Dungeness
Dungeness residents have claimed that the Dungeness seascape, one of Europe’s most beautiful, was in danger of being destroyed by a botched attempt by EDF to shore up its beach defences. The controversial planning application from EDF, operator of the Dungeness B nuclear power plant, and the Environment Agency would see 50-100 quarry lorries travel along the resident’s unmade road on a daily basis five days a week. It would also involve diggers working along a 300-metre stretch of seafront pulling out up to 30,000 tonnes of shingle a year to dump it back into the sea a few miles away down the coast. The shingle would be “recycled” by moving it on to prop up the eroding coastline in front of the power station further along the coast. Residents have started a campaign against the plans arguing it was a waste of time and money. They also feared that the huge dumper trucks will destroy the fragile ecosystem and turn away the growing numbers of tourists who have been starting to visit their stretch of the Romney marshes.
Ethical Consumer 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Torness
THE operator of Torness nuclear power station has been ordered to make safety improvements and urged to boost its defences against jellyfish. A new report from nuclear watchdog the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) has highlighted issues with checks on safety valves, concerns about radioactive waste discharge pipes, and a lack of self-closing safety doors.
Edinburgh Evening News 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Radwaste
Following the recent announcement that the company owned by the head of Cumbria Tourism, Mr. Robson, is to be involved in the assessment of whether a deep hole will undermine tourism in west Cumbria (a multi-million pound deal which will no doubt be utterly transparent and honest – with no leanings towards the wishes of the payer) we have come up with a couple of items which may be of interest to anyone pushing for souvenirs of the area to be afflicted.
Britain’s Toxic Coast 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Josefina de Vasconcellos (1904- 2005) “a gifted musician, composer, poet, dancer and inventor – but much more than any of these, she was a figurative sculptor with a strong religious faith to whom other people mattered very deeply”. In 1994, Josefina de Vasconcellos (then aged 90) got in touch with the anti-nuclear campaign group, CORE (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment). She sent them a handwritten and illustrated set of papers in a critical response to the Sellafield Repository Project information leaflet and suggested that it should be re-drawn by a professional trade artist and as near as possible in style to the Sellafield original. CORE has very generously agreed to this previously unseen work being exhibited in Rock Solid? Expo
Rock Solid Expo 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Cumbria Radwaste Consultation – a Quick Guide.
Radiation Free Lakeland 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Nuclear Safety
Frazer-Nash has completed the design substantiation of a SMART device to be used in nuclear safety related applications by Sellafield Ltd and its UK Control and Instrumentation (C&I) Nuclear Industry Forum partner companies. Frazer-Nash independently verified the device was capable of meeting the required Safety Integrity Level for use in certain nuclear facilities. The SMART instrument concerned, known as the Endress+Hauser SMART Coriolis Mass Flowmeter, is an instrument which contains electronics and software designed to precisely measure the mass flow rate in a fluid transport system. Such instruments serve a number of different purposes including leak detection for process monitoring.
Process & Control Today 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Areva
Anne Lauvergeon, former head of French state-owned nuclear champion Areva, claimed she was the victim of a plot as she defended her role in its disastrous 2007 purchase of a small uranium mining company.
FT 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Energy Prices
E.ON said it would cut electricity prices by 6pc, while ScottishPower chose to cut gas prices by 5pc. Both changes are due to come into effect at the end of February. The moves followed a 5pc electricity price cut by British Gas, and cuts to gas prices of 5pc by EDF Energy and npower, and of 4.5pc by SSE. The suppliers have come under mounting pressure to pass on the savings from falling wholesale prices.
Telegraph 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Times 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Japan
A newly formed investigative panel on Japans nuclear disaster will use its subpoena powers wisely and cut deeper into the accident than the governments probe, the leader of the independent commission said Monday. The panel appointed by parliament last month has gained attention here because its 10 members include outspoken critics of Japans nuclear policy who long ago questioned the seismic risks to the countrys 54 nuclear reactors.
Washington Post 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Germany
Germany famously moved to phase out nuclear energy following the atomic disaster in Japan last spring. Now states in the country are skeptically eyeing plans in neighboring countries, including the Netherlands and Poland, to construct nuclear power plants.
Der Spiegel 13th Jan 2012 more >>
Dealing a severe blow to nuclear energy provider EnBW, a regional finance court in the German state of Baden-Württemberg has recently ruled that there are no serious doubts as to the constitutionality of the coalition governments controversial nuclear fuel tax law (Kernbrennstoffsteuergesetz KernbrStG).
Tax News 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Iran
On the morning of 11 January Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, the deputy head of Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, was in his car on his way to work when he was blown up by a magnetic bomb attached to his car door. He was 32 and married with a young son. He wasn’t armed, or anywhere near a battlefield.
Guardian 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Iran has blamed Britain for triggering a wave of assassinations of its nuclear scientists.
Daily Mail 16th Jan 2012 more >>
India
New Delhi is declining to release to the public a geological study of the Jaitapur region in Maharashtra State on the Arabian Sea, where the government intends to construct a NPP. Professor of Geological Sciences and Fellow in the University of Colorado at Boulders Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Energy and Minerals Applied Research Center Roger Bilham and Dr. Vinod Gaur of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics have coauthored a paper asserting that an earthquake of magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale can occur in the Jaitapur region.
Oil Price 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Trident
A MOVE to create England’s main submarine base in Devonport would “make sense” according to a city politician. Oliver Colvile, Conservative MP for Sutton and Devonport, believes Plymouth should become the home of the country’s nuclear deterrent if Scotland votes in favour of independence.
Plymouth Herald 17th Jan 2012 more >>
With 4,500 redundancies in the three armed forces due to be announced by the MoD, the city of Plymouth has much to fear.
Guardian 16th Jan 2012 more >>
Smart Meters
Plans to roll out new and more sophisticated meters to every home in Britain are open to abuse by energy companies and should be regulated with more vigour by the government, a powerful committee of MPs has concluded. Savings to the supplier from the installation of so-called “smart meters” might not be passed on to customers, while ministers may be over-reliant on an ineffective market to drive down prices, a report by the public administration committee finds. It comes just days after one consumer group called for the government to halt the plans over fears that costs could escalate uncontrollably.
Guardian 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Independent 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Times 17th Jan 2012 more >>
Renewables
THE solar power sector and environmental campaigners shot themselves in the foot by taking the UK government to the High Court over changes to subsidies, an industry expert has claimed. Ben Cosh, managing director of TGC Renewables, which installs solar panels and wind turbines, said the court case and the coalition governments current appeal had brought more uncertainty to the industry. His company, based in Bristol with an office in Glasgow, has about £100 million worth of renewable energy developments in the planning system and a further £100m lined up for the year ahead. Cosh said potential customers were sitting on their hands and waiting for clarity over subsidies before deciding whether or not to install solar panels.
Scotsman 16th Jan 2012 more >>
