Nuclear news – week to 6th February

Some bits of good news .  Heroes in pink: Lao midwives supporting rights and saving lives      Zimbabwe launches cholera vaccination to curb the spread.     Wild panda population nearly doubles as China steps up conservation efforts.

TOP STORIES.  

• EDF’s Hinkley Point woes pile pressure on global nuclear push. also at https://nuclear-news.net/2024/02/04/2-a-edfs-hinkley-point-woes-pile-pressure-on-global-nuclear-push/  
• Nuclear Waste: Changing Conditions May Affect Future Management of Contamination Deposited Abroad During U.S. Cold War Activities. 
• The new space race Is Causing New Pollution Problems. also at https://nuclear-news.net/2024/02/03/1-a-the-new-space-race-is-causing-new-pollution-problems/  
• AI chatbots tend to choose violence and nuclear strikes in wargames

Climate.  Greta Thunberg’s public order charge dropped as judge criticises police action.  Greta Thunberg was given ‘final warning’ before London arrest.

Nuclear. I’m still trying to stay off the Israel-Gaza topic. But it is all bringing us closer to nuclear war.

Noel’s notes.  Goodbye Mastodon! The power of the Zionist lobby. Mastodon has closed me down again – this time for supporting United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). WHAT’S GOING ON?      How very unfashionable! Scottish MP is worrying about health aspects of nuclear power, (instead of the finances!)       What’s the connection between the UK Post Office scandal and Soviet Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov?

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AUSTRALIA. Australian Conservation Foundation is seriously concerned about the AUKUS nuclear submarine project, its costs and consequences and the way this initiative is being advanced. Expect weapons-grade NIMBYism as leaders fight over where to store AUKUS nuclear waste.  Australian Sailors Embed Aboard Submarine Tender for Nuclear Experience.

CLIMATE. COP28 pledge to expand nuclear capacity is out of touch with reality.

CIVIL LIBERTIES.  A Radically Different World Since Assange’s Indictment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egLJ3-jF1Uo

ECONOMICS. UK’s Nuclear “money pit” tops $59 billion.  EDF, France’s state-owned nuclear company now in a fatal trap, as Hinkley Point C costs soar.  Is this the World’s Most Expensive and Most Delayed Power Project?  Are the French going cold on UK nuclear?  France limits its investment in Britain’s Sizewell C, as the global nuclear industry requires massive government subsidies.   Many challenges [? big problems]   [? big problems] stand in the way of a ‘nuclear power renaissance’  Czech Republic / Government Seeks Binding Tenders For Four Nuclear Reactors From EDF And KHNP.

ENERGY. German energy companies reject nuclear energy proposals – citing high risks and toxic waste problem . Tripling nuclear energy by 2050 will take a miracle, and miracles don’t happen.

ENVIRONMENT. ‘Odd’ Hinkley Point C salt marsh plan has Somerset locals up in arms.

HEALTH. Man suffered most painful death imaginable after horror accident made him ‘cry blood’ and ‘skin melted’.   Sellafield nuclear plant: Cancer fears raised by Scottish MP.

INDIGENOUS ISSUES. Tell it to the Chieftain: Nuclear power plants, and Is advanced nuclear a pipe dream?

LEGAL. Holtec International avoids criminal prosecution related to false documents, pays $5m fine.  US Court Hears Case Alleging Biden Complicit in Israel’s Genocide in Gaza. The provisional measures of the International Court of Justice.  What Happens Now That the ICJ Has Ordered Israel Not to Engage in Genocide?

MEDIA. Neck Deep in the Big Media Mudd

OPPOSITION to NUCLEAR .   MP calls for vote on Holderness nuclear site which local petition brands ‘hazardous waste dumping ground’.       It’s not a done deal and you are not alone’: anti-GDF campaigners pledge solidarity with South Holderness over nuclear waste dump plan.        South Holderness nuclear waste plan not safe – residents.   Blackwater Against New Nuclear Group (BANNG) firmly contradicts Therese Coffey, MP on Bradwell as a nuclear site.  Campaigners Warn Return of US Nukes to UK Would ‘Make Britain a Guaranteed Target’.

POLITICS. Nancy Pelosi’s attack on Gaza ceasefire advocates is a disgrace.  Holtec to get $1.5 bln loan to re-open Michigan nuclear power plant -source,  The Future of Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and Its Impacts on Ontario. Ford Government Issues Blank Cheque for Nuclear Power, Shows Reckless Disregard for Nuclear Waste Generation . How not to go nuclear: Hinkley and Sizewell. Hinkley C – don’t say I didn’t warn you!- (a pro-nuclear view!) UK govt awards Hitachi  £33.6 m to design small nuclear reactors. UK govt designates British Nuclear Fuels Ltd as Great British Nuclear (…..whatever this means). Hinkley Point shambles shows why UK must scrap disastrous nuclear strategy. Cracks appear in Labour-Green alliance over claims that Heysham power stations letter was ‘reckless’.

POLITICS INTERNATIONAL and DIPLOMACY. France seeks loan guarantees from UK over Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.  The feckless four – hypocrisy of the nuclear weapons nations.  French firm EDF shows its power over the UK govt – no judicial review now required over fish protection from Hinkley nuclear cooling system

SAFETY. Safety concerns persist at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant .  France’s ASN nuclear safety authority warns of fraud risk in nuclear industry.Britain plans ‘robocop’ force to protect nuclear sites with paint bombs. Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) Disappointed in Province’s Decision on Pickering Nuclear Plant. Residents ask for full examination of damage to nuclear plant caused by quake.  Magnitude-4.8 earthquake jolts Tokyo and the Kanto region.

SECRETS and LIES. Military-Intelligence Corruption Information Center.   As Ukraine begs for more weapons, corruption in its Defense Ministry is revealed.   Chinese nuclear fuel engineer Li Guangchang caught in anti-corruption net targeting ‘high-risk’ areas.

SPACE. EXPLORATION, WEAPONS. Nuclear industry takes control of NASA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRZnSkC-nXg    Nuclear power on the moon: NASA wraps up 1st phase of ambitious reactor project.

SPINBUSTER. Ontario counts nuclear power as “Green”.

TECHNOLOGY. Advanced nuclear power is costly and tech is still developing: Is a Pueblo plant realistic:? Will AI Warfare Usher in a Massive Expansion of the Surveillance State? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLBrP084X5Y Blade hub idea for old n-plant site.

WASTES.  USA’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant to increase its space for nuclear trash.  VINCI wins contract to dismantle nuclear reactors in Sweden.  Strong opposition on plans to store nuclear waste in East Yorkshire

WAR and CONFLICT. US unleashes strikes across Middle East. The U.S. Quest for Nuclear Primacy

WEAPONS and WEAPONS SALES. US reportedly planning to station nuclear weapons in Britain for first time in 15 years.  Documents unambiguously state ‘incoming nuclear mission’ to Britain.    RAF Lakenheath: Plans progress to bring US nuclear weapons to Suffolk – a risky target?  Britain will test fire Trident nuclear missile for the first time since 2016 as fears of World War Three grow.Russia has no plans to deploy nuclear arms beyond Belarus, says deputy minister.      NATO chief says more war, more weapons, are the way to secure lasting peace in Ukraine.  Democrats press Blinken on arms sales to Israel without congressional approval.  U.S. Congress about to weaken its oversight of weapons sales to foreign countries.  Could a Rogue Billionaire Make and Sell a Nuclear Weapon?.

February 6, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews | energy, news, nuclear, nuclear-energy, nuclear-power