New Nukes
Investors in new nuclear plants in Britain are determined to push ahead with projects despite regulatory delays and potential increases in costs due to Japan’s Fukushima crisis, developers said on Thursday.
Reuters 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Radwaste Transport
A LORRY driver tasked with transporting radioactive material through Ross-shire did not have a driving licence, Dingwall Sheriff Court has heard. It was discovered that Colin Kenyon from Bury, Manchester, was a banned driver after he was stopped by police at 2am on Wednesday on the A9 at Tore roundabout. He had been on his way to the Dounreay nuclear plant to pick up a quantity of radioactive waste.
Highland News 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Radhealth
For the first time, recent German data reveal large spikes in radioactive releases during the refuelling of nuclear power stations. In September 2011, Gundremmingen NPP (located between Ulm and Augsburg in Southern Germany) emitted much larger amounts of radioactive noble gases during inspection / refuelling than are emitted during normal power operation. According to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Germany, the normal emission concentration of released radioactive noble gases during the year is about 3 kBq/m³.
IPPNW 11th Nov 2011 more >>
The IAEA has received information from the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority (HAEA) that the source of the iodine-131 (I-131) detected in Europe was most probably a release to the atmosphere from the Institute of Isotopes Ltd., Budapest. The Institute of Isotopes Ltd. produces radioisotopes for healthcare, research and industrial applications. According to the HAEA, the release occurred from September 8 to November 16, 2011. The cause of the release is under investigation.
IAEA 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Chernobyl
Food Standards Agency proposes lifting of controls placed on 9,800 upland farms affected by radioactive fall-out from nuclear disaster. Hundreds of British sheep farms all but eight of them in Wales could next year finally see the end of safety measures imposed as a result of radioactive fallout from the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl 25 years ago.
Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Emergency Planning
STAFF at Yeovil District Hospital will practise procedures for a devastating nuclear disaster on Wednesday. The trust regularly carries out exercises to prepare for major incidents, and Exercise Ventura will test how the emergency services will deal with a chemical or radiological incident such as radioactive contamination.
Western Gazette 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Sellafield
SELLAFIELD is boosting local employment by taking on an extra police force that will create scores of new jobs for local people. Mitie Security Services has been awarded a Sellafield Ltd contract to help Civil Nuclear Constabulary keep the nuclear site safe and secure. Mitie will recruit locally from this week and give specialist training.
Whitehaven News 17th Nov 2011 more >>
THE cost of decommissioning Sellafields doomed SMP (Mox) plant will be around £100 million and it will fall on the British taxpayer. But the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority who made the decision in August to close the plutonium recycling plant told The Whitehaven News this was always going to be the case when it came to decommissioning Sellafield facilities. The Authority also confirmed that none of SMPs decommissioning bill would have to be met in Japan who no longer wanted any more Mox fuel manufactured at Sellafield following the Fukushima disaster.
Whitehaven News 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Nuclear Research
WEST Cumbria has been given another economic boost with the hand-over to the University of Manchester of a world-class nuclear research centre on Westlakes Science Park, near Moor Row.
Whitehaven News 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Uranium
The uranium industry is processing a few hard numbers. These start with the benchmark spot price for uranium. Since the Fukushima disaster in March, when the price was hovering about $70 per pound, uranium has fallen to a range of $50-$55 per pound. The costs of extracting uranium are rising, and lower prices are affecting producers’ profitability and plans to invest in future supply. Another is 14. That is the number of nuclear reactors in Japan and Germany that were shut down permanently after the Fukushima disaster in March, taking their uranium demand with them. Then there is the share performance of the top producers. Canada’s Cameco, the world’s biggest uranium miner by market value, has seen its share price tumble 48 per cent since the beginning of March. Uranium executives can take solace from the dozens of nuclear power plants under construction in developing countries, but for an industry that was expecting to thrive amid a global nuclear renaissance, the short-term outlook has darkened.
FT 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Money Week 17th Nov 2011 more >>
France
In the midst of the eurozone crisis, the first big clash of the French presidential election campaign has erupted this week over a pact between the opposition Socialist party and the Greens to dismantle a large chunk of the countrys nuclear energy industry. The agreement to shut down 24 of Frances 58 nuclear reactors by 2025 has been roundly condemned by President Nicolas Sarkozy, the industry and the trade unions. The deal was made more embarrassing for Mr Hollande by the initial inclusion of the closure of two big nuclear fuel recycling and production plants run by Areva, which are key to Frances nuclear exports and which employ thousands of people in the hard-up north of the country. Confronted by an alarmed reaction from Areva and the unions, Mr Hollandes camp promptly cut the offending paragraph from the agreement after it had been signed. The Greens were furious and insisted the original accord remained valid.
FT 17th Nov 2011 more >>
BBC 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Shares in French utility major EDF drop 3.7 percent, extending the week’s slump to 10 percent and hitting a two-month low, hit by a political debate about the fate France’s nuclear industry.
Reuters 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Japan
Japan has banned shipments of rice grown near a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant, after detecting radiation exceeding the legal limit. The cabinet secretary, Osamu Fujimura, said on Thursday that a sample of rice from a farm contained 630 becquerels of caesium a kg.
Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
US
Nuclear engineers in America today have become like custom car mechanics. With the great majority of US electricity companies deciding that new reactors are too expensive to build, the industry’s focus has been on squeezing more power out of its existing fleet. Moody’s, the rating agency, downgraded Scana’s debt in September, describing its nuclear plans as “transformative” and “out of scale to the size of the company”.
FT 17th Nov 2011 more >>
It is a myth that switching to safe, renewable energy would mean an unreliable U.S. power supply that also is too expensive to afford. That is the major conclusion of a new Synapse Energy Economics report prepared for the non-profit Civil Society Institute that details a future with more energy efficiency and renewable energy and less reliance on coal and nuclear power.
IB Times 17th Nov 2011 more >>
China
China has been given the go-signal to resume the construction of its nuclear power plants that were discontinued earlier this year prompted by Japan’s Fukushima crisis in March. Xu Yuming, vice secretary-general of the China Nuclear Energy Association, said in Bloomberg construction may restart by the end of the year, however approvals for new projects will continue to be suspended.
IB Times 18th Nov 2011 more >>
India
India has agreed to limit the liability of foreign nuclear power plant suppliers despite protests from campaigners who said its government had ignored the lessons of the Bhopal gas disaster.
Telegraph 18th Nov 2011 more >>
Iran
The much-awaited resolution by the UN’s atomic watchdog will not propose tougher sanctions against the Iranian regime despite its report claiming that the country may be trying to acquire a nuclear arsenal. After lengthy discussions and pressure from Russia and China, the document, due to be made public today, avoids calling for punitive measures while expressing “deep and increasing concern” over Iran’s atomic work.
Independent 18th Nov 2011 more >>
World powers have called on Iran to co-operate with the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog as they expressed “deepening and increasing concern” about Tehran’s nuclear programme.
Telegraph 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Imagine, for a moment, that you are an Iranian mullah. Sitting crosslegged on your Persian rug in Tehran, sipping a cup of chai, you glance up at the map of the Middle East on the wall. It is a disturbing image: your country, the Islamic Republic of Iran, is surrounded on all sides by virulent enemies and regional rivals, both nuclear and non-nuclear.
Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
World powers have agreed a draft resolution, which expresses “increasing concern” over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. The document by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany comes amid fears of “possible military dimensions” to the programme.
BBC 17th Nov 2011 more >>
As the drums for direct military intervention to derail Irans purported covert military nuclear weapons program beat louder in both Jerusalem and Washington, an overlooked issue is the possibility of international collateral damage, to use the Pentagons favourite euphemism for civilian casualties. On 14 November South Koreas Chosun Ilbo stated, “Hundreds of North Korean scientists and engineers are working at about 10 nuclear and missile facilities in Iran, including Natanz, The North Koreans are apparently rotated every six months.” Russian technicians also remain at Irans first nuclear electrical energy facility, Bushehr. So, any aerial strikes against Irans nuclear facilities could result in significant numbers of dead Russian and North Korean specialists as collateral damage, with all the diplomatic uncertainties that might ensue from Moscow and Pyongyang as the body bags start arriving home.
Oil Price 16th Nov 2011 more >>
Could a 15 ton bunker buster that blows apart 200ft of concrete be the bomb that stops America’s adversaries from developing nuclear weapons? The U.S. Air Force has unveiled the Massive Ordnance Penetrator – dubbed the Big Blu – and speculation is already mounting that it may be used in airstrikes on Iran or North Korea.
Daily Mail 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Belgium
Following lengthy discussions on the countrys 2012 budget, designed to reduce the deficit to 2.8% of gross domestic product (GDP), the six leading parties currently negotiating the formation of Belgiums future government finally united on plans to increase the existing nuclear tax.
Low Tax 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Nuclear War
Russia’s top military commander has warned of nuclear war on its borders with Europe. General Nikolai Makarov said Natos eastward expansion meant the risk of Russia being dragged into conflicts had risen sharply.
Daily Mail 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Scotsman 18th Nov 2011 more >>
Submarines
The Royal Navy’s latest attack submarine, the next-generation HMS Astute, has demonstrated its might by firing its first Tomahawk missile across the Gulf of Mexico and into a target in the United States. Just for testing, you understand, not because we’ve suddenly declared war on America.
Wired.co.uk 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Space
Engineers installed the plutonium power source on NASA’s Curiosity rover Thursday, adding the final piece to the complex robot before its Nov. 25 blastoff to Mars.
Spaceflight Now 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Test Veterans
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is relying on hopeless evidence in its bid to deny compensation to armed forces veterans poisoned by nuclear radiation half a century ago, a court heard this week.
Local Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Renewables
Liberal Democrat councillors and MPs are preparing to revolt over the coalition government’s crackdown on solar subsidies, as a growing number have been greeted with stiff opposition from outraged householders and companies fearing swingeing job cuts. A secret briefing document seen by the Guardian reveals the extent of Lib Dem anger at the controversial policy to slash solar power incentives for households a policy that many local Lib Dem politicians feel is a betrayal of their core values. Local councillors are being advised to push for a postponement of the subsidy cuts, as a minimum.
Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
Any progress in the pursuit of grid parity for solar energy? One recent calculation, for example, predicted 2018 was a more likely date for grid parity in developing nations blessed with strong solar radiation, but not feed-in tariffs. Are the prices of panels falling? And, if so, will they continue to do so? Or has the pressure on subsidies pushed the arrival of grid parity further back? This column is an experiment in crowd-sourcing a reader’s question, so please let us know your own thoughts below (as opposed to emailing them) and, if quoting figures to support your points, please provide a link to the source. I will also be inviting various interested parties to join the debate, too.
Guardian 17th Nov 2011 more >>
