Prevent, protect, consult – the NFLA (Nuclear Free Local Authorities)’ three priorities for UK radioactive waste policy
The UK Government has its priorities ‘all wrong’ in its proposals for the future management of radioactive substances and nuclear decommissioning, so says the UK/Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities in its response to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s consultation on its proposals for the future management of radioactive substances and nuclear decommissioning.
Instead of an emphasis on cutting costs and reducing the burdens on the nuclear industry as DESNZ would like, the NFLA believes that government and the nuclear industry should do everything necessary for the protection of human health and safeguarding our natural environment – whatever the cost.
To the NFLA, government policy and industry practice should focus upon three main tenets:
- Preventing the creation of more radioactive waste, by not building any more nuclear power plants, by closing and decommissioning existing ones as quickly as possible, and by not revisiting mad-cap schemes that have failed before, like repurposing plutonium as reactor fuel, which creates yet more waste and risks nuclear weapons proliferation;
- Protecting the public and the natural environment, by ‘concentrating and containing’ existing waste on or near the surface on the sites where it was created or is currently stored and having a policy of active ongoing management, with the facility of retrieval if waste is stored below ground. This is opposed to government policy which for high-level waste is focused upon transportation by rail to a Geological Disposal Facility into which the waste would be deposited and forgotten about and for lower-level wastes is one of ‘dilute and disperse’, which involves incineration releasing radiation into the atmosphere or dumping into municipal waste tips or discharging it into rivers or oceans.
- Consulting the public, over the storage and treatment of radioactive waste, and its transportation if this should continue, and also educating the public on the radiological risks attached to these activities; all too often consultation is tokenistic, not inclusive and not open, with the nuclear industry still conducting much of its business behind closed doors.
The author of our response was Pete Roche, the NFLA Policy Advisor (Scotland). Pete has over fifty years of environmental and anti-nuclear campaigning experience, having first been involved in protests against the construction of the Torness Nuclear Power Station in the 1970s.
The NFLA’s full response can be read at the end of this media release [on original]; it amounts to a resounding ‘No’.
The DESNZ consultation is still open for public comments until 24 May 2023.
The consultation papers can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-radioactive-substances-and-nuclear-decommissioning
For more information, please contact NFLA Secretary Richard Outram by email on richard.outram@manchester.gov.uk or mobile 07583097793
NRC and Holtec violate EJ and consent-based siting: radioactive waste dump licensed in New Mexico
May 11, 2023
State Laws Could Block CISF Projects
Multiple lawsuits in federal appeals courts and state laws opposing storage and disposal of irradiated nuclear fuel in both New Mexico and Texas could upend both nuclear waste CISF schemes.
Beyond Nuclear , LEA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO and WASHINGTON, D.C., May 9, 2023 —
Today, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) announced it approved licensing for Holtec International’s controversial consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in southeastern New Mexico’s Lea County, not far from the Texas border. The facility is designed to store high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants across the U.S. But NRC approval notwithstanding, a recently enacted New Mexico State law and multiple federal court challenges may yet block the project
…………….. Holtec now seeks to branch out into consolidated storage and its associated high-level radioactive waste transportation. On the New Mexico CISF scheme it partnered with the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance (ELEA), a quasi-governmental entity comprised of Eddy and Lea Counties (which border one another), as well as their county seats of Carlsbad and Hobbs, New Mexico. ELEA owns the targeted nuclear waste CISF site’s land surface, and would take a large cut of the proceeds.
Giant Capacity May Signal Storing Foreign and Military Nuclear Waste
The Holtec-ELEA nuclear waste CISF would store up to 173,600 metric tons of highly radioactive irradiated fuel (often euphemistically called “spent” nuclear fuel or SNF, despite the fact it is highly radioactive and lethal), as well as Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) radioactive waste from commercial nuclear reactors. The facility would hold up to 10,000 canisters of nuclear waste, inserted into pits in a platform which sits on the surface. Part of the canisters would stay above the natural land surface.
“If opened, the site could become home to the biggest concentration of radioactive waste in the world,” reported Diane D’Arrigo, Radioactive Waste Project Director at Nuclear Information and Resource Service.
The Holtec-ELEA CISF’s nuclear waste storage capacity would be in addition to another planned CISF some 40 miles to the east in Andrews County, Texas. If built, it would be able to store 40,000 metric tons of irradiated fuel and GTCC in above-ground dry casks. The Texas facility, proposed by Interim Storage Partners, LLC (ISP), was granted construction and operation license approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on September 13, 2021.
Since the entire SNF inventory at U.S. commercial reactors is just over 90,000 metric tons, experts have questioned why the Texas and New Mexico facilities would need a combined capacity of 213,600 metric tons, and whether the projects may be aiming to store nuclear waste from abroad and/or from the military.
There is precedent for shipping irradiated fuel from other countries to the U.S. for storage at Idaho National Labs. And in 2018, a test shipment of a mock SNF cask was transported from Europe to Colorado. Lead ISP partner Orano (formerly Areva) of France services the largest nuclear power reactor fleet of any single company in the western world. It lacks facilities in France to permanently dispose of the country’s own waste.
The consortium backing the ISP facility includes Waste Control Specialists, LLC (WCS), a national dump for so-called “low-level” radioactive waste, located immediately adjacent to (and upstream of) the New Mexico border. WCS loudly proclaims its ties to the U.S. military, which needs to dispose of its own highly radioactive wastes.
Nuclear Waste Transport Dangers
Opening a CISF in the U.S. would trigger many thousands of shipments of domestic irradiated fuel across many of the Lower 48 states, through a large percentage of U.S. congressional districts. SNF canisters and transport casks are subject to so-called “routine” radiation emissions, as well as leakage and other failures, which would pose threats to thousands of communities along the transportation routes.
“Transporting highly radioactive waste is inherently high-risk,” said Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Specialist with Beyond Nuclear. “Fully loaded irradiated nuclear fuel containers would be among the very heaviest loads on the roads, rails, and waterways. They would test the structural integrity of badly degraded rails, for example, risking derailments. Even if our nation’s infrastructure gets renovated someday, the shipping containers themselves will remain vulnerable to severe accidents and terrorist attacks.
They could release catastrophic amounts of hazardous radioactivity, possibly in densely populated urban areas.”
“Even so-called ‘incident-free’ shipments are like mobile X-ray machines that can’t be turned off, in terms of the hazardous emissions of gamma and neutron radiation, dosing innocent passersby, as well as transport workers,” Kamps added.
Kamps’ February 24 letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, cc’d to governors and state Attorneys General across the U.S., warned of the dangers of transporting high-level radioactive waste. “The recent train wreck at East Palestine, Ohio demonstrates the urgency of the problem and the potential for a serious radiological accident from nuclear waste transport,” he wrote. “Environmental toxicologists have expressed deep concern that detection and response to release of hazardous chemicals in East Palestine were ineffective and untransparent and failed to protect public health and safety. But if the train that derailed had been carrying SNF or other highly radioactive wastes, the consequences would have been much worse.”
The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board has recommended spending a minimum of a decade to develop better irradiated nuclear fuel cask and canister designs before attempting to transport highly radioactive wastes. Yet Holtec and ISP expect their nuclear waste CISFs to open and start accepting shipments in just the next few years.
Continue reading
Budget shows penny has dropped on renewables – but $4bn is just a down payment — RenewEconomy
It has been a cathartic week for the clean energy sector. Finally, it feels like someone is listening. But the $4bn pledged in the budget pales against Australia’s rivals. The post Budget shows penny has dropped on renewables – but $4bn is just a down payment appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Budget shows penny has dropped on renewables – but $4bn is just a down payment — RenewEconomy
Swedish renewables giant plans rapid Australia expansion after buying out solar developer — RenewEconomy
Founder of Australian solar and storage developer could walk away with another $60 million after sale of business to Swedish renewables giant. The post Swedish renewables giant plans rapid Australia expansion after buying out solar developer appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Swedish renewables giant plans rapid Australia expansion after buying out solar developer — RenewEconomy
Why western Victoria needs – and wants – new transmission lines — RenewEconomy
We need to upgrade our electricity transmission grid so more price crushing, zero emissions renewable energy projects can be built and connected. The post Why western Victoria needs – and wants – new transmission lines appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Why western Victoria needs – and wants – new transmission lines — RenewEconomy
Coal pit to wind farm: Energy giant to fast-track energy makeover for old mine sites — RenewEconomy
Researchers in Germany are investigating the possibility of building wind farms on closed open cast coal mines much sooner than was previously possible. The post Coal pit to wind farm: Energy giant to fast-track energy makeover for old mine sites appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Coal pit to wind farm: Energy giant to fast-track energy makeover for old mine sites — RenewEconomy
Australian prime minister feigns concern for Assange but defends “national security” secrecy
Oscar Grenfell@Oscar_Grenfell 5 May 2023 https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/05/06/ixnm-m06.html?pk_campaign=assange-newsletter&pk_kwd=wsws
Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) this week, Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese gave his most extensive comments on the plight of Julian Assange since coming to office in May 2022. Albanese feigned concern for the WikiLeaks publisher, but defended the entire anti-democratic framework of “national security” secrecy under which he is being persecuted.
Albanese is in London for the coronation of King Charles. He is also holding discussions with the British government, centring on AUKUS, the aggressive militarist pact between the two countries and the US, aimed at preparing for war against China.
In the same city, Assange has been incarcerated in the maximum-security Belmarsh Prison for more than four years, most of that time on remand. The sole purpose of his detention is to facilitate a US extradition request. The American government is seeking to imprison Assange for up to 175 years for exposing its war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and its global diplomatic conspiracies.
Albanese’s comments have been presented widely as his “strongest” in defence of Assange. Throughout his prime ministership, Albanese has sought to avoid even mentioning the WikiLeaks publisher, even though Assange is an Australian citizen and the world’s most significant political prisoner.
Albanese’s long silence, which included his tenure as opposition leader, was clearly a product of political hostility to Assange and WikiLeaks. But as demands for the Labor government to defend Assange grew, Albanese and his colleagues changed tack. They could not speak openly about Assange, supposedly because that would compromise unspecified “quiet diplomacy” they were conducting on his behalf.
Documents obtained via freedom of information requests by lawyer Kellie Tranter have not turned up a single trace of this “quiet diplomacy.” That includes correspondence between the relevant Australian government bodies and its counterparts in the US and Britain.
In the ABC interview, Albanese repeated his refrain that “enough is enough” in relation to the Assange case and “this matter needs to be brought to a close.” These formulations are deliberately ambiguous. They do not even indicate how the case should be “brought to a close,” much less demand that the Biden administration drop the prosecution.
Albanese added: “It needs to be worked through, we’re working through diplomatic channels, we’re making very clear what our position is on Mr Assange’s case.” But again, it is not at all “clear” what the Labor government’s position actually is. Moreover, almost a year of purported “quiet diplomacy” has not altered the course of Assange’s persecution by one iota.
Asked about this, Albanese replied: “I know it’s frustrating. I share the frustration. I can’t do more than make very clear what my position is.” He claimed that the US government was “clear” on Labor’s position, but would not even commit to raising Assange when Biden visits Australia later this month.
Albanese expressed “concern” for Assange’s health, but did not indicate he would do anything about it. It is over three years since hundreds of doctors first warned that the deterioration of Assange’s medical condition could result in his death behind bars, and demanded he be released from Belmarsh Prison.
In the comments that some Assange supporters have presented as most hopeful, Albanese stated: “I think that when Australians look at the circumstances, look at the fact that the person who released the information [Chelsea Manning] is walking freely now, having served some time in incarceration but is now released for a long period of time, then they’ll see that there is a disconnect there.”
Again, this is miles away from a demand that the Biden administration end its prosecution, or a defence of a persecuted Australian journalist. It is more in the manner of, “it is unfortunate that this is occurring, but what can one do?”
That was, in fact, the entire thrust of Albanese’s remarks. Labor had raised the issue, he claimed, made its “position clear” and Assange’s fate was in the hands of Britain and the US. That is diametrically opposed to the repeated aggressive diplomatic and legal interventions Australian governments have previously mounted to free citizens imprisoned abroad.
The fraudulent character of Albanese’s purported defence of Assange was underscored by the fact that his comments were immediately endorsed by opposition Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton. Dutton, a former policeman, is an extreme right-wing figure, who speaks most openly for the repressive state forces that are seeking Assange’s destruction.
Above all, Albanese’s remarks were aimed at placating the growing public support for the WikiLeaks founder and subordinating it to a “quiet diplomacy” that could not be any quieter. Among some prominent Assange supporters, Albanese’s remarks have had their desired effect. They have proclaimed that the Labor government has now demonstrated its commitment to Assange’s freedom, presenting this as a fact to be celebrated.
Such positions, it must be stated, are a self-deluding fantasy that obstructs a genuine fight for Assange’s freedom, lets those involved in his persecution off the hook and creates favourable conditions for a US extradition. Unfortunately, it is not hard to envisage such individuals proclaiming one “victory” after another, right up until Assange is dispatched to his US persecutors.
Several questions must be posed: If Albanese were waging a determined struggle for Assange’s freedom, would he be fawning over King Charles and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the figures who hold the key to Assange’s cell? Would he be preparing to roll out the red carpet for Biden when the US president visits Australia in several weeks? Would he not make demands of the British and US governments, as Australian administrations have when defending other persecuted citizens?
Those who promote the illusion that Assange’s freedom will be granted by one or another benevolent faction of the establishment, without any genuine political struggle, invariably detach the attempted US extradition from its broader political context.
As the WSWS has explained, the US is pursuing Assange, not only as an act of retribution. It is seeking to establish a precedent for the suppression of social and political opposition, especially opposition to war. This forms part of a broader turn to authoritarianism by governments around the world, amid the deepest crisis of the capitalist system since the 1930s.
The imperialist powers are preparing for another catastrophic world war. That is the significance of the US-NATO proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, along with Washington’s confrontation with China, which is viewed as the chief threat to American imperialist hegemony.
Australia, under Albanese, is on the frontlines of these war preparations. Last month, Labor endorsed a Defence Strategic Review, calling for Australia’s largest military build-up since World War II. The review is explicit that this is in preparation for a US-led war against China.
As in the last century, war is incompatible with democratic rights. It requires the suppression of anti-war opposition, because governments are aware that workers and young people are hostile to militarism, and that the program of war will intensify a resurgence of the class struggle that is already well underway.
This basic point was essentially made by Albanese himself.
Continue readingAustralian Radioactive Waste Agency a “zombie measure”- no funding left by Morrison government
Why a staggering $5BILLION will need to be found to keep the vital MyGov app running, store Australia’s radioactive waste and even monitor high-risk terrorists: ‘Australians were tricked’
By BRITTANY CHAIN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA, 8 May 2023
…………….. According to Finance Minister Katy Gallagher, these funding shortfalls or ‘booby traps’ were left by ex-PM Scott Morrison in the hope they would blow up on the incoming Albanese Government……….
‘For example, there was no money in the budget for the agency responsible for safely storing and disposing of Australia’s radioactive waste,………………………..
Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
The agency is one of the ‘zombie measures’ in which funding was not taken into account beyond this year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.
Senator Gallagher said there was actually no money at all in the budget for the agency, despite its responsibility to safely store and dispose of Australia’s radioactive waste……………………………. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12032345/Budget-2023-Underfunding-MyGov-app-public-dental-mental-health-revealed-Federal-Budget.html?fbclid=IwAR2I1-FswPxwSyqGUbBetcBPCOtUHyuAqAv_TNk-oBlhGy7b0KW0z7vdZv8
Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country —
Queensland sets a new wind output record as the state plays catch up with the rest of the country. The post Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Queensland sets new wind output record as it plays catch up to rest of country — RenewEconomy
Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid — RenewEconomy
As Australia’s big battery fleet continues to grow, developers and owners are starting to unlock more of the big stack of services they can bring to the grid. The post Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Big batteries charge on to centre stage with new tricks for the grid — RenewEconomy
Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition — RenewEconomy
The rollout of wind, solar and storage is too slow. We need more transmission, and more action from state governments, and NSW in particular. The post Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Wind, solar and storage: Three ideas to accelerate Australia’s green energy transition — RenewEconomy
Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? — RenewEconomy
Grid-forming inverters were once limited to micro and isolated grids, but are now rolling out in mega scale applications where their role is not well understood. The post Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Grid forming inverters find their place on big grids: Can they do what they say? — RenewEconomy
Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans — RenewEconomy
BlueFloat Energy calls for community feedback on Eastern Rise offshore wind farm, as it prepares to seek environmental approvals for the NSW project. The post Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans appeared first on RenewEconomy.
Bluefloat checks pulse on community support for 1.7GW offshore wind plans — RenewEconomy
Fukushima. Only 1% of people return home despite lifting of evacuation order.
THE ASAHI SHIMBUN, May 2, 2023
Despite a massive outlay in decontamination and infrastructure funds, only 1 percent of residents have returned to special reconstruction zones in Fukushima Prefecture.
Evacuation orders for those special zones were gradually lifted from last year and the Nagadoro district of Iitate became the final area where the order was lifted on May 1.
A total of about 320 billion yen ($2.3 billion) was spent on decontamination and social infrastructure in the special zones.
However, so far only 158 residents of those special zones in six municipalities have returned to their communities, or 1.2 percent of the total number of registered residents in those areas.
Those zones were designated in areas of municipalities that until then were classified as difficult-to-return zones because of the high levels of radiation that lingered after the 2011 triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Government officials initially thought that residents in those difficult-to-return zones would likely never be able to return to their homes.
But as the years passed, radiation levels were found to be dropping so from around 2017 and 2018, the government designated certain sections of the six municipalities that had difficult-to-return zones as special zones for reconstruction and revitalization.
The government undertook decontamination of radiation in those special zones as well as constructed social infrastructure.
The special reconstruction zones were chosen because they covered communities where a large number of people once lived.
Although the special reconstruction zones only made up about 8 percent of the total area designated as difficult-to-return zones, the registered residents in those zones made up about 60 percent of the total population of the difficult-to-return zones.
Many residents in those areas were uncertain for many years about whether they could ever return to their homes. In the interim, close to 4,000 homes in the difficult-to-return zones were demolished.
But some residents who have evacuated to other parts of Fukushima Prefecture have continued to commute to their homes on weekends to prevent them from being overrun by weeds and vegetation…………………………………………………………….
, 92 percent of the difficult-to-return zones lie outside the special reconstruction zones, meaning no one will be allowed to enter those areas, which total about 31,000 hectares, or about half the size of Tokyo’s 23 wards.
But the government is considering a new designation that would allow for the lifting of evacuation orders in specific residential lots for households that indicated a willingness to return to their former homes.
Decontamination work would be concentrated on those lots and neighboring areas.
(This article was written by Noriyoshi Ohtsuki, a senior staff writer, Tetsuya Kasai and Susumu Imaizumi.) https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14899178
Russia orders evacuation of civilians around Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant amid warnings of ‘severe nuclear accident’
Anxiety about the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant is growing after the Moscow-installed governor of the Ukrainian region where it is located ordered civilian evacuations.
Key points:
- Russian forces are ordering civilians to leave towns around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- The evacuation zone includes Enerhodar, which is home to most of the plant’s staff
- IAEA head Rafael Mariano Grossi says the situation is “increasingly unpredictable”
Russian soldiers are evacuating people from Zaporizhzhia and 18 nearby towns, ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi has called on both Russia and Ukraine to ensure that there will be no fighting near the Zaporizhzhia plant to prevent what he calls “the threat of a severe nuclear accident and its associated consequences”.
The towns and villages being evacuated include Enerhodar, which is home to most of the plant’s staff.
The Russia-backed governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia province, Yevgeny Balitsky, said more than 1,600 people, including more than 600 children had been evacuated as of Sunday.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed the evacuation of Enerhodar was underway.
…………………………… Although none of the plant’s six reactors are operating because of the war, the station needs a reliable power supply for essential cooling systems. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-08/russia-orders-evacuations-around-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant/102316184
1 This month
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/235274195556
21 April Webinar: No Nuclear Weapons in Australia
Start: 2026-04-21 18:00:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
End: 2026-04-21 19:30:00 UTC Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney (GMT+10:00)
Event Type: Virtual
A virtual link will be communicated before the event.
Host Contact Info: australia@icanw.org
of the week – Australians for War Powers Reform (AWPR)
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity
Antinuclear 