Lucas Heights nuclear organisation closed on Monday https://www.theleader.com.au/story/5343505/ansto-closed-to-all-non-essential-staff/
While there was no risk to ANSTO as a result of fires near the precinct, the organisation decided to close the campus to all non-essential staff tomorrow to help minimise traffic impacts in the area.
The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights will be closed on Monday to all non-essential staff.
ANSTO released a statement late today saying there was no risk to ANSTO as a result of fires near the precinct but the organisation decided to help minimise traffic impacts in the area.
“ANSTO infrastructure including the OPAL reactor is protected by numerous fire safety systems, policies, plans and arrangements to ensure there is never any risk to operations or safety,” the statement said.
“The OPAL reactor is at power and operating normally.
“Some 1,200 people work at the Lucas Heights campus. Based on current advice, and to minimise local road and traffic impacts, we have advised ANSTO staff who are not performing essential services to work from home.
“All contractors, tenants and construction workers on our building projects are advised not to attend our campus tomorrow; and the childcare centre has been closed.
“As a precautionary measure, the ANSTO Operations Centre was activated yesterday, and continues to monitor the situation.
“ANSTO would like to take the opportunity to thank the emergency services and support staff who are continuing to assist on this matter.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin warns of global ‘chaos’ if West strikes Syria again, ABC News 16 Apr 18, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that further Western attacks on Syria would bring chaos to world affairs, as Washington prepared to increase pressure on Russia with new economic sanctions.
Key points:
Vladimir Putin said further attacks on Syria will bring “chaos” in world affairs
America accused Russia of blocking attempts to investigate Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities
New sanctions against Russia will target companies linked to Syria
In a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Mr Putin and Mr Rouhani agreed the Western strikes had damaged the chances of achieving a political resolution in the seven-year Syria conflict, according to a Kremlin statement.
“Vladimir Putin, in particular, stressed that if such actions committed in violation of the UN Charter continue, then it will inevitably lead to chaos in international relations,” the Kremlin statement said.
New study reveals catastrophic death toll from a nuclear attack
WHAT would happen if a nuclear bomb went off in your backyard? A chilling new study estimates the death toll from an attack on Australia.Tom Livingstone, news.com.au, APRIL 15, 2018
“……Scientists from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University have created simulations of a potential outcome if an attack did occur, and found the best course of action for people was to take shelter first and then take steps to escape afterwards.
Those who tried to seek out family members and “aid and assist” others were more likely to die.
In the study, it showed some people would look out for family, while others wold panic and run blindly away.
When humans carried out “shelter-seeking, evacuation, healthcare-seeking, and worry combined,” they were more likely to survive.
The simulation, which was first revealed by Science Magazine, shows that venturing away from a safe place leaves civilians subjected to a higher dose of radiation, which would likely prove fatal.
With President Trump’s consistent tweets threatening action against Russia and North Korea in a game of who has the bigger artillery, a dystopian future seems more and more possible.
Last month researchers created an interactive map that revealed the terrifying scope of a nuclear blast for any given area.
The map shows the extent of the fireball, radiation, shockwave, and heat spawned by different weapons, from the 15 KT ‘Little Boy’ dropped on Hiroshima to the largest weapon in the USSR’s arsenal, the 50,000 KT Tsar Bomba.
For example, if North Korea dropped the Hwasong-14, a 150 KT yield nuclear weapon on Sydney’s CBD, there would be more than 77,000 fatalities and 156,000 injured. The radiation from the blast would exceed 12 square kilometres and go further depending on wind patterns.
If Vladimir Putin dropped a 50,000 KT Tsar Bomba (Reportedly the biggest in his arsenal) on Sydney, there would be 1,513,303 fatalities, 1,111,725 injuries and radiation exceeding 80 square kilometres.
If the Aussies pissed off the US and Trump attacked us, it would most likely be with the 300KT W-87, which would kill an estimated 114,374 Sydneysiders, injure more than 227,000 and cause radiation exceeding 15 square kilometres on initial impact.
While scary to think about, it’s an important thing to get your head around in Trump’s 2018. Without coming off as alarmist we should understand the exact magnitude of a nuclear blast and how damaging it can potentially be.
New research by a group at UNSW shows that it is theoretically possible for Australia to move to a renewable energy future without blowing its share of the carbon budget.
Radioactively-hot particles detected in dusts and soils from Northern Japan by combination of gamma spectrometry, autoradiography, and SEM/EDS analysis and implications in radiation risk assessment. By MarcoKaltofen & ArnieGundersen https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.07.091 Highlights • Radioactive particles from Fukushima are tracked via dusts, soils, and sediments. • Radioactive dust impacts are tracked in both Japan and the United […]
April 10, 2018 Seven years after a tsunami wiped out the nuclear reactors in Fukushima, causing widespread radiation contamination in a largely agricultural region, the Fukushima prefecture continues to struggle in getting crucial overseas markets to accept its produce. This is despite a charm offensive that saw japanese foreign minister Taro Kono visiting Hong-Kong last […]
Is your community willing to accept chemical and radioactive pollution from nuclear wastes? If not then write and tell the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – BEIS. Boycott their dodgy CONsultation : “Working with Communities; Implementing Geological Disposal” Tell them that you are boycotting their CONsultation, that you are not “willing” to “Implement […]
ACT unveils major push into electric vehicles, including zero emission mandate for government fleets, charging infrastructure, use of transit lanes, salary sacrifice for electric bikes, and studies on using EVs and their batteries to help manage the grid.
Photo of an apparently similar fire at WIPP in New Mexico in 2014. The INL (Idaho National [Nuclear] Lab) nuclear waste barrel was to be shipped to WIPP, because even though INL promotes nuclear, Idaho doesn’t want nuclear waste, and used legal action to get a sweetheart of a deal with the US government. It […]
“The British model gave the king the absolute power to make war. The American framers [of the Constitution] repudiated that form of government because their study of history convinced them that executives go to war not for the national interest but to satisfy personal desires of glory, ambition, and fame. The resulting military adventures were […]
Originally posted on Mining Awareness + : In 1950 Dr. Joseph Hamilton, a Manhattan Project physician involved with human plutonium injections, on unknowing victims, from 1945 to 1947, advised using chimpanzees rather than humans, for total body irradiation experiments, because “If this is to be done in humans, I feel that those concerned in the Atomic Energy…
Unusually for a suburb, Lucas Heights does not contain a residential area. The residential area previously part of Lucas Heights was renamed Barden Ridge in 1996 to increase the real estate value of the area, as it would no longer be instantly associated with the HIFAR nuclear reactor. [and now the Opal nuclear reactor]
Residents warned not to leave, Sydney fire worsens SMH, By Jacob Saulwick,
Fire authorities have issued an emergency warning for some suburbs in south-west Sydney, telling residents to seek shelter.
At about midday on Sunday, residents in Voyager Point, Pleasure Point and Sandy Point were advised not to leave their properties and to protect themselves from the heat of an out-of-control fire.
Residents in Alfords Point, Menai and West Barden Ridge were advised to shelter in place as the bush fire approached.
“It is too late to leave,” the Rural Fire Service said in a statement.
“Firefighters are in these areas and are in place to undertake property protection as required,” the RFS said……
Electricity company Ausgrid, meanwhile, said there might be short interruptions to power supply.
Heat from the bushfires was affecting Transgrid’s high-voltage power lines, Ausgrid said, causing voltage dips. Rail services across Sydney were disrupted on Sunday morning……
Electricity company Ausgrid, meanwhile, said there might be short interruptions to power supply.
US, British and French forces launched air strikes on chemical weapons sites in Syria. Russia claims that most missiles fired were intercepted by Syrian air defence systems using Soviet-produced hardware. We all hope that this will not escalate, at present it being a targeted attack in response to Syria’s illegal use of chemical weapons.
Australian govt plans for nuclear waste dump in rural South Australia. Kimba area local communities to have a Postal Ballot on this – BUT the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility Taskforce is NOT truthfully informing people.
Still the Senate has published only 19 mainly pro nuclear submissions. You can bet that Holtec and other nuclear-related companies have sent in unpublished ones. Meanwhile, here are some of the better submissions so far (more to come later):
Noel Wauchope Stresses importance of generalist, not just “expert” opinion being considered. Notes that, with no discussion, South Australia is already assumed to be the location for the dump.
Federal Science Minister Canavan this week announced a postal ballot August 20 of the so-called ‘local communities’ – Kimba & Wallerberdina – for the purpose of gaining consent towards furthering the NRWMF Site Selection process.
Informed consent requires both these electorates (& the wider Australian society) be fully appraised of all facets integral to any nuke dump.
Such would include these minimal requirements:
1. Adequate time to digest & follow up the outcomes from the current Senate Select Committee Inquiry into the NRWMF Community Engagement Process.
2. A complete knowledge of the actual nature, containment types, timings, duration & volumes of material destined for the facility – including a full & competent inventory of radioactive waste legacy holdings. For example: HIFAR decommissioned; ILW from all sources; CSIRO & DoD Woomera; DSTO Edinburgh; & SAGovt Radium Hill, amongst others.
Without such widespread understanding, any Poll result would lack competency, demonstrate a failure of administrative process & further exacerbate the existing community divisions created by the NRWMF Project deficient governance.
So far, the National Radioactive Waste Management Facility Taskforce has focused almost exclusively upon ANSTO radiopharma production gloves & gowns @ Lucas Heights.
THE TASKFORCE NEEDS TO PRO-ACTIVELY FULLY APPRAISE EVERYONE BEFORE ANY CASTING OF BALLOTS
See our page: Submissions on Radioactive Waste Code 2018/ Submissions published by ARPANSA are overwhelmingly critical, and in opposition to the Federal nuclear dump plan for rural South Australia. [not to be confused with the current SENATE INQUIRY Selection process for a national radioactive waste management facility in South Australia.]
