Terror
A terrorist attack on a nuclear weapons convoy could cause “considerable loss of life” and prevent the UK from functioning as a sovereign state, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted. The admission is the first official acknowledgement of the catastrophe that could result from an assault on the trucks that regularly carry Trident warheads through Scotland. The risk is that, either by accident or design, one of the bombs could explode.
Sunday Herald, 11th June 2006
Nuclear Waste
A leaking nuclear waste dump could expose future generations to radiation levels up to 1,000 times higher than safety targets, according to the government’s radioactive waste agency, Nirex. Documents obtained by the Sunday Herald reveal that people hundreds of thousands of years in the future face an increased risk of cancer because their drinking water could be contaminated by radioactive waste buried today.
Sunday Herald 11th June 2006
Submarines
THE Navy’s new nuclear-powered Astute submarines are downing periscopes… forever. They’re being ditched for a fully electronic system called Optromics, which will make it harder for enemies to detect the attack subs.
Sunday Mirror 11th June 2006
Scotland
Letter from: Kerr MacGregor, founder, Scottish Solar Energy Group (formerly senior lecturer in Energy Engineering, Napier University): STEUART Campbell is confused about nuclear’s contribution to Scotland’s energy needs. He castigates Mike Weir MSP for claiming that nuclear only contributes 7% to our energy consumption. He is wrong and Mr Weir is right. It is true that nuclear presently gives us about 35% of our electricity. However, since only about 16% of the energy we use is electricity, then the nuclear contribution is only 35% of 16%, i.e only about 6% of our total energy consumption. I am afraid that there is quite a common assumption among our politicians, civil servants and journalists that electricity should be equated with energy. For example, the Executive has a target that we should get 18% of our electricity from renewables by 2010. They claim that this is ambitious, though it is below the average EU target of 22%. However, they have no target or strategy for renewables to contribute to the much larger energy demand for heating and transport. If they are serious, we should have renewable energy targets instead of just renewable electricity targets.
Scotland on Sunday 11th June 2006
New nukes
Pressure has been increased after Mr Brown used a newspaper article yesterday to sign up to Mr Blair’s plans for a new generation of nuclear power stations. This follows the deal between the two men on pensions policy. “Gordon is going along with all Tony’s pet policies,” a senior Labour source revealed. “The question Tony is increasingly having to face is – what’s the point of him?”
Sunday Telegraph 11th June 2006
Iran
Iran might send its own nuclear package in response to incentives agreed by six world powers that seek to get Iran to drop its atomic fuel work, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Saturday.
Reuters 10th June 2006
Washington has stepped up pressure on Pakistan to allow its disgraced nuclear scientist, A Q Khan, to be questioned by United Nations inspectors, after fresh traces of enriched uranium were found on equipment used at an Iranian military site.
Sunday Telegraph 11th June 2006
