New Nukes
Great uncertainty now hangs over plans by various countries, including Germany and the UK, on nuclear energy for yearsto come as a part of their plans to sharply reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to address climate change.
National 17th April 2011 more >>
Letter from ONR: Dr Paul Dorfman is not right to claim that “the HSE review is looking increasingly narrow, with fact-finding and weighing of evidence limited to the usual suspects, excluding involvement from energy experts who are not nuclear proponents”. Her Majesty’s chief inspector of nuclear installations, Dr Mike Weightman, made clear in his statement of 29 March that his report would be wide and comprehensive in scope, and that it would be produced in an open and transparent way.
Guardian 18th April 2011 more >>
Sellafield MoX Plant
Calls for an official inquiry into the financial evidence used to justify the construction a £1.34bn nuclear fuel plant at Sellafield in Cumbria will be treated seriously, the National Audit Office has told The Independent. Michael Meacher, an environment minister in the previous Labour government, who reluctantly gave the go-ahead for the uranium-plutonium mixed oxide (Mox) plant to be licensed in 2001, said he intends to write to the Audit Office demanding an investigation into the evidence that led to the decision.
Independent 18th April 2011 more >>
Hinkley
REGULATORS say the companies behind new nuclear reactors, including Hinkley Point C, will carefully consider any implications of an independent report into the lessons that can be learnt from the ongoing events in Japan. The Health and Safety Executive and Environment Agency insist the industry and regulators agree chief nuclear inspector Mike Weightman’s recommendations need to be taken into account.
This is the West Country 18th April 2011 more >>
Heysham
March newsletter for Heysham 1 and 2 power stations
British Energy 12th April 2011 more >>
Chernobyl
Thousands of veterans involved in cleaning up Ukraine’s devastated Chernobyl nuclear power plant have demonstrated against cuts in benefits they receive as compensation for their exposure to radiation. The protest in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, comes just before the 25th anniversary of what is considered the worst atomic accident in history.
Voice of America 17th April 2011 more >>
Japan
It will be nine months before Japan’s crippled nuclear plant stops leaking radiation, its owners revealed yesterday. The plan for ending the crisis at the Fukushima plant was presented by Tokyo Electric Power chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, and includes plans to cover the damaged reactor buildings to contain the radiation.
Daily Mail 18th April 2011 more >>
Scotsman 18th April 2011 more >>
Guardian 17th April 2011 more >>
The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has said it expects to bring the crisis under control by the end of the year. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) aims to reduce radiation leaks in three months and to cool the reactors within nine months.
BBC 17th April 2011 more >>
Everyday, a few of the 140,000 people who once lived here drive into the zone to retrieve their abandoned belongings. There are even rumours that some old people have chosen to stay inside the zone, too frail to escape with everyone else. Visitors are advised to remove all outer layers of clothing afterwards, including shoes, seal them in a bag and throw them away.
Telegraph 17th April 2011 more >>
Japan’s crippled nuclear plant could be under control by the end of the year – thanks to British robots. UK technology group Qinetiq has provided two Talon robots, which are operated by Xbox game controllers and usually used to clear explosive devices. The company has also sent two Dragon Runner robots to gain access to small hazardous spaces, and several converted Bobcat diggers. The robots can carry out tasks such as rubble clearance, demolition and radiation testing. Emergency workers have been unable to enter any reactor building since the plant was hit by a quake and tsunami in March.
Daily Mirror 18th April 2011 more >>
Nuclear fuel has melted in three reactors at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and fallen to the lower sections of their container vessels, raising the specter of overheated material compromising a container and causing a massive radiation release, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan said in a report released on Friday.
Global Security Newswire 15th April 2011 more >>
Iran
Iran has accused the German engineering firm Siemens of helping Israel and the US launch a computer worm designed to sabotage its nuclear facilities.
Guardian 17th April 2011 more >>
Italy
Montalto di Castro, the town where Italy’s last nuclear plant was built before a two-decade ban, is fighting against a return to atomic power and staking its future on solar energy by hosting Europe’s largest photovoltaic park.
Bloomberg 18th April 2011 more >>
Israel
Israel’s cabinet on Sunday announced it had approved the country’s membership in the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, (CERN) becoming the research group’s first non-European delegation.
Yahoo 17th April 2011 more >>
Submarines
DEFENCE chiefs were forced into an embarrassing emergency retraction after secret information about the UK’s nuclear-powered submarines was inadvertently published on a website. A technical error meant sections of a Ministry of Defence report which appeared to have been blacked out could in fact be read by anyone who copied and pasted them into another document.
Scotsman 18th April 2011 more >>
Yorkshire Post 17th April 2011 more >>
The Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health and the Department for Communities and Local Government have published sensitive documents online, but then failed to properly “redact” classified information. As a result, information that is supposed to be hidden from public view can be read by anyone with access to a computer. The Daily Telegraph discovered the security breaches yesterday after the Ministry of Defence admitted that secrets about Britain’s nuclear submarines were obtainable from a government report online.
Telegraph 17th April 2011 more >>
Disarmament
As we implement the new Start treaty, the next round of nuclear weapons reductions must also begin. A review, under President Obama’s direction, will develop options for new reductions in the US stockpile. Once complete, this will shape our approach to a new agreement with Russia. Past agree ments have only dealt with some categories of nuclear weapons, but we believe the next round must be as wide as possible, including both non-deployed and tactical nuclear weapons.
FT 17th April 2011 more >>
Renewables
Some of the greatest malt whiskies in the world are to take on a green tinge after signing a ground-breaking deal in which the gunge left over from Speyside distilleries will be used to power as many as 16,000 homes with electricity.
The Times 14th April 2011 more >>
