Nuclear/Climate News – week to 3rd December
COP25, the annual United Nations international conference on dealing with climate change is now beginning, in Madrid. Global climate tipping point is getting near – researchers say.
For December, my websites are focusing on that unfashionable subject – ETHICS. Some aspects of “nuclear ethics” are climate change, health and environment, sustainability, developing countries, economic feasibility, – conclusion – nuclear power is not an ethical choice.
A bit of good news – Humpback Whale Population Bounces Back From Near-Extinction—From Just 450, to Over 25,000
AUSTRALIA
NUCLEAR. –Nuclear Inquiry Report now delayed, due to scandal over Energy Minister Angus Taylor? Minerals Council renews push for nuclear energy, but rather coy about its costs.
Shonky opinion poll results to give the go-ahead for Kimba nuclear waste dump? Australia to get high level nuclear wastes from UK, in return for Lucas Heights nuclear waste sent to UK.
Three Tjiwarl women from WA’s goldfields win conservation award for uranium mine campaign.
CLIMATE. Catastrophic weather conditions, but Australian govt has no climate adaptation plan. More than 160 bush and grass fires are burning across New South Wales. Australia’s ‘permanently wet’ rainforests now burning for the first time.
Sir David Attenborough hits out at the federal government over climate position. Barnaby Joyce auctions lump of coal – in a glass jar – at Nationals dinner.
Public opinion: for the first time, Environment is Australians’ top concern. The Murray Darling water crisis and what governments must do to fix this.
RENEWABLE ENERGY. Heating & cooling to go renewable and provide demand response. Australian solar PV integrated window technology gains US approval. Renewable South Australia posts lowest wholesale prices for second month in row. The day rooftop solar met two thirds of South Australia’s total demand. Power bills to fall by $40 as New South Wales Central West becomes wind and solar power hub. Why is pumped hydro in Australia not used very much?
INTERNATIONAL
The negotiations in Madrid for COP 25 Climate Change Conference. Tipping points leading to ‘Hothouse Earth’ already “active”, scientists warn.
Catholic doctrine; the use and even the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. Plans for nuclear waste disposal, but there’s no long term solution.
Despite Halting Progress, UN Continues its Push for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone in the Middle East.
Nuclear Inquiry Report now delayed, due to scandal over Energy Minister Angus Taylor?
Nuclear power inquiry to be pushed back amid scandal over Energy Minister Angus Taylor, Lanai ScarrThe West Australian, Monday, 2 December 2019
A parliamentary inquiry report on nuclear power is likely to be pushed back until next year amid Energy Minister Angus Taylor’s woes surrounding a police investigation of allegations his office forged documents to accuse Sydney’s Lord Mayor of excessive travel spending.
The West Australian understands the committee examining the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia, which was due to release its report before the end of the year, could now delay it until mid-January or later.
The standing committee on the environment and energy, which includes two West Australians Labor’s Josh Wilson and the Coalition’s Rick Wilson was directed by under siege Mr Taylor in August to hold the first probe into nuclear power in more than a decade after calls from within his party to put the option on the table for reliable, zero-emissions power.
Among them was former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.
It is not clear if the potential delay is linked to Mr Taylor’s woes or due to other scheduling issues.
A meeting on Wednesday will discuss the proposed recommendations.
It is understood one recommendation to be considered is an economic feasibility study into nuclear power, particularly emerging technology such as small modular reactors.
News of the push back comes after NSW Police last week launched an investigation of Mr Taylor and his office for false accusations that Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore spent $15 million on travel.
It also comes as research conducted on behalf of the Minerals Council of Australia today reveals more Australians support lifting the ban on nuclear energy in Australia than those who are opposed.
Under the current Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act, which is under review, there is a moratorium on nuclear power.
The research by JWS Research of 1500 Australians found 39 per cent support using nuclear power and 40 per cent support lifting the nuclear power ban.
“39 per cent support using nuclear power and 40 per cent support lifting the nuclear power ban.”
Even key Green seats those with twice the national average number of Greens voters are just as likely as everywhere else to be in favour.
Chair of the standing committee on the environment and energy, Liberal National Party of Queensland MP Ted O’Brien, said the report validated the need for a thorough inquiry.
On his inquiry’s report being pushed back, Mr O’Brien said: “I can’t pre-empt the conclusions that will be drawn from our inquiry and nor has a date been set for the inquiry to be concluded.”
Fremantle MP Mr Wilson, who is deputy chair of the inquiry, said the Minerals Council survey material contained some “misleading claims” and could not be relied on.
Council chief executive Tania Constable said WA would be a “big winner” if the moratorium on nuclear power were lifted.
Minerals Council renews push for nuclear energy, but rather coy about its costs
“The construction of nuclear power plants has proven to be an economic disaster for the corporations involved and a massive waste of public monies, given the plants are all entirely reliant on government financial subsidies,” IEEFA said.
Nuclear inquiry sparks industry campaign to lift moratorium, https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/nuclear-inquiry-sparks-industry-campaign-to-lift-moratorium-20191201-p53fsz.htl By Mike Foley, December 1, 2019 — The Minerals Council is ramping up its long-run campaign to remove Australia’s ban on nuclear power, claiming new market research shows majority community support for the technology.
Federal Parliament banned nuclear power in 1998, and the moratorium has remained in place with bipartisan support ever since.
The Morrison government has asked the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Energy to investigate the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia.
According to the Minerals Council of Australia, one prerequisite for nuclear power, community support, could be achieved if the public are properly informed about the technology.
The Minerals Council commissioned JWS Research to sample Australians’ support for nuclear power. The survey of 1500 people found 40 per cent support nuclear power and 33 per cent oppose it.
The support for nuclear energy rose to 47 per cent when respondents were presented a range of positive and negative facts about the technology.
“The more people learn about it, the greater the support for nuclear energy,” said Minerals Council chief executive Tania Constable.
She said the survey showed politicians that Australians wanted nuclear to be considered in their future energy mix.
“This should give them the courage to act. Any government serious about addressing climate change must be looking at nuclear, the zero-emissions foundation of electricity systems across the globe.”
The factors for nuclear energy were delivery of emissions-free power around the clock, Australia’s vast landmass could safely house reactors in remote locations, increased uranium mining, and nuclear power plants could bring jobs growth, and Australia already permits uranium exports – which could be utilised at home.
The factors against nuclear energy were the potential for human error to cause accidents at a reactor or waste facility, previous catastrophic failures such as Three Mile Island and Fukushima, concerns of health impacts for people living near reactors or waste facilities, and the risk that uranium exports could be used for weapons.
Energy analyst Lazard’s estimates the current cost of energy production for nuclear is more expensive than renewables.
The levelised cost of solar power around the world for solar power is about $60 per megawatt hour, $42/Mwh for wind, $145/Mwh for coal, and $220/Mwh for nuclear.
Nuclear power production costs could come with new technology. Small to medium sized reactors are proposed as potential cost savers, but there are no commercial examples in operation.
Government contributions would likely be required to underwrite private investment in a nuclear power plant in Australia. The cost of building Britain’s first nuclear plant in a generation, Hinkley Point, has blown out to more than $42 billion. It is contracted to supply the government with power at $176/Mwh.
The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis submission to the inquiry believes nuclear is one of the most expensive power sources.
“The construction of nuclear power plants has proven to be an economic disaster for the corporations involved and a massive waste of public monies, given the plants are all entirely reliant on government financial subsidies,” IEEFA said.
The Minerals Council submission said nuclear’s zero emissions power generation had to be incorporated into Australia’s future energy mix.
Three Tjiwarl women from WA’s goldfields win conservation award for uranium mine campaign
https://www.miragenews.com/three-tjiwarl-women-from-wa-s-goldfields-win-conservation-award-for-uranium-mine-campaign/ 29 Nov 19, Over the decades they have seen off at least three mining companies, including BHP, and in the process they have given strength and courage to their own community and many others.”
Three Tjiwarl women, Shirley Wonyabong, Elizabeth Wonyabong and Vicki Abdullah, have been awarded the 2019 Peter Rawlinson Award for their decades-long campaign to protect their country and culture from a proposed uranium mine at Yeelirrie in outback Western Australia.
The award, which celebrates outstanding voluntary contributions to protect the environment, will be conferred on the women at the Australian Conservation Foundation’s (ACF) annual general meeting in Melbourne tonight.
“Shirley, Elizabeth and Vicki, along with other Tjiwarl people, have spoken up for their country and culture around campfires, in politicians’ offices, on the streets of Perth and in Western Australia’s highest court, all the while looking after their grandchildren and each other,” said ACF’s Chief Executive Officer, Kelly O’Shanassy.
“Every year for the last eight years, these women have taken people from all over the world through their country on a one-month walking tour. In this way, hundreds have seen their land.
The insanity of punishing the good — Beyond Nuclear International
Our focus should be the climate crisis and banning the bomb
via The insanity of punishing the good — Beyond Nuclear International
The judge who assailed “worship of the Bomb” — Beyond Nuclear International
He supported desperate plea to stop military madness
via The judge who assailed “worship of the Bomb” — Beyond Nuclear International
Shonky opinion poll results to give the go-ahead for Kimba nuclear waste dump?
An ill-advised plan to boost a small rural town’s economy is likely to do the very opposite.
But anyway, should the purpose of a national nuclear waste dump be primarily to improve the economics of a small rural town?
Kazzi Jai Fight To Stop Nuclear Waste In The Flinders Ranges, 30 Nov 19
Letter to the Editor:
The recent result of the vote for hosting a National Radioactive Waste Management Facility was positive for the Kimba community, with a significant increase in a number of people welcoming the facility.
Going according to figures taken from previous surveys , the NO vote only lost 12 votes. Would not call that a significant increase!
The 90 per cent engagement in the vote is a great indication of how much the people of our community care about its future.
The engagement was centred on “objective criteria”…whatever that was chosen to mean – it’s all secret, despite being told that this is meant to be an “open and transparent” process!
Small communities including Kimba are finding it more and more difficult to sustain their volunteer rates, fill sporting teams each week, and individuals are having to travel for FIFO (fly-in fly-out) work to be able to provide for their families.
All small communities have feast and famine times.
After three main businesses have closed in the past 18 months, we have to act now.
And they closed why? Probably because of the threat of a proposed nuclear waste dump happening there! You are already becoming orchestrators of your own demise!
But you haven’t actually looked that far have you?
The proposed facility is also set to increase the economy across the Eyre Peninsula and greater South Australia during the construction phase.
Where are the figures for this bit of fiction? Increase the economy? More like damage our economy forever! If it really was such a golden opportunity, then there are plenty of sites actually in NSW which would be suitable! Even agricultural ones! Why are they not demanding that they be considered instead!…..
Oh wait! There was… at Sallys Flat NSW which was also deemed suitable by the Federal Government as one of the SIX proposed sites around Australia. Why was this site not hounded like the South Australian ones were! Only 260kms from Lucas Heights….and not 1500+kms like the ones in South Australia! Even Oman Ama in Qld, also deemed suitable by the Federal Government, is only 780kms from Lucas Heights.
No one is DEMANDING to be considered for this “WONDERFUL” opportunity….why do you think that is?
We believe in the capacity of our community and its people, we have four years of facts that prove to us the proposed facility, transport and storage will be monitored and safe and we will keep positively working towards a sustainable future, for the wage earners, the farmers, the children, the home owners, the aged and more.
You have had four years of slow burn HALF TRUTHS and not FULL FACTS. They can promise you the world…..but the REALITY is something VERY DIFFERENT!
Are you really prepared to willingly contaminate your land. To undertake EVERY DAY the thought that today may be the day that the shielding and containment FAIL. That you will be left alone and abandoned as the Federal Government have achieved what THEY wanted to achieve – more political votes and NOT dealing with the waste PROPERLY in the first place, but rehashing the SAME plan which was drawn up in 1980…..which is FORTY YEARS AGO!
You may THINK you are SPECIAL now…..but you are simply A MEANS TO AN END!
And you are deliberately exposing your children and your land which you currently take for granted, to a poison which will remain dangerous for hundreds if not thousands of years!
When has any NORMAL person actually TRUSTED a Government with its promises? You are either naïve…..or very foolish!
We are told on a regular basis from others across the Eyre Peninsula and SA how awesome it would be for Kimba and the region, so let’s hear the voices of the positive people and I encourage all to write to the minister and department at radioactivewaste@industry.gov.au or call 13 28 46.
No you are not! You just choose to hear what you want to hear! That is TOTALLY DIFFERENT! And when it all goes pear-shaped, which is not a matter of IF but WHEN, then you will be one of the first to leave and head for another state! People who spruik for this dump are often the ones with the least to lose!
There is no way a sensible person would support having nuclear waste in agricultural land, nor in the iconic Flinders Ranges! It is sheer lunacy!
MATT & MEAGAN LIENERT
KimbaFighting for the future of our next generations who will have to deal with the liability and problems from people like you who have chosen EASY money (a once off payment mind you!) over the interests not only of Kimba and Hawker, but the rest of South Australia, since both proposed sites are not isolated islands in all of this!
South Australia is NOT Lucas Height’s nor the rest of the Nation’s Nuclear Dumping Ground!
Each state should deal with its own waste!
NO MEANS NO!
World is close to a ‘global tipping point
 Climate crisis pushing Earth to a ‘global tipping point,’ researchers say
By Helen Regan, CNN, November 28, 2019 , The Earth is heading toward a “global tipping point” if the climate crisis continues on its current path, scientists have warned, as they called for urgent action to avoid “an existential threat to civilization.”
The group of researchers, who published a commentary in the journal Nature, say there is growing evidence to suggest that irreversible changes to the Earth’s environmental systems are already taking place, and that we are now in a “state of planetary emergency.”
A global tipping point is a threshold when the planet’s systems go beyond the point of no return — such as the loss of the Amazon rainforest, accelerated melting of ice sheets, and thawing of permafrost — the authors of the commentary say.
Such a collapse could lead to “hothouse” conditions that would make some areas on Earth uninhabitable.
“We argue that the intervention time left to prevent tipping could already have shrunk towards zero, whereas the reaction time to achieve net zero emissions is 30 years at best,” the authors said.
Active problem areasLed by Timothy Lenton, professor of climate change and Earth system science at the University of Exeter, in southwest England, the team identified nine areas where they say tipping points are already underway.
Those include widespread destruction of the Amazon, reduction of Arctic sea ice, large-scale coral reef die-offs, melting of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, thawing of permafrost, destabilizing of boreal forests — which contain vast numbers of trees that grow in freezing northern climes — and a slowdown of ocean circulation.
The team claims that these events are interconnected and change in one will impact another, causing a worsening “cascade” of crises………
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The UN Environment Program (UNEP) 2019 Emissions Gap report said at the current rate, temperatures are expected to rise 3.2 C by 2100.
Greenhouse gases reached a record high in 2018 with no sign of peaking, according to a recent World Meteorological Organization report. Carbon dioxide levels reached 407.8 parts per million, a unit used to measure the level of a contaminant in the air.
Hope is not lost, however. Researchers say that mitigating greenhouse gas emissions could still slow down the accumulation of these climate impacts.
What is needed, they say, is urgent international action to cut emissions, slow sea level rise, and to keep warming to 1.5 C.
“A saving grace is that the rate at which damage accumulates from tipping — and hence the risk posed — could still be under our control to some extent,” they said.
“The stability and resilience of our planet is in peril. International action — not just words — must reflect this.” https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/28/health/climate-crisis-global-tipping-point-intl-hnk/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2019-11-30T05%3A01%3A06&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social
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Australia to get high level nuclear wastes from UK, in return for Lucas Heights nuclear waste sent to UK
Kazzi Jai No Nuclear Waste Dump Anywhere in South Australia, 1 Dec 19,
We then have a Joint Committee report in 2017 which you can find on the ARPANSA website which states ”As stated in the 2014 report, ANSTO and the UK Nuclear Decommissioning Authority enacted a substitution agreement in 2013, under which ANSTO gave up title to the reprocessed residues from the reprocessing of 114 SFEs at Dounreay.
Instead, ANSTO agreed to take a radioactive equivalent to the Dounreay waste in the form of four canisters of CSD-V vitrified material currently held at Sellafield. Planning for the return of this material is underway. An agreement for the supply of a second TN-81 container has been enacted with AREVA TNI, and negotiations for the eventual removal from storage and transportation of the canisters are underway with the UK. It is anticipated that the shipment to Australia will occur in or after late 2020,resulting in the full disposition of spent fuel from the HIFAR reactor.”
Soooooo….The next question is….these canisters are CSD-V……
According to La Hague in France…..
”A high level glass-ceramic for the vitrification of legacy, highly-corrosive UMo fission products (from recycled GCR fuel). These are known as CSD-U canisters.
A high level borosilicate glass for the vitrification of UOX fission products (fission product solutions derived from the processing of LWR fuel), with a high throughput (the capacity of the vitrification line is doubled by retrofitting a CCIM). These are known as CSD-V canisters.”
So….what are we getting back from Sellafield again….you have it ….CSD-V!!
And…..From an Assessment Report tabled by ANSTO for Interim Waste Store Safety Assessment 2014… ”The analysis is bounded by the thermal power of the CSD-V (i.e. vitrified waste from HLW) which generates about 3.7 times more heat than CSD-U.”
Just as well the TN-81 casks have cooling fins!!
Sir David Attenborough hits out at the federal government over climate position,
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/sir-david-attenborough-hits-out-at-the-federal-government-over-climate-position Sir David Attenborough has taken another swipe at the Australian government’s climate policies, expressing his shock at the government’s hesitation to link recent extreme weather with global warming.
Catastrophic weather conditions, but Australian govt has no climate adaptation plan
Time is running out for a climate adaptation plan, Independent Australia
THE POSSIBILITY that the effects of climate change could be more extreme and materialise much sooner than expected was never hypothetical. At the end of the last ice age, it is estimated that temperatures in some regions of the world spiked between five and 15 degrees celsius in just a few decades.
Catastrophic climate conditions have already arrived in Australia. With a growing sense that the events of the last few weeks could be the new normal, dealing with the immediate effects of climate change may take increasing priority over historically unsuccessful emissions reduction efforts.
It is striking that Australia has no unified climate adaptation plan.
Our bushfires are escalating in number and intensity. Given this reality, leaving individuals to enact their own bushfire survival plans again and again seems inadequate. In light of successive governments upholding policies designed to discourage asylum seekers from risking their lives at sea, where is the plan to permanently move residents out of areas surrounded by highly flammable material? …..
These are just a few matters of relevance, before we even get to responses to heat stress (cooler living spaces), or the erratic intensity of droughts (innovative measures to ensure food and water security), storms (systematic storm-proofing of property) and floods (moving communities to higher ground where necessary).
All of this will require a great deal of resources and coordination. While governments, both State and Federal, have been much too slow to act, politicians interested in keeping their jobs could conceivably be motivated to do so by increasingly engaged voters.
At the same time, the market has failed to respond anywhere near adequately and it is hard to see it doing so. The private sector-led installation of the flood-proofing infrastructure Brisbane needs is nowhere to be seen.
When warmer temperatures melt arctic ice, sun-reflecting white layers on that ice disappear, causing more heat to be absorbed by darker surfaces, a further rise in temperature and a further melting of ice. A number of chain reactions operate like this in the climate system. There could be many more that have not yet been discovered and that could behave in unanticipated ways.
Under some scenarios, changes could be so rapid that even attempts to adapt could become impractical. We haven’t a moment to lose. https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/time-is-running-out-for-a-climate-adaptation-plan,13365
Prominent Americans to wage ‘World War Zero’ against climate change
John Kerry Launches Star-Studded Climate Coalition, NYT, By Lisa Friedman, Nov. 30, 2019 WASHINGTON — John Kerry, the former senator and secretary of state, has formed a new bipartisan coalition of world leaders, military brass and Hollywood celebrities to push for public action to combat climate change.
The name, World War Zero, is supposed to evoke both the national security threat posed by the earth’s warming and the type of wartime mobilization that Mr. Kerry argued would be needed to stop the rise in carbon emissions before 2050.
The star-studded group is supposed to win over those skeptical of the policies that would be needed to accomplish that.
Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are part of the effort. Moderate Republican lawmakers like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, and John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio, are on the list. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Sting and Ashton Kutcher round out the roster of more than 60 founding members.
The star-studded group is supposed to win over those skeptical of the policies that would be needed to accomplish that.
Former presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter are part of the effort. Moderate Republican lawmakers like Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California, and John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio, are on the list. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Sting and Ashton Kutcher round out the roster of more than 60 founding members.
“We’re going to try to reach millions of people, Americans and people in other parts of the world, in order to mobilize an army of people who are going to demand action now on climate change sufficient to meet the challenge,” Mr. Kerry said in an interview.
The launch of the new group on Sunday comes as diplomats gather in Madrid on Monday for global climate negotiations aimed at strengthening the 2015 Paris Agreement, from which President Trump has vowed to withdraw next year. Earlier this week the United Nations found that the world’s richest countries, responsible for emitting more than three-fourths of planet-warming pollution, are not doing enough to keep Earth’s temperature from rising to dangerously high levels. Net carbon emissions from the two largest polluters, the United States and China, are expanding……….. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/climate/john-kerry-climate-change.html?smid=tw-nytclimate&smtyp=cur
U.S. Government effectively boycotting COP25 climate conference
US will ‘protect its interests’ at COP25 climate conference, No senior members of Donald Trump’s administration will attend COP25. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/us-will-protect-its-interests-at-cop25-climate-conference 2 Dec 19, The US will send a diplomatic team but no senior members of Donald Trump’s administration to a global climate change conference starting in Spain on Monday, according to a statement.However, in an effort to raise the US profile in Madrid, House speaker Nancy Pelosi will led a 15-member congressional delegation to “reaffirm the commitment of the American people to combating the climate crisis”.
The US, at Mr Trump’s direction, is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord, which set a goal of limiting global temperature rises to well within two degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
Spain stepped in to host the COP25 meeting, which seeks to boost commitments to fight climate change, after Chile pulled out due to civil unrest.
“The United States will continue to participate in ongoing climate change negotiations and meetings – such as COP25 – to ensure a level playing field that protects US interests,” the US State Department said Saturday.
The US team will be headed by ambassador Marcia Bernicat, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs.
Ms Pelosi, calling climate change “the existential threat of our time,” announced a delegation of Democrats drawn from both the House and the Senate, with no members of Mr Trump’s Republican party.
The president has cast the Paris climate accord as elitist and unfair to the US, saying when announcing his decision to withdraw that he was “elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris”.
But scientists say the accord is vital to check the worst damage from global warming, such as increasing droughts, rising floods and intensifying storms.
The US is the world’s second biggest emitter of greenhouse gases after China, and is the only country to pull out of the Paris agreement.
The final US withdrawal from the landmark accord is scheduled for 4 November, 2020, a day after the next presidential election.
Several Democratic presidential aspirants have said that, if elected, they would immediately return to the agreement.
Public opinion: for the first time, Environment is Australians’top concern
 Environment is prime worry for the first time: poll, The Age Matt Wade
December 2, 2019 The environment has for the first time surpassed healthcare, cost of living and the economy to be the number one concern for Australians.
The Ipsos Issues Monitor,which asks a representative sample of Australians to select the three top issues facing the nation, found 32.1 per cent rated the state of the environment among their biggest worries in November – the highest share in the decade-long history of the survey. The result follows devastating spring bushfires in NSW and Queensland and worsening drought conditions in many regional areas. These events have been widely attributed to climate change caused by global warming. The survey shows anxiety about the state of the environment has risen steadily since the middle of the decade…. https://www.theage.com.au/national/environment-is-prime-worry-for-the-first-time-poll-20191201-p53fu5.html |
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Antinuclear 