Time for change

Nuclear News: New Warnings About Costs of Nuclear Power

NYT Green blog: New Warnings About Costs of Nuclear Power
‘As anticipation grows about a possible renaissance for the nuclear power industry — and about its potential for curbing greenhouse gas emissions — some politicians are stepping up warnings about the high cost of such projects. Last week, Traicho Traikov, the Bulgarian economy and energy minister, said the cost of building a second plant near the Danube River had reached 9 billion euros, or $11.4 billion, according to the Sofia News Agency. The original cost of the project for two reactors was expected to be just under $4 billion. Bulgaria was seeking to push down the price with a Russian company, Atomstroyexport, the report said. Last week in Britain, Charles Hendry, the minister of state for energy, told Bloomberg News that he expected the cost of each new plant in Britain to be about £6 billion, or $9.3 billion. Mr. Hendry also said that utilities would be expected to come up with that money themselves, without state support, according to the report. To improve incentives for building nuclear plants, Mr. Hendry has suggested imposing a supplemental levy on coal and gas plants to raise the cost of emitting carbon dioxide. But many experts warn that new nuclear projects are simply too large without resorting to subsidies from governments.’

Associated Press: Japan says too early to resume Korea nuclear talks
‘TOKYO — Japan rejected North Korea's apparent interest in a quick resumption of six-party talks on Pyonyang's nuclear program, saying Tuesday that the time was not right for fresh discussions. The talks involving the two Koreas, China, the United States, Russia and Japan have been stalled since North Korea walked away from them in December 2008. But Chinese state media reported Monday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told President Hu Jintao that he would like to see the talks restarted. In a meeting Tuesday with China's nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said conditions for talks were not right considering the increased tensions in the region over the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March that an international team of investigators has blamed on Pyongyang.’

WPTZ.com: Auditor: More Oversight on Yankee Shutdown Fund Needed
‘MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Perhaps you've noticed your 401-k account isn't what it used to be? Neither are the balances in most of the nation's nuclear power plant decommissioning funds, money used to pay to decontaminate and cleanup each site. Vermont Yankee's decommissioning fund is no exception, though a new report by State Auditor Tom Salmon does not attempt to quantify by how much. Instead, auditors judged VY investment funds are too exposed to market ups and downs, and said fund managers lack adequate state oversight. The VY fund was valued at $446 million as of July 31, 2010, officials said, less than half what some nuclear experts say will be needed in coming years to restore the Vernon site. "We could have more stricter investment guidelines, like states like New Hampshire," Salmon said, which have insisted on more conservative fund management which pays for clean-up of the Seabrook nuclear power plant site.’

Times of India: Kovvada villagers stage protest against nuclear expert team
‘RANASTALAM (SRIKAKULAM): The experts team of nuclear energy and oceanography faced the ire of the local fishermen when they visited the proposed nuclear power plant site at Kovvada Matyalesam here on Tuesday. About ten members team accompanied by plant chief engineer and liaison officer G Venkata Ramesh were asked to go back by the local fishermen. The central government proposed a 10,000 MW nuclear power plant at Kovvada Matsyalesam villa ge in the mandal with technical support from GE and Westing House companies of America. The plant is one of the six nuclear plants proposed in the country. Villagers asked the experts to shift the proposed plant site from the district. They said the Centre had recently bracketed the district under `developed' areas list and put Vizianagaram as a backward district. "If the authorities say the plant would give scope to development of the area, then they should construct in a backward district like Vizianagaram," they bemoaned. The district authorities had planned to organize an awareness meeting with the people, mostly fisherfolk, on Wednesday to discuss the feasibility of the nuclear plant. But it was cancelled following the revolt from the people of the area, sources said.’

Dow Jones: UK Nuclear Decommission Body Seeks Comments On Updated Strategy
‘LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The U.K.'s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority published Wednesday a draft of its updated strategy and called upon stakeholders to comment on the draft's six broad themes. "In this strategy we are...much clearer on where issues have been examined and the strategy is now mature, and where there are still strategic challenges to be addressed," NDA Strategy Director Adrian Simper said in a statement. The six themes comprise site restoration, spent fuels, nuclear materials, integrated waste management, business optimization, and critical enablers. Topics range from investing in spent fuel management to consolidated storage of certain nuclear materials. The draft also includes plans to dispose of surplus assets and work on ways to share costs with others. The consultation period ends Nov 24. The NDA previously updated its strategy in 2006.’

Helsingin Sanomat: Foreign workers at nuclear construction site live isolated lives ‘The construction of Olkiluoto 3, Finland’s fifth commercial nuclear reactor, involves 1,200 workers from different countries, who live in barracks far away from the rest of society. The workers come from around Europe: Poland, Portugal, Kosovo, Albania, and Germany. The barracks are about 20 kilometres away from any services or local people, and the workers’ contacts with the rest of Finnish society do not function very well in general. The construction workers spend months and years in isolation, almost out of sight of the rest of society. Sociologist Anna Kontula became interested in the Olkiluoto construction site, and decided to spend a month interviewing the employees and following their lives. Kontula has written a pamphlet which will be published on Wednesday under the name Näkymätön kylä (“Invisible Village”), which tells of the isolation of the migrant workers, and of their difficulties both at the Olkiluoto construction site, and at the general level. “Finnish workers resort to their labour unions, public services, and unofficial networks. With the migrant workers, the networks are very distant, they do not know how to utilise public services, and they often have not heard of the labour unions. All of this underscores dependency on employers”, Kontula says.’

New Warnings About Costs of Nuclear Power

NYT: As anticipation grows about a possible renaissance for the nuclear power industry -- and about its potential for curbing greenhouse gas emissions -- some politicians are stepping up warnings about the high cost of such projects. Last week, Traicho Traikov, the Bulgarian economy and energy minister, said the cost of building a second plant near the Danube River had reached 9 billion euros, or $11.4 billion, according to the Sofia News Agency. The original cost of the project for ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

EU foreign policy chief in China

AFP: European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was in China Tuesday ahead of talks with top leaders on trade, climate change and security issues such as the Iran and North Korea nuclear standoffs. Ashton, who visited the World Expo in Shanghai on Monday, will take part in the inaugural EU-China High-Level Strategic Dialogue in the southwestern city of Guiyang on Wednesday, according to the EU. During the dialogue -- a forum intended to keep the two sides in contact on key ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Nuclear industry takes new path for new plants

AP: Power utilities are trying to buy the next wave of nuclear reactors much like a consumer buys a light bulb: right off the shelf. Of the nation's 104 commercial reactors, no two are exactly the same, a fact that experts blame for causing construction and regulatory delays and leading to bigger bills for power customers. The longer it took to approve and build a reactor a generation ago, the more electric customers ended up paying in the end. "That system just wasn't workable," ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Exelon to buy Deere's wind power unit for $860 million

Reuters: Electric utility Exelon Corp said it will buy Deere & Co's wind power business for about $860 million, expanding its portfolio of carbon-free electricity generation. Exelon, the largest U.S. nuclear power operator, said the acquisition of John Deere Renewables will add 735 operating megawatts (MW) of clean energy to its portfolio, which currently includes about 1,000 MW of renewable power. The deal includes a provision for an additional payment of $40 million for ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

The ‘cure’ for nuclear waste is worse than the illness

In his opinion piece 'The Burden of Nuclear Waste' this week, philosopher Behnam Taebi of the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands argues that moving the nuclear industry into the direction of breeder reactors and reprocessing could significantly reduce the waste burden. He believes that the risks of nuclear proliferation from such technology could be controlled.

It should be noted that Taebi's opinion is highly controversial even within the nuclear industry. Take the 2003 report by MIT, 'The Future of Nuclear Power', which studied policies to enable a significant growth of nuclear power plants. On breeder technology and reprocessing (also called Generation IV) MIT concluded that it would make nuclear energy even more dangerous and prone to nuclear accidents, that it would increase the risks of the illegal spread of nuclear weapons materials and that there is no clear advantage regarding waste production. On top of that, the costs would escalate, making it even more expensive than the price tag of at least 7bn USD for planned reactors in the US.  MIT advised the US – in order to re-launch nuclear power – to shelf Generation IV and stick to known reactor designs which would still require state subsidies.

Greenpeace disagrees. We should really stop spending taxpayers money on nuclear power altogether. Some renewable energy sources such as wind energy are already cheaper than new reactors, while they do not generate radioactive waste, they create more jobs and can not cause a radioactive cloud to cover the earth, as happened nearly 25years ago in Chernobyl, Ukraine. These renewable technologies are readily available, in contrast to Generation IV nuclear reactors which still need several technological breakthroughs. Renewables are secure, affordable, reliable, and ready to do the job.

So far, there is no solution for nuclear power’s deadly waste – it will be a burden for thousands of generations to come. That is where some nuclear proponents see a role for the Generation IV concept. It is more a political than a technological concept. By painting the prospects of an imaginary magic solution for nuclear waste and safety risks, the nuclear industry argues that we continue generating more radioactive waste –“no worries guys, we'll fix it”. The reality is less rosy, and this has been reflected in the US policy for the last four decades. In 1976, President Gerald Ford banned civil reprocessing because of proliferation concerns. By the time President Ronald Reagan lifted the strict ban on reprocessing, it was too uneconomical to materialise. Since then, nothing has really changed.

Meanwhile, further investments in reprocessing and breeder technology drag us deeper into a global proliferation crisis. France has historically been proud of its sophisticated breeder technology, allowing the production of 'super-grade' plutonium to develop smaller, precise and highly reliable nuclear bombs. No wonder that China was keen to conclude a deal with the French nuclear giant AREVA, including collaboration on the development of breeder technology. This 'vertical' proliferation, i.e. the further development of even more sophisticated weapons by the five declared nuclear weapons' states, cannot be isolated from the 'horizontal' proliferation: countries like India, Pakistan or possibly North-Korea and Iran obtaining nuclear weapons technology. Many experts regard the nuclear cooperation agreement between the US and India, which includes collaboration on reprocessing technologies, as the beginning of the end of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The Obama administration should have a good look at President Ford’s non-proliferation policy and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act the resulted from that in 1978 under President Carter. Although far from perfect, this legislation at least banned so-called civil reprocessing and has been an important counterweight against unscrupulous countries such a France, who keep handing over their sensitive weapons-usable technology to basically anyone with money.

(This post is by Jan van de Putte, nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace International)

Nuclear News: Chernobyl Effects Could Last for Centuries

Pravda: Chernobyl Effects Could Last for Centuries
‘Nearly 25 years after the worst nuclear accident in history, new scientific findings suggest that the effects of the explosion at Chernobyl have been underestimated. Experts last month published a series of studies indicating that, contrary to previous findings, populations of animals decreased in the exclusion zone surrounding the site of the former nuclear power plant, and that the effects of radioactive contamination after the outbreak had been "overwhelming." More and more pigs with high levels of cesium are found at the scene. This information was disclosed months after doctors detected increased rates of cancer in Ukraine and Belarus, mutations and diseases of the blood, which they believe are related to Chernobyl. Meanwhile, an American investigation published in April found an increase in birth defects, apparently due to sustained exposure to low level doses of radiation. For activists against nuclear power, these studies demonstrate that the inhabitants of the affected area will suffer devastating consequences for decades, perhaps centuries. "This is a problem that will not go away in few years. It will be there for centuries," said Rianne Teule, from the environmental organization, Greenpeace.’

Nuclear N-Former: India finalizes Indo-US deal
‘India’s Parliament approved a final, critical piece of a long-delayed landmark civil nuclear agreement on Monday, a pact regarded as a cornerstone of a Bush-era effort to transform the relationship between the United States and the world’s largest democracy. But even as supporters praised a historic victory, the end result is probably not what the United States had hoped for, nor does it seem likely to signal a new era in relations between the United States and India. Indeed, some analysts say the compromises needed to move Monday’s legislation through India’s contentious Parliament could undermine the practical impact of a political, diplomatic and economic accord that took years to negotiate. With President Obama scheduled to make his first visit to India in early November, the governments in both countries are trying to strengthen a relationship sometimes described as a natural and strategic alliance of democracies. But drawing closer has proved complicated as differences remain on issues like trade and climate change as well as how to effectively deal with Pakistan. The nuclear issue, putatively about India’s future, has sparked weeks of bitter political debate in New Delhi, tapped into Indian nationalism and public suspicion of foreign corporate interests while also dredging up a very different chapter in the countries’ relations: the 1984 Union Carbide industrial disaster at Bhopal, which killed thousands. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accused of toadying to America, appeared before the lower house of Parliament to deny that his allegiance was anywhere but with India.’
 
Eurasia.net: New Nuke Plant in Armenia Draws Criticism from Environmentalists
‘Armenian leaders are ecstatic that Russia is getting involved in the construction of a new nuclear power plant at Metsamor. Environmentalists and technical experts are far less enthused, saying that a new Metsamor unit poses considerable risks. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev signed bilateral agreements on August 20 to enable Moscow’s participation in the construction of a new unit at the Metsamor atomic power station. Under the agreement, Russia could contribute about 20 percent of the financing for the unit’s construction, currently projected at between $5 billion and $7.2 billion. Work is slated to begin in 2012, although questions remain about how Armenia will come up with the bulk of the money to build the facility. Construction of the new unit, capable of producing 1,060 Megawatts of power annually, will help Armenia comply with the international community’s wishes to shut down the VVER reactors. Currently, Metsamor produces about 40 percent of the power consumed in Armenia. Environmentalists say that the area’s vulnerability to earthquakes, makes operating a nuclear plant at Metsamor a high-risk proposition, regardless of the new reactor’s design. "It's a crime to build a new nuclear power station in Metsamor," Hakob Sanasaryan, president of the Greens Union of Armenia, told EurasiaNet.org. "A nuclear power station cannot be constructed near water and agricultural systems, in seismic zones, in densely populated areas.’

French Nuclear Watchdog Says EDF Has Problems With Flamanville EPR Liner
‘Electricite de France SA, Europe’s biggest power producer, experienced renewed problems with welding quality at the EPR nuclear reactor being built in Normandy, according France’s nuclear safety agency. Faults in welds of the containment liner of the Flamanville EPR, the utility’s first in France, were found during an inspection in July, the Autorite de Surete Nucleaire said in an Aug. 27 report on its website. EDF officials weren’t immediately available for a comment. "Welding difficulties caused by the ergonomics of the welder’s post’ were the cause of similar problems at the building site in 2008 and 2009 and treatment by EDF ‘was not performed correctly,’ according to the report. The agency also said EDF was slow in detecting ‘inferior weld quality.’ EDF’s EPR, which was designed by Areva SA, is considered key to the utility’s ability to export nuclear technology to other countries. Earlier this month, EDF was asked for modifications of the control platform on the reactor, which is delayed and will cost more than expected.  EDF is developing a similar model in Taishan, China, and plans more in Italy, the U.K. and U.S. The state-controlled operator of France’s 58 nuclear reactors in July said the Normandy reactor will cost 5 billion euros to develop, about 50 percent more than initially estimated, and will be delayed by about two years to 2014.’

Gabon's Dark Side of Dams and Mines
‘An independent study released this month by Gabonese NGO, Brainforest, documents the devastation caused by uranium and manganese mines in southeast Gabon. The study, Impacts of mining on the local populations and the environment in Haut-Ogooué, also describes the government’s plan to build the Grand Poubara hydropower dam to help expand mining and mineral processing. Toxic pollution of the rivers and soil, disappearance of fish, and lack of public information are amongst Brainforest’s main concerns. The report hopes to bring attention to the government's role in enabling profits at the cost of local people. Since 1961, French company Areva has operated four uranium mines at Mounana. Radioactive residues from the mines have contaminated the area’s waterways and soils. During the mine’s first 15 years, radioactive waste was poured directly into the river. The radioactive contamination is the source of the main environmental and medical problems for nearby villagers. In nearby Moanda, manganese mining is conducted by a subsidiary of French company, Eramet.  After the manganese is mined, it is processed at the Industrial Complex of Moanda (CIM) and taken by train to the port of Owendo. Eramet would like to expand production through development of the 200 million Euros Metallurgical Complex of Moanda (CM). The complex would depend on electric power from the Poubara dams.’

Angela Merkel risks Germans' ire with fresh commitment to nuclear energy

Guardian: German chancellor Angela Merkel has announced an extension to the nation's nuclear power plant operations for up to 15 years beyond a scheduled phase-out, in a move critics fear might signal that atomic power is here to stay. The decision comes after a panel of experts advised that keeping the plants open was the only way of ensuring climate protection and economic goals were met and that electricity prices did not soar out of control. Merkel, who spent last week touring some ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

New nuclear tech 'could benefit developing countries'

SciDev.Net: The world is on the brink of a nuclear power renaissance, and developing countries may also benefit, according to researchers. In a study published in Science this month (12 August) British researchers outlined a vision for flexible and more user-friendly nuclear technologies, as worries over the climate change, energy supply security, and depletion of fossil fuels, are overturning decades of hesitancy over the safety of nuclear power plants. Robin Grimes, materials researchers ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

India parliament approves nuclear liability bill

Reuters: India's parliament on Monday approved a bill to open up the country's $150 billion nuclear power market, sealing legislation crucial for the entry of U.S. firms like General Electric and Westinghouse Electric. The legislation, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said was critical for India's energy security, was backed by the main opposition after the government agreed to tougher provisions which a business lobby said could hinder the sector's growth. Opening up the sector will ...
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German ministers clash on nuclear report

BERLIN (Reuters) - Two key German ministers took different positions on Monday on the length of time that nuclear power plants should be extended after Chancellor Angela Merkel reduced expectations for a long extension.
Read more [Reuters]

Slowing the Phase-Out: Merkel Wants to Extend Nuclear Power Plant Lifespans

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has for the first time provided concrete numbers in her vision of the future of nuclear power in the country. Members of the opposition have accused her of being a pawn of the nuclear lobby.
Read more [Spiegel Online]

Nuclear News: Kuwait unveils plan to tackle possible radiation accidents

The National Newspaper: Kuwait unveils plan to tackle possible radiation accidents
‘KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait’s ministry of health has announced a plan to deal with accidents involving radioactive pollution, one week after Kuwaiti officials expressed concern with the proximity of Iran’s new nuclear plant. “The ministry of health is ready to deal with any radioactive pollution accidents,” a senior ministry official, Samir al Asfour, told local reporters on Saturday, the state news agency, Kuna, reported. Mr al Asfour said the plan, which was formulated in co-ordination with civil defence officials, follows guidelines of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for countries located near nuclear reactors. “It includes draft emergency measures for each state department to follow in case of accidents involving nuclear radiation,” Mr al Asfour said. “A network consisting of 15 fixed and two mobile detection stations has been put in place nationwide to gauge the levels of radiation in the border areas as well as the residential areas.” Equipment to detect radiation levels in air, water, soil and food samples has been provided to Kuwaiti laboratories, Mr al Asfour said, adding that the ministry of health has up to 60 million doses of medication for treating radiation sickness.’

Deutsche Welle: Germany's Merkel eyes an extra decade of nuclear power
‘Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in on Germany's ongoing nuclear energy debate. She said the country needs to run its nuclear energy plants for at least 10 more years to keep energy costs down and ensure demand is met. German Chancellor Angela Merkel foresees keeping Germany's nuclear power plants running for at least another decade past their current phase out date. In 2002, the then-ruling SPD-Greens coalition passed a law that said all of Germany's nuclear power plants were due to go off line by 2022. But Merkel, coming off a recent tour of energy facilities around Germany, said in an interview with public broadcaster ARD that "on technical grounds, [an additional] 10 to 15 years is reasonable." The chancellor, citing an independent consultants' report set to be published this week, said such a time frame would ensure Germany's energy needs are met as the country transitions to renewable energy sources. Energy prices would remain under control and goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions would be reached with an extra 10 to 15 years of nuclear power, Merkel added.’

The Japan Times: Japan's textual demands vex civilian nuclear deal with India
‘LONDON — When Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada was in Delhi a few days back for the fourth round of strategic dialogue between Japan and India, he made it clear that negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation pact are going to be rather difficult. There are indications that these negotiations have stalled. It now looks unlikely that this pact will be signed during Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan in October as originally planned. It was in June that India and Japan began discussions on the possibility of Japan signing a civil nuclear agreement with India. It was a significant move for Japan, which has long been critical of Indian nuclear policy. Though India-Japan ties have blossomed in recent years on a whole range of issues, the nuclear issue has been a major irritant in the relationship. The Indian nuclear tests of 1998 marked the lowest point in bilateral relations, as Japan reacted strongly to the nuclearization of the subcontinent. Tokyo suspended economic assistance for three years as well as put on hold all political exchanges between the two nations.’

Argentina Star: Old nuclear facilities to go in Iraq
‘The European Union has agreed to help Iraq get rid of its Saddam-era nuclear facilities, which have become a problem for the country. The EU has signed an agreement which will bring EU scientists to assist the Iraqis in dismantling and decontaminating the nuclear facilities that were built when Saddam Hussein was in power. A $3.2 million agreement has been signed with Iraq in which the more complicated facilities will be cleaned up in less time than had been estimated. Iraq scientists have been trying to clean up ten old nuclear sites around the country, but the going has been slow. The EU program will train Iraqi scientists and provide equipment to get rid of radioactive materials and radioactive waste. EU nuclear officials have said they will put out a tender before the end of the month for firms interested in providing equipment to manage the dismantling program.’

The Hindu: Fatehabad farmers see nuclear plant as a liability
‘The agitating farmers of Gorakhpur-Kumharia village of Haryana have decided to stage an indefinite dharna outside the mini secretariat at Fatehabad, over 300 km from here, to protest against the acquisition of over 1,400 acres by the government for a nuclear power plant there. “We are not against technology; we just don't want it to be at the cost of farmers. We will convey this to the Prime Minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,” said Hans Raj, president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spearheading the stir. Speaking to The Hindu over phone from Fatehabad, he said: “We have already handed over a memorandum of our demands to the Deputy Commissioner and addressed it to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.” Apart from a section of farmers not ready to part with their land at any cost, there are many whose objection is to the price being offered. “In the proposed power plant, over 500 acres of land which is ‘most fertile' and fetches over Rs. 20 lakh per acre in market but the government rate is Rs. 11.65 lakh per acre which is unfair. The land must be bought at a fair price,” said another farmer.’

The Hindu: ‘Jaitapur nuclear plant needs thorough regulatory scrutiny' No answers on project cost were given by NPCIL
‘The Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), which is opposing the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant (JNPP) in Ratnagiri, has said that several questions on the project remain unanswered. At a recent press conference, Vivek Monteiro and Adwait Pednekar of the KBS said several issues were raised at meetings held among the KBS, Janhit Seva Samiti (JSS) and officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), at the instance of Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests. Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan had said that the plant's cost would be Rs. 1,00,000 crore and people would be offered the best rehabilitation package. Mr. Pednekar said till now no answers on the project cost were given by the NPCIL and nothing was said about the cost of power. At the two meetings held with the NPCI L and the others, it was clear that the JNPP, till date, did not receive regulatory approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).’

New York Times: The Burden of Nuclear Waste
‘DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS — Tensions within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration over Germany’s energy policy cut to the heart of a contentious, worldwide debate over the future of nuclear power. The old controversies over nuclear reactors — their dangers, benefits and costs — have been raised to the forefront. But as politicians, energy experts and the general public weigh the pros and cons, one key element in harnessing energy from the atom is being neglected: the link between the different methods of producing nuclear power and the nature — and longevity — of the radioactive waste that each method leaves behind. This in turn raises the issue of intergenerational justice: The technical choices we make today will determine the extent of the burden humanity will face in containing contaminated byproducts that can remain radioactive for tens of thousands of years. While an increasing number of states are being swayed by the fact that nuclear power can enhance domestic energy security, produce large amounts of energy, and emit very low greenhouse gas byproducts, critics nonetheless remain vociferous.’

Atomkraft ist ein Irrweg, Frau Merkel!

‘Nuclear Power is the wrong path, Mrs. Merkel!’ was the message Greenpeace sent to the German Chancellor yesterday by projecting it on the Emsland nuclear power plant…

Greenpeace is calling on German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who visited Emsland yesterday, not to extend the operation time of nuclear power plants in Germany. The former government passed a law in 2002, declaring each plant should be shut down within an average of 32 years. This policy is now under review by Chancellor Merkel’s government.

(More information is available in German on the Greenpeace Germany website.)

Nuclear News: Safety fears raised at French reactor

Deccan Herald: Safety fears raised at French reactor
‘Anti-nuclear activists are seeking to halt construction of France’s latest-generation nuclear power plant at Flamanville, on the Normandy coast, arguing that changes introduced to solve problems with the reactor’s fuel pellet cladding have invalidated the plant’s original building permit. Didier Anger, head of the anti-nuclear action committee Crilan, and a former member of the European parliament, said the bid to block, or at least delay, construction of the EPR reactor had been made in a letter from the committee to the French nuclear safety authority, the ASN. Areva, the state-controlled French nuclear engineering company, is already battling construction delays and cost overruns at both Flamanville and Olkiluoto, in Finland, where it is building the first of its EPR plants. EPR originally stood for European Pressurised Reactor, a name that Areva subsequently changed to Evolutionary Power Reactor when it sought US certification. Areva has said that it would book a 400 million euros, or $516 million, first-half charge against cost overruns on the Olkiluoto project, bringing its total write-downs on the facility to 2.7 billion euros-- close to the 3 billion euros it estimated in 2005 as the cost of the entire job. The plant was originally due to go online up last year but is now expected to be operational in 2013.’

Christian Science Monitor: Iran wants role, after all, as nuclear fuel maker for Bushehr reactor
‘Iran has proposed to share fuel production with Russia for its Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant – a move bound to raise even more concerns about Tehran's nuclear ambitions. The power plant, which began receiving fuel Saturday and is set to commence producing power next month, is supposed to be operated under an agreement whereby Moscow supplies the uranium fuel for the plant and takes back all of the plant’s spent fuel for reprocessing in Russia. Bushehr’s completion was delayed for years, in part because of international qualms over how the plant’s fuel would be managed. International powers including the US dropped their opposition after Russia assured the international community that it would retain control of the fuel. Iran’s proposal to create a consortium with Russia to jointly manage Bushehr’s fuel cycle is one more development that will almost certainly put Iran’s nuclear program more sharply in the sights of the US Congress. Some lawmakers have already expressed disquiet over the Obama administration’s quiet tolerance of Russia’s fueling of the Bushehr reactor.’

The Telegraph: Cloud over Haripur plant
‘New Delhi, Aug. 26: Haripur, a probable site for a nuclear power plant, may have fallen off Russia’s radar because of protests against the project by farmers and fisher folk with Trinamul Congress support. “Our agreement with the Russians provided for two nuclear power plants being set up by them. While the site for one at Kudankulam (in Tamil Nadu) was fixed, the Russians have to indicate the other site,” Union minister for science and technology Prithviraj Chavan said today. The Centre, supposedly at the prodding of the Bengal government, had been trying to get the Russians into selecting Haripur as the second site for a 1,000MW plant. But a Planning Commission source said the Russian firm Rosatom was not keen to set up the plant in Haripur, partly because of the agitation by fishermen and farmers against the proposed plant. “The Russians will look at other coastal sites for the nuclear power plant,” the source in the plan panel said. In March this year, police in Bengal said arrested Maoist leader Telugu Deepak had confessed that his mission was to build a rebel base at Haripur in East Midnapore.’

The Jordan Times: Jordan Kingdom, Japan nearing nuclear deal
'AMMAN - Jordan and Japan are set to sign a nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA) “very soon”, a senior government official said. According to Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan, the two sides are in close negotiations and expect to sign an NCA “within weeks”. “We hope to sign an agreement with Japan in less than two months,” Hassan told The Jordan Times late Wednesday, highlighting the broad international support enjoyed by the Kingdom’s peaceful nuclear energy programme. The deal paves the way for Japanese companies to sell nuclear technology to the Kingdom and encourages closer exchange of expertise in the field. Japan currently generates one-third of its electricity from nuclear power, with 55 reactors producing over 49,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Japanese firm Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is part of a joint consortium with AREVA ATMEA1 technology in the running to construct the Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant. The NCA is a prerequisite for their bid to move forward. Japan and France have maintained that the consortium’s pressurised water reactor technology fits the Kingdom’s needs as it is less water intensive than other Generation III reactor models.'

Nuclear News: India's Lower House Passes Foreign Nuclear Power Plants Bill

Voice of America: India's Lower House Passes Foreign Nuclear Power Plants Bill
‘India's lower house of parliament has passed a controversial bill which will pave the way for foreign companies to build nuclear power plants in India. The legislation is crucial for American companies wanting to engage in civil nuclear commerce in India. The lower house of parliament passed the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill Wednesday after the government made several changes to win the support of the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. The amended bill triples the cap on compensation in the event of a nuclear accident to $322 million. It also extends provisions for liability claims to suppliers of nuclear reactors. The bill had been stalled for months by opposition parties and critics who demanded stricter liability for companies selling nuclear reactors if a mishap occurred. India's civil nuclear market opened up in 2008, when a landmark atomic energy pact with the United States led to the lifting of sanctions imposed for conducting nuclear tests. Prime Minister Singh says the bill is the last step in ending the country's nuclear isolation.’

Huntington News: Come and Get It --- Free Plutonium Sludge to Fertilize Your Organic Garden
‘Huntington, WV (HNN) - Back in 1999 Joe Harding told the Washington Post, “Everything was so safe, so riskless [at the Paducah enriched uranium gaseous diffusion plant] … We know the truth, I can feel it in my body.” Harding is no longer alive; he’s one of the workers who died of cancer. At the height of the Cold War in 1952, 1,800 men and women labored in hot, stadium sized buildings turning trainloads of dusty uranium powder into material for bombs, Joby Warrick wrote on August 8, 1999. However, plant management claimed that workers were safe due to an “insignificant amount of plutonium” processed at the Kentucky site. The workers were not monitored. From 1953 to 1976, the Post said , 103,000 metric tons of used uranium were sent to Paducah arriving in freight cars as fine black powder. Left from the plutonium –making process, “fission byproducts like technetium-99 and heavy metals known as "transuranics": neptunium and plutonium (which according the then Institute for Energy and Environmental Research is 100,000 times more radioactive per gram than uranium.) Workers were told respiratory protection was optional, they almost jokingly “salted” their bread in the cafeteria with green uranium dust, and when they got out of bed in the morning their linens would glow green.’

The Guardian: UK's nuclear reactor programme falls behind schedule
‘The schedule for the UK's nuclear reactor building programme has slipped behind already, the safety regulator has admitted, reinforcing concerns that the first reactor will not be built on time. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would probably have to issue an "interim" decision on the safety of the two new proposed reactor designs next June, the deadline for its assessment programme. The regulator expects significant chunks of extra work will remain before it can finally approve or reject the designs, but did not say how long this would take. Kevin Allars, director of the assessment programme at the HSE, said that companies could continue planning and carry out preparatory construction on proposed nuclear sites while they waited for a final decision. But he insisted that construction of a reactor could not start without its consent. Allars promised there would be no repeat of the chaotic construction in Finland of what was supposed to be Europe's first new reactor in decades. The Areva plant is more than three years behind schedule and more than €2bn (£1.6bn) over budget, with the Finnish regulator trying to approve each component of the design while it is being built. EDF has promised that the UK's first reactor will be operational in 2018, although it had originally said it would be running by the end of 2017.’

The Irish Times: Smuggled uranium seized in Moldova
‘THREE PEOPLE have been arrested in Moldova for trying to sell 1.8kg of smuggled uranium, in the latest case to raise questions about nuclear security in the former Soviet Union. Moldovan police say two of those arrested are former interior ministry officials, and that they are now searching for four more members of the group, which sought to sell the uranium-238 abroad for €9,000,000. It is not clear if the gang had found buyers for the uranium, which was stored without special equipment in the garage of one of the suspects, some of whom have previous convictions in Moldova, Russia and Romania for possessing radioactive material. “Seven members of the criminal group came under suspicion of police in the middle of June when they started to look for ways of selling the radioactive material,” said Chiril Motpan, a spokesman for Moldova’s interior ministry. A US laboratory confirmed that the radioactive material discovered was uranium-238, which must be enriched before it can be used in a nuclear power plant or weapon.’

Protest outside the Indian Parliament against the Nuclear Liability Bill

© Amit madheshiya / Greenpeace

Greenpeace activists today climbed lamp posts in front of Parliament with banners carrying messages deamnding [r1] Members of Parliament stop the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010, which is being tabled today for passing in the Lok Sabha. Greenpeace has been demanding unlimited liability for companies in the event of a nuclear accident. Even the increase of the liability to 1500 crores (250 million Euro) as proposed by the government still means that the compensation is capped and therefore unconstitutional. If countries like Germany, Finland and Japan can have unlimited liability there is no reason why a country like India, with such massive expansion plans, cannot.

Stop another Bhopal.

Quotebox: U.S. spill panel probes offshore drilling

Reuters: The White House oil spill commission on Wednesday examined offshore drilling policies and reviewed regulatory practices. Following are some quotes from the panel's second meeting: RET. ADMIRAL JAMES ELLIS, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF INSTITUTE OF NUCLEAR POWER OPERATIONS (INPO) "We operate independently of the industry and we avoid any conflicts of interest... We specifically, legally and philosophically cannot act as an advocate for the nuclear power industry, that is not our ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

UK's nuclear reactor programme falls behind as designs await safety approval

Guardian: The schedule for the UK's nuclear reactor building programme has slipped behind already, the safety regulator has admitted, reinforcing concerns that the first reactor will not be built on time. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said it would probably have to issue an "interim" decision on the safety of the two new proposed reactor designs next June, the deadline for its assessment programme. The regulator expects significant chunks of extra work will remain before it can finally ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Spill panel examines offshore drilling policy

Reuters: The White House oil spill commission on Wednesday will probe U.S. offshore drilling policies and consider pushing the oil industry to accept a self-governing body to help oversee tough safety standards. With a focus on offshore drilling safety after the BP oil spill, the commission's second public meeting will hear from Interior Department officials and the head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley. Nuclear industry officials will testify about the ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

TVA shutters old coal units

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Four days after TVA decided to revive work on its unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, the federal utility announced Tuesday it will begin next year to idle its oldest coal units at the nearby Widows Creek Fossil Plant. "It's bad news, but last week was great news," said James Rickey Steele, the mayor of Stevenson, Ala., who lives in the shadow of the Widows Creek plant and only 15 miles from Bellefonte. TVA announced Tuesday it will shutter nine of its 59 coal-fired units by ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Nuclear News: Hezbollah urges power-starved Lebanon to build nuclear plant

AFP: Hezbollah urges power-starved Lebanon to build nuclear plant
‘BEIRUT — Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday called on Lebanon to consider building a nuclear power plant in the energy-starved nation. "I call on the Lebanese government to seriously consider ... building a nuclear power plant for the peaceful purpose of generating electricity, which would be more cost-efficient than the plan the government has endorsed," Nasrallah said in a speech broadcast via video link. "Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility, which will provide a large part of Iran's electricity needs, cost much less than the (Lebanese) state's reform plan," Nasrallah said in a speech to mark an iftar, the evening meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast. "We may even develop a nuclear plant that meets all of Lebanon's power needs and even sell power to Syria, Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan and other countries."’

IDSA: Towards Indo-Japan nuclear agreement: Prospects and Challenges
‘Tetsuya Okada, the Japanese Foreign Minister, confirmed during a press interaction in New Delhi that Japan and India are seriously engaged in trying to forge a nuclear cooperation agreement. Okada stated that “the decision to launch the negotiation for the nuclear cooperation agreement was probably one of the toughest decisions that I had to make as Foreign Minister.”1 But he did not set any time line as to when the two sides would be able to conclude negotiations on the issue. Japan’s slow and steady approach in this regard suggests that the nuclear allergic nation has still to do major home work to clear obstacles in reaching an accord. It may find it difficult to generate a consensus at home and convince its anti-nuclear lobby which is against extending nuclear cooperation to non-NPT signatory counties including India. Japan took almost five years to move from commitment to negotiation stage. It had made a commitment to India to enhance civil nuclear energy cooperation “through constructive approaches under appropriate IAEA safeguards”2 in a Joint statement signed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2006. However, the recent push for a nuclear agreement with India has been driven by Japan’s entrepreneurial needs and the Kan administration’s economic growth strategy (which includes increasing export of infrastructure technology including nuclear technology). As part of this growth strategy the Japanese government intends to create an overseas infrastructure market worth US $230 billion. The Japanese government under the supervision of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has set up the International Atomic Energy Development Company with an aim to form a centralized platform to increase Japan’s competitiveness in winning contracts for nuclear power projects overseas. The newly formed enterprise is eyeing the nuclear energy potentials of UAE, Jordan and India.’

Viet Nam News: French advice sought on nuclear power
PARIS — A delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, led by Deputy Minister Do Huu Hao, ended a visit to France on Saturday after discussions on nuclear power generation and the nation's successes in using energy sources more effectively. At a working session with Christian De Gromard, head of the French Development Agency's energy projects, the two sides reviewed the agency's operations and projects on energy saving, while also discussing plans to improve energy use in Viet Nam. The French Development Agency pledged to support Viet Nam's efforts to save energy and use experiences the agency has drawn from its projects in Indonesia. Deputy Minister Hao introduced Viet Nam's newly-approved law on energy saving to French Development Agency officials and urged the agency to assist the country in drafting practical sub-law documents. During the trip, the Vietnamese delegation also held discussions with Othman Salhi, Vice President for Asia of the AREVA group – a leading provider of solutions for carbon-free power generation. Salhi discussed the AREVA group and its experiences in designing, building and operating nuclear power reactors as well as its capacity in providing nuclear fuel rods, treating and preserving nuclear waste and producing uranium. He said AREVA wanted to co-operate with Viet Nam in developing nuclear power.’

The Arabs and the Race to Nuclear Hell
‘ISTANBUL (IDN) - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sounds rather optimistic -- or has chosen to do so: “Recently, we have seen signs of progress on nuclear non-proliferation talks,” he said some two weeks ahead of announcing on August. 3 that ministerial-level discussions on eliminating the world’s nuclear weapons will take place in New York in September. But signals from both the Arab region and the U.S. induce a dramatically different conclusion. In fact, indications from the Middle East point to an ongoing nuclear race in the region -- the world's most conflictive and the only one not to have a nuclear free zone treaty. Indeed, Latin America and the Caribbean is nuclear free, as is Africa, while sub-regional treaties have also been sealed among Central Asian countries and South-eastern Asian states. The Middle East is therefore a striking exception in a world willing to head for eliminating atomic weapons, at least according to big nuclear powers' political statements. In fact, Jordan and Sudan have openly joined other 10 Arab countries willing to exercise their legitimate right to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. These are: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and United Arab Emirates. Together these12 countries represent over 50 percent of the 22 members of the League of Arab States, and an even higher percentage (over two-thirds) considering that at least five of them -- Somalia, Yemen, Comoros Islands, Djibouti and Mauritania -- appear to be far away from caressing nuclear dreams for now.’

Russian atomic agency looks to diversify
‘Rosatom plans to use its proposed majority stake in Canada’s Uranium One as the starting point for global diversification, according to Sergei Kiriyenko, the Russian atomic agency’s chief executive. “The acquisition of Uranium One is not the end of the line for us in developing our uranium strategy”, Mr Kiriyenko told the Financial Times on Tuesday. “We want to establish a growth platform as a basis for being able to develop our further progress for integration, co-operation, and mergers and acquisitions in other markets” Mr Kiriyenko was in Canada to drum up support for a deal under which Rosatom’s mining arm, known as ARMZ, will pay $610m to raise its interest in Uranium One from 17 per cent to 51 per cent. The Vancouver-based company will also gain a roughly 50 per cent stake in two uranium mines in southern Kazakhstan. Uranium One’s shareholders are to vote on the deal on August 31. While Uranium One will be the starting point for Rosatom’s expansion in uranium extraction, the group is also seeking opportunities in other parts of its business, including closer co-operation with the US, its former nuclear protagonist.’

Protestors in Russia demonstrate against nuclear waste from Germany
‘Russian opposition party Yabloko has sent several dozen protestors into central Moscow in defiance of a planned nuclear waste dumping arriving from Germany. Arriving today, the protestors have begun to vocalise a growing discontentment with the approval of the transfer of the toxic waste. Banners and signs have been unrolled to demonstrate their sentiments. Slogans included “Nuclear Waste? No Thanks!”. The majority of the protests are taking place outside of the Germany embassy located near the centre of the city. In a scheduled transport arriving from Germany a total of 951 nuclear fuel rods are designated to arrive for processing in Russia. According to the state government, the fuel rods will be processed upon arrival from east Germany. According to the Yabloko party head Sergey Mitrokhin, the waste will be sent over sometime in 2011 and be stored at a closed off property in the Ural mountains. At present the waste is in a temporary holding facility in Germany.’

Exclusive: Will wind farms pick up the tab for new nuclear?

Business Green: Wind farm operators could see their overheads increase by millions of pounds a year as a direct result of plans to upgrade and reinforce the grid to cope with a new fleet of nuclear reactors. A number of renewable energy developers are angry at National Grid's decision to retain the current charging regime it operates for providing backup power, despite the fact costs are expected to soar when new nuclear power plants come online towards the end of the decade. National Grid ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Moldova seizes smuggled uranium

BBC: Moldovan police have seized 1.8kg of uranium-238 in the capital, Chisinau, officials say. Three members of the group, which included former police officers, were arrested, they said. The smugglers had reportedly been trying to sell the material on the European black market for 9m euros (£7.4m). A nuclear expert has told the BBC that this form of uranium is of no use for making nuclear weapons. He told BBC News that the amount was "trivial", and could safely be ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

UN nuke watchdog chief to meet Israeli ministers

AP: Israeli officials say the U.N.'s atomic watchdog chief will meet key Israel ministers in a visit ahead of important international gatherings on nuclear power next month. Israel refuses to confirm it possesses a nuclear arsenal, but is widely considered a nuclear power. That makes the country a hot topic for the International Atomic Energy Agency as Arab nations push for more scrutiny of Israel's nuclear capability. Israeli officials say Yukiya Amano is to hold talks with ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Germany's Merkel rejects calls to drop nuclear tax

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday dismissed calls by business leaders to drop plans for a nuclear tax, saying threats usually backfired.
Read more [Reuters]

Nuclear Myths and Facts #3: Nuclear energy is ‘dirty.’

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) has published a document called ‘Myths & Facts About Nuclear Energy’. The NEI – ‘the policy organization of the nuclear energy and technologies industry and participates in both the national and global policy-making process’ – describes the document as a collection of ‘Synopses of Common Myths About Nuclear Energy and Corresponding Facts That Refute Them’.

In this series of posts we're presenting some Corresponding Facts that Refute the NEI's Corresponding Facts.

The ‘Myth’: Nuclear energy is ‘dirty.’

NEI’s ‘Fact’: Nuclear energy is one of the cleanest energy sources in America. In 2009, the nation’s 104 nuclear plants produced 70 percent of the low-carbon electricity generated in the United States. This avoided the emission of 644 million tons of CO2, the equivalent of taking 125 million cars off the road. A University of Wisconsin study found that nuclear energy’s life-cycle emissions (including construction and all aspects of plant operation) are less than hydro, solar and biomass and on par with wind and geothermal, all of which are considered “clean” energy supplies.

Here we have some classic industry spin. When it comes to nuclear power, the industry wants you to think of electricity generation in isolation. It wants you to focus on ‘low-carbon’ electricity and not think about the environmental catastrophes caused by uranium mining and nuclear waste. Uranium mining isn’t even mentioned in the NEI document.

And yet the production of nuclear fuel is a hugely intensive process. Uranium must be mined, milled, converted, enriched, converted again and then manufactured into fuel. You’ll notice the NEI’s ‘fact’ doesn’t mention the carbon footprint of all steps in the nuclear chain prior to electricity generation. Fossil fuels have to be used and that means CO2 emissions.

Not only that, there is not a uranium mine in the world that has not blighted the environment and the lives of the people living close by. Look at Caetite in Brazil, Kakadu in Australia, Wollaston Lake in Canada [], Akokan and Arlit in Niger, and the Najavo people in the US, to name just a few. Does that legacy of contamination make you think nuclear power is clean? Uranium mining is the industry’s dirty little secret.

We’ll talk about nuclear waste in a later post.

(For more information read Greenpeace’s briefings ‘Nuclear Power: a dangerous waste of time’  and ‘Left in the dust: AREVA’s radioactive legacy in the desert towns of Niger’. See also Nuclear Myths and Facts #1: No new nuclear plants have been built in the past 30 years and Nuclear Myths and Facts #2: New nuclear plants are too expensive to build.)

Nuclear News: Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Ala
‘The Tennessee Valley Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot. Unless the summer cools down, TVA could lose millions of dollars more, pushing up fuel costs and consumer electric bills even after seven consecutive monthly increases. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Ala., has operated at only about half power for most of the past month and could remain at reduced power through September, TVA officials said. The three-reactor plant — TVA’s biggest nuclear facility — has been the hardest hit of any of the nation’s 104 nuclear plants by thermal concerns over river water, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute and TVA. “All the radiant heat gets in the river when you have a summer as hot as this has been,” TVA President Tom Kilgore said. Today is expected to be the 40th day since July 8 that TVA has reduced power production at Browns Ferry because of hot water in the river. Last week, TVA violated its permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management when the river temperature topped 90 degrees. The cutback means TVA is losing 1,500 megawatts of power generation just when it’s needed most. For each day of 50 percent power at Browns Ferry, the utility spends more than $1 million extra to pay for replacement power, officials said. The extra cost is added to ratepayer bills in the monthly fuel cost adjustment, which is up by more than 25 percent since March.’

DNA: Nuclear Power Corporation cautions against nuclear liability bill amendments
‘While opposition parties see red in the latest amendments made to the nuclear liability bill, the Nuclear Power Corporation today cautioned that under these changes no Indian or foreign manufacturer would be able to serve the nuclear power industry. Advocating the provisions of the Korean law in regard to right of recourse of the operator, Sudhinder Thakur, executive director at the NPCIL said that the provisions of Clause 17 (b) in the bill are "neither practical nor implementable". In a statement, he said that a review of domestic legislation of different countries reveals that the operators' right to recourse wherever available is limited to wilful act or gross negligence by the supplier. Citing the provision of the Korean act, he said, "Clearly it is not the same in Clause 17 (b) (of the Indian Bill)". "Undoubtedly, the government has powers to make laws, but in the process of making such laws we should not defeat the purpose for which the laws are made since with the current formulation of 17b, no manufacturer, Indian or Foreign would be able to serve the nuclear power industry," Thakur said. Drawing a parallel with the collision of two ships in off the Mumbai Port, he said the operators of the ships have an absolute liability to cover the damages. "We are not talking about the manufacturers of the ship or suppliers of different components to the ship," he said adding that same was the case with the Bhopal gas tragedy.’

Deutsche Welle: German government risks nuclear revolt with plans for further tax
‘Germany's nuclear providers will see some of their profits go towards investment in nuclear energy, thanks to a government levy. The nuclear industry is already contesting planned taxes against it. The German government is preparing to impose a further charge on the nation's nuclear industry, in addition to the planned fuel rod tax. "There will be a charge - yes, even on top of the fuel rod tax," Hermann Groehe, general secretary of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrat party, said on Monday. Speaking after a meeting of the CDU presidium, Groehe said there was popular consent within the party that the nuclear industry should make a stronger contribution to investment in renewable energy sources. Groehe said that the method of levying funds would not yet be clear, but that the tax would be "substantial." Germany's nuclear power providers stand to benefit from coalition plans to extend the lifetime of nuclear plants past the 2020 deadline set by Gerhard Schroeder's government. Chancellor Merkel defended the planned fuel rod tax, worth 2.3 billion euros ($2.9 billion) per year from 2011, in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag weekly newspaper. Several of Germany's energy giants had reacted with outrage after hearing of the proposals.’
 
Reuters: Italy may indemnify companies if nuclear policy changes
‘RIMINI ITALY, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Italy is considering indemnity for companies investing in nuclear power generation should the country's current pro-nuclear policy change, Industry Ministry Undersecretary Stefano Saglia said on Monday. "A solution envisaging guarantees in case the government's programme should not be completed or a subsequent government should go against the (pro-nuclear) decision already taken -- a sort of indemnity," Saglia said, at a meeting. Italy is the only Group of Eight industrialised nation without nuclear power, but the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi plans to have a quarter of all power in the country generated at nuclear plants in the future. Italy's Enel SpA and France's EDF plan to build four nuclear power stations in Italy as part of the country's push to relaunch nuclear energy sector abandoned after a 1987 referendum that followed the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.’

The National: After long wait, Egypt sets nuclear deadline
‘CAIRO // Fifty-five years after Egypt first announced its plan to build a nuclear power plant, energy authorities said this month they expect to launch an international tender for the project by the end of this year. If everything goes according to plan, Egyptian authorities say, they will complete the country’s first nuclear power plant by 2019 in the Al Dabaa region on the Mediterranean coast. The facility is expected to cost about US$4 billion (Dh14.7bn), not including operating costs and interest payments. But even if the delays in building what was to have been the Arab world’s first nuclear power plant have seemed interminable, the usual suspects – the established nuclear powers and international non-proliferation organisations – are not to blame. After all, it was the US president Richard Nixon who offered to help Egypt build eight nuclear reactors in 1974, several years before Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, and US companies have always been among the top bidders for past nuclear technology tenders. And it was Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who announced in June that he was “happy” to work with Egypt on its plan to develop four nuclear reactors by 2025. Egypt’s disastrous loss in its 1967 war with Israel, followed by the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in 1986, sapped the country’s appetite for what seemed an increasingly unpredictable and potentially disastrous energy technology. The discovery in the 1990s of natural gas – a form of fuel that still meets 80 per cent to 90 per cent of Egypt’s energy needs – made “going nuclear” seem too costly by comparison.’

Yonhap News: China's top nuclear envoy plans to visit Seoul
‘SEOUL/BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Yonhap) -- China's top nuclear envoy Wu Dawei wants to visit South Korea this weekend for discussions on long-stalled multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, diplomatic sources in Beijing said Monday. While briefing Beijing-based South Korean diplomats on the results of Wu's trip to North Korea last week, the Chinese foreign ministry specifically suggested that he begin his Seoul trip on Friday, said one source in Beijing who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Earlier, a South Korean foreign ministry official said in Seoul that Wu plans to visit Seoul but did not say when. He said both sides were trying to fix the date. "Chances are high that Wu Dawei, the Chinese special representative on the Korean Peninsula Affairs will visit Seoul this weekend at the earliest," a Beijing source said. During his three-day visit to Pyongyang last week, Wu met with the North's foreign minister, Pak Ui-chun, and discussed the deadlocked nuclear talks, according to earlier announcements by both countries. Wu later told Japanese media based in Beijing that North Korea expressed a willingness to have preliminary talks with the United States and an informal meeting with other dialogue partners of the six-party setting -- South Korea, Japan, Russia and host China.’

United States: Indian Point Nuclear Plant's Toll on River Stirs Debate

NYT: Just beneath the wind-stippled surface of the Hudson River here, huge pipes suck enough water into the Indian Point nuclear plant every second to fill three Olympic swimming pools. And each second they take in dozens of organisms – fish and crabs, but mostly larvae – that are at the center of a $1.1 billion debate: should the plant have to put in cooling towers that would vastly reduce the intake of water? Yes, says New York State, which puts the annual death toll at nearly a ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Hot river forces costly cutback for TVA

Times Free Press: The Tennessee Valley Authority has lost nearly $50 million in power generation from its biggest nuclear plant because the Tennessee River in Alabama is too hot. Unless the summer cools down, TVA could lose millions of dollars more, pushing up fuel costs and consumer electric bills even after seven consecutive monthly increases. The Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant near Athens, Ala., has operated at only about half power for most of the past month and could remain at reduced ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Nuclear News: Sudan plans to build nuclear reactor

Haaretz: Sudan plans to build nuclear reactor
‘Sudan is planning to build a nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant for peaceful electricity purposes by 2020, the state news agency SUNA said. Sudan's economy has suffered under United States sanctions since 1997 and from decades of warfare, but it has managed to hike oil production to 470,000 barrels per day, boosting growth. It has also built dams along the Blue and White Niles, which merge in Sudan, to generate power. But large swathes of the country remain without regular electricity. SUNA quoted Mohamed Ahmed Hassan el-Tayeb, director-general of the Sudanese Atomic Energy Agency, as saying the government had begun to plan in early 2010 to develop nuclear energy. "The Ministry of Electricity and Dams has already started preparing for the project to produce power from nuclear energy in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and is expected to build the first nuclear power plant in the year 2020 ," SUNA said a report on Saturday. Tayeb said an IAEA delegation would visit Sudan to discuss the project this week. Sudan has been an IAEA member since 1958 and can develop nuclear energy with IAEA assistance. Sudan has close economic and political ties with Iran, which is locked in a dispute with the United States and some of its allies over its nuclear program.’

Reuters: Merkel defends nuclear tax in scrap with industry
‘BERLIN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday stood by her plan to levy a tax on nuclear power providers, pitting her coalition against industry in a turbulent return to government business after the summer lull. The nuclear tax is one of a number of contentious issues facing Merkel, who has failed to capitalise on the strong recovery in Europe's largest economy to drum up support for her reforms, including budget cuts and an overhaul of the military. Merkel said she was open to a suspension of Germany's compulsory military service, a topic of heated debate within her coalition which has become notorious for its bickering. Merkel hopes the nuclear tax will raise 2.3 billion euros a year as part of a 80 billion euro austerity drive that she is determined to press ahead with, keen to set an example of fiscal discipline for other euro zone countries to follow. "We have proposed a tax," Merkel told ZDF television in her first major interview since returning from her summer break. "So long as there is no other proposal on the table, the tax remains."’
 
Hindustan Times: Nuclear Liability Bill: More trouble likely
‘Among the 18 amendments the Indian government has moved in the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill is a clause providing for a future situation in which the government covers the liability for a private nuclear operator. As is international norm, this would be compensation in case of a nuclear accident, irrespective of who is to blame. The private operator would remain liable for fault-based civil damages. At present, as per the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act no private players can operate nuclear plants in the country. This act will have to be amended before private players can operate a reactor. However, a future scenario in which such a change has been made in the Atomic Energy Act, and there are private players in the field, is envisaged in the amendment sought to Clause 7 (1) of the existing nuclear liability bill. The proposed amendment says: “Provided that the central government may, by notification, assume full liability for a nuclear installation not operated by it if it is of the opinion that it is necessary in public interest.” This means that the government — looking into the future — agrees to handle compensation for victims of a nuclear accident even if the operator is someone other than the government. The amendment has been sought despite the standing committee which examined the original bill having recommended to the government to make the “position clear that there will be no private operator of nuclear installations.” There is already a growing disquiet among opposition parties over the amendment suggested to Clause 17 in the Bill, which dilutes the liability of the supplier of nuclear technology.’

Times of India: Russians eager to quit Haripur
‘NEW DELHI: In what may result in yet another setback for West Bengal owing to protests by Trinamool Congress and Maoists, Russia wants the central government to shift the location of the proposed nuclear power plant at Haripur in East Midnapore district. Government sources confirmed that Russia's state-owned nuclear power equipment and service giant Rosatom has asked the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to seriously consider allotting it another site. The coastal region of Haripur had been allotted to Rosatom last year because of its low population density and after the state government showed interest in hosting a nuclear power plant. However, with Trinamool Congress and the Maoists vying with each other to tap unrest among the local fishermen community, many in the state believe the situation is another Nandigram in the making. The proposed plant at Haripur had acquired all necessary environmental clearances in January. It was said to have potential for six reactor units. It had been earmarked initially for two 1,000-MW power plants. Construction work was to commence this year. The DAE's site selection committee is closely looking at the developing situation, said an Indian official. The Russians are said to be concerned over the manner in which the resistance, which was initially just about the risk of a nuclear plant leading to an increase in water temperature, has become political.’

The Japan Times: Fukushima reactor receives MOX
‘FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Saturday loaded a nuclear reactor in Fukushima Prefecture with MOX, a controversial fuel made with reprocessed plutonium and uranium oxides, as it prepares to become the leading power utility's first facility to go pluthermal. The No. 3 reactor at Tepco's Fukushima No. 1 plant will be the nation's third pluthermal facility, but only the first to be refurbished since the plant was built 34 years ago. Tokyo Electric plans to activate the reactor on Sept. 18 and let it start generating electricity on Sept. 23.’

UPI: Egypt to build first nuke power plant
‘CAIRO, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is preparing to announce plans to construct the country's first nuclear power plant, an official said. An unnamed source told the Egyptian newspaper Al Masry-al-Youm Mubarak is likely to name Dabaa as the site for the country's first nuclear power plant Monday. The area located northeast of Cairo has one of the best Mediterranean beaches and a decision to build the nuclear energy plant there has been criticized by local businessmen, the newspaper said. Earlier this month, Electricity and Energy Minister Hassan Younes said plans were under way to start an international bidding process to build the plant.’

Asahi: Can Japan sell nuclear power to the Middle East?
‘The government led by the Democratic Party of Japan has targeted the overseas sale of nuclear power as one of its primary growth strategies. It will create a corporation combining the resources of both public and private sectors in pursuit of this goal. Japan is a major proponent of nuclear energy, on a par with the United States, France, Russia and South Korea. Competition among these countries to win tenders for nuclear power plant construction has developed into a fierce battle for supremacy involving their political leaders. One of the largest arenas for this competition is the Middle East. In this region, how should Japan approach the sale of nuclear power plants to a region in which political instability and proliferation are major causes of concern?’

Nuclear Street: AREVA / Northrop Grumman Large Nuclear Components Manufacturing Facility - Delayed According to the Daily Press, AREVA Newport News says it is delaying the start of its large nuclear components manufacturing facility until 2013. Officials with the joint venture between Northrop Grumman and AREVA say a slower-than-expected process of federal government approval of new nuclear power plants is delaying the operation. The companies broke ground in July 2009 on the facility. The plant near the Northrop Grumman shipyard was scheduled to be operational by 2012.

The World from Berlin: On Nuclear Energy, 'Merkel Did Things Backwards'

Longer lifespans for nuclear reactors in Germany seems a foregone conclusion. But how much money will the energy industry have to hand over to Berlin for the privilege? Chancellor Merkel has lost control of the debate, say German commentators.
Read more [Spiegel Online]

United Kingdom: Govt. repeats concern over Iranian nuclear drive

AFP: Britain acknowledged Iran's right to build nuclear power stations Saturday as it began loading fuel into the first plant, but warned that concerns remain about the Islamic republic's atomic programme. "We have always respected Iran's right to develop an exclusively civil nuclear power programme," Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt said, as engineers began loading fuel into Iran's Russian-built Bushehr plant. "The problem is Iran's continued refusal to satisfy the IAEA ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

United States: TVA to shutter coal plants, turn to nuclear

Chattanooga Times Free Press: TVA will shutter part of its aging fleet of coal power plants and turn to nuclear power and energy conservation to power the Tennessee Valley under a 10-year plan adopted Friday. Tennessee Valley Authority President Tom Kilgore outlined a vision that calls for the nation's biggest government utility to idle at least 1,000 megawatts of coal generation -- or more than 7 percent of its biggest source of power -- by 2015. TVA directors approved plans here Friday to move ahead with ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

EU commissioner backs mooted German nuclear tax

AFP: European Union Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said German energy companies should hand over to the state at least half their profits accrued from extending the life of nuclear power stations. He was speaking in an interview with the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung Saturday as German bosses and economic figures have lashed out at a government proposal to tax nuclear energy production. "It's quite normal for nuclear groups to protest at the idea of a tax, but they should give ...
Read more [EcoEarth.info]

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor: it’s not too late to turn back

Randa Mirza, a crew member from Lebanon, watches the Rainbow Warrior sailing 20 miles from the port of Bushehr, Iran in 2007.

The fuel loading at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor should end immediately. The signals being sent throughout the Middle East and beyond threaten to set in motion a chain reaction of nuclearisation in the region.

Regardless of whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons or not, nuclear programmes breed mistrust and constitute a major proliferation threat. The international community is failing to address this problem. A lasting solution to the spread of nuclear weapons should include an end to enrichment, the phase-out of nuclear power and complete disarmament by all nuclear weapon states.

Israel´s nuclear weapons program and Iranian nuclear development are playing a highly destabilizing role in the region. The solution is simple: negotiations on a Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone will increase trust and cooperation among countries and can make a profound contribution to parallel peace processes and efforts to ease tensions between regional powers.

A potential reactor failure at Bushehr - or an attack on it - could have a devastating impact on the Gulf environment and health of nearby communities in what is a crucial transit area for the current energy security of the global economy.

Iran does not need nuclear power. It has abundant clean and renewable energy resources. Investing in wind and solar instead of dirty, dangerous and expensive nuclear technology would significantly ease international concerns while increasing energy security for Iran.

Nuclear energy is a deadly legacy of the 20th century and all countries, including Iran, should harness 21st century renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and geothermal, to provide the energy we need without threatening our security.

Nuclear News: You can steal a bomb, buy one, build one

Montreal Gazette: You can steal a bomb, buy one, build one
‘Lucy Walker's Countdown to Zero reviews the history of the atomic bomb and its ongoing status as a potential global life-ender. It is not a comedy. The chilling new documentary by the director of The Devil's Playground and the producers of An Inconvenient Truth begins by listing the three ways a nuclear weapon can be acquired: You can steal a bomb. You can buy a bomb. You can build a bomb. Walker then sets about interviewing people who are in a position to speak with some authority about those inconvenient realities. They include former heads of state like Tony Blair, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf, and South Africa's F. W. de Klerk, who effectively reversed his country's development of the Big One and eliminated it as a defence option. A terrific archival team unearthed all kinds of material about accidents, human error and trafficking of weaponry and fissile materials out of the failed Soviet Union through the state of Georgia and into the Middle East.’

The Denver Post: Listen to neighbors on cleanup of uranium mill
‘The Cotter uranium mill in Cañon City, a Superfund cleanup site for more than 25 years, won't be operational, at least for the time being. This surely is welcome news for the mill's neighbors, who have worried for years about the potential for continued contamination. The public focus now turns, and understandably so, to a pending decision on how the mill owner should best clean up the remaining pollution at the site. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will oversee the fact-finding and public hearings before making a decision on how the cleanup ought to proceed. The major determination that has to be made is whether to pursue an active cleanup at the site or to let pollution dissipate on its own, also called "natural attenuation." This is an important question for those who live in Lincoln Park, a neighborhood near the mill that has polluted groundwater underneath it.’

Associated Press: Nuke waste dump plays role in races outside Nevada
‘WASHINGTON — The Obama administration's decision to bypass Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository should give Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a boost in his bid for a fifth term. The action is not doing another endangered Democrat, Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, any favors. And the same could be said for Democratic lawmakers in South Carolina who have distanced themselves from the administration's decision. Democratic Reps. John Spratt and Jim Clyburn have been particularly critical of shelving Yucca in recent months. I am doubtful that there are easy alternatives to the Yucca Mountain site," Spratt, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said during a hearing he called in late July.’

Tri-City Herald: Slow ride for Hanford hot cells
‘A heavy-haul trailer carrying hot cells grouted inside boxes is making the slow trip down the Hanford highway to central Hanford on Saturdays this summer. Washington Closure Hanford has finished removing nine contaminated hot cells from the 327 Building north of Richland as part of work to clean up the nuclear reservation along the Columbia River. One at a time they're being hauled from the 300 Area just north of Richland to the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility -- the central Hanford landfill for low-level radioactive waste. The trip takes about four hours one way and the oversize Goldhofer hydraulic platform trailer that carries one hot cell at a time is surrounded with a rolling blockade for the trip. Traffic is not allowed to pass in either
direction.’
 
Steel Guru: Zambia seeking government policy on uranium mining to safeguard the lives of people
‘It is reported that environmental and economic interest groups in Zambia are seeking to know government’s policy on uranium mining to safeguard the lives of people. Mr Evans Rubara policy and advocacy advisor Council of churches in Zambia asked the government to ensure that there was specific policy that dealt with uranium mining in the southern African country. According to Mr Rubara, without a clear policy on mining of uranium, people’s lives could be adversely affected. Without a policy we are faced with social issues; people are going to be displaced, the livelihood of the people will be affected even though they will live 5 kilometers from the mining activity area because they will breath the same air.’

Lukashenka reveals that Russia may not build nuclear power plant in Belarus
‘Alyaksandr Lukashenka revealed on Friday that Belarus might abandon plans to have its nuclear power plant project built by Russia and financed with a Russian loan, BelaPAN reports. The Belarusian leader said that the signing of an interstate agreement on the project had been postponed once again, and that the government did not reject the possibility of the plant being built by a contractor other than Russia’s Atomstroiexport. “We’ll soon decide who will build our nuclear plant,” he said, noting that Belarus has offers in this regard. Belarus chose Russia on the basis of “what they promised to us,” Mr. Lukashenka noted. “They urgently demanded from us that they build this plant and then they started putting pressure on us for, I believe, purely subjective reasons. You know what the reasons are,” he said.’

Nuclear deal: Elusive benefits, tangible costs
‘The controversial Indo-U.S. nuclear deal was pushed through without building “the broadest possible national consensus” that the prime minister had promised. Certain give-and-take is inevitable in any deal. But this deal has picked up such onerous conditions that it now threatens to cast a perpetual political albatross around India's neck. To implement the deal, the government is now seeking to burden the Indian taxpayer on multiple counts — from state subsidy in the form of liability protection and acquisition of land on behalf of foreign vendors to guaranteeing subsidised price of electricity from the high-cost foreign reactors to be imported. The result is likely to saddle India with dozens of Enrons in the nuclear-energy sector.’

New US nuclear projects depend on federal loan guarantees: S&P
‘New US nuclear development depends on federal support such as loan guarantees, especially as natural gas prices remain depressed, Standard & Poor's said in a report Monday. Federal loan guarantees, in which the government backs financing for most of a new nuclear project, "significantly" improve the economics of reactor construction, S&P analysts Swami Venkataraman and Aneesh Prabhu wrote. A merchant nuclear plant costing $6,500/kW to build is likely uncompetitive without a federal loan guarantee at prevailing forward gas prices, S&P said. Such a project could become viable with subsidies even at prices lower than recent spot rates for natural gas.’

Nuclear News: Iran to launch first nuclear plant after decades of delay

Channel News Asia: Iran to launch first nuclear plant after decades of delay
‘TEHRAN: After decades of delay and sanctions, Iran will launch on Saturday its Russian-built first nuclear power plant in the face of Western suspicion that its atomic programme has a covert military agenda. Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said last week that "on August 21, the Russia-supplied fuel will be transferred inside the building in which the engine" of the Bushehr power station in southern Iran is located. Salehi said the fuel transfer would be completed by September 5 and two weeks later the reactor would reach 50 per cent of its power-generating capacity, allowing it to be linked to the national grid. "It will take six to seven months to reach the maximum power level of the plant," he added. The much-anticipated launch of the more than one-billion-dollar Bushehr plant comes despite Moscow hardening its position on Iran's nuclear programme by backing a fourth round of UN sanctions against Tehran on June 9. Iran is under sanctions because of its uranium enrichment programme which the West believes is aimed at making nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran strongly denies. Iran said it is enriching uranium to power nuclear reactors which will eventually generate electricity of around 20,000 megawatts.’

Deccan Chronical: Changes in nuke bill will push trade with US firms
‘Major changes on the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Bill 2010 including trebling compensation and the extension of liability to private firms should see the opening up of Indian $150 billion nuclear power market as also pave the way for an early enactment in both Houses of Parliament. The parliamentary panel has suggested that compensation be raided to Rs 1,500 crore which is still much less than what an operator would be liable to pay in the United States. Nevertheless, if passed by Parliament, the CLND will ensure that nuclear companies including the US conglomerates such as General Electric and Westinghouse Electric can tap India’s nuclear power market. These private companies had been demanding clarity on the entire on the accident compensation before making their debut. Indian companies including Tata Power, L&T, GMR and Jindal were keen to be given a share of the nuclear power market. However, they have been excluded but will be allowed to operate as minority partners of the National Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). For the present, preference will be given to state — run companies including the National Thermal Power Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation to enter into joint venture agreements with the NPCIL.’

The Sun: Geigered tour
‘WALKING through the abandoned town of Pripyat, which crouches in the shadow of the doomed Chernobyl power station, silence hangs heavy in the air. Even the summer breeze is unable to coax a whisper from the trees and overgrowth which choke the desolate streets. Nothing stirs in the north Ukrainian town - no sound of traffic, no children laughing, no human voices. No life. This is where, on April 26, 1986, time stood still, frozen by the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant which forced 52,000 people in the town to flee for their lives. A further 54,000 from surrounding areas had to be bussed to safety in the following days. Now, nearly 25 years on from the disaster, the scene of their anguish has become one of the strangest tourist destinations on the planet. A recent change in Ukraine's laws means guides with expert knowledge of the most contaminated spots can safely let human life back into Pripyat, if only for a couple of hours at a time. Forbes Magazine recently named Pripyat the most "exotic tourist destination in the world" and the cursed city now attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year.’

The Sun Times: Nuclear regulator accused of prejudice
‘A high-profile environmental group says Canada's nuclear regulator has "prejudiced" its public hearing by already concluding that Bruce Power's plan to ship steam generators through the Great Lakes doesn't pose a significant safety risk. Derek Stack, executive director of the Canadian-American group Great Lakes United, said the low-level radioactive waste shipments should be halted until the plan is subjected to full community consultation. "They're basically circumventing the regulatory framework for the shipment of nuclear waste," he said in an interview. Great Lakes United, a 25-year-old coalition of 150 environmental groups, has written a letter to American, Canadian and Aboriginal leaders, asking them to "use their authority to stop these shipments." The leaders include United States President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Premier Dalton McGuinty and Quebec Premier Jean Charest. Letters were also sent to the Chiefs of Ontario office and the National Congress of American Indians. More than 60 non-governmental organizations have signed a petition to oppose the shipments.’

The Hindu: Work on 700 MWe nuclear reactors in Rajasthan to begin soon
'The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of two indigenous nuclear power reactors of 700 MWe capacity each at Rawatbhatta in Rajasthan will take place in two to three weeks. This follows the clearance given to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) on Wednesday by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for excavating the foundation for these two reactors, said Sudhinder Thakur, Executive Director, NPCIL. These pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs) will use natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as both moderator and coolant. The excavation of the
foundation for two PHWRs of 700 MWe each at Kakrapar in Gujarat was nearly complete and the NPCIL was awaiting permission for the first pour of the concrete, Mr. Thakur said. Four more 700 MWe reactors — two each at Kumharia
in Haryana and Bargi in Madhya Pradesh – would be built. The 700 MWe PHWRs are the largest reactors to be built by the NPCIL, which had earlier built two PHWRs of 540 MWe each at Tarapur in Maharashtra. There is a three-fold increase in power generation from five nuclear reactors — Rajasthan units 2, 3,4, 5 and 6 at Rawatbhatta — consequent to India receiving imported natural uranium fuel from Russia and France. “The first benefits of the Nuclear Suppliers Group to have international commerce with India have led to an improvement in nuclear power generation in Rajasthan,” the NPCIL Executive Director said.

Carnegie Endowment: Nuclear Suppliers Group and the IAEA Additional Protocol
‘Six years after talks began, the 46 countries that set rules for global nuclear trade have not been able to reach an agreement on proposed new guidelines governing the export of items used for sensitive nuclear fuel cycle activities—uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing. At its annual plenary meeting in late June, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) failed once again. This failure has led some senior officials in NSG states to reconsider the current guidelines, in part because a more ambitious project lies ahead. Countries want all members to agree that the Additional Protocol—a voluntary agreement giving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) the right to inspect undeclared locations—should be a requirement for future trade of all nuclear materials, equipment, and technology. The NSG, however, sidelined talks on requiring the Additional Protocol for all nuclear trade until after completing negotiations on the enrichment and reprocessing guidelines. Without universal application of the Additional Protocol, the effectiveness of both the IAEA and the NSG in combating clandestine nuclear activities will be compromised. The lack of consensus on new enrichment and reprocessing guidelines is regrettable. But more problematic is a compromise reached during negotiations on these guidelines that, by exempting Argentina and Brazil, undermines the separate but important goal of establishing the Additional Protocol as the global standard on nonproliferation verification.’

Return of the 'Climate Chancellor': Merkel Tries to Regain Upper Hand in Energy Debate

Before the financial crisis, Angela Merkel liked to present herself as the "climate chancellor," pushing for CO2 cuts and posing with glaciers. Now, with nuclear energy dominating the energy debate in Germany, Merkel has sought to turn back the clock.
Read more [Spiegel Online]

Germany to postpone nuclear tax decision: minister

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said on Wednesday that he believes the government will postpone a decision on a contentious nuclear power tax until the end of September.
Read more [Reuters]