Group items tagged

"A court in central Sweden on Thursday handed out fines to 29 Greenpeace activists who broke into a nuclear power plant earlier this month, according to judicial sources. The activists -- 13 Germans, eight Poles, four Danes, a Frenchman, a Finn, a Swede and a Briton -- were given fines ranging from 190 to 1,600 euros (230-2,000 dollars) for trespassing, according to a copy of the judgment by the court in Uppsala obtained by AFP. In a statement, Greenpeace welcomed the fact that activists were found guilty of the lesser charge of trespassing, and not aggravated trespassing as sought by the prosecutor. A Polish activist was also found guilty of a lesser arms law violation for possession of pepper spray, according to the court's decision."

"Greenpeace activists said Monday they were blocking a train transporting nuclear waste to the French port of Cherbourg from where it was to be shipped to Russia. Four activists who had chained themselves to the railway line near the harbour were removed early Monday morning by police but more activists were blocking the line at a different location, they said. "We were dislodged in Cherbourg, but we are continuing our action some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the city, where we are physically blocking the passage of the train transporting nuclear waste," Greenpeace representative Yannick Rousselet told AFP. Two Greenpeace activists were chained to the rails just metres from the train, which had stopped, he said."

"French Greenpeace activists blocked a train carrying some 650 metric tons of radioactive waste in protest against the export of nuclear waste to Russia, the Greenpeace Russia website said. A shipment of depleted uranium hexafluoride was due to be loaded onto the Captain Kuroptev in the port of Le Havre and sent to St. Petersburg. However, the ship weighed anchor and headed towards the port of Montoir-de-Bretagne pursued by the Greenpeace ship Esperanza. The Greenpeace statement said the activists chained themselves to railway tracks, delaying rail traffic towards Montoir-de-Bretagne for more than four hours."

"As many as 30 Greenpeace activists broke into a Swedish nuclear plant Monday, demanding that parliament this week vote against allowing new nuclear facilities to be built, the group and police said. "There are now Greenpeace activists on the premises" of the Forsmark nuclear power plant near Uppsala, north of Stockholm, police spokesman Christer Nordstroem told AFP. He said it remained unclear how many Greenpeace activists had managed to get into the plant, but the environmental group itself sent out a statement earlier saying around 30 would enter the facility to conduct a peaceful protest against nuclear power use."

A shipment of radioactive waste from German nuclear plants arrived at a storage site on Tuesday morning after being delayed by fierce protests from nuclear activists. The demonstrations are partly in response to conservative calls for a rethink of the planned phaseout of nuclear power stations. German riot police confronted activists along the route of the nuclear waste transport. Eleven trucks carrying radioactive waste from German nuclear power stations arrived a day late at their destination, a storage site near Gorleben in northern Germany, early on Tuesday morning after thousands of anti-nuclear activists tried to stop the convoy.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, the pioneering Australian antinuclear activist and pediatrician who spearheaded the global nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s and co-founded Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), has joined with left-leaning environmental groups here in an uphill fight to halt nuclear power as a "solution" to the global warming crisis. "Global warming is the greatest gift the nuclear industry has ever received," Dr. Caldicott told Truthout. The growing rush to nuclear power was only enhanced, experts say, by the weak climate deal at the Copenhagen 15 climate conference. The prospects for passage of a climate bill in Congress - virtually all versions are pro-nuclear - were enhanced, most analysts say, because it offered the promise that China might voluntarily agree to verify its carbon reductions and it could reassure senators worried about American manufacturers being undermined by polluters overseas. But at the two-week international confab that didn't produce any binding agreements to do anything, Caldicott and environmental activist groups were marginalized or, in the case of the delegates from Friends of the Earth, evicted from the main hall.

Dr. Helen Caldicott, the pioneering Australian antinuclear activist and pediatrician who spearheaded the global nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s and co-founded Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), has joined with left-leaning environmental groups here in an uphill fight to halt nuclear power as a "solution" to the global warming crisis. "Global warming is the greatest gift the nuclear industry has ever received," Dr. Caldicott told Truthout. The growing rush to nuclear power was only enhanced, experts say, by the weak climate deal at the Copenhagen 15 climate conference. The prospects for passage of a climate bill in Congress - virtually all versions are pro-nuclear - were enhanced, most analysts say, because it offered the promise that China might voluntarily agree to verify its carbon reductions and it could reassure senators worried about American manufacturers being undermined by polluters overseas. But at the two-week international confab that didn't produce any binding agreements to do anything, Caldicott and environmental activist groups were marginalized or, in the case of the delegates from Friends of the Earth, evicted from the main hall.

Anti-nuclear activists have organised a rally here tomorrow to demand closure of nuclear power plants in the country, saying they were creating health hazards due to radiation. The activists, under the aegis of the 'National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements', insisted on development of renewable technologies and demanded better health facilities for people suffering from radiations caused by nuclear plants. "Tomorrow we are celebrating the birth anniversary of our father of the nation but our country no longer follows his principles," Neeraj Jain of NGO 'Lokayut' in Pune said. He alleged that propaganda of nuclear energy being a safe, cheap and clean energy are all lies. Samuel Jyrwa, President of Khasi Student's Union which has been spearheading movement against the proposed nuclear power plant in Meghalaya, said people of the state have expressed their opinion by participating in anti-nuclear hearings.

Anti-nuclear activists have organised a rally here tomorrow to demand closure of nuclear power plants in the country, saying they were creating health hazards due to radiation. The activists, under the aegis of the 'National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements', insisted on development of renewable technologies and demanded better health facilities for people suffering from radiations caused by nuclear plants. "Tomorrow we are celebrating the birth anniversary of our father of the nation but our country no longer follows his principles," Neeraj Jain of NGO 'Lokayut' in Pune said. He alleged that propaganda of nuclear energy being a safe, cheap and clean energy are all lies. Samuel Jyrwa, President of Khasi Student's Union which has been spearheading movement against the proposed nuclear power plant in Meghalaya, said people of the state have expressed their opinion by participating in anti-nuclear hearings.

Taiwan wants to extend the life of its oldest nuclear power plant for another 20 years, the government said Tuesday, triggering alarm among activists who fear it could put public safety at risk. State-owned Taiwan Power Company has asked to keep using the Chinshan plant, operational since 1978 in a coastal area of north Taiwan, after the licenses of its two reactors expire in 2018 and 2019, the Atomic Energy Council said. "The application is for extending the life of the plant's two generators from 40 to 60 years," the cabinet-level council said in a statement. Conservation activists Tuesday voiced severe concerns about what they called a risky plan, also citing a shortage of space to store the nuclear waste. "We strongly oppose the measure... We cannot afford taking such as risk," Gloria Hsu, a National Taiwan University professor, told AFP.

Taiwan wants to extend the life of its oldest nuclear power plant for another 20 years, the government said Tuesday, triggering alarm among activists who fear it could put public safety at risk. State-owned Taiwan Power Company has asked to keep using the Chinshan plant, operational since 1978 in a coastal area of north Taiwan, after the licenses of its two reactors expire in 2018 and 2019, the Atomic Energy Council said. "The application is for extending the life of the plant's two generators from 40 to 60 years," the cabinet-level council said in a statement. Conservation activists Tuesday voiced severe concerns about what they called a risky plan, also citing a shortage of space to store the nuclear waste. "We strongly oppose the measure... We cannot afford taking such as risk," Gloria Hsu, a National Taiwan University professor, told AFP.

"Police in Sweden arrested dozens of Greenpeace activists on Monday after they broke into the Forsmark nuclear power plant ahead of a planned vote this week on whether to replace the country's existing reactors. World The activists entered Forsmark some 115 kilometers north of Stockholm early on Monday and several gained access to a building rooftop, police said. The protestors did not enter any of the operating areas."

Agartala (PTI): Coming down heavily on activists for spreading 'unnecessary' fear among the people about atomic research, Atomic Energy Commission chairman Anil Kakodkar on Monday said they were doing it without knowing properly about the matter. "There is a lot of activism about the harmful effects of atomic research but we should listen to what experts say and not the activists," he told the ianugural function of awareness programme on prevention of cancer here.

The previous Clinton-Gore administrations - acting at the behest of various well-funded groups of activists in this country and the complicit Best Congress Money Can Buy - attempted to convert various regimes (Muslim and otherwise) in other nation-states to regimes more sympathetic to those activists' beliefs. First, by the imposition of sanctions. And if that didn't work, by bombing them from 20,000 feet.

Astravets regional executive committee denied public activists Mikalay Ulasevich and Ivan Kruk a right to hold informational pickets at the territory of Astravets district Hrodna region. They applied to hold 5 informational pickets 9n November (two in Astravets, others in Mikhalishki, Varanyany and Hervyaty) against construction of a nuclear power station in the region, the human rights centre "Viasna" informs. Public and political activists intended to tell the local dwellers the truth about danger and aftermaths of a nuclear power station construction at the territory of the district which is one of the ecologically cleanest in Belarus and one of the most promising regions for tourism development.

German riot police confronted activists along the route of the nuclear waste transport.

Flamanville, France - Twenty of our activists have successfully stopped construction of a new nuclear reactor being built in Flamanville, France, from restarting, for over 50 hours. Although building was halted because of safety problems, these are still unresolved.

Alyaksandr Valchanin, leader of the Union Chernobyl-Belarus, met with Mikhail Rusy, chairperson of the Chernobyl aftermath committee in the House of Representatives, on Monday to discuss the rights of workers involved in the massive cleanup effort after the 1986 nuclear accident. In an interview with BelaPAN, the activist said that he had been pushing for a meeting with the lawmaker for a long time but all of his petitions had been unanswered. The meeting was arranged after Mr. Valchanin petitioned Uladzimir Makey, head of the Presidential Administration, over the matter. The activist described the meeting as "constructive." "Mr. Rusy assured me that we can develop joint projects and representatives of our association would be invited to the committee's meetings. We discussed health resort treatment for Chernobyl cleanup workers, benefits for Chernobyl-affected people," he said. Mr. Valchanin said that the Belarusian authorities were ready to maintain some cooperation with the association. "This is even good that Mr. Rusy is poised for dialogue. I, for my part, offered to use my international contacts for solving the problems of Chernobyl-affected people. It seems to me that the proposal found understanding," he noted. Mr. Valchanin said that the possible registration of the union in Belarus had not been discussed. "But we intend to get registered in our country and will make every effort for this," he said. BelaPAN

Gov. Gary Herbert has agreed to meet with an environmental activist group over concerns that a controversial nuclear waste deal proposed by EnergySolutions is still on the table. HEAL Utah sent a letter to Herbert this month after media outlets began reporting that "talks" had been revived over a proposal by the nuclear waste company to split its revenue with the state if it is allowed to import foreign waste. With Utah facing an estimated revenue shortfall of $700 million, Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, has said it would be prudent to revisit the issue. A legal battle over the facility's ability to accept the waste absent the state's consent is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Gov. Gary Herbert has agreed to meet with an environmental activist group over concerns that a controversial nuclear waste deal proposed by EnergySolutions is still on the table. HEAL Utah sent a letter to Herbert this month after media outlets began reporting that "talks" had been revived over a proposal by the nuclear waste company to split its revenue with the state if it is allowed to import foreign waste. With Utah facing an estimated revenue shortfall of $700 million, Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, has said it would be prudent to revisit the issue. A legal battle over the facility's ability to accept the waste absent the state's consent is pending before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

An armed cargo ship carrying recycled nuclear fuel from France reached Japan on Monday. Environmental group Greenpeace says the ship's load of plutonium would be enough to make 225 nuclear weapons. A small group of local residents and anti-nuclear activists protested at the ship's arrival. "Using the mixed oxide, MOX fuel at the nuclear plant here is suicidal," said local activist Yoshika Shiratori in Omoaezaki fishing port on Japan's Pacific coast. "Once a big earthquake hits, there is no doubt this entire bay, the Pacific Ocean and all the seas around Japan would become contaminated," he told the AFP news agency.

It wasn't just invectives that flew from mouths of the anti-nuclear activists at Thursday's Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting in Brattleboro. One activist also threw compost at Vermont Yankee's site vice president Michael Colomb. "You folks have no idea what to do with spent fuel or radioactive waste," said Sally Shaw, of Gill, Mass. Carrying a bag to the front of the conference room, she threw a handful of "spent food" at Colomb and other Entergy executives before depositing handfuls of compost on a table where NRC officials sat. "That's really good quality compost," she said.

A group of activists is raising concerns over two new reactors at Turkey Point while Florida Power & Light assures residents that the nuclear plant is safe. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.

A group of activists is raising concerns over two new reactors at Turkey Point while Florida Power & Light assures residents that the nuclear plant is safe. Over the past year, a chorus of concern about Florida Power & Light's push to expand its Turkey Point facility has steadily grown louder.

"Anti-nuclear activists concerned over Utah's storage of depleted uranium are accusing the Department of Energy of sidestepping its own rules by allowing a trainload of radioactive waste to roll into Tooele County. HEAL Utah is calling on the department to immediately remove the 3,000 tons of waste sitting in storage at EnergySolutions' Clive facility and have also asked for a meeting with top Energy Department officials to gain assurances that no more of the material is headed to the state. The group held a media advisory Wednesday to outline the premises of a report, healutah.org/DuReport, it commissioned on depleted uranium. The report has been given to Gov. Gary Herbert and made available to Energy Department officials."