Sellafield
A WELSH Labour MP has accused the UK Government of covering up a deal that will land taxpayers with a multi-billion- pound liability in the event of a nuclear accident while a private consortium will reap the profits. Newport West MP Paul Flynn discovered that details of a contract to privatise the management of waste from the controversial Sellafield nuclear power station in Cumbria should have been placed in the House of Commons library in July. If they had been, MPs would have had 14 days in which to raise questions about the deal. In fact, the contract was not put into the library until last week, by which time the opportunity to scrutinise it had gone.
Western Mail 24th Oct 2008 more >>
SELLAFIELD’S industrial workers are voting again on a pay offer which has left them taking industrial action over the last few weeks.
Whitehaven News 22nd Oct 2008 more >>
The debate as to whether the UK’s stockpile of plutonium – most of which is held at Sellafield – should be considered an asset or a liability could have a major impact on the economic future of region. The government, through the NDA, have yet to decide on what should be done with the stockpile, which is currently considered an asset of no value on their balance sheets. The West Cumbria Site Stakeholder Group is hosting the meeting, which will take place in Cleator Moor Civic/Masonic Hall, on Tuesday from 1pm until 4pm. Entry is free and all are welcome.
Whitehaven News 22nd Oct 2008 more >>
Nuclear Security
A new organisation aiming to strengthen the physical protection and security of the world’s nuclear and radioactive materials and facilities was formally launched at a ceremony on 29 September, at the opening day of the IAEA’s 52nd General Conference in Vienna. The World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) aims to provide nuclear security professionals with a forum where sensitive information may be discussed openly among members, to help them share best practices and implement security improvements quickly and effectively.
Nuclear Engineering International 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Nuclear Skills
John Denham, skills secretary, wades into a row on foreign labour being hired for big infrastructure projects today by promising that £98m will be targeted at nuclear power and other sectors to ensure local workers are not disadvantaged. The move comes amid a row between unions and construction firms after two Spanish contractors started to use foreign staff to build a £600m gas-fired power station for RWE in Nottinghamshire at a time of mounting unemployment in the area.
Guardian 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Telegraph 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Uranium
John Pilger: Claims of child abuse are proving a fertile pretext to menace the Aboriginal communities lying in the way of uranium mining.
Guardian 24th Oct 2008 more >>
US
John McCain raised the spectre of a nuclear crisis if Barack Obama wins the White House, as he hammered his rival over Joe Biden’s claims that foreign enemies would test the young Democrat within six months of him taking office.
Times 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
US defense group Northrop Grumman and French nuclear giant Areva said Thursday they have teamed up to manufacture nuclear reactor components in the United States to supply rising demand.
Yahoo 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Yucca Mountain
Final standards for the proposed Yucca Mountain repository for spent fuel and high-level waste published by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) address possible radiation exposures to the public over a million years into the future.
Nuclear Engineering International 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Jordan
Jordan signed on Thursday a preliminary nuclear cooperation deal with South Korea as part of the kingdom’s efforts to meet its growing energy needs.
Yahoo 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Italy
France’s EDF, the world’s biggest nuclear power utility, would help revive atomic energy in Italy if the country lifted a 20-year ban, EDF Italia head Bruno D’Onghia said on Thursday. Italy banned nuclear power in a 1987 referendum after the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. But the nuclear-friendly government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi wants to lift the ban and start building nuclear power stations in 2013.
Interactive Investor 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
A FRESH row has erupted over the future of Faslane Naval Base. Defence Secretary John Hutton visited the base last week to reinforce the government’s pledge to keep nuclear weapons in Scotland. But the SNP, which has committed itself to ridding the country of the weapons, used his visit to reinforce its message that Trident must go.
Lennox Herald 23rd Oct 2008 more >>
Renewables
Drax Group, the owner of Britain’s most carbon-intensive power station, is turning green with a £2bn plan to build the country’s first large-scale biomass plants which burn plant-based materials. The three facilities in Hull, Immingham and probably the North Yorkshire village of Drax itself, will have the capacity to produce 900 megawatts of electricity – enough to supply 3% of the country’s total needs – but environmental groups warned that Drax must ensure the crop fuel is sustainable.
Guardian 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Independent 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Independent Comment 24th Oct 2008 more >>
FT 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Telegraph 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Times 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Britain will be unable to reach its target for renewable energy by 2020 without “wholesale changes on all fronts” to its current strategy, a parliamentary committee will warn today. The UK has been set a target of producing 15 per cent of its energy use from renewables by 2020, compared with a 2005 level of 1.3 per cent. The overall European Union goal is for a 20 per cent renewable share. The House of Lords’ EU committee highlighted the importance of the UK reaching its own target. Lord Freeman said: “If we fail to meet this goal, the UK will become increasingly reliant on nuclear and fossil fuel power.” The report recognises that reaching the target will lead to increased energy costs for consumers.
FT 24th Oct 2008 more >>
Climate
Ministers are preparing concessions to head off a Labour rebellion over plans to exclude aviation and shipping from new targets to cut Britain’s carbon emissions.
Independent 24th Oct 2008 more >>
