Opinion Polls
The recent Eurobarometer survey records public attitudes to nuclear waste and shows a shift in public opinion across Europe in favour of nuclear power, according to the Nuclear Industry Association. The results indicate that, since the last survey in 2005, there are now as many people across Europe in favour of nuclear energy (44 per cent) as there are against it. This is up from 37 per cent in the previous survey. The results show public acceptance of nuclear has risen in 17 out of 27 EU member countries.
Whitehaven News 20th Aug 2008 more >>
MoX
A STOCKPILE of nuclear materials in south Wirral could be used to help fuel three nuclear power plants in the UK for 60 years, it has been revealed. The Capenhurst site has “a substantial” amount of the UK’s uranic material – which could be converted to power reactors. In total, Britain has around 100 tonnes of plutonium from recycled UK fuel, all of which is stored at Sellafield, in Cumbria.
Liverpool Daily Post 19th Aug 2008 more >>
Windscale
WITH tonnes of melted nuclear fuel still potentially too dangerous to move, engineers at Sellafield have started the first close-up examination of the Windscale Pile One reactor.
Whitehaven News 20th Aug 2008 more >>
India
New Zealand has doubts about a plan being discussed by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to give a green light to India’s civilian nuclear deal with the United States, a minister was quoted on Wednesday as saying.
Reuters 20th Aug 2008 more >>
A civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States faces a crucial test on Thursday when the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group meets in Vienna. A green light by the NSG is required for the 2005 deal to proceed to the U.S. Congress for final ratification.
Reuters 21st Aug 2008 more >>
Finland
Greenpeace is shocked by evidence presented by Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE yesterday, showing that Olkiluoto nuclear construction workers have been coerced not to report nuclear safety violations. – Supervision of the nuclear site has failed catastrophically. Workers are being intimidated to shut up and the Finnish authorities fail to intervene even when they are aware of the problems. The ministry responsible for nuclear safety cannot be contented with another memo, but it needs to immediately end all construction work and bring in an independent group of inspectors, Greenpeace nuclear campaigner Lauri Myllyvirta demanded.
Olkiluoto Info 20th Aug 2008 more >>
Finnish Broadcasting company YLE has yesterday revealed that both official and unofficial rules have prevented workers at Olkiluoto 3 construction site from reporting safety and quality problems to inspectors, let alone to media. This practice was labeled as the “Olkiluoto code of Silence”.
Olkiluoto Info 20th Aug 2008 more >>
Areva’s troublesome EPR reactor project in Finland yesterday received a clean bill of health after welding work overseen by Bouygues, the French nuclear group’s subcontractor, was last week called into question. Petteri Tiippana, assistant director of STUK, the Finnish nuclear safety authority, said that a government-commissioned inquiry into quality and safety allegations by the environmental lobby group Greenpeace had found no evidence of transgressions.
FT 21st Aug 2008 more >>
France
The construction company Bouygues, who has teamed up with Areva to build EPR nuclear reactors in Olkiluoto, Finland and Flamanville, France, continues to violate basic safety procedures at both sites. This link gives a partial but direct translation of the report of French authorities from the latest inspection in Flamanville.
Olkiluoto Info 20th Aug 2008 more >>
North Korea
North Korea said on Wednesday it saw as “unjust” calls from global powers such as the United States for Pyongyang to verify claims it made in disarmament talks about producing arms-grade plutonium.
Yahoo 20th Aug 2008 more >>
Iran
Iran has emerged as one of the top buyers of wheat from the United States this marketing year, but political tensions between the two countries make it unlikely that Tehran will be a regular buyer from the world’s top wheat exporter.
Reuters 20th Aug 2008 more >>
Trident
As well as the surplus Eurofighters, seen by some as a relic of cold war military planning, Britain is committed to the purchase of two new aircraft carriers, a fleet of Joint Strike Fighters to fly off them, the £20bn replacement of the Trident nuclear deterrent and a £16bn programme to provide the army with an armoured vehicle for fighting urban insurgents. The deficit of about £2bn in its recent funding round suggests something has to give. But do not hold your breath.
FT 21st Aug 2008 more >>
Renewables
Nick Clegg will today unveil plans to make Britain an exporter of green energy by 2050, as he called for a programme “on the scale of the Apollo moon landings” to transform Britain’s dependence on foreign oil, gas and coal supplies. The Liberal Democrat leader demanded the scrapping of new nuclear and coal-fired power stations, instead proposing the establishment of a renewables delivery authority to oversee a massive expansion of wind, solar and wave energy, funded by guaranteed premium prices for green energy.During a visit to a wind farm in the North Sea Mr Clegg will lay out theoretical plans for all new homes to be built to world-leading standards of insulation, and for energy companies to be forced to spend £500m a year insulating the existing housing stock and installing energy-saving smart meters that measure how much power individual appliances use.
Independent 21st Aug 2008 more >>
Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg is calling for the city to become a major generator of renewable energy. He wants to see New York wean itself from dependency on the conventional power grid by massive investment in wind, solar and wave energy and opened the prospect of wind turbines being placed on bridges and skyscrapers, in a way that could transform the city’s skyline.
Guardian 21st Aug 2008 more >>
