NukeNews No. 21 - ENGLISH

************************************************************ *    NukeNews #21 - Anti-Nuclear Information Service      * ************************************************************ -- 0. Preface -- While we are composing the messages received from activists throughout the Nuclear Heritage Network for this newsletter, in Northern Finland the "Reclaim the Cape" action week started in Pyhäjoki. The Rosatom dominated Fennovoima company here already destroyed large areas of forests and wetlands from which actually much had been under special nature protection by Finnish and international law. During the last weeks a number of successful small actions took place, responded with violent police actions, like for instance this morning, April 22, immediately attacking some activists with pepper spray on extremely short distance, who were starting a lock-on action - just to prevent with little efforts them from maintaining civil disobedience. A few days before a person locked-on to a digger with a "U" bike lock had been tortured by a police with a taser to force them to stop blockading. The situation in Northern Finland is also one of the topics of this edition of NukeNews #21. Besides, we received contributions from activists in Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, France, India, Japan, Russia, Slovenia and the UK. Article no. 16 in this newsletter invites everyone interested in contributing to the NukeNews to join this year's "NukeNews Mini Camp" in Middle Saxony/Germany. We hope we provide you here with an interesting reading. -- Outline of the current NukeNews issue #21 -- 0. Preface 1. Finland: Traffic at and to the Fennovoima-Rosatom's nuke plant construction site blocked - again 2. Uranium news from Western Australia 3. FRANCKUSHIMA: A graphic essay about Fukushima & nuclear risk in     France 4. Australia: Karlamilyi Walk in June 5. Australia: International Nuclear Waste & SA Royal Commission 6. Reflections on the Indian Nuclear Project 7. Irati Wanti ("The Poison - Leave It") 8. Days of Action in Russia: "Chernobyl 30 years" 9. Close the old and dangerous Pickering Nuclear Station (Canada) 10. UK: An Open Letter to the Mayor of Copeland in West Cumbria 11. UK: Disappearing Trick: Birds and Nuclear Waste 12. UK: Pro Nuclear Propaganda Ratcheted Up on the Fifth Year of the Ongoing Fukushima Disaster 13. Slovenia: Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Chernobyl NPP Accident 14. Report: NEC2016 Conference: "Nuclear Energy - Expensive Gamble" 15. Brzkov (CZ): Will they stop the proceedings for extension of the protected deposit area? 16. NukeNews Mini Camp in Middle Saxony/Germany 17. Thematic Anti-nuclear World Social Forum 18. Upcoming events 19. About NukeNews -- 1. Finland: Traffic at and to the Fennovoima-Rosatom's nuke plant construction site blocked - again -- January 22nd, 2016 anti-Fennovoima-Rosatom protester's blocked the traffic after nine o'clock this morning by first standing in front of the vehicles and after climbing on them. The beauty of the current situation is the vulnerability of the construction site itself. What's been done there now is a big-scale landfill operation - and there's only one road sturdy enough to carry those big-ass vehicles in and out of the site. So imagine what happens when someone by some means brings that road to a halt? Well. The whole shit stops from rolling. And that's what we did on 22th of January. Some concerned citizens climbed on to trucks doing the deliveries, putting it all to a total halt. And we think we’re gonna keep on doing this for a bit longer. Learn more: https://fennovoima.no.com/en/2016/01/traffic-at-and-to-the-fennovoima-rosatoms-nuke-plant-construction-site-blocked-again/ -- 2. Uranium news from Western Australia -- In February submissions to Wiluna uranium mine closed - there were well over 2,400 submissions lodged with the EPA! Now we're turning our attention to the Mulga Rock uranium mine proposal... this proposal is for nine open pits, 15 million litres of water a day, clearing 3,709 ha and leaving behind 30 million tonnes of radioactive tailings. The project is headed up by Vimy Resources - a company made up of former FMG execs, execs from the Minderoo Group, former Liberal MPs and 27% owned by Twiggy Forrest. This is the last of the applications for uranium mine proposals in WA... for now - but hopefully forever! This rush of uranium assessments is very much because of the state election coming up in March 2017. Here in WA there is no bipartisan support for uranium mining - under a new Government we could send the end to uranium mining in WA - so these companies are trying to secure some approval in the hope they will be allowed to mine under a different Government - this is a good sign that they are worried and that we are winning. Learn more: http://ccwa.org.au/mulgarock -- 3. FRANCKUSHIMA: A graphic essay about Fukushima & nuclear risk in     France -- March 2016 marked the 5th anniversary of the Fukushima disaster, a reminder that the nuclear risk is far from being resolved. Indeed, despite the disaster’s deplorable social and environmental consequences, it all seems settled, commonplace and already forgotten. March 2016 also marked the release of the first edition of Franckushima, a graphic essay of unique journalistic and visual approach which sheds new light on the Fukushima disaster and nuclear risk in France. To support the book (in French), preview the work or find out more, please visit the website : http://franckushima.com -- 4. Australia: Karlamilyi Walk in June -- Martu elders have opened an invitation for people to join them on an 8 day walk through the Karlamilyi National park in opposition to the proposed Kintyre uranium mine. "Come with us (Martu) we’ll walk to stop the uranium mining on our country. We’ll walk through Karlamilyi, not far, across Karlamilyi river. Walk through Lullapakujarra up to Punumullara then to Puljcatja - big water, up to Desert Queen Baths and then Kintyre.” Registrations are now open for the Karlamilyi Walk in the Pilbara June 2016 - stay posted and get in quick there will be limited spots available. https://walkingforcountry.com/karlamalyi-walk/ -- 5. Australia: International Nuclear Waste & SA Royal Commission -- Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has given qualified support for the establishment of a multi-billion-dollar nuclear waste storage repository in South Australia. The South Australian Government has not formed a position, either for or against, a proposal for a nuclear waste dump that would store more than 10 per cent of the world's waste, Premier Jay Weatherill said. A nuclear dump in South Australia could take 13 per cent of the world's waste, meeting a "global need", and be operational by the end of next decade, an inquiry has found. Unprecedented political support is being thrown behind South Australia becoming the global storage facility for high-level nuclear waste in return for a $445 billion bonanza. The state’s peak environment body has welcomed the release of a new report that questions grandiose claims of an economic bonanza arising from the creation of a global nuclear industry in South Australia. The report was prepared by leading economic think-tank The Australia Institute. The Conservation Council of South Australia commissioned The Australia Institute to analyse the submission of Senator Sean Edwards to the SA Nuclear Royal Commission. More information: http://www.foe.org.au/royal-commission -- 6. Reflections on the Indian Nuclear Project -- The village of Jaduguda is situated in the newly created state of Jharkhand in north-east India. Low-grade uranium ore was discovered there in the early 1950s and mining started in 1967. In the intervening decades, approximately 1,000 tons of uranium ore has been brought to the surface daily and processed at a mill situated adjacent to the mine. Milled uranium concentrate is then transported some 1,400 kilometres to Hyderabad where it is further processed into uranium oxide pellets that charge the fuel rods powering ten of India's nuclear reactors. Approximately 25% of the uranium used by the nuclear industry in India comes from the Jaduguda mines. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Reflections_on_the_Indian_Nuclear_Project -- 7. Irati Wanti ("The Poison - Leave It") -- A group of politicians and business-people are developing a plan to build an international high-level nuclear waste dump in South Australia. The plan is strongly opposed by many South Australians and by an overwhelming majority of Aboriginal people. The Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, representing Aboriginal people from across Australia, calls on nuclear nations NOT to dump nuclear waste in Australia. The nuclear industry has a track record of Aboriginal dispossession and environmental pollution − from the atomic bomb tests to uranium mining to nuclear waste dump proposals. We call on nuclear nations NOT to dump nuclear waste in Australia. Endorsed by Australian Nuclear Free Alliance at its 2015 Annual Gathering on Nukunu Country, South Australia. Please add your group's endorsement to the international declaration: http://www.anfa.org.au/sign-the-declaration/ -- 8. Days of Action in Russia: "Chernobyl 30 years" -- Young Russian Socio-Ecological Union / Young Friends of the Earth Russia, Youth Human Rights Movement and Ecodefense! are organizing Days of Action "Chernobyl 30 years" in Russian-speaking space. On the website you find positions of the organisers, list of supporters, different anti-nuclear materials and a map of actions. More information: https://chernobyl30.wordpress.com/english/ https://www.facebook.com/chernobyl.30years/ -- 9. Close the old and dangerous Pickering Nuclear Station (Canada) -- Closing the Pickering Nuclear Station when its license expires in 2018 and getting to work on dismantling the plant immediately will be safer, create more jobs between now and 2030, and save hundreds of millions of dollars. Please sign the petition to close Pickering when its license expires in 2018 rather than extend its life until 2024 which is the government's plan. Petition: http://www.cleanairalliance.org/close-pickering/ Read our new report: http://www.cleanairalliance.org/decommissioning-pickering/ -- 10. UK: An Open Letter to the Mayor of Copeland in West Cumbria -- People are understandably upset about the possible compulsory purchase of their homes in order to clear a space for the building of temporary accommodation for thousands of nuclear workers. "Population Mixing" has been used as an excuse for Radiation Linked Disease such as Childhood Leukaemia. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2016/04/09/nugen-and-population-mixing/ -- 11. UK: Disappearing Trick: Birds and Nuclear Waste -- Cumbria County Council will decide on 11th May 2016 whether to allow a further tsunami of nuclear waste to be dumped in shipping containers at Drigg on land that is a short distance from the shifting sands. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2016/03/26/disappearing-trick-birds-and-nuclear-waste-2/ -- 12. UK: Pro Nuclear Propaganda Ratcheted Up on the Fifth Year of the Ongoing Fukushima Disaster -- While ordinary people around the world were holding demonstrations in March to mark the fifth year of the ongoing Fukushima disaster, the pro nuke propaganda is being ratcheted up. https://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2016/03/14/fukushima-and-the-ratcheting-up-of-propaganda/ -- 13. Slovenia: Commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of the Chernobyl NPP Accident -- As part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl NPP accident, several events were organized in Slovenia, an online exhibition about Chernobyl was published, and the film Ukranian Zombie Reactors, which was created as part of the project Catching the train of development, was presented. More info about actions, campaigns ans nuclear issues in Slovenia: http://focus.si/tag/jedrska-energija/ More info about Nuclear power plant safety upgrades in Ukraine: http://bankwatch.org/our-work/projects/nuclear-power-plant-safety-upgrades-ukraine -- 14. Report: NEC2016 Conference: "Nuclear Energy - Expensive Gamble" -- There were three opening and eight main speeches presented at the Nuclear Energy Conference 2016 held in Prague on April 5. The conference website includes the presentations, profiles of the speakers, photos and audio recordings of all three sections in three languages. Speakers expressed their surprise at how there is still a need to talk about the unresolved safety problems 30 years after Chernobyl and five years after Fukushima. It was highlighted that energy economics has changed: today we need flexible electricity systems and small units such as renewable energy sources. These are getting cheaper, with almost zero operating costs and negligible costs of disposal in comparison to nuclear power plants. A pressing need to reduce risks associated with radioactive releases to the environment was mentioned and how the associated risks increase with a plant lifetime extension. In connection with this there were serious concerns raised about an indefinite license to operate the first block of the Dukovany nuclear power plant which was issued in March 2016. Read the complete article: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Report:_NEC2016_Conference:_%22Nuclear_Energy_-_Expensive_Gamble%22 -- 15. Brzkov (CZ): Will they stop the proceedings for extension of the protected deposit area? -- It has been almost a year since the lawyer Luboš Kliment began to represent the four municipalities (Brzkov, Věžnice, Přibyslav and Polná), including owners of endangered estates and the association Our Future Without Uranium (NBBU) from Brzkov. Since then a few discussions with locals were held and many press releases to the media were issued. Learn more: http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Brzkov_%E2%80%93_Will_they_stop_the_proceedings_for_extension_of_the_protected_deposit_area%3F -- 16. NukeNews Mini Camp in Middle Saxony/Germany -- From 8th – 12th September, 2016 you are invited to a five days working meeting in Döbeln, Middle Saxony. This mini camp will be a chance to meet NukeNews activists and interested people from several regions across Europe to discuss questions that appeared towards the work with the newsletter system and to improve the quality and the impact of the NukeNews. The project meeting will focus on developing the NukeNews newsletter system further, to get to know each other and each other's topics. Another aspect is also to have a nice time together to strengthen our friendships and collaborations to flourish the success of our future work. If you want to join us, send an e-mail to "newsletter AT nuclear-heritage DOT net". -- 17. Thematic Anti-nuclear World Social Forum -- March 23-28 the first thematic anti-nuclear World Social Forum (WSF) took place in Tokyo. The idea arose at the 2015 WSF in Tunis. Participants from more than ten countries on three continents called for creating a worlwide network for exchange, mutual support and co-ordinated actions against civil and military usage of nuclear power. They agreed to arrange a second topical anti-nuclear World Social Forum in Canada during the Montreal WSF in Quebec from 8th to 14th of August. A third topical WSF is supposed to take place in April 2017 in Europe during the anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Support the call for a global network towards a world without nuclear: https://fsm2016.org/en/appel-de-tokyo-pour-un-reseau-mondial-vers-un-monde-sans-nucleaire/ -- 18. Upcoming events -- Feel free to send us your local and international events for the large upcoming events collection on Nuclear Heritage Network website, and for this extract in the NukeNews! http://upcoming.nuclear-heritage.net 21/05/16-22/05/16: conference "Nuclear power in the Gulf of Bothnia?                   Fennovoima's plans, nuclear waste and renewable                    energy" at Medlefors in Skellefteå/Västerbotten (S) 21/05/16:         Jülich Castor autobahn action day - actions between Ahaus and Jülich (D) 22/05/16 2 PM:    Stop Tihange rally at Plein 1992 in Maastricht (NL) June 2016:        A month of protest against Trident at AWE Burghfield nuclear weapons factory near Reading in                   Berkshire (UK) 05/06/16-12/06/16: Karlalmyi Walk from Parnngurr to Karlamilyi River (AUS) 05/06/16:         "200 000 pas à Bure" - action against final repository in Bure (F) 19/06/16:         manifestation to close Beznau NPP: "Menschenstrom                    gegen Atom 2016" (CH) August 2016:      Walkatjurra Walkabout (AUS) 08/08/16-14/08/16: Second Anti-nuclear Thematic World Social Forum in                   Montreal, Quebec (CDN) 24/09/16-25/09/16: 6th Temelín Conference 2016 at Temelín NPP (CZ) August 2016:      Walkatjurra Walkabout (AUS) http://karnkraftsfritt.nordansmak.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Engelska-INBJUDAN-MED-PROGRAM-Konferensen-Ka%CC%88rnkraft-vid-Bottenviken-27-april-2016.pdf http://westcastor.blogsport.de/2016/04/29/juelich-autobahn-aktionstag-am-21-mai-2016/ http://www.anti-akw-ac.de/events/22/stop-tihange-demo-maastricht/ http://tridentploughshares.org/category/june-2016-month-of-protest-against-trident-at-awe-burghfield-nuclear-weapons-factory/ http://burezoneblog.over-blog.com/2016/01/200-000-pas-a-bure-le-5-juin-2016.html http://www.menschenstrom.ch http://www.nuclear-heritage.net/index.php/Second_Anti-nuclear_Thematic_World_Social_Forum http://gruene-fichtelgebirge.de/akw-temelin/6-temelin-konferenz-2016/ -- 19. 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 "newsletter AT 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 22nd issue of the NukeNews is 17th of July, 2016. Spread the word and learn more about the NukeNews: http://NukeNews.Nuclear-Heritage.NET