Australia agrees: Israel should come clean on its nukes
Make the Middle East nuclear-free, says Stephen Smith From: AAP News.com.au June 02, 2010 AUSTRALIA has lent some support to the goal of ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons – which would mean forcing Israel to disarm. Continue reading
Britain’s multibillion black hole in nuclear waste costs
Chris Huhne warns of £4bn black hole in nuclear power budget, guardian.co.uk, Patrick Wintour, 1 June 2010
“………Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs, Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary disclosed tonight. The decommissioning costs over the next four years revealed by officials to Huhne are so serious that he has already flagged the crisis up to the cabinet. Continue reading
Gulf oil disaster is bad news for uranium industry
One virtually certain outcome of the environmental disaster currently blackening the Gulf of Mexico is that federal regulators will take a harder line on enforcement of environmental regulations. Uranium miners are likely to be particularly hard hit because there isn’t a person in the US who doesn’t fear the consequences of radiation exposure….Playing fast and loose with the environment is no longer a winning strategy.
Uranium Miners Get Some Good News and Some Bad 24/7 Wall St., Paul Ausick, June 1, 2010 “….The first installment of the investment will help USEC to continue its deployment of its American Centrifuge Plant which produces enriched uranium for use in nuclear power generation. The cash will also help support USEC’s $2 billion loan guarantee application with the US Department of Energy.
The not-so-good news for uranium companies was delivered Continue reading
Review: hypocrisy on uranium and nuclear industry
Australia: what a load of hypocrisy is going on. about the Resources Tax! BHP saying that Olympic Dam uranium mine’s expansion is threatened. Of course it is! – By the collapse of the uranium market ! ANSTO forced to admit its safety failures. And, we wait to see if Peter Garrett will be able to promote AREVA’s uranium mining in Koongarra, while he still poses as Minister for Environment
International: hypocrisy as the closing Nuclear Non Proliferation conference promotes the nuclear industry, as pro-nukes suggest nuke bombing the oil spill, as the industry touts new, little, thorium reactors. All in a desperate bid to keep the “peaceful” nuclear industry afloat, as nuclear reactors age and close down, while new ones just aren’t getting built, except in secretive totalitarian states, such as China
Uranium oversupply, and prices way down
Nuclear giants stockpile fuel while price is cheap Times Online, June 1, 2010 Some of the world’s biggest energy companies are stockpiling the nuclear fuel used to power reactors as they try to capitalise on rock-bottom uranium prices.An oversupply of nuclear fuel on international commodity markets has followed five successive years of rapid growth in uranium ore production in Kazakhstan, which has nearly quadrupled its output since 2004.
Raw uranium prices have tumbled to around $40 per pound — almost one quarter of the levels of $140 in 2007……About one third of the world’s total supply of nuclear fuel comes from Russian nuclear weapons that have been decommissioned as part of a disarmament agreement struck with the United States at the end of the Cold War. Nuclear giants stockpile fuel while price is cheap – Times Online
Oil, Gold And Uranium prospects analysed | Uranium Investing News, 1 June 2010, Turning to the uranium market, BA Merrill Lynch suggests the combination of ample supply, aggressive sales from new market entrants and well-covered utility requirements means there is little chance of any spot market tension (upside) this year without any major disruption to production…….buying and holding material becomes attractive at this level when compared to term-escalated contracts. Oil, Gold And Uranium prospects analysed | Uranium Investing News
Uranium Remains Weak FNArena News – June 01 2010 By Chris Shaw Spot uranium has given up some recent gains, leading industry consultant TradeTech to reduce its indicative spot market price another US25c last week to at US$40.50 per pound. The fall reflects aggressive attempts by sellers to motivate buying interest, which is coming via material being offered at lower prices.
ANSTO admits safety failures at Lucas Heights: whistleblower still suspended
Mr Reid remains suspended…..The Greens say he should be reinstated immediately.
Chief vindicates Lucas Heights whistleblower – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 1 June 2010, “………….In August 2008, a worker at the ARI facility dropped a vial of highly radioactive material in a containment cell, which went unreported for several hours.”We started investigating and the more we investigated the more we couldn’t understand because it was such a massive dose,” Mr Reid said.”None of our instruments could measure it – it was way off scale. Continue reading
Iraq: legal action over depleted uranium babies
Atomic radiation has increased the number of babies born with defects in the southern provinces of Iraq.
VIDEO
Fallujah babies born with birth defects as a result of Depleted Uranium WMD contaminated dust. 1 June 2010, Iraq WILL sue US and Britain over depleted uranium bombs (FULL story here- http://www.presstv.ir) Ministry for Human Rights will file a lawsuit against Britain and the US over their use of depleted uranium bombs in Iraq, an Iraqi minister says. Continue reading
The declining status of nuclear energy
Ockham’s Razor – 30 May 2010 – Nuclear energy: a panacea for climate change?
Nuclear energy: a panacea for climate change?. ABC Radio National, Ockham’s Razor, Dr Adam Lucas – 30 May 2010 “………..What is the status of nuclear energy in the world at the moment? And do the arguments of its proponents stand up to scrutiny?Nuclear energy is currently responsible for generating around 14% of the world’s electricity. And although nuclear contributes anything from 2% to 6% of the world’s total energy needs, it has been steadily losing out to renewables over the last decade or so, which now contribute between 7% and 20% of total global energy. Continue reading
Australian union (AMWU)’s call for 100% renewable energy
WA metal workers call for 100% renewable energy by 2020 Green Left Weekly May 29, 2010 – from a motion passed at the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state conference in Western Australia on May 27. “……The delay in the uptake of renewable energy is historically due to the fact that the fossil fuel lobby has been able to dominate energy. A “business as usual” model will not address the urgency of climate change.100% renewable energy by 2020 is achievable. It is also necessary to combat climate change in such a manner as to negate the pro-uranium lobby. The demand for 100% renewable energy by 2020 is an international campaign that we need to not only support but be prepared to take action in support of, thereby attaining a nuclear-free future…” WA metal workers call for 100% renewable energy by 2020 | Green Left Weekly
Escalating and long term costs of nuclear wastes
The equipment and reactors cannot easily or cheaply be dismantled and will remain radioactive for hundreds of years
Nuclear and radioactive waste disposal – by Patrick Boniface -Helium, 30 May 2010, Nuclear waste is dangerously toxic, its environmental impact if released would be devastating, as was witnessed during both the Chernobyl explosion, the American Three Mile Island scare and the Windscale fire of 1957.In these cases radioactive material was released into the atmosphere. With the Windscale fire some 15,000 terabequerels (TBq) of radioactive material (notably Iodine-131) were released (3). Continue reading
Garrett’s chance to support environment rather than AREVA
“The Federal Government needs to chose which is more important – the long-term national interest of Australia or the corporate interest of a French nuclear company.”
Garrett keen to see Kakadu expansion ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) 30 May 2010 Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says he would like to seize the opportunity to expand Kakadu National Park, following a request from traditional owners. Continue reading
They can’t control OIL – how will they control NUCLEAR?
BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails , Chronicle.com, 30 May, 2010 “…Top Kill has failed to work and BP bosses have no idea as to why it failed. ….. Meanwhile people have started shooting off tough question in the eye of increasing oil leak problem. A disgruntled reader says, “They can’t control OIL. How will they control NUCLEAR ? These are the same energy billionaires that own nuclear power plants / giant CANCER machines. How will they control invisible highly radioactive cancer causing nuclear radiation when a nuclear power plant melts down ? AND DONT !! try to tell us accidents “never happen” You make your billions from us while you destroy us. And Obama just approved 54 billion in loan guarantee’s to build more nuclear power plants ! Why should we pay for the billionaires to build more cancer machines ? And we pay their insurance. Because they are uninsurable the government (with our money)” BP oil spill live feed & oil spill update: people express frustration as Top kill fails : ndChronicle.com
Koongarra land to be saved from uranium mining
Mr Lee, the sole member of the Djok clan and senior custodian of the land known as Koongarra, could have become one of Australia’s richest men if he had allowed the French energy giant Areva to extract 14,000 tonnes of uranium from its mineral lease in the area……….
Land of riches given over to Kakadu, The Age, LINDSAY MURDOCH, KAKADUMay 29, 2010 T HE World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park will be expanded to include thousands of hectares of ecologically sensitive land that has uranium worth billions of dollars.
Aboriginal traditional owner Jeffrey Lee has offered the land to the federal government so it can become part of Kakadu, where he works as a ranger. Continue reading
Mirrar Aboriginal people oppose expansion of Ranger uranium mine
Senior Mirarr traditional owner Yvonne Margarula, who led the push against the Jabiluka mine, accuses ERA of telling the community “half truths” about the environmental impact on an area where children fish and swim.
Indigenous owners to block mine plans, Lex Hall , The Australian May 29, 2010 “…….TRADITIONAL owners at Kakadu will oppose Energy Resources Australia’s plans to expand the Ranger uranium mine unless the company can make what they say are necessary improvements in its environmental performance, following revelations of radioactive waste leaking into wetlands in the World Heritage-listed national park. Continue reading
AREVA’s Northern Territory uranium plans blocked by one Aboriginal man
Owner wants uranium-rich land to be added to Kakadu, Sydney Morning Herald, LINDSAY MURDOCH IN KAKADU, May 29, 2010 “……….Areva executives in Australia did not return calls from the Herald. The blocking of the mine comes five years after a federal takeover of uranium mining from the Northern Territory Labor government that was supposed to boost uranium mining. But the move is in tatters, Continue reading
1 This month
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