NukeNews No. 3 - ENGLISH

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*      NukeNews #3 - Anti-Nuclear Information Service      *
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0. Preface
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This issue of the NukeNews is one week delayed. The reason is the
successful protest activities against the high level radioactive
waste "Castor" transport from La Hague (F) to Gorleben (D) several of
our editors participated in. This seems to be a good reason not to be
on time with this newsletter.

Besides this huge and creative anti-nuclear resistance happening,
many other amazing developments in the atomic sector took place: in
several countries the authorities or companies decided in respect to
the Fukushima disaster to postpone or stop their nuclear programmes
while some countries like Switzerland made decisions for a long-term
nuclear phase-out. Unfortunately at the same time the governments in
Poland and the Czech Republic pushed their atomic developments
forwards aiming to build up a complex nuclear infrastructure in their
countries.

The Japanese anti-nuclear movement is continuing their protests, and
the idea of a phase-out in this country dependent on the atomic
threat spreads. However, despite the Fukushima catastrophe the
country still considers the continuation of their nuclear programme.


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Outline of the current NukeNews issue #3
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0.  Preface
1.  No uranium mining in Kuusamo!
2.  Explosion at French atomic site
3.  Siemens to quit the atomic business
4.  Corruption: A new Russian Fukushima in the making?
5.  French Nuclear Authority points to "weaknesses" of the EPR
6.  Gorleben: Radiation measurements forged - legal limits exceeded
7.  E.on decided to construct new reactor in Pyhäjoki
8.  Week of actions in Russia
9.  Thousands made the 13th Castor transport the longest in history
10. I-131 spread over Europe
11. Radwaste storage at Russian NPPs
12. Olkiluoto protest camp and blockade 2012
13. New Castor transport to Ahaus expected
14. International Network Gathering in Kuusamo
15. EDF fined £1.3M for spying on Greenpeace
16. Hinkley out ahead
17. Upcoming events
18. About NukeNews


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1.  No uranium mining in Kuusamo!
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There are plans to build several uranium-gold-mines in Kuusamo,
southeast of Finnish Lapland. Uranium mining causes radioactive
contamination of air, water and soil. The rivers, which have flown
thousands of years with potable water, are in danger of getting
poisoned by radioactive mining waste.

A petition aims to put pressure to stop the uranium project in
Kuusamo to show that people are not willing to agree to any kind of
mining or building that directly or indirectly are involved in
uranium production within and in the surroundings of Kuusamo.
Such activities are critized to be destructive to Kuusamo people
livelihood, polluting the land and causing health hazards.
Find out more and sign the petion against uranium mining in Kuusamo:
http://www.petitions24.com/no_uranium_mining_in_kuusamo


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2.  Explosion at French atomic site
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An explosion at the Marcoule site some 30 kilometers north of
Avignon (F) killed one worker and injured four other workers. The
explosion and a following fire occured around 9.45 AM GMT in an oven
of an EDF subsidiary's facility where they burned low level
radioactive waste. While the authorities established a security
cordon outside the facility due to the danger of radiation releases,
officials declared on the very same day the accident to have
been finished and claimed no radiation to be released at all. On the
same site several decommissioned atomic reactors are situated, too,
as well as a factory partially used by the nuclear company Areva for
producing the highly dangerous MOX fuel, a mixture of uranium and
plutonium.


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3.  Siemens to quit the atomic business
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In the middle of September, the German company Siemens announced
their phase-out of the atomic business. Siemens was the constructor
of all German commercial nuclear reactors and was involved in
building atomic facilities worldwide. In 2009 they decided to leave
an atomic joint venture with the French nuclear giant Areva in favor
of starting a new cooperation with the Russian atomic company Rosatom.
This attempt was breaking a contract with Areva leading to a judge's
decision forbidding Siemens challenging the former French partner on
the nuclear field until 2013. Thus, Siemens' decision to skip the
atomic business is actually just accepting the reality. Although they
say they would not approaching anymore to construct nuclear power
plants anymore, Siemens will probably continue producing relevant
pieces of these facilities. 

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4.  Corruption: A new Russian Fukushima in the making?
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Corruption in the Russian State Nuclear Corporation Rosatom may cause
new nuclear accidents in Russia, experts say. The ecological group
Ecodefense! believes the risks are high enough to result in another
Fukushima, while the National Anti-Corruption Committee (NAC) has
urged Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Prosecutor General Yury Chaika
to initiate investigations into the broadly reported violations and
abuses in the nuclear industry, including at new nuclear power plant
(NPP) construction sites.

http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2011/corruption_rosatom


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5.  French Nuclear Authority points to "weaknesses" of the EPR
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The construction of the EPR nuclear reactor being built in
Flamanville, has many "weaknesses" that put the "final quality" into
doubt. This is the conclusion drawn after a thorough  inspection
conducted on site in May by the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN). The
report of this "inspection review", highlighted by Le Canard Enchaine
on August 24, is posted on the site of the ASN. It is a 20 page
letter sent by the ASN on June  24 to EDF, the prime contractor for
the 1600 megawatt reactor designed by Areva. The inspection has was
carried out by fifteen experts, including an observer from the
British regulator. The team found deviations from the construction
requirements on essential parts of the reactor: the feed of the steam
generators, water injection filters, the RIS batteries of the cooling
system. "EDF has to make great efforts to show the final quality of
the construction of Flamanville 3", judges the ASN, which points out:
"inconsistencies between the requirements specified in
sub-contracting and the demands mentioned in the preliminary safety
report" - that is to say a non-compliance with initial prescriptions.
Concerning an essential feature of the steam generators, experts
estimate that "the quality of materials taking into account their
importance for safety has not been demonstrated and their use in FLA3
is not possible". In two cases, they demand from EDF to "not engage
in actions that are difficult to reverse before demonstrating"
compliance.      

source: le Monde, 24 August 2011


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6.  Gorleben: Radiation measurements forged - legal limits exceeded
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The radiation measurements at the Gorleben interim repository for
high level radioactive waste have been forged for many years, a study
of a local citizen's initiative found out. The Lower Saxony Ministry
of Environment had alarmed the public after detecting the radiation
levels. An expert group of the local initiative analysed the data of
the measurements of different institutions. They concludede that the
operator and the pro-nuclear experts had falsely calculated the
radiation limits subtracting a wrong value for the so-called "natural
background radiation".

Instead of using the values of the point of time before atomic waste
was brought to Gorleben, the operator used the much higher radiation
levels measured when there were already dozens of high level
radioactive Castor containers in the repository. Using the real
values of the originally detected background radiation shows that the
legal radiation limits were exceeded since many years. The initiative
now submitted a complaint against the operator to the Prosecutor.

http://www.bi-luechow-dannenberg.de/chronologisch/aktuell/grenzwertu%CC%88berschreitungen-am-zwischenlager-gorleben


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7.  E.on decided to construct new reactor in Pyhäjoki
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The German atomic power giant e.on is the main stakeholder of the
company Fennovoima in Finland. E.on founded this company after they
failed with their attempt to build a new NPP close to the Loviisa
atomic power station. Using the label "Fennovoima" (Scandinavian
power) they applied for a license to construct a reactor in northern
Finland. In July 2010 the Finnish parliament voted in a "decision in
principle" for 2-3 new reactors including the Fennovoima plant. On
October 5, 2011 the company announced their site selection for
Pyhäjoki, a municipalty on the coast of the Bothnian Bay in northern
Finland. It would be the sixth atomic reactor in Finland after
Loviisa 1 and 2 and Olkiluoto 1-3.


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8.  Week of actions in Russia
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In Russia a week of actions passed against the expensive and dangerous
nuclear power plants - for energy efficiency. It was organized by
representatives of the anti-nuclear organizations and movements from
different parts of the country, who are strongly opposing the funding of
the building of the extremely expensive new nuclear power plants by the
taxpayers.

From 21 to 25 November various actions were carried out by activists in
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Murmansk, Murom, Yekaterinburg,
Balakovo, Kaliningrad, etc. Within one week of common actions
environmentalists organized pickets and rallies, work with the deputies in
the regions, round tables and so on.

More information - http://anti-atom.ru


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9.  Thousands made the 13th Castor transport the longest in history
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Originally supposed to start November 24th in Valognes, France, the
13th Castor transport to Gorleben in Lower Saxony, Germany, had been
pushed up by one day as hundreds of anti-nuclear activists were going
to gather near the French loading station. However, hundreds of
people were blockading the shipment already in Valognes when it was
supposed to start, and actions followed on the route through France
and Germany.

In the Wendland region around Gorleben, up to 25,500 people protested
the atomic transport and the German nuclear policy not willing to
accept the continuation of operation of nine atomic reactors. Up to
5,000 blockaded the tracks by Harlingen, some 1,800 blockaded the
road by Gorleben, and several thousands joined actions along the
railway and road routes. Almost 30 protest camps and info points had
been created, about 150 events spread the word about the atomic
shipment and prepared for actions in Germany and France. A concrete
pyramid closed the railway route and could not be removed by police
themselves. A number of additional lock-on actions took place between
Lüneburg and Gorleben delaying the shipment to a total transport time
of almost 126 hours - it never took this much time.

http://castor2011.nuclear-heritage.net


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10. I-131 spread over Europe
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News about iodine-131 (I-131) detection in many European countries shocked
the public for several days in November. Eventually, the IAEA stated that
the source of the I-131 detected in Europe most probably was released from
the Institute of Isotopes Ltd., Budapest, that produces radioisotopes.
According to the Hungarian Atomic Energy Authority, the release occurred
from September 8 to November 16, 2011. The cause of the release is under
investigation.


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11. Radwaste storage at Russian NPPs
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ANALYSIS: Mountain of waste: New temporary radwaste storage site at
Russia’s Novovoronezh NPP threatens to multiply, grow into long-term
problem across country.

The facility proposed for construction at Novovoronezh NPP is a
warehouse where 200-litre barrels holding radioactive waste are to be
stacked in tiers, ten tiers in all. The apocalyptic picture painted by
ecologists – dozens of thousands of barrels with deadly wastes inside,
an unwieldy menace left for future generations to inherit – now seems
more real than some would like to believe.

Read more:
http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2011/novovoronezh_waste


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12. Olkiluoto protest camp and blockade 2012
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For the first time a protest and blockade camp will take place in
Finland to challenge the nuclear industry in Finland and globally
with direct actions against their EPR model project "Olkiluoto-3".
The camp is supposed to start August 6, and aims to prepare the
actions as well as to network for strengthening the anti-nuclear
struggle in Finland. On August 11, the Olkiluoto Blockade takes place
for the third time, while the camp will end on August 13.

You can order flyers to promote the protest camp an actions in
several languages. Spread the word using the text provided on our
website!

http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/Olkiluoto_Blockade_2012


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13. New Castor transport to Ahaus expected
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Several shipments of a total amount of 152 Castor casks are supposed
to start in early 2012 from the former Very High Temperature Reactor
(VHTR) AVR Jülich to the interim repository Ahaus (D). 288,161
spherical fuel elements, called pebbles, will be brought to the
storage site in Nordrhein-Westfalen. The resistance in Ahaus was
never as big as in the Gorleben area, but since a couple of years it
is growing.

German anti-nuclear groups are calling out for protests and
blockades. A first start-up rally will take place on December 18th in
Ahaus.

http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/Nuclear_Waste_Transport_to_Ahaus


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14. International Network Gathering in Kuusamo
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The next chance for campaigning, discussing strategies, preparing
projects and networking will take place in Kuusamo, Finland, from
January 11-15, 2012. An additional focus will be on the struggles
against uranium mining in Finland and other countries as the local
organizers are working hard on this field. You are invited to join
this next Network Gathering of the Nuclear Heritage Network.

And we would be happy to invite campaigners or activists dealing with
uranium issues to contribute to this section of the conference.

http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/International_Anti-nuclear_Network_Meeting_in_Kuusamo


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15. EDF fined £1.3M for spying on Greenpeace
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Électricité de France was convicted in a court at Nanterre on
November 11th on charges of spying on Greenpeace France.  The company
was fined 1.5M Euros and two of its executives were given gaol
sentences.  Its head of nuclear safety, Pascal Durieux, was sentenced
to three years' gaol, with 2 years suspended,  and a 10,000 Euro fine
for commissioning the spying operation.  His second-in-command,
Pierre-Paul François, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment with
30 months suspended.  The company has also been ordered to pay
500,000 Euros in damages to Greenpeace France.  The head of Kargus
Consultants, a company that EDF hired to hack into Greenpeace
computers was gaoled for three years, two suspended, and a 4,000 Euro
fine.

The company was charged with complicity in concealing stolen
documents and hacking into a computer network.


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16. Hinkley out ahead
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On 11th November, the new "Infrastructure Planning Commission" that
has been given the job of "commissioning" (examining and approving or
not) major infrastructure projects in the UK (replacing the old
system of holding public enquiries) issued a list of such projects
for which commissioning had been applied for and of others for which
such an application was "anticipated".  For the latter list an
anticipated date of application was also given.

Hinkley C was the only newbuild nuclear power station which appears
in the list of projects for which commissioning had already been
applied - it was listed as having applied in October 2011. Three
other newbuild nuclear power stations were on the list as ones for
which such an application was anticipated. The anticipated dates for
all these are some way in the future: Wylfa B's date is the second
half of 2013, Oldbury's the 2nd quarter of 2014, and for Sizewell C
no date is specified.


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17. Upcoming events
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(just an extract, tell us your events for the next newsletter)

14/08/11-13/08/12: Gorleben 365 blockade campaign (D)
06/12/11-08/12/11: Nuclear Waste and Pollution Conference in Vilnius
                   (LT)
Early 2012:        Protests against the CASTOR transports from Jülich
                   to Ahaus (D)
11/01/12-15/01/12: International Anti-nuclear Network Gathering in
                   Kuusamo (FIN)
14/01/12-15/01/12: Global Conference for a Nuclear Power Free World
                   in Yokohama (J)
04/02/12:          International Uranium Conference in Münster (D)
11/03/12:          Global Fukushima Action Day
30/03/12-01/04/12: Spring conference of the German anti-nuclear
                   movement in Frankfurt/Main (D)
26/04/12:          Commemoration of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
May/June 2012:     2nd International Uranium Film Festival for a
                   global Nuclear-Free Future in Rio de Janeiro
                   (Brazil)
Summer 2012:       Walk for a Nuclear Free Future from Minnesota to
                   Buffalo (USA)
30/07/12-03/08/12: International Anti-nuclear Network Gathering in
                   Döbeln (D)
06/08/12-13/08/12: Olkiluoto protest camp and blockade (FIN)


http://www.gorleben365.de/
http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/Nuclear_Waste_and_Pollution_Conference_in_Vilnius_2011
http://www.kein-castor-nach-ahaus.de/
http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/International_Anti-nuclear_Network_Meeting_in_Kuusamo
http://www.nonuclear.se/en/kalender/NuclearFreeWorld_Yokohama20120114-15
http://www.nonuclear.se/en/kalender/2nd_Intl_Uranium_Film_Festival_2012
http://footprints.footprintsforpeace.net/nffcampaign/NFF2011.htm
http://www.greenkids.de/europas-atomerbe/index.php/International_Anti-nuclear_Network_Meeting_in_Mannsdorf
http://olkiluotoblockade2011.wordpress.com/


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18. About NukeNews
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The NukeNews are a multilingual newsletter system of the Nuclear
Heritage Network and are supposed to reflect 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. 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. The newsletter aims to inform and update as well activists
as the interested audience.

Your contributions to the next issue of the NukeNews are welcome.
Send them via email to news@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 4th issue of the
NukeNews will be 19th of February, 2012.

Spread the word and learn more about the NukeNews:
http://NukeNews.Nuclear-Heritage.NET