Radioactive Waste
NDA has set out details of how it could implement the UK Government’s solution to deal with higher activity radioactive waste through disposal deep underground in a geological disposal facility. This process will be based on a voluntarism and partnership approach.
NDA 7th July 2010 more >>
Allun Ellis of NDA and George Regan NFLAs.
Radio4 Today Programme about 2hours 35mins into the programme.
Radio 4 7th july 2010 more >>
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) solution to radioactive waste is to dump it deep underground in a £4 billion specially designed facility. The plans is put forward in the NDA’s latest ‘Geological Disposal: Steps towards implementation’ published today (July 7)
Edie 7th July 2010 more >>
Cumbria could miss out on millions of pounds of investment if plans for an underground nuclear waste dump are shelved as part of Government cuts. Allerdale and Copeland councils have volunteered to host a so-called deep geological repository – the only areas in the UK to do so. They were told if they eventually did get one, they would receive Government cash, potentially up to £1bn, for ‘socio-economic’ community projects like new roads, schools, health and leisure services. But savage Government cuts, which have already halted a programme to build new schools in the area, may threaten the £4bn underground repository plan and spin-offs for communities that host them.
Cumberland News 7th July 2010 more >>
The UK’s deep store for nuclear waste should open for business around 2040 – but spending cuts could delay the plans, and community support is vital. These are the key messages in a report from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the agency charged with managing the nation’s waste.
BBC 7th July 2010 more >>
Companies
Costain’s current work on the Evaporator-D plant at Sellafield – currently the largest nuclear construction project in the UK – gives the company a strong position to benefit from approaching nuclear power plant construction contracts, according to its newly-appointed nuclear director. Costain has formed a consortium, Construct-Energy, with Sir Robert McAlpine, Hochtief and Heitkamp to take advantage of the potential opportunities in the nuclear new build sector.
New Civil Engineer 7th July 2010 more >>
EDF hosts suppliers day for nuclear new-build subcontractors The French-owned power giant plans to build four new UK reactors in the UK by 2025, with the first two at Hinkley Point in Somerset, followed by two reactors at Sizewell, Suffolk.
Work on the first Hinkley plant could start as early as next year.
The two events will be held in Bridgwater, Somerset, on 6 July and in Woodbridge, Suffolk, on 8 July. A national event will follow later in the year.
Construction Index 7th July 2010 more >>
Chernobyl
It happened 24 years ago and more than 1,300 miles away from the UK. But, for the sheep farmers of Scotland, the effects from the fallout from Chernobyl have only just ended. An announcement that the industry is finally free of the radioactive material which forced many of its upland farms to be placed under Food Standards Agency (FSA) restrictions has been hailed as “a blessed relief”. Some Scottish farmers have been unable to slaughter, sell or even move their livestock without stringent testing and government pre-approval for the past 24 years.
Independent 7th July 2010 more >>
Sizewell
A senior firefighter has reassured the public over the scale of a fire at Sizewell B nuclear power station. Although around 50 firefighters were at the scene for seven hours after fire broke out in a charcoal filter on Friday night, Kevin Burton said their presence was mainly precautionary. Mr Burton, an area manager for Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service who was in charge of the incident, said the heat generated by the small blaze was less than that of lit cigarette.
Eastern Daily Press 5th July 2010 more >>
Evening Star 5th July 2010 more >>
Hinkley
A THIRD nuclear power station at Hinkley Point could pump nearly £3 BILLION into the local economy, a new study has predicted. A report released on Monday by the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development predicts the construction period alone would be worth £500million to the area over five years.
This is the West Country 7th july 2010 more >>
EDF Energy’s 480 MW Hinkley Point B-7 nuclear power plant has been off line since an unscheduled outage on Friday. The energy company said it may use the unplanned outage to carry out other maintenance work on the plant, without detailing for how long the reactor will be out of service.
Reuters 7th July 2010 more >>
Stop Hinkley Press Release: Up to five hundred acres of species-rich woodland, hedgerows and fields may be destroyed by EdF even before it receives full planning consent from the Infrastructure Planing Commission (IPC) to build its two massive nuclear reactors. A large hole will be excavated in preparation for foundations and the adjoining coastline, a protected area, may be cemented and terraced and a huge jetty built into the estuary, in preparation for the eventual building works. All this will involve the movement of a million cubic metres of soil and rock. EdF have signaled they wish to apply to West Somerset District Council to undertake the premature destruction well in advance of their expected planning submission to the IPC in December. The Commission will then take a year to decide for or against the nuclear building proposal, which will be signed off by a Minister.
Indy Media 7th July 2010 more >>
Sellafield
A NEW set of tanks is to be built at Sellafield to hold highly active radioactive waste at a cost of £250million. The tanks will store future supplies of liquid waste before it is turned into glass blocks in the site’s vitrification plant. Two shipments of ‘glassified’ waste recently left Sellafield for Japan and Holland in what was hailed as a landmark achievement to finally return the material to country of origin. The waste comes from fuel reprocessing and the shipments will continue for 10 years. The new Highly Active Liquid Effluent Facility tanks will supplement or replace some of the existing 21 storage tanks dating back to the late 50s.
Whitehaven News 7th July 2010 more >>
SELLAFIELD says it will save hundreds of thousands of pounds a year by stopping its Stagecoach contract bus service for employees. Cut-price travel for employees to and from work by trains will also be either stopped or slashed. Unions are protesting against the move but Sellafield Ltd says it will help save £1 million every year.
Whitehaven News 7th July 2010 more >>
ONE of Sellafield’s biggest ever undertakings will see massive pieces of equipment being floated in the Irish Sea on its way to the site. Nine huge modules – the biggest weighing 500 tons – will be brought in by barge and unloaded on to Sellafield beach later this year. They will then by transported painstakingly on to the site for building Evaporator D, a £400 million project which will play a key part in Sellafield’s longer term reprocessing future.
Whitehaven News 7th July 2010 more >>
China
China is to install ten Westinghouse AP1000 reactors in new nuclear power plants being built across the country. An unnamed government energy official told Chinese state news service Xinhua that three inland nuclear plants in Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces would use the technology as it was considered safer than other reactors. He said that the government was considering using the AP1000 reactor as standard.
Chemical Engineer 7th July 2010 more >>
Bulgaria
Bulgaria aims to limit the cost of the Belene nuclear plant being built by Russia’s ZAO Atomstroyexport to 7 billion euros ($8.8 billion), Prime Minister Boiko Borissov said. Borissov met today with Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov in Sofia to discuss joint energy projects including construction of the 2,000-megawatt power plant on the Danube river, natural-gas supply and the South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Western Europe via Bulgaria.
Bloomberg 6th July 2010 more >>
Iran
Iran and the United Arab Emirates are embroiled in a furious new row after the latter’s ambassador to Washington publicly expressed support for a US attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Guardian 8th July 2010 more >>
Sanctions against Iran could slow down its nuclear progress, a senior government official said on Wednesday, the first time Tehran has acknowledged the measures might have some bite.
Yahoo 7th july 2010 more >>
Middle East Online 7th July 2010 more >>
US
Construction on a proposed nuclear power plant in eastern Georgia has been halted because a contractor failed ask its workers in writing about past drug or alcohol abuse as required by law, officials said Wednesday. The nuclear subsidiary of The Southern Co. told federal regulators on Friday that its construction contractor, The Shaw Group Inc., was voluntarily halting work at Plant Vogtle. The Atlanta-based Southern Co. is trying to win approval for the first groundbreaking on a nuclear plant in a generation.
Business Week 7th July 2010 more >>
North Korea
The United States drew up plans for a tactical nuclear strike against North Korea in 1969, but quickly stepped back from the brink fearing it would trigger an all-out war, newly declassified documents in Washington have shown.
Telegraph 8th July 2010 more >>
Guardian 8th July 2010 more >>
Middle East
A new trend has been emerging: the increasing enthusiasm of America’s Arab allies to develop nuclear programmes. Jordan, and Saudi Arabia have joined 13 countries in the Middle East that have announced new plans for nuclear power stations – or revived old ones – since 2006, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. The timing may be significant: Iran began enriching uranium on a large scale in 2006. But the official line in every country is that meeting rapidly growing demand for energy is the only goal.
FT 7th July 2010 more >>
Test Veterans
THE Derby Telegraph today demands the Ministry of Defence face up to its responsibilities and agree to compensate the veterans of Britain’s nuclear tests. Britain is the only major western power which has refused to give financial help to servicemen suffering severe health problems after being exposed to radiation during weapons testing. The Ministry of Defence has even been locked in a legal battle with more than 1,000 former servicemen, including many in Derbyshire, in an attempt to avoid paying out – despite being told by a judge that it should reach a settlement.
Derby Telegraph 8th July 2010 more >>
Renewables
Germany could derive all of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2050 and become the world’s first major industrial nation to kick the fossil-fuel habit, the country’s Federal Environment Agency said today. The country already gets 16% of its electricity from wind, solar and other renewable sources – three times’ higher than the level it had achieved 15 years ago. “A complete conversion to renewable energy by 2050 is possible from a technical and ecological point of view,” said Jochen Flasbarth, president of the Federal Environment Agency. “It’s a very realistic target based on technology that already exists – it’s not a pie-in-the-sky prediction,” he said. Thanks to its Renewable Energy Act, Germany is the world leader in photovoltaics: it expects to add more than 5,000 megawatts of photovoltaic capacity this year to reach a total of 14,000 megawatts. It is also the second-biggest wind-power producer after the United States. Some 300,000 renewable energy jobs have been created in Germany in the last decade.
Guardian 8th July 2010 more >>
Climate
There was no scientific scandal, only scientific stupidity. There was no attempt to hoax the world into believing that climate change exists, just excessive secrecy. There was no panicky cover-up to hide rigged data, for no data was rigged. There was no cabal of scientists cooking up fake evidence of catastrophe. There is, however, a real crisis of the most extreme nature: evidence suggests that climate change is real, urgent and increasing. Nothing about the so-called Climategate affair challenges that fact.
Guardian 8th July 2010 more >>
Coal
Fossil-fuel power stations will have until June 2020 to comply with the next phase of EU pollution rules, under the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) passed by the European Parliament yesterday. The new regulations will supersede the existing Large Combustion Plant Directive (LCPD) in 2016, cutting even further the amount of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and particulates that energy generators may expel. After 2016, energy companies will have to meet the new cap by installing equipment to clean up emissions. Alternatively, power stations can opt out, closing down by the end of 2023 or after 17,500 hours, whichever is the sooner. Some 15 per cent of the UK’s generating capacity is already scheduled to close by 2016. Were the new IED to come into force without the 2020 “derogation” option, as much as a quarter of it could be forced to close.
Independent 8th July 2010 more >>
