Nuclear Waste Transport
A shipment of high-level radioactive waste left Sellafield by train this morning in the first leg of a journey to Japan. Three large flasks, holding 76 canisters, are to be loaded aboard the Pacific Grebe at Barrow-in-Furness to complete their journey by sea. The waste originally came from Japanese nuclear power plants, but has been reprocessed at Sellafield’s Thorp facility to reduce its volume and to recover fuel materials for recycle.
World Nuclear News 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Sellafield Ltd Press Release 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Hinkley
ENERGY giant EDF last week won permission to prepare land at Hinkley Point for a new power station. Planning authority West Somerset District Council gave the go-ahead on Thursday to the applications for site preparation work, including fencing and site clearance, backed by support from Sedgemoor District Council. Campaigners against the new power station said EDF had jumped the gun as it has yet to apply for planning permission for the whole project, and stood in protest outside West Somerset Council’s offices in Williton.
Bridgwater Mercury 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
The Mercury is renewing its appeal to readers to support our Bridgwater Bypass campaign, calling for EDF to build a road from north Bridgwater to Cannington ahead of its proposed nuclear new build at Hinkley Point.
Bridgwater Mercury 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Initial works on a Somerset nuclear power station have been given the green light, paving the way for civil engineering jobs to be created on the site.
Career Structure 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Bradwell
They were a symbol of the white-heat of British technology in the 1950s and 60s but are now long-past their sell-by date; a milestone in the history of the region’s nuclear power stations was reached today. Demolition has started on the turbine hall of the Bradwell atomic plant in Essex. It’s one of two nuclear sites being decommissioned in East Anglia, the other one at Sizewell in Suffolk.
Anglia Tonight 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Scotland
Letter: Reluctant as I am to intrude on the current exchange of views between David Balfour and Malcolm Parkin (Letters, 1 and 2 August) regarding the potential siting of nuclear power stations in lowland Scotland, may I make a few observations? As one of the owners of Malcolm Parkin’s preferred site, the former RAF Balado Bridge Airfield, I put his suggestion to a colleague who used to work in the nuclear power industry. It would kill off T in the park and lead to an estimated loss of annual tourism related income of some £30 million.
Scotsman 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
Japan
Pockets of lethal levels of radiation have been detected at Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in a fresh reminder of the risks faced by workers battling to contain the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) reported on Monday that radiation exceeding 10 sieverts (10,000 millisieverts) per hour was found at the bottom of a ventilation stack standing between two reactors. On Tuesday Tepco said it found another spot on the ventilation stack itself where radiation exceeded 10 sieverts per hour, a level that could lead to incapacitation or death after just a short period of exposure.
Guardian 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Japan Today 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui is set to urge the government to review its energy policy following the Fukushima nuclear crisis in his peace declaration to be read at a ceremony Saturday, according to the gist of the speech he released Tuesday.
Mainichi 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Hiroshima Peace Media Center 26th July 2011 more >>
An earthquake shook Japan’s south coast on Monday, close to Hamaoka, which has the dubious status of hosting the nation’s most perilous nuclear plant. No damage was reported – the plant had been shut down while a tsunami-proof seawall was built – but Japan is by no means free of nuclear worries. In Fukushima, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) reported that radiation exceeding 10 sieverts (10,000 millisieverts) per hour was found at the bottom of a ventilation stack standing between two reactors.
New Scientist 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
As the 66th anniversaries of the Hirsoshima and Nagasaki bombings approach on August 6 and 9, a University at Buffalo biostatistics and public-health expert says that studies of health effects from those events provide some clues to the potential, long-term health impacts of this year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.
Medical News 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Saudi Arabia
According to insiders in Washington speaking off the record, the United States is planning discussions with Saudi Arabia about civilian nuclear cooperation. The issue has already generated fierce criticism in Congress. According to administration officials speaking on condition of anonymity, members of President Barack Obama’s administration next week will visit Saudi Arabia for nuclear talks.
Oil Price 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
Sweden
A Swedish man was arrested and briefly detained for attempting to build a nuclear reactor in his kitchen. “I’ve always been interested in nuclear physics and particle physics,” the unnamed 31-year-old told the Helsingborgs Dagblad . “I have read many books about it and wanted to see if it worked. I just thought of it as an experiment.”
Register 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Philippines
Philippines’ nuclear white elephant becomes anti-nuclear tourist attraction.
Guardian 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Germany
Around 23 per cent of Germany’s electricity comes from nuclear and 17 per cent from renewables. That’s a 40 per cent share for zero-carbon in total – one of the highest in the European Union. The German government has admirable plans to raise renewable electricity to 35 per cent of consumption by 2020. But even this planned increase falls 5 per cent short of filling the hole in zero-carbon electricity left by abandoning nuclear. How will Germany fill that hole? With coal and other fossil fuels. It has plans to build 20 gigawatts of fossil-fuel power stations by 2020, including 9 gigawatts of coal by 2013. The government now describes fossil-fuel power stations – apparently without irony – as “the new bridging technology”. Some of this may never be fitted with carbon capture and storage because German environmental campaigners don’t like this technology either.
New Scientist 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Dutch engineering group Imtech sees opportunities in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants in Germany, where it made over a third of its earnings in the first half of 2011.
Reuters 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
China
Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction has delivered the first AP1000 nuclear reactor vessel which is expected to be installed at the Sanmen nuclear power plant in Zhejiang, China.
Energy Business Review 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Nuclear Submarines
Argentina has announced it is developing a nuclear-powered submarine, leading to fresh warnings that Britain would face an “insurmountable” task if the country invaded the Falkland Islands again.
Telegraph 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
Renewables
Britain’s biggest coal-fired power plant and thus one of the country’s environmental headaches could be transformed into a crucial renewable energy resource, its operator said yesterday, but only if government subsidies for such plants are increased.
Independent 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
Guardian 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
Dorothy Thompson said that burning more wood pellets and agricultural waste to generate electricity was the cheapest way for Britain to hit its renewable energy targets. But Drax, owner of the giant eponymous power station in North Yorkshire, has been forced to scale back plans to burn biomass while it waits for the Government to decide what level of subsidy to award the business. The Government plans to release a consultation soon, possibly this month, on how much all forms of renewable electricity generation wind and marine energy as well as biomass will receive over the next five years.
Times 3rd Aug 2011 more >>
