CND Press Roundup Friday 20th April 2022

War in Ukraine

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists writes on the anxieties felt by Russia’s neighbours as a result of Moscow’s recent nuclear sabre-rattling. A poll conducted by the Bulletin in mid-March found that in “Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Romania, and Poland, between 77 and 93 percent of respondents distrust Russian nuclear decision-making. In all of these countries except Latvia, a majority ‘strongly distrust’ Russia’s nuclear stewardship.” The rattling has continued in the weeks since the poll, with Moscow threatening to increase its nuclear presence in the Baltic if Finland and Sweden joined NATO.

• The Times is rather upbeat (or flippant) about a nuclear apocalypse in this article looking at a scientific project seeking solutions to surviving an “abrupt sunlight reduction scenario,” which includes the mass building of seaweed farms. It writes: “First the bad news: a nuclear conflict has occurred, killing hundreds of millions and throwing enough soot into the air to block out the sun for a decade. Now the good news: there is a chance we can get through the resulting years of endless winter without the survivors starving. But it’s going to involve a lot of seaweed, the mass relocation of crops and extracting sugar from paper.” While the project does consider other disasters – like an asteroid hitting earth or a volcanic eruption – it notes that implementing such a plan in the event of a nuclear conflict would be politically difficult.

• Beyond Nuclear looks at how reliant Europe’s nuclear industry is on Russian uranium and expertise. While Russia was responsible for 20% of uranium imports into the EU in 2020, it has a close relationship with Kazakhstan who supplied 19%. Meanwhile, Niger who also supplied 20% and Namibia who supplied 8%, have close ties to Russian ally China. That leaves just 31% of the EU’s uranium imports deriving from “firms that are not owned by totalitarian regimes.”

• Ukraine has notified the UN’s nuclear energy watchdog that communication links between the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine have been restored. It’s the first time that comm links from the plant in over a month. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director-general Rafael Mariano Grossi hailed the announcement as “very good news that the regulator can now contact the plant directly when it needs to.”

Trident

• The Bulletin looks at the decision in the US to accelerate the timeline for funding new Trident nuclear missiles – to the relief of the UK: “London needs a new warhead more than Washington does; not only does the United Kingdom rely solely on its nuclear submarines for its deterrent, lacking intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers like those of the United States, but it has also never deployed the W88—relying exclusively on the older W76, or Holbrook warheads, as they are known.”

• Documents uncovered by the Mirror show that British officials in charge of the UK’s nuclear testing program were aware of the “serious biological risks” posed to test veterans. Alan Owen, of the Labrats campaign group, said: “This is why our fathers died, our mothers miscarried, why our children are suffering today. These experiments were genetically devastating. No court has ever tested the evidence, but the government knew, and has lied to us ever since.”

Nuclear Korea

• North Korea announced Sunday that it tested a “new-type tactical guided weapon” of “great significance” that it claims will boost the efficiency of its tactical nuclear weapons. It capped off a weekend of celebrations to mark the birthday of the state’s founder Kim Il-sung. South Korean officials said Pyongyang fired two projectiles off its east coast on Saturday. The test is the latest in a flurry of launches this year – ditching a self-imposed moratorium on nuclear testing in place since 2017.

UK Nuclear Energy

• The head of Rolls Royce’s mini-nuclear reactor arm, Paul Stein, said the firm will start building small modular reactors (SMRs) ahead of receiving government approval in 2024. Speaking to the Reuters news agency, Stein said the regulatory process had been “kicked off” and that if approval comes in time, the reactors can be generating power to the grid by 2029.  

• A Dorset County Council meeting was interrupted by two climate campaigning grandmothers who glued themselves to a table during their demonstration. Dubbed ‘Grannies for the Future,’ the pair read out a statement criticising the council over its lack of action on environmental issues. The Stoke Sentinal writes: “The two, who had the word glue written on their hands, acted as Weymouth councillor Louie O’Leary was speaking in praise of nuclear power. It came as a motion by Conservative leader Cllr Spencer Flower was about to be debated – a move which protestors feared could have led to a more lenient approach to fossil fuel and nuclear planning applications in the county.”

US Nuclear Energy

• The US Energy Department announced Tuesday the opening of a new financial assistance programme for struggling nuclear power plant operators. It’s part of a $6 billion rescue package launched by the Biden administration aimed at bailing out facilities at risk of closure. Washington is looking to bank on nuclear energy as a source of carbon-free power.

Fukushima

• 57,000 tons of large equipment – made radioactive from use in Japanese power plants – could be exported overseas under plansbeing examined by the Japanese government. Local municipalities are reluctant to store the hazardous material, which includes steam generators, feedwater heaters, and casings used to store or transport spent nuclear fuel. The ruined Fukushima plant alone has 3,360 such casings, however, the Industry Ministry said it didn’t foresee waste from the plant being sent abroad.