Radioactive Y-fronts and the limits of Parliamentary scrutiny
Last week the nuclear industry and its Westminster friends celebrated the dawning of a new age, as French energy giant EDF won planning consent to construct Hinkley Point C in Somerset. Meanwhile, in Cumbria, elderly Sellafield contracts out its dirty laundry.
See http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/marianne-birkby/radioactive-y-fronts-and-limits-of-parliamentary-scrutiny.
Uranium mines in Quebec: First Nations, municipalities and citizens unite their voices for a moratorium
Two years to the day following the Fukushima disaster in Japan, First Nations, municipalities and Citizen groups unite their voices, asking the Quebec government to announce a moratorium on uranium mines. They also ask the Government to quickly act on its promise to hold a generic environmental evaluation on uranium in Quebec.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=12195.
Uranium not worth the risk, say opposing groups
The claimed benefits of uranium mining in Queensland are based more on “enthusiasm than evidence” and will ultimately create more grief for the state than it is worth, say conservation groups, in an opinion backed by both the Opposition and the Greens. The Uranium Mining Implementation Committee released its report on the practice to the state government on Monday, listing 40 recommendations to re-establish uranium mining in Queensland after a 24-year ban. But conservation groups and the government’s political opposition say there are not enough safeguards in place to protect the state’s environment and established industries.
See http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/uranium-not-worth-the-risk-say-opposing-groups-20130318-2gb8n.html#ixzz2NuzuB66V.
Inside Fukushima’s abandoned towns, two years on – in pictures
Amid growing dissatisfaction with the slow pace of recovery, Japan marks the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and has displaced more than 300,000. Towns in the surrounding area remain abandoned, even those outside the nuclear disaster exclusion zone, too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits.
See http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2013/mar/11/fukushima-abandoned-towns-in-pictures#/?picture=405181694&index=0.
Fukushima Toxic Waste Swells as Japan Marks March 11 Disaster
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-10/fukushima-toxic-waste-swells-as-japan-marks-march-11-disaster.html
Fukushima costs still mounting
http://sgnews.ca/2013/03/14/fukushima-costs-still-mounting/