Europe

Chernobyl Fallout? Plutonium Found In Swedish Soil

Thursday, October 2, 2008

ScienceDaily (Oct. 1, 2008) — When a reactor in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986 in what was then the Soviet republic of Ukraine, radioactive elements were released in the air and dispersed over the Soviet Union, Europe and even eastern portions of North America.

More than 20 years later, researchers from Case Western Reserve University traveled to Sweden and Poland to gain insight into the downward migration of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides in the soil. Among the team's findings was the fact that much more plutonium was found in the Swedish soil at a depth that corresponded with the nuclear explosion than that of Poland.

Posted in | »

Turkey's energy dependency on Russia to rise after nuclear plant

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Turkey faces the risk of becoming heavily dependent on Russia uranium if the recent tender for Turkey's first nuclear power plant, won by a Russian firm led consortium, is not canceled, analysts say.

Turkey's energy dependency on Russia to rise after nuclear plant

"The tender for the nuclear plant was held in order to lessen the Turkey's energy dependency to Russia, but if it is approved Turkey's dependency to Russia will be even greater," Necdet Pamir, an energy expert, told HotNewsTurkey.

Posted in | »

U.S. backing for Serbian IAEA project

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

VIENNA -- The U.S. has backed Serbian efforts to transfer the remaining nuclear waste at the Vinča Institute out of the country by 2010.

The U.S. delegation supported the project at the International Atomic Energy Association’s (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, said Deputy Science and Technology Minister Miroslav Vesković.

Posted in | »

Nuclear smuggling case to go to European court

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Swiss brothers Urs and Marco Tinner - suspected of involvement in nuclear smuggling – will file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights next month.

Their lawyer said Switzerland had disregarded the European Convention on Human Rights by keeping the engineers in custody for nearly four years without an arraignment.

Posted in | »

Nuclear watchdog to combat terrorist threat

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

An international watchdog aiming to prevent the theft from nuclear sites of material that could be used in terrorist attacks has been launched.

The World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), which will be based in Vienna, Austria, will seek to prevent the material falling into the wrong hands.

Posted in | »

Pressure on for a nuclear renaissance

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Like other industrial nations, Germany faces a formidable challenge in covering its future energy needs amid rising raw material prices, the threat of climate change and worries about the reliability of oil and gas supplies.

A decision eight years ago to phase out nuclear energy, which provides a quarter of Germany's electricity consumption, is making it especially hard on Europe's largest economy to meet its three goals: lowering its dependence on imported fuel, cutting harmful carbon gas emissions, and maintaining a plentiful power supply at prices industry and households can afford.

Posted in | »

Russia to contribute $17 mln to Chernobyl cleanup

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

VIENNA, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will provide $17 million to help improve safety at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster, and fully decommission it, a top Russian nuclear official said on Monday.

Three reactors of the Chernobyl plant continued to operate for several years after reactor number four exploded in 1986, the last reactor shutting down in 2000. The reactors still contain nuclear fuel rods, and require constant monitoring. The fourth reactor is housed in a Soviet-era sarcophagus set to be replaced by a $1.4 bln metal structure.

Posted in | »

India and Europe in civil nuclear accord

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

The European Union and India are to co-operate more closely on civil nuclear research and development as a way of strengthening a partnership that has often been seen as falling short of its potential.

Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, and Manmohan Singh, India’s prime minister, announced the agreement on Monday at an EU­-India summit that also produced promises of closer co-ordination of climate change and energy security policies.

Posted in | »

Mixed views on new nuclear build

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Residents living near existing nuclear reactors only have "qualified support" for new power stations, a study shows.

While most locals trusted the operators of their nearby power station, some had a strong distrust of the UK Government and the nuclear industry, it added.

Posted in | »

Britain's family uranium is safe in French hands

Monday, September 29, 2008

Vincent de Rivaz, the chief executive of France's EDF Energy, which is now in control of the UK's nuclear energy programme, doesn't laugh when I ask if he has succeeded where Napoleon failed.

"It's not a war," he says, very seriously. "This is an amicable agreement between two companies which will bring good news to everyone involved. Will it bring stability to customers for electricity bills? Yes. Will it bring new jobs? Yes. Will it improve climate change? Yes."

Posted in | »