Terror
SEIZURES of smuggled radioactive material capable of making a terrorist “dirty bomb” have doubled in the past four years, according to official figures seen by The Times. Smugglers have been caught trying to traffick dangerous radioactive material more than 300 times since 2002, statistics from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) show. Most of the incidents are understood to have occurred in Europe.
Times 6th Oct 2006
New nukes
Greenpeace laid down a legal challenge to the government’s energy review last night, lodging papers at the High Court that alleged there was not a “full public consultation” before this summer’s decision to approve new nuclear power stations. The environmental pressure group hopes to force the governmentto reopen the review’s consultation on whether nuclear power stations should be built. Tony Blair has endorsed nuclear power as a way of generating energy without greenhouse gases. But opponents argue that the cost of dealing with radioactive waste, and the threat of terrorism at nuclear sites, makes nuclear uneconomic and dangerous.
FT 6th Oct 2006
Greenpeace Press Release 5th October 2006
Reuters 6th Oct 2006
Reuters 5th Oct 2006
BNG Privatisation
SELLAFIELD unions have reacted angrily to reports that the site’s state-owned operator British Nuclear Group could soon be broken up. Gary Smith, GMB national officer for the nuclear industry, claims that such a move would be a disaster akin to the privatisation of Railtrack. He said: “There has been no consultation with the unions on the break up of BNG. Reports suggest that BNG’s parent company, British Nuclear Fuels, wants BNG to be broken up and sold off in bits. It is likely that the Project Services consultancy business would be sold first, along with BNG’s one-third share in a £600m contract to manage the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.
Carlisle News and Star 5th Oct 2006
Nuclear Skills
Cumbria’s Nuclear Academy at Lillyhall is advertising for a Chief Executive at £80,000
West Cumbrian Times and Star 6th Oct 2006
Dounreay
A £500,000 fund has been set up to help the far north economy become less reliant on the Dounreay nuclear plant. The North Highland Regeneration Fund will offer start-up support to new businesses. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is also to publish details of its socio-economic policy.It will set out how the NDA will work with other organisations to ease the impact on the area once Dounreay is fully decommissioned.
BBC 5th Oct 2006
North Korea
As tensions in Asia over the nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula continued to rise yesterday, China warned North Korea of “serious consequences” if it carried out its threat to test its first nuclear bomb.
Independent 6th Oct 2006
Moscow is “holding direct talks with the leaders of North Korea” to try to prevent Pyongyang carrying out a test of a nuclear weapon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said here.
Interactive Investor 5th Oct 2006
Ban Ki-moon, the South Korean foreign minister who is set to be confirmed as the next United Nations secretary-general on Monday, said yesterday he would use his UN mandate directly to tackle North Korea over its nuclear programme.
FT 6th Oct 2006
Iran
France Germany Russia and China will meet in the UK today to discuss the situation in Iran.
Sky 6th October 2006
Nuclear Waste
Fears that Coleshill could become a dumping ground for nuclear waste have been allayed by the borough’s MP. Land at Hams Hall was one of 13 sites singled out for underground burial of radioactive material in 1980 and was ruled out at the time due to public outcry.
Tamworth Herald 5th Oct 2006
