Radwaste
An eminent professor has claimed that no site in west Cumbria is suitable for geological disposal of nuclear waste. Professor David Smythe, pictured, (Emeritus Professor of Geophysics, University of Glasgow), is an earth scientist who was employed by Nirex to find a nuclear waste repository in West Cumbria. He is not opposed to geological disposal in principle but he says the scientific research carried out in the 1990’s, which cost the public purse £400 millon, shows that no site in West Cumbria is suitable for geological disposal! Getnoticedonline.co.uk has an extract of a letter sent to the local press today and previewed exclusively here. Professor Smythe says: “Just stand with your back to the sea, anywhere on the coastal plain, looking inland at the mountains of the national park. “Imagine the rain falling on these mountains, percolating – however slowly and imperceptibly – through fissures and cracks in these slates and lavas down towards the sea, over centuries and aeons.
Get Noticed Online 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Nuclear Convert
Stewart Brand: Nuclear was a switch. I had been somewhat against it. I’m so strongly for it now that even if climate change wasn’t an issue, I’d still be pushing it.
Observer 3rd Oct 2010 more >>
Oldbury
Stop Oldbury says: “I am deeply concerned that this very old nuclear reactor is probably about to be given yet another reprieve, allowing it to run until 2012. The graphite core of the reactor is seriously eroded and the continued operation of the station is increasingly risky.”
Ruscombe Green 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Sizewell
THE estimated cost of clearing the Sizewell A nuclear power station site is now a massive £927million, according to new figures. Taxpayers will pick up most of the bill because the twin reactor plant, as well as 20 other reactors around the country, are state-owned – some by the Ministry of Defence for the production of weapons-grade plutonium.
East Anglian Dail Times 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Sizewell B came back online yesterday after a six-month outage for repairs inside the reactor building. The 1188 MWe power reactor had been offline since 16 March when a slow water leak of less than five litres per minute was noticed from the pressurizer. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said there were no radiological consequences for the public or workers as a result and, “The actual leak that occurred was only marginally above a level at which operators are required, under the safety case, to shut down the reactor.”
World Nuclear News 1st Oct 2010 more >>
HSE
A number of new Nuclear Local Liaison Committee reports for quarters 1 and 2 of 2010 are now available online. This includes West Cumbria Sites Stakeholder Group.
HSE 3rd Oct 2010 more >>
Dalgety Bay
The health of visitors to one of Scotland’s most popular coastal resorts is being put at risk from radioactive contamination because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has stopped monitoring the area. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is now threatening to take legal action to force the MoD to continue cleaning up Dalgety Bay in Fife, which is being repeatedly polluted by dangerous radioactive debris left over from the Second World War. Some of the particles found on the foreshore near a sailing club used by thousands of families are so highly radioactive that they could be lethal if they found their way inside the body. According to Sepa, outside the body they are “hot” enough to cause radiation burns on exposed skin.
Sunday Herald 3rd Oct 2010 more >>
Finland
A snap inspection by occupational health and safety officials at the construction site of the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant was delayed on Wednesday morning when inspectors who arrived at the scene were not allowed into the area. The officials came to check on working conditions and terms of employment that were being implemented. The Regional State Administrative Agency of Southwest Finland is considering a possible report to police on preventing officials from doing their jobs.
Helsingen Sanomat 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Iran
Intelligence officials in Iran arrested several “nuclear spies” today. Iran has been the site of many infections of the Stuxnet worm, which targets industrial control systems.
eWeek 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
BBC 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Sky News 2nd Oct 2010 more >>
Stuxnet is a malicious software code that was first noticed around the world four months ago. Today, it is causing alarm not just to IT experts such as Mr Langner but also to security strategists and governments. Among them is the Iranian regime, whose nuclear programme – seen as one of the most serious threats to global security – may have been severely hit.
FT 1st Oct 2010 more >>
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia moved closer to a hugely controversial civil nuclear programme this weekend, after UK and US engineers pitched to draw up its atomic energy plans. Initial bids for a pre-feasibility study, which would identify sites for nuclear plants and study the diplomatic implications of building them, were due yesterday. Such a programme is likely to cost more than the $40bn plans that nearby Abu Dhabi is implementing. The tender process is being run through The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy, which has been established to find ways of meeting the oil-rich nation’s future energy needs. A broad plan has already been drawn up by the UK office of Finnish energy consultant P yry, but the next stage will inform Saudi Arabia’s final decision.
Independent 3rd Oct 2010 more >>
Trident
The letter from Defence Secretary Liam Fox to Prime Minister David Cameron was supposed to be personal and highly confidential. It was written ahead of last week’s key meeting of the National Security Council, chaired by the PM, and had not been copied to other ministerial colleagues. But when it was leaked to the press, it confirmed rumours that have been swirling around Whitehall for the past few months about the status of the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). Far from being a serious piece of stock-taking about Britain’s place in the world, it is now apparent that the review has degenerated into a bad-tempered scrap that has everything to do with political and financial point-scoring and very little to do with strategy and the future role of the country’s armed forces.
Herald on Sunday 3rd Oct 2010 more >>
