A new spanner in the works for the “nuclear renaissance”
In Australia, the gloom for uranium miners continues, with the spot price uranium market “at a standstill” ,and no improvement in sight. Martin Ferguson pushes for tenders for his pet project, a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty, in NT, even though that plan is still under court action. Electricity generation future prospects – not so much will be needed. Photovoltaic solar panels are one factor in this, and the solar panel revolution is taking politicians by surprise.
The nuclear ‘ renaissance’ really looks like a stillbirth today, as the USA Nuclear Regulatory Commission is forced, by an Appeals Court ruling, to suspend all new licensing of nuclear reactors. That applies to both new reactors, and old ones that seek relicensing.
The appeals court struck down the NRC’s Waste Confidence Rule, which stated that there was “reasonable assurance” a permanent waste site would be created “when needed, and also the Temporary Storage Rule , which allowed he storage of nuclear waste at nuclear power facilities for an indefinite period.
This has effectively frozen at least 19 final reactor licensing decisions – and must have repercussions for the global nuclear industry – and for Australia’s uranium industry.
Japan – many revelations of deception in the struggle to come to terms with the continuing nuclear disaster. TEPCO cheating by radiation doses being doctored, videos being doctored. Failure of the “Balloon Survey” to try to find out what’s going on inside Fukushima reactor No 1. Management of Fukushima area population is inept – “worse than in Chernobyl”.
India: Prime Minister Singh not happy with Russia’s immunity from accountability, regarding the nuclear reactors they are selling for Kudankulam nuclear power plant – Russia would get off scot free of costs, in the event of a nuclear accident.
Tanzania: Does anybody care? UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee caved in to commercial and government lobbyists – allowing a boundary change that will permit uranium mining at the magnificent Tanzania Selous Game Reserve. Environmental groups urging WHC to rethink this.
USA. That naughty 82 year old Catholic anti nuclear nun – described as “violent’ and a “danger to the community” – now facing court felony charges that call for 10 years in prison! And she’s out on bail – heavens, we’re all in danger.
Poor safety record of Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)
Inadequate Safety Practices at Lucas Heights and Inadequate Regulation by ARPANSA, Friends of the Earth 10 Aug 12 Since 2007, a saga has been unfolding regarding contamination accidents at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), ANSTO’s handling of those incidents, ANSTO’s treatment of whistleblowers, the handling of the matter by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), and the 
independence or otherwise of ARPANSA.
The saga has exposed inadequate safety practices at ANSTO and an inadequate performance by the regulator ARPANSA. The problems would not have been exposed and partially rectified if not for a number of ANSTO whistleblowers.
A few snapshots of this saga are noted below and more details can be found on the Friends of the Earth website:
28 August 2008 − Incident at ANSTO involving a vial of molybdenum-99. An audit found that proper processes were not followed: evacuation of the area did not occur, timely communication and event reporting, thorough investigation and follow-up did not occur. The staff member in question had not completed occupational health and safety induction training or a radiation safety course.
June 2009 − David Reid, an ANSTO employee and staff-elected health and safety officer, was suspended in June 2009 and sacked in June 2011. He repeatedly raised concerns about contamination incidents and some of his concerns were later vindicated. ANSTO states that his suspension and dismissal were unrelated to his statements regarding safety problems at ANSTO.
5 May 2010 − The ABC report states: “ARPANSA is Australia’s nuclear industry watchdog and Lateline has obtained a copy of its report into the accident. It largely supports David Reid’s concerns and raises further questions about safety at Lucas Heights. Continue reading
Victoria’s Baillieu government destroying wind industry in that State
the Baillieu government has introduced severe planning restrictions, with 14 of the 18 previously publicly announced wind farm proposals that are now unlikely to proceed located in that state.
The wind farms that Baillieu killed. REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson 9 August 2012 If Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu came to power with a determination to kill off opportunities for wind farm development in Victoria, then he can be proud of his work.
The annual Electricity Statement of Opportunities released today by the Australian Energy Market Operator highlights how much the opportunities for wind farm developments in Victoria have been reduced in the past year. Continue reading
Secret USA – Japan nuclear arrangements led to dangerous plutonium transfer
To the detriment of the world and her people, the Japanese government exploited the Japanese public’s well-known abhorrence of nuclear weapons to discourage the media and historians from delving into its nuclear weapons activities. Consequently, until the March 2011 tragedy, the Japanese nuclear industry had largely remained hidden from critical eyes.
In a rare glimpse of a Japanese industry that has remained top secret for so many decades, our investigation raises serious concerns about Japanese and Western nuclear policies and the officials who shaped those policies during and after the Cold War. International corporations and officials sacrificed the safety and security of the public to carry out the deception. Under the guise of a peaceful nuclear power program, they made huge profits
United States Circumvented Laws To Help Japan Accumulate Tons of Plutonium, DC Bureau By Joseph Trento, April 9th, 2012“……Energy has always been Japan’s Achilles’ heel. Her need for oil in the face of an American embargo triggered Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, and the continued shortage was a recurring theme in her defeat in that war. Only one act could take more credit for Japan’s humiliation – the splitting of the atom that gave birth to the nuclear bomb. Now Japan would turn that same atom to its own purposes — to ensure a stable source of energy well into the next century and, equally important, to ensure that the homeland never again suffered the indignity of defeat.
Japan approached the nuclear problem the same way it tackled the electronics and automobile industries. A core group of companies were each given key tasks with long-term profit potential. Then the government nurtured these companies with whatever financial, technological and regulatory support needed to assure their success. The strategy worked brilliantly to bring Japan from post-war oblivion to economic dominance in a single generation.
The five companies designated for the development of nuclear technologies had to make major strides beyond the conventional light water reactors that had become fixtures in Japan under U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program in the 1950s. Japan would have to do what the Americans and Europeans had failed to do – make an experimental breeder program a commercial success. Their hubris convinced them that they could. Continue reading
USA ‘s Air-Sea Battle plan risks starting a nuclear war
US blueprint for war with China flawed and could spark nuclear strikes, says expert
http://www.melbournetimesweekly.com.au/news/world/world/general/us-blueprint-for-war-with-china-flawed-and-could-spark-nuclear-strikes-says-expert/2646720.aspx DYLAN WELCH 09 Aug, 2012 THE US government might like to deny it, but Barack Obama’s former intelligence chief has confirmed China is a principal target of a major US war plan.
The American plan, known in Washington as Air-Sea Battle, is strategically flawed, Australia’s foremost regional defence expert, Hugh White, said, and risks escalating a US-China struggle to the level of nuclear strikes. It is also known to have angered the Chinese military, and the confirmation is likely to be viewed with displeasure in Beijing. Continue reading
Turnaround in Australia’s energy predictions – new wind power will dominate
It’s official: Australia needs no new coal or gas baseload REneweconomy, By Giles Parkinson 9 August 2012 Since pretty much the start of the National Electricity Market more than a decade ago, the Australian power industry has regarded the annual Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) as their bible to help pinpoint where a new coal or gas-fired generator might be needed to meet rising demand.
Given the recent revisions to the demand outlook, the list of opportunities for the coming year was expected to
be small. It turns out there are basically none. This would come as no surprise to the industry, which as been foreshadowing such a scenario since the start of the year, and it makes it pretty much official:
There is no need for any new fossil fuel generation over the next decade, and wind farms will dominate Australia’s new build in the years to come. Continue reading
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
Antinuclear 