Nuclear Weapons
Germany called on Saturday for the world’s leading nuclear powers to reduce their atomic arsenals as they press Iran to curb its nuclear programme.
Reuters 17th June 2006
Japan has urged North Korea to suspend preparations for a test launch of a long-range missile and to return to stalled talks on dismantling its nuclear weapons programme.
Observer 18th June 2006
Millions of pounds are being spent at Aldermaston despite Government insistence that it has not decided on a replacement for Trident.
Sunday Express 18th June 2006
NDA
Thousands of workers at British Nuclear Group and UKAEA, the two main clean-up contractors to British Nuclear Fuels, have each received a cash bonus of £1,000 this month after meeting certain performance milestones. Under targets set by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the body set up by the Government last year, the contractors had to save at least £145m – or 7 per cent – of the decommissioning budget for the past financial year. “This is our first year and we wanted to make an impact,” the NDA said. “It was about making savings in order to do more decommissioning than we would otherwise have done.”
Sunday Telegraph 18th June 2006
New nukes
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s bid to build new nuclear power stations will be backed by scientists in Scotland this week, the Sunday Herald can reveal. A long-awaited report by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is going to come out in favour of more reactors to replace those at Hunterston in North Ayrshire and Torness in East Lothian when they shut down.
Sunday Herald 18th June 2006
RobEdwards.com 18th June 2006
Letter: Regarding last week’s special report on energy I must take issue with some of the conclusions about nuclear power. A recent study presented at the Institute of Physics in London, based on data from the nuclear industries, said there are insufficient reserves of high grade uranium ore to deliver more than a small fraction of the world’s energy needs.
Observer letters, 18 June 2006
BRITISH Energy boss Bill Coley is expected to give further impetus to the nuclear lobby this week by revealing he is now in a position to invest in a new generation of power stations. While he is likely to disappoint investors hoping for news of an early reintroduction of dividend payments, he will use the company’s financial turnaround to say BE can play a key role in meeting the UK’s future energy needs if the government backs nuclear.
Scotland on Sunday 18th June 2006
An MP has backed a campaign calling for no Government cash to be spent on nuclear power stations. North West Leicestershire MP David Taylor has signed a petition in Parliament, which says that no public money should go towards subsidising the construction of new nuclear power stations.
Leicester Mercury 17th June 2006
UKAEA
Civil nuclear site manager UKAEA, whose chief executive resigned last week, is facing fresh uncertainty over the future of the clean-up consortium it formed in January with Amec and CH2M Hill, a US services company. CH2M Hill has expressed interest in buying British Nuclear Group (BNG), UKAEA’s much larger, state-owned rival. The Government decided in March that it would auction BNG off later this year. If CH2M Hill presses ahead with a bid, it could scupper the venture with UKAEA.
Independent on Sunday 18th June 2006
