Waste Transport
The first shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste from the UK has left Sellafield for Japan. The waste is a by-product of nuclear fuel spent by Japanese reactors that was sent to the UK for reprocessing during the 1980s and 1990s.
BBC 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Cumberland News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Whitehaven News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Build 20th Jan 2010 more >>
A cargo of highly radioactive nuclear waste set sail for Japan last night, after a breakthrough agreement that will cut Britain’s stockpile of high-level waste by almost 40 per cent over the next decade. After years of planning, a programme to repatriate all 925 tonnes of foreign atomic waste from Britain to Japan and four other countries began yesterday.
Times 21st Jan 2010 more >>
Times Graphic 21st Jan 2010 more >>
Environmentalists in Japan have expressed concern about the first shipment of highly radioactive waste to leave Britain under a controversial repatriation plan, saying any accident to befall the ship transporting the waste would result in an “environmental disaster.”
Telegraph 21st Jan 2010 more >>
Where there’s muck there’s brass, the old saying goes. And rarely has this been more true than in the murky world of nuclear waste. The first shipment of high-level waste from Britain back to Japan is part of a booming trade in toxic radioactive material that is poised for brisk growth in the next few years. Globally, the number of nuclear reactors is expected to swell from today’s 435 in 31 countries to 568 in 42 countries by 2020, equivalent to one new reactor a month for the next decade. All of those reactors produce spent fuel and other waste material that must be safely handled, processed and placed in long-term storage facilities.
Times 21st Jan 2010 more >>
Radioactive Waste
West Cumbrians are being asked whether they want an underground nuclear waste dump near their homes.The Government wants areas to volunteer to host a repository for higher level atomic waste. Allerdale, Copeland and Cumbria councils have all asked to be involved in the process. Now the councils are asking the public for their views. Leaflets have been sent out and public meetings are being held every six weeks. Allerdale councillor Mike Davidson, chairman of the of the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership, said: “This is an important issue which will affect people for many generations. “We want to give everyone the chance to form a view about whether they want us to go on talking to the Government about the possibility of hosting the facility in this area.
Cumberland News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
New Nukes
Post your questions on the UK’s new generation of nuclear reactors for the minister, who will be live online on Thursday 21 January from 12-1pm
Gurdian 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Hinkley
Bridgwater MP Ian Liddell-Grainger is stepping up the fight against “eyesore” plyons linking Hinkley Point C with Avonmouth. He was involved a debate in Parliament this week, led by fellow Tory MP Liam Fox, calling on National Grid to power the nuclear power plant with undergound cables instead of 37 miles of 46m-high pylons.
Bridgwater Mercury 20th Jan 2010 more >>
On 19 January 2010, Conservative frontbencher Liam Fox led a debate on electricity transmission in North Somerset. Mr Fox discussed the National Grid’s plans to erect 150 feet high electricity pylons over 37 miles to link a new power station at Hinkley Point with Avonmouth. He told MPs that the plans have caused frustration and anxiety among local residents.
BBC 19th Jan 2010 more >>
Nailsea People 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Cumbria
Government proposals to develop three additional nuclear power plants in West Cumbria could have a serious impact on the natural environment and tourist industry in the Lake District National Park. The views were expressed in a major planning report published today. Members of the national park were told that while the county could probably cope with another nuclear plant at the existing Sellafield site, plans for additional developments at current greenfield sites at nearby Braystones and Kirkstanton were “not acceptable”. The meeting, in Kendal, formally agreed to support proposals for Sellafield but strongly oppose the schemes for Braystones and Kirkstanton.
Get Noticed Online 20th Jan 2010 more >>
LOCAL people attending two public meetings over the plans to build nuclear reactors in Copeland were told by government officials: “We want to hear your views, you have the opportunity to influence.”
Whitehaven News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
BECKERMET risks losing its village school and Haverigg its biggest employer if nuclear reactors get the go-ahead at Braystones and Kirksanton, it emerged this week. The same fate could befall a host of caravan sites and beach chalets along the coastline if they also find themselves in the middle of the nuclear “critical incident” zones needed for quick and safe evacuations in the event of a serious nuclear accident.
Whitehaven News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
France
As the opposition grows across the country to the new-build nuclear plant proposals, the Times has highlighted the turmoil across the channel in the nuclear industry. Adam Sage says that uranium supplies have dried up and the treatment of spent fuel has been blocked amid an increasingly bitter row between the heads of its two main state operators in France.
Get Noticed Online 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Europe’s biggest generator, would be forced to sell as much as 120 terawatt-hours of power a year to rivals, about one third of its French reactor output, under a draft law to open competition. The price of the nuclear power will be determined by the energy and finance ministries as proposed by the French energy regulator, according to a draft of the legislation seen by Bloomberg News and circulated yesterday by the government to industry representatives.
Bloomberg 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Japan
Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has today begun operations at its new plant specifically for the production of forged turbine blades for nuclear power plants. MHI said that the new facility, at its Takasago Machinery Works in Hyogo prefecture, further enhances its capability to supply high-quality forged blades, including one of the world’s largest 70-inch (1.78 m) turbine blades, for nuclear power plants both in Japan and abroad. The company said that the facility, construction of which began in April 2009, will also be an important production base for large-size nuclear power plants, including its 1700 MWe advanced pressurized water reactor (APWR) designs.
World Nuclear News 20th Jan 2010 more >>
Trident
Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent may not need replacing, General Sir Richard Dannatt has suggested, raising fresh questions over the Conservative Party’s defence policy.
Telegraph 21st Jan 2010 more >>
