Antinuclear

Australian news, and some related international items

Medical nuclear reactors becoming redundant as technetium imaging becoming obsolete?

“… “It’s my belief that over the next 10 years, technetium imaging will begin to disappear,” said McEwan. “The technology is 50 years old.”

McEwan explained that what can be measured and imaged with technetium has now been outstripped by what can be done with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging.

The cyclotron can produce both technetium and the newer PET imaging isotopes, making it an important transition technology because it means people can run both systems simultaneously while moving their entire fleet of imaging units and scanners to PET

“When the technetium market dies, technology that is specific for technetium production dies because it can’t be used for anything else,” added Wilson, “whereas a cyclotron can produce a variety of different isotopes for diagnostic imaging that are used in medicine.” ….” https://www.ualberta.ca/…/ualberta-cyclotron-could…

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Is the Australian government aware of the human rights implications of the ill-chosen Kimba nuclear waste dump plan?

Peter Remta 3 Sept 22, Dr Marcos Orellana being the special rapporteur mandated as to the human rights
implications of toxic and nuclear waste is gravely concerned about the Australian
government’s proposals for Kimba which have been heightened by refusing his
proposed visit to Australia and the production of all appropriate documents.

In view of this I understand that he will be reporting the situation to the United Nations
Human Rights Commissioner which in turn will bring it before the full body of the United
Nations and may I add that this is being done with a view to embarrassing Australia at
the behest as I predicted of many of our Pacific islands “friendly” neighbours

What is interesting about the Kimba situation for the special rapporteur is that it does
not involve the rights of a minority group but covers the entire general community of the
region and that from information gained by him a large majority of South Australia’s
population is strongly against the federal government’s proposals for nuclear waste
management in that state.

Put bluntly this is the end of the Kimba proposal as in light of the foregoing IAEA and
other international bodies will prevent any licensing or other progress with the
government’s proposals with the appropriate public criticisms for justification.

There must be something clearly afoot as I understand that some European human
rights lawyers are already looking at possible actions within appropriate human rights
courts in Europe against the Australian government which invariably have a very low
standard of proving a successful claim.

My educated guess would be an award of €500 million against the Australian
government which again is another outgoing it can ill afford
I wonder how much of this is known by the federal government particularly at
ministerial level.

September 3, 2022 Posted by | aboriginal issues, AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump | Leave a comment

IAEA at Zaporizhia nuclear station: Dr Paul Dorfman assesses the risks

The “physical integrity” of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in
south-eastern Ukraine has been “violated”, the head of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said, as he voiced his fears
for the site.

Rafael Grossi led a team of inspectors to the
Russian-controlled plant that has been frequently shelled in recent weeks,
raising fears of a nuclear incident. “It is obvious that the plant and
physical integrity of the plant has been violated several times,” Grossi
told reporters after he returned with part of his team to the
Ukrainian-controlled area on Thursday.

“I worried, I worry and I will
continue to be worried about the plant,” he said, while adding that the
situation was “more predictable” now. Rafael Grossi speaks to the media
before setting off to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant “We have
spent there four or five hours. I have seen a lot, and I have my people
there, we were able to tour the whole site,” Grossi said about the
long-anticipated inspection. He said that part of his 14-strong mission to
the plant would stay at the facility “until Sunday or Monday, continuing
with the assessment”.

Guardian 2nd Sept 2022

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/02/ukraine-zaporizhzhia-power-plant-physical-integrity-violated-un-nuclear-chief-says

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Australian nuclear lobby’s embarrassing claim about Kimba nuclear dump plan and nuclear medicine.

Peter Remta 3 Sept 22, Apparently the Australian government has instructed its Geneva legation to inform both the special rapporteur and the Human Rights Commissioner’s office that any attempts to stop Kimba will lead to a disastrous world shortage of nuclear medicine which will predominantly affect third world countries including the Pacific island nations.

What a great diplomatic masterstroke!

This gets better than Days of our Lives as the latest claim is that the opponents of the Kimba proposals are being financed by the overseas competitors to ANSTO in producing nuclear medicine

ANSTO has still failed to explain that the nuclear medicine being produced by it is becoming obsolete since the medical profession worldwide is turning away from it towards cheaper and above all far safer alternatives.

One of the major failings by the government in promoting the Kimba facility is that it never explained the true and unsafe nature of reactor generated nuclear medicine to the community with former Minister Keith Pitt being the main culprit.

No wonder ANSTO is now turning towards cosmetics as its main undertaking.

September 3, 2022 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, Federal nuclear waste dump, spinbuster | Leave a comment

Britain “supports” Australia’s nuclear submarines – (UK and USA vying for the sale to Oz?)

Britain pledges nuclear submarines support, Canberra Times, By Paul Osborne, September 2 2022 , The UK’s international trade secretary has pledged Australia will get strong support from Britain to develop and sustain a nuclear-powered submarine fleet……….

But no decision has been made on using the British Astute class model or the US Virginia class.

An 18-month consultation period on the technology is due to wrap up in March.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan told a forum in Adelaide on Friday the British government was committed to seeing the project through for the long term.  https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7887473/britain-pledges-nuclear-submarines-support/

September 3, 2022 Posted by | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Gorbachev Ended Cold War, Eased Nuclear Tensions But Trusted US Too Much – Experts

News Ghana, By SPUTNIK, September 1, 2022,

Late Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was a good, well-meaning man who ended the Cold War and dramatically reduced superpower and global nuclear tensions, but he put too much trust into the unwritten assurances of American leaders, experts told Sputnik.

Gorbachev died on Tuesday at the age of 91 in Moscow after a long and serious illness, according to the Central Clinical Hospital. He will be laid to rest at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow after a public farewell ceremony on Saturday.

Former US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Chas Freeman paid tribute to Gorbachev’s monumental achievement in easing global tensions and ensuring superpower peace for decades.

“Until his death, he was the most consequential of all living persons,” Freeman said.

Global anti-nuclear campaigner Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Nobel Peace Prize winning Physicians said Gorbachev had far greater vision and determination to abolish nuclear weapons than his US counterparts.

Global anti-nuclear campaigner Dr. Helen Caldicott, founder of Nobel Peace Prize winning Physicians said Gorbachev had far greater vision and determination to abolish nuclear weapons than his US counterparts.

“A global hero died [on Tuesday]. A man who liaised with [then-US president Ronald] Reagan who brought the Cold War to an end and was one of the wisest men, if not the wisest, of this last century,” she said.

Unfortunately, when the two leaders met in Reykjavik, Iceland in October 1986 and almost agreed to abolish nuclear weapons, Reagan insisted on keeping Star Wars, the US-space-based weapons systems, Caldicott recalled.

“Gorbachev opposed this notion, so we still have our lives hanging by a thread, rapidly approaching global annihilation,” she said.

Gorbachev was also opposed to the eastward expansion of NATO in the 30 years following the end of the Soviet Union, Caldicott pointed out. A halt on NATO expansion east of the Oder River and the eastern-most border of Germany had been promised by then-Secretary of State James A. Baker III in the George Herbert Walker Bush administration, she noted.

However, this pledge was “subsequently violated by the great United States of America, hence the murderous mess in the Ukraine [today],” Caldicott commented.

American University in Moscow President Edward Lozansky agreed that Gorbachev was a good man who sought international global security and cooperation for all, especially for the Russian and American peoples, but that he was naive in trusting the assurances of successive US leaders.

“Gorbachev was a good man who clearly saw the mountains of problems in… the Soviet Union but naively expected America’s help in solving them,” he said.

In his vision which Gorbachev presented to Washington he saw this help not as a charity but an investment in the future, involving both mutually beneficial security and economic cooperation, Lozansky explained.

“Taking into account Russia’s enormous natural riches, its huge nuclear arsenal and human capital, that cooperation being performed in an honest way would definitely be good for everyone and prevent many problems that America faces today,” he pointed out.

However, the Washington establishment has chosen another way, Lozansky observed………

Gorbachev will rank high in the annals of the world, Lozansky concluded.

“Still. I believe that his historical legacy will place him in the ranks of the righteous,” he said.

California State University Political Science Professor Beau Grosscup agreed that Gorbachev had courageously approved enormous constructive changes even at the cost of his own standing and career…………..  https://newsghana.com.gh/gorbachev-ended-cold-war-eased-nuclear-tensions-but-trusted-us-too-much-experts/

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Fighting goes on near Ukraine nuclear plant; IAEA on site

WSMV4 By YESICA FISCH, Sep. 2, 2022, ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting raged Friday near Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine, as inspectors from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency expressed concern over the facility’s “physical integrity” but didn’t blame either warring side.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi said he expects to produce a report “early next week, as soon as we have the full picture of the situation by the end of the weekend, more or less.”

Speaking to reporters in Vienna after returning from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, he said he will brief the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday.

“We’ve seen what I requested to see — everything I requested to see,” Grossi said, adding that his big concerns were the plant’s “physical integrity,” the power supply to the facility and the situation of the staff………………..

Russian-backed officials in Enerhodar claimed Russian forces had shot down an armed Ukrainian drone near the plant Friday.

“Ukrainian militants, apparently, continue to try to attack the plant despite the fact that there are IAEA employees there,” the press service of the municipal administration said in a statement………………….

Ukraine alleges Russia is using the plant as a shield to launch attacks. On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu rejected the Ukrainian allegations and said Russia has no heavy weapons either on the site or in nearby areas.

Shoigu said Ukrainian forces have fired 120 artillery shells and used 16 suicide drones to hit the plant, “raising a real threat of a nuclear catastrophe in Europe.” ………..  https://www.wsmv.com/2022/09/02/fighting-goes-near-ukraine-nuclear-plant-iaea-site/

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Zelensky aide says UN nuclear watchdog should be mistrusted ‘by default’

RT.com, 2 Sept 22,

A top advisor to the Ukrainian president says he doesn’t expect a breakthrough from the IAEA mission to the Zaporozhye power plant.

International organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are “cowardly” and cannot be trusted, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has said.

“I don’t like international institutions and mediation missions in general. They look extremely ineffective, extremely cowardly and extremely unprofessional,” Mikhail Podolyak said in an interview on Thursday evening.

This applies “not only to the IAEA”, but also to the UN, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Ukrainian official claimed, adding: “By default, you should not trust them.”

Podolyak’s remarks came as he criticized the IAEA mission to the Russia-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which arrived earlier in the day. He expressed his low expectations from the mission, based on the positive remarks that Director General Rafael Grossi made after touring the facility in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian official said he was willing to give the IAEA inspectors the benefit of the doubt and wait for them make an official report that would “show the depth of their inner destruction”.

He explained his concerns, citing several aspects of Grossi’s visit. They include its relatively short duration, which Podolyak assessed was too short for a proper fact-finding mission. He also criticized the willingness of the IAEA chief to talk to a representative of the Russian atomic energy body Rosatom, who, Podolyak said, “delivered a strange long speech” to the UN official.

The IAEA experts arrived at the station from Kiev despite continued military action in its vicinity. Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of being behind the shelling and of trying to derail the inspection. Some members of the mission stayed behind to monitor the situation, while Grossi and others left.

Podolyak said the IAEA should blame Russia for attacks on the plant, and if their report fails to do so, only stating that inspectors witnessed evidence of strikes, his opinion about the organization will be vindicated.

President Vladimir Zelensky too has expressed skepticism about the IAEA visit to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant………….https://www.rt.com/russia/562053-iaea-mission-podolyak-interview/

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Moving beyond 82% renewables by 2030 requires pumped hydro investment now — RenewEconomy

It’s past time to decouple Australia from fossil fuel dependency and the associated energy price hyperinflation that is smashing household and and business consumers. The post Moving beyond 82% renewables by 2030 requires pumped hydro investment now appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Moving beyond 82% renewables by 2030 requires pumped hydro investment now — RenewEconomy

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

NSW backs pumped hydro projects promising 60 hours of energy storage — RenewEconomy

Five pumped hydro projects, with a combined capacity of almost 1.75GW and 60 hours of storage, have been awarded state government funding. The post NSW backs pumped hydro projects promising 60 hours of energy storage appeared first on RenewEconomy.

NSW backs pumped hydro projects promising 60 hours of energy storage — RenewEconomy

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why Queensland’s big gas basins could be host to next clean energy powerhouse — RenewEconomy

As the uptake of renewable energy grows, this region has huge potential to be one of Australia’s clean energy capitals. The post Why Queensland’s big gas basins could be host to next clean energy powerhouse appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Why Queensland’s big gas basins could be host to next clean energy powerhouse — RenewEconomy

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

“Bubbles in your soda water:” How Labor justifies LNG boom behind emissions jump — RenewEconomy

Australia’s emissions jumped again, and scientists are not happy with new oil exploration acreage and Labor minister’s description of CO2 as “bubbles in your soda water.” The post “Bubbles in your soda water:” How Labor justifies LNG boom behind emissions jump appeared first on RenewEconomy.

“Bubbles in your soda water:” How Labor justifies LNG boom behind emissions jump — RenewEconomy

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

September 2 Energy News — geoharvey

Opinion: ¶ “Russia’s Stranglehold On The World’s Nuclear Power Cycle – Analysis” • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the international community to ban Russian nuclear technology. However, blocking and replacing Russia’s exports of uranium, reactors, and nuclear technology to the rest of the world is easier said than done. [Eurasia Review] Nuclear power plant […]

September 2 Energy News — geoharvey

September 3, 2022 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment