CHARLESTON, South Carolina: Environmentalists and some federal lawmakers voiced concerns over the planned shipment to the United States of radioactive nuclear waste from Italy, questioning the volume of waste being brought in and whether it exceeds federal safety standards.
EnergySolutions wants to ship about 200,000 cubic feet (5,664 cubic meters) of the radioactive waste into the United States, process it in Tennessee before burying it at a site in Clive, Utah, where the company is based.
SWEEPING his hand across the surface of a warm cask heated by some of the most radioactive material on earth, Walter Heep says he is confident that the contents can be kept safely and securely aboveground for the next few decades.
Asked what might happen beyond that time frame — particularly if Swiss voters continue to reject proposals to bury nuclear waste permanently at a deep underground site — Mr. Heep is blunt about the problems that a lack of such a site will present for the future of the nuclear industry in Switzerland.
PARIS: Six months into his term, President Nicolas Sarkozy is aggressively pursuing a new policy to give Muslim countries access to nuclear power - and win lucrative contracts for France's energy champions in the process.
After signing a memorandum of understanding with Libya in the summer, Sarkozy struck a preliminary cooperation accord with Morocco last month. Diplomats say he is planning to discuss nuclear power during trips to Algeria in December and Saudi Arabia in January.
Green MEPs have urged the European commission to suspend EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes's responsibilities for nuclear issues following her remarks in support of the sector on Monday. In an open letter to commission president Jose Manuel Barroso the MEPs question the impartiality of her decisions and call for a re-evaluation of the recent EU approval of French aid to a new Finnish reactor. A spokesman for Ms Kroes told ENDS the call was "ludicrous", arguing that all decisions
are taken on competition grounds.
Brussels (Platts) - 26 Sep 2007
A renewable energy group said it was "deeply worried" about the neutrality of the European Commission when it comes to nuclear power. The European Renewable Energies Federation, or EREF, was reacting September 26 to a September 25 EC decision. The EC decision was that there was no illegal state aid involved in the 570-million-euro (US$805 million) export credit guarantee from French export credit agency Coface to French nuclear vendor Areva for the Olkiluoto-3 reactor under construction in Finland.
Paris (Platts)--31Aug2007
Areva's ownership structure is being debated in France, following a
statement August 30 by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that France's nuclear
enterprises must be "given the resources to develop."
On August 31, Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon said that "Areva's development
needs major resources, [and] a change in capital [equity structure] appears
the best solution." She added, during a conference call with journalists and
analysts, that Areva's future is up to the government, its majority
shareholder.
By Philip Bethge (Der Spiegel)
Is nuclear power on the verge of a renaissance? Its supporters argue that atomic energy is the only way to satisfy humanity’s hunger for more energy without aggravating the effects of global warming. Critics, however, regard the nuclear hype as over-simplistic optimism fueled by an industry in distress.
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - The French nuclear security authority, ASN, has criticised EDF for 'a lack of rigour' in the application of security procedures at its Fessenheim nuclear power plant in north-east France.
In an assessment presented to the press today, the ASN said that 'despite the action initiated (...), the operator (EDF) shows a lack of rigour in the application of procedures.'
The death of an anti-nuclear protester, run over this weekend by a train carrying radioactive waste, has prompted new unease in France about the transportation of nuclear materials through the countryside.
Environmental campaigners say that the death of Sebastien Briat, 21, who had chained himself to the franrailway track in front of a train carrying 12 containers of radioactive waste, illustrated the dangers of this kind of transportation. Activists said the accident showed how difficult it was to guarantee the security of the cargo as it travelled along the nation's rail network.
