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AFP: Spain backtracks on nuclear power phase-out
Spain's government said Thursday it would allow the country's oldest nuclear reactor to operate beyond its intended 40-year lifespan, reversing a policy of gradually phasing out nuclear power.
Industry Minister Miguel Sebastian said the Garona plant in northern Spain, which had been designed to function only until 2011 and whose operating permit expires on Sunday, would now be allowed to operate until July 2013.
"This was not an easy decision but it is a thought-out decision," he told a news conference, adding the decision would allow for the preservation of jobs in the region at a time of high unemployment.
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AFP: Poor plans halted Finnish nuke reactor: officials
Poor planning has led to rising costs and huge delays for a nuclear reactor going up in Finland, the country's biggest-ever construction project, officials have said.
The plant on the island of Olkiluoto in western Finland, to be run by Finnish nuclear power company TVO, was meant to start production this summer.
But it is now not expected to open for another three years and Finnish authorities cannot hide their disappointment with Areva-Siemens, the Franco-German contractor running the building operations.
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Future of clean energy is written on the wind -- Shanghai Daily | 上海日报 -- English Window to China New
SHANGHAI is rich in clean green wind power and the city is constructing more and more windmills as part of a sustainable energy plan. Zhang Qian flips the switch. The sails of hundred-meter-high windmills rotate in the wind in the mudflats of suburban Shanghai. Row upon row of turbines with huge vanes are generating new clean electricity.
Shanghai is rich in sustainable wind resources and is increasing its wind energy capacity as part of an overall plan to reduce pollution and develop clean energy.
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Uranium found on the Moon | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine
Scientists using data from the recently-Moon-smacked Kaguya spacecraft have found evidence of radioactive elements on the lunar surface, including, for the first time, uranium!
That’s pretty cool. It’s a little unexpected to me, too. One of the key aspects of the Moon is that it’s not as dense as the Earth — in fact, it’s just a bit more than half the Earth’s density — so you don’t expect it to have a lot of denser materials. Also, dense materials tend to sink and lighter ones float in a liquid, and we know the Moon was once entirely molten. So most of the uranium (which is among the densest of all elements) should be near the Moon’s core, not on the surface.
Most, but not all. It appears there is some on the surface!
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Merkel Retreats on Nuclear Power, Backs Electric Cars - Bloomberg.com
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party ruled out for the first time building nuclear-power plants in Germany and backed plans to develop electric-car technology, aiming to broaden its appeal for Sept. 27 national elections.
While Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, agreed to stick to a policy of extending the lifespan of existing atomic plants, their joint campaign program presented in Berlin today describes nuclear power as merely a “bridge” to greater use of renewable energy.
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Ex-top bureaucrat acknowledges secret Japan-U.S. pact on port calls by vessels with nukes - The Mainichi Daily News
A former top bureaucrat in the Foreign Ministry has admitted that he received from his predecessor a document on a secret Japan-U.S. agreement on port calls by U.S. vessels carrying nuclear weapons.
Ryohei Murata, 79, who now lives in Kyoto, received the document from his predecessor when he assumed the post of administrative vice foreign minister in July 1987.
"I had heard that there was a secret agreement, but I first saw a Japanese document on it when I became administrative vice minister," Murata said in an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun.
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TheStar.com | Ontario | Bruce nuclear plant unsafe, workers say
Half-tonne load of steel at facility falls 20 metres from crane
Nearly half a tonne of steel plummeted 20 metres to the ground from atop a Bruce Power plant crane last month, narrowly missing workers below and raising safety concerns at the nuclear facility, the Star has learned.
"The fact that this was a near-miss in human terms was mere luck," says a plant safety briefing into the May 12 incident obtained by the Star.
The impact shook the floor of the giant plant, says one worker.
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AFP: Canada suspends new nuclear reactor construction
Ontario, Canada's economic hub, announced Monday the suspension of its plan to build two new nuclear reactors, citing concerns about vendor Atomic Energy Canada Limited's viability, and pricing.
The provincial government said AECL's bid to build the two new nuclear power plants at its Darlington station, 43 miles (70 kilometers) east of Toronto, by 2018 was the only one to meet its terms and objectives.
The project was to be the first step in the modernization of Ontario's aging nuclear fleet.
France's Areva and Westinghouse Electric Company, a subsidiary of Japan's Toshiba, had also bid on the project in February.
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See how government 'fixed' hazards of infectious waste
Contaminated needles and scalpels, bloodied bandages, unused prescription drugs, soiled hospital garments, radioactive waste and refuse tainted with infectious disease: These are only a few items that may be discarded on a curbside, abandoned in a nearby lake or piled in a dumpster headed for the local landfill.
Some say Americans are simply oblivious to the imminent risk of major hazards and contagions spreading throughout their communities at any given time.
Former Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., grew concerned about medical waste hauling after Sept. 11. He told WND that 15 years ago, the nation's hospitals incinerated much of the infectious waste on site. However, the Environmental Protection Agency mandated strict guidelines for incinerators after concerns about air pollution, forcing most hospitals to hire outside personnel to haul medical waste away.
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Consumers' fees pile up along with nuclear waste | GreenvilleOnline.com | The Greenville News
Since 1983, consumers in South Carolina and other states with nuclear power plants have paid a special fee on their electricity bills to cover the costs of a long-planned national repository for radioactive waste.
The fee has generated more than $30 billion for the federal government's Nuclear Waste Fund over the years, according to the Department of Energy. South Carolina's contribution was more than $1.2 billion at the end of last year.
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Howard Hughes and the atomic bomb - Los Angeles Times
At the center of a desolate valley in the middle of Nevada, more than a dozen miles from the nearest paved road, one of the few signs of human activity is a rusty steel well casing that juts oddly out of the desert floor.
Nobody lives here, but it has a name: the Central Nevada Test Area. It was once a hub of scientific activity. Today, it is an abandoned outpost of the Cold War.
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Could Israel be making these DU Weapons and what are the implications?
Most DU weapons manufactured in the United States show a distinct difference between conventional weapons and those that contain DU and other toxic elements such as Tungsten etc. The warhead clearly shows the Rod with a Sabot sitting just below the point. It must be clearly understood that despite any re classification that may have taken place by the US Government these truly are nuclear related weapons.
You can clearly see that the Israel's IMI is manufacturing weapons that are almost identical to the US weapons that are displayed in the left hand picture above.
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Did Iraq Contractor KBR Expose Troops To Deadly Toxin? - cbs4.com
Contractor KBR Inc. Accused Of Exposing Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan To Deadly Contaminants
Senate Hearing To Examine How Government Can Take Precautions In Such Situations
Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.
James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer, which spread to his spine, ribs and one of his thighs; he must often use a cane, and no longer rides his beloved Harley.
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La Ronge The Northerner - The future of uranium consultation
A crowd fi lled the room for the Future of Uranium in Saskatchewan Public Consultation Process, a process initiated by the Government of Saskatchewan; the consultation held a meeting in La Ronge June 16.
The consultation began with the viewing of three videos, a SaskPower presentation Powering your future, which offered an overview of the ancticipated power needs for Saskatchewan in the future; a video presentation by Dr. Richard Florizone, who chaired the Uranium Development Partnership (UDP); and a video from Clean Green Saskatchewan, outlining concerns about the possible increased used of nuclear power in the province. Several people voiced concern about both the process of the consultation and the prospect of the possible building of a nuclear reactor in Saskatchewan.
A major concern expressed by several people was the presentation of one option, nuclear energy, when others are available.
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Associated Press: House passes major energy-climate bill
In a triumph for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed sweeping legislation Friday that calls for the nation's first limits on pollution linked to global warming and aims to usher in a new era of cleaner, yet more costly energy.
The vote was 219-212, capping months of negotiations and days of intense bargaining among Democrats. Republicans were overwhelmingly against the measure, arguing it would destroy jobs in the midst of a recession while burdening consumers with a new tax in the form of higher energy costs.
At the White House, Obama said the bill would create jobs, and added that with its vote, the House had put America on a path toward leading the way toward "creating a 21st century global economy."
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Asse nuclear dump contains explosives - The Local
The controversial salt-mine nuclear waste storage facility in Asse, Lower Saxony is not only crumbling but also contains unknown amounts of explosive, it has emerged.
Officials who confirmed the reports are now scrambling to get them removed.
A spokesman for the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) confirmed a DDP report on Friday, saying, there was some there, but only a small amount of old stocks.
He said the explosive was stored, “so that obviously there is no danger for the running of the store, or for the waste.”
The explosives would be rapidly removed, he added.
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France's Busted Nuclear Company Selling Stake To Mid-East And Asia
France's government control nuclear company Areva is busted. To cover a $4 billion budget gap, the company will be selling a 15% stake in the company to Asian and Mid-Eastern companies.
That puts 25% of the company in foreign hands, and it still doesn't provide enough money to cover its coming budget problems:
FT: But Areva’s investment needs to 2012 are estimated at between €8bn and €10bn, excluding the €2bn cost of buying Germany’s Siemens out of the engineering joint venture Areva NP.
The group faces rising reactor orders and an urgent need to modernise its ageing French facilities.
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AFP: France 'to sell stake' in Areva nuclear group
The French state will sell a chunk of nuclear giant Areva to Asian and Middle Eastern investors to help finance the future of a group considered a jewel in the country's industrial crown, a report said Friday.
The Financial Times said the government was preparing a capital increase for the state-controlled group and could sell a 15 percent stake to raise two billion euros (2.8 billion dollars).
The move would leave the French state with 75 percent of Areva, a world leader in nuclear power with manufacturing facilities in 43 countries, down from its current 90 percent.
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Charlotte Business Journal: Rating agencies raise nuclear issues
Building new nuclear plants could prove hazardous the credit ratings of power companies.
Moody’s Investors Services warns in its new report —“New Nuclear Generation: Ratings Pressure Increasing” — that it may view nuclear construction plans as a negative.
Moody’s worries that investment in new nuclear is so costly that it amounts to a “bet the farm” strategy. It increases business risk and operating risk. And the possibility that utilities might be forced to abandon some projects after construction starts, while less likely now than 20 years ago, cannot be dismissed.
Downgrades possible
The report notes that in the last round of construction — most of which occurred in the 1970s and 80s — proved troublesome for credit ratings.
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West Kentucky Star - Whitfield Works to Protect Sick Workers' Families
U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield (KY-01) introduced legislation Thursday in the House of Representatives, to ensure surviving family members are able to receive the benefits of sick workers from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in the event the former worker dies before claims processing is complete. The legislation is identical to the bill U.S. Senator Jim Bunning (R-KY) introduced in the Senate last week.
“Since entering Congress, ensuring sick workers from the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant get the care and compensation they are entitled to has been one of my top priorities,” Whitfield said. “This important legislation will help make certain the surviving family members of those workers are taken care of in the event they pass on before claims processing is complete.”
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