CND Press Roundup Monday 23rd May 2022

• The Russian-appointed head of the Ukrainian town of Enerhodor was injured in an explosion on Sunday, according to Russian news agency RIA. Many of the town’s 50,000 residents work at the two nuclear power plants near the town – including Europe’s largest power plant at Zaporizhzhia.

Trident / US nukes in Britain

• The BBC had some coverage of Saturday’s demonstration at RAF Lakenheath, featuring on BBC Looks East on Saturday evening and this write up on their website. CND also gave radio interviews to BBC Radio Suffolk and Global which was played throughout the day.

• Cambridgeshire and Suffolk Live also ran the story on their websites.

• Suffolk News also had a video report of the demo.

• Kate had a comment piece in Saturday’s Morning Star calling for support for the demo: “The big question is whether they have already been returned to Britain, or is their delivery still in preparation. Either way, this is a huge challenge for the peace movement and we will do everything we can to prevent these weapons being sited here.”

UK Nuclear Energy

• The Guardian reports on research by the University of Greenwich Business School that suggests the government is way off in its costing and timescale for building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant. Paying for the plant is said to add an extra £1 to customers’ energy bills, but the research “shows the average monthly cost could reach £2.12, or £25.40 a year. At its costliest point, the build could cost taxpayers nearly £4 a month. That represents the study’s gloomiest forecast, which predicts construction would take 17 years and cost £43.8bn.”

• The head of the National Infrastructure Commission has called on the government to “come clean” about the impact building new nuclear power plants will have on customer’s energy bills. Sir John Armitt told the Financial Times that it was “vital” for the government to be “transparent” about what the projects meant to people’s bills, especially if the cost “begins to bite before energy prices drop.”  

• The Times looks at the ballooning costs and delays regarding Hinkley Point C and what it means for the government’s aim to build eight more nuclear plants as part of its new energy strategy.

• French-owned nuclear firm EDF is scrambling to find alternative uranium suppliers other than Russia – in order to fuel the Sizewell B plant it operates in Suffolk. Current supplies of uranium were bought from Russia before its invasion of Ukraine, but EDF is now looking for alternative sources for when it needs to resupply next year. Russia supplies about 40% of the world’s uranium, with neighbouring allies Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan adding another 10% to global supply.

North Korea

• US President Joe Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol agreed on Saturday to hold expanded military exercises and potentially deploy more US weapons to the peninsula – as their response to recent North Korea ballistic missile tests. Biden was in South Korea as part of a visit to regional allies. Biden also downplayed expectations that North Korea would conduct a nuclear test to coincide with his visit, adding that he was willing to meet with leader Kim Jong-un but only if Kim was “sincere” and “serious” about renewed diplomacy.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Iran has rejected reports that said it was willing to compromise its stance on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. A statement from the foreign ministry said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made no mention of compromise with the US during a meeting with Qatar’s emir earlier this month. The clarification comes after German media reported Qatar’s foreign minister as saying the “Iranian leadership” had expressed readiness for compromise concerning “the Iranian nuclear file.”

Space

• Seattle-based defense companies Avalanche Energy and Ultra Safe Nuclear are the recipients of two US DoD contracts for the development of nuclear space propulsion technology – with the aim to have orbital prototypes fly by 2027. “Nuclear tech has traditionally been government-developed and operated, but we have discovered a thriving ecosystem of commercial companies, including start-ups, innovating in space nuclear,” US Air Force Maj Ryan Weed, the program manager for the Pentagon’s Nuclear Advanced Propulsion and Power, said in the statement.

Fukushima

• The head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency stressedthe importance of transparency during a trip to Fukushima. Rafael Grossi was visiting Japan as part of the nuclear watchdog’s efforts to assess Japanese plans to release millions of tonnes of treated radioactive water back into the sea. “I proceed from the principle that every serious honest concern must be taken seriously and every effort must be made to address it,” Grossi said. “For these countries, any countries, what they have every right to demand is that the international standards are complied with, nothing more, nothing less.”