Group items matching

in title, tags, annotations or url

Two groups and an individual have filed nomination petitions with the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources to have lands west of Edgemont declared special, exceptional, critical or unique. The petitions were filed Dec. 28 in Pierre. Oglala Sioux tribal member Debra White Plume, Defenders of the Black Hills and the Oglala Sioux Tribe have all filed the petitions with the DENR's Minerals and Mining program to ask that the determinations be made. The lands are within an area that has been leased by Powertech Uranium for exploration and possible mining of the mineral.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has a requirement for a contractor to provide technical assistance to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (ABRWH). The purpose of this announcement is to provide a draft statement of work and invite public comments about this requirement. The draft is shown below. Comments should be submitted to Ms. Florence Black at the Contracting Office Address shown above, via email to fpblack@cdc.gov, or via fax at 412-386-6843. Comments are requested by no later than October 31, 2007.

There were growing fears in Israel last night that Hamas missiles could threaten its top-secret nuclear facility at Dimona. Rocket attacks from Gaza have forced Israelis to flee in ever greater numbers and military chiefs have been shaken by the size and sophistication of the militant group's arsenal.

Ministers tell servicemen who witnessed 1950s test explosions they should have claimed years ago Ministers have been accused of blocking compensation claims brought by hundreds of nuclear test veterans who believe they developed cancers and other illnesses after being forced to witness atomic bomb experiments in the 1950s and '60s. Despite pay-outs to former servicemen in the US, France and China, Britain has told its veterans there is no case for offering compensation, and that there is no scientific justification for a full investigation into birth defects suffered by the veterans' children and grandchildren.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding a public comment meeting in Idaho Falls Dec. 10 to assess community support for international energy firm Areva's proposed Eagle Rock Uranium Enrichment Facility at a site near the Idaho National Laboratory. The meeting is part of the lengthy application process Areva must go through for licensing of the facility, news station KPVI reports. Areva, which announced that it had selected the Idaho Falls area for its new enrichment plant earlier this year, has already submitted both parts of its loan guarantee application to the Department of Energy, asking for the federal government to guarantee $2 billion in loans to finance the Eagle Rock project.

Energy concern Delta is to block the sale of Essent's 50% stake in the Netherlands' only nuclear power plant to the German power giant RWE, reports the Financieele Dagblad on Thursday. Delta and Essent are joint owners of the Borssele nuclear power station. On Monday RWE made a bid of €9.3bn to takeover Essent's commercial activities.

The takeover of Holland's biggest energy utility Essent by the German power giant RWE announced yesterday includes the Dutch firm's 50% stake in the Netherlands' only nuclear power plant, Borssele, reports Tuesday's Financieele Dagblad. Dutch economic affairs minister Maria van der Hoeven said in October that the possibility of Dutch nuclear energy facilities coming into foreign hands was 'not an option', the paper says. The remaining 50% of Borssele is owned by the Dutch utility Delta.

Critics had some harsh words for the U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday regarding a draft environmental impact statement prepared for a proposed program meant to safely, securely and sustainably expand the use of nuclear energy. DOE has prepared the statement for what is known as the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, and officials had a public hearing on the program at the New Hope Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. First proposed by the Bush Administration, GNEP would expand the use of nuclear power as an energy source, both domestically and internationally. Officials say it would also strive to reduce the risk of nuclear proliferation and limit the impacts of getting rid of spent nuclear fuel.

It is said that all that glitters is not gold. Keep that in mind when considering the bidding war heating up the nuclear power business. France's EDF has offered $6.5 billion for half of Constellation Energy Group's nuclear business and some other assets, trumping Warren Buffett's bid of $4.7 billion for all of Constellation. If plummeting demand for everything from new cars to tin foil could fell BHP's monster bid for Rio Tinto, why wouldn't it weigh on demand for energy? While nuclear power has regained some favor as a cheap, relatively clean alternative to nasty fossil fuels, is it really safe to expect consumers to ramp up electric heat this winter, and air conditioning next summer, when they are worried about losing their jobs?

A nuclear waste reprocessing facility proposed for Grundy County will be among the options discussed at a Dec. 4 public hearing on the environmental impact of nuclear waste disposal. The facility proposed at General Electric's Morris Operation, a storage site for more than 700 metric tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste, drew regional opposition during earlier hearings. The reprocessing technology GE wants to use at the site would burn off its most radioactive components and use them to generate electricity in a specialized reactor.

Uranium mining in the Narsaq area faces stiff opposition from many area residents. A citizens' meeting is being held on Monday in Narsaq to protest possible uranium mining in the nearby mountain region of Kvanefjeldet. The meeting is arranged by NGO 'Earth Charter Narsaq' and called for more information on mining plans before the government decided whether to lift the existing national ban on uranium mining.

U.S. Rep. Edward Markey is using a fire last week at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Plymouth to turn up the heat on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Markey sent a letter to the federal agency on Friday, posing a long list of questions about the Oct. 29 fire in an outbuilding at the plant property that the plant operator says was contained to one room.

The online Encyclopedia of Peace Education provides a comprehensive overview of scholarly developments in the field to date as well as new insights from across the globe from various actors involved in advancing peace education. This online resource serves as a living reference guide that traces the history and emergence of the field, highlights foundational concepts, contextualizes peace education practice across international and disciplinary borders, and suggests new directions for peace educators. From core conceptual perspectives to the moral and spiritual foundations of the field to the role of the United Nations, the Encyclopedia grounds peace education in a solid theoretical and practical framework through the writings of some of the field's most renowned scholars and its emerging voices. This online resource targets undergraduate and graduate students as well as scholars and practitioners working in international and non-governmental organizations in the field of peace education.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who found it odd that GOP presidential hopeful John McCain, in recalling Democrat Barack Obama's position on nuclear energy, as: It has to be safe. Environment. Blah, blah, blah. After this remark, the crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, went wild. Blah, blah, blah? I write it almost every day as a placeholder when I'm setting up a blog post. But coming from a presidential candidate? And getting applause? This is great oratory?

After being battered by its own missteps, near-calamities, strong opposition and financial overruns, the nuclear power industry is showing increased signs of emerging from a three-decade coma in the U.S. Many are giving a second look to the U.S.. nuke industry, including longtime skeptics on the lookout for alternatives to fossil fuels. Here at SEJ's annual conference, there's a livelier-than-usual discussion about nuclear power as a part of the solution to America's energy woes. One of the most prominent voices here calling for a nuclear power revival was R.K. Pachauri, who as Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore last year.

Twenty-five workers evacuated the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant Monday night after radiation levels in a section of the plant spiked briefly. The workers were on the top floor of the reactor, performing part of a scheduled refueling, when the top of the reactor was placed on a temporary stand too close to an air filter, which then spread unsafe levels of radiation through the area. After four hours, the radiation levels had dissipated, and the workers returned to the area, said Vermont Yankee spokesman Robert O. Williams.

Many federal agencies that gather scientific information have pretty lousy policies when it comes to disclosing their findings to the public, says a new study issued by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Released at the just-ended annual conference of the Society of Environmental Journalists in Roanoke, Va. (last SEJ '08 item -- I promise), the study was more than a year in the making. It involved interviewing federal scientists, filing Freedom of Information Act requests and checking agency Web sites for policies and practices on to making public scientific findings funded at taxpayers' expense.

Professional Case Management of Tennessee held town hall meetings Thursday at the American Museum of Science and Energy to share information with federal workers about its program and other related sick-worker issues. Professional Case Management is a Department of Labor-enrolled provider of home nursing to chronically ill nuclear workers. PCM recently opened an office in Oak Ridge and is currently serving 30 Oak Ridge residents who are eligible for care under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

One rainy night eight years ago, in Watertown, Massachusetts, a man was taking his dog for a walk. On the curb, in front of a neighbor's house, he spotted a pile of trash: old mattresses, cardboard boxes, a few broken lamps. Amidst the garbage he caught sight of a battered suitcase. He bent down, turned the case on its side and popped the clasps. He was surprised to discover that the suitcase was full of black-and-white photographs. He was even more astonished by their subject matter: devastated buildings, twisted girders, broken bridges - snapshots from an annihilated city. He quickly closed the case and made his way back home.

A BBC investigation uncovered evidence of a fourth undiscovered nuclear bomb from the Thule crash in 1968, Greenland has known about it for a decade The Thule workers' association already knew about the fourth nuclear bomb back in 1999, said Jens Zinglersen, the chairman of the group of workers affected by the radiation.