New Nukes
Fukushima Lessons Learned seminar 14th June 2011.
Nuclear Consultation Group May 2011 more >>
Lady Barbara Judge, chairman emeritus, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, told ACEs conference that Fukushima will not be that big a deal for the prospects of the nuclear industry. Lady Judge explained that in countries where nuclear energy was already under pressure it would remain under pressure. But she suggested that China, the USA, the UK and other countries committed to nuclear energy would go unchanged. The UKs report on what happened in Japan concluded it was unlikely to happen in Britain. Meanwhile, although the EU plans to stress test the nuclear industry, Lady Judge suggested this would have little impact on nuclear energy in the UK.
Association Consulting Engineers 26th May 2011 more >>
Oldbury
An advert in today’s paper shows how an accident like that seen at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan, could affect Bristol. The Shepperdine Against Nuclear Energy group have created the advert which shows the 30kms evacuation zone which might have to be put in place if anything happened at the Oldbury nuclear plant.
The Breeze 27th May 2011 more >>
Hinkley
NEW procedures for handling nuclear waste at Hinkley Point A – which could see some materials released into the sea – have been criticised by Burnham and Highbridge’s MP. Magnox, the company managing the decommissioning of the plant, is developing plans to introduce by 2015 a process called dissolution, to reduce the amount of waste on site. The process involves putting nuclear materials in acid to emit low-risk gases and liquids, which could then be released into the sea.
Burnham & Highbridge Weekly News 26th May 2011 more >>
AP1000
Westinghouse Electric said it expects no design changes will result from a federal regulator’s request for additional work on the AP1000 advanced nuclear reactor design favored by a half-dozen utilities in the United States. Officials of Pittsburg-based Westinghouse, majority owned by Toshiba Corp and Shaw Group, on Thursday said they were disappointed that a May 20 release from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regarding several technical issues has been “misinterpreted and sensationalized” by opponents of nuclear power.
Reuters 26th May 2011 more >>
Companies
Russia’s Rosatom said on Thursday it still wants to cooperate on nuclear issues with Siemens now the German industrial group looks close to severing an atomic venture with a French partner.
Reuters 26th May 2011 more >>
Radwaste
The champion of localism Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles has approved a plan to dispose of radioactive waste at the East Northants resource management facility (landfill site) at Kings Cliffe near Peterborough.
Public Service 25th May 2011 more >>
Peterborough Evening Telegraph 26th May 2011 more >>
eGov Monitor 26th May 2011 more >>
Yorkshire Post 26th May 2011 more >>
Northampton Evening Telegraph 26th May 2011 more >>
AN average of 550 jobs generating £3 billion worth of wages over 140 years will come to any area which can take a deep nuclear waste repository. A study by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has illustrated the employment and economic benefits which can result from having an engineered underground facilities which would solve a major disposal problem. Says the study: The highest employment rate during the £12 billion project would come during construction and the early operations stage, when workforce numbers will rise to more than 1,000 staff. Most of these will be directly employed at whatever site is chosen.
Whitehaven News 26th May 2011 more >>
Sellafield
WEST Cumbria is entering the age of space exploration with the news that cutting-edge technology needed to launch future European space missions is to be developed in the National Nuclear Lab at Sellafield. If successful it will mean radioactive batteries being produced to power new space flights.
Whitehaven News 26th May 2011 more >>
SIR Roger Parker, who headed up The Windscale Inquiry at Whitehaven in 1977, has died at the age of 88.
Whitehaven News 26th May 2011 more >>
Europe
This morning in Vienna was the start of the anti-nuclear alliance in Europe. Ten nuclear-free states – Latvia, Denmark, Malta, Liechtenstein, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Estonia, Cyprus and Luxembourg – were invited by Environment Minister Niki Berlakovich to Vienna, to discuss the possibility of a nuclear-free Europe, nuclear safety and sustainable energy systems. During the meeting, a joint declaration was adopted, which includes the requirement of stress tests as well as the conversion of nuclear power to renewable energy.
Austrian Government 26th May 2011 more >>
Europe’s nuclear power faultlines in the wake of the Fukushima disaster were exposed on Wednesday as Switzerland moved to phase out its nuclear power plants and the extent of British and French lobbying to water down nuclear safety checks was revealed.
Business Green 26th May 2011 more >>
The European Union has finally agreed on a compromise on the guidelines and criteria of the proposed “stress tests” on 143 nuclear power facilities in Europe. The stress tests and viability and safety of nuclear plants became centre stage following the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima power station. Although member states have agreed to hold stress tests, they are divided over whether to include assessments of terrorist threats. The United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic are completely against assessing nuclear facilities for terrorist threats while others such as Austria and Germany want them to be included. So in a compromise, the European Commission has agreed that while stress tests would include both natural and man-made hazards, they would not include preventative measures for terrorist threats.
eGov Monitor 26th May 2011 more >>
Opinion Polls
More people are opposed to nuclear power since the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to an Asahi Shimbun poll survey of seven nations. The poll was conducted in May to gauge public perception of the accident and awareness of the use of nuclear energy to produce electric power. Those who favored the use of nuclear power outnumbered those against in the United States and France, whereas pros and cons were about even in South Korea and China. Opponents outnumbered proponents in Japan, Germany and Russia.
Asahi 27th May 2011 more >>
Japan
The meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant has grave implications for Japans planned atomic energy expansion, and also its long-term economic growth IN A CITY where mass demonstrations are rare and generally tame, Tokyo has seen at least four in the past month, all against nuclear power. Thousands of people have marched past the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) shouting slogans at the executives they hold responsible for the worlds worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.
Irish Times 27th May 2011 more >>
Computer analysis of reactor damage at Fukushima Daiichi has indicated more serious fuel melt has probably occurred than previously thought at units 2 and 3.
World Nuclear News 26th May 2011 more >>
Radioactive water appears to be leaking from a waste disposal building at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear complex, operator Tokyo Electric Power said on Thursday, in a new setback to the battle to contain radiation from the crippled power plant.
IB Times 26th May 2011 more >>
Two weeks ago Greenpeace released preliminary results from our marine radiation monitoring work off the coast of Japan, near the melted-down and leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. These results showed worrying levels of radioactive contamination in seaweed a staple of the Japanese diet. After having difficulties finding a lab in Japan to do detailed analysis, we sent samples of seaweed, fish, and shellfish collected by our radiation monitoring teams both onshore and on the Rainbow to professional labs in France and Belgium. The results of the details analysis are back and we can say that the situation in the ocean along the Fukushima coast is worse than we originally thought. The new data shows that some seaweed contamination levels are not only 50 times higher than safety limits far higher than our initial measurements showed but also that the contamination is spreading over a wide area, and accumulating in sea life, rather than simply dispersing like the Japanese authorities originally claimed would happen.
Greenpeace 26th May 2011 more >>
The operator of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday detailed a new leak of radioactive water as Greenpeace slammed the country’s “inadequate response” to a growing threat to sea water and health. And in an embarrassing reversal, Tokyo Electric Power officials changed a key element of an account of the early response to the crisis it had given on Saturday as part of a government investigation into the accident. Tokyo Electric said up to 57 tonnes of highly contaminated water had leaked from a storage facility into a trench. It vowed to step up monitoring of groundwater. The disclosure raises the stakes in a race to complete by next month a system to decontaminate a massive pool of radioactive water at the site that critics see as a growing risk to both the Pacific and groundwater. In early April, the utility dumped about 10,000 tonnes of radioactive water into the ocean, prompting criticism from neighbours China and South Korea. Environmental group Greenpeace said seaweed had been found with radiation levels 60 times higher than official limits, raising concerns about risks from contaminated sea water more than two months after the Fukushima-Daiichi plant was hit by an earthquake and tsunami.
Reuters 26th May 2011 more >>
Russia
A quarter of a century after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster sent a radioactive cloud over Europe, Russia is casting itself as a champion of stricter safety standards for the atomic energy industry.
Reuters 26th May 2011 more >>
Thorium
What if there existed a means of nuclear power generationin which risks were drastically reduced? The answer could be thorium – an element occurring as a silvery metal that’s more abundant, cleaner and can produce more bang-per-buck in energy terms than uranium. So how does thorium differ from uranium and plutonium, and why isn’t it being used? First, a quick run-down on how nuclear energy works.
Gizmag 26th May 2011 more >>
Electricity Grids
Eurotunnel has unveiled plans to run an electricity link through the Channel Tunnel as part of efforts to bolster UK power supplies. The proposed interconnector cable with France will help to smooth supply volatility relating to offshore wind power, meaning that energy generated from places where the wind is blowing can be shared around.
Independent 27th May 2011 more >>
Telegraph 26th May 2011 more >>
Times 27th May 2011 more >>
Renewables
Japans nuclear disaster and political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa have spurred momentum in the global renewables sector, but declining incentives and access to finance remain obstacles to growth, according to Ernst & Young. The consultancy said the post-Fukushima nuclear backlash combined with uncertainty over oil supply following revolution in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), prompted a rethink among many countries about the optimal energy mix and the role of renewables in electricity generation.
Environmental Finance 26th May 2011 more >>
Energy Efficiency
Incentives, such as garden makeovers and fruit and veg vouchers, could help home-owners invest in energy efficiency measures, a pilot scheme has shown. The trial by the University of Salford set out to discover if non-cash incentives could change attitudes. Studies have estimated that 70% of homes in 2050 have already been built. Experts warn that unless existing homes are “retro-fitted” with energy saving devices, then the UK will not meet its target of cutting CO2 emissions by 80% in the middle of this century from 1990 levels.
BBC 27th May 2011 more >>
