CND Press Digest: Monday 24th July 2023

British Nuclear Weapons

• There is “no blank cheque” for nuclear weapons, according to Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt. The Tory MP was responding to a question from SNP MP Patricia Gibson who questioned whether the programme should continue given wider cost pressures. “Commitments to having a nuclear deterrent are pretty fundamental to being a member of Nato,” Mordaunt added.
• A new report from the Scottish Affairs Committee, chaired by SNP MP Pete Wishart, called on the UK Government to outline how the military presence in the High North of Scotland could be increased in response to potential security threats.
• The MoD has said that the UK’s nuclear warhead project, AURORA, is making steady progress.

AUKUS

• Crikey looks at the undisclosed cost of Australia building a nuclear waste dump for its nuclear-powered submarines.

Oppenheimer

• London Region CND Co-Chair Carol Turner shares her thoughts on the film Oppenheimer with The Guardian.
• Nuclear Free Local Authorities comment on Oppenheimer and the threat of nuclear war today.

UK Nuclear Energy

• New Civil Engineer looks at the nuclear projects being brought forward by Great British Nuclear.
• City AM says there mustn’t be any more delays in building new nuclear plants.

Fukushima

• A black rockfish caught in May near the drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear contained levels of radioactive cesium that are 180 times Japan’s safety limit. The Guardian notes that a total of 44 fish with cesium levels above 100 becquerels per kg have been found in the Fukushima plant port between May 2022 and May 2023, Tepco confirmed, with 90 percent of those caught in or near the inner breakwater.
• Associated Press reports on worries among Fukushima residents that Japan’s plan to release radioactive water from the defunct nuclear plant will damage the prefecture’s reputation and local businesses during the summer season.

North Korea

• The nuclear-powered USS Annapolis visited a naval base on the South Korean island of Jeju on Monday. It comes just days after a US nuclear-armed submarine docked in the country for the first times in four decades.
• Meanwhile, discussions are under way between the UN Command and North Korea over the case of Travis King, a US soldier who dashed across the DMZ into North Korea last week.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament