New Nukes
Even if financial worries can be overcome, there are other obstacles to a nuclear renaissance. Among them is a global shortage of manufacturing capacity for important components: only one Japanese firm is currently capable of making reactor pressure vessels, for instance. And this once-in-a-generation overhaul of the electricity grid is not the only grand engineering scheme in the works in Britain. The biggest problem, though, is a shortage of qualified scientists, engineers and technicians. Nuclear power’s long unpopularity has left the industry depleted, and many of those who remain are greybeards.
Economist 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Nuclear Waste
MILLIONS of pounds are set to flow for Copeland’s benefit now that work is under way on a £20million nuclear development in the area. Construction of Vault 9 at the low- level radioactive waste repository, Drigg, triggers the release of the first £5 million under an agreement with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Another £10 million will soon follow and thereafter Copeland will receive £1.5 million for every year the repository continues to receive the waste, probably up to 2070.
Whitehaven News 5th Nov 2008 more >>
COUNTY councillors have deferred a decision on backing the option of an underground nuclear repository for Copeland, to avoid any potential legal challenges from green campaigners.
Whitehaven News 5th Nov 2008 more >>
Cumbria County Council looks set to volunteer Copeland as a potential site for an underground nuclear waste repository. And it is backing proposals to build two new nuclear power stations immediately north west of Sellafield.
Whitehaven News 5th Nov 2008 more >>
Sellafield
BRITISH Nuclear Fuels has scrapped its annual Christmas treats for Sellafield’s “pensioners” – to make a saving of £50,000. There will be no Christmas parties or gift vouchers sent out to thousands of ex-employees.
Whitehaven News 5th Nov 2008 more >>
Oldbury
OPERATORS of Oldbury power station expect to be told imminently whether they can extend the life of the 41-year-old nuclear plant. The station, near Thornbury, had been due to stop generating in just eight weeks’ time and start the long process of decommissioning. But Magnox North, which operates the site on the River Severn, now wants to continue supplying power until about 2010. Such an extension depends on the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate (NII) giving the all-clear for that to happen. A team of inspectors are currently at the plant carrying out an examination of the site and are set to make their announcement once they have completed their tour. The Government also has to agree to the move, which would extend power generation by between 18 and 24 months.
Bristol Evening Post 5th Nov 2008 more >>
Capenhurst
PROGRESS made in cleaning up nuclear site at Ellesmere Port surprised three former members of staff when they attended a reunion. Sellafield Ltd, which operates the site at Capenhurst, near Ellesmere Port, on behalf of its owner, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), welcomed more than 60 former employees for three open days. Next year, the site is due to be the first of its kind in the UK to complete its nuclear clean-up.
Wrexham Evening Leader 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Proliferation
The non-proliferation cause is counting on less high-handedness and more cooperation from the United States to tackle nuclear threats after Obama’s election victory this week. His ascendance was greeted with relief at the International Atomic Energy Agency after years of tension between its director and the Bush White House over its ideological “my way or the highway” approach to security issues like Iraq and Iran.
Reuters 7th Nov 2008 more >>
US
American officials fear rogue states, terrorist groups and even some of their allies may exploit the 11 week gap between Barack Obama’s election victory and his formal inauguration. Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may announce another advance in Iran’s nuclear programme, which could be used to make the essential material for a nuclear weapon. In theory, Kim Jong-il’s North Korea regime has pledged to disable its entire nuclear programme. But the Stalinist state has dragged its feet at every stage of implementing this agreement. North Korea may stop co-operating once again. Perhaps the most dangerous – though remote – possibility is that al-Qaeda may try to disrupt the entire transition from one president to another by mounting a spectacular attack in the American homeland.
Telegraph 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Whether or not he pulls out of Iraq, how will they respond if Obama carries out his promise to invade Pakistan’s tribal regions in pursuit of Osama Bin Laden? And he’s already said he won’t allow Iran to become a nuclear power – which may mean sanctioning an Israeli attack or ordering the U.S. air force to take out Iran’s nuclear capability.
Daily Mail 7th Nov 2008 more >>
Nuclear Weapons
There were elaborate explanations yesterday as to why the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, had chosen to greet the election of a liberal to the White House by deploying nuclear missiles in its western enclave of Kaliningrad. Russia, we were told, was laying down a marker. It was saying: you can not ignore us. Or Medvedev was testing a greenhorn leader to see how he would react. There was every explanation except the obvious one: cause and effect.
Guardian 7th Nov 2008 more >>
The cost of replacing Britain’s nuclear submarines could rise from current estimates if the Ministry of Defence fails to manage the main risks, the National Audit Office has warned.
Public Finance 6th Nov 2008 more >>
Peak Oil
The era of cheap oil is over, the International Energy Agency warned yesterday as it predicted crude values would soon rebound to above $100 a barrel and double again by 2030 as fields in the North Sea and elsewhere in the world declined faster than expected.
Guardian 7th Nov 2008 more >>
