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More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

More trains filled with depleted uranium are coming to Utah. Even as state regulators consider a moratorium on new shipments of the radioactive material -- which becomes more hazardous over time -- the U.S. Department of Energy plans to ship another 14,800 barrels of it to the EnergySolutions Inc. disposal site in Tooele County. Part of the $1.6 billion in federal stimulus money for the Savannah River cleanup site in South Carolina will pay for rail cars filled with depleted uranium to be buried in Utah during the next 13 months. "This is exactly the situation we were hoping to prevent by asking the state Radiation Control Board to enact a moratorium on depleted uranium," said Christopher Thomas of the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah.

Hanford has completed shipping its leftover weapons-grade plutonium and unirradiated nuclear fuel to South Carolina, a major step toward reducing security requirements at the nuclear reservation. About 2,300 containers of material were shipped, most of them coffee-can-sized canisters of plutonium that had been stored at the Plutonium Finishing Plant. Shipments of the canisters ended in April. Since then, the Department of Energy has been shipping about a dozen packages of unirradiated fuel, with those shipments completed in September. DOE had set a goal to have the shipping done before the start of fiscal 2010, which began today. "It is a major accomplishment with a lot of effort by many people here at Hanford, a lot of effort by transportation crews and by the people at the Savannah River Site," said Geoff Tyree, a DOE Hanford spokesman.

Hanford has completed shipping its leftover weapons-grade plutonium and unirradiated nuclear fuel to South Carolina, a major step toward reducing security requirements at the nuclear reservation. About 2,300 containers of material were shipped, most of them coffee-can-sized canisters of plutonium that had been stored at the Plutonium Finishing Plant. Shipments of the canisters ended in April. Since then, the Department of Energy has been shipping about a dozen packages of unirradiated fuel, with those shipments completed in September. DOE had set a goal to have the shipping done before the start of fiscal 2010, which began today. "It is a major accomplishment with a lot of effort by many people here at Hanford, a lot of effort by transportation crews and by the people at the Savannah River Site," said Geoff Tyree, a DOE Hanford spokesman.

An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday. "We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days," he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.

An inquiry has been ordered into reports that an allegedly radioactive contaminated ship from the US has anchored off the Alang coast in Gujarat, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday. "We have got complaints that a radioactive contaminated ship has anchored at Alang. We have already ordered an inquiry into the matter and hope to get the report within the next two days," he told reporters in New Delhi even as environmentalists in Gujarat demanded that the US government recall the ship.

Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

Nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium oxide will be shipped from South Carolina for disposal in Utah under a contract awarded by the Department of Energy. The 14,800 drums of Savannah River Site waste will be disposed of at EnergySolutions Inc.'s facility about 70 miles west of Salt Lake City. The shipments will take place over 14 months, although it was unclear Wednesday when they would start. The announcement, made by the Energy Department in mid-July, comes as EnergySolutions fights an effort to place a moratorium on the disposal of depleted uranium in Utah.

India has ordered a probe into whether a former American naval ship heading for a breaking yard on the country's west coast contains toxic materials after protests by environmental groups. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters late Thursday that he had ordered the enquiry into the Platinum II that dropped anchor off the coast of Gujarat on October 4. He said he hoped "to get the report within the next two days". The ship has put India's ship-breaking industry back in the spotlight following a previous controversy over the French warship "Le Clemenceau".

India has ordered a probe into whether a former American naval ship heading for a breaking yard on the country's west coast contains toxic materials after protests by environmental groups. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh told reporters late Thursday that he had ordered the enquiry into the Platinum II that dropped anchor off the coast of Gujarat on October 4. He said he hoped "to get the report within the next two days". The ship has put India's ship-breaking industry back in the spotlight following a previous controversy over the French warship "Le Clemenceau".

An international shipping website is publishing co-ordinates of the nuclear shipment after its departure from Port Kembla harbour. Despite a veil of secrecy and extensive anti-terrorism measures for the transfer of the spent nuclear rods over land through Wollongong, the website is carrying up-to-date information about the vessel, MV Lynx, including its location at sea and its expected arrival time in the United States. Even those who do not know the ship's name can find its path, simply by searching for ships which have recently left the country.

A ship wreck discovered off the coast of Italy two weeks ago may contain bodies, as well as radioactive waste, the mayor of Longobardi says. An underwater camera revealed orange barrels marked "toxic" and what may be two bodies. Authorities say the vessel was sunk in 1993 by a criminal organization to conceal toxic waste, the Italian news agency ANSA reported. It remains underwater 12 miles off the coast and by Thursday calls for government action to deal with the possible pollution were mounting. "This terrible threat from the bottom of our sea calls for more than just good intentions," Calabrian Member of Parliament Jole Santelli said. "Serious situations like the one we have now in Calabria should be examined in depth to ensure the right tools are available to clean the polluted sea swiftly and efficiently." The Environment Ministry promised to send the Astrea, an oceanographic survey ship, to look into the problem. However, Calabrian Environment Councilor Silvestro Greco said Wednesday the Astrea was not up to the task. Greco said the council of regional governments would petition the European Commission to assist. The ship was found after a mafia turncoat told prosecutors he was involved in the 1993 sinking of the Cunsky to hide 120 containers of radioactive waste. A robot was sent down to investigate the vessel.

"A company's plan to ship radioactive steam generators on the Great Lakes is drawing crticism from Mayor Mike Bradley. Bradley said he's seen no evidence Bruce Power has consulted with communities along the shipping route. The comapny plans to transport 16 generators this fall from its nuclear plant near Kincardine, Ontario, to Owen Sound, Ontario. From there, the generators will be loaded on a ship that will travel the Great Lakes and the St. Clair River en route to a recycler in Sweden. Removing the generators is part of a refurbishment project at the plant near Kincardine, company officials have said. "

"Critics slam plan, regulators downplay risks The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station plans to ship 1,760 tonnes of radiation-laced steel through Lake Ontario - a precedent-setting project that has officials worried on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. On April 1, Bruce Power asked the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Canada's nuclear regulator, for a licence to ship low-level radioactive generators from its power plant on Lake Huron to Sweden, where 90 per cent of the metals inside the generators are to be cleansed and resold. The remaining materials that are too radioactive to be recycled will then return to the Bruce plant to be contained for the rest of their radioactive lives. But the planned journey, which would have 16 decommissioned steam generators travel through the Great Lakes, down the St. Lawrence River and then to Sweden this fall, has municipal officials concerned because they haven't been given the chance to vet the proposal. If approved, this would be the first time a licence has been issued by the commission to ship nuclear waste through the Great Lakes."

"A ship carrying 650 tons of uranium waste arrived in Russia's second largest city, St. Petersburg, Greenpeace said on Monday. The dangerous cargo of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which belongs to the French nuclear energy group Areva, was then loaded onto railway cars to be transported to the Siberian Chemical Combine in the Tomsk region, the statement added. The Russian vessel, the Kapitan Kuroptev arrived in St. Petersburg in the early hours of Monday. The ship had already been a source of controversy after a group of nature activists tried to stop it from entering the port in 2005 when it was carrying a similar cargo of spent nuclear fuel. According to international standards, however, uranium hexafluoride is not considered nuclear waste, and can be transformed into fuel to release energy for nuclear power stations. France's Areva and Britain's Urenco, a European consortium which supplies equipment to enrich uranium for the nuclear industry, has shipped some 140,000 tons of nuclear waste over the last 15 years to Russia."

"Proposed new legal deadlines for treating or shipping Hanford's transuranic waste could extend work past the date a national repository is projected to be open to accept the waste. Proposed Tri-Party Agreement deadlines would allow the Department of Energy to continue treating or shipping transuranic wastes -- typically debris contaminated with plutonium -- through 2035. No previous deadline had been set for shipping the waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the nation's repository for transuranic waste. But current projections anticipate WIPP will stop accepting waste in late 2030 and work then would begin to close the repository. "

The 1000 Islands could be at risk when radioactive nuclear waste is shipped through the region in September, says Senator Bob Runciman. In an interview Friday, Runciman said radioactive metal from the Bruce Nuclear Generating Station will be transported on aging ships on a river that this year has very low water levels. The shipment could be especially dangerous in the narrow passages of the 1000 Islands region west of Brockville, he added. "My main concern is essentially that we have had two groundings (of ships) in the past two weeks, one in our area and one in the Quebec area, and the lake fleet is an aging fleet, with an average age of 40," the senator explained. "Both of the breakdowns in the last couple of weeks have been attributed to mechanical failure." He also said St. Lawrence River water levels remain low, which creates a greater danger when the 1,800 tonnes of nuclear material from radioactive steam generators is transported through the "

New large U.S. Navy amphibious assault ships will be required to be nuclear powered as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2009 signed into law by President George W. Bush on Tuesday, October 14. The Senate had originally not included this provision in its version of the act. It had been part of the House version, pushed by Representative Gene Taylor, chairman of the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee. A major shipyard for building amphibious assault ships, Northrop Grumman's Ship Systems facility, is located in his Mississippi district.

Israel was linked to the interception of the missing cargo ship Arctic Sea last month, a senior figure close to Israeli intelligence has told the BBC. The source said Israel had told Moscow it knew the ship was secretly carrying a Russian air defence system for Iran. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed speculation that S-300 missiles were on board the ship. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, has denied making a secret visit to Moscow on Monday.

A Utah company is defending its decision to truck contaminated soil from Los Alamos National Laboratory into southern Colorado. Last week, EnergySolutions began shipping the soil by truck to Antonito, where it is loaded on to rail cars. The load is then shipped by rail to Walsenburg and then on to a storage facility in Clive, Utah, 74 miles west of Salt Lake City. The soil is from an area where conventional weapons were tested and contains depleted uranium and PCBs. Antonito is about 100 miles from Los Alamos and residents questioned why EnergySolutions didn't truck the soil to a closer railhead. The company says other transfer stations didn't work because they added more rail miles and because of a lack of daily rail service and multiple switching requirements.

A Utah company is defending its decision to truck contaminated soil from Los Alamos National Laboratory into southern Colorado. Last week, EnergySolutions began shipping the soil by truck to Antonito, where it is loaded on to rail cars. The load is then shipped by rail to Walsenburg and then on to a storage facility in Clive, Utah, 74 miles west of Salt Lake City. The soil is from an area where conventional weapons were tested and contains depleted uranium and PCBs. Antonito is about 100 miles from Los Alamos and residents questioned why EnergySolutions didn't truck the soil to a closer railhead. The company says other transfer stations didn't work because they added more rail miles and because of a lack of daily rail service and multiple switching requirements.

A Salt Lake City company that ships hazardous waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory agreed Thursday to suspend their transfer operation at Antonito for two days, while alarmed Conejos County officials decide how to regulate the operation. On Tuesday, EnergySolutions, which specializes in the recycling and disposal of nuclear material, began hauling contaminated soil by truck to Antonito where it transfers the waste to the San Luis & Rio Grande for shipment on to a company storage site in Clive, Utah. Mike Williams, the company's project manager, said the company hopes to ship up to 36 bags per day. He said they will contain up to 15,000 pounds per bag of soil contaminated with depleted uranium and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. But the county officials and residents, who found out about the project through word of mouth, were anything but generous toward the company's plans.

A Salt Lake City company that ships hazardous waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory agreed Thursday to suspend their transfer operation at Antonito for two days, while alarmed Conejos County officials decide how to regulate the operation. On Tuesday, EnergySolutions, which specializes in the recycling and disposal of nuclear material, began hauling contaminated soil by truck to Antonito where it transfers the waste to the San Luis & Rio Grande for shipment on to a company storage site in Clive, Utah. Mike Williams, the company's project manager, said the company hopes to ship up to 36 bags per day. He said they will contain up to 15,000 pounds per bag of soil contaminated with depleted uranium and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. But the county officials and residents, who found out about the project through word of mouth, were anything but generous toward the company's plans.

Despite concerns that the plan could be a figurative train wreck, a train load of depleted uranium is set to depart the federal Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, bound for Utah. The DOE announced last week that the first of three train loads of the radioactive waste will soon be shipped as part of a project in which federal stimulus money is unfairly being used to clean up the Palmetto State at the Beehive State's expense. In all, 14,800 drums containing 11,000 tons of DU, a byproduct of uranium enrichment, are earmarked for EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County. But the decision to ship is premature because the verdict is still out on the best way to dispose of DU.

Despite concerns that the plan could be a figurative train wreck, a train load of depleted uranium is set to depart the federal Department of Energy's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, bound for Utah. The DOE announced last week that the first of three train loads of the radioactive waste will soon be shipped as part of a project in which federal stimulus money is unfairly being used to clean up the Palmetto State at the Beehive State's expense. In all, 14,800 drums containing 11,000 tons of DU, a byproduct of uranium enrichment, are earmarked for EnergySolutions' low-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Clive in Tooele County. But the decision to ship is premature because the verdict is still out on the best way to dispose of DU.

In the wake of a French investigation into reports that nuclear waste is sent from French plants to Siberia, news has emerged that Germany has a long tradition of shipping toxic waste to Russia. The German anti-nuclear group "Ausgestrahlt" said that since 1996, Germany's only uranium enrichment plant in Gronau has shipped about 22,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride, which is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process, to Russia. "Ausgestrahlt" reported on Wednesday that only 10 percent of that was returned to Germany as enriched uranium. The anti-nuclear activists said the remaining 90 percent was stored in Siberia, outdoors and in rusting containers. Uranium hexafluoride is highly toxic and corrosive to most metals.

In the wake of a French investigation into reports that nuclear waste is sent from French plants to Siberia, news has emerged that Germany has a long tradition of shipping toxic waste to Russia. The German anti-nuclear group "Ausgestrahlt" said that since 1996, Germany's only uranium enrichment plant in Gronau has shipped about 22,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride, which is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process, to Russia. "Ausgestrahlt" reported on Wednesday that only 10 percent of that was returned to Germany as enriched uranium. The anti-nuclear activists said the remaining 90 percent was stored in Siberia, outdoors and in rusting containers. Uranium hexafluoride is highly toxic and corrosive to most metals.

Court hears uranium protesters locked in container Civil action starts over uranium protest in 2000 A civil trial has started in the SA Supreme Court over police treatment of protesters at an outback uranium mine. Ten protesters who were locked in a shipping container at Beverley in South Australia in 2000 are claiming damages from the government for injury and suffering caused by their allegedly false imprisonment. The government has already settled out of court with three other plaintiffs who had been part of the class action. A lawyer for the remaining plaintiffs, Brian Walters, told the court the protesters were given no warning before police beat them with batons, used capsicum spray and locked them in a shipping container with no water or toilet facilities for up to eight hours. They are now suing the state government over their treatment by police.

Court hears uranium protesters locked in container Civil action starts over uranium protest in 2000 A civil trial has started in the SA Supreme Court over police treatment of protesters at an outback uranium mine. Ten protesters who were locked in a shipping container at Beverley in South Australia in 2000 are claiming damages from the government for injury and suffering caused by their allegedly false imprisonment. The government has already settled out of court with three other plaintiffs who had been part of the class action. A lawyer for the remaining plaintiffs, Brian Walters, told the court the protesters were given no warning before police beat them with batons, used capsicum spray and locked them in a shipping container with no water or toilet facilities for up to eight hours. They are now suing the state government over their treatment by police.

Earlier this month, a shipment off-site of seven barrels of tritium- and mercury-contaminated oil put the Savannah River Site on a fast track to remove legacy mixed waste originally scheduled for disposition in 2053. "Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," said Jacob Nims, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) project engineer. "We had plans to let all of it decay to be able to ship it off-site in the future." Decaying would have taken 10 to 50 years. Instead, funding from the Recovery Act accelerated the project as part of the cleanup that will reduce the footprint of the Site by 67 percent. In essence, the removal of the mixed waste frees space in N Area, allowing for the consolidation of the remaining waste from a total of 30,000 square feet of space to a smaller 3,600-square-foot facility in E Area. "The plan is to ship all we can from N Area and move only what is necessary into E Area to allow maximum space for all future generated waste," Nims said.

Earlier this month, a shipment off-site of seven barrels of tritium- and mercury-contaminated oil put the Savannah River Site on a fast track to remove legacy mixed waste originally scheduled for disposition in 2053. "Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," said Jacob Nims, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) project engineer. "We had plans to let all of it decay to be able to ship it off-site in the future." Decaying would have taken 10 to 50 years. Instead, funding from the Recovery Act accelerated the project as part of the cleanup that will reduce the footprint of the Site by 67 percent. In essence, the removal of the mixed waste frees space in N Area, allowing for the consolidation of the remaining waste from a total of 30,000 square feet of space to a smaller 3,600-square-foot facility in E Area. "The plan is to ship all we can from N Area and move only what is necessary into E Area to allow maximum space for all future generated waste," Nims said.