Nuclear Heritage Network

From Nuclear Heritage
Jump to navigationJump to search
Ranger Mine (AU): open pit uranium mine
http://strahlendesklima.de
Ranua: Anti-uranium rally and event
Russian anti-nuclear campaigner Andrey Ozharovskiy arrested in Belarus while the hearings of the Environment Impact Assessment of the planned new NPP took place
Activists examining in the area of Areva's drilling activities
Shut down Fessenheim rally: Kerstin Rudek (BI Lüchow-Dannenberg) and Jean-Yvon Landrac (Sortir du nucléaire)
Nuclear Climate Camp: City Hall of Simo - "Sold to the Uranium Capitalism"
Police violance: Pepper spray against protesters from the Gorleben Treck in Morsleben (Photo: Andreas Conradt / PubliXviewinG)
About 50,000 people demonstrated in Berlin against nuclear power (Photo: Andreas Conradt / PubliXviewinG)
Police attacks a farmer in Morsleben with firearm
Ranua Rescue Action Day: post box for creative protest
Near the Finnish Community of Ranua a camp has been set up to monitor Areva's mining activities
Slovene NPP Krško - visited during the International Network Meeting in Ljubljana
Activists blocked the gates of the German NPP Krümmel
Blockade in Krümmel: Concrete, tripods, tractors...
Canada: Tar Sands, new NPP plans & more concerned people at the Land Stewards Gathering in Edmonton
Germany: Some hundreds of activist occupied the illegal Final Disposal Site Gorleben
At least 20 tractors supported the occupation and entered the high-security area
The Gorleben salt mine was occupied for some two hours. Police couldn't prevent this public announced action
Postcard to promote the 2010 Baltic Sea Info Tour
Castor: Mass blockade of thousands of people with tents, tarpaulins and tractors
Demonstration in Oulu against new NPPs and Uranium mining in Finland
Oulu Demonstration: Lectures after the demonstration...
Oulu Demonstration: Protest against EONs' new NPP plans in Finland
Oulu Demonstration: Protest Against Areva's Uranium mining plans in Finland
Bure Meeting: Shaft of the mine
Bure Meeting: Traffic sign with critical slogan
Bure Meeting: Workshop in the resistance house
Final Disposal Symposium: Balloons with anti-nuclear symbols and ironical posters
Final Disposal Symposium: A scaffold symbolizing the missing security attributes of final disposal sites
The schedule of the network meeting becomes larger and larger...
Stock Exchange action against nuclear investments in Frankfurt/Main (Germany)
Stock Exchange action: Banner against Nuclear €nvestments
Stock Exchange action: The bomb next to the Stock Exchange sign
Stock Exchange action: Later it was placed in front of the entrance of the stock exchange
Stock Exchange action: The doors of the Stock Exchange were closed for a while due to the protest - nobody could enter during this time
Stock Exchange action: Nuclear time bomb beside the Stock Exchange monitor
Stock Exchange action: The police were already at the place with many cars and officers before the action started
Stock Exchange action: At the end the 'Bomb' was handed over to a representative of the Stock Exchange
Shortcut to this page: http://nuclear-heritage.net
Welcome on the website of the campaign "Nuclear Heritage"!

We want to connect anti-nuclear activists worldwide, provide information regarding nuclear issues and anti-nuclear activities in many countries and develop projects and campaigns. This website offers you background information, images, press releases, material and much more. Take some time to explore the Nuclear Heritage Network!

This website is based on the MediaWiki software (similar to Wikipedia) - this means you can edit pages, add your anti-nuclear contents or publish flyers. Help to extend the contents of our webpage, make translations or corrections and add new topics.

The Nuclear Heritage Network is more than this website. Twice a year we organize international network meetings, there are several mailing lists for communication and several international cooperation projects. We are also developing informational material on local topics in different languages for international use.



Upcoming events



Some new articles



News - Neuigkeiten

More Wind Power in Germany

Munich (dpa) - The consolidation of German wind power has reach a new record according to information of the "Süddeutsche Zeitung". After two years of stagnation clearly more wind power stations started operation in 2009, the newspaper reported on Wednesday (January 27th, 2010). According to a study of the "Deutsches Windenergie-Institut (DEWI)" the major important ecological power generation branch has been grown clearly faster than expected. Therefore in the last year nearly 950 wind power stations had been connected to the grid with a total capacity of 1917 megawatt - an increase of 15 percents compared with the previous year. This is corresponding to the capacity of two nuclear power plants. Worldwide only the USA is in charge of a bigger amount of power stations. Germany reachs according to the report a total capacity of 25,800 megawatt. The latest advantage was surprising. At the beginning of the year the branch had expected a deficit because of the worst economic crisis since decades.

Source: Greenpeace Magazin (German)

Almost 50% of Albertans 'conflicted' about nuclear power, report says

More than a quarter of Albertans oppose allowing nuclear power plants to be built in the province, while almost half remain "conflicted" about the energy source, according to a new government report released Monday (Dec 14, 2009).

And people north of Edmonton - were several nuclear plants have been proposed - were more likely to oppose building the plants, by around 32 per cent, compared to the Calgary region, at 24 per cent, was the least opposed.

"Only those Albertans who hold consistently positive views of science and the nuclear industry - and are less concerned by the potential for negative consequences - actually want to see the government encourage nuclear proposals," said the report by Alberta Energy.

learn more

German Energy Giant RWE Withdraws from Bulgarian Nuclear Power Plant

In a letter to the Bulgarian Energy holding, the German company RWE announced on October 28th its withdrawal from the controversial Belene nuclear power plant (NPP) in northern Bulgaria. RWE cites doubts about the project´s profitability as the major reason for the company´s retreat.

"For the past 18 months, we´ve been pointing out to RWE that Belene is a high-risk project in terms of safety, economics, environment and corruption," says Heffa Schücking from the German environment NGO Urgewald. "It sure took the company a long time to face up to the facts," she comments.

RWE´s decision comes in the wake of a broad grass-roots campaign of German environment organizations against RWE´s investment plans in Belene. Some 30,000 German citizens sent letters and petitions to RWE´s CEO asking him to withdraw from the project. Several of the company´s major investors also spoke out against the plan to invest into a NPP in an area of high seismicity in a country with low nuclear standards and high corruption.

"This is the beginning of the end of Belene," says Petko Kovachev from the Bulgarian Green Policy Institute. "After 12 international banks decided to decline financing for the project in 2006 and 2007, RWE was Belene´s last hope," explains Kovachev. RWE was slated to provide 49% of the project´s equity and its decision to withdraw sends out a clear signal to investors and banks regarding the project´s questionable economics.

read the whole article

Belarus: Hearings on Environmental Impact Assessment falsified

Today, on the 9th of October, public hearings took place on the question of construction of a nuclear power plant. All the entrances to the cinema where the hearings were hold got blocked by the riot police and streets were filled with cops in civil. Documents and leaflets containing critics of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) were illegally confiscated because of their 'doubtful' contents. Employees of state institutions were brought to the hearings by buses. Forcedly assembled audience was registered in advance, in violation of regulations. Many registered participants were not let inside.

Advocating was allowed only to the state employees in favor of nuclear power plant construction, others were denied to speak. The denial was motivated by the fact that they supposedly have been registered later. Thus, the procedure of hearings didn't meet the standards and the results can't be recognized as independent.

The Russian expert in nuclear physics Andrey Ozharovskiy was arrested in the morning on a charge of disorderly conduct. At the moment he is facing the court. Only 4 people were let into the courtroom, 2 of those the witnesses. Anonymous men in civil are blocking the entrance to the court-house and refuse to identify themselves.

Thus, the authorities showed their true face again - they not going to let the dissidents speak openly on the matters important to those in power.

more info:

contact:
Belarus Anti-Nuclear Resistance

Anti-nuclear demonstration & conference in Colmar

On October, 3rd about 7,000 people took part in a demonstration in the French border town of Colmar (sited in Alsace, near the German-Swiss border) against the nuclear plant of Fessenheim. Speakers from France, Switzerland and Germany criticised the ongoing operation of the oldest nuclear reactor of France in Fessenheim and the expected decision to extend the reactor license for another 10 years. A minute's silence and wailing sirens illustrated a nuclear accident. Different music bands, street actions, a huge banner action and many yellow T-Shirts were just a few aspects of a peaceful and powerful demonstration against nuclear energy.

The prefect of Upper Rhine and the mayor of Colmar denied the demonstration to take place inside the town center of Colmar and moved it to a place in front of the city's train station. Authorities deployed about 3,000 police officers, dozens of anti-riot police vehicles and trucks with water cannons all over Colmar.

On Saturday evening and on Sunday different conferences and concerts took place on locations in and around Colmar. Different activists from around the world refered about uranium mining, actions of civil disobedience, the plans about new nuclear power plants in Switzerland and many other topics.

Polish Community Gives Up NPP Plans

The Polish border town Gryfino has given up its plans to build a nuclear power plant. "In view of the vehement protests in Germany it makes no sense to think about it anymore", mayor Henryk Pilat told the "Märkische Oderzeitung".

Especially the big demonstration of anti-nuclear activists in Berlin last weekend impressed him, Pilat continued. The local politician made clear that the town is most interested in the modernization of the old coal fired station "Dolna Odra". Some 2,200 employers are currently working for the power station.

(translated excerpt of an article in Märkische Oderzeitung from September 10th, 2009)

Camp in Ranua Set Up to Monitor Areva's Mining Activities

On August 26, a basecamp has been established for the Ranua Rescue Areva Mining Monitors. During the Lapland Nuclear Climate Camp in July, we learned from locals that Areva has already begun their uranium prospecting in Ranua, Lapland. We have come here to monitor Areva's activities and help support the resistance to uranium mining here, and everywhere.

We have found a beautiful location for the camp, near a lake, within an old forest, on the edge of Areva's massive prospecting claim area. We need thoughtful, respectful people, skills, supplies, support, laughter, and dedication!

You can check the site http://www.nuclearfreefinland.org, and the blog on http://www.ranuarescue.blogspot.com. Soon we will be sending photos and directions to get here, we will also set up a schedule for when people are most needed, what is needed, and what events will be happening.

When you want to come to the camp, contact in advance (camp (at) nuclearfreefinland.org) and tell us your arrival time in Ranua. From there you can phone the camp work phone number +358 40 365 2041.[2]

We can't trust Areva or the authorities. All their information is really contradictional. First both Areva and the environmental authorities said clearly: Areva doesn't and can't start the deep drilling before they get the claim. Areva has announced several times that they stop working because there is nothing they could legally do before the ministry's permission-claim.

BUT: there are at least two holes, and an expert said after seeing a foto that those look like drilling holes. No one knows how deep those are, as Kaipainen from Areva says they haven't drilled anything. The chief of the environment protection from "Lapplands enviroment center" didn't know anything about the holes (with white, sweating face), but wanted to have the fotos and after all said that AREVA IS ALLOWED TO DO DEEP DRILLING BY THE PERMISSION OF THE LAND OWNER, and there is nothing they can do unless they could proof that it would harm the environment seriously, the mere possibility is not enough. The boss of Areva says they are not doing anything, because they can't. But at the same time, they said on their website that they can start drilling by the land owners permission.

So we see that there is a need for observers. Ready to film whatever happens there, and call more people if they try to start drilling. Hopefully they won't, if they know it wouldn't stay hidden. But if they would be that stupid, we would be ready to act and the show would really start.

The idea is that the camp will stay there as long as needed, meaning also over the winter. Some people may visit one night, some longer. There are already tents with "fireplace", and the idea is to build the camp so that it will be possible, even nice, to be there during winter time as well (personally waiting for the northern lights...)

One point is, that Ranua council will, after all, vote on their opinion about the mining soon. Starting the camp just when they vote can be the best timing ever! Even if their "no" wouldn't save the situation, just make it a little bit better.

Study shows: Nuclear energy on downward trend worldwide

Source: Federal Environment Ministry of Germany English | German
The share of nuclear energy in worldwide energy consumption is marginal and has been declining for several years. This is revealed in a study by independent experts of the energy and nuclear sector which was published by the Federal Environment Ministry today. As Federal Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said: "The renaissance of nuclear energy, much trumpeted by its supporters, is not taking place. The only thing frequently revived is the announcement. The study shows: the number of old nuclear power plants which are decommissioned worldwide is greater than the number of new ones taking up operation. Available resources, engineering performance and funds are not even enough to stop the downward trend, let alone increase the number of reactors. All the facts are in favour of phasing out this technology while at the same time expanding the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency, as this is a promising option for the future."

The authors of the study, headed by Mycle Schneider, Paris, collected crucial quantitative and qualitative facts on nuclear power plants which are in operation, being built or planned today and assess the economic viability of old and new nuclear power plants.

At the time of going to press, 1 August 2009, there were only 435 reactors in operation worldwide, which is nine less than in 2002. Nuclear energy accounts for only about 5.5 % of worldwide commercial primary energy consumption and only around 2 % of worldwide final energy consumption - and consumption has been steadily declining for years.

The authors also found out that the number of nuclear power plants will decrease worldwide over the next decades. Between 2015 and 2025 the capacity of nuclear power plants is expected to sink compared to today's output.

Even with the support of countries seeking to use nuclear energy in future, this downward trend will not be reversed. It is unlikely that these states will be able to set up the necessary technological, political and economic framework conditions for a civil nuclear energy programme in the near future. Most of this states also lack electricity grids which would be capable of holding or distributing the output of a larger reactor.

Furthermore, the authors are concerned that there will be a considerable shortness of qualified experts in almost all countries. Even in France, which probably has the largest pool of nuclear energy experts, the lack is worrying. Currently, there are only 300 graduates of nuclear technology study programmes compared to a demand of 1,200 to 1,500.

In addition to staffing problems, industrial capacities are not sufficient either. For example, Japan Steel Works is the only company in the world able to manufacture the cast steel parts for the pressure vessels of the European Pressurized Water Reactor (EPR).

Current and planned building projects of the nuclear industry are becoming increasingly expensive. The EPR, for example, the flagship of the world's largest manufacturer of reactors, AREVA NP, which is currently in construction in Olkiluoto in Finland, has so far exceeded planned costs by at least 55 %.

New attention to Church Rock uranium spill comes 30 years later

Thirty years ago today, an earthen tailings dam near the United Nuclear Corp. Church Rock Uranium mine collapsed, spilling ninety million gallons of liquid radioactive waste and eleven hundred tons of solid mill wastes into the Rio Puerco.

The spill contaminated water, land and air at least 50 miles downstream on Navajo Nation land in New Mexico and Arizona.

It is believed that more radiation was released in the spill than in the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, making the Church Rock spill the largest release of radioactive waste ever in the U.S. — and second only to the Chernobyl meltdown globally. The privately-owned site of the Church Rock spill is a Superfund site — and it is still leaking radioactive waste throughout Indian lands to this day.

The New Mexico Independent, By Tracy Dingmann 7/16/09 9:35 AM

Plans for new NPPs in Ontario/Canada seem to fail

In July 2009, the nuclear power provider Bruce Power informed that the company has decided to withdrawn their applications for new Nuclear Power Plants in Ontario. The demands for electricity in the province don't provide a reason for these investments. Instead of constructing new NPPs Bruce Power now wants to concentrate on the refurbishment of their old reactors.[3] Just some time ago the administration of Ontario had suspended the plans to construct new reactors in Darlington because of the high costs[4]

Bruce Power emphasized that this decision doesn't mean that they would also cancel their NPP plans in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In these provinces, that don't have nuclear power plants yet, the company waits for the government's general decisions concerning nuclear power.[5]

NPP Krümmel Blockaded Using Concrete And Tripods / Krümmel Offline After Third Accident Within 14 Days

In 2007, the German NPP Krümmel had been shut down for several accidents happening. The main accident was a fire and an explosion in the nuclear power station damaging one of two main transformers. After two years, on June 19, 2008, the NPP was restarted. Only a few days later, on June 23, an "incident" happened: an electronic device failed. On July 1, the second accident happened and caused a shutdown of the power station - a further transformer problem was the reason. For the next two days it was operated with reduced power to be back on 100% on July 4.

To protest against the restart of the NPP, some 200 activists blockaded the gate of the power station on July 3 walling up the entrance and using tripods to block it. They were supported of farmers of the Gorleben region with their tractors.

One day later, on July 4, the NPP was shutdown again due to new transformer problems. This series of accidents and "incidents" reveals the threats coming from the Krümmel NPP.

NO to Uranium Power - Antinuclear Climate Camp

Tervola, Lapland, Finland 20 – 26 of July 2009

Welcome to join our protest camp in finnish Lapland next summer! We won't allow this corner of the world, that the borders of the finnish government surrounds, to become a paradise of the nuclear industry!

Olkiluoto 3, The fifth reactor in the country is now under constuction in Western Finland. Over a thousand mistakes have already been documented in the construction work. The cost of the construction is now twice the original budget, and the project is already three years behind schedule.

However, the Finnish government seems so excited about this success, that they are happy to let nuclear industry take care of the economy of the country in the future as well. The recent dramatic decreases in energy consumption has not affected the plans for possibly even three more reactors.

The problem with final storage for nuclear waste is said to be solved here, for the first time in the world. A huge grave has already been dug for high level radioactive waste, despite that the project is seen as absurd in expert circles.

As Finland has a reputation of having an exceptionally positive attitude toward nuclear industry, it's not surprising that companies interested in uranium mining come here as well. There are almost 20 applications for uranium mining in effect at the moment, in various places in Eastern and Northern Finland.

This year we´ll have a protest camp in Tervola, Lapland, near the Simo municipality, where the company Fennovoima (owned by German energy giant Eon) has bought land for building a new nuclear plant, close to one of the last open salmon rivers on the European continent. Small communities with economical problems are easy to buy, when the local politicians are more interested in the money than in the well being of nature and the community in the long term. We´ll also pay a visit to areas of uranium prospecting.

The aim is to make the camp a space, where local movements against uranium prospecting and nuclear projects, NGOs that fight against the Finnish government's ridiculous energy policy, radical ecological groups, international antinuclear activists, and of course anyone else interested in the issues, can gather together, unite, and build a stronger movement. The program will provide information, skill sharing and action. As well, the aim is for the camp to be a space for sharing our visions about a safer and nicer future, and for learning to live respecting both the nature and the people around us!

More info:
http://www.nuclearfreefinland.org

email: youth(at)nuclearfreefinland.org[1]

Uranium protest above the railway: French activist for German court on 4th of June

The picture were pregnant. On 16th and 17th of Januray 2008 the French climbing activist Cécile Lecomte protested in Germany by Steinfurt near Munster abseiling above the rail way against the export of radioactiv uranium waste form the German enrichment plant Gronau to Russia. The action war wery successfull, the train had to stopp for about 7 hours. After the action, Urenco, the responsable Company wich manage the Gronau enrichment plant told public opinion, that the company would stopp these transports a the end of the year 2009.

After more than a year dispute between court and prosecutor who didnt agree about the question if the protest above the railway is punishable or not, the trial will take place for the court in Steinfurt on the 4th of June 2009. The prosecure accuses Cécile Lecomte of coercision. The court allready told it disappoint with this and doesn't see any coercision in the act of hanging above the railway. But the activist may recive a fine because in the reglementation about railway trafic it is said, that it is forbidden to go on/above the railway.

A lot of activists and antinuclear organisation are supporting Cécile Lecomte

Read more about this action German

Illegal German Final Disposal Site Occupied

On Friday, May 29, 2009, between several hundred and up to 1,000 activists (the numbers are differing depending on the source of information) spontaneously occupied the site of the planned Final Disposal Site in Gorleben, Germany. People cut the fences and entered the high-security areal of the Gorleben salt mine. The day before secret documents had been published proving that the operator of the facility was illegally building a Final Disposal Site for high level radioactive waste.

It has never been a secret, that Gorleben should become the Final Repository for high level radioactive in Germany. However, official authorities and the nuclear lobby always claimed that it would be "only" a research mine. For this reason there has never been an application for constructing a nuclear facility in this mine - that would require a nuclear administration procedure with the public's right to discuss those plans. Therefore, the Gorleben mine was constructed based on mining laws that don't intend to involve the public as much as nuclear laws would.

Activists reported that police wasn't able to prevent the action, although it was announced one day in advance. At least 200 activists entered the area of the Final Disposal Site aiming to level off the illegal buildings, supported by at least 20 tractors of local farmers. Before police was able to bring reinforcement, the tractors and most of the activists could leave the site announcing to return.

Read more about this action German

In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble

By JAMES KANTER, May 28, 2009

In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble

By JAMES KANTER

OLKILUOTO, Finland — As the Obama administration tries to steer America toward cleaner sources of energy, it would do well to consider the cautionary tale of this new-generation nuclear reactor site.

The massive power plant under construction on muddy terrain on this Finnish island was supposed to be the showpiece of a nuclear renaissance. The most powerful reactor ever built, its modular design was supposed to make it faster and cheaper to build. And it was supposed to be safer, too.

But things have not gone as planned.

After four years of construction and thousands of defects and deficiencies, the reactor’s 3 billion euro price tag, about $4.2 billion, has climbed at least 50 percent. And while the reactor was originally meant to be completed this summer, Areva, the French company building it, and the utility that ordered it, are no longer willing to make certain predictions on when it will go online.

While the American nuclear industry has predicted clear sailing after its first plants are built, the problems in Europe suggest these obstacles may be hard to avoid.

A new fleet of reactors would be standardized down to “the carpeting and wallpaper,” as Michael J. Wallace, the chairman of UniStar Nuclear Energy — a joint venture between EDF Group and Constellation Energy, the Maryland-based utility — has said repeatedly.

In the end, he says, that standardization will lead to significant savings.

But early experience suggests these new reactors will be no easier or cheaper to build than the ones of a generation ago, when cost overruns — and then accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl — ended the last nuclear construction boom.

In Flamanville, France, a clone of the Finnish reactor now under construction is also behind schedule and overbudget.

Read the whole story

source: New York Times

OL3 NPP- Building in Serious Safety Problems in Finland

The Finnish Nuclear and Radiation Safety Authority STUK says that the construction of the commercial nuclear reactor in Olkiluoto, which is to be the world’s largest, has not proceeded according to official requirements. STUK has demanded that the builder of the installation, the French company Areva correct faults with the automation that guides the plant.

A current affairs programme on YLE TV 2, the authority acquired a letter in which STUK warns Areva that the building site could be shut down if the automation is not fixed and approved.

According to STUK, the design of the automation does not meet the basic principles required for nuclear safety, and on this basis STUK does not see any possibilities to approve the automation for installation at Olkiluoto.

“Areva NP SAS was to have designed very important systems for safety, but unfortunately, the attitude or lack of professional knowledge of certain individuals who represented the organisation in question at meetings of experts prevent progress in solving the concerns”, states a letter addressed to the director-general of Areva.

There was no immediate comment from Areva.

Source: YLE

Peace Walk "Towards a Nuclear Free Future" started

The first steps of this years Footprints for Peace Walk "Towards a Nuclear Free Future" has began from the World Health Organisation, Geneva Switzerland.

Twenty five international walkers from USA, Australia, Switzerland, Netherlands, France and Italy have joined together to walk from the World Health Organisation in Geneva to the European Parliament in Brussels for over 70 days to raise awareness about alternative energy and sustainable lifestyles while exposing the deadly effects of the nuclear industry.

The walk will visit many nuclear facilities to work with local communities to raise public awareness about the suffering and coercion that local community and environment through out the world face by the nuclear industry. The nuclear process affects us all - from the mining of uranium, transportation, enrichment, reprocessing, nuclear power plants, weapons and dumping of radioactive waste.

Footprints for Peace took part in the Chernobyl International Action Day and joined with others to make a chain from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the United Nations in a tribute to Chernobyl liquidators. In an emotional vigil many stood in white masks behind pictures of those that have passed for the independence of the WHO and for the truth about the consequences of radioactive contamination on health. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) keeps pretending no more than 50 people have died so as to protect the nuclear industry.

Footprints for Peace REFUSES to FORGET Chernobyl as it still keeps claiming lives today.

We will remember Chernobyl in Australia, deepening our commitment to a nuclear free future as the Western Australia Government is planning to start mining uranium in this State: Uranium Mining is the first step to DISASTER!!

Footprints for Peace is a global community of friends who are dedicated to creating change through peaceful action. Our aim is to educate, inspire, empower individuals and communities in building a sustainable future.

This years walk will end the series of walks that has happened in Europe since 2007 leading up to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We will be walking in 2010 from Y12 Nuclear Facility in Tennessee to the United Nations in New York for the Nuclear Non Proliferation Review Conference.

Please pass through friends, family and contacts as we would like to one day walk with you all....

For more information see: http://www.footprintsforpeace.net

Slash renewables target to protect nuclear, says EDF

UK — The development of new nuclear plant could be prevented if the government allows too much windpower to be built, energy giants EDF and Eon have claimed.

EDF - the world's largest nuclear operator with 58 plants - is calling on the government to lower its proposed renewable electricity target from 35% of supply in 2020 to just 20%.

The company says building the wind capacity needed to hit a 35% target is "not realistic or indeed desirable" due to the problem of intermittency.

EDF's views were revealed last week when the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published a summary of responses to its consultation on its renewables strategy.

EDF's response says that at times of high wind, output from wind and nuclear could exceed demand. "As a result- plant will need to be curtailed i.e. instructed not to generate." In reality, only nuclear will be curtailed, it says, as wind generation is subsidised so operators will pay to continue generating. The UK will also need windfarms to operate to meet its EU renewable energy target.

If nuclear plants have to be regularly turned off, this "damages the economics of these projects, meaning that less will be built." The UK can still meet its EU target with a lower level of renewable electricity by doing more on renewable heat, it says.

EDF's views are partially supported by Eon. Its consultation response says that any curtailment of nuclear "raises the question of whether it will be possible to recover the fixed costs of plant over its operational life". Curtailment could become an issue once wind provides 20-25% of UK electricity, it says.

Gaynor Hartnell, director of policy at the Renewable Energy Association, said: "We don't have a problem with companies taking issue with the proposed split between renewable electricity and heat - it is renewables' overall contribution to energy that matters. [Renewable] heat could certainly contribute more, but that's not to say that it needs to. Our electricity network can cope with at least ten times' the amount of wind we currently have."

Source: http://www.endsreport.com

Olkiluoto 3: Nuclear Waste From The EPR 7 Times More Hazardous

International — Greenpeace has uncovered evidence that nuclear waste from the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), the flagship of the nuclear industry, will be up to seven times more hazardous than waste produced by existing nuclear reactors, increasing costs and the danger to health and the environment.

The disclosure comes soon after President Sarkozy's decision to build a second EPR in France.

The alarming evidence was buried in the environmental impact assessment report from Posiva, the company responsible for managing waste at the world's first EPR under construction at Olkiluoto in Finland, and in EU-funded research[6].

"This means that not only will spent nuclear fuel produced by the EPR be more dangerous than is acknowledged by the French nuclear industry, but also storage and disposal will be more expensive than the industry and governments proclaim, and will increase the overall cost of nuclear energy. The French nuclear companies Areva and EDF, which aggressively market the EPR as safe and cheap, have completely ignored the implications of the increased hazards," said John Large, an independent nuclear consultant.

No appropriate waste facilities exist or are being planned in Finland, France, or any of the countries considering buying the EPR, including the UK, the US, Canada and India. In Finland the plans awaiting approval for burying the nuclear waste are inadequate for preventing interim and long-term health risks and will pass on huge financial liabilities to future generations.

"Nuclear energy is quickly becoming the most expensive way to produce electricity and its highly radioactive waste poses an ever-increasing problem. Despite the French government's global marketing of the EPR as cheap and safe, the evidence proves otherwise," stressed Dr. Rianne Teule, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaigner.

The EPR is designed to extract more energy from nuclear fuel than any commercially operating reactor (high burn-up), in order to maximise electricity output. This causes the amount of readily released radioactive substances in spent fuel to increase disproportionately[7]. The storage of the hazardous waste will be more costly for a range of reasons including requirements for greater distances between canisters increasing the repository size, more extensive and longer-term monitoring and increased security.

"Nuclear power is nothing more than an out-of-date, expensive and failed technology from the last century. Governments that are serious about tackling climate change need to invest in renewables and energy efficiency solutions as outlined in Greenpeace's Energy [R]evolution scenarios, to ensure people have a clean energy future free from the dangers of hazardous waste,"[8] concluded Rianne Teule.

Contact information:
Rianne Teule, Greenpeace International Nuclear Campaigner, +31 (0) 650 640 961
Beth Herzfeld, Greenpeace International Press Officer, +44 (0) 7717 802 891

Welcome to Big Demonstration Against New Nuclear Power Plants in Finland in Oulu 24.1.2008

As many of you know Fennovoima (34 % E.ON) is planning 1-2 new reactors in Finland, either at the north west-coast in Simo close to Kemi, in Pyhajoki close to Raahe or in Ruotsinpyhtaa at the east south-coast close to Loviisa.

The organizers of the event hope to see friends from all over Europe in Oulu.

Unfortunately the organizers have no possibilities to cover travel costs but they can offer home accommodation and food free of charge.

There is going to be a public meeting where all foreigners will have a possibility to bring their message to the Finnish decision makers and there will also be a press conference to which all foreign participants are invited.

Outrageous news from Finland...

Todays (21th November 2008) news tell that Areva has started ore prospecting for uranium in Ranua without legal permissions. Areva claims that the approval process is taking too long and started to do prospecting by land owners permission. They say they have done excavation without legal permission.

Read:

http://www.yle.fi/news/left/id108181.html

Blockade of the Aldermaston Nuclear Weapons Factory successful

This is a message from the organizers of this action day.

Thank you so much for your involvement at the Big Blockade on Monday October 27th at Aldermaston Nuclear Weapons Establishment!

As most of us only saw what was happening at our own gate, here is an overview of the action:

  • Main Gate was blocked for an hour by two groups sitting in the road, one using superglue.
  • Falcon Gate was blocked to most traffic for most of the morning by demonstrators standing around and (unintentionally) by the police!
  • Tadley Gate was blocked for over two hours by angels, super glue, chains and tubes cleverly disguised as teddy bears, as well as a determined crew who simply sat on the ground.
  • Home Office Gate was blocked for about three hours by a group using a lock-on tube inside concrete, and later Aldermaston Women’s Peace Camp blocked the road between Construction Gate and Home Office gate for three more hours. A tripod was erected in the middle of the road, one woman sat at the top and three women sat around the poles at the base.
  • Construction Gate was blocked from 6:45 to 12 noon. There were nine blockaders, four were locked on and five sat in front of them, not locked on. At about 10am the police came to cut out the locked on people but made no arrests.

Altogether, around 300 people demonstrated, over 60 people engaged in nonviolent direct action, and 33 were arrested. Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) chair Kate Hudson declared: "This is the largest blockade of Aldermaston for many years and signals an increased public concern about Britain 's weapons of mass destruction." Don’t forget that post-arrest court support is available. Please ring 0845 4588 361 or email blockawe AT yahoo.co.uk[1] if you have any further questions about legal support.

Campaigns and organizations working on this topic:

Broken Control Rods at Swedish Reactor - same design as Olkiluoto!

Scary stuff from Sweden - they claim Olkiluoto is OK but it's the same design so maybe it just OK for now? They don't say if there's any control rods of that design used outside the Nordic region.

The problems are with the "control rods" - i.e. the things which control the nuclear reaction and stop it getting out of hand!

Reuters reports today ( http://tinyurl.com/6ka36m ): "Swedish power group Vattenfall [VATN.UL] said on Tuesday an inspection had revealed one broken control rod and cracks in about 30 percent of others at its Forsmark 3 reactor"
(...)
"The unit has been shut since Oct. 21 and Andersson said it would not reopen before Nov. 28 at the earliest."
(...)
"The company said in October it would inspect Forsmark 3 after the discovery of a broken control rod at the Oskarshamn 3 reactor. The two reactors have similar designs"

"Your Industry News" reported last Wednesday (29 Oct) (http://tinyurl.com/55y4wk ):
"The problems were first discovered last week during an annual maintenance outage at OKG's Oskarshamn 3, where a fracture was discovered in a control rod shaft. Similar cracks were subsequently discovered in six more control rods, and the company is now extending its maintenance outage to enable it to carry out fuller tests and to determine the root cause of the problem."
(...)
"In the light of the Oskarshamn discovery, Swedish radiation safety authority SSM called for immediate inspections at Swedish plants sharing similar control rod designs. Inspections at Forsmark 3 have revealed similar problems to those at Oskarshamn. No problems were found in the other two units at the site, which have a different control rod design to the affected plants."
(...)
"SSM also notified its Finnish counterpart, Stuk, so that checks could be carried out at the Olkiluoto plant which uses similar control rods, but Stuk reports that no damage has been found there."

Renaissance of nuclear energy? - about finance crisis and comedown of nuclear in world electricity capacity

While lobbyists and politicians talk about a comeback of nuclear energy, only because some countries want to build new reactors (essentially in the last years there were less plans for building new reactors), the amount of nuclear energy will decrease during the coming years because of the decommissioning of old reactors. The number of new reactors which would have to be build to substitute the amount of those old ones can't be reached by these new building plans.

Another downsizing effect could come from the current finance crisis emanating from the USA: on October 1st US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said said that the construction of new nuclear plants worldwide is at risk, because "long term projects are at risk" as a result of the crisis that brought many banks to bankruptcy:

Financial crisis could dent nuclear plant growth

By GREG KELLER - 2 October 2008
Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hfDkNKoFCorefh_8FUGI91muIeEAD93HTH7O0

PARIS (AP) Growth in the construction of new nuclear plants worldwide is at risk because of the global financial crisis, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Wednesday, adding that short-term projects like oil drilling are more likely to go ahead.

During a visit to Paris, Bodman said the crisis could have an impact on the "nuclear renaissance" that is sweeping the industry as countries around the globe search for alternatives to fossil fuels.

Long-term projects like nuclear plant building "are the ones that are going to be the most difficult to finance," he told reporters. While Bodman said he is hopeful the financial crisis will be resolved, "long term projects are at risk, I would think."

The U.S. has 104 commercial reactors that supply about 20 percent of the country's power. The U.S. Energy Department projects 45 percent growth in national electricity demand by 2030, meaning 35 to 50 new nuclear plants would be needed by then just to maintain nuclear's share of the energy market.

A failure of the U.S. to resolve the ongoing financial crisis would have "a significant impact" on energy demand there, Bodman said on the sidelines of an international nuclear energy conference.

"That's what the president has been saying, that's what we've all been saying," Bodman said. "That's what leads to the need to come up with a solution."

While long-term nuclear projects are at risk, short-term projects such as oil drilling shouldn't be affected, Bodman said, because the industry is less reliant on bank borrowing.

"I would guess in large measure they would proceed. But again, I don't want to forecast exactly what they do," Bodman said.

Bodman also said he expects U.S. oil refining capacity in the Gulf of Mexico to come back to pre-hurricane Ike and Gustav levels in four or five weeks.

"It's been less rapid than I hoped it might be," Bodman said. "I thought it would be two or three weeks, it's probably going to be four or five, that kind of time frame. It's not going to be 10."

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike shut down nearly 100 percent of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf for several weeks.

Asked if he was worried about Russia's expanding cooperation with the OPEC oil producing cartel, Bodman said "We don't encourage that."

"Am I worried? I don't lose a lot of sleep over it. But it's not an encouraging position," Bodman said. Russia agreed earlier this month to sign a cooperation agreement with OPEC.

Bodman said he hoped Russia would focus more on encouraging companies from around the world to invest in its oil and gas industry but that it "seems to be more interested in OPEC and making deals with OPEC. That gives me some pause."

Russia is the second-largest oil and gas producer, just behind Saudi Arabia, making closer ties to OPEC - which dominates world oil production - potentially bad news for major fossil fuel consumers, including the U.S. and Europe.


Communication - Kommunikation

You can contact us via e-mail europas-atomerbe ÄTT greenkids.de[1] or telephone ( +49 391-72 72 657). A wiki-homepage is being built at http://greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe.

On the longer run, this website and the communication in general are supposed to be at least bi-lingual (German/English) and if possible realised in even more languages.

Kontakt kann zu uns per Mail an europas-atomerbe ÄTT greenkids.de[9] oder telefonisch unter +49 391-72 72 657 aufgenommen werden. Eine Wiki-Internetseite für das Projekt entsteht unter http://greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe.

Langfristig soll diese Internetseite und die Kommunikation mindestens zweisprachig (deutsch/englisch), nach Möglichkeit auch darüber hinaus gestaltet werden.



Activities - Aktivitäten

"Europe's Nuclear Heritage" is a (research) project that is concerned with the usage of nuclear power and especially the debates on final repositories in Europe. Regarding these topics it works on networking between groups in different countries. Within this framework or associated to it the following activities took place:

"Europas Atomerbe" ist ein (Forschungs)-Projekt, das sich mit der Atomenergienutzung und speziell den Endlagerdebatten in Europa beschäftigt und hierzu auch eine Vernetzung verschiedener Gruppen in verschiedenen Ländern anstrebt. In diesem oder assoziertem Rahmen gab es bisher folgende Aktivitäten:

France - Frankreich

The current idea for the next possible project would be to visit the French exploration site in Bure combined with a meeting of local activists to also get a critical viewpoint.


Die derzeitige Idee für das nächste mögliche Projekt wäre eine Besichtigung des französischen 'Felslabors' in Bure (Wikipedia Artikel, Französischer Wikipedia Artikel) kombiniert mit einem Treffen mit dortigen Aktivisten um auch einen kritischen Standpunkt mitzubekommen.


Finland - Finnland

An excursion during February 2007 to visit the finnish nuclear power plant in Olkiluoto at whose site the final repository for highly radioactive waste is being planned.


Bei einer Exkursion im Februar 2007 ging es zur Besichtigung des finnischen Atomkraftwerks (AKW) Olkiluoto, an dessen Standort das dortige Endlager für hochradioaktiven Atommüll geplant ist. Beteiligt euch unter den untenstehenden Punkten an der Auswertung der Fahrt!

Germany - Deutschland

Gorleben - Gorleben

In November 2006 a visit of the mine for final repository exploration at Gorleben was organised by the project. This included a visit of the underground facilities.

After this visit of the underground facilities and a lecture from the operating enterprise of the plant, we met Lilo Wollny, an old lady from the Gorleben resistance. She talked about the beginning of the protests and gave an overview of the security problems at the Gorleben nuclear waste disposal site.

Im November 2006 wurde im Rahmen des Projektes eine Besichtigung des Endlager-"Erkundungsbergwerks" im Gorlebener Salzstock organisiert. Diese enthielt auch eine Besichtigung unter Tage.

Nach der Führung durch den Gorlebener Salzstock und einem Vortrag der Betreiberfirma DBE trafen wir uns mit Lilo Wollny, einer alten Dame aus dem Gorlebener Widerstand. Sie erzählte uns von den Anfängen der Proteste und gab einen kleinen Einblick in die Sicherheitsbedenken gegen den Gorlebener Endlagerstandort.

Morsleben - Morsleben

An exhibition on the history of Germany's final repository for low and medium level radioactive waste at Morsleben, which is also available in english, is en route in different towns.

Eine Ausstellung zur Geschichte des deutschen Endlagers für niedrig- und mittelradioaktiven Atommüll Morsleben, die auch auf Englisch verfügbar ist, ist unterwegs in verschiedenen Städten.

In the past, a visit of the underground repository in Morsleben has also taken place.

There were several lobby meetings with different politicians to sensitize them for the problems of the Morsleben final repository and to exert pressure on the Federal Office for Radiation Protection to end their reluctance to give out information. These meetings are being continued throughout the year. Additionally, different actions and workshops took place on several occasions, including congresses and other events.


Auch in Morsleben wurde in der Vergangenheit eine Besichtigung im Endlager unter Tage organisiert.

Mit verschiedenen Politikern gab es 2006 Lobbygespräche, um für die Problematik um das Endlager Morsleben zu sensibilieren und um Druck auszuüben, damit die Informationsverweigerung des Bundesamtes für Strahlenschutzes ein Ende hat. Auch in diesem Jahr werden diese Gespräche fortgesetzt. Darüberhinaus fanden immer wieder Informationsveranstaltungen und Workshops in verschiedenen Orten und bei Kongressen und anderen Veranstaltungen statt.



Links

... (please add your anti-nuclear links).

Background Information



Promotion of this Website - Werbung für diese Website

You can spread the internet addresses http://nuclear-heritage.de.vu and http://nuclear-heritage.net to popularize this website.

Du kannst die Internetadressen http://nuclear-heritage.de.vu und http://nuclear-heritage.net verwenden, um diese Internetseite bekannter zu machen.



  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 For protection against automatical email address robots searching for addresses to send spam to them this email address has been made unreadable for them. To get a correct mail address you have to displace "AT" by the @-symbol.
  2. http://www.nuclearfreefinland.org/en/ranua-rescue-areva-mining-monitors-rramm, August 31th, 2009
  3. http://www.brucepower.com/pagecontent.aspx?navuid=1211&dtuid=84013 on August 3, 2009
  4. Bruce nixes 'more nukes' plan. The Toronto Sun, Fri Jul 24 2009 BY JONATHAN JENKINS, QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU
  5. http://www.brucepower.com/pagecontent.aspx?navuid=1211&dtuid=84013 on August 3, 2009
  6. See page 137, Posiva's Expansion of the Repository for Spent Nuclear Fuel, Environmental Impact Assessment Report (2008) http://www.posiva.fi/publications/Posiva_YVA_selostusraportti_en_lukittu.pdf
    Technical Report 04-08, Nagra (2004). http://www.nagra.ch/documents/database/dokumente/%24default/Default%20Folder/Publikationen/e_ntb04-08.pdf
  7. If the fuel is disposed of by burying it in an underground nuclear waste dump, in the long-term, the largest health hazard comes from iodine-129. The amount of iodine-129 instantly released, when the nuclear waste dump eventually leaks, is seven times as large in the case of the high burn-up waste produced by the EPR, compared to the typical reactors currently operating.
  8. See Greenpeace's Energy [R]evolution at http://www.energyblueprint.info
  9. Zum Schutz vor automatischen Mailadressen-Robots, die nach Adressen suchen und diese dann mit Spam-Mails überfluten, ist diese Mailadresse für diese Robots unleserlich formatiert. Um eine korrekte Mailadresse zu erhalten muss ÄTT durch das @-Symbol ersetzt werden.



Public Sponsorship - Förderung


This project was financed in public sponsorship by the European Union within the program YOUTH IN ACTION. The content of this project does not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the European Union or of the national agency "JUGEND für Europa" and they do not assume any liability.


Dieses Projekt wurde mit Unterstützung der Europäischen Union durch das Programm JUGEND IN AKTION finanziert. Der Inhalt dieses Projektes gibt nicht notwendigerweise den Standpunkt der Europäischen Union oder der Nationalagentur JUGEND für Europa wieder und sie übernehmen dafür keine Haftung.