‘KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait’s
ministry of health has announced a plan
to deal with accidents involving radioactive
pollution, one week after Kuwaiti officials
expressed concern with the proximity of
Iran’s new nuclear plant. “The ministry
of health is ready to deal with any radioactive
pollution accidents,” a senior ministry
official, Samir al Asfour, told local reporters
on Saturday, the state news agency,
Kuna, reported. Mr al Asfour said the plan,
which was formulated in co-ordination with
civil defence officials, follows guidelines
of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) for countries located near nuclear
reactors. “It includes draft emergency measures
for each state department to follow in case
of accidents involving nuclear radiation,”
Mr al Asfour said. “A network consisting
of 15 fixed and two mobile detection stations
has been put in place nationwide to gauge
the levels of radiation in the border areas
as well as the residential areas.” Equipment
to detect radiation levels in air, water,
soil and food samples has been provided
to Kuwaiti laboratories, Mr al Asfour said,
adding that the ministry of health has up
to 60 million doses of medication for treating
radiation sickness.’
Deutsche Welle: Germany's
Merkel eyes an extra decade of nuclear power
‘Chancellor Angela Merkel weighed in on
Germany's ongoing nuclear energy debate.
She said the country needs to run its nuclear
energy plants for at least 10 more years
to keep energy costs down and ensure demand
is met. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
foresees keeping Germany's nuclear power
plants running for at least another decade
past their current phase out date. In 2002,
the then-ruling SPD-Greens coalition passed
a law that said all of Germany's nuclear
power plants were due to go off line by
2022. But Merkel, coming off a recent tour
of energy facilities around Germany, said
in an interview with public broadcaster
ARD that "on technical grounds, [an
additional] 10 to 15 years is reasonable."
The chancellor, citing an independent consultants'
report set to be published this week, said
such a time frame would ensure Germany's
energy needs are met as the country transitions
to renewable energy sources. Energy prices
would remain under control and goals for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions would
be reached with an extra 10 to 15 years
of nuclear power, Merkel added.’
The Japan Times: Japan's
textual demands vex civilian nuclear deal
with India
‘LONDON — When Japanese Foreign Minister
Katsuya Okada was in Delhi a few days back
for the fourth round of strategic dialogue
between Japan and India, he made it clear
that negotiations on a civilian nuclear
cooperation pact are going to be rather
difficult. There are indications that these
negotiations have stalled. It now looks
unlikely that this pact will be signed during
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit
to Japan in October as originally planned.
It was in June that India and Japan began
discussions on the possibility of Japan
signing a civil nuclear agreement with India.
It was a significant move for Japan, which
has long been critical of Indian nuclear
policy. Though India-Japan ties have blossomed
in recent years on a whole range of issues,
the nuclear issue has been a major irritant
in the relationship. The Indian nuclear
tests of 1998 marked the lowest point in
bilateral relations, as Japan reacted strongly
to the nuclearization of the subcontinent.
Tokyo suspended economic assistance for
three years as well as put on hold all political
exchanges between the two nations.’
Argentina Star: Old
nuclear facilities to go in Iraq
‘The European Union has agreed to help Iraq
get rid of its Saddam-era nuclear facilities,
which have become a problem for the country.
The EU has signed an agreement which will
bring EU scientists to assist the Iraqis
in dismantling and decontaminating the nuclear
facilities that were built when Saddam Hussein
was in power. A $3.2 million agreement has
been signed with Iraq in which the more
complicated facilities will be cleaned up
in less time than had been estimated. Iraq
scientists have been trying to clean up
ten old nuclear sites around the country,
but the going has been slow. The EU program
will train Iraqi scientists and provide
equipment to get rid of radioactive materials
and radioactive waste. EU nuclear officials
have said they will put out a tender before
the end of the month for firms interested
in providing equipment to manage the dismantling
program.’
The Hindu: Fatehabad
farmers see nuclear plant as a liability
‘The agitating farmers of Gorakhpur-Kumharia
village of Haryana have decided to stage
an indefinite dharna outside the mini secretariat
at Fatehabad, over 300 km from here, to
protest against the acquisition of over
1,400 acres by the government for a nuclear
power plant there. “We are not against technology;
we just don't want it to be at the cost
of farmers. We will convey this to the Prime
Minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi
and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi,”
said Hans Raj, president of the Kisan Sangharsh
Samiti spearheading the stir. Speaking to
The Hindu over phone from Fatehabad, he
said: “We have already handed over a memorandum
of our demands to the Deputy Commissioner
and addressed it to President Pratibha Patil,
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Haryana
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.” Apart
from a section of farmers not ready to part
with their land at any cost, there are many
whose objection is to the price being offered.
“In the proposed power plant, over 500 acres
of land which is ‘most fertile' and fetches
over Rs. 20 lakh per acre in market but
the government rate is Rs. 11.65 lakh per
acre which is unfair. The land must be bought
at a fair price,” said another farmer.’
The Hindu: ‘Jaitapur
nuclear plant needs thorough regulatory
scrutiny' No answers on project cost were
given by NPCIL
‘The Konkan Bachao Samiti (KBS), which is
opposing the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power
plant (JNPP) in Ratnagiri, has said that
several questions on the project remain
unanswered. At a recent press conference,
Vivek Monteiro and Adwait Pednekar of the
KBS said several issues were raised at meetings
held among the KBS, Janhit Seva Samiti (JSS)
and officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation
of India Limited (NPCIL) and the National
Environmental Engineering Research Institute
(NEERI), at the instance of Jairam Ramesh,
Union Minister of State for Environment
and Forests. Union Minister of State for
Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan
had said that the plant's cost would be
Rs. 1,00,000 crore and people would be offered
the best rehabilitation package. Mr. Pednekar
said till now no answers on the project
cost were given by the NPCIL and nothing
was said about the cost of power. At the
two meetings held with the NPCI L and the
others, it was clear that the JNPP, till
date, did not receive regulatory approval
from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
(AERB).’
New York Times: The
Burden of Nuclear Waste
‘DELFT, THE NETHERLANDS — Tensions within
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s administration
over Germany’s energy policy cut to the
heart of a contentious, worldwide debate
over the future of nuclear power. The old
controversies over nuclear reactors — their
dangers, benefits and costs — have been
raised to the forefront. But as politicians,
energy experts and the general public weigh
the pros and cons, one key element in harnessing
energy from the atom is being neglected:
the link between the different methods of
producing nuclear power and the nature —
and longevity — of the radioactive waste
that each method leaves behind. This in
turn raises the issue of intergenerational
justice: The technical choices we make today
will determine the extent of the burden
humanity will face in containing contaminated
byproducts that can remain radioactive for
tens of thousands of years. While an increasing
number of states are being swayed by the
fact that nuclear power can enhance domestic
energy security, produce large amounts of
energy, and emit very low greenhouse gas
byproducts, critics nonetheless remain vociferous.’
