THORP-2
Sellafield trade unions have published a new document which outlines plans for the future of Sellafield as Britain’s premier nuclear installation, entitled “FIGHTING FOR A FUTURE FOR SELLAFIELD”. The unions are campaigning for spent nuclear fuel from the proposed new reactors to be reprocessed; for the possibility of securing reprocessing contracts from abroad to be kept open; and for existing stocks of UK plutonium at Sellafield to be converted into MoX fuel for use in new reactors.
The GMB Press Release (18th Jan 2008) more >>
A new THORP could be on the cards if the unions get their way.Sellafield Union representatives are already in the US campaigning with American companies which may get contracts to operate Sellafield. The Unions are concerned that THORP will complete its existing contracts around 2018; Magnox reprocessing will end around 2016, so 10,000 jobs will disappear in Cumbria. Sellafield GMB Convenor, Peter Kane, says he knows the Irish, Scandinavians and anti-nukes “will go berserk”.
Whitehaven News 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Whitehaven News 24th Jan 2008 more >>
The Sellafield – Copeland Alliance has applauded the Government’s decision on new reactors.
North West Evening Mail 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Interest from EDF could improve Sellafield’s chances of getting a new reactor.
Whitehaven News 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Fluor – one of the companies bidding for the Sellafield contract – has won a $4bn contract at Savannah River.
Whitehaven News 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Drigg
Cumbria County Council has given planning permissio for a new vault at Drigg unlocking millions of pounds for Copeland.
Whitehaven News 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Dounreay
Dounreay’s operators have had to revise their plans to build a new low-level waste dump after discovering their preferred site lies on top of a geological fault-line. They had been working on flawed information provided by the Nirex agency that drilled a series of boreholes in the early 1990s when Dounreay was being considered as the site for a national intermediate-level nuclear waste dump. New research has led to the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) moving the location of the dump further north and revising the layout of the six underground concrete vaults. The ground remains outwith the licensed nuclear site and close to the neighbouring settlement of Buldoo, whose residents remain opposed to the proposed £110m complex.
Herald 25th Jan 2008 more >>
Terror
US researchers are developing technology to power a network of mobile phones that could find and track radiation sources. It is hoped that the system could prevent terrorist attacks using nuclear ‘dirty bombs’.
Personal Computer World 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Vnunet 24th Jan 2008 more >>
New nukes
Letter from Steuart Campbell: Do opponents of nuclear power ignore the facts, or are they just ignorant? An analysis of the full cycle, shows that the overall emission per kilowatt-hour (about 5g) of nuclear power is much lower than that from stations burning fossil fuels (about 70 times less than for gas and 177 times less than for coal). It is about the same amount as from wind generation.
Scotsman 25th Jan 2008 more >>
Insurers may be unwilling to provide third party liability cover for damage caused by a new generation of nuclear power stations, lawyers warned this week.
New Civil Engineer 24th Jan 2008 more >>
NPT
Letter from Helen John and Georgina Smith: We are in prison (your report, 10 January) because the government refuses to obey Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and reduce its nuclear arsenal. All nuclear powers are breaching this resolution.
Scotsman 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Heysham
PLANS for a new generation of nuclear power stations across the UK will not affect operations at Heysham Power Station. British Energy, which operates eight power stations including the Heysham plant, has welcomed the news but says any new plants are likely to be built at its stations in the south of England. However, Heysham could be included in a second phase at a later stage.
Lancaster Guardian 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Torness
British Energy’s Torness-2 nuclear reactor restarted early on Thursday after tripping on Tuesday due to a faulty reading.
Reuters 24th Jan 2008 more >>
Peak Oil
World demand for oil and gas will outstrip supply within seven years, according to Royal Dutch Shell. The oil multinational is predicting that conventional supplies will not keep pace with soaring population growth and the rapid pace of economic development. Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, said in an e-mail to the company’s staff this week that output of conventional oil and gas was close to peaking. He wrote: “Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.” The boss of the world’s second-largest oil company forecast that, regardless of government policy initiatives and investment in renewables, the world would need more nuclear power and unconventional fossil fuels, such as oil sands.
Times 25th Jan 2008 more >>
