Former energy department official believes US plutonium waste is higher than stated
‘Robert Alvarez, a former official at Energy Department, after reanalysis of reports issued by Energy department during the last decade and half has said that the Plutonium waste near production sites is much more than the agency has reported officially. The sites include prominent ones such as Hanford, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Savannah River site. Although not a major radiation threat in the near future, it could be a big one. For now, the waste is under security but as the half life of Plutonium is 24,000 years, it will outlast them and could enter the environment through soil and rivers. Department of Energy is already vowed to clean up the radioactive waste but the findings will certainly add complexity to the situation for the department. Plutonium was first produced in the Second World War. In 1996, the department had released the figures related to production, use and disposal of plutonium. But, Robert Alvarez dispute these figures and said that the figures are underestimated.’
Pakistan did not oppose US-India N-deal: Zardari
‘Islamabad: Pakistan did not oppose the India-US civil nuclear deal and it expects similar pacts from other countries, President Asif Ali Zardari has said. “When India was going with the civil nuclear deal with the US, we did not oppose it, so we did not mind that our friends have influence on other friends and we expect the same from others,” Zardari, who concluded his visit to China on Saturday, said in an interview to China Centre Television. After the suspension of India-Pakistan peace talks due to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, he said the dialogue process between the two countries has come back on track and hopefully will go forward. To a question about the Indian presence in Afghanistan, Zardari said Afghanistan is a sovereign country and it has sovereign policies. “We always appreciate India’s mature democracy and expects from their mature democracy to have its mature position,” he added.’
Britain denies holidays to Chernobyl-affected children
‘British immigration officials have been denying charity holidays to Belarusian and Ukrainian children from areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster, Britain's The Independent newspaper has said. British charities have invited thousands of young people from the ex-Soviet countries that were badly hit by the 1986 nuclear catastrophe, to spend holidays with British families, the newspaper said. Now, the initiative is being jeopardized by the UK Border Agency (UKBA), which denies the children visas, The Independent said. Particularly, last month only seven of 17 children, whose trips to Britain's Isle of Wight were organized by Chernobyl Children's Life Line (CCLL), were allowed to enter the country. The other 10 were told the night before the trip that their holidays were cancelled, the paper said. Another UK charity, Medicine and Chernobyl, has also reported at least eight visa denials this year.’
Tritium detected at Pilgrim nuclear plant
‘PLYMOUTH — Elevated levels of the radioactive isotope tritium have been detected in one of the new groundwater monitoring wells at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant. The release, issued Thursday by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of test results taken from a sample of one of the 12 monitoring wells by Pilgrim staff June 21, states that the level falls within federal drinking water limits and does not require public notification but the information is being released because it’s an issue of public interest. Six of the 12 monitoring wells were added in May. The monitoring well where the tritium was detected at 11,072 picocuries per liter is located near the condensate storage tank that stores water for use in the nuclear reactor. The Environmental Protection Agency’s safe drinking water limit for tritium is 20,000 picocuries per liter.’
Analysing the feasibilities of going nuclear
‘Bangladesh government has recently signed a deal with Russia to set up a nuclear power plant in Bangladesh with a view to boosting up electricity generation in the country. In view of depleting fossil fuel reserve and huge carbon emission from fossil fuel based power plants, many developing countries in the world are opting for nuclear power generation. Bangladesh is facing shortage of natural gas which was so far considered as the main source of fuel in the country. Environmental consciousness has also grown tremendously. There is a huge demand supply gap of electricity impeding the process of development. Under this situation it seems that Bangladesh government has taken a very logical decision to feed the needs of the power starving nation. However, the question remains if the decision taken is based on adequate rationale and analyses.’
South African police arrest 4 for 'dirty bomb' material sale
‘Pretoria - South African police have arrested four men for trying to sell radioactive material that could be used to produce a so-called “dirty bomb.” The four, all from South Africa and aged between 35 and 50, were arrested in a sting operation by the Hawks specialised tactical unit following police infiltration of a criminal organisation, according to Independent Online. Interpol was apparently also involved in the arrest. The Hawks recovered shielded Caesium-137 and are seeking a larger device, which, together with the radioactive material, was set to be sold for six million dollars. The site of the arrest, at an undisclosed Pretoria petrol station, has been sealed off by a field team of nuclear specialists who took air samples and conducted tests on the radioactive isotope. Caesium-137 is radioactive isotope (radioisotope) of Caesium and is toxic in even small amounts. It is soluble in water and can be difficult to detect. It is used in small amounts for radiation testing and for some medical applications.’
Uranium Bottoming as China Buys Supplies From Cameco
‘July 12 (Bloomberg) -- China is buying unprecedented amounts of uranium, signaling that prices are poised to rebound after three years of declines. The nation may purchase about 5,000 metric tons this year, more than twice as much as it consumes, building stockpiles for new reactors, according to Thomas Neff, a physicist and uranium-industry analyst at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. Prices will jump by about 32 percent next year, the most since 2006, RBC Capital Markets said. India and China are leading the biggest atomic expansion since the decade after the 1970s oil crisis to cut pollution and power economies growing more than twice as fast as Europe and North America. The boom, combined with slowing supply growth, may benefit Cameco Corp., a co-owner of the world’s largest uranium mine, and Areva SA, the largest builder of reactors. “China’s demand is insatiable,” said Dave Dai, an analyst at the Daiwa Institute of Research in Hong Kong. “They will have to take almost whatever is available.”’