CND Press Roundup Thursday 14th July 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Nuclear Energy International has an look at the Russian takeover of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine and what it means for the safety of civilian nuclear facilities. Olexiy Kovynyevis, an independent expert and former reactor operator and shift supervisor writes: “Many industrial, national and international documents in the field of nuclear safety will be revised and further developed. But these problems are not nuclear industry problems as such, they lie in the realm of politics and our collective inability to prevent military conflicts.”

• North Korea has recognised the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as it blamed the US and its “hegemonic policy” for the crisis in Ukraine. Pyongyang has sent letters to both, recognising them as republics and offering to develop diplomatic relations. Kiev responded by saying the “level of isolation of the Russian Federation will soon reach the level of isolation of the DPRK.” As the Independent notes, the invasion of Ukraine has effectively paralysed the UN Security Council – giving North Korea an opening to ramp up its ballistic and nuclear weapons programmes with little censure.

• The Morning Star has a breakdown of the launch of Stop the War Coalition’s new pamphlet on NATO. On the return of US nukes to RAF Lakenheath: “Members of the audience pointed to the need to build a campaign against the deployment of US nuclear weapons at Lakenheath, as well as the danger of pouring arms into Ukraine given the existence of fascist military formations there.”

NPT

• Ahead of the NPT review conference in August, Alicia Sanders-Zakre and Susi Snyder from ICAN have an opinion piece in the South China Morning Post. In it, they call for Russia and other nuclear-armed powers to be taken to task for violating both the non-proliferation treaty as well as wider international law. They write: “Nuclear-armed states spent an obscene amount of money on illegal weapons of mass destruction in 2021, while most of the world’s countries support a global nuclear weapons ban. This spending failed to deter a war in Europe and squandered valuable resources that could be better used to address current security challenges, or cope with the outcome of a still raging global pandemic.”

Nuclear History

• If you missed the first episode of the Sideways mini-series on nuclear weapons, you can listen again on BBC Sounds here. It’s really good and worth sharing far and wide.

• A British firm developing a coastal resort in Spain has downplayed radiation concerns at the site caused by the 1966 mid-air collision between a US Air Force B-52 bomber and a refuelling plane. Seven of 11 crew members were killed in the accident over Palomares in Almería. Three of the four 1.5 megatonne nuclear bombs fell to earth with two exploded conventionally, spreading radioactive debris. A fourth bomb landed in the sea to be recovered 80 days later. US authorities shipped 1,700 tonnes of contaminated earth to South Carolina shortly after the accident. However, British-owned Bahía de Almanzora plans to build 1,600 homes, a hotel and a sports complex not far from the crash site – making no reference to the accident or the contaminated earth in its proposal. José Ignacio Domínguez, a lawyer who heads the local Ecologists in Action group, said: “The plutonium isn’t just in the fenced-off area because it’s carried on the wind and by animals such as birds and rabbits.” Domínguez said his group’s own tests have revealed dangerously high levels of radiation outside the closed zone.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Al Jazeera reports on comments by Iran’s new foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanani, that a time and place for renewed talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal will “soon” be announced. “The way to continue the negotiations and the place for the negotiations is being discussed,” he said, adding that senior Iranian officials were in continuous contact with their European counterparts – who act as go-betweens with Washington. It comes as US President Joe Biden conducts a tour of Middle East allies and warnings from France that the window to secure a new deal had only weeks to be reached.

• “The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is an Iran with nuclear weapons,” Joe Biden said on the first day of his tour of Middle East allies. Speaking in Israel, Biden also said that he would be willing to use force in order to stop Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. “If that was a last resort, yes,” he replied. “Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon.”

Fukushima

• Tokyo District Court has ruled that four former executives of Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) – the firm which runs the defunct Fukushima nuclear plant – pay damages worth £80 billion over their failure to take necessary precautions to prevent the 2011 triple meltdown at the plant. The action was taken by 48 tepco shareholders and is the first time company executives have been found liable for damages connected to the disaster. The Guardian notes that: “Tepco has argued it was powerless to take precautions against a tsunami of the size that struck in March 2011, and that it had done everything possible to protect the plant. But an internal company document revealed in 2015 that it had been aware of the need to improve the facility’s defences against tsunami more than two years before the disaster, but had failed to take action.” The damages are unlikely to be paid in full, with the defendants paying as much as their assets will allow.

UK Nuclear Energy

• Hinkley Point C will shortly see the placement of four 5,000 tonne cooling-water intakes on the seabed. Four times longer and twice as high as a double-decker bus, each intake head will be connected to five miles of tunnels used to circulate cooling-water for the new power station.

• The Telegraph reports on how investment in nuclear fusion in the last 12 months reached £2.5 billion – more than in the last decade combined. The Fusion Industry Association said more than 93pc of companies who responded to its survey believe that fusion power will be feeding electricity into power grids by the 2030s. Andrew Holland, chief executive of the trade group, said fusion “is on a pathway to commercial relevance, at a time when the world desperately needs new clean energy options.”

• The future for new nuclear power in Copeland “looks rosy”, Councillor David Moore, Copeland Council’s portfolio holder for nuclear and commercial services, said during an update on efforts to secure a small modular reactor site in the area.