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Ray and Irene Zukley of Zion, Illinois were forced to sell this Lake Michigan beach cottage to make way for Zion Nuclear Station back in the late 60s. The Zukley's and other Zion residents hoped the plant would last for at least forty years, but after fits and starts, it closed fifteen years early.

MarylandDoesn't Need a $10 Billion Radioactive Boondoggle, Groups Say WASHINGTON, D.C. - Four environmental organizations filed a legal challenge late Wednesday against the proposed Calvert Cliffs-3 atomic reactor before the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The filing, which is a formal petition to intervene in the NRC's licensing process, marks the latest action in an ongoing fight to stop the proposed reactor before construction starts. The challenge asserts that the Calvert Cliffs project runs afoul of laws and regulations that prohibit foreign ownership or domination of a U.S. reactor; that the company - UniStar Nuclear, a subsidiary of Constellation Energy and Electricite de France - does not have adequate assurance that it will have the funds necessary to decontaminate and decommission the facility; that the license application does not consider the cumulative effects of adding yet another nuclear reactor's radioactive and chemical discharges to a Chesapeake Bay already groaning under the effects of discharges from 11 atomic reactors; and that the proposed reactor does not have any place to put either its high-level or "low-level" radioactive waste.

Here in Arkansas with way above normal cancer rates, the survivors linked to radiation induced cancers ask me to find the source of radiation that caused their cancers. Radioactive fallout from the 1950's nuclear weapons tests in Nevada spread throughout most of the nation, but the hottest spots were in the Midwest and Northwest, according to government projections. Data, was compiled by the National Cancer Institute as part federal study over a decade ago. It was the first to show high exposure rates outside Nevada and Utah. Some of the highest doses of fallout were received by milk drinking children here in Arkansas. From earlier studies, exposure rates were highest in 12 states east and north of the Nevada desert: ARKANSAS, Missouri,Nevada,Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado.

The Trade & Environment Database (TED) is a collection of categorical case studies that began with a focus on solely environmental issues, but did not include the economic consequences of other social policy choices, such as culture, rights, or other issues. TED cases include 28 categories that include both coded and reporting, organized into 6 clusters of information with extensive search and knowledge capabilities. There are around 700 TED cases studies. Please search the TED databases, read more about our research, see about the TED book, participate in Mandala events, and get involved (internships and distance learning). Click here to see the NEW Geographic Indications and International Trade (GIANT) project

The nuclear regulatory activities of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) include decommissioning nuclear facilities. This involves safely removing a facility or site from service and reducing residual radioactivity to a level that permits the license to be terminated, with the property released either for unrestricted use or under specified restricted conditions. Under certain conditions (as allowed by the Atomic Energy Act), the NRC enters into agreements with State governors. Those agreements authorize individual States to regulate the decommissioning of materials facilities within their borders. States that meet these conditions and agree to use the same regulatory standards as the NRC are called Agreement States. In States that do not have agreements with the NRC, the Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs (FSME) and the NRC's regional offices exercise regulatory authority over the decommissioning of materials facilities. In addition, the NRC retains regulatory authority over decommissioning in certain portions of Agreement States that are subject to "exclusive Federal jurisdiction," including most American Indian reservations and certain areas of military bases.

Risks and Realities: The "New Nuclear Energy Revival" The headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sits in the suburbs of Vienna, in the northeast corner of a country that has outlawed nuclear power plants since 1978. The irony of this situation masks deeper divisions in the nuclear energy debate, which recent assertions of a nuclear renaissance have papered over.

How much has the cost of new nuclear construction increased in recent years and what factors have contributed to cost estimates of up to $7000 per kWe? By Steve Kidd There is now a huge range of numbers in the public domain about the costs of new nuclear build. It has become clear that estimates produced by vendors a few years ago of below $2000/kWe on an overnight basis (ie without interest costs) were wide of the mark, at least for initial units in a market such as the USA.

The industry is on an unprecedented uptick as the world tries to lessen its reliance on globe-warming fossil fuels. In the United States, applications for new reactors and extended licenses are soaring. In Florida, which has five nuclear reactors, preliminary approval has been granted for four more.

This is a national map of the primary routes where spent nuclear fuel would travel if the Yucca Mountain High Level Waste Respository was opened. The Map is clickable to get closer views of routes.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has made available to the public an unclassified version of an annual report to Congress outlining the previous year's security inspection program. The report covers the security inspection program, including force-on-force exercises, for commercial power reactors and certain fuel cycle facilities for calendar year 2007.

Nuclear power generates approximately 20 percent of all U.S. electricity. And because it is a low-carbon source of around-the-clock power, it has received renewed interest as concern grows over the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on our climate. Yet nuclear power's own myriad limitations will constrain its growth and make it an infeasible solution for making energy more affordable as well as more sustainable.

One could be forgiven for thinking we've overcome the problems associated with nuclear power. Everywhere you turn, nuclear is being touted as a "green" energy source and a solution to global warming. Our prime minister recently sang the benefits of both nuclear power and uranium mining in a speech to a business crowd in London, England. "As the largest producer of uranium, we can contribute to the renaissance of nuclear energy, a no-emissions source that will be expanding here in Britain and around the world," Stephen Harper said.

It turns out nuclear power's biggest worry isn't Yucca Mountain, Three Mile Island ghosts, or environmental protesters. It's economics. Rebecca Smith reports today in the WSJ (sub reqd.) on the biggest hurdle to the nascent nuclear-energy revival in the U.S.-skyrocketing construction costs. Though all power sectors are affected to different degrees by rising capital costs, nuclear power's vulnerability puts it in a class by itself. Notes the paper:

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Southern Nevada's top water official is raising concerns about ''measurable quantities'' of uranium showing up in the Colorado River, the region's primary source for drinking water. Southern Nevada Water Authority chief Pat Mulroy blames uranium mining, particularly near Moab, Utah.

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says the country can cope with climate change without resorting to nuclear power. The former premier of the eastern state of New South Wales, Bob Carr, and Australian Workers Union national secretary, Paul Howes, have both urged Mr Rudd's Labor Party to drop its opposition to nuclear power.

Denver, CO (PRWEB) April 29, 2008 -- There is new hope for thousands of nuclear weapons workers and uranium miners who got sick serving their country, thanks to the recent launch of a nonprofit organization created to help them cut through the red tape that prevents them from receiving government benefits. Cold War Patriots is the first national network connecting these workers and their families with the comprehensive information they need to process their claims. Organizers hope it will help them channel their anger and frustration into positive action.