CND's Press Round-Up - 28th April 2021
Posted: 28th April 2021
Dear all,
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
The Daily Mirror puts British veterans of nuclear testing back in public prominence whilst environmental pollution at Faslane is revealed and the talks in Vienna accelerate.
UK Nuclear Testing Veterans
The Daily Mirror carries a long overview piece on its ‘A Medal for Heroes’ campaign. The report includes much (upsetting) details about the effects of the UK’s nuclear testing from the early 1950s onwards on British service personnel. It points out that there has still been no official recognition of their intense suffering and examines the wide range of birth defects, cancers and disabilities which later developed amongst the veterans and their families, caused by exposure to radiation.
Faslane Base Pollution
The Scottish investigative journalism website The Ferret reports that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency criticised the Faslane base for its ‘poor’ handling of pollution in 2019. After discovering a ‘higher than usual’ level of chlorination in the Gareloch, SEPA informed the base it was breaching pollution rules. The SNP have been strongly critical of the revelation, whilst the Royal Navy are insistent the release of excess chlorine was ‘an isolated incident’. Scottish CND are quoted in the piece.
Iran Nuclear Deal Talks
A third round of talks has begun in Vienna, with Russian and Chinese representatives saying all parties had agreed to ‘expedite’ the negotiations. According to Reuters, both sides apparently want some sort of initial agreement before a monitoring agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency expires in mid-May. This news comes as the U.S. Special Envoy for Iran held a video call yesterday with representatives from the strongly anti-Iran Gulf monarchies.
Senior Iranian officials have also raised the prospect of a prisoner exchange with the U.S, Newsweek magazine reports. Whilst the total number of individuals held by the two countries is unlikely to be more than fifty, any eventual prisoner exchange would play a key role in building confidence between Iran and the U.S.
Anti-war
The Open Skies Treaty looks set to collapse with Russia planning its withdrawal next month.
Open Skies Treaty
Russian officials have told state media that they believe the Open Skies Treaty will soon ‘collapse’, with Russia withdrawing fully. Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Open Skies Treaty, signed after the end of the Cold War, in 2020. The Biden administration so far has refused to return to the treaty, saying that it would ‘send the wrong message’ to Russia. Russia had previously warned its own participation in the treaty was endangered in January.
Nuclear Power
Nuclear power will play a larger role in Japanese energy production, with some reactors already having their lives extended.
Nuclear Power-Japan
Local press reports that, with the introduction of more stringent climate change targets in response to the new policies of the Biden administration, the Japanese government is planning for nuclear to make a larger contribution to the country’s energy needs. The Japanese Economy Minister said that renewables and nuclear will make up 50% of the country’s energy mix by 2030, though this will largely be the former.
This announcement comes as it was reported that three nuclear reactors on the Sea of Japan coast are to have their lifespans extended beyond the current forty year limit, the first reactors to be allowed to do so.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament