Waste Transport
About 30,000 anti-nuclear protesters are expected to demonstrate tomorrow against a shipment of highly radioactive nuclear waste, nicknamed “Chernobyl on wheels”, that is being moved across France and Germany by train. Although the exact route of the convoy is being kept secret, protesters have organised demonstrations at cities along its 900-mile route. At least 17,000 German riot police are poised for what could be one of the biggest anti-nuclear demonstrations in years. By early this afternoon hundreds of activists had chained themselves to trees along the route or were preparing to lock themselves to the railway track. Yannick Rousselet, of Greenpeace, said: “Never in history has such a quantity of radioactive material ever been transported.” Laura Hameaux, of Sortir du Nuclaire, a network of 875 anti-nuclear groups, said: “It is at least twice the radioactivity of all the radioactive pollution from the Chernobyl catastrophe and [local people] haven’t even been informed of its route.”
Guardian 6th Nov 2010 more >>
Greenpeace has staged protests against a nuclear waste convoy which it claimed was “the most radioactive shipment in history” amounting to the radioactive equivalent of 11 Chernobyl disasters.
The “Train from Hell” carrying 123 tons of nuclear waste in 11 coaches set off yesterday afternoon from northwestern France to Germany under tight security, including 80 armed guards and fighter jets on standby. It was due to pass close to at least five major cities, bypassing Paris by only about 100 miles during its 700-mile journey. Protesters blocked the train’s progress at Caen, northern France last night, chaining themselves to the tracks just outside the station.
Telegraph 6th Nov 2010 more >>
A small group of anti-nuclear activists temporarily blocked a train in France on Friday carrying nuclear waste to Germany by attaching themselves to railway tracks with metal cuffs, French authorities said. The first such shipment in two years is likely to draw far bigger protests when it finally arrives in Germany, due to anger over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s decision to extend the lifespan of Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants.
Reuters 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Business Week 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Earth Times 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Anti-nuclear activists say they have successfully re-routed a highly radioactive train travelling from France to Germany. The exact itinerary of the convoy remains top secret, but the latest declaration by demonstrators came after some managed to cuff themselves to tracks near the north-western French city of Caen.
Euro News 6th Nov 2010 more >>
Nuclear Waste train left La Hague on Friday afternoon going to Germany.
Castor Tracker (in English) more >>
The inhabitants of Gorleben, a town in northern Germany, have been battling against plans to store radioactive waste at a dump near their homes for three decades now. They have vowed to do everything they can to prevent what they’ve dubbed the “train from hell” delivering the waste.
France 24 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Waste Transport/Lillyhall
Following an audit by Department of Transport staff earlier this year the Studsvik radioactive waste recycling plant in Cumbria has stopped using its waste transport packages. “A range of deficiencies” were identified in the audit according to the Health and Safety Executive. Details at
HSE November 2010 more >>
Kings Cliffe
Corby’s MP said people from every part of her seat were opposed to a plan to dump low-level nuclear waste near near Kings Cliffe. Louise Bagshawe, who also represents East Northamptonshire, was speaking on the eighth day of a public inquiry into the plan by Augean Plc for a landfill site. Northamptonshire County Council officers originally backed the plan, but it was unanimously rejected by councillors in March.
BBC 5th Nov 2010 more >>
New Nukes
Argentinean academic and activist Raul Montenegro on why indigenous people hold the keys to survival, why GM technologies only profit big business and how nuclear power ignores the rights of future generations.
Ecologist 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Andrew Simms: Brand and Lynas try to label environmentalists as anti-science and anti-progress. But both they, and the corporate lobbies promoting GM food and nuclear power, fail to acknowledge that the green movement is merely in favour of different applications of science, ones they conclude are more likely to deliver better progress. The question should be, which tool is best for the job? Who holds the fish, and who the spanner? Brand and Lynas are waving fish. A wide range of agro-ecological farming methods coupled with land reform and economic support to small farmers are more proven, more productive and more likely to reliably feed the poor than GM. And, numerous, quicker, cheaper, safer and more efficient climate friendly energy strategies and technologies than nuclear are available.
Guardian Blog 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Sizewell
Babcock made a significant contribution to bringing Sizewell B power station back online last month. The station is again generating enough low carbon electricity to serve two million homes. EDF Energy took the decision to bring Sizewell B offline in March following the failure of some heaters in the pressurizers. Jim Crawford, Sizewell B Station Director, said: “Bringing Sizewell B back online was a team effort between our own staff, those from the wider EDF group and our contracting partners such as Babcock”.
Penn Energy 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Following a Freedom of Information request received in September 2010, subsequently dealt with under the Environmental Information Regulations, copies of a Project Assessment Report (PAR) relating to the return to service of Sizewell B nuclear power station and an associated safety case document were released. These documents can be read in conjunction with an executive summary report which had already been published on the HSE website.
HSE 5th Nov 2010 more >>
US/EDF
Even if it is propped up with extensive government subsidies or full cost-recovery from ratepayers, the “Evolutionary Power Reactor” (EPR) – which the French government-controlled utility, Electricite de France (EDF) plans to deliver for the troubled Calvert Cliffs-3 project and other sites in the United States – is “in crisis” to such a severe extent that it is likely to be an economic failure, according to a new report released today by University of Greenwich Professor of Energy Studies Stephen Thomas. The Thomas report findings have special resonance in the U.S. given EDF’s attempt to salvage the Calvert Cliffs-3 nuclear reactor project, which is considered a leading candidate for U.S. loan guarantees backed by American taxpayers. In addition to Calvert Cliffs-3 in Maryland, the EPR was selected as the reactor design in the U.S. for Bell Bend in Pennsylvania, Nine Mile Point in New York and Callaway in Missouri (latter two applications currently suspended).
PR Newswire 4th Nov 2010 more >>
US
With the Obama Administration’s decision to defund the Yucca Mountain nuclear- waste repository, many industry observers wonder what the next step for permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel will be. Many are keeping a watchful eye on the president’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, which Obama established in January 2010 to develop recommendations to guide future policies for nuclear waste.
Engineering News Record 3rd Nov 2010 more >>
Uranium
The national uranium company in the Czech Republic, Diamo, has been working for years to keep toxic waste left by decades of uranium mining from poisoning some of the country’s largest underground stocks of fresh water or reaching the Elbe River. The cleanup, which began in 1996, is expected to last 30 more years, with a total cost of around $2.75 billion. Yet despite the costly mess, anticipation that demand for nuclear energy will keep growing globally, on top of local fears about overdependence on Russia for fuel, have rekindled interest in the old mines from companies as far afield as Australia.
New York Times 4th Nov 2010 more >>
France/China
France and China last night announced that they will form a ‘strategic’ partnership in civilian nuclear power. Deals worth more than $20billion (£12.47billion) have been agreed between the two countries, including many in the nuclear sector. French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave Chinese President Hu Jintao the red-carpet treatment and said France envisions a ‘strategic collaboration’ with China in the nuclear sphere ‘without limits’. Mr Sarkozy revealed that his country and China plan to work together on nuclear reactors, fuel recycling and uranium extraction from mines, and will consider selling the products of this cooperation to third parties.
Daily Mail 5th Nov 2010 more >>
Submarines
Nuclear submarines have crashed almost every year for the past two decades, the Ministry of Defence has admitted.
Telegraph 6th Nov 2010 more >>
Solar
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy have developed a material that could turn an ordinary-looking window into a solar panel. If developed successfully, the breakthrough means that any window could do double duty as a solar panel, and entire glass-walled buildings could be designed around their capacity to generate solar energy. Aside from their use in residences and office buildings, transparent solar panels also raise the potential to add value other structures such as solar greenhouses.
Clean Technica 4th Nov 2010 more >>
Solar/Nuclear Weapons
Solon has inaugurated its first ground-mounted solar power plants in France, located in Ferrassi res near Avignon, in the Rh ne-Alpes region. Solon Investments planned and constructed the two turnkey plants, with a combined nominal output of 3MWp, on the former site of two launch pads for intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles.
PV Tech 5th Nov 2010 more >>
