Sizewell
Since 6.40am this morning, anti-nuclear power activists from the ‘People Power not Nuclear Power Coalition’ have been blockading Sizewell power station in protest against the flawed government consultation on nuclear new build, which ends today, and the dumping of local democracy.
Stop Nuclear Power Press Release 22nd Feb 2010 more >>
Nuclear Security
Letter from David Lowry: US environmentalists have rightly highlighted the security problems posed by the AP1000 nuclear reactor design, particularly its vulnerability to terrorists. This danger is very relevant in Britain too, as this reactor design is one of two planned for new-build in this country. Last week, Britain’s Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and the Office for Civil Nuclear Security, which are jointly scrutinising the potential vulnerabilities of the two major new reactor designs being proposed by foreign vendors, raised their own worries over nuclear insecurity. However, the problem is broader than one of the designs not being strong enough to withstand a direct hit from an airliner. The reason is that it is planned, according to the government’s national nuclear policy statement, to store the irradiated spent nuclear fuel discharged from the new reactors at the reactor sites for at least 160 years.
Morning Star 22nd Feb 2010 more >>
Sellafield
Letter from David Lowry: YOUR article “Sellafield: inside the big clean-up” last week cited Tony Fountain, chief executive of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, as saying of the privatised Sellafield plant operators: “They have got off to a good start, now we want to see more.” Included in the “more” will be the decontamination of 20,000,000 cubic metres of radioactively contaminated soil on which Sellafield sits. Your article made no mention of this massive legacy waste problem, which will cost billions to clean up across many decades.
Sunday Times 21st Feb 2010 more >>
Cumbria
Controversy over plans to build nuclear reactors on the edge of the Lake District.
Granada TV 21st Feb 2010 more >>
Submarines
Military chiefs are running out of space to store the UK’s growing number of obsolete nuclear submarines, prompting fears that one of the country’s busiest naval ports is set to be turned into a nuclear scrapyard. Eight ageing nuclear-powered vessels are currently kept afloat at the Devonport dockyard in the middle of Plymouth, and 27 more are due to be sent there as they reach the end of their service life in the next few years. The Ministry of Defence admits it will run out of storage space for the redundant nuclear subs by 2020 and has put forward plans to begin dismantling the radioactive hulks at the city centre site. Campaigners say the work will be dangerous and turn the dockyard – and the city – into a “nuclear dumping ground” if the plans go ahead.
Guardian 22nd Feb 2010 more >>
Hiroshima
James Cameron has now bought the film rights to a book of survivors’ stories from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, prompting speculation that his next blockbuster will focus on one of the seminal tales of 20th-century destruction. The Last Train from Hiroshima, by science writer Charles Pellegrino, takes place over two days and weaves together the stories of Japanese survivors with the memories of US air force personnel who accompanied the bomb, dubbed Little Boy, on its journey to kill 70,000 people. The potential transition from book to Cameron movie has hit a glitch, however, with the revelation that important parts of the book are based on the testimony of an American veteran that appears to have been fabricated.
Guardian 22nd Feb 2010 more >>
