WA’s largest National Park threatened by uranium mining
.Warning of a ‘stagnant, over supplied’ uranium market, the company has announced it will ‘decrease activities in Australia’.
Public comment on the mine plan closes on Friday 14 February. More than 2500 submissions opposing the plan have been sent to the state EPA.
Uranium plan threatens WA’s biggest National Park http://www.acfonline.org.au/news-media/media-release/uranium-plan-threatens-wa%E2%80%99s-biggest-national-park-0 February 13, 2014 National and state environment groups have called on the WA Environment Protection Agency to reject the plan by Canadian company
Cameco to mine uranium at Kintyre in the Pilbara, describing the area as too precious to mine and the economics as too marginal to matter.
The call follows confirmation this week that Cameco has revised its growth projections in response to the depressed global uranium price Continue reading
Safety problem in uranium sales to Russia
The [Senate] majority report argued that the government should not advance any sales until a series of essential pre-conditions were met.
President Putin’s civil atomic aspirations exceed the capacity of Russia’s nuclear sector while his military ones have no place on a habitable planet. Neither should be fuelled by Australian uranium
When Will Russia Freeze Its Nuclear Ambitions, New Matilda, By Dave Sweeney, 14 Feb 14 The Winter Olympic spectacle has put Russia back in the spotlight, but some areas of the country’s policy remain opaque – including its nuclear sympathies, writes Dave Sweeney while the cameras shine brightly, other stories remain in the dark in Russia, including the story of the nation’s nuclear industry……..
ever more ambitious five year economic plans saw Soviet planners fall in love with the promise of nuclear power. The love affair was unrequited and has led to a sector plagued with safety, security, governance and waste management problems.Just how serious these problems were became apparent on 26 April 1986 when state monitoring stations in Sweden registered a massive spike in radiation levels and the world learned to pronounce Chernobyl.
The meltdown and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear complex in Ukraine spewed radioactive waste across large parts of the Soviet Union and well beyond. The accident has caused massive economic, environmental and human damage and dislocation. The adverse impacts and radioactive reverberations continue today.
Australia’s connection with the Russian nuclear industry escalated in 2007 when Prime Minister John Howard and President Putin inked a uranium supply agreement at the APEC summit in Sydney.
The deal was widely criticised by environment, proliferation and human rights groups and subject to detailed assessment from the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, the Federal Parliament’s scrutineer of Australian treaty deals and international agreements.
In the months that followed, JSCOT heard evidence highlighting concerns and deficiencies within the Russian nuclear industry, including an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimate that only half of Russia’s nuclear materials have been reasonably secured.
Along with a domestic nuclear industry plagued with corruption, limited regulation and disturbingly porous security, JSCOT heard of Russia’s continuing flirtation with nuclear weapons……
Informed by these real world concerns and evidence JSCOT, to its considerable credit,recommended a mix of caution and action in relation to planned Australian uranium sales.
The majority report argued that the government should not advance any sales until a series of essential pre-conditions were met. These included a detailed analysis of Russia’s nuclear non-proliferation status, the complete separation of Russia’s civil and military nuclear sectors, reductions in industry secrecy, independent safety and security assessments of Russian nuclear facilities and action on nuclear theft and smuggling concerns.
mportantly JSCOT urged that “actual physical inspection by the IAEA occurs” at any Russian sites that may handle Australian uranium and recommended that “the supply of uranium to Russia should be contingent upon such inspections being carried out.”
Putting the promises of an under-performing resource sector ahead of evidence based assessment has seen Australia squander a real chance to advance nuclear non-proliferation — however, we still have the ability and the responsibility to make a difference.
President Putin’s civil atomic aspirations exceed the capacity of Russia’s nuclear sector while his military ones have no place on a habitable planet. Neither should be fuelled by Australian uranium.https://newmatilda.com/2014/02/12/when-will-russia-freeze-its-nuclear-ambitions
Long cracks below water tanks at Fukshima nuclear plant
12m and 8m long cracks on concrete base of 2 tank areas / Tepco doesn’t mention the possibility of land subsidence by Mochizuki on February 12th, 2014 http://fukushima-diary.com/2014/02/12m-and-8m-long-cracks-on-concrete-base-of-2-tank-areas-tepco-doesnt-mention-the-possibility-of-land-subsidence/
2 of the long cracks were found on the base concrete of the tank areas.
Those cracks are 12m and 8m long, found in 2 tank areas. Those tank areas are next to each other.
The concrete base is to stop leaked contaminated water leak to the ground. Tepco removed the soil around the tank areas for the possible past leakage of contaminated water.
There is a possibility that land subsidence caused the long cracks, but Tepco didn’t mention the possibility and only announced they will cover the concrete base with urethane coating. http://www.tepco.co.jp/nu/fukushima-np/handouts/2014/images/handouts_140212_05-j.pdf
http://www.tepco.co.jp/tepconews/library/movie-01j.html
http://photo.tepco.co.jp/date/2014/201402-j/140212-01j.html
Iori Mochizuki
Nuclear weapons industry gives big money to Cambridge University
Revealed – Cambridge University’s £2m funding from nuclear weapons industry Cambridge News 12 Feb 14 by CHRIS HAVERG Scientists at Cambridge University received £2 million in funding from Britain’s nuclear weapons research organisation in the space of just two-and-a-half years.
Disarmament campaigners have criticised the grants, received by the Cavendish Laboratory in its status as one of five UK institutions boasting a ‘strategic alliance’ with the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)…..
Simon Sedgwick-Jell, of Cambridge Green Party, called on the university to end the link. He said: “As a world class institution that ought to be taking a lead in many areas, it would be better if the university did not have connections with the military side of the nuclear establishment. http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Education/Universities/Revealed-Cambridge-Universitys-2m-funding-from-nuclear-weapons-industry-20140212173350.htm#ixzz2tDkbfbU#
UK universities get huge funding from nuclear industry
University links to nuclear weapons maker ‘worth £8 million a year’ More than 50 universities have received funding from the UK’s national laboratory for nuclear weapons since 2010, according to a new study.Times Higher Education, 12 Feb 14 The links are worth £8 million a year to the higher education sector and fund physics, materials science, high-performance computing and manufacturing research, as well as academic posts, studentships and conference support, the report says. Continue reading
Australia’s opportunity – renewable energy would provide jobs
Renewable energy great solution to void in industry ,SMH,Pierre Mars 13 Feb, 14 Australia has such a nascent industry, renewable energy. Further, once the capital costs are recovered, recurring costs are low: sun, wind, waves and hot rocks are free and abundant in Australia, providing low cost energy as a competitive advantage for future industry.
Unfortunately, the Abbott government’s policies on climate change will strangle this industry at birth so Australia may be importing renewable energy technologies instead of exporting them.http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-letters/renewable-energy-great-solution-to-void-in-industry-20140212-32i8t.html
In Japan, freedom of press disappears with new secrecy law
Press freedom ranking falters due to secrecy law, Japan Times, 12 Feb 14 BY ATSUSHI KODERA Freedom of the press in Japan, which worsened dramatically last year due mainly to the lack of transparency regarding information about the Fukushima nuclear disaster, deteriorated further this year thanks to the enactment of the controversial state secrets bill, according to a report released Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders. Continue reading
Falling cost of renewable energy in Australia
Renewable energy: what would Warren do? ABC MARY ANN VAN BODEGRAVEN , 13 FEB 14,“……..In Australia, the cost of renewable energy is falling. In a report released in December, the government’s own Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics found that some renewables, such as on-shore wind, are already cheaper than new-build fossil fuel alternatives. The report also found that by 2030 the most cost effective energy option will be solar.
This is great news for Australia. As one of the sunniest countries in the world we would be on track to create a low carbon, low cost, economy. Continue reading
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