Category Archives: Nuclear waste

‘Poison portal’: US and UK could send nuclear waste to Australia under Aukus, inquiry told

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Labor describes claims as ‘fear-mongering’ and says government would not accept waste from other nations

Australia could become a “poison portal” for international radioactive waste under the Aukus deal, a parliamentary inquiry into nuclear safety legislation has heard.

New laws to establish a safety framework for Australia’s planned nuclear-powered submarines could also allow the US and UK to send waste here, while both of those countries are struggling to deal with their own waste, as no long-term, high-level waste facilities have been created.

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Sellafield nuclear safety and security director to leave

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Multiple safety and cybersecurity failings at nuclear waste site were revealed by Guardian last month

The top director responsible for safety and security at Sellafield is to leave the vast nuclear waste dump in north-west England, it has emerged.

Mark Neate, the Sellafield environment, safety and security director, is to leave the organisation later this year.

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‘They won’t buy it’: fish traders anxious after Fukushima wastewater release

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The release of water from the Japanese nuclear plant has already caused the price of produce from surrounding coastal areas to drop

Awa-jinja is a place of pilgrimage for the more superstitious fishers of Shinchi-machi, a coastal town in Fukushima, who come here to lower their heads and ask the Shinto gods to look kindly on them as they prepare to steer their boats into the vast Pacific Ocean.

Today, though, the “safe waves” implicit in the shrine’s name are of little concern to the men and women coming to the end of the working day at the town’s fishing port.

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Wednesday briefing: Fukushima nuclear plant is set to flush tonnes of water into the sea – but is it safe?

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In today’s newsletter: Japan’s decision to release radioactive water from the tsunami-hit power plant has divided groups – is it entirely safe or staggeringly stupid?

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UN report on Japan’s Fukushima water plans fails to placate opponents

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While South Korea offers official support, China and other voices in region continue to express concerns over discharge from nuclear plant

The publication this week of the UN nuclear watchdog’s positive assessment of Japanese plans to pump more than 1m tonnes of water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean has failed to placate opponents.

China is fiercely opposed to the plans, despite a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) backing the scheme, while the support of the government of South Korea has failed to quell widespread public opposition to the idea in the country.

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Ukraine: cooling pond at Zaporizhzhia plant at risk after dam collapse – report

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Nuclear safety organisation says loss of pool would not necessarily be catastrophic, but would dramatically increase safety concerns

The cooling pond at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is in danger of collapse as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the draining of its reservoir, according to a French nuclear safety organisation.

Without the reservoir on the other side to counteract it, the internal pressure of the water in the cooling pool could breach the dyke around it, a report by the Paris-based Institute for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) said.

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Greens attack Albanese government’s ‘deeply unsettling’ secrecy on submarine nuclear waste plans

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Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council also warned against cloak of national security to ‘mask inadequate radiation safety protection’

Labor and the Coalition have been accused of taking a “deeply unsettling approach” to transparency around Aukus after the major parties blocked the publication of documents about nuclear safety and waste issues.

The government cited national security concerns when it rejected a Senate order to produce documents, including those about options to manage operational waste from the nuclear-powered submarine program.

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ABC staff to walk off job next week – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the $368bn announcement of the Aukus deal yesterday.

In response to the reaction from China accusing Australia, the US and Britain of embarking on a “path of error and danger”, Marles defends making a decision that is in Australia’s national interest:

We are seeking to acquire this capability to make our contribution to the collective security of the region and the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

And one of the issues within our region we are witnessing the largest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the second world war. And it’s not Australia who is doing that, but that shapes the world in which we live.

We’re completely confident these are in complete compliance with non proliferation.

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Liberal MP says search for Aukus submarine nuclear waste dump site in his electorate is premature

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Rowan Ramsey ‘amazed’ government starting selection process in 12 months, given 33-year life of Virginia class reactor

Rowan Ramsey, the Liberal MP who faces the prospect of a nuclear waste dump in his South Australian electorate, has said he is “amazed” the government will begin the search in just 12 months for a facility that won’t be required for decades.

The comments come as green groups rally against a key component of the Aukus nuclear submarine acquisition: that Australia is required to dispose of the waste generated by its Virginia class submarines and the new SSN-Aukus submarine.

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What is the Aukus submarine deal and what does it mean? – the key facts

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The four-phase plan has made nuclear arms control experts nervous … here’s why

In a tripartite deal with the US and the UK, Australia has unveiled a plan to acquire a fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines, forecast to cost up to $368bn between now and the mid-2050s. Australia will spend $9bn over the next four years.

From this year Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with US and UK navies, including within both countries’ submarine industrial bases. From 2027 the UK and the US plan to rotate their nuclear-powered submarines through HMAS Stirling near Perth as part of a push to step up training of Australians.

Embedded personnel and port visits: Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with the the allies’ navies. US nuclear-powered submarines will increase their visits to Australian ports, with Australian sailors joining US crews for training.

Submarine rotations: From 2027 the UK and the US plan to rotate one UK Astute class submarine and up to four US Virginia class submarines through HMAS Stirling.

Sale of US Virginia-class submarines: From the early 2030s – pending approval by Congress – the US intends to sell Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with a potential option for two more if required.

SSN-Aukus: A combination of UK submarine design and US defence technology will contribute to the development of the new SSN-Aukus submarine – intended as the future attack submarine for both the UK and Australia. Both Australia and the UK intend to start building SSN-Aukus submarines in their domestic shipyards before the end of this decade. The first such boat may enter into UK service in the late 2030s, but the Australian navy will receive its first Australian-built SSN-Aukus submarine in the early 2040s.

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Fukushima: Japan insists release of 1.3m tonnes of ‘treated’ water is safe

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Neighbouring countries and local fishers express concern as 12th anniversary of nuclear disaster looms

Almost 12 years have passed since the strongest earthquake in Japan’s recorded history resulted in a tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people along its north-east coast.

As the country prepares to mark the 11 March anniversary, one of the disaster’s most troubling legacies is about to come into full view with the release of more than 1m tonnes of “treated” water from the destroyed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

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Search stepped up for potentially deadly radioactive capsule lost in Western Australia

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Authorities have conceded the capsule of highly radioactive material may never be found after disappearing on a 1,400km journey

A tiny, potentially deadly, radioactive capsule that has been missing for more than two weeks somewhere in the vastness of Western Australia might never be found, authorities have conceded.

On Sunday, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services (Dfes) revealed it was bringing in new radiation detection equipment that could be fitted to vehicles – superseding handheld sensors – to help locate the capsule somewhere along the 1,400km journey from which it originally disappeared.

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Howard ministers considered extinguishing native title over SA site earmarked for nuclear waste dump

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Cabinet papers 2002: documents shed light on strategy amid decades-long battle to create national storage centre

John Howard’s government considered extinguishing native title over a South Australian site earmarked for a nuclear waste dump “by agreement or by compulsory acquisition”, the 2002 cabinet papers reveal.

The records, released on Sunday by the National Archives of Australia, shed light on the Howard government’s part in the decades-long battle to create a national storage site for Australia’s low- and medium-level nuclear waste.

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Tech coalition aiming to create Australian high-powered laser industry with nuclear fusion ambitions

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Proponents say lasers can be used to generate energy but others say fusion power unlikely to ‘save us from climate change’

A coalition of technology companies intend to create a high-intensity laser industry in Australia, with potential applications including nuclear fusion.

It follows reports of an expected announcement from the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California that researchers have managed to get more energy out of a nuclear fusion reaction than they put in.

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Switzerland picks site near German border for nuclear waste storage

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In ‘project of the century’ country will bury spent nuclear fuel deep underground in clay

Swiss authorities have selected a site in northern Switzerland, not far from the German border, to host a deep geological storage repository for radioactive waste.

After nearly 50 years of searching for the best way to store its radioactive waste, Switzerland is gearing up for its “project of the century”, entailing burying spent nuclear fuel deep underground in clay.

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UN calls for demilitarised zone around Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

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Secretary general says agreement must be secured to commit Russian forces to withdraw and Ukrainian forces not to move in

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, involving the withdrawal of Russian occupying troops and the agreement of Ukrainian forces not to move in.

Guterres was addressing a UN security council session on Tuesday, at which he supported the recommendations put forward Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who led an inspection visit to the occupied Zaporizhzhia plant last week, and presented a report to the security council. The report confirmed the presence of Russian soldiers and military equipment at the plant, including army vehicles.

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Earthquake-proof steel cask carrying 2t of radioactive waste to arrive in Sydney next year

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Nuclear waste has been reprocessed in the UK and will be stored at Lucas Heights until Napandee facility is ready

A monolithic steel cask designed to withstand an earthquake and a jet strike will arrive in Sydney next year, carrying two tonnes of radioactive waste.

For security reasons authorities won’t say when the hulking capsule – containing four 500kg canisters of “intermediate-level material” – will arrive from the UK.

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China increasing nuclear arsenal much faster than was thought, Pentagon says

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A US defense department report says Beijing could have 700 warheads within six years and more than 1,000 by 2030

China is expanding its nuclear force much faster than US officials predicted just a year ago, highlighting a broad and accelerating buildup of military muscle designed to enable Beijing to match or surpass US global power by mid-century, according to a new Pentagon report.

The number of Chinese nuclear warheads could increase to 700 within six years, the report said, and may top 1,000 by 2030. The report released on Wednesday did not say how many weapons China has today, but a year ago the Pentagon said the number was in the “low 200s” and was likely to double by the end of this decade.

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Small but mighty, Pacific states have led the charge for banning nuclear weapons | Emily Defina

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A global treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons becomes international law today. But the fight to rid the world of these dismal weapons continues.

In 1995, thousands of people marched peacefully hand-in-hand through the Tahitian capital of Pape’ete. The palm-lined streets were awash with songs of protest.

On a nearby shorefront, Cook Islanders had just arrived by traditional voyaging canoe: a vaka. They were there to deliver a message of solidarity with their island neighbours, en route to the nuclear test site of Moruroa.

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Now that nuclear weapons are illegal, the Pacific demands truth on decades of testing | Dimity Hawkins

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With a 50th nation ratifying it, the treaty outlawing nuclear weapons for all countries will come into force in 90 days

Nuclear weapons will soon be illegal. Just over 75 years since their devastation was first unleashed on the world, the global community has rallied to bring into force a ban through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Late on Saturday night in New York, the 50th country – the central American nation of Honduras – ratified the treaty.

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