British Energy
Centrica is in talks with EDF, the French utility giant, to create a new Anglo-French company to mount an £11 billion bid for British Energy (BE). Sam Laidlaw, chief executive of Centrica, the British power group, has been in negotiations with his counterpart at EDF for several weeks. Centrica is believed to want a stake of some 25% in the joint venture and EDF would retain the rest. The tie-up would face competition issues.
Sunday Times 4th May 2008 more >>
NDA
Ian Roxburgh, chief executive of the much-maligned Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, is quitting at the end of the year.
Observer 4th May 2008 more >>
Radiation and Health
THE UK government has made an 11th-hour intervention in the long-running dispute between the Scottish NHS and anti-nuclear campaigners over the release of childhood leukaemia figures. Justice secretary Jack Straw’s department was given leave to intervene earlier this month when the landmark case reached the House of Lords. Whitehall said the case raised “important” issues and is challenging parts of the original decision to publish the statistics. The saga can be traced to a freedom of information request lodged in January 2005 by the Scottish Greens for a breakdown of leukaemia statistics for under-15s in Dumfries and Galloway. Michael Collie, the applicant, wanted to know whether there were cancer clusters next to the Chapelcross power station and the Dundrennan military firing range. However, the Common Services Agency (CSA), a Scottish NHS body, blocked release on the grounds of patient confidentiality.
Sunday Herald 4th May 2008 more >>
New evidence of child cancer rises near nuclear plants Children living near nuclear plants run a higher risk of getting cancer, according to three major new studies by scientists from Germany and the US. The studies have re-ignited the decades-old debate over whether radiation leaking from nuclear power and weapons sites increases the incidence of childhood leukaemia in the surrounding area. Experts say that the new evidence greatly strengthens the case for releasing a detailed breakdown of leukaemia rates amongst children in the south west of Scotland to help find out if they have suffered from nuclear pollution.
Sunday Herald, 4th May 2008 (but not online)
www.robedwards.com, 4th May 2008 more >>
New nukes
Letter: THERE are two glaring omissions from Professor Harvey’s article on ‘Peak Oil’ (Insight, April 27). Nowhere does he mention the future role of nuclear energy in generating electric power, and nowhere does he deal with the burgeoning civil aviation industry. The first omission is understandable, as his party (along with the Liberal-Democrats) has embraced a blinkered policy against nuclear energy.
Scotland on Sunday 4th May 2008 more >>
Hinkley
Bosses at the controversial Hinkley Point power station have defended the decision to store nuclear waste on the site for up to 60 years, claiming it will pose no risk to public health. Hinkley Point B section director Nigel Cann said spent uranium would be stored in a pool at the new plant, which has been ordered by the Government, but insisted it would not be a danger to residents.
Western Morning News 3rd May 2008 more >>
Iran
THE head of MI6, Sir John Scarlett, is to visit Israel later this month as Britain forges closer links with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service. Iran’s nuclear programme is expected to be high on the agenda in an intelligence-sharing process described by Israeli officials as a “strategic dialogue”. It is building on long-standing cooperation between MI6 and Mossad, both of which have extensive spy networks in the Middle East.
Sunday Times 4th May 2008 more >>
