generation atomic reactor. Energy Minister Charles Hendry said up to 30,000 new jobs will be created by new nuclear build, but fears a skills gap is looming with 70 per cent of the highly-skilled nuclear workforce set to retire before all new reactors are complete.And Copeland MP Jamie Reed says he is “right to be concerned”.
Whitehaven News 17th March 2011 more >>
Sellafield
THE future of the once crowd-pulling Sellafield Centre is under close review. Closure is even being considered but shutting down the costly facility is said to be the least favoured option. Efforts are under way to find another use. The Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and a series of Sellafield incidents led to BNFL spending millions of pounds expanding the centre. The aim was for people to make up their own minds about the nuclear industry. More than 100,000 visitors a year came to see the hi-tech exhibitions but 9/11 reduced the numbers to a trickle.
Whitehaven News 17th March 2011 more >>
THE Windscale Fire at Sellafield remains Britain’s worst nuclear accident. On October 10, 1957, one of the military reactors producing plutonium in the Cold War’s atomic bomb race caught fire, spewing radioactive material into the atmosphere. This is rated at Level 5 on the International Nuclear Event Scale – the same rating as Three Mile Island in the United States, where loss of coolant led to a partial melt down releasing radioactive gas. Level 4 is classed as an accident with wider consequences with impact on people and the environment. It can involve deaths from radiation and severe damage to reactor core. Yesterday, as the Fukushima reactors continued to leak radioactivity, experts were initially rating the incident at Level 6 – one rung below the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the world’s worst nuclear catastrophe. That was classed on the International Nuclear Event Scale as level 7 – the most serious of all.
Whitehaven News 17th March 2011 more >>
Planning
Today’s entry is an up-to-date summary of the regime for authorising major infrastructure projects introduced by the Planning Act 2008.
This is the seventh summary, which is updated and reissued every few months. For more detailed information, you can get hold of our free 16-page brochure on the Act. For a complete picture of the new regime, Bircham Dyson Bell has written a book on it, published by Butterworths at the end of July 2009.
Bircham Dyson Bell 17th March 2011 more >>
Japan
Japan has 48 hours to bring its rapidly escalating nuclear crisis under control before it faces a catastrophe “worse than Chernobyl”, it was claimed last night. Nuclear safety officials in France said they were “pessimistic” about whether engineers could prevent a meltdown at the Fukushima power plant after a pool containing spent fuel rods overheated and boiled dry. Last night radiation levels were “extremely high” in the stricken building, which was breached by an earlier explosion, meaning that radiation could now escape into the atmosphere. Thierry Charles, a safety official at France’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), said: “The next 48 hours will be decisive. I am pessimistic because, since Sunday, I have seen that almost none of the solutions has worked.” He described the situation as “a major risk”, but added: “All is not lost.” Asked about the maximum possible amount of radioactive release, he said “it would be in the same range as Chernobyl”.
Telegraph 17th March 2011 more >>
U.S. nuclear energy agency chief Gregory Jaczko repeated to ABC News Wednesday evening that there is “no water” in spent fuel pool number 4 at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in the wake of last week’s disaster there. “I’m talking to NRC staff that we have in Japan that are working with counterparts in the Japanese utility and other officials with the regulatory bodies. They continue to believe that there is a severe concern with the spent fuel pool number 4 because it does not have a sufficient cooling and water in the pool,” Jaczko told ABC News in an interview following his appearance earlier in the day at a Congressional hearing. “My understanding is that there is no water in the spent pool,” he said.
ABC News 16th March 2011 more >>
FT 17th March 2011 more >>
A fire at the stores of spent atomic fuel in Japan’s stricken nuclear reactors would dramatically raise the dangers of a radiation leak, scientists have warned. Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) confirmed a fire in Fukushima Daiichi’s No 4 reactor on Tuesday, following an explosion that damaged the structure housing the massive concrete pools storing fuel rods used in the reactor. A further fire broke out at the No 3 reactor on Wednesday, where a fuel storage pool had overheated and may have let off radioactive steam.
Nuclear engineers warn there is more radioactive material stored in those pools than in the reactor core – and a fire would increase the chances of radiation spreading.
Guardian 17th March 2011 more >>
International concern that Japan has lost control over the nuclear crisis is escalating as Britain, France and other countries advised their citizens to “consider” leaving Tokyo because of heightened radiation levels.
Guardian 17th March 2011 more >>
International energy authorities have voiced concerns over the deteriorating situation at the tsunami-hit Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant in Japan. The head of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Gregory Jaczko, said he believes the situation is more serious than the Japanese government is letting on. Mr Jaczko warned water in Reactor 4’s cooling pool may have run dry and a second reactor could be leaking – something experts say could accelerate the release of radiation.
Sky News 17th March 2011 more >>
Japan says it is stepping up efforts to cool reactors at the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Army helicopters dumped tonnes of water to try to prevent a meltdown of fuel rods. Water cannon will join the operation shortly and it is hoped electricity will be restored soon. Increasing alarm has been expressed in the US at the crisis.
BBC 17th March 2011 more >>
The team – dubbed the Fukushima 50 – have been fighting to prevent a possible meltdown at the Fukushima power plant since Friday’s earthquake and the tsunami that followed it. One of the workers yesterday told a friend he did not fear death because ‘that was his job’. The experts were continuing in their work ‘without even thinking twice about the dangers’, said Japan’s prime minister Naoto Kan. The team has already been exposed to high levels of radiation. Yesterday, the legal limit for exposure was raised from 100 millisieverts to 250 – five times what US nuclear technicians can be legally subjected to.
Metro 17th March 2011 more >>
Emergency workers forced to retreat from the wrecked Japanese nuclear power plant by soaring radiation levels were able to go back in last night but the delay could prove catastrophic.
Press & Journal 17th March 2011 more >>
A highly volatile substance called zirconium was chosen back in the 1940’s and 50’s, when plans were first developed to build nuclear power plants, as the material to be used to make the rods into which radioactive fuel would be loaded. There are 30,000 to 40,000 rods composed of twenty tons of zirconium in an average nuclear power plant. Many other substances were tried, particularly stainless steel, but only zirconium worked well. That’s because zirconium, it was found, allows neutrons from the fuel pellets in the rods to pass freely between the rods and thus a nuclear chain reaction to be sustained. But there’s a huge problem with zirconium – it is highly volatile and when hot will explode spontaneously upon contact with air, water or steam.
Buzz Flash 16th March 2011 more >>
Japanese riot police have joined the desperate fight to stop a badly damaged nuclear plant from going into meltdown, bringing in a water canon truck to cool an overheating reactor. Their deployment last night heightened fears that the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), is quickly running out of options. Fears intensified last night when Greg Jaczko, chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), said attempts to cool reactors to prevent meltdown appeared to be failing, adding that that one reactor was out of coolant, a claim denied by the Japanese authorities. The US Energy Secretary Steven Chu told members of Congress that the situation is “very significant, perhaps beyond Three Mile [Island]”.
Independent 17th March 2011 more >>
JAPAN was last night locked in a “slow-moving nightmare” as its battle to contain nuclear plants damaged in the tsunami appeared to spiral out of control.
Express 17th March 2011 more >>
0841: Japanese government spokesman Yukio Edano has denied the authorities are withholding information on the situation around the nuclear facilities: “The information that we’re collecting on the Japanese side, we naturally pass to authorities in the United States. But there is a time delay in delivering this information. This was especially the case with information regarding reactor No.4. However, we have heard that the situation in the cooling pool of reactor No.3 is more of a priority, and so we are dropping water on that first. We are also concentrating on the situation in the cooling pool of reactor No.4, but we still haven’t come to a firm conclusion about its situation.”
0726: The New York Times has an interactive graphic forecasting the plant’s plume path which shows how weather patterns might disperse radiation from Fukushima over the week.
0629: The nuclear emergency in Japan has got many people in the UK asking how safe nuclear power as a source of energy is, and whether reactors in the UK could withstand a similar shock. These issues will be discussed at a meeting involving British government officials and representatives from the nuclear industry later on Thursday.
0355: Pressure is rising again at Reactor 3, the power station operator says – Reuters. That reactor includes plutonium and uranium in its fuel mix.
BBC 17th March 2011 more >>
A forecast by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization shows how weather patterns this week might disperse radiation from a continuous source in Fukushima, Japan.
New York Times 17th March 2011 more >>
Implications
Stockmarkets across Europe plunged again on Wednesday after Guenther Oettinger, the EU’s Energy Commissioner, said that the nuclear crisis in Japan was “out of control”
Telegraph 17th March 2011 more >>
Japan’s stockmarket continued its bumpy ride on Thursday as continued fears that its nuclear crisis could damage the economy hit shares and pushed the yen to a post Second World War high.
Telegraph 17th March 2011 more >>
The crisis in Japan means higher costs, canceled projects and laser-like regulatory scrutiny for the global nuclear industry, signaling the likely end to its decade-long growth spurt. China says it won’t approve new reactors; U.S. flags concern over risks of nuclear power; Regulations would make some plants uneconomical; Higher costs seen throughout industry.
Reuters 16th March 2011 more >>
Why I will speak up for nuclear power. A nuclear power plant exploding on live TV is an indelible image. Even at 8000 miles, it burns into the retina. Suddenly the dream of cheap, clean low carbon energy powering mankind into the future seems to look like a Faustian bargain we should have refused. Is an evil genie out of the bottle? The anti-nuclear lobby has been quick to predict the sudden death of an industry that was only just recovering after Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl. Meltdown: a powerful word, conjuring up The China Syndrome, the ultimate disaster movie, which raises the prospect of a complete meltdown within a reactor setting off an uncontrollable nuclear chain reaction. The invisibility of radiation lends such ideas a unique potency. And who can blame the Japanese for regarding it with particular horror?
Herald 17th March 2011 more >>
A scientist who works with the nuclear industry on cutting edge research has attempted to allay fears about prospects for the future of the sector’s 22,000 north west employees. Dr John Roberts, external business manager at the Centre of Nuclear Energy Technology (C-NET) – housed within the University’s of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute – suggested media reaction to the unfolding nuclear disaster in Japan has been alarmist and inaccurate. He said: “I think people have to understand that there’s been a massive earthquake, followed by a huge tsunami, and that there’s no way we would have either of those things here.”
Manchester Evening News 17th March 2011 more >>
Tony Lodge: RECENT events in Japan have rightly caused the world’s energy planners to pause and reflect. The extraordinary and tragic events which followed Friday’s earthquake and the subsequent tsunami, measuring nine on the Richter scale, have stunned the world, in parallel with the three explosions at one of the world’s largest nuclear power stations, at Fukushima.
Amongst much tabloid noise, the important facts remain that after the worst earthquake in 100 years to hit Japan, there has not been, thankfully, terminal damage inflicted on the reactor at the Fukushima plant. The concrete casings which contain the reactors remain intact. A reassessment following such events is commendable and right, but it should not halt nuclear power’s global renaissance, especially in the UK and Europe. Germany’s decision to halt her nuclear plans as a result of events in Japan will merely delay these new and existing but modified plants’ ability to generate cheap, abundant low carbon baseload electricity.
Yorkshire Post 17th March 2011 more >>
Unless the stricken reactors are brought quickly under control, the industry could enter another two-decade global freeze like the one that followed the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. The consequences would include faster long-term growth in demand for fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, leading to tighter supplies and higher prices. It would also mean a further rise in the emissions of greenhouse gases created by burning those fuels – and further undermine climate policies around the world.
FT 17th March 2011 more >>
New Nukes
CONCERNS over nuclear power in Britain have been aired in Parliament by Cheltenham’s MP following the Japanese disaster.
As fears over radiation emissions from reactors continue, Liberal Democrat Martin Horwood helped table an early day motion calling for the suspension of Britain’s involvement in developing nuclear power. He joined Green MP Caroline Lucas, Conservative Zak Goldsmith, Labour’s Alan Whitehead and the SNP’s Mike Wear in the move yesterday. Mr Horwood rejected the pro-nuclear argument that seismic events like earthquakes and tsunamis would not strike the UK.
Gloucester Citizen 17th March 2011 more >>
Stephen Salter: Malcolm Grimston’s statement (your report, 16 March) about tsunamis washing away wave-power systems reveals his ignorance. The water velocity in a tsunami is inversely proportional to water depth and so a tsunami presents much less of a hazard in deep water. A wave which reaches the roof of a three-metre house would have only 3 per cent of that velocity at the 100-metre depth of an offshore wave generator. As drag forces go with the square of velocity the forces would be down by more than a thousand for the same structure and well below the wave forces for which the wave plant should have been designed. John Cameron’s comment about deaths from hypothermia due to insanely expensive renewable sources shows that he is confusing the high reward paid to encourage early pioneers to make risky investments with the actual cost of mature plant in the future.
If the historic clean-up costs of nuclear power are included, the real cost of wind energy from a well-chosen site is already lower.
When there is no wind, we can keep warm by burning the gas we did not burn when the wind was blowing.
Scotsman 17th March 2011 more >>
Friends of the Earth Scotland can absolutely agree with Malcolm Grimston that there are many problems with fossil fuels, including pollution and security of supply, and we also think climate change is most definitely a concern. However, I’m afraid I must take issue with many of the other points raised in Mr Grimston’s analysis. Firstly, a recent poll on behalf of EDF Energy indicated that less than 50 per cent of Scots support new nuclear, which leads me to question the accuracy of his opening remark that the debate is “solidly behind” the idea of new nuclear power stations. Secondly, the renewable alternatives – wind, wave and tidal – can more than meet our energy needs. A recent report commissioned by Friends of the Earth Scotland from Garrad Hassan shows that with invest ment in renewables, grid infrastructure, electricity storage and energy efficiency Scotland could supply up to 185 per cent of our electricity from renewables by 2050. Renewables are better. They are safer, more economic and their fuel doesn’t cause human rights abuses now or disposal worries in the future.
I would argue that one of the reasons they aren’t further along in their development is that we have been wasting billions on unsafe and uneconomic nuclear power, and it’s time that changed.
Scotsman 17th March 2011 more >>
Europe
In roughly the last eight years, there has been a considerable momentum on the Continent to boost that capacity. Countries that had halted the construction of new reactors (Germany and Sweden) or effectively abandoned nuclear power altogether (Italy and Poland) had been considering reversing their moratoriums, phase-outs and outright bans. A tradition of anti-nuclear industry activism in a number of European countries and contemporary political dynamics could engender a move against a European nuclear revival post-Fukushima.
Forbes 16th March 2011 more >>
Dungeness
A Kent MP says the scare over radiation leaks in Japan should not affect whether a new nuclear power station is built at Dungeness.
The site is not on the preferred list of new UK atomic plants, but Folkestone and Hythe MP Damian Collins has not given up on getting it added. He said there were environmental but not safety concerns about the site.
BBC 16th March 2011 more >>
Sellafield
CALLS have been made for a safety review of Sellafield nuclear plant – following the crisis in Japan. Yesterday workers were evacuated from the Japanese nuclear plant in Fukushima following a surge in radiation. There are six reactors at the plant and three were operating at the time of the earthquake and tsunami last Friday. Now there are calls for a review on safety measures for nuclear power plants in Britain, including Sellafield in Cumbria, to check how safe it is. Northern Ireland’s SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie is calling for clarity on the ‘dangers’ posed by Sellafield and a spokesman for Heysham anti- nuclear alliance said: “The situation in Japan is unusual and we would not expect it to happen here but it is timely to hold a review on how radio-active waste is managed.” Marianne Birkby, of Radiation Free Lakeland, said: “The only way to avoid another Chernobyl or Fukushima is to abandon the corroded nuclear dream.”
Westmorland Gazette 16th March 2011 more >>
Hinkley
FEARS of a possibly catastrophic radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant have prompted a call for work on a proposed nuclear plant at Hinkley Point – less than 15 miles off the South Wales coast – to halt.
South Wales Echo 16th March 2011 more >>
A FULL meeting of Sedgemoor District Council is being held at Bridgwater House on March 30 at 2.30pm to discuss a response to plans for a temporary jetty as part of Hinkley Point C.
Bridgwater Mercury 16th March 2011 more >>
David Cameron has said lessons should be learned in the UK following explosions at a Japanese nuclear plant. But the Prime Minister insisted atomic power was necessary for Britain’s energy needs, and said that this country did not face the twin perils of earthquakes and tsunamis. Hinkley Point in Somerset has hosted a nuclear power plant since the mid-1970s. It will be where the first in a new generation of reactors will be based from 2018.
This is Devon 17th March 2011 more >>
Heysham
Electricite de France SA halted a nuclear reactor at its Heysham-1 plant in northwest England for planned refueling. Unit 1, with a 600-megawatt capacity, stopped operating around midnight local time, according to a website run by National Grid Plc. (NG/) The unit is off for refueling.
Bloomberg 16th March 2011 more >>
Wylfa
VERY few people will actually know there is a second police force, specialising in anti-terrorism tactics, working on a daily basis in Anglesey. Armed police officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) patrol Wylfa and provide security within the nuclear power station. They look after all nuclear installations throughout the UK to protect them from terrorist attack or civil disturbance from anti-nuclear campaigners. Islanders will be give the opportunity of finding out more about the Civil Nuclear Police Authority at a public meeting at Wylfa Sports and Social Club, near Cemaes Bay, next Wednesday, March 23.
Holyhead & Anglesey Mail 16th March 2011 more >>
Gordon James: Chris Huhne’s funding at the Energy Department reflects this. Over half of its budget is spent on nuclear power, a source of energy that contributes less than four per cent to the UK’s energy needs. Although Wylfa is unlikely to be rocked by an earthquake on the scale of the Japanese one, other threats, such as terrorist attacks and the huge problem of safeguarding extremely hazardous nuclear waste for thousands of years, should also force us to question the need for an energy source which makes a small contribution while undermining attempts to tackle climate change.
Click on Wales 16th March 2011 more >>
A NEW generation of nuclear power plants remains a safe option say supporters despite calls from environmental campaigners for the Government to reconsider its programme in the light of the crisis at Fukushima.Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has ordered the Chief Nuclear Inspector Dr Mike Weightman to carry out a swift review of the implications for the UK’s plans. Supporters argue that third-generation design reactors, two of which are currently under consideration in the UK, come equipped with more and better safety mechanisms.
Daily Post 16th March 2011 more >>
After Japan, we all need to be aware. If the cooling system fails at Wylfa A or the proposed Wylfa B, how on earth are we to get off the island? Many of us want to know about the plans for evacuation. Have these been published yet?
Anglesey 16th March 2011 more >>
Sizewell
The Sizewell B nuclear power station and Lound Lakes, near Lowestoft, are among the places that provide excellent sites for birds, insects and other species, according to research carried out by the Thetford-based British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
Eastern Daily Press 16th March 2011 more >>
STRESS tests have been ordered to be carried out on Sizewell B’s nuclear plant in the wake of blasts, fires and radioactive leaks at reactors in Japan.
Beccles & Bunjay Journal 16th March 2011 more >>
Protest
Please sign the FoE petition to the Government calling for a safe and nuclear free future
FoE 16th March 2011 more >>
Germany
Closing all German nuclear power stations built prior to 1980 for three months could see around eight million tonnes of carbon pumped into the atmosphere if fossil fuel stations are used to fill the resulting energy gap, according to analyst firm Thomson Reuters Point Carbon.
Business Green 17th March 2011 more >>
China
CHINA slapped a moratorium on all nuclear plant development yesterday, announcing a full-scale safety review of the world’s biggest nuclear programme. “We will temporarily suspend approval of nuclear power projects, including those in the preliminary stages of development, before nuclear safety regulations are approved,” said the state council, or cabinet, in a statement.
City AM 17th March 2011 more >>
BBC 17th March 2011 more >>
FT 17th March 2011 more >>
US
The US plans to push forward with plans for a new generation of nuclear reactors, a top government official said, even as Japan struggles to contain a potential nuclear meltdown in the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake.
Telegraph 17th March 2011 more >>
Renewables
A major tidal energy project is to be built in the Sound of Islay off the west coast of Scotland. The Scottish government is to approve plans for 10 tidal turbines, which will generate enough electricity to power more than 5,000 homes. Scottish Power Renewables is behind the scheme, said to be the world’s largest.
BBC 17th March 2011 more >>
