CND press Roundup Wednesday 17th March, 2022
Posted: 17th March 2022
Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh, or happy St. Patrick’s Day to ye!
Please find our daily press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
War In Ukraine
Scottish Labour peer, Lord Browne of Ladyton, has a piece on Politics Home calling for renewed diplomatic efforts to solve the Ukraine conflict, at a time where threats of nuclear war have been made. On a potential escalation towards a wider global conflict, Lord Browne likens the current crisis to the build up to World War I: “Today, we face similar risks of mutual misunderstandings and unintended signals, compounded by the potential for the use of nuclear weapons—killing millions in minutes rather than over four years of protracted trench warfare.”
Satellite images show that reactors at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station remain largely intact since Russian troops seized the plant on March 4th. Russian shelling during the operation to take control of the plant had led to a fire breaking out in one building and prompted fears of a potential nuclear disaster. However since then both the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US officials have said there has been no confirmed elevation in radiation levels.
Iran Nuclear Deal
The Telegraph gives a good visual explainer of who wants what from whom out of the ongoing Iran nuclear deal discussions and how they are being impacted by the current crisis in Ukraine. Main players like the US, Iran, the EU, and Russia are included but so are close allies and regional players like China, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
UK Nuclear Energy
Polling conducted for Labour List found that British adults don’t know where Labour stands on nuclear energy. The survey conducted by Savanta ComRes, found that “21% of UK adults believe Labour is pro-nuclear (5% “very pro” and 16% “somewhat pro”), while a combined 20% think Labour is anti-nuclear energy (7% “very anti” and 13% “somewhat anti”).” Meanwhile, 22% said the party was neutral on nuclear energy while the biggest cohort of those polled, at 37%, said they didn’t know what Labour’s stance was. Polling was conducted between March 11th-13th 2022, just days after Labour Leader Keir Starmer said in the Commons that “Labour is pro-nuclear.”
The Welsh Secretary Simon Hart says that getting a nuclear power station in Anglesey is “right up there” on the list of UK government priorities. “This is early days, but I think the signs are quite good. I think it’s very much back on the table and … in the nuclear industry, Wylfa is still seen as a world leading site,” Hart said. Meanwhile, Welsh Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) has pushed back at plans for new nuclear sites in Wales saying they were not the answer to either the climate crisis or soaring energy prices.
Nuclear Proliferation
An American couple on trial for attempting to sell US nuclear secrets, were intending to make a deal with Brazil, it has been revealed. Jonathan and Diana Toebbe were arrested last October after a sting operation, where they tried to sell nuclear plans to whom they believed was a foreign representative, but was in fact an FBI agent.
Meanwhile Brazilian President Jair Bolsanaro is said to have asked his Russian counterpart for assistance to make nuclear-powered submarines after a similar request was rebuffed by Washington. Brazilian media said Bolsonaro made the request to Vladamir Putin during an official trip to Moscow last month (and prior to the invasion of Ukraine), where an announcement was made on providing fuel for a series of small nuclear reactors. Military sources speaking to Folha de So Paulo newspaper said Brazil made the overtures to Russia after it became clear that US participation in a nuclear submarine project was going nowhere.
Fukushima
Coolant pumps used to send water to cool spent fuel at the Fukushima nuclear power plant were temporarily shut down for several hours, after a 7.3 earthquake struck the prefecture on Wednesday night. Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said water inside the spent fuel pools spilled out of two of the reactor buildings but remained within their structures. The tremor also caused a storage tank located at the facility and containing contaminated water to slightly shift position.
This piece from Reuters looks at revived concerns about restarting nuclear power plants in Japan in the wake of the recent quake.
With best wishes,
Pádraig McCarrick
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament