CND Press Digest: Friday 26th July 2024

Nukes in Britain

• ONR signs updated MoU with the Ministry of Defence. The MoU establishes joint strategic intent to work together to secure and maintain safe and assured delivery of the UK’s defence nuclear capability to maintain the protection of the UK. The purpose of this MoU is to promote effective cooperation, understanding, and robust regulation while providing mutual assurance between ONR and the MOD in discharging their respective roles. It sets out the responsibilities for nuclear, radiological and conventional health and safety in ensuring the safety of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise (DNE) to deliver the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Programme and the Nuclear Weapon Programme.
• Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Account: annual statements. Collection of annual statements of the Nuclear Decommissioning Funding Account. The annual statements set out the notional funding available from the consolidated fund for use by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) on its activities, and the funding that the NDA drew down from the consolidated fund during each period.
• The National letters: Nuclear arsenal is no defence against crisis in UK’s armed forces.
• Counter Punch: Nuclear risks on the rise.
• The Telegraph comment: World War Three is closer than anyone dare admit. Sino-Russian provocations become more dangerous when it’s unclear who is in charge in Washington DC

Gaza

• Saudi Gazette: Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli threats of nuclear weapon use against Palestinians

UK Nuclear Power

• Founding statement of Great British Nuclear.
• The National: What Labour’s GB Energy really means for Scotland and is nuclear on the cards? We know it will be based in Scotland, we know it’s going to invest in green energy projects, and aim to leverage private investment into the same. But Thursday’s announcement has thrown up more questions about the specifics which the Government are yet to answer – especially on what the project means for Scotland.
• EDF Energy Ltd has notified the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) and the Environment Agency that Hinkley Point B has reduced its holdings of dangerous substances, meaning it is no longer subject to the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 2015 (COMAH). As part of this transition, EDF consulted the local authority in the Somerset region to inform them of the change and ensure no additional risk would be posed to the community in the process of reducing the inventory of dangerous substances at Hinkley Point B, as part of its decommissioning work.
• Chemical Engineer: The UK government is offering £70m for engineers to design and build plants needed to manufacture advanced nuclear fuels for the country’s next generation of nuclear reactors. The funding is part of a £300m scheme to establish production in the UK of so-called high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU). While most reactors in use today use fuel enriched to 2-5%, producing HALEU fuel enriched to 5–20% will allow for smaller reactors, longer operating cycles, and the production of less radioactive waste.

Nuclear Power

• World Nuclear News: French radioactive waste management agency Andra has been granted approval by the Aube department to increase the authorised capacity of the Cires very-low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, without increasing the disposal surface area.
• Reuters: The Dutch government is set to secure EU approval for 2 billion euros($2.2 billion) of state aid to build a nuclear reactor to produce medical isotopes for cancer treatment, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
• The Independent: China unveils meltdown-proof nuclear power plant in clean energy breakthrough. Materials used in reactor can withstand very high temperatures without melting.

Uranium

• The Guardian: Jabiluka uranium mine lease not renewed in decision heralded as ‘huge win.’ NT government opts not to grant 10-year lease after considering wishes of Indigenous people and federal government advice

NATO / Europe

• The Times: UK considers long-range missiles to counter Putin’s nuclear threat.Britain is considering developing long-range missiles that can take out President Putin’s nuclear weapons launched from inside Russia as fears mount in Europe that he may be prepared to use them.
• Georgetown Journal of International Affairs: Stabilizing the NATO-Russia deterrence relationship. Moving forward, the NATO-Russia relationship will be characterized by deterrence in both the nuclear and conventional domains. NATO should focus on stabilizing its relationship with Russia by enhancing the credibility of its own deterrents.
• The Guardian letters: The misunderstood ambitions of NATO and the EU. Far from enticing former Soviet states to join, William Wallace recalls caution and reluctance from the two bodies to sign up new members.
• CEPA: NATO wakes up to the Chinese threat. Europe cannot limit itself to its own backyard. Facing a global Chinese-Russian threat, it would be wise to raise its support for the US and other allies in Asia.
• The Independent: With uncertainty across the Atlantic, Europe worries about its own security. When Donald Trump suggested during the 2016 presidential campaign that he might not honor a U.S. commitment to defend other NATO countries if they were attacked, it triggered alarm throughout the trans-Atlantic alliance

AUKUS / Asia

• Newsweek: North Korean tactical nuclear weapon in ‘final stages’: South.
• Newsweek: Xi’s China to ‘speed up’ nuclear force buildup.
• European Leadership Network: Why Iran’s missile strikes pose a real problem for Pakistan.
• ABC: Submarine boss predicts AUKUS project will be slow, expensive and suffer setbacks.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament