Planning
An online map showing the locations of proposed nuclear power stations, incinerators and roads has been launched by the Planning Disaster coalition.
Guardian website 3rd August 2007 more >>
Nuclear Safety
Fires in power stations are not unusual, but when they strike nuclear plants, they reignite the debate over whether they should be shut down for good. A transformer blaze at Spain’s Cofrentes nuclear plant on Thursday followed similar incidents in Germany last month and in Sweden last November, which had already alarmed the anti-nuclear lobby. Experts say these fires posed little threat because they were well away from the reactors, but this will probably not silence nuclear’s critics. There has not been a reactor blaze since Chernobyl more than 20 years ago, although fires around power plants — especially in transformers — are something of an occupational hazard.
Reuters 3rd August 2007 more >>
To inform the public about nuclear-plant mishaps, a United Nations agency in 1989 helped create a Richter-like scale rating them from zero to seven. Chernobyl was pegged as a seven. Three Mile Island rated five. How many mishaps have occurred over the years — and is the rate getting better or worse? It’s hard to know. That’s because every day, the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency deletes from its Web site any rated incident that’s more than six months old. The agency says it doesn’t want to penalize more-forthcoming countries by making it look like they have poor safety records.
Wall Street Journal 3rd August 2007 more >>
THORP
John Hutton, the new Secretary of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform toured THORP on Thursday.
Carlisle News and Star 3rd August 2007 more >>
India
India and the United States have released details of how they intend to share civilian nuclear technology.
BBC 3rd August 2007 more >>
A senior Indian atomic scientist says most of the concerns raised by India are addressed in the draft document drawn up with the US.
Mathaba 4th August 2007 more >>
The Bush administration yesterday dismissed Pakistan’s claim that the civil nuclear deal announced by India and the US last week would destabilise the Indian subcontinent and fuel a nuclear arms race.
FT 4th August 2007 more >>
US Congress will examine carefully the US-India pact to see if it is legal.
Mathaba 4th August 2007 more >>
Sellafield
UKAEA workers at the Windscale part of the Sellafield site are being balloted on strike action.
Cumberland News 3rd August 2007 more >>
Belgium
Former shareholder Deminor Active Governance Fund and other ex-minority shareholders in Electrabel say that Suez will reap large profits as a result of the Belgian coalition partners’ decision to keep five out of seven of the country’s nuclear plants open, financial daily De Tijd reports.
Interactive Investor 3rd August 2007 more >>
New nukes
Slowly but surely different parts of the world are coming around to the fact that we need more nuclear power and that nuclear energy is the future.Now Israel has added its name to the growing list of countries that are looking to expand their nuclear programmes, in the light of climate change and the need for energy security.
Uranium stocks 3rd August 2007 more >>
Romania
The Romanian government has launched a new tender for bids for construction of the third and fourth phases of the nuclear power station at Cernavoda, which could go onstream around 2014-2015, the economy ministry said. Potential bidders have until Oct 25 to hand in their bids, the ministry said. The government had launched an initial tender in spring 2006 and indicated that 16 companies, including Enel SpA, E.ON, Iberdrola and RWE, as well as a consortium between Canada’s EACL and Italy’s Ansaldo, had expressed interest. The consortium has already built the first two reactors for the power station. The authorities had to re-start the tendering procedure after a change in government strategy over the financing of the project.
Forbes 3rd August 2007 more >>
Terror
The authorities in Britain and the US are preparing for the increasing possibility of a radiological dirty bomb being detonated by terrorists.
BBC 2nd Aug 2007 more >>
Iran
The Iranian President said all of its nuclear activities were in accordance with international law and Iran was determined to continue with them.
Mathaba 4th August 2007 more >>
Libya
Mr Sarkozy sent his wife, Cécilia, to negotiate the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor held in jail for eight years on charges of deliberately infecting hundreds of Libyan children with HIV. A day after they were freed, he flew to Tripoli and signed an agreement to help Libya build nuclear power stations but did not mention arms deals. Instead, he heralded the prisoners’ release as a triumph of French and European diplomacy.
Guardian 4th August 2007 more >>
Dounreay
THE Westminster-based energy minister is to attend a conference in Caithness next month to find out for himself the steps being taken to offset the economic effects of decommissioning. Local MP John Thurso has persuaded Malcolm Wicks to travel north for the Caithness Conference – Beyond Dounreay, which takes place on Friday, September 14.
John O’ Groat Journal 3rd August 2007 more >>
