melbourne indymedia

On Tuesday the 25th of July an incident occurred at Forsmark-1 nuclear power station in Sweden that left one of the reactors without power for its safety systems. It took 20 minutes before the reserve generators could be started. "It was the worst situation since Chernobyl and Harrisburg. We were horrifyingly close to a really dangerous situation." said Lars-Olov Höglund, the former head of the construction division of the reactor.

The events in Sweden “in one fell swoop bring back into awareness the terrors of atomic energy”, said anti-nuclear German activist Jochen Stay, who has called on all nuclear opponents in Germany to reinvigorate opposition to nuclear power. A German environment protection group says a nuclear power station near Hamburg is worse prepared for a critical breakdown than the Swedish Formark-1 reactor.

Greenpeace: Sweden closes nuclear plants over safety fears
Nuclear Power No Solution to Climate Change

An accident at Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor has stopped production of radioactive material. A spokesman for the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Craig Pierce, says a pipe in a radioactive hot cell ruptured last week, halting production of an isotope used in medical procedures. The pipe coughed radioactive gas into the atmosphere and exposed a technician to potentially dangerous radiation. [Full Story]

Further contamination accidents have occurred this week according to this report on ABC Radio.

Insurance and the Lucas Heights nuclear plant | List of Safety Problems at ANSTO

Greenpeace and other environmental organisations have heavily criticised the Howard Government appointment of a six member Nuclear Taskforce, headed by nuclear physicist Ziggy Switkowski, to assess expanding the nuclear industry in Australia to minimise climate change, including the possibility for nuclear power stations. Various states have already threatened laws against nuclear plants.

Some think Howard is playing wedge politics on the issue by putting forward nuclear power as a possibility which he does not really care about and knows is uneconomic and is prepared to lose, to distract opposition to expansion of uranium mining, nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear waste storage. Meanwhile, Australian company Silex has Signed an Agreement with General Electric for Uranium Enrichment Technology. Silex, the Australian laser enrichment technology, promises to ramp up nuclear enrichment. (Background: Silex exposed (PDF))

Background:

• Is nuclear power part of Australia’s global warming solutions? Professor Ian Lowe AO, ACF President , and nuclear physicist
  
• German doctors angry at nuclear extension bid
  
• Spain says "Adios" to Nuclear Power

Events:

• Blowin in the Wind Film about depleted uranium - 14 June
  
• Nuclear Power No Solution to Climate Change with guest speaker Helen Caldicott - 3 July

Clean Futures Blog | Jim Green - Nuclear and Environmental Research | Greenpeace

A coalition of peace groups in Brisbane say that the nuclear powered and armed USS Ronald Reagan is not welcome in the Port of Brisbane and are taking to their kayaks and row boats in a peace flotilla to make their point. [Full Story]

In North Queensland the Townsville Greens has called on Townsville's Nuclear Free Zone to be enforced to prevent nuclear powered and armed ships entering local waters. Spokesperson Jenny Stirling said "The Australian government should take the same stand as New Zealand, and permit only ships that confirm they are not carrying radioactive material into our Ports."

MAPW Policy on Nucear powered ship visits
Nuclear Free Australia on Nuclear ships
Historical background: Queensland versus Greenpeace: the Vega affair