Tag: energy

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Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea

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By Jim Mennie Reform UK has positioned itself as a vocal advocate for the North Sea oil and gas industry, particularly in North East Scotland. The party presents its policies as a defence of high-skilled jobs, energy security and domestic energy production against what it describes as overly rapid net-zero targets and green levies. While the messaging resonates in oil-dependent communities, serious questions remain about the party’s experience, track record and ability to deliver on its promises. What Reform UK Proposes The party’s platform includes several core commitments: Fast-tracking new North Sea exploration licences as a priority. Maximising extraction of … Continue reading Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea

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Building standards and regulations in Scotland are generally more strict and demanding than those in England in several key areas

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In the Guardian on 11 February 2026: Even multimillionaires can’t escape Britain’s cowboy builders, it seems. Last week, residents of One Hyde Park, the UK’s most expensive flats, won a £35m court case against the contractor that built their homes. The high court ordered the construction company Laing O’Rourke to fix defective pipework that was discovered to be causing problems in 2014, only three years after the luxury development was completed. At the other end of the economy, tens of thousands of families are facing damp and mould issues also caused by botched building works. A National Audit Office investigation revealed in October … Continue reading Building standards and regulations in Scotland are generally more strict and demanding than those in England in several key areas

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‘The Trump administration’s reckless attack on radiation protection will have long-term consequences for public safety’ – Starmer and Sarwar plan to stupidly follow him

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From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist, yesterday: Worldwide, regulations limiting doses from the radiation emitted by nuclear fissions and decays are based on the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model. This hypothesis posits that, irrespective of whether ionizing radiation comes in a pulse or over years, the additional risk of developing cancer as a result is proportional to the cumulative amount of energy deposited per gram of tissue, with weighting risk factors for radiation type, sex, age, and specific organs. Since 1975, the US nuclear industry has been required to limit exposures to workers and the public to “as low as reasonably achievable” … Continue reading ‘The Trump administration’s reckless attack on radiation protection will have long-term consequences for public safety’ – Starmer and Sarwar plan to stupidly follow him

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Producing more than half of the UK electricity from wind but Scots will just have to go ‘tribal’ to pay their bills

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with their bills is on the rise in Scotland according to Consumer Scotland. BBC Reporting Scotland in their regular wee BBC Breakfast inserts go on to suggest, via two brothers, a ‘tribal’ strategy, as they put it themselves, where they, their families and others live in the one house to keep energy bills down. So, it’s just up to us to cope with high energy bills is it? Are you sure we couldn’t do something else like political independence and the powers to tax the energy companies? Does Scotland produce enough energy to meaningfully generate enough tax revenue to then … Continue reading Producing more than half of the UK electricity from wind but Scots will just have to go ‘tribal’ to pay their bills

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‘This is disturbingly similar to what Donald Trump did earlier this year when he gutted the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency.’

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Thanks to Jim Draper alerting me to this. From the Canary factchecker today: The nuclear industry will become “more dangerous” and regulation of the sector has been captured by “vested interests,” campaigners and experts have told the Canary, after the Nuclear Regulation Bill was put forward in the 2026 King’s Speech. From CND: When you think of nuclear accidents like at Windscale in 1957, Chernobyl in 1986, or Fukushima in 2011, it’s easy to see that Britain’s current nuclear regulatory procedures and rules are in place for a simple reason – that nuclear power is inherently dangerous. Rather than acknowledge these risks or legacy issues – like tackling the … Continue reading ‘This is disturbingly similar to what Donald Trump did earlier this year when he gutted the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency.’

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Half a century after it started trying to find answers to to the problem of containment, the nuclear industry still has none

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By Frances McKie It is now, in April 2026, exactly 40 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor exploded. The explosion sent radioactive pollution vast distances across Europe; it devastated a large area near Kiev in the Ukraine-still too dangerous for human habitation; it has left a long-term legacy of thyroid and other cancers linked to radiation exposure and ingestion of isotopes like Iodine 131.  In 2026, the “sarcophagus” eventually built over the reactor in the hope of containing the radiation has deteriorated and the second covering has now been damaged by a drone attack. Next year, 2027, will be the … Continue reading Half a century after it started trying to find answers to to the problem of containment, the nuclear industry still has none

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Toronto replaces iodide tablets to protect those living near nuclear power stations. Responsible Conservative and Labour UK governments have never bothered

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From Toronto University’s On the Record 10 April 2026: As of February 2026, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) began the process of sending out replacement potassium iodide pills to people living within 10 kilometres of the two major nuclear generating stations located within the Durham Region, the Pickering and Darlington stations.  While living near these stations can raise concerns for some residents, municipal governments and provincial agencies maintain emergency preparedness measures aimed at protecting communities, including replacing the expired set of pills they sent out in 2015. This seems to have come as a surprise to some residents because awareness of these public safety programs and … Continue reading Toronto replaces iodide tablets to protect those living near nuclear power stations. Responsible Conservative and Labour UK governments have never bothered

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Energy Minister shanks hails Scots having to clean up after a French-owned nuclear power station where some of the remaining radioactive isotopes in the soil will last in excess of 13 billion years and which caused the highest cancer level in Europe

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In the Irvine Times on 10 April 2020: Energy minister Michael Shanks on Hunterston takeover – ENERGY Minister Michael Shanks MP has hailed the UK Government’s takeover of Hunterson B as “a very significant moment” in the site’s long history. In an exclusive interview, Mr Shanks – who was born in Irvine and attended school in Prestwick – said returning to Hunterston brought back memories of visiting the site as a child. He said: “I was here on a school trip in primary school, so it was great to stand in the reactor hall again and see it in its … Continue reading Energy Minister shanks hails Scots having to clean up after a French-owned nuclear power station where some of the remaining radioactive isotopes in the soil will last in excess of 13 billion years and which caused the highest cancer level in Europe

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Why would there be an explosion at ‘a dockyard in Fife’ where the local Labour council recently agreed to just the storage of cut-up metal from a nuclear sub?

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From BBC Scotland: Edinburgh, Fife & East today: Firefighters tackling scrap metal blaze at Rosyth dockyard – Firefighters are tackling a scrap metal fire at a dockyard in Fife. The Scottish Fire Rescue service (SFRS) were called to the scene at the Port of Rosyth at about 03:00. Locals reported hearing an “explosion” and “loud bang” in the early hours of the morning on social media. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly7d4311v1o Why would scrap metal burn? From the Dunfermline Press 24 March 2026: Fife Council have given the green light to Babcock for a new warehouse between docks two and three for “decommissioning operations”. The large industrial building – … Continue reading Why would there be an explosion at ‘a dockyard in Fife’ where the local Labour council recently agreed to just the storage of cut-up metal from a nuclear sub?

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As US/Israel/Iran war escalates out of control, new generations of terrorists are produced and US experts warn Washington, a former officer with UK Civil Nuclear Constabulary says Labour’s new mini reactors cannot be protected

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On April 3, 2026, The American Nuclear Society supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reacted to the spiralling destruction in Iran, spreading violence in the Middle East and President Trump’s latest apocalyptic threats, in the wake of existing threats to nuclear plants in the Ukraine, by calling for urgent steps to ensure nuclear safety and security during armed conflict. https://www.ans.org/news/2026-04-06/article-7908/ans-joins-iaea-in-calling-for-protection-of-nuclear-plants-in-armed-conflicts/ The UK Labour Party, fully backed by the Governor General for Scotland, Douglas Alexander, by Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour, plans to build large numbers of small modular reactors across the UK, including in Scotland. In the i in April … Continue reading As US/Israel/Iran war escalates out of control, new generations of terrorists are produced and US experts warn Washington, a former officer with UK Civil Nuclear Constabulary says Labour’s new mini reactors cannot be protected