NukeNews No. 14 - ENGLISH

************************************************************ *    NukeNews #14 - Anti-Nuclear Information Service      * ************************************************************ -- 0. Preface -- Welcome to the 14th edition of the NukeNews - the multilingual newsletter system of the Nuclear Heritage Network! With this release our anti-nuclear news service also experiences its third anniversary. Three months after the start of the series of reactor explosions in Fukushima, on 6th of June 2011, we started this international project. In this edition we inform about a solidarity campaign for our Russian friends who are faced to persecution as "foreign agents". Two recent cases are reported in this newsletter. Please help to spread the word and support activists in Russia in their struggles! We also want to invite you to join the big international anti-nuclear summer action camp in northern Germany in August - find out more further on in this e-mail. With this release we report on nuclear power plant and nuclear waste struggles mainly in Eastern Europe and in the United Kingdom. -- Outline of the current NukeNews issue #14 -- 0. Preface 1. Slovakia: Further delay at Mochovce NPP 2. New uranium mine in central Europe? 3. CZ: Will there be a nuclear fuel plant in Bystřice nad Pernštejnem? 4. Revenge for successful campaign against Baltic NPP - Ecodefense has been declared a "Foreign Agent" 5. Please Look After This Bears Home! - Demo in London 6. Free the Sellafield Deer Demonstrations 7. UK: Lillyhall Landfill Given the Go Ahead to Dump 8. UK: Vigil at Heysham Nuclear Power Station 9. UK: Colourful Demonstration Outside the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management meeting in Workington 10. UK: Demonstration - Beacon of Nuclear Truth? 11. Europe at Risk – Petition to Shut Dungeness B Now 12. Slovenia: Owner of Krsko NPP with plans for 2nd reactor, though no political + public decision has been made yet 13. 2015 Cancer Congress - An aspect of stopping nuclear power 14. Germany: Invitation for joint autumn campaign on nuclear waste misery 15. Russian human rights activists under pressure 16. Solidarity with the persecuted groups in Russia 17. Nuclear Heritage Network related anti-nuclear summer camps 18. Upcoming events 19. About NukeNews -- 1. Slovakia: Further delay at Mochovce NPP -- The Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico informed at the so called European Nuclear Forum, that finishing works for block 3+4 will again have some delay. It will not be possible to stick to the planned date for finishing block 3, which was originally planned for December this year. Block 3 is now expected to start the production of electricity in the second half of 2016 or even 2017. At the time of the beginning of the construction process in 2008, the plans for start up had been 2012 for block 3 and 2013 for block 4. Also financial problems hamper the project, since the planned costs of 2,8 billion € had to be lifted to 3,8 billion already. See more: http://spravy.pravda.sk/ekonomika/clanok/321036-fico-dostavba-mochoviec-sa-neunosne-predlzuje/ -- 2. New uranium mine in central Europe? -- Although the Czech taxpayers, with support of the European ones, in case there are subsidies from Brussels, still have to pay tens of billions of Czech crowns for remediation of uranium mining and processing sites in the Czech Republic over the past few decades, there are serious proposals for a new uranium mining project. Prime Minister Sobotka and Minister of Industry Mládek launched reflections on opening uranium deposits in Brzkov and Horní Věžnice close to Polná in the Jihlava region, which are expected to total 3,100 tons of uranium. In order to keep Czech uranium mining industry operating. Read the complete story: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/New_uranium_mine_in_central_Europe%3F -- 3. CZ: Will there be a nuclear fuel plant in Bystřice nad Pernštejnem? -- The Institute of Nuclear Fuel in Prague (ÚJP Praha a.s.) plans to build a nuclear fuel plant for production of nuclear fuel for VVER reactors and alloying depleted uranium in Bystřice nad Pernštejnem. The design capacity is 450 tons of processed uranium oxide per year (800 fuel assemblies). So far ÚJP Praha a.s. management has not clarified for which client a nuclear fuel plant should serve. According to the investor ÚJP Invest, s.r.o., the EIA process for the plan has been substantially completed since December 2013. Learn more: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Will_there_be_a_nuclear_fuel_plant_in_Byst%C5%99ice_nad_Pern%C5%A1tejnem%3F -- 4. Revenge for successful campaign against Baltic NPP - Ecodefense has been declared a "Foreign Agent" -- On June 16, 2014 the Russian environmental NGO Ecodefense received an inspection report of the Ministry of Justice declaring the organization a "Foreign Agent". The decision was based on Ecodefense's successful campaigning against Baltic NPP near Kaliningrad. 2013 the construction work on site had been frozen and continuation is unclear after intensive campaigns against the new nuclear power plant. To be declared a "Foreign Agent" means de facto the closure of an organization. Ecodefense interpreted the declaration a revenge for the successful activities against Baltic NPP. A previous inspection by the Russian authorities in spring 2013 didn't find any indices for considering Ecodefense a "Foreign Agent". It seems that the 2014 inspection first came to the same result but under pressure from Moscow was changed to the final statement Ecodefense indeed would act as a "Foreign Agent". By definition, "Foreign Agents" are registered Russian nongovernmental organizations (NGO) undertaking political activities with foreign support. This weak definition of the law practically could allow to declare many critical NGOs "Foreign Agents". The law had been criticized by Russian human rights organizations already since 2012, when it was introduced. Ecodefense was one of the 11 NGOs filing a complaint against the law to the European Court of Human Rights in early 2013. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Revenge_for_successful_campaign_against_Baltic_NPP_-_Ecodefense_has_been_declared_a_%22Foreign_Agent%22 -- 5. Please Look After This Bears Home! - Demo in London -- Uranium From Peru to fuel new UK nuclear power plants? With filming for the forthcoming Paddington Bear film in full swing, the famous Paddington Bear statue in London has been the focus of campaigners on January 9th, 2014. Campaigners are highlighting the threat to Peru, the home of the Andean Bear on which Paddington is based, from uranium mining. http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/01/09/please-look-after-this-bears-home/ -- 6. Free the Sellafield Deer Demonstrations -- February 17th locals, Animal Rights Activists and Anti Nuclear Activists joined together to oppose the culling of roe deer trapped by Sellafield’s new militaristic fences. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/free-the-sellafield-deer-demo/ -- 7. UK: Lillyhall Landfill Given the Go Ahead to Dump -- Despite Demonstrations and hundreds of letters of opposition Lillyhall Landfill was given the go ahead on February 26th to dump High Volumes of so called Very Low Level wastes. The media has kept this low key with little local reporting and no national reporting. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/02/26/radioactive-waste-dump-is-born-without-fanfare-or-fuss-the-banality-of-evil/ https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/criminal-activity-of-landfill-operators-at-lillyhall/ -- 8. UK: Vigil at Heysham Nuclear Power Station -- Radiation Free Lakeland joined with other groups in a Vigil on 8th March for Fukushima to remember the victims of the ongoing disaster and call for a halt to nuclear at Heysham and elsewhere. Organiser Mo Kelly from Lancaster graphically illustrated how high a 5 metre storm surge would be – higher that the military style fences around the plant! https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/heysham-fukushima-vigil/ -- 9. UK: Colourful Demonstration Outside the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management meeting in Workington -- International Authority on Nuclear Safety says "Its always the technology that lets us down". Quite – thats what we think about the plan to use previously unused and scientifically impossible to predict "engineered barriers" 1000 metres underground with geology as the last line of defence when the barriers inevitably deteriorate. The government is keen to show that "steady progress is being made in the implementation of geological disposal working within the underpinning principles of voluntarism and partnership with local communities". WE SAID NO – AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/05/01/its-always-the-technology-that-lets-us-down-says-international-authority-on-nuclear-safety/ -- 10. UK: Demonstration - Beacon of Nuclear Truth? -- On May 30th, 2014 members of Radiation Free Lakeland and Save the Sellafield Deer went along to set up their own exhibition outside the new propaganda vehicle for Sellafield. Around 250 people stopped to chat about the real Sellafield Story, to take leaflets and to look at our exhibition illustrating the vicious nuclear cycle from uranium mining to geological dumping. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/the-beacon-protest-yesterday/ http://www.theecologist.org/reviews/2434605/beacon_of_nuclear_truth.html -- 11. Europe at Risk – Petition to Shut Dungeness B Now -- The people of Europe assume that safety limits are there to keep people safe. Not so in the case of Dungeness B nuclear plant (UK) which is now run by Électricité de France. Graphite bricks in the Dungeness B reactor are cracking and starting to lose weight due to bombardment of radiation. The graphite is about to breach safety levels and the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) would have had to prosecute or even shut down the plant. But instead, the regulators are considering a request from EDF energy, to simply airbrush away the safety limits. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/europe-at-risk-shut-dungeness-b-now/ -- 12. Slovenia: Owner of Krsko NPP with plans for 2nd reactor, though no political + public decision has been made yet -- Regardles of the fact, that there has been no political and public decision, whether we as a country want to have another nuclear reactor, and the fact, that we don't have a coherent and comprehensive energy strategy that would include or exclude a new power reactor (new energy concept/strategy will be produced in the optimal scenario in no less than 2 years), the owner of the Krsko NPP is planning their project for the second nuclear reactor in Krsko. They have already spent more than 10 million EUR on various researches and studies for the second reactor, although they don't know if they will implement the project or not. Currently there are too many obstacles (political - preliminary elections in July 2014, financial - rising costs of the nuclear projects worldwide, ...) for the implementation, but they hold their project on stand-by, ready to start with it when the time will be right. For that reason their priority now is to prolong the life time of Krsko NPP for 20 years (from 2023 to 2043). -- 13. 2015 Cancer Congress - An aspect of stopping nuclear power -- "Life through knowledge" is the slogan of the Bavarian organization "Krebsgesellschaft" (cancer society). Science deals with quanta-healing and the role of different cells in the brain: is the healing of cancer left behind or is it suppressed by big profit interests? - The later option came back to my mind when I spoke to an Italian friend who heard a story about a molecule with healing effects and this was later completely decomposed in a way with no alternative but keeping the experimental procedures going - a live and let die mentality. In addition to this point comes the contract between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) which ties the one side leaving us uninformed if it doesn't fit into a world of fossil energy. Read more: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/2015_Cancer_Congress_-_An_aspect_of_stopping_nuclear_power -- 14. Germany: Invitation for joint autumn campaign on nuclear waste misery -- Despite the general criticism of the Nuclear Waste Commission, many people talk with and about the Commission and not about the nuclear waste as such. We want to change that! The joint preparation of the Nuclear Waste Inventory in the past year has created a technically substantiated and widely acclaimed framework for the nuclear waste discussion. We propose as the next step to actively trigger ourselves the public discussion with a joint campaign in autumn 2014 and invite to a 1st nationwide campaign meeting on Saturday, July 19, 11 AM in Göttingen at DGB, Weendener Landstr. 6. read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Germany:_Invitation_for_joint_autumn_campaign_on_nuclear_waste_misery -- 15. Russian human rights activists under pressure -- Friends of us, human rights activists from Murmansk, Russia, who are also involved to the Nuclear Heritage Network, joined actions, projects and contributed practically to our international anti-nuclear work, are currently faced to pressure by authorities. Their organization "Humanistic Youth Movement" (GDM) is accused to act as "foreign agent" as they receive funding from abroad and their activities are considered "political" by the prosecutor. This status would cause the closure of the organization as it is practically impossible to continue work with that label. The case was forced by the Russian secret service FSB, although in an earlier inspection by the Ministry of Justice the final reports stated there was no indication to consider GDM a "foreign agent". On July 8, 2014 they will have the public hearing in the Murmansk District Court. In Germany, a solidarity campaign has been started to spread the word about the case, and also to support other concerned NGOs in Russia like Ecodefense which was declared a "foreign agent" in the middle of June. We also want to collect money to support the legal costs like lawyers, court costs and fines that these NGOs are posed to. Please support our Russian friends with solidarity statements, articles or financial contributions. bank account: Spenden & Aktionen purpose: "Soli Russland" IBAN: DE29 5139 0000 0092 8818 06 BIC: VBMHDE5FXXX bank: Volksbank Mittelhessen Learn more: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Russian_human_rights_activists_under_pressure Call-out for solidarity (German): http://russlandantirep.blogsport.de/aufruf/ -- 16. Solidarity with the persecuted groups in Russia -- Two solidarity campaigns have been started to support NGOs affected by the latest persecution under the "foreign agent" law in Russia. In Germany a campaign informs about the repression and political background, collects donations for the affected groups, spreads the word about concrete cases and activates groups to express their solidarity. Currently they focus on the persecution of "Humanistic Youth Movement" (GDM) and the already as "foreign agent" declared "Ecodefense. Additionally an international solidarity campaign has been initiated by anti-nuclear activists demanding Ecodefense's acquittal of the "foreign agent" stigmatization in a multi-lingual appeal.          Since some time progressive Russian groups and activists are under oppression by the state's authorities. With the "foreign agent" and "extremism" laws instruments have been created to suppress and eliminate organizations and movements being critical to the state, but also any others bothering the political powers. In this context legal organizations de facto get prohibited if they are classified "foreign agents", because under these circumstances the continuation of work is almost impossible. With vague accusations of extremism even individuals who made critical statements were threatened with perennial imprisonment and virtually vanished into thin air. Environmental and human rights groups as well as other progressive organizations shall be stigmatized spies and discredited publicly. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Solidarity_with_the_persecuted_groups_in_Russia Solidarity campaigns: http://russlandantirep.blogsport.de http://www.dianuke.org/international-appeal-in-solidarity-with-russian-anti-nuke-group-ecodefense-declared-foreign-agent/ -- 17. Nuclear Heritage Network related anti-nuclear summer camps -- You are invited to join this year's Nuclear Heritage Network related anti-nuclear camps in August. First, the annual Nuclear Heritage Network Gathering will take place from August 4-8 near Kiel in northern Germany. It's aim is to develop and strengthen the international network of anti-nuclear activists and the tools to support activists against atomic power. In the same place afterwards the big anti-nuclear summer camp will take place from August 9-16 inviting people of any age, families, activists and organizer to offer and participate in workshops, lectures and actions. Main action days will be August 10 and 14. Eventually, we will have a specific NukeNews Mini Camp near Kaplice in Czech Republic from August 25-30 where we will discuss the NukeNews newsletter system, challenges we had with some language versions and perspectives to extend the languages and topics we cover. More information: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Nuclear_Heritage_Network_gathering_2014 http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/International_Anti-nuclear_Camp_near_Kiel http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Anti-nuclear_mini_camp_in_the_Czech_Republic -- 18. Upcoming events -- (just an extract, tell us your events for the next newsletter) more events: http://upcoming.nuclear-heritage.net Please feel free to send us your local and international events for this website and the NukeNews! 03/08/14 1.30 PM: Hiroshima and Nagasaki remembrance rally at uranium enrichment facility in Gronau (D) 04/08/14-08/08/14: Nuclear Heritage Network gathering near Kiel (D) 09/08/14:         Actions against nuclear weapons at AWE Aldermaston & AWE Burghfield (UK) 09/08/14-16/08/14: International Anti-nuclear Camp near Kiel (D) 16/08/14-24/08/14: Lausitzcamp on energy topics & against open pit coal mining in the Lausitz region (D) 20/08/14-24/08/14: Anti-nuclear mini camp near Kaplice (CZ) 22/08/14-24/08/14: solar festival in Peckwitz (D) 30/08/14:         anti nuke bloc NATO SUMMIT in Newport (UK) 30/08/14 at 11 AM: nuclear waste conference at Volkshochschule, Wilhelmshöher Allee 19-21, in Kassel (D) 04/09/14-17/09/14: Energiewende Festival in Rubigen near Bern (CH) 08/09/14:         nuclear waste commission meeting at Bundestag in                    Berlin (D 13/09/14-17/09/14: "AFRIRPA 04" - The Fourth Regional African Congress                    of International Radiation Protection Association                    in Rabat (MA) 14/09/14-18/09/14: 2014 conference of American Nuclear Society's                    Radiation Protection & Shielding Division in                    Knoxville, TN (USA) 15/09/14-17/09/14: OECD/NEA: Constructing Memory - An International                    Conference and Debate on the Preservation of                    Records, Knowledge and Memory of Radioactive Waste                    across Generations in Verdun (F)  21/09/14-25/09/14: Uranium Mining and Hydrogeology 2014 International                    Conference in Freiberg (D) 22/09/14-28/09/14: next working meeting of the Atomic Baltic project                    in Döbeln (D) 28/09/14-01/10/14: International Radon Symposium in Charleston, South Carolina (USA) 29/09/14-03/10/14: International Uranium Film Festival in Berlin (D) 23/10/14-26/10/14: "Remembering for a common future" international partnership conference in Krzyzowa (PL) 27/10/14-31/10/14: Radiobioassay & Radiochemical Measurements Conference in Knoxville, TN (USA) 29/11/14-30/11/14: uranium symposium in Niamey (RN) 01/12/14-05/12/14: International Conference on Occupational Radiation Protection: Enhancing the Protection of Workers - Gaps, Challenges and Developments in Vienna (A) 01/02/15-04/02/15: Health Physics Society 48th Midyear Topical Meeting in Norfolk/Virginia Beach, VA (USA) 2015:             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 01/09/15-30/11/15: (estimated) main hearing on the Environmental Court on SKB's application to build KBS3 final nuclear waste repository at District Court in Nacka (S) http://castor.de/php/termine/termine.php http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Nuclear_Heritage_Network_gathering_2014 http://www.cnduk.org/get-involved/events/item/1815-wool-against-weapons http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/International_Anti-nuclear_Camp_near_Kiel http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Anti-nuclear_mini_camp_in_the_Czech_Republic https://www.facebook.com/events/535370296568820/ http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=189 http://www.energiewendefestival.ch http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=189 http://afrirpa04.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/AFRIRPA04-First-Announcement1.pdf http://www.rpsd2014.org http://www.nonuclear.se/en/kalender/oecd-nea20140915-17verdun http://tu-freiberg.de/umh-vii-2014 http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Atomic_Threats_In_The_Baltic_Sea_Region/Working_meetings/Fifth_meeting http://internationalradonsymposium.org http://www.uraniumfilmfestival.org http://www.rrmc.co http://ag-schacht-konrad.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=769&Itemid=189 http://www-pub.iaea.org/iaeameetings/46139/orpconf2014 http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Gorleben_Castor_Resistance_in_Germany_2014 http://www.nonuclear.se/en/kalender/kbshuvudforhandling-md -- 19. About NukeNews -- NukeNews is a multilingual newsletter of the Nuclear Heritage Network to reflect the activities, topics and struggles of anti-nuclear activists. The articles are written and translated by activists, additionally to their usual anti-nuclear activities. No- one is paid for that work, as we want to provide resources like this information system to the anti-nuclear struggle as independent as possible. Your contributions to the next issue of the NukeNews are welcome. Send them via email to "news AT NukeNews.nuclear-heritage.net". It should be brief information in English of not more than one paragraph, including a concise headline and an optional link to a webpage providing more information. Deadline for the 15th issue of the NukeNews will be 14th of September, 2014. Spread the word and learn more about the NukeNews: http://NukeNews.Nuclear-Heritage.NET