Tag: nuclear

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Local concerns over ‘mini-Chernobyl’ radioactive site demolition in US echo UK MoD plans to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind, by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

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From Inside Climate News, yesterday: Boeing has almost completed the demolition of five buildings at its infamous Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Southern California, even as concerns mount among nearby families about potential health harms. The buildings at the former Rocketdyne facility—where one of the worst nuclear meltdowns in U.S. history took place in 1959—were once used for Cold War-era nuclear energy research. Larry Yee, the former chair of the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, on Wednesday called the site “a mini Chernobyl in our backyard.” Despite a groundswell of concerns about the process, the SSFL demolition at the … Continue reading Local concerns over ‘mini-Chernobyl’ radioactive site demolition in US echo UK MoD plans to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind, by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

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At last, a Labour MP sees how dangerous Labour’s nuclear energy policy is

johnrobertson834

Well, I suppose it’s good to see this, even if a little later and on contrary tack at times to our earlier predictions. First, from the high-status Foreign Policy on January 20th 2025: Labour’s planned small modular reactors – inefficient, polluting and carcinogenic – will also be dependent on high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) from Putin’s Russia which has ‘complete monopoly’ to undermine our energy security For the United States—a country that, especially under incoming President-elect Donald Trump, aspires to be not only energy secure but energy dominant—one energy insecurity problem remains, which could dog the development of a key source … Continue reading At last, a Labour MP sees how dangerous Labour’s nuclear energy policy is

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Two 900-megawatt reactors on the French coast came off the grid before returning jellyfish could pack the seawater screens and trip them – Part 3 in our nuclear jellyfish series

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep goin Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Thanks again to Frances McKie for alerting us to this. From autoNotion two days ago, the above and: An automatic reactor trip is the safety system doing its job, and it’s arguably the most expensive way to solve a problem. The unit drops off the grid in seconds, and then you spend the next several days walking it back up to full power while somebody writes the report explaining why. So you had a 5,400-megawatt site with nothing running at full power. Units 3 … Continue reading Two 900-megawatt reactors on the French coast came off the grid before returning jellyfish could pack the seawater screens and trip them – Part 3 in our nuclear jellyfish series

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Labour’s nuclear energy is being shut down right across Europe

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Thanks again to Frances for alerting us to this. From DW IN FOCUS, two days ago: Romania has shut down its only nuclear plant in a rare move prompted by the lack of cooling water from the Danube River. Hungary, meanwhile, is racing to dam the Danube, trying to keep its Paks plant online. Romania shut down its lone nuclear power plant on Thursday, a rare move amid the drought that has caused record lows on the Danube River and other major waterways in Europe.  The Danube is the sole source of cooling water for the Cernavoda plant, which usually generates around … Continue reading Labour’s nuclear energy is being shut down right across Europe

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Ten countries already routinely issue iodine tablets to those near nuclear facilities but with the highest cancer rates in world, Scotland, dependent on Westminster laws, cannot

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From the York Daily Record, two days ago: The Pennsylvania Department of Health will be distributing free potassium iodide (KI) tablets to those York County residents that live, learn or work within 10 miles of the Peach Bottom power plant.  According to the York County Office of Emergency Management, the distribution will take place between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at the Peach Bottom Recreation Center located at 5 Pendyrus St. in Delta.  KI helps protect the thyroid gland against harmful radioactive iodine in the unlikely event of a radiological emergency. Taking KI tablets, when directed by emergency response officials, helps reduce the risk of thyroid cancer … Continue reading Ten countries already routinely issue iodine tablets to those near nuclear facilities but with the highest cancer rates in world, Scotland, dependent on Westminster laws, cannot

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Public Health Professor’s message for Scottish Labour’s nuclear plans – ‘I personally would not live near a nuclear power plant’

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Chatgpt image (copyright-free) based on photographs of the nuclear waste storage in Plymouth USA From the Plymouth Independent, two days ago: The 1972 opening of the Pilgrim nuclear power plant might have been the worst thing to happen in Plymouth’s long history. It ushered in an era of fool’s gold prosperity that, over time, exacted a steep price on what was a quintessential sleepy town. Today, Pilgrim’s lingering side effects – including more than five dozen casks filled with radioactive waste at the ocean’s edge – offer a cautionary lesson for those who believe building a new, albeit smaller, reactor is an idea worth … Continue reading Public Health Professor’s message for Scottish Labour’s nuclear plans – ‘I personally would not live near a nuclear power plant’

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Three more French nuclear power stations shut down as jellyfish swarm cooling pipes will any Scottish reporter ask Scottish Labour how they plan to deal with this?

johnrobertson834

Thanks, once more, to Frances McKie for alerting us to this and who comments: It keeps coming back to basic things like plumbing, blockages and corrosion…..at Dounreay, they never found a way to stop seaweed blocking their intake pipes…Here it’s jellyfish. From Reuters yesterday: Three reactors at ‌France’s Gravelines nuclear power plant were shut down late on Monday due to a massive swarm of jellyfish, triggering preventative measures put in place last year after the entire plant went offline, operator EDF said. The plant in northern France is one of the ​largest in the country and is cooled from a canal … Continue reading Three more French nuclear power stations shut down as jellyfish swarm cooling pipes will any Scottish reporter ask Scottish Labour how they plan to deal with this?

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Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Lost External Power Twice, Raising Nuclear Safety Risks – The final reason why Scotland should avoid nuclear energy – war

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From Wikipedia: The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. It has been under Russian control since 2022. It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. From 1996 to 2022, it was operated by Energoatom, which operates the other three nuclear power stations in Ukraine. The plant has six VVER-1000 pressurized light water nuclear reactors (PWR), each fueled with 235U (LEU)[2] and generating 950 MWe, for a total power output of 5,700 MWe.[3] The first five were successively brought online between 1985 and 1989, and the sixth was added in 1995. In 2020, the plant generated … Continue reading Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Lost External Power Twice, Raising Nuclear Safety Risks – The final reason why Scotland should avoid nuclear energy – war

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Scottish Labour must be confronted on their nuclear strategy as highly dangerous water shortages threaten nuclear power station’s cooling system across Europe and Hungary comes ‘within millimetres’ of shutting down

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Once more thanks to Frances McKie for alerting us to this video. As the mighty Danube dries up in the heatwave, there are desperate measures to keep some goods flowing and enough water to cool power plants including nuclear ones. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw–rQBsi8E Reporting on the same events, the Guardian has: Hungary has come “within millimetres” of having to shut down its nuclear power plant overnight, prime minister Péter Magyar said, as low water levels in the Danube continue to pose challenges for countries in south-eastern Europe. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/aug/04/europe-drought-extreme-heat-wildfires-climate-crisis-hungary-romania-ceuta-spain-migration-eu-latest-news-updates This is just the latest in a deeply disturbing trend that casts Scottish Labour’s support for UK … Continue reading Scottish Labour must be confronted on their nuclear strategy as highly dangerous water shortages threaten nuclear power station’s cooling system across Europe and Hungary comes ‘within millimetres’ of shutting down

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Environment body admits Dounreay (Caithness) decades-long nuclear leak cannot EVER be cleaned up

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The above, which I missed 15 years ago, popped up in social media recently to shock me with the candour of the headline. More on it below, after this. Last October 2025 we had: Inspectors raise Scottish nuclear plant with excess child leukaemia risk to an ‘enhanced level of regulatory attention for safety because of unsatisfactory site performance across numerous areas’ with 300 years to go until it’s ‘safe’ From the Chief Nuclear Inspector’s annual report on Great Britain’s nuclear industry October 2025, page 28: In July 2024, we increased NRS Dounreay to an enhanced level of regulatory attention for safety because … Continue reading Environment body admits Dounreay (Caithness) decades-long nuclear leak cannot EVER be cleaned up