Nuclear News + Events + Actions

Today the EPA made the recommendation NOT to approve the Yeelirrie uranium mine proposal, you can read the EPA response to submissions here and the EPA report here. Congratulations to all those involved and all of you who lodged submissions. The local pastoralists and Traditional Owners are overjoyed.

Welcome to all the new people to the weekly news list who signed up at the event Collisions over the weekend. We raised $2700 to go towards the Australia Nuclear Free Alliance meeting in Kalgoorlie this September THANKYOU.

The Walkatjurra Walkabout - leaving Perth on the 7th of August - Registrations are still open if you can't make it please support this stella effort to protect Wangkatja country by donating here. These funds are so important to support local involvement in the walk please donate today. 

Remember to tune in to Understorey – and the Radioactive Show this week for all the latest nuclear and peace news. 

ACTION & EVENTS

WALKATJURRA WALKABOUT: 7th August 2016
Registrations are open and filling up fast - get on board here: RegistrationsIf you want to support the walk but you can't make it - please donate here: Donations
BUMP COLLECTIVE MEETING - ON HOLD UNTIL AFTER THE WALK - STAY POSTED FOR DATES
World's End Studio - at the top of 15 Mrs Trivett Pl, Fremantle WA 6160, AustraliaThe BUMP Collective in an autonomous collective - we organise events and actions against the nuclear industry. We always love to welcome new people and creative ideas. BYO food and drink to the meeting.

DONATE

Walkatjurra Walkabout: Funds go to support local involvement in the month long walk through Wangkatja Country in opposition to several uranium mine proposals in the Goldfields. Donate here. 

2016 Australia Nuclear Free Alliance Meeting - Kalgoorlie: For the first time ever this significant national meeting is coming to WA. Please support Aboriginal delegates travel to be part of this important event. Donate here.

NEWS

URANIUM
Uranium Prices Remain Below Cost of Production, Recovery is Years AwayJuly 27, 2016. Uranium prices continue to hover at an eleven-year low, with the commodity’s collapse to the price weeks ago failing to inspire any renewed buying interest, and according to a recent forecast from UBS, a turnaround in the market could be years off.http://www.economiccalendar.com/2016/07/27/uraniu! m-prices-remain-below-cost-of-production-recovery-is-years-away/

Michael West: Taxpayers to foot the bill for mine closures26 July 2016. Mine rehabilitation – to avoid toxic seepage – is a costly business which taxpayers look likely to fund
https://independentaustralia.net/environment/environment-display/taxpayers-to-foot-the-bill-for-mine-closures,9280

Garma festival: Indigenous leaders call for land ownership settlement, slam land rights 'failures' Indigenous leaders at the Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land have called for land ownership settlement, slamming the 'failures' of the Land Rights Act and Native Title Act that have allowed mining companies access to indigenous land.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-31/garma-festival:-indigenous-leaders-call-for-land/7675658

SA ROYAL COMMISSION - NUCLEAR WASTE / NUCLEAR POWER 

SA nuclear waste dump referendum vote 'still possible'The final decision on South Australia's proposed nuclear waste dump might not be made this year and a referendum could still be held, Premier Jay Weatherill says.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-28/referendum-on-sa-nuclear-waste-dump-still-possible/7668412?section=environment 

SA's nuclear debate: Choosing a waste storage site would take years and require extensive consultation | Adelaide NowCHOOSING a site for a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository might take up to five years if the plan is backed by the community, says former Royal Commissioner Kevin Scarce.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sas-nuclear-debate-choosing-a-waste-storage-site-would-take-years-and-require-extensive-consultation/news-story/44c936d8b67d4906becb800e9640aded 

The Advertiser editorial: The choice we make can't be taken lightly

SOUTH Australians are facing the extraordinary choice of whether to create a storage facility for the world’s high-level nuclear waste.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/the-advertiser-editorial-the-choice-we-make-cant-be-taken-lightly/news-story/503c8cfec0cf7b588bb87d8a44bd9e2b

 

ACF Media Release July 27, 2016: Global nuclear industry promoters influencing SA nuclear waste plan

Key adviser to SA recent nuclear Royal Commission is a nuclear ‘true believer’ who was behind a failed attempt to open a global radioactive waste dump in Australia in the 1990s.

https://www.acf.org.au/global_nuclear_industry_promoters

SA nuclear waste dump: Conservation Foundation questions MCM impartiality in key reportDave Sweeney from the Australian Conservation Foundation said a key player in Pangea's work, Charles McCombie, and his new firm MCM, ...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-26/australian-conservation-foundation-questions-mcm-impartiality/7662840

INTERNATIONAL 

A short history of nuclear fissionAn Italian physicist, Enrico Fermi, was the first to achieve it but just recently nuclear fission’s popularity has been decreasing https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/28/a-short-history-of-nuclear-fission 

Kieran Cooke: Offshore wind powers ahead as prices drop 30% below nuclearJuly 19, 2016. The cost of offshore wind power in the North Sea is 30% lower than that of new nuclear, writes Kieran Cooke - helped along by low oil and steel prices, reduced maintenance and mass production. By 2030 the sector is expected to supply 7% of Europe's electricity.http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_round_up/2987919/offshore_wind_powers_ahead_as_prices_drop_30_below_nuclear.html & http://www.enn.com/sci-tech/article/49786
History repeating: Trump, Putin and Brexit all signs another world war is comingJuly 30, 2016. THE rise of Trump and Putin plus the shock outcome of the Brexit vote are signs the world is hurtling towards nuclear war. Here’s why. 
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/history-repeating-trump-putin-and-brexit-all-signs-another-world-war-is-coming/news-story/e88a623c6b84988c44ff25e0d9c72f9e

Coup attempt in Turkey raises a nuclear concern at US air base24 July, 2016. Incirlik Air Base was an operational centre of the attempted coup. It is also America’s largest foreign stockpile of nuclear weapons.http://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/1994052/coup-attempt-turkey-raises-nuclear-concern-us-air-base
CANADA 
Feds say no to Kiggavik uranium mine, back Nunavut Impact Review BoardIndigenous and Northern Affairs Minister supports the Nunavut Impact Review Board's decisionhttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/kiggavik-uranium-mine-federal-minister-backs-nirb-1.3695851
FRANCE 
EDF board member resigns, attacking Hinkley Point nuclear project as financially 'risky' A board member of EDF has quit ahead of its meeting to approve the Hinkley Point nuclear plant, c! alling the project "very risky" and suggesting it could drag  the French utility giant into an "abyss".http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/28/edf-board-member-resigns-attacking-hinkley-point-nuclear-project/

French nuclear company EDF to get cash infusionThe French government has said it will go ahead with a 4-billion-euro share issue for state-controlled electricity firm EDF. The move will help finance the construction of two controver! sial nuclear reactors in the UK.http://www.dw.com/en/french-nuclear-company-edf-to-get-cash-infusion/a-19428058


JAPAN
Japan Atomic again flubs maintenance checks at Monju reactorJul 22, 2016. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency again failed to conduct checks on a device at its experimental Monju fast-breeder reactor a! nd overlooked a warning signal from a maintenance management system fo r about three months, it was learned Friday.http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/07/22/national/japan-atomic-again-flubs-maintenance-checks-at-monju-reactor/

Japan business lobby says Abe govt can't rely on nuclear energyJul 22, 2016. Japan's use of nuclear power is unlikely to meet a government target of returning to! near pre-Fukushima levels and the world's No.3 economy needs to get serious about boosting renewables, a senior executive at a top business lobby said.http://uk.reuters.com/article/japan-energy-idUKL4N19N1D4
Citizen science takes on Japan's nuclear establishment.As other Tokyo office workers poured into restaurants and bars at quitting time one recent evening, Kohei Matsushita went to the eighth floor of a high-rise for an unusual after-hours activity: learning how to assemble his own Geiger counter from a kit http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-japan-safecast-snap-story.html & http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/-3752169746675898187
NORTH KOREA
North Korea admits 'our nuclear weapons aren't a threat to the UK'Jul 22, 2016. The rog! ue state claimed that Theresa May's comments on the nuclear threat that Kim Jong-un poses were "absolutely astonishing"http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/north-korea-admits-our-nuclear-8469712

SOUTH AFRICA 
R** Saliem Fakir: Is Eskom building a case for nuclear power?July 28 2016. IT IS disconcerting that Eskom is advising! the government to freeze a globally acclaimed renewable energy progra mme based on a perceived misunderstanding of the benefits of the renewable energy independent power producer (IPP) programme.http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2016/07/28/is-eskom-building-a-case-for-nuclear-power

SOUTH KOREA & UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
South Korea signs $880 million nuclear reactor staffing deal in UAEJuly 25, 2016. The reac! tors, still under construction, are Korean-designed and made. < /span>http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2016/07/25/South-Korea-signs-880-million-nuclear-reactor-staffing-deal-in-UAE/9691469456937/


UKRAINE
R** Chernobyl’s atomic wasteland may be reborn with solar energy.Ukraine’s looking toward the sun to put a radioactive wasteland back into business
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-27/chernobyl-s-atomic-wasteland-may-be-reborn-with-solar-energy & http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/7215800581468106948 

UKBradwell & Sizewell futures unclear after delayed Hinkley decision A late move by the government to review all of the component parts of the propo! sed nuclear power deal in the region has cast doubt that it will go ahead in its current form.http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/story/2016-07-28/bradwell-sizewell-futures-unclear-after-delayed-hinkley-decision/

Nuclear power plants must be value for money, say MPs26 July 2016. Future nuclear power projects in Wales must be value for money and create jobs where they are built, MPs have said.http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-politics-36883145

Campaign against Anglesey nuclear train transporting radioactive waste24 Jul 2016. Demonstrations have been held against radioactive waste being transported by rail along the North Wales coast.http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/campaign-against-anglesey-nucl! ear-train-11652484

Russia, China and South Korea 'should be invited to build UK nuclear plants' 23 July 2016. Russian, Chinese and South Korean nuclear companies should be offered subsidy contracts to build reactors in the UK if they are cheaper than other projects already under development, a prominent nuclear lobbyist has said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/07/23/russia-china-and-! south-korea-should-be-invited-to-build-uk-nucle/

Record 46% of UK's electricity generated by clean energy sources in 2015Official figures show low-carbon sources accounted for almost half of national electricity supply last year - outstripping coal for the first time
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/28/record-46-of-uks-electricity-generated-by-clean-energy-sources-in-2015 

Hinkley Point C in fresh doubt after government delays approval Ministers to conduct fresh review into much delayed project, with no green light expected until autumn despite EDF’s confirmationhttps://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/jul/28/hinkley-point-c-to-go-ahead-after-edf-board-approves-project 

'I'm not scared by nuclear': locals divided over Hinkley Point CBusinesses and education providers on the Somerset coast see opportunities but residents remain concerned over safety and waste
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/28/im-not-scared-by-nuclear-locals-divided-over-hinkley-point-c 

Damian Carrington: Hinkley's nuclear plant fails all tests - bar the politicsHuge, expensive and difficult to build, Hinkley is a throwback to the last century, just as the world is embracing the smart energy systems of the future
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2016/jul/28/hinkley-point-c-nuclear-plant-fails-all-tests-bar-the-politics 

R** The Guardian view on Hinkley C: wrong project, wrong priceThis project will suck up billions that ought to be invested in reducing demand and developing renewables
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/28/the-guardian-view-on-hinkley-c-wrong-project-wrong-price

Flamanville: France's beleaguered forerunner to Hinkley Point COver-budget and behind schedule, the €10.5bn nuclear reactor has faced problems that some say could be repeated in the UK https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/27/flamanville-france-edf-nuclear-reactor-hinkley-point-c 

John Sauven: Hinkley Point C is no more than a doomed attempt at face-savingWith all the costs and risks involved, the spectre of George Osborne’s energy policy could haunt Britain for decades https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/27/hinkley-point-c-no-more-than-doomed-attempt-face-saving 



USA 

Georgia Power gets green light on new nuclear plant.State energy regulators gave Georgia Power Co. the go-ahead Thursday to start laying the groundwork for a new nuclear power plant south of Columbus, Ga.
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2016/07/28/georgia-power-gets-green-light-on-new-nuclear.html & http://www.dailyclimate.org/t/-5364447484801522532

R** New York could show the way to rescue U.S.nuclear plants.New York state and nuclear power have never been best friends, but the state is expected to decide as soon as Monday on a proposed subsidy plan that could furnish the rest of the country with a model for saving a struggling industry while reducing carbon emissions
http://in.reuters.com/article/usa-nuclearpower-new-york-idINL1N1AD195 & http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/t/7215800581468107011
Times Union Editorial: A hefty nuclear subsidyNew York's proposed clean energy plan includes billions in nuclear plant subsidies.http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Editorial-A-hefty-nuclear-subsidy-8416153.php

Focus: Why San Onofre's nuclear waste stays on the beachPolicy stalemate leaves toxic spent fuel strandedJuly 22, 2016. Some 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is all stored up with no place to go.http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/22/san-onofre-stranded-waste/

US must stop playing with nuclear hellfire26th July 2016. Thanks to an increasingly aggressive US foreign policy pursued over decades, NATO nuclear missiles and armed forces are poised on Russia's border, writes Conn Hallinan - forcing it to abandon its 'no first use of nuclear weapons' pledge in view of the massively asymmetrical threat it faces. The world must step back from the brink of nuclear annihilation.http://www.theecologist.org/blogs_and_comments/commentators/2987941/us_must_stop_playing_with_nuclear_hellfire.html

NASA books nuclear-certified Atlas 5 rocket for Mars 2020 rover launch July 25, 2016. CAPE CANAVERAL — America’s next Mars rover, a $2.1 billion nuclear-powered vehicle to search for evidence that life once existed there, will be launched to the Red Planet in the summer of 2020 by a powerful Atlas 5 rocket.https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/07/25/nasa-books-nuclear-certified-atlas-5-rocket-for-mars-2020-rover-launch/