NukeNews No. 19 - ENGLISH

************************************************************ *    NukeNews #19 - Anti-Nuclear Information Service      * ************************************************************ -- 0. Preface -- Welcome to this short edition of the NukeNews newsletter on topics relevant to activists within the Nuclear Heritage Network! This time we have some news from France, Slovenia, Australia, Czech Republic, India and Poland. After the summer holidays season we will probably have more information from groups around the world in the autumn edition which will be released in November. Your contributions are welcome as usual! We hope reading the NukeNews will be useful for you again, and wish you a nice rest of summer! -- Outline of the current NukeNews issue #19 -- 0. Preface 1. Nuclear giant Areva goes to war against a citizen 2. South Australia's uranium Royal Commission fails public interest test 3. Energy Concept of Slovenia aka Nuclear Concept of Slovenia 4. Intergovernmental commission supported long-term operation of     Krsko NPP 5. Czech Republic: The National Action Plan is so optimistic that it     is unviable 6. Independent public opinion surveys show resistance of Czech people against nuclear energy grows stronger 7. 26th of April appeal 8. France: CRIIRAD stands up against the European Commission 9. India: Safety and regulatory issues of Kudankulam NPP and the need for a global nuclear regulatory framework 10. Polish investor looks for CfDs for the planned NPP and denies possible delays 11. Nuclear power plant safety upgrades, Ukraine 12. Upcoming events 13. About NukeNews -- 1. Nuclear giant Areva goes to war against a citizen -- The French nuclear giant AREVA, partly State-owned, puts up a libel claim against CANSE (Southeastern anti-nuclear coordination), a French informal action group. CANSE has e-published an article that points out AREVA as endangering the neighbours’ life and safety next to the nuclear facilities in Marcoule, Cadarache and Tricastin, all of them are located along the Rhone river valley as well as other ones in Niger (uranium mine) and Fukushima (with an Areva Mox-crammed reactor). Whereas the whole informal action group has signed this e-item, AREVA has not made all of them but only one among its members to be interviewed under caution by a Paris examining magistrate (10th of June 2015). It is obvious then that AREVA wants its opponents to shut up when suiting them one by one at a time and quite running them short of money (court and lawyers' fees). Next to the mass demonstrations for free speech against the CHARLIE HEBDO’s slaughter, this claim cannot possibly be successful. As, beyond free speech, this is the worldwide public health which is at stake. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Nuclear_giant_Areva_goes_to_war_against_a_citizen -- 2. South Australia's uranium Royal Commission fails public interest test -- The current terms of reference for the Royal Commission into South Australia’s nuclear industry sadly appear to put a higher weighting on industry promotion than public interest. There is to be no review of SA’s atomic test legacy or flawed clean up attempts from earlier uranium mines. Disappointingly, the impacts and experience of current uranium mining is ignored lest it reflect poorly on industry expansion plans and key areas of very real public concern including health impacts, emergency capacity, implications for SA’s precious water resources and the potential for severe reputational and market damage to the important food, wine, fishing and tourism industries are missing. http://www.acfonline.org.au/news-media/acf-opinion/south-australias-uranium-royal-commission-fails-public-interest-test -- 3. Energy Concept of Slovenia aka Nuclear Concept of Slovenia -- Slovenian Ministry of Infrastructure has published a proposal of guidelines for new Energy Concept of Slovenia. The proposal is currently in public consultation (until 30th September 2015). It proposes long-term use of nuclear energy, which means life-time extension of NPP Krško until 2043 and construction of new nuclear reactor in Krško. More info (only in Slovene): http://www.energetika-portal.si/dokumenti/strateski-razvojni-dokumenti/energetski-koncept-slovenije/ -- 4. Intergovernmental commission supported long-term operation of     Krsko NPP -- In the second half of July the Intergovernmental Commission for monitoring the implementation of the intergovernmental agreement assessed the last five years operation and business of Krško Nuclear Power Plant to be very good, supported the prolongation of operating period and gave its consent for the construction of a dry storage for spent nuclear fuel at the NPP site. After completion of administrative proceedings, when the Slovenian administration for nuclear safety approved amendments of the final safety report and the technical specifications in connection with the prolongation of operation period of Krško NPP from 40 to 60 years, the Intergovernmental Commisson in accordance with the contract supported the decision of shareholders for prolongation life-time NPP Krško until 2043. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Intergovernmental_commission_supported_long-term_operation_of_Krsko_NPP -- 5. Czech Republic: The National Action Plan is so optimistic that it     is unviable -- Three months before June when the politicians voted for approval of the National Action Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy (NAP JE) in the Czech Republic, associations Calla and Friends of the Earth Czech Republic distributed a fact sheet "Overly expensive nuclear plans" among members of Chamber of Deputies and Senate in order to provide them with the information needed so that they could decide responsibly about the future national energy strategy. However, instead of responsible decision-making that would take into account the development of nuclear energy and renewable energy in Europe and the world, the decision to build four new reactors (two at Dukovany and two at Temelin) was postponed till next government in 2025 but 32 billion for the preparation of this plan have been approved already. The following text will try to describe briefly the most important facts to which current politicians as a whole did not respond according to our expectations. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Czech_Republic:_The_National_Action_Plan_is_so_optimistic_that_it_is_inviable -- 6. Independent public opinion surveys show resistance of Czech people against nuclear energy grows stronger -- Three public opinion surveys on nuclear energy were conducted this year by these companies: Focus Marketing & Social Research (at the request of the Friends of the Earth Czech Republic), the CVVM and the online Centre for Analysis and Empirical Studies (SANEP). In the following text, we will remind ourselves of their results and the relationship the Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic have with the National Action Plan for the Development of Nuclear Energy which was adopted in June. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Independent_public_opinion_surveys_show_resistance_of_Czech_people_against_nuclear_energy_grows_stronger -- 7. 26th of April appeal -- It is time that individuals of our time, those that are enlightened and conscious of the imminence of a new nuclear disaster, both a civil and military one, have the courage to stand up !! The year 2016 should be the year of awareness of the population. The 11th of March 2016 will be the day of commemoration, 5 years after the beginning of the Fukushima disaster, and the 26th of April, 30 years after the beginning of the Chernobyl disaster. Everywhere in the world, those dates will be celebrated in commemoration. It is not acceptable that the nuclear lobby should decide what to think, what to spread, what to say and what to write. From today onwards, we : artists, journalists,teachers, photographers, musicians, actors, librarians, street artists, scientists, dancers, researchers, documentary film makers, circus artists, poets, cinema or theatre managers, festival organisers, politicians, activists and concerned citizens, will start working to enable the insurrection of consciences against the contaminated future. We will produce, come up with or welcome public readings, seminars, academic seminars, shows, conferences, exhibitions, screenings, dances, carnivals...! Read more: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/26th_of_April_appeal -- 8. France: CRIIRAD stands up against the European Commission -- The European Commission is aiming at taking back the MPL (Maximum Permitted Levels of contamination in our food in the wake of a nuclear accident) adopted in 1987-1990 under the pressure of the French pressure group. Those levels set up unacceptable potential risks. As regard to the French territory proper this legal contamination could induce tens of thousands of cancers possibly hundreds of thousands in the worst situation (without taking into account others non cancerous pathologies and transmitted genetic damages). The consumers will not have any means to sort out non contaminated food from contaminated one. The CRIIRAD (Commission for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity) set up in 1986 in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident, stands up against the European Commission. A petition to sign up before September 30 2015 see: http://criirad-protegeonsnotrealimentation.wesign.it/en -- 9. India: Safety and regulatory issues of Kudankulam NPP and the need for a global nuclear regulatory framework -- The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) started construction of two 1000 MWe VVER reactor at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu in 2002. On 31 Dec 2014, 26 months after the initial fuel loading, the NPCIL declared the commissioning of the first reactor completed, without the consent of the regulator, as it could not clear the mandatory tests. Two more attempts also failed and during April 2015, the reactor's output started declining systematically for two months, leading to a 60-day maintenance shut down on 24 June 2015. In the midst of this chaos, on 8th July 2015, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) granted the 'licence for regular operation' of the reactor, 1008 days after the initial fuel loading (IFL). This interval is 3 times the average for 10 other 1000 MWe reactors commissioned in this century. During 666 days of its grid connection, the reactor worked for 380 days only, as 16 SCRAMs and three maintenance outages kept it off-grid for 286 days. The instability of the reactor is attributable to (a) defective, counterfeit and underperforming equipment such as the pressure vessel, steam generators and turbo-generator and (b) shoddy construction practices. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Safety_and_regulatory_issues_of_Kudankulam_Nuclear_Power_Plant_in_India_and_the_need_for_a_global_nuclear_regulatory_framework -- 10. Polish investor looks for CfDs for the planned NPP and denies possible delays -- The nuclear circus in Poland continues, featuring next scandals with the schedule (now perhaps 'a' schedule) for the proposed NPP. A document recently leaked from the PGE EJ1 (a Polish state-owned energy utility, the appointed investor) to Greenpeace showed that 2031 could be a new proposed year of starting of the first NPP. This would mean a 6-year delay against the year set in the official nuclear programme (PPEJ), i.e. 2025, and 11-year delay against the first officially proposed year set in 2009. And it would happen at the stage of planning and researches etc. only. PGE denied the revelations and said the leaked schedule "has never been approved by the PGE's authorities" and is "one of the versions to have been analysed for the past months". However, just few weeks before this leak, PSE, the national energy grid operator, stated in its publicly consulted draft programme (which devises plants connections until 2025) that PGE had submitted plans for connecting of their first NPP in 2029 (thus still not according to the official schedule. The leak also confirmed plans to use Hinkley Point C-style subsidies (contract for difference). It should be added that no dedicated plan for financing of the building of the planned NPPs in Poland has been officially announced so far by either the Polish government or PGE. The leaked document was available for few days at Greenpeace's website but it had to be removed. The new GP article replacing the previous one pointed at possible delays in the Polish nuclear programme and at the public interest to be informed about that and other risks related to it such as increasing costs and consuming public authorities efforts (communique and articles in Polish only): http://www.greenpeace.org/poland/pl/wydarzenia/polska/Komunikat-Greenpeace/ The first communique was left in some media: http://www.energetyka-jadrowa.cire.pl/st,37,233,item,114658,1,0,0,1,0,0,greenpeace-elektrownia-jadrowa-w-polsce-nie-wczesniej-niz-w-2031-r.html -- 11. Nuclear power plant safety upgrades, Ukraine -- Ukraine plans to extend the lifetime of its fifteen nuclear reactors, most of which will soon pass their expiration date. The EBRD has agreed to finance a Safety Upgrade Programme that is a crucial stepping stone for the reactors' prolonged use. A project coordinated by Bankwatch Network is focusing on this issue. A fact finding mission, part of the project, was carried out in Ukraine in the end of April 2015. More info: http://bankwatch.org/our-work/projects/nuclear-power-plant-safety-upgrades-ukraine -- 12. Upcoming events -- Feel free to send us your local and international events for the big upcoming events collection on Nuclear Heritage Network website, and for this extract in the NukeNews! http://upcoming.nuclear-heritage.net 14/09/15-18/09/15: RADECS - Conference on Radiation Effects on                   Components and Systems in (RUS) 19/09/15 11 AM:   nuclear waste conference at Volkshochschule, Wilhelmshöher Allee 19-21, in Kassel (D) 24/09/15-30/09/15: International Uranium Film Festival at KINO BROTFABRIK, Caligariplatz 1, in Berlin (D) 28/09/15:         nuclear fuel factory blockade in Lingen (D) 03/10/15 2 PM:    annual Internationales Aktionsbündnis gegen Cattenom mass rally against Cattenom NPP at Place Saint-Louis in Metz (F) 04/10/15 11.30 AM: Scrap Trident - National Demonstration at Tory Party Conference at All Saints Park in Manchester (UK) 05/10/15-16/10/15: International Uranium Film Festival in                   Florianopolis (BR) 10/10/15 at 12 PM: mass rally against TTIP: "Stop TTIP CETA - für einen                   gerechten Welthandel" at main station/ Washingtonplatz in Berlin (D) 18/10/15:         No Trident Replacement: Strategising for success in                    2016 at Arlington Conference Centre, 220 Arlington Road, Camden, in London NW1 7HE (UK) 23/10/15 at 10 AM: nuclear waste law symposium at verdi-Höfe in                   Hannover (D) 29/10/15-01/11/15: International planning and networking conference for the European Action Weeks 2016 in Geseke-Eringerfeld (D) 29/10/15:         start of RWE's trial on compensations for closing Biblis NPP at district court in Essen (D) 12/12/15:         Don't Nuke the Climate: COP21 in Paris (F) 17/12/15 at 11 AM: trial against a critic of the right wing open aspects of Holger Strohm's anti-nuclear film "Friedlich in die Katastrophe" at district court, Sievekingplatz 1, 2nd floor, room A 265, in Hamburg (D) 11/03/16-26/04/16: Fukushima & Chernobyl remembrance: artistic, intellectual, scientific and people's insurrection 25/04/16-01/05/16: European Action Weeks For A Future After Chernobyl And Fukushima 09/05/16-13/05/16: pro-nuclear 14th Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association: "Practising                   Radiation Protection: Sharing the Experience and                    New Challenges" at International Convention Centre, in Cape Town (South Africa) 17/05/16-19/05/16: Health Effects of Chernobyl: Prediction and Actual Data 30 Years after the Accident in Obninsk (RUS) 17/05/16-20/05/16: Canadian Radiation Protection Association‘s 2016 Conference in Toronto, Ontario (CDN) 22/05/16-26/05/16: NESTet 2016 - Nuclear Engineering Science and Technology in Berlin (D) 01/09/16-30/11/16: main hearing on the Environmental Court on SKB's                   application to build KBS3 final nuclear waste repository at District Court in Nacka (S) 2017:             (probably) Castor transport of high level radioactive waste from Sellafield (UK) and of                   intermediate level radioactive waste from La Hague (F) to Gorleben (D) and protests http://www.radecs2015.org/index.php http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=61&Itemid=273/ http://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/programm-berlin-2015 http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=189 https://www.ausgestrahlt.de/mitmachen/termine.html http://www.cnduk.org/get-involved/events/item/2229-national-demonstration-at-tory-party-conference http://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/ http://ttip-demo.de/home/ http://www.cnduk.org/get-involved/events/item/2231-no-trident-replacement-strategising-for-success-in-2016 http://www.bi-luechow-dannenberg.de/?page_id=9162 http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/European_Action_Weeks_For_A_Future_After_Chernobyl_And_Fukushima_2016 http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=189 http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Don%27t_Nuke_the_Climate:_COP21_in_Paris http://www.projektwerkstatt.de/pwerk/saasen/termine.html http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/26th_of_April_appeal http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/European_Action_Weeks_For_A_Future_After_Chernobyl_And_Fukushima_2016 http://www.irpa2016capetown.org.za/ http://radiation-and-risk.com/index.php/en/info-letter http://crpa-acrp.org/conference/ http://www.euronuclear.org/events/nestet/nestet2016/index.htm http://www.nonuclear.se/en/kalender/kbshuvudforhandling-md http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Gorleben_Castor_Resistance_in_Germany_2017 -- 13. About NukeNews -- NukeNews is a multilingual newsletter system of the Nuclear Heritage Network. It reflects the activities, topics and struggles of anti-nuclear activists connected through this international community. The messages are written and translated by activists, additionally to their usual anti-nuclear activities. The newsletter aims to inform and update as well activists as the interested audience. Your contributions to the NukeNews are welcome! Send them via email to "news AT NukeNews DOT nuclear-heritage DOT net". The text should be very brief and in English. Please don't make it longer than one paragraph. We need a concise headline for your article, and you can add a link to a webpage providing more information. Deadline for the 20th issue of the NukeNews is 8th of November, 2015. Spread the word and learn more about the NukeNews: http://NukeNews.Nuclear-Heritage.NET