New nukes
Letter from David Lowry: If Gordon Brown does, as you report, sign up to an entente atomique with President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday it makes one wonder how seriously he and his government believe in the new national security strategy he unveiled to parliament last week. In the strategy document, the final paragraph of a section on “Tackling competition for energy and building energy security”, states: “At home, we are also encouraging investment in nuclear facilities”, then concedes in parentheses “although this has security implications of its own”. Indeed the last thing more nuclear power will bring is security.
Guardian 25th March 2008 more >>
Letter from Prof Gary Craig: So, we are to join France in exporting nuclear power technology to the world. This will presumably require us to turn a blind eye to the conditions under which uranium is produced in France’s client states, such as Gabon and Niger – countries ruled by oppressive and autocratic regimes, propped up by France’s military.
Guardian 25th March 2008 more >>
Letter from Dr Phil Williamson: BE bases its confidence on climate models that seriously underestimate the current rate of sea-level rise – and do not take account of future ice-sheet melt. Over the next 100 years, sea-level rise measured in metres rather than centimetres seems increasingly likely. By the time new nuclear power stations are operational, their useful lifetime may be much reduced.
Guardian 25th March 2008 more >>
Unite, the UK’s largest trade union, is calling on the government and the UK’s nuclear regulator to licence global designs for the new generation of UK power stations. Unite, which has more than 26,000 energy sector members, says that a standard design is vital to encourage the largest number of bids for the new build nuclear contracts and to give UK industry the opportunity to supply the construction and manufacturing requirements. The union says that as well as securing thousands of existing jobs, 10,000 additional jobs could be created if the UK regulator licence designs that could be used throughout the world.
Unite 26th March 2008 more >>
Sizewell
BRITISH Energy is refusing to reveal the amount of high level radioactive waste stored at the Sizewell B nuclear power station for “reasons of security”. It has previously refused, for the same reason, to discuss the risk to the public posed by the presence of the waste, which is contained in spent uranium fuel elements stored under water on site.
Suffolk Evening Star 24th March 2008 more >>
UAE
The United Arab Emirates has approved plans to pursue a nuclear power programme, saying it would invest $100m in an agency that plans to make it the first Arab state to develop atomic energy. The cabinet approved a plan for the formation of the Nuclear Energy Implementation Organisation, which will work alongside the International Atomic Energy Agency – the United Nations watchdog – as it builds nuclear power facilities. The government said it would import uranium, shunning the uranium enrichment process, the most sensitive aspect of a nuclear development programme.
FT 25th March 2008 more >>
Brazil
Greenpeace activists set up lines of toilet seats with radioactive symbols on them in Rio de Janeiro Monday to protest the “waste” of public funds for the construction of a new nuclear power plant.
AFP 24th March 2008 more >>
Turkey
Turkey opened a bid Monday for the construction of the country’s first nuclear power plant, part of a plan to reduce the country’s dependence on gas supplies from Iran and Russia.
AP 24th March 2008 more >>
Nuclear Disarmament
THOUSANDS of anti-nuclear protesters gathered at the Aldermaston atomic weapons plant yesterday – 50 years after the first demonstration there. Many of those attending the rally organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) had been on the first march to the Atomic Weapons Establishment in 1958.
Scotsman 25th March 2008 more >>
Metro 24th March 2008 more >>
Channel 4 News 24th March 2008 more >>
Independent 25th March 2008 more >>
Telegraph 25th March 2008 more >>
