Nuke press releases that I've not written

Hey the last couple of weeks has continued to throw up stuff re Oldbury (use search facility to find previous blog entries) but there have also been many other possible stories. I would love to have time to write more news releases for local press re nuclear but there just isn't enough time in each day! And sadly they also don't seems so interested in the stories unless directly related to local issue.

Photo: Science Museum exhibit in London

Anyhow I did send a news release out re Gordon Brown's extraordinary comments re nuclear. See it here. You really would have thought they would have learnt their lesson on something as obvious and important as this - it also increases cynicism about consultation. They claim to launch a new consultation yet they really have made up their minds. It makes me wonder if I should bother with the consultations launched on nuclear waste and energy?

Anyhow here's a reasonable report by a group of experts to download here on nuclear and below a few items of news from last week or so that I've not turned into news releases - it really makes you wonder why some want to go down nuclear route:

- The barrister investigating the removal of body parts from Sellafield workers and those at other nuclear plants over 30 years said that he expected the number of cases would rise beyond the 65 already disclosed by BNFL. See The Guardian and previous news release re Oldbury - we still don't know if Oldbury was involved.

- Dounreay operators have been fined £15,000 for a series of health and safety failings that led to a worker breathing in plutonium.

- The Nuclear bomb convoys that regularly pass through Scotland have suffered 67 safety incidents over the past seven years, sparking fears of a "catastrophic" accident. Lists obtained by the Sunday Herald from the Ministry of Defence reveal details of dozens of mechanical faults and equipment failures since 2000, as well as delays and diversions caused by anti-nuclear protests. Incidents include numerous fuel leaks, a series of broken valves and several instances of engine and brake overheating. In October 2003, an axle began smoking due to "excessive use of wheel brakes" coming down a steep hill.

- THORP has been put on trial following the serious radioactive liquor leak which has left Sellafield’s troubled flagship plant virtually shutdown for nearly three years with the loss of many millions of pounds worth of valuable reprocessing income. Thorp is being allowed to start a trial of serious operations again by its owners, the NDA. The final consent is subject to performance over the next few weeks. First material to be treated is the massive amount of liquor which spilled in the leak which went undetected for eight months - there were over 100 warnings about the leak that were ignored and management were found to be 'complacent' despite previous incidents. Most of the 800 or so Thorp operators are working normally again. Some have had to undergo “behavioural” training as a result of the leak. The NDA is banking on Thorp and Mox to make profits to offset the huge costs of Sellafield’s decommissioning otherwise a shadow will hang over the future of the two big production plants. See Whitehaven News 12th July 2007

- A powerful earthquake rattled Japan on Monday killing two people and injuring more than 260 as it toppled houses, triggered mudslides and set off a blaze at a nuclear power plant.

- When the US deployed nuclear missiles in England during the cold war, it did so despite safety warnings from UK government scientists, New Scientist has learned. Between 1983 and 1991, the US stationed 96 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles at Greenham Common in Berkshire. Now, previously top secret reports released to New Scientist by the UK’s Ministry of Defence under freedom of information legislation show that the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment at Aldermaston had estimated that 10 million people, including the population of London, could have been exposed to an “inhalation hazard” from plutonium if warheads exploded or caught fire. See New Scientist, 11 July 2007