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Eskom's proposed nuclear power station to be built next to Koeberg could pose a serious threat to residents as the power utility had failed to address a number of concerns such as health risks and an emergency evacuation plan. This was said at a meeting yesterday of the city council's planning and environment portfolio committee (Pepco), which raised a number of concerns about the proposed nuclear station during a discussion on the draft environmental impact report by Eskom. The committee said the report had failed to address issues such as an emergency plan, health risks, nuclear waste, security and economic growth."

Mordechai Vanunu's case is as much about suppressing dissent by a supposedly democratic state as it is a demonstration of western double standards. Had Mordechai Vanunu been, say, an Iranian or a Russian whistle-blower and facing persecution at home, he would have been assured of a prominent place in the western pantheon of heroes. But he is an Israeli dissident and Israel's friends in the West have no time for him. The Morocco-born Mr. Vanunu first hit the headlines more than two decades ago when he revealed details of Israel's secret nuclear programme to a British newspaper - an offence for which he served a long jail term. Since then, he has been fighting an almost lone battle against harassment by successive Israeli administrations even though since his release in 2004 he has not said or done anything to harm the country's security."

Energy secretary blames predecessors for avoiding tough decisions in 'classic example of short-termism' Britain is facing a £4bn black hole in unavoidable nuclear decommissioning and waste costs, Chris Huhne, the energy and climate change secretary disclosed tonight. The decommissioning costs over the next four years revealed by officials to Huhne are so serious that he has already flagged the crisis up to the cabinet. The revelation places an unexpected burden on his department's £3bn annual budget ahead of difficult spending negotiations this summer."

"European Union regulators said Wednesday that they are investigating nuclear power non-compete deals between France's Areva SA and Germany's Siemens AG after Areva took over their joint venture. This adds another twist to a row between the two companies after Siemens pulled out of the Areva NP unit, the world's largest builder of atomic power plants, and struck a deal with Russia's Rosatom to develop nuclear reactors. Areva complained last year that Siemens' new deal broke the terms of a 2001 non-competition clause."

"Pakistan has 60 nuclear warheads and with two new plutonium reactors nearing completion in Khusab, its weapons grade plutonium production will jump seven-fold, according to latest figures released by Swedish institute SIPRI. "Our conservative estimates are that Pakistan has sixty warheads and could produce 100 nuclear weapons at short notice," the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its latest annual report. SIPRI also said that Islamabad was developing an air launched cruise missile Ra'ad and had also carried out four tests of its land launched sub-sonic cruise missile Babur. But said it was not clear whether these missiles would be developed to carry nuclear warheads. The Swedish think-tank said that Pakistan's Khusab I reactor was giving the country 10 to 12 kgs of weapons grade plutonium. "

"The Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor was relaunched Tuesday after being suspended for four days for a scheduled checkup of data collected from the initial stage of operations following its restart nearly a month ago, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said. The 280,000-kw reactor in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, restarted at 10:10 a.m. after staff pulled out control rods that had prevented nuclear reaction. The reactor resumed test operations May 6 following more than 14 years of suspension. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency will soon conduct two days of checks required for full operation of the reactor planned for 2013."

"Bruce Power is investigating what caused a "small spill" of radioactive heavy water, which forced workers to evacuate Unit 6 about 3 a.m. Monday. Workers were conducting maintenance at that Bruce B reactor, which has been down for planned service and inspections since May 14, when a spill occurred, Bruce Power reported in a news release Monday. An alarm sounded after the equivalent of a "barrel" of the reactor moderator water spilled, Bruce Power spokesman John Peevers said in an interview Tuesday. The spill occurred "as part of" maintenance activities according to a news release posted to Bruce Power's website. "The spill was immediately isolated and routed to a collection tank," the release said. All workers were allowed to return a few hours later, Peevers added. "

Both TMI and Peach Bottom have faced tritium-related problems in the past. Tritium leaks discovered at two nuclear-powered plants across the nation have contributed to a review by U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on how the federal agency may improve its approach in dealing with groundwater contamination. A weak radioactive isotope that occurs both naturally and during the operation of nuclear power plants, tritium is most commonly found in water, and it leaves the body quickly when ingested."

"In the article ["Cardin criticizes Obama for offshore drilling, says oil spills could hurt Bay," April 28] it states that Sen. Ben Cardin supports nuclear energy and that Cardin said that nuclear power plants would help protect the environment. The article then states, "'It also would end the reliance on oil from countries unfriendly to the U.S.,' he said." This is incorrect. Nuclear power plants generate electricity. Less than 3 percent of U.S. electricity is oil- based. Therefore, additional nuclear power plants would essentially do nothing to replace the need for foreign oil or any oil for that matter."

"Federal nuclear regulators are meeting to discuss a special inspection of a South Carolina plant that shut down earlier this year. Staff from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission are in Hartsville on Wednesday to talk about safety at Progress Energy's nearby Robinson plant. Two fires happened March 28 in the plant's electrical system. The commission says the plant and public were never in danger but decided that issues raised in an initial inspection warranted further study. The plant entered a refueling outage originally planned for mid-April and remains shut down. Last month, the commission sent in a special inspection team to review the events that led to shutdown. The agency will issue a report after the public hearing."

"The U.S. Supreme Court handed North Carolina a victory Tuesday in an epic, decades-long legal battle with other states over plans for a low-level nuclear disposal site that would have been in Wake County. Seven Southeastern states joined in 1986 to share the burden of disposing of irradiated material produced by nuclear reactors, factories, hospitals and laboratories. North Carolina was picked to host a landfill for the material, and the other states in the compact agreed to help with the costs. But safety concerns and out-of-control expenses delayed the project. Money from the other states dried up. Eventually, North Carolina decided to cancel the project and withdraw from the interstate compact. Other states sought to assess $80 million in penalties. North Carolina has maintained since 1999 that it didn't owe anything. The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday."

Loan guarantee to be announced next week President Obama next week will announce a loan guarantee to build the first nuclear power plant in the U.S. in almost three decades at Burke County's Plant Vogtle, an administration official said Friday. The two new Southern Co. reactors are part of the White House's energy plan that administration officials hope will draw Republican support. Obama's direct involvement in announcing the award underscores the political weight the White House is putting behind its effort to use nuclear power and alternative energy sources to lessen American dependence on foreign oil and reduce the use of other fossil fuels blamed for global warming.

"An Energy Department review has concluded that a program for protecting workers from a toxic metal at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site has a number of weaknesses and could have been implemented more quickly. An Energy Department review has concluded that a program for protecting workers from a toxic metal at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site has a number of weaknesses and could have been implemented more quickly. However, the review released Wednesday also found the beryllium program is an improvement over past practices. Beryllium was used in the production of reactor fuel at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation, and dust remains in some buildings. Worker safety groups have raised concerns that workers have not been adequately protected from exposure to beryllium, which can cause a lung disease."

"A memorial service will be held Thursday for Julius Schlocker, a retired geologist whose investigation of earthquake risks helped thwart construction of a nuclear power plant at Bodega Bay more than 40 years ago. Mr. Schlocker died May 25 at Kaiser Medical Center in Redwood City. He was 92."

"The Board of Directors of Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE: PNW) announced today that Dr. Dale E. Klein has been elected to the Pinnacle West Board of Directors. He also has joined the Board of Pinnacle West's principal subsidiary, Arizona Public Service Company. Dr. Klein, 62, served as Chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from July 2006 to May 2009, and thereafter as a Commissioner until March 30, 2010. Prior to his service on the NRC, Dr. Klein was Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs from November 2001 to July 2006. Before embarking on his government service, Dr. Klein held a variety of teaching and leadership positions at the College of Engineering of the University of Texas at Austin, with a focus on the University's nuclear program. Since leaving the NRC, he has returned to the University as Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Associate Vice President for Research, and Associate Director of the University's Energy Institute. "

"As the new nuclear renaissance grows, so too does uranium extraction. In Niger, which boasts some of the world's richest deposits, NGOs say that the poor are being exploited for the West's 'clean energy' In the heart of the Sahara lie some of the world's largest uranium deposits. Until recently, the region had held little interest to the world's trading partners, save France. Desert tribes, predominantly Tuareg nomads, had been mostly free to roam its vast, barren expanse; living off what little bounty it had to offer. Then a few years ago, rising fuel prices and climate change revived interest in the atom."

"Namibia's Chamber of Mines, which represents the mining industry in the southern African country, is concerned that power and water supply shortages and royalty tax legislation could hamper investment. Mike Leech, president of the industry body in one of the world's top uranium producers, said a royalty tax passed at the end of 2008 would "increase rather than reduce investor risk". "(The tax) is likely ... to make it harder for exploration companies to get projects past the credit committees of the banking institutions they will have to raise the money from," he said in an annual review the chamber published last week."

As US President Barack Obama seeks congressional ratification for the US-Russia Peaceful Nuclear Cooperation agreement - also known as 123 Agreement - this development may yet again open the route for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) transports into Russia for storage and reprocessing. The series of bilateral deals the United States has been signing with Russia and other states - or 123 agreements, dubbed so for the relevant section of the U.S. Atomic Energy Act - outline US prospects for nuclear-related cooperation with nations, groups of nations, or regional security organisations as possible only on the condition that proper agreements are in place with such entities and that these agreements are approved by the President of the United States and ratified by Congress. "

"Beginning high-level U.S.-India talks, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday the United States has a deep strategic interest in forging strong ties with India and nurturing its emergence as a global power. The comments by Undersecretary of State William Burns are an attempt to deal with fears in India that relations with the United States have slipped as the Obama administration pursues cooperation with India's neighboring rivals, China and Pakistan. Burns, in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations, repeatedly sought to show how important India is to U.S. interests, including the war in Afghanistan and dealing with global climate change, education, poverty, counterterrorism and trade initiatives. Similar reassurance will be among the chief aims of U.S. officials during the inaugural U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue that wraps up Friday."

* Hitachi looks at ways to boost global sales * May recast nuclear power JV ownership structure * Foreign sales not going as hoped -Nikkei * Europe woes delay some contracts -FT quoting president * GE says have been no discussions on changing venture Hitachi Ltd, Japan's largest electronics maker, said on Tuesday that it is reviewing the structure of its nuclear power partnership with General Electric Co, as it seeks to win more deals globally. A Hitachi spokesman did not rule out the possibility of Hitachi and GE changing their investments in their joint ventures as part of an overhaul of Hitachi's global sales network, but said nothing concrete had been discussed or decided."