Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Pakistan Threatens Nuclear Arms Race Over India Deal -- The Telegraph
Pakistan Threatens Nuclear Arms Race Over India Deal -- The Telegraph
Pakistan has threatened a new nuclear arms race in south Asia after Washington supported a move that Islamabad claims will allow it to develop its weapons programme.
Pakistan's military leadership is determined to maintain the current ratio of Indian to Pakistani nuclear warheads and is already concerned India is pulling ahead following the 2009 launch of a domestically-produced nuclear submarine.
Islamabad believes Washington's decision to support Indian membership of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group following its agreement to help India develop its civil nuclear power industry will help New Delhi to further increase its nuclear weapon arsenal. Neither India nor Pakistan are signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Read more ....http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8286301/Pakistan-threatens-nuclear-arms-race-over-India-deal.html
More News On Pakistan's Threat To Start A Nuclear Arms Race
Pakistan to grow nuclear deterrent against India -- Irish Times
We will strengthen n-arsenal, says Pak, slams US for India nuclear deal -- Indian Express
Analysis: Why Pakistan wants to expand its nuclear arsenal -- Montreal Gazette/Daily Telegraph
Pakistan warns against India nuclear support -- AFP
Pakistan decries help for India nuclear arms plans -- Reuters
Pakistan’s Block on Nuclear Treaty Talks Tests U.S. ‘Patience’ -- Bloomberg
Disarmament Deadlock Risks Proliferation, U.N. Chief Warns -- Global Security Newswire
U.S. calls for end to global arms control impasse -- Reuters
Arms talks deadlock increases nuclear threat: UN chief -- DAWN/AFP
DAVOS-Saudi has no plans to give up right to enrich uranium
DAVOS-Saudi has no plans to give up right to enrich uranium
Small Modular Reactor Conference, April 2011
Below is a link to a free presentation given by Jack Bailey, V.P. Nuclear Generation Development at TVA .
The presentation gives an outstanding overview of the impact on finance and development that Small Modular Reactors present for TVA’s implementation of this technology.
Download the full presentation here http://www.
The presentation covers:
To see what benefit this meeting is to your business download the conference brochure here.
Tommy Angell
Head of Emerging Markets
Nuclear Energy Insider
Tel: +44 (0) 207 375 7176
E-mail: tangell@eyeforenergy.com
The presentation gives an outstanding overview of the impact on finance and development that Small Modular Reactors present for TVA’s implementation of this technology.
Download the full presentation here http://www.
The presentation covers:
- Detailed review of new reactor designs and why they are of interest to utilities
- Installation requirements for SMR's from the utilities point of view
- Understanding the impacts the financing of new SMR units and deployment times
To see what benefit this meeting is to your business download the conference brochure here.
Tommy Angell
Head of Emerging Markets
Nuclear Energy Insider
Tel: +44 (0) 207 375 7176
E-mail: tangell@eyeforenergy.com
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Raytheon nabs $145 million deal in Kuwait
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Kuwait City (UPI) Jan 27, 2011 Raytheon has won a $145 million contract to make Patriot missiles for Kuwait's air and missile defense systems. Raytheon received the contract from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command.
The MIM-104E Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-T interceptors are capable of eliminating numerous threats including hostile aircraft and nonstrategic ballistic missiles carrying biological, chemical or nuclear payloads.
"This new GEM-T missile production contract highlights the efforts by Kuwait Air Defense to maintain readiness and effectiveness of the Patriot Air and Missile System to counter evolving regional threats," Raytheon Vice President Sanjay Kapoor said in a company release.
The missiles are expected to complement Kuwait's Configuration-3 radar system upgrade work under way at Raytheon.
The company is already working on a radar system upgrade for Kuwait. It is understood that work on the missile contract will be carried out by Raytheon's IDS unit in Andover, Mass.
The U.S. Army said the Patriot deal is intended to bolster ongoing efforts to increase Kuwait's air and missile defenses.
"We continue to modernize the Patriot system and are committed to providing Kuwait and our 11 other partner nations globally with increased system reliability and reduced life-cycle costs," Kapoor said in the statement.
The deal comes as Raytheon also received a $20 million Foreign Military Sales technical assistance to support operational of Kuwait's Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. The deal also affords additional training and support for Kuwait's fielded radars.
"This technical assistance contract award validates the strong alliance among the Kuwait Air Defense Forces, the U.S. government and Raytheon in maintaining the readiness and effectiveness of the combat-proven Patriot system in Kuwait," Kapoor said.
The upgrading program, he added, "is a testament to our commitment to ensure that Patriot remains available for the protection of the U.S. and its allies."
Raytheon is the prime contractor for domestic and international Patriot air and missile defense systems and is the system integrator for Patriot advanced capability-3 missiles.
With 2009 sales registered at $25 billion, Raytheon is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets around the world.
Employing 75,000 people worldwide and with a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides "state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services," a company statement said.
US raises stakes on global arms control deal
Geneva (AFP) Jan 27, 2011 The United States on Thursday signalled that deadlock in global arms control talks should be broken this year to get a deal banning the production of new nuclear bomb-making material off the ground. Top US disarmament negotiator Rose Gottemoeller suggested that it might be the best opportunity for more reluctant states to keep leverage in drawing up a Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty, which is supported by the major nuclear powers.
Pakistan this week reiterated its lone public opposition to starting negotiations on a treaty in the Conference on Disarmament, after two years of deadlock in the consensus-bound 65 nation body.
"Let me just place full emphasis and priority today on my main message, which is to launch the negotiations this year on a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT) in the Conference on Disarmament," Gottemoeller told journalists.
"I think that is a kind of general timeframe," she said, while adding that it was not a "specific deadline".
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control told the conference on Thursday that waiting indefinitely was "not a viable option."
"If we cannot find a way to begin these negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament, then we will need to consider options," Gottemoeller said.
She nonetheless insisted that Washington preferred a deal through the Geneva-based body, stressing that its consensus rule gave all countries equal weight -- including in defining the scope of fissile material rules.
"I for one hope that Pakistan will take this as a serious effort to verify their concerns," the US official added in a media briefing.
Washington also supported starting discussions by technical experts on the sidelines to lay some groundwork on an FMCT in the meantime.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned on Tuesday that the deadlock in Geneva threatens international security by increasing the risk that weapons might fall into the wrong hands.
The FMCT is widely regarded as a key building block in stemming the spread of nuclear weapons.
Pakistan, an atomic weapons state, fears neighbour India's bigger nuclear arsenal. Islamabad also wants to deal with existing stockpiles of nuclear material.
Secretary Chu on Supercomputers and Nuclear Energy
Secretary Chu on Supercomputers and Nuclear Energy
Opening Remarks form NRC Chairman Jaczko on Nuclear Safety Culture Policy
Good afternoon. The Commission meets today to discuss the draft final safety culture policy statement. The development of this policy statement has been a high priority for the agency because we have long recognized the important role that safety culture plays in maintaining safety and security.
Over the past three years, the NRC staff has worked hard to keep the process of developing this policy statement as open, transparent, and inclusive as possible. The agency staff has looked back at our own past work for lessons learned, considered the experience of other regulators and industries, and obtained extensive input from our stakeholders and the public. I want to thank the staff for their efforts, as well as acknowledge our stakeholders for their active participation throughout this lengthy process. Through the safety culture workshop, the extended public comment period, and other public meetings on this issue, the staff and stakeholders have resolved the key issues and achieved a strong overall consensus on the draft final statement.
I look forward to working with my Commission colleagues to bring all our hard work to fruition by finalizing the policy statement. Of course, once we complete this work, the Commission will then move on to the question of what, if any, next steps should follow. Like our policy statements in several other areas – for example, our Advanced Reactor Policy Statement – this policy statement is intended to articulate the Commission’s expectations and serve as a guide for the staff’s efforts. It is not a rule or regulation, nor is it binding on our licensees.
There is a long history to this effort. Back in early 2008, the Commission decided it was an appropriate time to complement the 1996 policy statement on a safety conscious work environment and the 1989 policy statement on the safe conduct of nuclear power plant operations. As stated then, “After years of work in this area, and after the operating experience of the ROP effort, the Commission should now direct the staff to provide the Commission with a draft ‘Policy Statement on Safety Culture.’ This policy statement should be broad and explain the Commission's expectations for a healthy safety and security culture at all NRC licensees.”
So, here we are today, three years later, and our staff and stakeholders have now faithfully answered that charge.
I look forward to working with my Commission colleagues to bring all our hard work to fruition by finalizing the policy statement. I understand that many of you are interested in continuing the dialogue beyond the policy statement, to what may follow. Right now, however, the Commission is focused on the policy statement itself, and we are very interested to hear about the staff’s work and the stakeholder input in developing it. We are pleased to have such a broad range of organizations represented here today. This afternoon, the Commission will hear from three panels: first, a panel of external stakeholders; second, a panel of medical, industrial, and Agreement State representatives; and third, the NRC staff.
Source NRC
Over the past three years, the NRC staff has worked hard to keep the process of developing this policy statement as open, transparent, and inclusive as possible. The agency staff has looked back at our own past work for lessons learned, considered the experience of other regulators and industries, and obtained extensive input from our stakeholders and the public. I want to thank the staff for their efforts, as well as acknowledge our stakeholders for their active participation throughout this lengthy process. Through the safety culture workshop, the extended public comment period, and other public meetings on this issue, the staff and stakeholders have resolved the key issues and achieved a strong overall consensus on the draft final statement.
I look forward to working with my Commission colleagues to bring all our hard work to fruition by finalizing the policy statement. Of course, once we complete this work, the Commission will then move on to the question of what, if any, next steps should follow. Like our policy statements in several other areas – for example, our Advanced Reactor Policy Statement – this policy statement is intended to articulate the Commission’s expectations and serve as a guide for the staff’s efforts. It is not a rule or regulation, nor is it binding on our licensees.
There is a long history to this effort. Back in early 2008, the Commission decided it was an appropriate time to complement the 1996 policy statement on a safety conscious work environment and the 1989 policy statement on the safe conduct of nuclear power plant operations. As stated then, “After years of work in this area, and after the operating experience of the ROP effort, the Commission should now direct the staff to provide the Commission with a draft ‘Policy Statement on Safety Culture.’ This policy statement should be broad and explain the Commission's expectations for a healthy safety and security culture at all NRC licensees.”
So, here we are today, three years later, and our staff and stakeholders have now faithfully answered that charge.
I look forward to working with my Commission colleagues to bring all our hard work to fruition by finalizing the policy statement. I understand that many of you are interested in continuing the dialogue beyond the policy statement, to what may follow. Right now, however, the Commission is focused on the policy statement itself, and we are very interested to hear about the staff’s work and the stakeholder input in developing it. We are pleased to have such a broad range of organizations represented here today. This afternoon, the Commission will hear from three panels: first, a panel of external stakeholders; second, a panel of medical, industrial, and Agreement State representatives; and third, the NRC staff.
Source NRC
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy bolsters presence in Europe
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy bolsters presence in Europe
Hitachi, Toshiba May Win 200 Billion-Yen Nuclear Plant Order
Hitachi, Toshiba May Win 200 Billion-Yen Nuclear Plant Order
Senator Bingaman Promotes Nuclear Energy Leadership
National Museum for Nuclear Science and History
For Release: Immediately
Contact: Jeanette Miller, 505-5079426
January 27, 2011
Senator Bingaman Promotes Nuclear Energy Leadership
Washington, D.C. – Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) called upon the U.S. nuclear energy industry to be a world leader in small modular nuclear reactors at a news conference held on Capital Hill today as part of National Nuclear Science Week activities.
“We have a great opportunity to be a leader in the development and deployment of small modular nuclear reactors and to maintain our position of leadership for this technology worldwide,” Bingaman noted from the Senate Natural Resources conference room. Bingaman emphasized the need to continue to increase enrollment in the nuclear sciences; he also noted support of 2005 national energy bill which gave tax incentives and credits for new nuclear building and the need to address the issues surrounding regulatory uncertainty for nuclear licensing renewal.
The education and innovation theme echoed points that the speakers heard President Obama make in the State of the Union address this past Tuesday. “A few years ago there were only a handful of nuclear technical programs in the U.S. and now there are 40 two-year programs.” said Dr. Audeen Fentiman, Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Education at Purdue University. “Our students in nuclear engineering are excited about the future of the industry and their career paths in nuclear energy.”
“Nuclear power plants provide 71% of the electricity from a non-GHG emitting source,” stated Marv Fertel, President and CEO or the Nuclear Energy Institute. “We heard the President say that 80% of our electricity needs to come from clean sources by 2035. This means that nuclear energy must play an important role in meeting this goal.”
Rounding out the panel, Guiseppe Esposito, MD, Associate Professor of Radiology and Chief of Nuclear Medicine at Georgetown University, spoke about the important healthcare role that nuclear medicine plays in diagnostic and treatment of patients nationwide. “More than 20,000 people work in our field providing more than 50,000 procedures daily for 16 million Americans annually. Our issue of concern is regarding affordable and available radioisotopes as we care for our patients each day,” he noted.
The panel was moderated by Jim Walther, Director of the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History located in Albuquerque, N.M. The museum is the founding sponsor of the national recognition week for the nuclear science industries.
“This week and this event on Capital Hill provide the opportunity for us to turn a spotlight on how nuclear sciences contribute to job growth and economic strength for our country,” Walther said. “We are focusing on the clean air contributions of nuclear energy, critical patient care services provided by nuclear medicine and the significant future career needs in the nuclear science and energy sectors.”
National Nuclear Science Week is a partnership between the host organization, the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History and nuclear industry partners, including the Entergy, U.S. Department of Energy, the American Nuclear Society, the Society of Nuclear Medicine, the Nuclear Energy Institute and others. The Website, www.NuclearScienceWeek.org, features free information, teaching curricula and tools plus followers can access news through Twitter, Facebook, and a nuclear science week blogspot.
The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is the nation’s only congressionally chartered museum in its field and a Smithsonian affiliate. Established in 1969, the Museum shares the story of the Atomic Age, from early research of nuclear development through today’s peaceful uses of nuclear technology. www.NuclearMuseum.org.
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Arms talks deadlock increases nuclear threat: UN chief
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Geneva (AFP) Jan 26, 2011 UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Tuesday that the deadlock in global nuclear arms control talks in Geneva threatens international security by increasing the risk that weapons might fall into the wrong hands. His comments came day after Pakistan reiterated its lone public opposition to starting talks in the Conference on Disarmament on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb-making material.
"The continued deadlock has ominous implications for international security," the UN Secretary General told the 65-nation body.
"The longer it persists, the graver the nuclear threat - from existing arsenals, from the proliferation of such weapons, and from their possible acquisition by terrorists," he added.
Nuclear powers broke more than a decade of deadlock in May 2009 by agreeing on a work plan at the world's only multilateral arms control forum, including negotiations on a fissile material ban, as well as lesser talks on nuclear disarmament.
However, the conference has slumped back into deadlock since then with nuclear weapons state Pakistan's objections, as Islamabad said it feared neighbour and bigger nuclear rival India's strategic ambitions.
Ban raised the stakes on Wednesday by underlining that the conference -- which once forged major Cold War arms control deals and the nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty -- has played only a small role in more recent disarmament efforts.
"Just one or two countries must not be able to block the process indefinitely," Ban told the body. "The future of the CD (Conference on Disarmament) is in your hands."
"With respect to the Fissile Material Treaty, it is clear that within the CD, there is almost universal support for negotiations on such a treaty," he added.
Pakistan's ambassador Zamir Akram told journalists this month that his country "would like a treaty that deals with stocks not just future product
Poland eyes EUR25 bln investments as it goes nuclear
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Warsaw (AFP) Jan 25, 2011 Poland hopes to attract 25.8 billion euros (35 billion dollars) in investment in a new nuclear energy sector over the next 20 years, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday. "When we speak of all the costs involved in nuclear energy, we're talking of sums in the order of 100 billion zloty (25.8 billion euros)," Tusk told reporters following a cabinet meeting focused on developing Poland's nuclear energy sector from scratch.
"We're building the future of a market worth 100 billion zloty, speaking only of direct investments," Hanna Trojanowska, Poland's nuclear energy tsarina said at the joint press conference with Tusk.
The plans call for private enterprise to finance the lion's share of investments, she added.
Meeting 94 percent of its electricity needs from coal-fired plants, coal-rich Poland currently has no nuclear power plants. The first such facility is due to start working in 2020, Tusk said.
The legal framework for nuclear power is to be set up between July 2011 to December 2013, while construction on the first of two power stations is to begin in 2016, the prime minister revealed.
Between 2020-2030, plans call for the capacity of the first reactor to be boosted while a second plant is expected to come online.
Poland's PGE energy group, charged with developing the country's nuclear energy sector, has already inked initial co-operation protocols with the US-Japanese Westinghouse Electric Company LLC and GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas as well as France's EDF and Areva.
Bruce Power CEO calls for decision on nuclear future
Bruce Power CEO calls for decision on nuclear future
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Announces Supply Agreements in Poland
GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Announces Supply Agreements in Poland
Iran not working on bomb: Israel intelligence head
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_not_working_on_bomb_Israel_intelligence_head_999.html
Jerusalem (AFP) Jan 25, 2011 Iran is not currently working on producing a nuclear weapon but could make one within "a year or two" of taking such a decision, Israel's military intelligence chief said on Tuesday. "The question is not when Iran will acquire the bomb, but how long until the leader decides to begin enriching (uranium) at 90 percent," Brigadier General Aviv Kochavi told parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee in his first briefing since taking up the role in November.
Once such a decision is made, it would take "a year or two" to produce a nuclear warhead, he said, adding that Iran would then need more time to develop an effective missile delivery system for it.
Kochavi said it was unlikely that Iran, which currently enriches uranium to 20 percent, would start enriching it to the 90 percent level needed for a bomb, because it would be in open breach of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty exposing it to harsher sanctions or even a US or Israeli military strike.
He said Iran was reluctant to do this at a time when the country was going through a period of "instability" and "religious tension."
"At the moment, it's not in Iran's interest to move their programme ahead," he told the committee.
Recently, several senior Israeli officials, including the former head of the Mossad overseas intelligence agency, Meir Dagan, have said that Iran is unlikely to acquire nuclear weapons before 2015.
The comments have come amid reports that Israel was involved in a plot to sabotage Iran's nuclear programme through a destructive computer worm called Stuxnet.
Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat, after repeated predictions by its hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise.
Along with many Western governments, Israel suspects Iran of trying to develop atomic weapons under cover of a civilian nuclear programme -- a charge Tehran denies.
Israel has backed the US policy of leading efforts at the Security Council for tougher UN sanctions against Iran while remaining open to dialogue.
But it has refused to rule out a resort to military action to stop Iran developing a weapons capability.
Pakistan warns against India nuclear support
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"Apart from undermining the validity and sanctity of the international non-proliferation regime, these measures shall further destabilise security in South Asia," Akram said.
"As a consequence Pakistan will be forced to take measures to ensure the credibility of its deterrence. The cumulative impact would be to destabilise the security environment in South Asia and beyond," he told the 65 nation conference.
He said Pakistan maintains its opposition to negotiations on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb-making material, a lone public stance that has blocked the Conference on Disarmament despite pressure from major powers.
US disarmament ambassador Laura Kennedy told journalists last week that negotiations on a ban, a Fissile Material Cut off Treaty (FMCT), were a priority for Washington.
"We believe that this is long overdue, it's a priority. And this sense of urgency is not, again, simply one of the United States, but is widely shared," Kennedy said.
Akram earlier told journalists that Pakistan "would like a treaty that deals with stocks not just future production."
Nuclear powers broke more than a decade of deadlock in May 2009 by agreeing on a work plan at the world's only multilateral arms control forum, which can only make decisions unanimously.
The plan included full negotiations on a fissile material ban, as well as talks on nuclear disarmament, the arms race in space and security assurances for non-nuclear states.
However, the disarmament conference has slumped back into deadlock since then, as Pakistan raised fresh objections.
"We believe that we need to build a capacity that is a credible deterrence at the lowest levels," Akram explained earlier, adding that Pakistan would nonetheless not seek to entirely match India's nuclear capability.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was expected to push for progress in the conference during a visit to Geneva on Wednesday.
Diplomats widely regard the FMCT as a key building block in breaking the spread of nuclear weapons.
But non nuclear states as well as some countries with smaller atomic arsenals insist on parallel progress on the other issues, especially full nuclear disarmament by the big powers.
Parts of the Geneva plan, including the fissile ban, underpinned an agreement between 189 nations including the major powers at the UN's nuclear non proliferation (NPT) conference last May.
Yukiya Amano: One year in By Heinz Gärtner
Yukiya Amano: One year in
Article Highlights
- Over the past year, the IAEA and Director General Yukiya Amano faced three major challenges: promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy while strengthening nonproliferation, improving nuclear safeguards at a time when Iran was expanding its nuclear energy program, and ensuring nuclear security and safety in an era of a nuclear growth.
- The IAEA has already shifted focus under Amano -- the tone of the agency's reports on Iran has become harsher, while the emphasis on technical cooperation has become stronger.
- The IAEA, as well as the broader nonproliferation community, would benefit from a specific outline of Amano's intended activities to ensure united support from nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states.
Special Reports IAEA checks Emirates' nuclear program
Special Reports
IAEA checks Emirates' nuclear program
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
New Intel head: Sanctions don't harm Iran nuke program
New Intel head: Sanctions don't harm Iran nuke program
Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi tells Knesset's FADC that within a year or two Teheran will be capable of creating a nuclear weapon.
Head of Military Intelligence to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Maj.-Gen. Aviv Kohavi on Tuesday said that sanctions imposed against the Iranian government have not harmed the country's nuclear program or the strengthening of its military.
“The Iranian regime is maintaining stability despite the sanctions," Kohavi explained. "It is maintaining its basis for its strength and the sanctions do not harm its nuclear program and the strengthening of its military."
Read more ....
Update #1: New MI chief: Iran could have nukes within two years -- Haaretz
Update #2: MI chief: Iran 1 year away from bomb -- Ynet News
Update #3: Iran not working on bomb: Israel intelligence head -- AFP
Update #4: Israel's new top spy: Iran bomb possible in 2 years -- Reuters
Scenario to Cap World Emissions by 2020 Is Fading Fast, Warns IEA Economist
Scenario to Cap World Emissions by 2020 Is Fading Fast, Warns IEA Economist
Cost of Electric Power Report: Enormous Health and Water Impacts of Coal and Nuclear Power 'Hidden' From Consumers
Cost of Electric Power Report: Enormous Health and Water Impacts of Coal and Nuclear Power 'Hidden' From Consumers
Research and Markets: Analyzing Small Nuclear Power Reactors
Research and Markets: Analyzing Small Nuclear Power Reactors
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/f030d1/analyzing_small_nu) has announced the addition of the "Analyzing Small Nuclear Power Reactors" report to their offering.The global energy jigsaw is constantly and increasingly being rearranged with the nuclear power supply. Nuclear power is increasingly presenting an alternative to become the mainstay of energy needs for the new society till the time developments are further underway for cleaner energy sources. The harnessing of this energy would not have been possible without the inventing effort of Le Szilrd in 1933. This was further presented in application in the Chicago Pile 1 which went critical on Dec 2, 1942. Thereby the first nuclear reactor was born. Therefore as a train cannot be in motion without its engine, nuclear energy needs reactor technology to constant progress in order to achieve global energy needs.
Historically, it was a general opinion that the bigger a reactor the better the energy yield. Though, the thumb rule remains in effect the changing geo political forces have ensured that new qualifiers be added to this equation as efficiency, adaptability, control and scalability. This has led the scientific community to pursue a different direction of whether small can also be beautiful and as efficient as the big one? Thereby is it possible to answer this question by more small reactors geographically spread in a grid rather than depending on a big one with bigger environmental concerns as also allowing independent mobile application.
Aruvians Rsearchs report on Analyzing Small Nuclear Power Reactors is a detailed observation on this industry which is aimed at assisting investors, analysts and commercial interests gain insights for decision making. In a world driven by science and technology where the buzzword is Nano, it is imperative to understand the full potential of applying the same to Nuclear reactors in relation to their present sizes. The future of the planet is riding on what steps are taken by the present generation and thereby places a responsibility on humanity to achieve solutions for needs in consonance with the planet.
Will the United Kingdom Need a Green Program of Energy Rationing
Will the United Kingdom Need a Green Program of Energy Rationing
Areva seeks to put lead-212 in hospital
Areva seeks to put lead-212 in hospital
25 January 2011
Areva has permission to conduct early stage tests on a new cancer treatment using lead-212, which can be extracted from industrial activities including the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. 
Oil giant Saudi Arabia looks to alternative energy
Oil giant Saudi Arabia looks to alternative energy
Republican Sen. Lugar says Obama blundered with climate change push By Andrew Restuccia
Republican Sen. Lugar says Obama blundered with climate change push
NASA’s Hansen Presses Obama for a Carbon Cost and Nuclear Push By ANDREW C. REVKIN
NASA’s Hansen Presses Obama for a Carbon Cost and Nuclear Push
By ANDREW C. REVKINRussia Demands Clear Answer on Role in NATO Missile Shield
Russia Demands Clear Answer on Role in NATO Missile Shield
Nuclear Agency Wins Award for Project Management System
Nuclear Agency Wins Award for Project Management System
South Korea Wants U.N. to Consider North's Uranium Program
South Korea Wants U.N. to Consider North's Uranium Program
IAEA Reviews Progress of UAE Nuclear Power Programme
IAEA Reviews Progress of UAE Nuclear Power Programme
A comprehensive review of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) programme for the introduction of nuclear power found that the country understands the long-term commitments and responsibilities of nuclear power and is implementing its programme in line with IAEA "Milestones" approach.Citing Options, Iran Rejects Uranium Deal, Diplomat Says By STEVEN ERLANGER
Citing Options, Iran Rejects Uranium Deal, Diplomat Says
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Nuclear cleanup plant questioned
Nuclear cleanup plant questioned
Seattle (UPI) Jan 23, 2011 A costly U.S. environmental project, meant to deal with millions of gallons of nuclear waste, is over budget and faces technical and safety issues, critics say. The Department of Energy is building a facility at the Hanford, Wash., nuclear reservation to clean up 53 million gallons of radioactive waste left over from 40 years of nuclear weapons production currently stored in aging, leaking tanks, but the cost estimates have nearly tripled to $12.2 billion and its builders have yet to settle some vexing problems with the design, The Seattle Times reported Sunday.
Some critics say they worry the final plant may be dangerous and will not be able to treat as much waste as expected, could pose environmental dangers, and might take billions of more dollars to get right.
The plant is being built even though details of the final design have yet to be worked out, they say.
The government's own tests show equipment might fail or pipes might clog in parts of the facility so radioactive with nuclear waste no human or machine could ever get in and make repairs.
"We figured out how to put a man on the moon in 10 years using slide rules," said Walt Tamosaitis, a high-level Hanford engineer who said he was removed from the project last year after raising safety concerns. "We still can't seem to get this right."
The plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2019, a decade behind schedule.
 disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only |
Seattle (UPI) Jan 23, 2011 A costly U.S. environmental project, meant to deal with millions of gallons of nuclear waste, is over budget and faces technical and safety issues, critics say. The Department of Energy is building a facility at the Hanford, Wash., nuclear reservation to clean up 53 million gallons of radioactive waste left over from 40 years of nuclear weapons production currently stored in aging, leaking tanks, but the cost estimates have nearly tripled to $12.2 billion and its builders have yet to settle some vexing problems with the design, The Seattle Times reported Sunday.
Some critics say they worry the final plant may be dangerous and will not be able to treat as much waste as expected, could pose environmental dangers, and might take billions of more dollars to get right.
The plant is being built even though details of the final design have yet to be worked out, they say.
The government's own tests show equipment might fail or pipes might clog in parts of the facility so radioactive with nuclear waste no human or machine could ever get in and make repairs.
"We figured out how to put a man on the moon in 10 years using slide rules," said Walt Tamosaitis, a high-level Hanford engineer who said he was removed from the project last year after raising safety concerns. "We still can't seem to get this right."
The plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2019, a decade behind schedule.
Top Iran nuke envoy blames US for cyberattack
Top Iran nuke envoy blames US for cyberattack
by Staff Writers Washington (AFP) Jan 17, 2011 Iran's top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili blamed the United States for a cyberattack on what he insisted is a nuclear energy -- not weapons -- program, in an interview broadcast Monday. Days ahead of a high-profile talks over the Islamic republic's nuclear program later this week, Saeed Jalili told NBC News an Iranian investigation found the United States was involved in a cyberattack that apparently shut down a fifth of Iran's nuclear centrifuges in November.
"I have witnessed some documents that show... their satisfaction in that" the United States participated in the cyberattack -- using the Stuxnet computer worm -- that also helped delay Iran's ability to make its first nuclear weapons.
But he said the effort did not wreak as much damage as some media have reported.
"Those who have done that could see now that they were not successful in that and we are following our success," Jalili said, warning the United States was "also weak and vulnerable" to cyberattacks.
His comments came after The New York Times reported over the weekend that US and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the destructive computer worm in a bid to sabotage Iran's efforts to make a nuclear bomb.
Tehran has also blamed its enemies for the killing of three top nuclear scientists last year, and on Monday, it vowed to sue its archfoe Israel for the murder of one of them -- Masoud Ali Mohammadi.
Iran accuses the intelligence services of Israel, the United States and Britain of being behind bomb attacks against the other two nuclear scientists on November 26.
"We believe that there is a meaningful relation between the UN Security Council resolution (sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program) and these kind of activities," Jalili said of the attacks.
"It is a big question for the international community, and a big kind of question in that the name of the scientists of a country mentioned in the United Nations council resolution and then following that the terrorists assassinated them."
But the senior negotiator expressed optimism that despite the acrimony, progress could be made at the second round of talks between Tehran and six world powers due to get underway on Saturday in Istanbul.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is for talk around and on common points... which are accepted by both sides," he said. "Therefore we are ready to talk for whatever is important from folks."
Jalili dismissed sanctions by the UN, European Union, US and other countries as "something for the old times" that did not have a significant impact and indicated Iran would seek to get them removed at the forthcoming talks.
"It's a kind of indication of frustration... and with this view in mind, we have invited them to return to the negotiation talks," he said.
"We believe that putting aside the wrong approaches and attitudes and adopting and choosing the approach of interacting and engagement with people is the best way to go."
Both the United States and Israel have recently announced however that they believe the program has been set back by several years. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed to the series of sanctions imposed since June 2009 by the UN Security Council and individual countries.
And Moshe Yaalon, Israel's strategic affairs minister and former military chief, said last month that a series of "technological challenges and difficulties" meant Tehran was still about three years away from being able to build nuclear weapons.
Israel has backed US-led efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability through sanctions, but has also refused to rule out military force.
Jalili said Iran will not bow to international demands to halt its uranium enrichment activities -- a process vital to producing a nuclear bomb -- and said Iran's plans for producing 20 percent enriched uranium were aimed solely at "covering our need for medication and isotopes to treat cancer patients.
"We frankly and bluntly mentioned that nuclear weapons are illegitimate and inefficient and they could not help those countries that have the nuclear weapons," he added, blasting nuclear powers as "backwater nations" incapable of solving their own problems.
"They are illegitimate and against humanity."
 Saeed Jalili. |
"I have witnessed some documents that show... their satisfaction in that" the United States participated in the cyberattack -- using the Stuxnet computer worm -- that also helped delay Iran's ability to make its first nuclear weapons.
But he said the effort did not wreak as much damage as some media have reported.
"Those who have done that could see now that they were not successful in that and we are following our success," Jalili said, warning the United States was "also weak and vulnerable" to cyberattacks.
His comments came after The New York Times reported over the weekend that US and Israeli intelligence services collaborated to develop the destructive computer worm in a bid to sabotage Iran's efforts to make a nuclear bomb.
Tehran has also blamed its enemies for the killing of three top nuclear scientists last year, and on Monday, it vowed to sue its archfoe Israel for the murder of one of them -- Masoud Ali Mohammadi.
Iran accuses the intelligence services of Israel, the United States and Britain of being behind bomb attacks against the other two nuclear scientists on November 26.
"We believe that there is a meaningful relation between the UN Security Council resolution (sanctioning Iran over its nuclear program) and these kind of activities," Jalili said of the attacks.
"It is a big question for the international community, and a big kind of question in that the name of the scientists of a country mentioned in the United Nations council resolution and then following that the terrorists assassinated them."
But the senior negotiator expressed optimism that despite the acrimony, progress could be made at the second round of talks between Tehran and six world powers due to get underway on Saturday in Istanbul.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is for talk around and on common points... which are accepted by both sides," he said. "Therefore we are ready to talk for whatever is important from folks."
Jalili dismissed sanctions by the UN, European Union, US and other countries as "something for the old times" that did not have a significant impact and indicated Iran would seek to get them removed at the forthcoming talks.
"It's a kind of indication of frustration... and with this view in mind, we have invited them to return to the negotiation talks," he said.
"We believe that putting aside the wrong approaches and attitudes and adopting and choosing the approach of interacting and engagement with people is the best way to go."
Both the United States and Israel have recently announced however that they believe the program has been set back by several years. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointed to the series of sanctions imposed since June 2009 by the UN Security Council and individual countries.
And Moshe Yaalon, Israel's strategic affairs minister and former military chief, said last month that a series of "technological challenges and difficulties" meant Tehran was still about three years away from being able to build nuclear weapons.
Israel has backed US-led efforts to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability through sanctions, but has also refused to rule out military force.
Jalili said Iran will not bow to international demands to halt its uranium enrichment activities -- a process vital to producing a nuclear bomb -- and said Iran's plans for producing 20 percent enriched uranium were aimed solely at "covering our need for medication and isotopes to treat cancer patients.
"We frankly and bluntly mentioned that nuclear weapons are illegitimate and inefficient and they could not help those countries that have the nuclear weapons," he added, blasting nuclear powers as "backwater nations" incapable of solving their own problems.
"They are illegitimate and against humanity."
Areva to begin US trial of cancer-fighting isotope
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Washington (AFP) Jan 24, 2011 A subsidiary of the French nuclear giant Areva said Monday it had received US clearance to begin a clinical trial of an isotope that targets cancer cells. "Lead-212 is a rare radioactive isotope that lies at the heart of promising nuclear medical research to develop new cancer treatments," Areva Med said in a statement.
"This innovative approach, known as alpha radio-immunotherapy, specifically pinpoints and destroys cancer cells while limiting toxicity to healthy cells."
The phase one trial, which assesses safety, will begin in 2011 and take about two years. The treatment's primary target will be pancreatic cancer, a company spokesman said.
"This landmark FDA authorization is a very important step that could lead to a potential treatment for very aggressive and lethal cancers," said Jacques Besnainou, CEO of Areva North America.
A Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the authorization, saying the agency does not comment on clinical trials that are under way or about to begin.
Areva announced last year the construction of a facility to produce lead-212 in the Limousin region of France.
Turkey sees political strings to France nuclear plant deal
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Ankara (AFP) Jan 24, 2011 Possible talks with France over the construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey will include political considerations, Turkey's energy minister said Monday. French companies have expressed interest in the project but relations between Paris and Ankara have been soured by strong French opposition to Turkey's bid to join the European Union.
"If we come to have talks with France (on a nuclear power plant) we cannot behave as if nothing has happened... A new design would definitely take shape," Energy Minister Taner Yildiz told reporters.
Asked whether Turkey would expect gestures on its EU bid, he said: "It is our right to expect them."
Turkey is currently in talks with Japan to build a nuclear power plant at Sinop, on the country's Black Sea coast.
Taner said earlier this month that French energy companies Areva, EDF and GDF Suez had submitted certain proposals for the project, but stressed that Japan had the priority.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, a vocal opponent of Turkey's EU accession, is reportedly planning to visit Turkey on February 25.
Turkish-French ties have been strained also by the French parliament's recognition of Ottoman massacres of Armenians during World War I as "genocide."
Last month, Turkey and Japan signed a memorandum on civil nuclear cooperation, a step toward a possible 20-billion-dollar deal for Japanese companies to build a nuclear plant at Sinop.
The non-binding deal was agreed after similar negotiations with South Korea hit snags on some key terms, including the price of the electricity the plant would produce.
Overriding opposition from environmentalists, Turkey signed a deal worth 20 billion dollars with Russia in May to build the country's first nuclear power plant, at Akkuyu on the southern Mediterranean coast.
Ankara's objective is to have nuclear plants up and running in at least two regions in 2023 to meet its growing energy demand.
Understanding the bias in the BP 2030 Energy forecast which shows no growth in nuclear energy
Understanding the bias in the BP 2030 Energy forecast which shows no growth in nuclear energy
Alfin has a theory as to why there is so little growth predicted for nuclear energy
A number of things about BP predictions tend to jump off the page:
* The extremely slow predicted growth for nuclear energy
* The rate of growth of energy utilisation for undeveloped countries
* The rate of expansion predicted for "biofuels"
The best way to understand that prediction is to understand how much of a threat clean, cheap, and abundant nuclear energy poses to the petroleum industry overall.
The rapid development of small modular reactors and molten salt reactors in particular, promise to make available huge quantities (trillions of barrels of oil equivalent) of bitumens and kerogens at a much lower cost than are presently feasible. Nuclear energy would also allow oil producing countries to export more oil which would otherwise be spent on cooling, desalination, and other electric power uses.BP can predict a modest rise in renewables (solar and wind) because they are not threatened by those technologies. Solar and wind need to be paired with natural gas because of the intermittent nature of their supply (cloudy days, nighttime and windless days)
Petroleum companies feel that they can live with ethanol as a fuel additive, and ethanol supply is mainly what is being predicted to rise in the graph above. By 2020, methods for mass production of bio-butanol are very likely to begin to push bio-ethanol aside. In the same fashion, advanced hydro-treating of lipids along with Fischer-Tropsch fuels will produce far more valuable commercially available fuels than ethanol by 2020. Finally, microbial hydrocarbons should be ready to begin scaling up to industrial levels by 2020, with significant market impact by 2030.
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