Another nail in Scottish Labour’s nuclear balloon as cost of one station in England now exceeds total devolved budget for Scotland

I’m grateful to Dottie once more for alerting me to this and for the above headline mixing metaphors to good effect in triggering the above image in my head. From the FT yesterday: UK ministers have made contingency arrangements to fund the Sizewell C nuclear power project in case a final agreement with potential private investors is delayed by as much as two years, officials have admitted. A £5.5bn subsidy scheme set up in August to support the construction of Britain’s next nuclear power station at Sizewell in Suffolk envisages a scenario where there is no agreement with private sector … Continue reading Another nail in Scottish Labour’s nuclear balloon as cost of one station in England now exceeds total devolved budget for Scotland

An area in Scotland’s Fast Reactor Centre so dangerous only a snake-like robot can explore it

By Professor John Robertson OBA A BBC Report yesterday, has nothing to say about just why a robot snake is needed for work on the clear-up of the Dounreay facility in Caithness. We have: From BBC Scotland today: While it is always disturbing to hear of industrial conflict in a nuclear plant, these two-day strikes will, relatively speaking, make little difference to the decommissioning process. Why? Decommissioning began in 2019 and the plan envisages 50-60 years to complete but ‘complete’ doesn’t mean to the company, Magnox Ltd., what it means to most of us and the site will be under surveillance, … Continue reading An area in Scotland’s Fast Reactor Centre so dangerous only a snake-like robot can explore it

The deadly consequences of living next to nuclear dumps – BBC Scotland writer fails to make the connection to his own workplace on Clyde-by-Faslane-Coulport

By Professor John Robertson A BBC US & Canada story popped up in my google alert today. The name Andrew Picken, one of the authors, caught my attention. He’s a BBC Scotland reporter. There is no mention of Scotland in the report which considers the deaths from cancers of a UK marine and his wife, 30 years after living for 2 years at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina USA. Of particular interest to us but not to Picken, it seems, is this: In 2021, Joe and Carol were living in Portsmouth when blood tests ahead of a hip replacement operation … Continue reading The deadly consequences of living next to nuclear dumps – BBC Scotland writer fails to make the connection to his own workplace on Clyde-by-Faslane-Coulport

Labour must give up on nuclear power in Scotland as Torness with 46 reactor cracks is to operate till 2028 yet its troubled French owners are required to investigate plant in France with only 1!

By Professor John Robertson Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. From the Ferret today: The number of cracks in the core of an ageing nuclear reactor at Torness in East Lothian has risen to 46, prompting warnings that prolonging its operation would be “gambling with public safety”. The UK Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) told The Ferret that the cracks were detected in April 2024 and were “at the upper end of expectations”. The first three cracks were discovered at Torness in February 2022. EDF, however, insisted that the cracks did not affect normal operations or the ability to shut down … Continue reading Labour must give up on nuclear power in Scotland as Torness with 46 reactor cracks is to operate till 2028 yet its troubled French owners are required to investigate plant in France with only 1!

Will Scottish Labour abandon their call for new nuclear plants in Scotland after French owners of new English ones have to halt three new builds and take three older ones off line?

I think they bought that. Don’t you? Mugs. By Professor John Robertson Again, thanks to AR for alerting me to this: From Bloomberg, yesterday: French Power Slumps as Surging Renewables Push Out Atomic Plants. Day-ahead prices turn negative, trading at a four-year low. EDF halts three reactors, plans to take three more offline. French electricity prices turned negative as a drop in demand and surging renewables output prompted some nuclear reactors to power down. Who are EDF? Électricité de France, state-owned. What is their role in the UK: EDF manages the UK’s eight nuclear power station sites, five that are generating (Sizewell … Continue reading Will Scottish Labour abandon their call for new nuclear plants in Scotland after French owners of new English ones have to halt three new builds and take three older ones off line?

German research suppressed by Labour Government and media in 2008 revealed under 5’s living near nuclear plants more than twice as likely to develop leukemia

By Professor John Robertson I’m grateful to JB for alerting me to this. I knew nothing of it because mainstream UK media do not seem to have covered it at all. On 30th June 2011, the German Bundestag voted to phase out nuclear energy. Why? Safety was a paramount concern in the decision to phase out nuclear power: the use of nuclear energy causes highly dangerous radioactive radiation for humans and the environment and leaves behind highly toxic waste. High safety precautions must be taken throughout the entire life cycle – from the extraction of the raw material uranium to … Continue reading German research suppressed by Labour Government and media in 2008 revealed under 5’s living near nuclear plants more than twice as likely to develop leukemia

Alister Jack and Labour’s commitment to building new small modular reactors in Scotland ignores research revealing their greater toxic waste production and thus cancer risk

From the Herald: The next government is being urged to make “big decisions” on nuclear power projects to help deliver jobs and energy security. The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has published its manifesto, saying it was important to ensure continued momentum. The association called for measures including pressing ahead with the planned Sizewell C power station, as well as extending the life of current power stations. The manifesto also pressed for the building of a fleet of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) across the country and a third large-scale station at Wylfa on Anglesey in north Wales. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/national/24357628.call-next-government-make-big-decisions-nuclear-power-projects/ Labour’s manifesto commitment: … Continue reading Alister Jack and Labour’s commitment to building new small modular reactors in Scotland ignores research revealing their greater toxic waste production and thus cancer risk

Governor General expects Unionist regime in Scotland by 2026 with plans to impose nuclear power regardless of risks

By Professor John Robertson STV News has just reported: The UK Government is considering plans to build a nuclear reactor in Scotland, despite long-standing opposition from the Scottish Government. Scottish secretary Alister Jack has told a Westminster committee that he has asked ministers at the Department for Energy and Net Zero to plan for a nuclear reactor to be built in Scotland, as part of a UK-wide programme. He also said he expected a “Unionist regime” to be in power in Scotland by 2026. Responsibility for energy is reserved to Westminster, but the Scottish Parliament has control over planning and … Continue reading Governor General expects Unionist regime in Scotland by 2026 with plans to impose nuclear power regardless of risks

Industrial action to add days to 24 000 year clear-up of Scottish nuclear energy site and Scottish Labour want to extend that

Proud GMB member and champion of nuclear energy, Labour candidate Alan Gemmell. From BBC Scotland today: More than 500 members of the Unite union at the Dounreay nuclear power complex have voted to strike in a dispute over pay. The workers, who will take action on Wednesday, have rejected the latest offer to resolve the matter. Meanwhile, the Prospect union said in a close ballot its members had voted to accept the deal, and the GMB union said the result of its vote was expected later but expected to back strike action. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq5nnl9vjzeo While it is always disturbing to hear … Continue reading Industrial action to add days to 24 000 year clear-up of Scottish nuclear energy site and Scottish Labour want to extend that

America’s Sellafield and the near impossibility of proving a cancer is the result of life in a ‘contaminated environment’

By Professor John Robertson I hadn’t heard of an equivalent nuclear-reprocessing plant to Sellafield – ‘the most toxic site in Europe’ – only a few miles from the Scottish border and with regular leaks of radioactive material into the air and water flows heading north, constantly. According to US writer Shannon Cram, author of the just published Unmaking the Bomb, above, most Americans are unaware that a site, like Sellafield, had produced weapons-grade plutonium and now houses the majority of the nations’ high-level nuclear waste. Hanford Nuclear Reservation is eerily placed, like Sellafield, about as far away from the Capital … Continue reading America’s Sellafield and the near impossibility of proving a cancer is the result of life in a ‘contaminated environment’