Australia – lucky to be Nuclear- Free, in the time of Pandemic – theme for April 2020
Australia really is “The Lucky Country” when it comes to nuclear issues, in this pandemic situation. . We don’t have to worry about staffing and securing dangerous nuclear reactors, nuclear waste facilities, nuclear submarines, nuclear weapons.
We do have one unnecessary nuclear research reactor – the industry’s “foot in the door”, and its high level wastes. The government may well be quietly proceeding with imposing a nuclear waste dump on Kimba, South Australia, – while everybody is distracted by the Covid19 .
The nuclear lobby is lobbying hard in the Australian Parliament and in the States, to overturn Australia’s very wise nuclear bans. This lobby is working for oversees supporters, “small nuclear power (SMRs)” companies like NuScam. In the present time of pandemic, Australians, especially politicians, should think about this – the exorbitant tax-payer cost of SMRs, along with the same dangers as in the large reactors. And with the advantages of renewable energy, especially home rooftop solar.
With the pandemic, and the bushfires, we now must strengthen the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC)
in the immediate term we need to advocate for vital improvements to the EPBC. It is extraordinary that the Howard legacy of deliberately excluding a project’s climate impacts from the triggers to require assessment still hasn’t been remedied. That must now be fixed, as must the fact that there is no mechanism for assessing the cumulative ecological impacts of various proposals. After this summer’s destruction of huge areas of remaining healthy ecosystems, we need to institute, in both legislation and the practice of assessment, a presumption of protection instead of a culture of managed destruction.
With the climate crisis and coronavirus bearing down on us, the age of disconnection is over https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/28/with-the-climate-crisis-and-coronavirus-bearing-down-on-us-the-age-of-disconnection-is-overTim Hollo
We can no longer pretend that we’re separate from each other and from the natural world @timhollo, Sat 28 Mar 2020 Everything is connected. It’s hard to imagine right now that, just weeks ago, the truism of ecological politics was treated as hippy nonsense by mainstream politics.
Announcing the statutory review of the commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) last October, the Morrison government pitched it as an opportunity to weaken the Howard era laws even further and make it easier still for environmentally destructive projects to be approved. And, regardless of clear statements from scientists and strong advocacy by campaign groups, it looked like it would get away with it because, back then, we were still living in the age of disconnection when the environment and the economy could be seen as separate things, in competition with each other. But then the summer arrived, delivering one after the other two massive wake-up calls. In the age of consequences, with the climate crisis and a deadly pandemic bearing down on us, it’s impossible to pretend that we are separate from each other and from the natural world. A pandemic, more than almost any other phenomenon, shows that all our lives are inextricably intertwined, for now and forever, whether we like it or not. It brings into sharp focus the impossibility of trying to keep economics, health, environment, education and social justice treated as separate questions with separate answers. It heightens awareness of our vital need, as social beings, to stay connected to each other as well as we possibly can while keeping our physical distance. It shows how the “efficient”, on-demand world that capitalism has constructed is so incredibly fragile that a series of shocks can bring it to the point of collapse. And with the rules of neoliberal economics being broken by governments the world over, it demonstrates that massive policy interventions, shifting the entire structure of the global economy, are possible. This heralded a shift in thinking that went deeper than personal impact. Perhaps due to the remarkably low loss of human life compared with the scale of the disaster, there was a tremendous focus on the more than a billion mammals, birds and reptiles killed. We mourned the thousands of koalas and the numerous species being pushed towards extinction if their habitats aren’t restored. The true legacy of this summer could be a vital turning point in recognising that “the environment” isn’t something “over there”. The environment is the air we breathe and the water we drink; it’s the soil in which we grow our food; it’s the animals we identify with and the landscapes imprinted on our souls; the environment is us, all of us, together, integrally connected with everyone and everything else on this beautiful blue marble floating in space. Damage the environment and we damage ourselves. And not just some of us – all of us together. Continue to think in our compartmentalised, linear fashion, and we’ll keep missing what’s coming, be it weeks of smoke, runs on toilet paper, or deadly pandemic What started to become clear thanks to the fires was rammed home by Covid-19. We are only as healthy as the least healthy among us. Everything we do relies on extraordinary networks of activity by people we’ve never met, crisscrossing the globe. And responding to a health crisis that was likely triggered in part by environmental destruction has world-changing impacts on the economy, on education, on social justice, on geopolitics. The age of disconnection is over. To bring us back to where we started, where does that leave the review of the EPBC Act? We have an opportunity now to not just push for a new generation of environment laws, but to re-evaluate the whole deal, to cultivate a new political settlement based on ecological principles of living well together in harmony with the natural world, understanding our place as part of it as First Peoples did for millenniums, with an economy designed to serve people and planet.
As part of this, in the immediate term we need to advocate for vital improvements to the EPBC. It is extraordinary that the Howard legacy of deliberately excluding a project’s climate impacts from the triggers to require assessment still hasn’t been remedied. That must now be fixed, as must the fact that there is no mechanism for assessing the cumulative ecological impacts of various proposals. After this summer’s destruction of huge areas of remaining healthy ecosystems, we need to institute, in both legislation and the practice of assessment, a presumption of protection instead of a culture of managed destruction. All this will, of course, be attacked as “green tape” and we have to be ready to actively defend it instead of changing the subject – and defend it on ecological grounds. Regulation is a vital part of the connective tissue which holds the body politic together. Removing it sees us fall apart. Covid-19 is, among other things, showing us the consequences of deregulating markets in health services, food supply and more. Having that conversation in this way means we won’t just be advocating for marginal improvements, but will be working to change politics. We’ll be building into the political common sense the idea that corporations absolutely should be regulated to enforce environmental and social responsibilities, and that we can no longer consider shareholder profit to be their sole focus. That helps move our politics towards altering the DNA of corporations so they operate as part of the body politic rather than as cancer cells. The flip side of this systemic shift is to institute legal rights for the natural world. If BHP has legal rights, why shouldn’t the Great Barrier Reef? Rights of nature is an increasingly mature legal field, instituted from New Zealand to Bolivia, India to parts of the US. We can and should at least insert them as a normative principle in the goals of the EPBC. While we’re thinking at that level, a new ecological political settlement will need a rethink of federalism. Our system sees national and state governments cooperating to shut out community participation and scientific advice to facilitate destructive development. An effective regime based on a presumption of protection would see federal, state, territory and local governments enabling communities to collectively develop creative ideas at their local level, within the context of expert scientific advice, and coordinating those ideas at a regional and continental level. If we shift environmental regulation from a process that is primarily responsive to demands of developers into a proactive, constructive, community-led system, we can see it morph from a defensive protection stance into one of active restoration, repair and regeneration. It can lead to the greening of cities and towns as we embrace the fact that habitats are not just “over there” but among us. It can create industrial jobs in coalmine rehabilitation. It can support regenerative agriculture, and cooperative sharing of scarce water. It can even open space for community-led conversations about relocation as the overheating world retreats from rising seas and inland desertification is inevitable. Supporting and enabling communities to make decisions is also vital for rebuilding confidence in democracy, which has collapsed in recent years. The ongoing panic-buying response to Covid-19 suggests that the abject failure of government to provide leadership through the fires worsened this further. This is now an opportunity to rethink governance, reclaim agency for communities, build practices of trust and social cohesion, embedded in respect for expert advice. Now it’s important to recognise that with this government we’re not going to get these kinds of changes. At best we might hold off the push to weaken the EPBC even further. But that shouldn’t stop us advocating for what we need. Quite the opposite. Politics, like the natural world it operates within, is a system. It works in complex ways because all it is is the collected actions of humans, influenced by each other and by external impetuses such as the weather. Or viruses. Donella Meadows, the modern mother of systems thinking, wrote that the most effective leverage point to change a system is “the mindset or paradigm out of which the system … arises”. It’s critical, then, that we confront the paradigm which sees environmental protection as of marginal importance at best, and as a barrier at worst. It’s vital that we challenge the mindsets of human disconnection from and dominance over nature. Advertisement
Over the past three months, a huge number of people made that conceptual leap. In recent weeks the crisis has become such that even mainstream politics finds it impossible to ignore. At the same time, over this period numerous people decided to just get on with it, without waiting for government. In both bushfire response and the tremendous mutual aid response to Covid-19, millions of us are setting up local projects, or joining existing ones, that make life better, generate social cohesion, reduce our footprint, and cultivate an ethic of care – for ourselves, for each other, for the natural world we are part of. If enough of us start doing this in our communities, and if enough submissions to the EPBC inquiry call for reforms that are embedded in ecological thinking, we will be putting a whole lot of small chocks under the lever. Each of those chocks is tiny. But together they can tip the balance. All of a sudden, especially at a moment like this, change will come. • Tim Hollo is executive director of the Green Institute and visiting fellow at the Australian National University’s school of regulation and global government (RegNet)
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Webinar: Yeelirrie – A Case for Environmental Law Reform
Nuclear Free WA In an effort to bring our community together, we are hosting a webinar: Yeelirrie – A Case for Environmental Law Reform
The focus of this webinar will review the Yeelirrie uranium mine assessment process as a case study on the urgent need for improved environmental laws that prevent political influence in decision making and improves the agility in the Commonwealth environment department to identify and classify threatened and endangered species.
We are only weeks away from the deadline to make a submission to the EPBC Act review. The outcome will set the pace of environmental protection over the next decade. It is critically important for you to have your say on the urgent need for improved environmental laws. We have a stellar line up of speakers who will give some important insights to help with your submission. More information here.
CCWA Director Piers Verstegen will outline the state assessment process and decision for Cameco’s Yeelirrie uranium mine proposal in the Northern Goldfields of WA.
Environmental Defenders Office, Ruby Hamilton will give an outline of the Yeelirrie court challenge.
Australian Conservation Foundation, Environmental Investigator, Annica Schoo will give an update on her FOI findings from the Federal environmental approval of the Yeelirrie uranium mine just days before the election was called.
Mia Pepper, Mineral Policy Institute will identify problems with the current assessment process in the context of the current review of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Submissions to the EPBC Act review close on 16th of April and we hope this will give you important insights to help with your submission.
Date: Thursday 2 April 5:00 pm (awst) | NSW/VIC/ACT: 8 pm | NT: 6.30 pm | QLD: 7 pm | SA 7.30 pm
Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), the great white hope of OLO’s nuclear enthusiasts, fail public liability and cost of security criteria.

See http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=7a9318c0-aad6-405e-832f-66212a87d158&subId=669038
“Transport issues arising from the modular construction model are too often glossed over. Dr David Lowry notes that the UK’s so-called Expert Finance Working Group on Small Nuclear Reactors (EFWG)36
“makes no attempt to provide an analysis of how to provide market based insurance for SMRs, against accidents and terrorist attack on modules in transit to site and in situ; nor how to privately fund SMR radioactive waste management: yet these are real risks for nuclear power, SMRs included.
For example, the EFWG (p.11) talks of “road transportable modules which are easily installed on site” but makes no calculation of the exposure to disruption or indeed destruction of such an SMR module being transported on public roads from fabrication facility to operating site, possible hundreds of miles distant.”
Furthermore internal estimates indicate the size of the security protection unit (around 60 men and 10 attack dogs) for an SMR would be as expensive as that required for a large reactor.
Also the razor wire protected exclusion zones for SMRs would need to be as large as those for large reactors. Note population and siting concerns http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687850713000071
COVID-19 impacts nuclear industry worldwide
COVID-19 impacts nuclear industry worldwide, Nuclear Engineering International, 26 March 2020
United States
In the USA, Maria Korsnick, president of the Nuclear Energy Institute told the New York Times that some operating reactors are “considering measures to isolate a core group to run the plant, stockpiling ready-to-eat meals and disposable tableware, laundry supplies and personal care items.”……
DHS Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has identified 14 employment categories as Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers, which include energy sector employees.
According to US media, electric power utilities are planning to set up housekeeping for cadres of healthy workers at the plants to keep them operating.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said on 23 March that it expected to issue guidelines for operators to request permission for employees to work longer than allowed under current regulations…….
The NRC had hosted a phone meeting with the nuclear industry on 20 March to discuss regulatory impacts due to COVID-19.
During the call, Ho Nieh, director of the NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation said possible measures being discussed included steps to isolate key personnel to deal with major absenteeism in critical areas that may require increasing work limits.
He also said if a facility was unable to meet a regulatory requirement, the NRC had “a variety of mechanisms to consider,” including plant closures. “We are in an unprecedented situation,” he said……..
EDF told Reuters that its nuclear plants could operate for three months with a 25% reduction in staffing levels, and for two to three weeks with 40% fewer staff. There are currently 40 reactors in operation in France.
EDF has also scrapped its nuclear generation target for 2020 on an anticipated fall in output this year because of the coronavirus crisis. It said that its maintenance schedule for reactors had been “interrupted” by the order from authorities for workers to remain at home. As a result, EDF said its the projection of 375-390TWh of nuclear production in France in 2020 is being reviewed and will be adjusted downwards…….
Elsewhere in France, Orano has suspended operation of its La Hague reprocessing plant, saying it is taking measures to protect its employees and secure its industrial facilities while maintaining critical activities. Presenting its 2019 results, Orano suspended its outlook for 2020 “given the immediate and future impact on our markets and operations of this looming global health crisis.” …
France’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has also temporarily suspended most of its inspections in medical facilities carrying out nuclear activities to enable health professionals to focus on the response to the pandemic. …..
UK sees reduction in construction work at Hinkely Point C
In the UK, EDF Energy is reducing the workforce at its Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant by more than half. The number of workers at the site would be reduced to about 2000 from 4500, the company said, noting that the remaining skilled workers will focus on critical areas and work in shifts with extra transport and staggered breaks to minimise contact.
EDF Energy said it had taken steps such as home working for those who can, temperature checks for people at the site, extra cleaning and changes to movement patterns…….
Sellafield Ltd has implemented a controlled shutdown of its facilities, including the Magnox Reprocessing Plant, after 8% of its 11,500-strong staff were forced to self-isolate to avoid infection. Ithas told most of its workers to stay away from its main site and satellite offices and to work from home. ……
More broadly, NIA said the UK Office of Nuclear Regulation, has confirmed that all UK nuclear sites have minimum staffing levels, and contingency plans should they fall below these levels, to enable them to remain in control of activities that could impact on nuclear safety under all foreseeable circumstances……
Canada. Cameco said it is temporarily suspending uranium production at its Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan and placing the facility in safe care and maintenance mode during the COVID-19 pandemic. In consultation with Cameco, Orano Canada is suspending production at its McClean Lake uranium mill, where ore from Cigar Lake is processed.
Russian nuclear industry reaction to COVID-19
Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said on 23 March that it had set up a special headquarters for the fight against COVID-19 in the Russian nuclear industry.
“We have introduced additional measures at all of Russia’s nuclear power plants, including regular health check-ups of our personnel,” said Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev.
“We have arranged for as many employees as possible to work remotely and purchased personal protective equipment and hygiene-related products in bulk; we are constantly disinfecting our production facilities and vehicles and have essentially cancelled all business trips,” he added.
Rosatom reported the first case of COVID-19 disease on 19 March after an employee of subsidiary company, Turbine Technologies AAEM tested positive for coronavirus after visiting a foreign country on vacation. All employees who had contact with her were quarantined……
Rosatom has also taken similar measures at its nuclear power construction sites, and is continuing with its export new build projects, despite the challenges related to the spread of the coronavirus in a number of countries.
Bulgaria sees delays to Belene tender
The nuclear industry’s hopes for a glorious 2020 Olympic torch relay- dashed
Now Postponed, The Olympic Torch Relay Was To Bring Hope To Ravaged Fukushima, March 26, 2020, Heard on All Things Considered“………….This region was devastated nine years ago when the largest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history triggered a massive tsunami. The giant wave washed away nearly 20,000 people, including thousands in Fukushima. It also hit the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station right down the coast, causing a partial meltdown that sent plumes of radioactive particles for miles. The area has been trying to rebuild ever since.
Ueno, a 46-year-old wheat farmer, was supposed to run the torch on Thursday through his hometown of Minamisoma. His current home, down the street from the empty field he’s standing in, is one of the only buildings around. His old houseused to be here too…..
This part of Fukushima, in the area around the Daiichi power plant, is still suffering from high levels of radiation. Only a tiny fraction of the population has returned, most over the age of 60, and many streets still sit empty and deserted, left exactly as they were nine years ago tumbled by the earthquake and rotting. It’s not the same Fukushima that it was before the disaster. … https://www.npr.org/2020/03/26/821402324/now-postponed-the-olympic-torch-relay-was-to-bring-hope-to-ravaged-fukushima
Nuclear Industry Says #StayHomeSaveLives..Unless Building New NUKILLER —
The video from Sellafield of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary – well there is nothing sinister about it at all (?!). The text says “We stand together today and everyday. CNC and @mitie Civilan Guard Force are proud to #ClapForOurCarers #StayHome #COVID2019 #StayHomeSaveLives #StrongerTogether #EmergencyServices @TimNeedham10 @nuclearpolice @SellafieldLtd @BBC_Cumbria“ So why are the nuclear industry continuing […]
via Nuclear Industry Says #StayHomeSaveLives..Unless Building New NUKILLER —
Climate of Pandemic — Announcement and Contents — robertscribbler
Scribbling through a Global Pandemic The present tragedy of the COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted us all. For my own part, I am now at home under quarantine with my wife. This is a decision I have made to protect myself, my family, and my fellows here in Maryland, America, and across the world. As […]
via Climate of Pandemic — Announcement and Contents — robertscribbler
March 27 Energy News — geoharvey
Opinion: ¶ “Stop The Lies! Electric Cars Do NOT Have Higher Emissions Than Conventional Cars” • One popular meme for those who are opposed to EVs is that EV have higher carbon lifetime emissions than conventional cars. However, the author of a study on the subject, “The idea that electric vehicles could increase emissions is […]
Cancel. The. Olympics. — Fukushima 311 Watchdogs
A board in Yokohama, Japan, on Monday showed the number of days until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.Credit… Amid a pandemic, it would be wildly irresponsible for the Games to go on. March 18, 2020 Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 Olympic organizers insist that the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games […]
Australia’s newest and biggest wind farm sets benchmark for lowest price — RenewEconomy
Australia’s biggest wind farm is also likely to have set a new benchmark on price as well, the first public tender to set a contract below $50/MWh. The post Australia’s newest and biggest wind farm sets benchmark for lowest price appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Australia’s newest and biggest wind farm sets benchmark for lowest price — RenewEconomy
Environment department begins purging website of historical emissions data, projections — RenewEconomy
Australian emissions data goes missing as historical data and projections scrubbed from the environment department’s website. The post Environment department begins purging website of historical emissions data, projections appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Victoria council works around Covid-19 restrictions to approve 200MW solar farm — RenewEconomy
A 200MW solar and battery project that faced delays due to Coronavirus restrictions has gained special passage through the local council approval process. The post Victoria council works around Covid-19 restrictions to approve 200MW solar farm appeared first on RenewEconomy.
via Victoria council works around Covid-19 restrictions to approve 200MW solar farm — RenewEconomy