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Thousands of people demonstrated in eastern France on Saturday to demand the closure of the country's oldest nuclear power plant amid a huge police presence. Organisers said more than 10,000 people, including from Spain, Italy and neighbouring Germany and Switzerland, rallied peacefully in Colmar while police said 3,500 took part in the protest against the Fessenheim nuclear plant. "This is a success and the question of the closure of Fessenheim has now been clearly put forward," said Denis Vernet, of the anti-nuclear umbrella group SDN, which organised the protest with the German movement Bund. A delegation handed a letter to the region's prefect Pierre-Andre Peyvel calling for the immediate closure of the plant.

Thousands of people demonstrated in eastern France on Saturday to demand the closure of the country's oldest nuclear power plant amid a huge police presence. Organisers said more than 10,000 people, including from Spain, Italy and neighbouring Germany and Switzerland, rallied peacefully in Colmar while police said 3,500 took part in the protest against the Fessenheim nuclear plant. "This is a success and the question of the closure of Fessenheim has now been clearly put forward," said Denis Vernet, of the anti-nuclear umbrella group SDN, which organised the protest with the German movement Bund. A delegation handed a letter to the region's prefect Pierre-Andre Peyvel calling for the immediate closure of the plant.

Washington Closure Hanford president Chuck Spencer will become president of the tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions on Oct. 1. He will replace River Protection Solutions president and project manager Bill Johnson, who is retiring. In a Tuesday e-mail to Washington River Protection Solutions employees, Johnson said retirement will allow him to spend more time with his family. Spencer's move from Washington Closure to Washington River Protection Solutions is considered a transfer within the URS Corp. That company partly owns Washington River Protection Solutions and Washington Closure.

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.

The Committee's recommendation for Defense Environmental Cleanup totals $5,425,202,000, an increase of $127,946,000 over the budget request of $5,297,256,000. Within the amounts provided, the Department is directed to fund hazardous waste worker training at $10,000,000. Closure Sites.--The Committee recommendation provides $45,883,000, the same as the budget request. The recommendation provides $13,209,000 for Closure Sites Administration, $30,574,000 for Miamisburg, Ohio, and $2,100,000 for Fernald, Ohio.

Notice of Availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center AGENCY: Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Revised Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship at the West Valley Demonstration Project and Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D [Revised]) (referred to as the ``Draft Decommissioning and/or Long-Term Stewardship EIS'' or ``Draft EIS''). This Draft EIS revises the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Completion of the West Valley Demonstration Project and Closure or Long-Term Management of Facilities at the Western New York Nuclear Service Center (DOE/EIS-0226-D) issued for public comment in January 1996 (referred to as the ``1996 Cleanup and Closure Draft EIS'').

The companies that own most of the nation's aging nuclear reactors are not putting aside an adequate amount of money to properly close them when the time comes, an Associated Press review of financial records found. Part of the problem is that the nuclear industry has been battered, along with everyone else, by the stock market and the sour economy. Critics, however, say that the industry has never put enough money aside to close plants. Instead of planning for closure, plant owners are delaying the inevitable, with the help of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC has given 19 plants permission to mothball their reactors for as many as 60 years before closing them. The commission has also granted 20-year license extensions for 54 reactors, more than half of the nation's plants, which could mean closure would come in 80 years.

A nuclear reactor vessel closure head is now scheduled to make its way through parts of Palm Springs on Friday, which will cause some road closures during the evening hours. Advertisement The piece is not dangerous, said Andrew Wierda, spokesman for Bigge Crane and Rigging, which is transporting the load. Due to its height of 19 feet and its weight of 350,000 pounds, the equipment will be escorted by the California Highway Patrol, said Chris St. Cyr, variance load officer for the California Highway Patrol. The piece is heading to the Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant outside Phoenix, Wierda said. It was supposed to be transported through the city Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, but there were some delays, St. Cyr said.

The four members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have overruled a panel of the agency's administrative judges on several key issues raised by opponents of the Crow Butte uranium mine, including a challenge to the legality of licensing a foreign owned company to extract radioactive material in the U.S. * Related Articles * Most Popular * Middle school students protest to show teacher support * NRC says Crow Butte's foreign ownership not an issue * Park vandalism could lead to nighttime closure * Fairgrounds safe for horses, Alliance vet says * Dr. Harry Holmberg dies at age 92 * Middle school students protest to show teacher support (726) * Park vandalism could lead to nighttime closure (417) * Local construction company owner charged with thefts (279) * Suspect ID'd, auto seized in Chadron armed robbery (251) * Activist says assault charge shows racism (223) * Chadron residents among those stung by Medicare snafu (202) * Maintenance code boards appointed (187) Ads by Yahoo! Top Whole House Arsenic Removal System Whole house arsenic water filtter system. Free Ship. On Sale 30% Off. www.equinox-products.com Trace Arsenic Analysis and Speciation Fast TAT and competitive prices for trace Arsenic Analysis and Arsenic Speciation in various matrices. www.appliedspeciation.com Cheap Flights To Chadron Get Cheap Flight Deals To Chadron. Compare Airfare & SAVE. www.TripMama.com In its May 18 ruling on issues raised regarding renewal of the license for the Crow Butte In Situ Leach (ISL) mining operation near Crawford, the NRC also dismissed an argument that the mine releases low levels of arsenic into drinking water supplies, thereby contributing to increased diabetes and pancreatic cancer on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, some 30 miles away. The NRC called that argument "speculative' and based on a study that doesn't show the mine causes any arsenic contamination. "There is nothing in the Arsenic Study

A Hanford worker was seriously injured when he fell through an access door to a catwalk 50 feet above the ground Wednesday morning inside a building at the Hanford 300 Area just north of Richland. He hit the rail of a ladder halfway down, and then fell the rest of the way to the ground, said Todd Nelson, spokesman for Washington Closure Hanford. The railing kept him from hitting the floor with full force, according to DOE. The Washington Closure worker was taken to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland by ambulance with "very serious but non-life-threatening injuries, including to his leg," said Dave Brockman, manager of the Department of Energy Hanford Richland Operations Office, in a memo sent to all Hanford employees Wednesday evening. The worker's name was not released. The accident follows a series of safety events that the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said appeared to be increasing in recent months in a newly released May report.

LOSSES made by Sellafield's failing SMP (mox fuel) recycling plant have been disclosed to Parliament after to searching questions from Labour MP Michael Meacher, who as environment minister tried to stop the plant from opening in 2001. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which took over ownership from British Nuclear Group in 2005, is resisting calls from opposition MPs for the plant's immediate closure. The Whitehaven News was the first to reveal three months ago that SMP's costs had soared to over a billion pounds but closure would put 1,000 Sellafield jobs at risk. One of the government's options was to build a new plant to help reduce Sellafield's 100-ton plutonium stockpile.

* Rules to force closure, changes at 19 power plants * Compliance dates stretch past 2020 for nuclear plants HOUSTON, May 5 (Reuters) - California water resource regulators, seeking to protect marine life, approved a policy late Tuesday that will force closure or costly changes at 19 coastal power plants that now use ocean water to cool equipment. The policy affects power plants totaling 23,000 megawatts, or more than a third of the installed capacity in the state, including California's two nuclear stations, Southern California Edison's (EIX.N) 2,150-megawatt San Onofre nuclear station near San Diego and PG&E Corp's (PCG.N) 2,240-MW Diablo Canyon station north of Los Angeles. The contentious policy to replace "once-through cooling systems" has been under development for about five years. It involved input from state environmental and power-related agencies, consumer groups opposed to local plants and marine protection groups."

"Japanese utility Chugoku Electric Power Co said on Thursday it would keep its sole Shimane nuclear plant shut indefinitely. The closure is due to an extended government inspection following the discovery of extensive inadequate checks of the plant's equipment,it said. The company shut 460-megawatt Shimane No.1 reactor for a voluntary inspection in March, with no schedule for a restart, after discovering that hundreds of pieces of equipment at the plant had not been properly inspected."

- A referendum to postpone the closure of Lithuania's only nuclear power plant until 2012 has failed to reach the required turnout of 50%, the country's Central Election Commission said. Only 47.6% of voters cast their vote on Sunday during a nationwide referendum on extending the life of the Soviet-era nuclear power station, which provides 70% of Lithuania's electricity. Some 88.7% of the voters that did turn out supported the decision.

Moscow- Russia shut down a weapons-grade plutonium reactor Thursday as part of a non-proliferation agreement with the United States to reduce the risk of their nuclear bomb building sites. The Soviet-Era reactor, secretly built in Siberia in the 1960s, is the second to be turned off this year, four decades on from the height of the Soviet Union's atomic weapons programme. "The industrial reactor ADE-5 was terminally stopped. That is the final closure of the reactor," a spokesman for the Siberian Chemical Combine, in the closed city of Seversk, formerly known as Tomsk-7 was quoted by Itar-Tass as saying Thursday.

Chubu Electric Power Co. may burn more fossil fuels to keep lights on and machinery running in Nagoya, Japan's third-largest metropolitan area, as the utility finds more earthquake damage to its Hamaoka nuclear plant. Both functioning reactors at Hamaoka shut down after a 6.5- magnitude quake on Aug. 11 and as of today Chubu found 39 problems, including neutron monitor and auxiliary transformer malfunctions. There's no estimate when the reactors will resume operation, spokesman Toshimitsu Shibata said by phone. A monthlong closure at Hamaoka, which generated 16 percent of the Nagoya-based utility's electric power last year, would increase costs by about 10 billion yen ($105 million), according Reiji Ogino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. For a company with annual sales of more than 2 trillion yen, there wouldn't be any serious affect on Chubu's share price, he said.

Chubu Electric Power Co. may burn more fossil fuels to keep lights on and machinery running in Nagoya, Japan's third-largest metropolitan area, as the utility finds more earthquake damage to its Hamaoka nuclear plant. Both functioning reactors at Hamaoka shut down after a 6.5- magnitude quake on Aug. 11 and as of today Chubu found 39 problems, including neutron monitor and auxiliary transformer malfunctions. There's no estimate when the reactors will resume operation, spokesman Toshimitsu Shibata said by phone. A monthlong closure at Hamaoka, which generated 16 percent of the Nagoya-based utility's electric power last year, would increase costs by about 10 billion yen ($105 million), according Reiji Ogino, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. For a company with annual sales of more than 2 trillion yen, there wouldn't be any serious affect on Chubu's share price, he said.

"German plans to extend the running time of nuclear-power plants split Chancellor Angela Merkel's government after her environment minister suggested a 40-year limit on their operating life. "What the environment minister said isn't the view of the government," Guido Westerwelle, vice chancellor and head of Merkel's Free Democratic Party coalition partner, said on ZDF television. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen's comments in a Feb. 6 newspaper interview come as Merkel seeks to negotiate the extension with utilities as part of a plan for Germany's future energy mix she wants to present by October. Merkel won Sept. 27 elections pledging to reverse a 2002 law mandating the closure of Germany's 17 nuclear plants by about 2021. She holds to the coalition agreement to extend nuclear plants as a "bridge" to renewable power, her spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said today. "

The job of moving 16 million tons of radioactive waste from the shores of the Colorado River in southern Utah is picking up steam. The U.S. Department of Energy says more than 330,000 tons of uranium tailings have been hauled away from a huge pile near Moab and deposited in disposal pits 30 miles to the north. Crews began running two trainloads a day in August, doubling the amount of waste shipped to Crescent Junction each day. Project manager Donald Metzler says the pace will pick up even more next month with longer trains and more container cars. The work is part of a $1 billion project to clear away a 130-acre heap of waste left behind after the closure of a uranium mill in 1984. The project could be completed by 2022 or earlier if additional funds are secured.

The job of moving 16 million tons of radioactive waste from the shores of the Colorado River in southern Utah is picking up steam. The U.S. Department of Energy says more than 330,000 tons of uranium tailings have been hauled away from a huge pile near Moab and deposited in disposal pits 30 miles to the north. Crews began running two trainloads a day in August, doubling the amount of waste shipped to Crescent Junction each day. Project manager Donald Metzler says the pace will pick up even more next month with longer trains and more container cars. The work is part of a $1 billion project to clear away a 130-acre heap of waste left behind after the closure of a uranium mill in 1984. The project could be completed by 2022 or earlier if additional funds are secured.

Ground work for significant Hanford cleanup is laid out for decades to come in a draft version of a massive new environmental study of Hanford released in the Tri-Cities on Monday. Among decisions it recommends are entombing Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility, emptying 99 percent of waste from underground tanks, leaving the emptied tanks in the ground, and continuing to ban some, but not all, radioactive waste from being sent to Hanford. The Draft Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement is more than 6,000 pages and has been in the works since 2003. Topics it covers have been expanded several times in that time. The draft study will be the basis for a final study and followed by decisions by the Department of Energy.

Ground work for significant Hanford cleanup is laid out for decades to come in a draft version of a massive new environmental study of Hanford released in the Tri-Cities on Monday. Among decisions it recommends are entombing Hanford's Fast Flux Test Facility, emptying 99 percent of waste from underground tanks, leaving the emptied tanks in the ground, and continuing to ban some, but not all, radioactive waste from being sent to Hanford. The Draft Tank Closure and Waste Management Environmental Impact Statement is more than 6,000 pages and has been in the works since 2003. Topics it covers have been expanded several times in that time. The draft study will be the basis for a final study and followed by decisions by the Department of Energy.

Most nuclear power plants have a nominal design lifetime of up to 40 years but many have been approved to operate for longer. The possibility of component replacement and extending the lifetimes of existing plants are very attractive to utilities, given the high cost of constructing new nuclear plants and lingering public opposition to them, while some governments see them as a good way to limit carbon emissions. But economic, regulatory and political considerations have led to the premature closure of some power reactors. Below are details of those plants that have been granted life extensions in Europe:

Most nuclear power plants have a nominal design lifetime of up to 40 years but many have been approved to operate for longer. The possibility of component replacement and extending the lifetimes of existing plants are very attractive to utilities, given the high cost of constructing new nuclear plants and lingering public opposition to them, while some governments see them as a good way to limit carbon emissions. But economic, regulatory and political considerations have led to the premature closure of some power reactors. Below are details of those plants that have been granted life extensions in Europe:

Mercury-laden waste pushes shutdown date to Nov. 30 OAK RIDGE - The last waste to be burned at the federal government's 20-year-old toxic waste incinerator is apparently proving to be some of the most difficult. The Department of Energy and its environmental manager have again delayed the permanent closure of the Oak Ridge incinerator, citing the need for more time to process mercury-laden

Mercury-laden waste pushes shutdown date to Nov. 30 OAK RIDGE - The last waste to be burned at the federal government's 20-year-old toxic waste incinerator is apparently proving to be some of the most difficult. The Department of Energy and its environmental manager have again delayed the permanent closure of the Oak Ridge incinerator, citing the need for more time to process mercury-laden