environment future?
or
| action Australia |
|
Antinuclear
about
ENVIRONMENT
|
|
The picture above shows the radiation releases that occur in the normal operations of the nuclear industry. Ionising radiation: radioactive decay and nuclear fission release tiny particles, some short-lived, some lasting for thousands of years. This radiation pollution, unlike other pollutants, cannot be seen, heard, smelled, or tasted. The normal releases of radiation by the nuclear industry occur at the stages of uranium mining, milling, uranium enrichment, through to the storage and eventual burial of nuclear wastes.
That's assuming that there are no unusual releases - "incidents", leakage from containers, transport accidents, failure of cooling towers in reactors etc. And, of course - no theft of nuclear materials, terrorist actions, no use of depleted uranium in "conventional" wars, and no nuclear war |
|
for
detailed information on environment and the uranium/nuclear inustry go
to nuclear and
environment
|
|
RECENT
NEWS AND VIEWS
|
|
.............One thing this episode illustrates fairly clearly, though, is the need for mining-law reform--which, strange as it may sound to Easterners, is a perennial hot-button issue in the West. Under the General Mining Act of 1872, which still governs hard-rock mining claims, the Forest Service is obligated to approve applications for exploratory drilling in National Forest land, without conducting any sort of environmental review. This reform would at least force the mining companies to provide some evidence to back up their contention that the drilling can be conducted with minimal damage . The law has a whole host of other problems too--primarily in that it allows mining companies to extract precious metals from public lands without paying anything in royalties to the feds, and then stick taxpayers with cleanup costs. Last fall the House approved legislation to overhaul the 1872 mining law, but so far it's stalled in the Senate. It's also worth noting that John McCain has yet to take a public stance on the matter, which seems to put his love of the Grand Canyon (and general affinity for Teddy Roosevelt-style conservation) at odds with his bizarre insistence that massive subsidies for nuclear power should be the cornerstone of any climate-change bill. |
 Uranium isn't worth
the gamble The Tribune, Colorado Matt Garrington and Angie Blattner
May 2, 2008 - "Uranium. It's a dirty word in Weld County. It
might be seven letters long, but it's sure gotten a few four-letter responses,
and for good reason.
Weld County and the
entire state of Colorado are on the front end of a new uranium rush. The
consequences could be, forgive the pun, radioactive. Uranium mining can
poison our unspoiled mountain lands, open ranges, groundwater, rivers
and streams. Colorado's one experiment with injection or "in-situ" uranium mining was near Grover in Weld County. The mine increased the radioactivity of the groundwater by 15 times its original and safe pre-mining levels................. .................We shouldn't gamble away clean water and the futures of our communities on uranium mining..............This isn't the first boom in the boom-and-bust cycle of uranium mining. The first uranium rush came in the 1950s and helped contribute to the massive abandoned mine legacy in Colorado. Larimer County alone has 250 abandoned hardrock metal mines. Abandoned mines can pose serious safety hazards and can actually create "perpetual pollution," contaminating waterways for hundreds of years to come. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, pollution from active and abandoned mines has polluted 40 percent of the headwaters in the Western United States................................... Unfortunately, both our state and federal mining laws are horribly out of date and ill-equipped to deal with the threats posed by the new uranium rush. That's why Environment Colorado is working with residents in northern Colorado, agricultural groups, health experts and local governments to pass sensible environmental and public health protections at the state capitol...........We urge Sens. Ken Salazar and Wayne Allard to step up to the plate and ensure a home run for our environment by passing strong mining reform legislation in this Congress.....".. |
| Growing
challenges' to marine ecology of Gulf Gulf Times 1 May, 2008 By Noimot Olayiwola "MAJOR challenges facing the Gulf region's environment were highlighted at a meeting of a regional organisation yesterday. Abdul Rahman al-Awadi, executive secretary of the Regional Organisation for the Protection of the Marine Environment said '.....................................We should also seek ways of tackling radiation problems emanating from nuclear warships transiting in our waters..................................." |
 Depleted
Uranium-A Hidden Looming Worldwide Calamity Coastal Post, Marin
County, Canada By Stephen Lendman May 2008 - "..................................…………..the
public has little or no knowledge about the real danger and threat from
the use of any nuclear device or substance. That information has been willfully
and deliberately suppressed because the potential harm is so great and irreversible.
Even when there's clear evidence of widespread problems as there was in
the case of the Agent Orange effects on Vietnam veterans and "Gulf
war syndrome" ………………………"bunker
buster" bomb. All these weapons have solid DU projectiles or warheads
in them, and their use in combat as the U.S. military has done in 4 wars
and is now doing every day in Iraq is the "de facto" use of nuclear
bombs. From Nagasaki in 1945 until the 1991 Gulf War, these weapons were
effectively banned by common consent (and common sense) and never used (except
for one time in the 1973 Yom Kippur war). No longer. ………………………………………..Since
the U.S. military first used DU weapons in the 1991 Gulf War, it has released
the radioactive atomicity equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki nuclear bombs into
the global atmosphere (that's no misprint) causing permanent contamination
with a half-life of 4.5 billion years. Furthermore, that DU radiation is
10 times the amount released by all atmospheric testing which in total equaled
40,000 Hiroshima bombs (again, no misprint). ........................……………………The
greatest damage from DU comes from the radiation residue after its use.
When a DU weapon strikes a target, it penetrates deeply and aerosolizes
into a fine spray which then contaminates the air and soil around the target
area. The residue is permanent, and its microscopic and submicroscopic particles
remain suspended in air or are swept into the air from the tainted soil
and are carried by winds around the earth as a radioactive component of
atmospheric dust. That dust falls to earth indiscriminately everywhere causing
radiation contamination that affects every living thing and cannot be remediated...................................".
|
|
|
Analysis:
Energy's water demands worrisome UPI April By ROSALIE WESTENSKOW
- "THE DALLES, Ore., April 24 08- "Add another
requirement to the clean-energy checklist: low water usage.
Two Virginia Tech
researchers released a study this week examining the water-use requirements
for 11 different energy sources, ranking them in terms of efficiency.One
of the most important aspects of the study was to raise awareness of the
role water plays in energy production, said Rachelle Hill,...............…………………Fossil
fuel thermoelectric plants use an average of 1,100 gallons of water for
every British thermal unit of energy produced, but nuclear power plants
use more than double that amount at 2,400 gallons. As the most widespread
carbon-neutral power source today, this could present a problem if water
becomes seriously limited. |
|
Some have congratulated
the Moncton City Council for taking a stand last month in calling for
a ban on uranium mining in New Brunswick. Nova Scotia has had a ban on
exploration since 1982, a ban reaffirmed by all parties last week, because
of concerns for the environment. |
|
Brave Environmentalist Wins 'Green Nobel'
Marina Rikhvanova holding her "Green Nobel" award |
Rikhvanova, 46, who is co-head of the Baikal Ecological Wave (BEW) organization, is known for her impressive and effective work in protecting Siberia's Lake Baikal from suffering an ecological catastrophe. One of Rikhvanova and her team's biggest achievements was convincing the Russian authorities not to build a petroleum pipeline within less than a kilometer of Lake Baikal………………… …………..Today, however, Rikhvanova and her colleagues face a new threat to Lake Baikal - the Russian government plans to construct an International Uranium Enrichment Center nearby....................In early 2007 she traveled to Moscow to protest against the building of 40 new nuclear power plants across Russia and in the spring of 2007 she organized several protests in Irkutsk. ...... ........Rikhvanova
said she speaks out against nuclear energy because such "energy is
not justified either from an economic or ecological point of view." |
Russia tests monkeys for Mars tripBy Sima Ayvazian BBCRussian.com, 14 April 08 Sochi - "………………The macaques will be the first to experience the radiation that poses a big risk to astronauts - or Russian cosmonauts - on any flight to the Red Planet. …………………Experiments on the monkeys will be carried out at the same time as the Mars-500 project. That project - due to start early next year - is aimed at simulating the conditions of interplanetary flight. Volunteers will have to spend 17 months in a mock-up "spaceship" in Moscow. ……………………Today Russia is one of the few countries where experiments on primates are carried out. "Humanity sacrifices more than 100 million animals a year in the name of health and beauty. It's time to think of an alternative to experiments with animals," says Andrei Zbarsky of the international nature conservation group WWF............................" |
|
The impact can be so severe in the worst-affected regions of the seas around Britain that death rates are equivalent to half the commercial catch for some species. Coastal power plants that have cooling systems that extract water from the sea are to blame for the destruction, according to Peter Henderson, an environmental researcher. Figures he has compiled suggest that the damage to fish stocks is much more severe than records have indicated previously........... ...........Dr Henderson is concerned that too little account is taken of the impact on fish stocks of the deaths of many billions of eggs and young caused by coastal power plants, both nuclear and conventional. The number, weight and species of fish and crustaceans removed from filters at power plants can be measured accurately, but it is much harder to assess the impact of the deaths of eggs, larvae and small fish. 'The number of
animals killed is colossal,' Dr Henderson, an associate lecturer at
the University of Oxford and director of the Pisces Conservation environmental
consultancy, said.'Very small fish get sucked in in very large numbers'..................... |
|
Federal judge blocks uranium company's test near Grand Canyon The Associated Press 5 April 08 - "A federal judge has blocked a British mining company from exploring for uranium near the Grand Canyon, agreeing with environmental groups which sued the U.S. Forest Service for approving the plan without full environmental reviews. The Sierra Club, Grand Canyon Trust and Center for Biological Diversity sued the Forest Service last month for allowing VANE Minerals Group to drill at up to 39 locations on seven sites on the Kaibab National Forest........................................". |
|
…….For million of years, background radiation remained at a relatively constant level. Recently, however, the radiation that we are normally exposed to has increased and can be expected to increase further ………… ……………….Radiations also originate from the anthropogenic activities involving the use of radioactive materials. Radioactive materials are used for the production of nuclear weapons, nuclear fuel and for the production of electric power. One of the most harmful uses of radioactive material is in the nuclear weapons, especially in atom bombs................... .............During the last forty years there have been a number of nuclear weapons testings either in sea or underground, resulting in the increase of the level of radiation on the environment. A study revealed that the radioactive materials which cause such explosions are fission products as Strontium-90, Caesium-137, Iodine-131 and unused explosives. These radioactive elements either settle down in the soil or water or remain suspended in the atmosphere, thus becoming a major cause of radioactive pollution. Radiation is also produced when nuclear fuels are used to generate electricity. Besides, the disposal of radioactive or nuclear waste is a great problem and a cause of environmental pollution. It includes remaining metal products at the site of mines, fission products and activation products. These are of three categories, viz. low level, intermediate level and high level. Among these, high level products remain in the environment for several hundred years. Similarly, leakage in the nuclear reactors often became the cause not only of environmental pollution but also of the death of hundreds of people as happened at Chernobyl Atomic Reactor in erstwhile USSR in 1986................. ........Different
forms of radiation have different effects. X-rays are more energetic and
are, therefore, biologically injurious because of their destructive action
on cells and tissues. As leakage of radioactivity from reactors is not only a health hazard but a cause of death and other disorders to thousands of people, similarly, nuclear testing in seawaters not only creates disorder in the oceanic ecosystem but becomes a cause of the destruction of marine life................................................". . |
|
Nuclear hot wate...a
drought-related problem
for the nuclear plants is the temperature of the water the plants put
back into the river. Last year, TVA temporarily
shut down the Unit 2 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama
because the discharged water came close to exceeding the 90-degree limit
allowed by the plant's federal permit, a safeguard for aquatic life. Cutting
back on the amount of power generated lowers the temperature of the water
released into the river. Ultimately, residential, commercial
and industrial power users foot the bill as local utility companies pass
on TVA rate increases...." |
|
Nuclear power bristles with safety problems, because of its deadly radiation hazard, routine releases of toxic substances, potential for accidents like Chernobyl, and its legacy of radioactive wastes, which remain dangerous for thousands of years. Science has found no solution to the problem of storing high-level wastes, leave alone disposing them of. Several European parliaments have resolved to phase out nuclear power unless a solution is found. No less significant is the issue of the burden that nuclear power places on resources, and its relatively limited utility in societies like India where the central electricity grid is relatively underdeveloped and where decentralised energy generation is sorely needed. Nuclear reactors can only provide base-load electricity because they can't change their output to meet variable demand. But in India, the more critical issue is peak load, determined by the day-night differences in demand, non-industrial needs like agricultural operations and seasonal variations. Here, nuclear power is irrelevant. Nuclear power poses acute safety problems in India. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has an appalling record of exposing hundreds of workers to radiation doses well above its own permissible limits. ............... A serious problem
with nuclear power which is entirely missing from the Indian debate concerns
water, in particular the high dependence of atomic power generation on
freshwater. This is proving to be its Achilles' Heel in many countries,
including the US. Nuclear power stations everywhere need huge amounts
of water for cooling the reactor core and condensing low-temperature steam.
..................This
is posing a serious problem in water-stressed areas. Nuclear power can
only aggravate the problem. High withdrawal rates mean that nuclear plants
cannot operate unless they have access to huge pools of water. Droughts
entail their closure. . Nuclear power will create more problems, including water stress, displacement and environmental hazards, than any other energy source. We stand warned! |
|
Researchers: Water and Energy Demands Collide Red Orbit , 20 March 2008
|
" Humanity's demands for energy and water supplies are on a collision course, new research suggests. It takes water to make energy -- to cool power plants or process the fuels that power our cars..... .......In a far-reaching analysis published today in the British scientific journal Nature, Hightower and Sandia colleague Suzanne Pierce argue that water and energy development need to be coordinated ................…..Because of a loss of power plant cooling water, France lost 15 percent of its supply of electricity from nuclear power plants and 20 percent of the power it normally receives from hydroelectric dams during a drought in 2003, according to Hightower and Pierce. Fears of similar problems arose during last year's drought in Australia. This year, drought in the southeastern U.S. threatened the cooling water for 24 nuclear power plants. Without enough cooling water, the plants would have to cut their power output. Hightower is one of the leaders of a group of researchers at Sandia, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Energy Technology laboratories who have been studying energy-water connections. The work grew out of a study of the security of U.S. long-term energy supplies. ................……………………'We're
seeing huge parts of the world, including parts of the United States,
that are going to be water-scarce' Hightower said. |
|
'Uranium development at the borders of the park threatens to contaminate park waters with radioactive waste, pose public-health problems for local residents and downstream communities dependent upon Colorado River water, and disrupt the park's unique ecosystems'...............................................'This is an important step to ensure that the watershed is not denigrated by additional uranium mining and that we keep intact this amazing area for future generations,' said Sandy Bahr, conservation outreach director for the Sierra Club's Grand Canyon Chapter. ………… ………………..'Grand Canyon is a national and international treasure facing a massive new uranium buildup on adjacent federal lands,' said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity. 'This bill affords the protections it deserves.'…………… ……..The Colorado River and its tributaries in Grand Canyon provide drinking water for more than 30 million people in California, Arizona, and Nevada, according to the statement. On February 5, the Coconino County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution opposing uranium mining in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon and its watersheds and requesting that Congress take action to put these areas off limits to uranium development. |
|
Months of bombing during the first Gulf War by the United States and Great Britain left a deadly and insidious legacy: tons of shell casings, bullets and bomb fragments laced with depleted uranium. In all, the United States hit Iraqi targets with more than 970 radioactive bombs and missiles. Depleted uranium (DU) is a rather benignsounding name for uranium-238, the trace element left behind when fissionable material is extracted from uranium-235 for nuclear reactors and weapons For decades, this waste was a nuisance; by the late 1980s there were nearly a billion tons of the radioactive material piled at plutonium processing plants across the country. Then Pentagon weapons designers discovered a use for the tailings: they could be molded into bullets and bombs. Uranium is denser than lead, making it perfect for armorpenetrating weapons designed to destroy tanks, armored personnel carriers and bunkers. When tank-busting bombs explode, depleted uranium oxidizes into microscopic fragments that float through the air, carried on the desert winds for decades. Inhaled, the lethal bits of carcinogenic dust stick to the lungs, eventually wreaking havoc in the form of tumors, hemorrhages, ravaged immune systems, and leukemia. More than 15 years later, the dire health consequences of our first radioactive bombing campaign in this region are coming into focus. Since 1990, the incidence rate of leukemia in Iraq has increased over 600 percent........................................" |
|
Exporting Trouble? SBS Television DATELINE 20 February, 2008 - "This week Nick Lazaredes reports from Russia, where Australian uranium could soon be fuelling the nation's nuclear reactors. Australia was once reluctant to fully exploit its bountiful uranium supply, but during last year's APEC Summit in Sydney, former Prime Minister John Howard and Russian President Vladimir Putin reached a deal on uranium exports. The Russian government sees the move as a step forward for the nation's economic future, but not all its citizens are as keen. Lazaredes travels to Russian nuclear facilities with Maxim Shingarkin, a former Army Major in the nuclear directorate who has since become an environmental activist. Shingarkin has a number of concerns about Russia's nuclear industry - including lax security standards and radiation leaks. Together they visit the Mayak plant which is most famous for a fatal accident in 1957 which killed 200 people and released huge amounts of radioactivity. In the past 45 years, almost half a million people in the region have been irradiated, exposing some residents to more than 20 times the radiation suffered by the Chernobyl victims. "This is the radiation we have in our garden, our hay lawns, where domestic animals and birds feed, where people rest. This evil and inhumane experiment shouldn't be continued", says local activist Gazman Kabirov. A similar situation is unfolding in Novouralsk, the town where Russia's largest uranium enrichment facility is located. Nearby residents continue to live in primitive conditions, without running water or electricity, and anti-nuclear activists say they should have been relocated long ago. "In case of a radiation accident these people will die. The distance from them to the possible location of an accident is so small that the radiation will get to their houses within several minutes," says Shingarkin ...................... Poor security and radiation leaks aren't the only concerns of environmental activists. They are also worried about where the uranium ends up. Russia has already supplied nuclear fuel to Iran and they fear that without strict supervision, enriched Australian uranium will end up here in Iran's new nuclear facility at Bushehr. Senator Bob Brown, whose Greens party is adamantly opposed to the deal, is alarmed by Moscow's links to Iran. ....................... For Maxim Shingarkin,
the deal to import Australian uranium could be one that's dangerous for
the entire planet. His dream is that it could instead provide an ethical
example for the rest of the world to follow. |
|
the urgency is real. As more mines close and more tests reveal hazardous contamination levels in sediment and local food samples, there is growing concern……… ………………..The epicentre of the problem lies southwest of Johannesburg in a valley ringed by mines - both active and closed - where a small river called the Wonderfonteinspruit runs southwest from the mining town of Randfontein to Carletonville and Khutsong, and into the Mooi River, which provides water for Potchefstroom, a large university town. Over 10 years of scientific studies have established that the sediment in the Wonderfonteinspruit is contaminated with radioactive uranium and high levels of other heavy metals in wastewater discharged from local mines………… ……….environmental activists charge that while laws are now in place, enforcement is not. ………… …………….A second source of pollution is runoff and wind-eroded particles from slime dams - soil residue from within the mines that often contains radioactive elements and heavy metals. Wind-blown radioactive dust particles from the slime dams could also pose "significant radiation exposure" through inhalation or by contaminating agricultural crops, |
|
below - a selection of past news and views
|
 |
'I think we devote very little attention to this, we leave it to the next generation. They should solve the problem of nuclear waste, we've not done anything there. That sort of waste is harmful in terms of both bacteria and viruses, pollutes our land and water, and enters our bodies via the food chain, so that our bodies are polluted,' Pantelic said. |
|
Slobodan Neškovic from the Center for National Security Strategic Investigations says it is necessary to adopt a national interests strategy, with a new national security concept to tackle the problem of pollution. 'This new concept would put
at its forefront individual security, as well as concepts for sustainable
development and ecological security'...................................................
" |
 |
Think about the water. ........how precious water is becoming. Especially critical will be the problems of water as climate change makes the weather more extreme and less dependable. Take right now, right here in the U.S. where 24 nuclear plants may face shutdown because they are too thirsty in the parched southweastern states. And we can't just open a giant spigot and give 'em more water. The arid western states already use huge amounts of energy just to move water from where it is to where it'll be used. Like Vegas and Phoenix sitting serenely in the desert using water pumped from afar, or below the earth |
|
Oh, and those dependable nuclear plants can't use abundant salt water. They need stuff that's at least as clean as what you'd use to do your laundry or water the garden. So the drought is a big "oops" for nuclear just they'd hoped we'd gotten over Chernobyl in our flurry or worry about how we'll power our air conditioners next summer.............................." |
 Disastrous
history of nuclear fuels
RUTLAND HERALD ROBERT LINCOLNJanuary 24, 2008 - ".......................................As for the ludicrous claims on the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, reprocessing spent nuclear fuel was supposed to be one alternative to lots and lots of mining forever and forever. The biggest experiment in reprocessing was at Sellafield in Britain. In 2005, after decades of contamination and leaks and general spewing of horrible matter into the ocean, air, and land around the reprocessing plant, Sellafield was shut down because a bigger-than-usual leak of fuel dissolved in nitric acid - some tens of thousands of gallons - was discovered. It contained enough plutonium to make about 20 nuclear bombs. A nuclear dump site just six miles from the famous Champagne vineyards in France is leaking radioactive waste into the groundwater. According to the French nuclear safety authority, the 'wall of a storage cell fissured' while concrete was being added to a recent layer of nuclear waste. It showed levels of radioactivity leaking from another dump site run by the same company in Normandy - at up to 90 times above European safety limits. That waste has seeped into underground water used by farmers, with contamination spreading into the countryside and threatening dairy production. The Champagne site will receive a total of 4 thousand terabequerels of tritium -- more than three times the amount of tritium waste as the dump site in Normandy.................................................". |
THE HEALING ISLAND OR THE RADIOACTIVE DIE-LAND? Indybay.org North Coast by Marya Mann, Ph. D. ( DrMaryaM [at] aol.com ) 20 Oct 2007 - ".......................(Hawaii) Nobody wants to think about the deadly invisible uranium particles spreading death and mutilation around the world, but the U. S. and other military forces are illegally using nuclear weapons that do just that. They threaten to spread "death by breath" everywhere - unless we tell the U.S. Army to stop! Now! In Hawaii! ..................Hawaiian residents started thinking about the toxic wastes of war 60 years ago when the U. S. Military dumped 2000 fifty-five gallon drums of radioactive toxins off the coast of Oahu at Pearl Harbor. A mixed crew of Hawaiians - hula dancers as well as housewives, retired Marines as well as nurses -- are still thinking about the effects of war as they fight the U. S. Military in a David-and-Goliath confrontation they hope will change the fate of the world. The group is Protect Hawaii (http://www.protecthawaii.ws) and the immediate threat is the U. S. Army, which plans to station about 320 19-ton vehicles and 4,000 soldiers in Hawaii. The Stryker Brigade Combat Team tanks carry Depleted Uranium (DU) weapons, which are Radioactive Uranium (RU). When these radioactive uranium munitions are fired, they spread aerosols into the nearby atmosphere, surface water, flora, fauna, and the entire food chain. Two to five years after exposure, local animals and humans often develop nerve disorders, bleeding, cancers, and tumors. Then deadly uranium particles flow farther into the air, lifting higher into the troposphere, eventually spreading around the globe, resulting in multiple cancers, leukemia, and birth defects all over the planet. Current medical problems found in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Bosnia where the U. S. uses weapons of mass destruction -- neurological disorders, cancers, birth defects, tumors, and bleeding gums -- are now showing up in Hawaii. On the islands of Oahu and the Big Island, known by native Hawaiians and tourists as the 'Healing Island,' animal tumors, nerve spasms, and other markers for radiation poisoning have alarmed residents.............................................................................."
|
|
What's
wrong with nuclear power? Well, a lot, actually...VUE WEEKLY
7 Sept 07 LEILA DARWISH and HELEN LA - "................................................some
people have proposed using nuclear energy to fuel unfettered tar sands
expansion. Beyond the environmentally destructive mining of uranium, nuclear energy produces (both in extraction and production) large quantities of radioactive waste-spent fuel from CANDU reactors contains over 200 deadly radioactive elements. Plutonium, for example, remains radioactive for over 24 400 years. These highly toxic byproducts make long-term storage a serious political and environmental catastrophe. There is not one safe and secure disposal option for the highly radioactive waste produced by nuclear power stations. And the history of Canadian (CANDU) reactors is plagued with problems, with many of them breaking down early or being decommissioned, as the costs of repairs are far greater than initial startup costs. It is also critical to note that accidents do happen, with 22 accidents occurring since the catastrophic incident at Chernobyl. Plutonium can be released into the environment as a result of nuclear energy development. Concern over the harmful effects of plutonium is growing because of discoveries about the subtle effects of low-level radiation. Plutonium may be many times more dangerous than previously thought. Besides, at every step of nuclear power generation greenhouse gases are emitted. Approximately 240 000 to 366 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide are produced every year from plant construction, uranium mining, milling uranium ore, road transportation, fuel fabrication, conversion and refining activities. Beyond these direct emissions, low-grade uranium mined from Saskatchewan is upgraded, largely in the United States, using coal fired power-the most carbon intensive energy producer........... .............Too
often local governments and community members are only presented with
the slick advertising and false promises of people who stand to gain
substantially from fostering a nuclear power industry in Alberta.................................." |
|
Where the Bomb was Born Ohmy News 22/2/07 - ".............................Contamination, Safety, and the Future ....Part of the reason that Los Alamos cannot improve its image is that every few months another scandal rocks the facility. Looking at only the last few years, in 2005 a worker apparently carried home an unknown amount of a highly radioactive element, contaminating four known sites and possibly (although not officially) sending some of the material across the country in a FedEx shipment.
A September 2006 federally mandated environmental impact study uncovered
elevated levels of plutonium in area rainwater run-off and groundwater.
The same study found high levels of three different uranium isotopes in
the drinking water of Santa Fe, the state capital of New Mexico which
sits at the foot of the Los Alamos mountains....................... |
| Radiation Degrades Nuclear Waste-Containing Materials Faster Than Expected - All American Patriots: Technology 11/1/2007 "………………………….a team from the University of Cambridge and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reported in the Jan. 11 issue of Nature. ………………………..The new study used nuclear magnetic resonance, or NMR, to show that the effects of radiation from plutonium incorporated into the mineral zircon rapidly degrades the mineral's crystal structure..................This could lead to swelling, loss of physical strength and possible cracking of the mineral as soon as 210 years, well before the radioactivity had decayed to safe levels, said lead author and Cambridge earth scientist Ian Farnan." |
| Radionuclides spreading around the world - THE NAVHIND TIMES 6/1/2007 ."..........The IAEA, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, reports that it does not control turnover of radionuclides because they are outside its sphere of monitoring.....................The public was shocked to find out that the IAEA only controls nuclear materials, that is, those, which are used in the production of a classic nuclear bomb. A dirty bomb, the terrorists' dream, is outside their control.............Meanwhile, radionuclides and other radioactive materials have spread so much that it will not be easy to establish rigid control over them. Moreover, it is civilian radioactive sources used in medicine, metallurgy, agriculture, mining, and machine building that are becoming more dangerous than strictly controlled nuclear facilities." |
| TIMELINE
- 27 June 07 Uranium dust found to travel 6 km, last 25 years 7 June 07 radioactive element tritium, found in underground waters near French dump site |
6 Sept
06 High l;evels of plutonium found in Los Alamos water 21 Feb 07 High uranium levels found in wells at Phelps Dodge uranium mine |
11 Jan
07 Report: Radiation Degrades Nuclear Waste-Containing Materials Faster
Than Expected 6 Jan 07 UN reports Radionuclides spreading around the world |
Uranium mining:
where angels fear to tread PETER T. SMITH
Nuclear
plants sucking the sea life from British waters, researchers claim
TIMESONLINE Robin Pagnamenta, Peter Stiff and Lewis Smith April 14,
2008 "The nuclear industry in Britain is killing billions
of fish every year and taking a devastating toll of stocks, an Oxford
University academic suggests. 
Radioactive
Pollution 
Nuclear power's
Achilles' Heel Nuclear power will create more problems, including
water stress, displacement and environmental hazards, than any other energy
source HARD NEWS Praful Bidwai Delhi April 08 - "In all
the debate that has taken place in India over the past 44 months on the
nuclear deal with the US, there has been little questioning of the claimed
appropriateness, relevance, safety and environmental soundness of atomic
energy, especially in the Indian context. 
Iraq's Wrecked Enviroment THE INDYDEPENDENT By Jeffrey St. Clair
and Joshua Fran 15 March 08 - "The ecological effects of
war, like its horrific toll on human life, are exponential. When the Bush
administration (parts one and two) and its congressional allies sent troops
to Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein's regime, they not only ordered these
men and women to commit crimes against humanity, they also commanded them
to perpetrate crimes against nature. Former Chief United Nations Weapons
Inspector Hans Blix, prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said the environmental
consequences of the Iraq war could be more ominous than the issue of war
and peace itself. Blix was right.
South
Africa: Paying the Price for Mining allafrica.com 15 February
2008 - "………….another more troubling legacy
is emerging as an increasingly urgent problem: environmental contamination
from over 100 years of mining that could severely pollute the country's
water, affecting the food chain and citizens' health.
Pancevo named Europe's most polluted town 7 February 2008
| 16:07 | Source: B92 BELGRADE -- Pancevo, on the outskirts
of Belgrade, is Europe's most polluted town. - "……………………..Waste,
whether it's chemical or nuclear, is one of the most serious pollutants
and is a problem that requires an urgent solution, thinks Miodrag Pantelic,
a professor at the Technology Faculty in Cacak.