Sellafield MoX Plant
A British nuclear plant recently constructed to make plutonium fuel for power reactors in Japan and Europe has been plagued with so many breakdowns that it may have to be shut down. A technical review for the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) reveals that the plant at Sellafield in Cumbria has suffered 37,000 minor and 100 major equipment failures in a year. These have prevented production for about 70% of the time.
New Scientist 22nd Sept 2006
Rob Edwards’ website 22nd Sept 2006
Trident
At least 25,000 anti-war protesters are expected in Manchester tomorrow for a march to coincide with the start of the Labour conference. The Iraq march is also in protest at the Israeli bombing of Lebanon and the government’s plans to replace Trident.
Guardian 23rd September 2006
Independent 23rd Sept 2006
Peter Hain favours “libertarian socialism” over “state socialism”. MPs and the grassroots, he argues, should have far more say over policy. The decision about whether the Trident nuclear missile system should be replaced “should not be taken behind closed doors with a couple of senior members of the Government, but in a more open way,”.
Telegraph 23rd Sept 2006
Iran
Mr Ahmadinejad, who is engaged in a perilous stand-off with Europe and the US over his country’s nuclear ambitions, used his time in New York to articulate his Holocaust doubts again while repeatedly assailing the “hegemonic powers” for imposing “their exclusionist policies on international decision-making mechanisms, including the Security Council”.
Independent 23rd Sept 2006
Scotland
SCOTLAND could meet its future energy needs without having to build new nuclear power stations, Jack McConnell said yesterday. In his boldest statement on the subject to date, the First Minister said he felt a “massive” increase in renewable energy could replace nuclear entirely. However, given the importance of a secure electricity supply to homes and business, he said it would be foolish to rule out the nuclear option permanently. Mr McConnell’s remarks came as the SNP again put him under pressure to give a definitive view on whether he wanted to see new nuclear power plants in Scotland.
Herald 22nd Sept 2006