Australia’s uranium industry seeks to weaken safeguards about radioactivity
The group wants the commission to explicitly recommend the EPBC Act be amended to remove uranium mining and milling from the 
definition of “nuclear actions”……
uranium prices have fallen since Japan’s Fukushima disaster led many nations to rethink nuclear power programs.
Miners seek radioactive rethink, BY:ANNABEL HEPWORTH The Australian , April 08, 2013 URANIUM miners have demanded changes to laws so that the “mild” radioactivity that is unique to the sector is no longer a trigger for federal environmental assessments.
The Australian Uranium Association — whose members include BHP Billiton and the operator of the Ranger mine at Jabiluka in the Northern Territory, ERA — says that uranium mining and the milling that makes yellowcake should no longer be defined as a “nuclear action” under the federal law known as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Continue reading
North Korea’s threats against USA – bluster, as their missiles could not reach USA
North Korea lacks means for nuclear strike on US, experts say WASHINGTON (Reuters) 8 Apr 13—North Korea’s explicit threats to strike the United States with nuclear weapons are rhetorical bluster, as the isolated nation does not yet have the means to make good on them, Western officials and security experts say.
Pyongyang has slowly and steadily improved its missile capabilities in recent years and U.S. officials say its missiles may be capable of hitting outlying U.S. territories and states, including Guam, Alaska and Hawaii. Some private experts say even this view is alarmist. There is no evidence, the officials say, that North Korea has tested the complex art of miniaturizing a nuclear weapon to be placed on a long-range missile, a capability the United States, Russia, China and others achieved decades ago.
In other words, North Korea might be able to hit some part of the United States, but not the mainland and not with a nuclear weapon. Continue reading
Hypothyroidism in USA babies – from Fukushima radioactive fallout?
US Babies sick with congenital hypothyroidism from Fukushima radiation http://ecochildsplay.com/2013/04/07/us-babies-sick-with-congenital-hypothyroidism-from-fukushima-radiation/ by JENNIFER LANCE APRIL 7, 2013 Despite assurances by the US government, many of us living on the West Coast were very concerned after the fallout from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. We stocked up on seaweed and potassium iodine. We gavekelp to our pets. Two years ago, I wrote
Japan Nuclear Crisis: Protect Your Family Naturally From Radioactive Emissions:
The magnitude of the Japanese earthquake is beyond comprehension. My children have watched images on the news, and my six-year-old son repeatedly asks, “Why?” I do my best to explain plate tectonics, but the truth is I have no idea how to explain to my children about the imminent nuclear catastrophe, other than we live in One World.
We live on the west coast. Prevailing winds will bring radioactive emissions to us in three to ten days, from various sources I have read. Some of it has probably already reached us.
Then, the news a year later was that the radioactive fallout that reached the United States was potentially responsible for an increase in deaths, especially for children under one year of age.
Despite assurances from the US government that the amount of radiation reaching America from the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima plant following the tragic earthquake were safe, many of us felt the need to protect our families. We were told radiation levels were no greater than taking a flight on an airplane or receiving dental x-rays, yet the fact that this was additional radiation to these “normal” sources was largely overlooked.
Did this increase in radiation from the nuclear disaster contribute to health problems that led to an increase in US death rates, especially for children under one year of age?
Now, a peer-reviewed study has examined the increase in US deaths following Japan’s nuclear disaster, and the numbers are staggering and comparable to Chernobyl. Continue reading
Toro Energy faces a struggle to make Wiluna uranium project economic
Raising the $A269 million to build Wiluna is the obvious challenge at a time of an ultra-cautious stock market and with banking conditions as tight as anyone has seen in decades.
the question of the real cost of uranium at Wiluna because if you add 10% for other charges the $37/lb becomes $40.70/lb and an extra 20% lifts the full cost to $44.40/lb.
Equity investors and the providers of debt finance to the Wiluna project will want to see something far more concrete than investment bank estimates before they provide the capital to develop Wiluna.
Dryblower on the obstacles awaiting Wiluna http://www.miningnews.net/StoryView.asp?StoryID=798350828, 8 April 2013 DIRECTORS and staff at Toro Energy had every reason to pop the corks on a few bottles of champagne last Tuesday when the Australian government provided environmental approval for its Wiluna uranium project in Western Australia, though Dryblower hopes it was just Jacob’s Creek and not Moet.
Keeping the good stuff on ice for a little longer is probably a good idea because even though one hurdle has been cleared Wiluna and Toro have a few more to clear before the serious celebrating can start. Continue reading
Australia’s 1 million solar systems, 8,000 solar jobs, and solar’s financial benefits
the recent national 1 million systems milestone being reached
Australia’s solar industry currently employs over 8,000 Australians.
a good quality 5kW solar power system can return a financial benefit of up to $2,540 each year, depending on installation location.
Australia’s Top Solar Postcodes – 2013 Update http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3675 8 April 2013. Australia’s Clean Energy Council (CEC) has released updated data showing the nation’s top solar postcodes.
Top 10 postcodes in Australia (ranked by number of installed solar panel systems), current as of 10 March 2013: Continue reading
Australia’s Northern Territory “Intervention” enables unfair deals allowing mining on Aboriginal land
120 tons of radioactive water leaked from Fukushima Daiichi tank
Kyodo: Radioactive leak is up to 120 tons from Fukushima Daiichi tank http://enenews.com/kyodo-radioactive-leak-is-up-to-120-tons-from-fukushima-daiichi-tank-video 7 April 13
Kyodo News April 6, 2013: Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday that up to 120 tons of contaminated water may have leaked into soil from one of the seven underground reservoir tanks at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Around 13,000 cubic meters of contaminated water remain in the tank, with TEPCO having begun transferring it to other tanks nearby on Saturday morning, the utility said. It will take roughly two weeks to complete the transfer, TEPCO added. […]
NHK WORLD English: Tokyo Electric Power Company says a small amount of radioactive water may have seeped out of an underground water storage facility at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The water contained strontium. […] The level of radioactivity is considered by the utility to be low. […] The utility recently constructed 7 large-scale underground facilities for storing the water after removing some radioactive substances. Each facility can accommodate up to 14,000 tons of water. […]
RIA Novosti: : The company operating the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) in northern Japan warned about the possibility of radioactive water leak, the Kyodo news agency reported on Friday. […] Radioactive substances have been detected in the water that accumulated outside the tank, covered by three layers of waterproof sheets. The exact volume of leak is unknown, but radiation levels in the water stand at about 6,000 Becquerel per cubic centimeter. […]
New York Symposium highlights the consequences of Fukushima nuclear disaster
Conference Highlights Fukushima Consequences http://rense.com/general95/confhigh.htm By Richard Wilcox Ph.D.4-6-13 “….Caldicott Versus The Nuclear Industry
“The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident,” a two-day conference is now posted online http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=hcf#
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