CND Press Digest: Tuesday 6th August 2024

Hiroshima Day

• Kate Hudson writes in today’s Morning Star: As we mourn the loss of all those killed at Hiroshima and Nagasaki by US atomic bombs, in August 1945, we cannot avoid the fact that we are closer than ever to nuclear war. The war on Ukraine is greatly increasing the risk. So too is NATO’s location of upgraded nuclear weapons across Europe — including Britain — and Russia’s siting of similar weapons in Belarus. Irresponsible talk suggesting that “tactical” nuclear weapons could be deployed on the battlefield — as if radiation can be constrained in a small area — makes nuclear use more likely.
• The Independent: Hiroshima governor says nuclear disarmament must be tackled as a pressing issue, not an ideal.
• call for nuclear weapons ban on Hiroshima anniversary.

Nukes in Britain

• The Times: Britain’s “hunter-killer” submarines have been stuck in port for up to two years because of a shortage of maintenance docks. The Astute-class submarines, the newest in the Royal Navy’s fleet, were designed to hunt Russian submarines and torpedo targets from up to 14 miles away. They are the largest and most powerful attack submarines the navy has operated. However, none of the class has completed an operational voyage so far this year, while one has been stuck in Faslane — HMNB Clyde — for two years, The Sun reported.

Global Nukes

• EurActiv: Israeli policy means ‘difficult to know’ how close world is to nuclear war, warns anti-nuclear weapons group.

UK Nuclear Power

• Business Live: The government is refusing to reveal how much the planned Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk is expected to cost. The Department for Energy turned down a freedom of information (FOI) request by BusinessLive asking for data on the project’s price tag. Sizewell C, which is being partly funded by French-owned energy giant EDF, is reported to cost in the region of £20bn, though it has been suggested that it could cost more than £30bn.
• City AM: Rolls-Royce is preparing to sell off a stake in its mini-nuclear power business as it looks to raise fresh funding. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the firm was in discussion with possible investors, with cash set to run out by early next year, The Sunday Telegraph reported. One source familiar with discussions told the paper that the FTSE 100 giant was looking to raise hundreds of millions pounds. Some £280m has already been pumped into the operation by its current backers, which include the Qatar Investment Authority and BNF Resources. A further £210m government grant was also announced by the former Conservative government in November 2021.
• Construction News: Holtec Britain has announced the successful completion of the first part of the UK Generic Design Assessment process (GDA) for its SMR-300 nuclear reactor.
• Scottish Government: The Scottish Government commissioned independent researchers, Diffley Partnership, to conduct a public attitudes survey for Scotland exploring attitudes towards radioactive waste management. The primary aim of this study was to design and deliver research that will help develop a deeper understanding of the views of the Scottish public on a range of radioactive waste management issues, including safety and trust in government and industry.
• NFLA: The Nuclear Free Local Authorities are critical of a recent consultation conducted by Natural Resources Wales on plans to leave low-level radioactive building waste in-situ at the former Trawsfynydd nuclear power station and remain fearful that without remedial action in the long-term there could be further contamination that runs off into the lake.

Nuclear Power

• Nuclear Newswire: The water level in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantcooling pond continues to decrease, creating a serious safety threat. “If this trend continues, ZNPP staff confirmed that it will soon become challenging to pump water from the pond. Maintaining the level of the pond is made more difficult by the hot summer weather,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an update issued August 2. Zaporizhzhia—Europe’s largest nuclear plant—has been under Russian control since March 2022, shortly after the military invasion of Ukraine. The plant stopped producing power in September 2022, and all six of its units currently are in cold storage.
• Pew Research: A majority of US adults remain supportive of expanding nuclear power in the country, according to a Pew Research Center survey from May. Overall, 56% say they favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity.
• World Nuclear News: Lithuania has identified 77 potential locations for its planned geological repository for used nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste.

NATO / Europe

• DW: Ukraine unveils first F-16 jets from NATO allies.
• The Times: ‘Why not make Putin worry?’: inside NATO’s biggest European base.Only 60 miles from the Ukrainian border, the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase shows how seriously former communist countries are taking the threat from Russia.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament