Can Thorium reactors resuscitate the nuclear industry? – I don’t think so.
When even the International Energy Agency starts planning ahead for the decline in nuclear power – you know that all is not well with the nuclear industry. (a draft copy of the International Energy Agency’s 2011 World Energy Outlook. The draft, obtained by Reuters ahead of its release next week, sai the IEA had developed a “Low Nuclear Case” that assesses possible implications for global energy balances of a much smaller role for nuclear power. The draft was dated July 2011, and the IEA is scheduled to release the report in London next Wednesday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/us-energy-iea-nuclear-newspro-idUSTRE7A36OP20111104)
If you follow the course of efforts to develop the MOX plutonium reprocessing industry – you quickly come to a series of very expensive starts and shutdowns – Britain, USA, Japan.
Some nuclear lobbyists still tout the “pebble bed” nuclear reactor – a financial fiasco when tried in South Africa. And there are the small modular reactors – a huge security risk – among other drawbacks
Some hopefully spruik about nuclear fusion – if only it could be made to work and work without bankrupting a country
Now – lo and behold – the big tout is THORIUM- with Australian companies like Lynas and Iluka pushing to jump on the bandwagon. Later this month, mining industry people will gather in Canberra to attend a conference entirely devoted to thorium. The opening speaker will be federal Resources Minister, Martin Ferguson.
But on investigation – Thorium reactors are not all they’re cracked up to be. Check these out for their failures, security risks, and weapons potential – http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/letters/general/no-one-talks-about-safe-nuclear-power-because-it-doesnt-exist/2147024.aspx and The Greenroom » Nuclear Weapons for the Masses!
So – Australia’s nuclear lobby, including its Minister For The Nuclear Industry, Martin Ferguson are now desperately latching on to the Thorium push, as uranium prices plummet.
But THORIUM is just another diversion from the reality that the nuclear industry is not being successfully resuscitated. – Christina Macpherson
Gillard, Rudd, Obama – talks on uranium to India (as well as nuke waste to Australia)?
Could Gillard and Rudd be set for a nuclear fusion? The Age, Michelle Grattan, November 6, 2011 , JULIA GILLARD and Barack Obama are having plenty of time together. They’ve been at the G20; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum is coming up in a few days, followed by the President’s visit to Australia and then the East Asia Summit. Somewhere along the way, you’d think they would find time to discuss a big issue on which their two countries disagree – selling uranium to India.
This question is very live in the ALP just now. If the Australian government wants the option of lifting its ban on uranium sales to India in the next two years, it needs to change party policy at the December ALP national conference.
There is considerable support for a policy change. Resources Minister Martin Ferguson wants it. On the union side, so 
does Australian Workers’ Union boss Paul Howes. As he departed the South Australian premiership last month, Mike Rann declared it was ”probably time to have a rethink on that in terms of the very strict standards that India is now prepared to sign up to”.
Gillard, having committed herself to party reform, will have to say how far she wants to go in this area. Add uranium sales to India and that is quite a bit of potential conflict to manage.
One thing is certain. Any push for change would have to involve Gillard and Rudd standing shoulder to shoulder – just like those other rivals, Hayden and Hawke, did at the 1982 ALP conference…..Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/could-gillard-and-rudd-be-set-for-a-nuclear-fusion-20111105-1n0v5.html#ixzz1d4JgOuFF
Effect of nuclear plants on marine life – are animal activists aware?
Indeed nuclear lobbyists in Australia operate by stealth – not least in Adelaide. ( Comment from a readerof this page) One prolific blogger comes to mind who’s a member of an animal activist group. Impressive one thinks but hopping over to Barry Brook’s website and there he is lobbying for nuclear. This duplicitous gentleman (an animal activist no less) believes it’s quite acceptable for one nuclear plant to suck up a billion marine organisms and marine life every year in the US – the Indian Point nuclear plant.
Adding insult to injury he evaded responding to the fact that “since the advent of the nuclear age in the mid-1940s, the mass of radioactive 129I (t1/2 = 15.7 Myr) circulating in the Earth’s hydrosphere has increased nearly forty fold from its natural background level of 140 kg.
“Nuclear fuel reprocessing has been by far the major contributor, responsible for releasing 5400 kg of 129I (half-life 15.7 million years) primarily into the North Atlantic Ocean. Regional and global trends in the distribution of the 129I inventory are elucidated from an examination of more than 600 determinations of 129I in environmental samples from around the world. Because the major point sources are located in Europe and the United States, more than 99% of the present 129I reservoir is distributed in the Northern Hemisphere, where both 129I concentrations and 129I/I ratios in rivers, lakes, and shallow seawater are several orders of magnitude above the preanthropogenic background.
” …………………. We model the effect of a collapse in thermohaline circulation and project a concentration increase of more than 3 orders of magnitude in shallow oceans over the 10,000 years that follow if nuclear reprocessing is to continue at the present rate. ” “Filthy water cannot be washed.” http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2010/2009GC002910.shtml#citation#citation
At last, cleanup and some justice for Native American uranium workers
a recently completed epidemiology study of the 2,700-member tribe conducted by the state Department of Health and the Northwest Indian Health Board concluded there were high rates of cancer among tribal members who worked at the mine.
Women of the tribe have contracted cancer from cleaning the clothes of the men who worked in the mines,
Progress made toward cleaning up uranium mine, Canadian Business By AP | November 06, 2011 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Spokane Tribe of Indians has recently won big victories in its long fight against uranium contamination, including a deal reached this fall between the federal government and mining companies to clean up the long-closed Midnite Mine on the reservation.
In addition, tribal members in September became eligible to receive federal compensation if they became sick while working at the mine. Continue reading
NSW wind farm plan to power 80,000 homes, save 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas
Seventy new turbines planned for Collector, Goulburn Post, BY MADELINE HAYMAN,07 Nov, 2011 A SYDNEY company has planned the construction of almost 70 wind turbines in the vicinity of Collector. Brochures from energy provider RATCH Australia state that the Collector wind farm is now at stage five of the 10 stage approval process, and is currently being assessed under part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
“The proposed Collector wind farm is an important renewable energy project that will bring benefits to Collector, NSW and Australia,” RATCH Australia CEO Steve Loxton said. “The proposal is to build 69 wind turbines and associated electrical connections on the hills to the west of Collector. “Wind turbines are an efficient and cost effective way of generating clean, renewable electricity.
“Over its operating life the wind farm is expected to generate more than 10,000 gigawatt hours of renewable energy, equivalent to powering 80,000 homes per year for 25 years,” he said. Mr Loxton also said that the wind farm would save more than 10 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its life time…..
“Economic benefits include the revenues earned by the businesses that we will rely on during the construction and operation of the project and by local landholders who are hosting turbines…..
“The local community will directly benefit through the employment opportunities that are generated by the project.”… Mr Loxton said. “As with any new development, there will be some aspects of the proposal that some people will object to. We are working with the community to minimise the impact of these aspects.” http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/seventy-new-turbines-planned-for-collector/2348948.aspx
Australian uranium producers struggle, Paladin’s shares dropped 70 % this year
Paladin punished for African shut-downs, THE AUSTRALIAN , November 01, 2011 SHARES in Africa-focused miner Paladin were punished after it reported a fall in uranium production amid weak market prices, despite record sales for the September quarter.
Paladin produced 1.24 million pounds of uranium in the September quarter, a 15 per cent fall compared with 1.46 million pounds in the previous quarter.
The fall was due to shutdowns at Paladin’s operations in Namibia and Malawi, including a ground movement that affected the Malawi mine and reduced its production by 30 per cent.
Paladin shares fell 6.5c, , or 4.2 per cent, to close at $1.50….
Chief executive John Borshoff said the persistent deterioration of the uranium spot price since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March was affecting financial returns..The effects of Fukushima on the industry had highlighted its inability to sustain production growth in an orderly way, he said.
Uranium prices had recently fallen to levels of about $US50 a pound, last seen after Japan’s nuclear accident, causing grief to struggling Australian producers such as Paladin. Paladin’s shares have slumped 70 per cent this year, mainly because of the Fukushima accident.
1 This month
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