Newsletter XLV 2022 |
08. to 15. November
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Nuclear Power Accidents
This PDF file contains a list of known incidents from the various areas of the civil and military nuclear industry. Some of this information only came to the public in a roundabout way...
Excerpt for this month:
4 November 2004 (INES ? Class.?) Balakovo, RUS
11 November 1983 (INES 3) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
16 November 2001 (INES ? Class.?) High flux reactor, Petten, NLD
19 November 2003 (INES 2) nuclear factory La Hague, FRA
19 November 1975 (INES ? Class.?) Gundremmingen, DEU
20 November 1959 (INES 4) nuclear factory Oak ridge, USA
22 November 2002 (INES 2) Tihange, BEL
29 November 1970 (INES 3 NAMS 2,5) nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
29 November 1955 (INES 4) Research reactor EBR-I, USA
30 November 1975 (INES 5) Leningrad, USSR
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We are looking for current information. If you can help, please send a message to: nuclear-world@reaktorpleite.de
15. November
Part 1 | Part 2
The green | credibility | Peace Movement
"For me, the war in people's minds started in 2008 at the latest and even more so in 2014"
Antje Vollmer on the credibility of the Greens as a force for peace, the final concept of a European peace order and the West's faux pas in view of the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. (Part 1)
Ms. Vollmer, from the UN climate summit COP27 to energy policy and this year's Green party conference: The party and its members now seem ready for almost any compromise. This applies to the arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia, the position on nuclear power, but also the basic peace policy positioning. How do you explain that?
Antje Vollmer: The Greens have revealed their historical place, which has made them unique in the German party landscape and also in the European future debate for a long time.
As an opposition party?
Antje Vollmer: Even more: as a methodological alternative in dealing with system conflicts. At the beginning of the 1980s you positioned yourself exactly where the world threatened to be torn apart. And they endured that tension.
The old peace movement in the FRG and the GDR attacked rearmament in East and West in the same way and thus chose a highly controversial location. But on the merits this had amazing success. Today, the Greens tend to be hasty in siding with the presumed winners of history...
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Climate policy | Last Generation | populist | criminal offense
Strobl: "Last Generation" activists are criminals
After the ongoing protests by the "Last Generation" climate group and further blockades announced by the activists, the Baden-Württemberg Minister of the Interior, Thomas Strobl, has had enough. "It's illegal, they're criminals," criticized the CDU politician on Tuesday in Stuttgart. He considers the motivation of the mostly young people "irrelevant". It was "absolutely unacceptable" to accept that rescue services would be held up and human lives endangered. "Possibly one or the other is not about climate protection at all, but about committing crimes," said Strobl ...
Conservative | Hypocrites | Good men | WiP
Conservative? Hypocrite!
You call yourself conservative, but you've failed miserably when it comes to preserving the environment. First they dump the climate down the well, and now, probably to distract from their own failures, they want to put protesting kids in the hole just because they are starting to fight back and are trying to stop the madness.
If I look at the ranks of those responsible in recent years, there are quite a few who should definitely be held accountable. Duties were lost sight of, and some simply did not do their job properly.
Article 56 of the Basic Law reads:
"I swear that I will devote my energies to the well-being of the German people, increase their welfare, protect them from harm, uphold and defend the Basic Law and the laws of the Federation, perform my duties conscientiously and do justice to everyone. So help me God.”
An economics minister who has driven an entire industry of the future into ruin and out of the country.
Transport ministers who have been particularly busy lobbying for the auto industry, but have otherwise only distinguished themselves by ducking and delaying.
White and green scrubbers who, under the protection of their office, did not do what had to be done, but rather "earned" a well-paid retirement.
And now, of all people, some of them stand at the lectern and mix their imagined omniscience, cruel words of hate, phrases about law and order with fear and terror into a corrosive propaganda concoction. With their words they paint gloomy pictures in which evil green devils, communists and terrorist children are up to mischief.
They continue to ignore the real dangers. Why is refusal to work in office not punishable?
If you want to eat with the devil, you need a long spoon.
So these honest men copy the slogans of the right-wing extremists and again play with the matches of the fascists. Have these so-called conservatives learned nothing from the past, or are they doing it on purpose?
The most committed are criminalized so that only those remain who are sufficiently flexible in their backbones and adapt to the prevailing balance of power...
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Another incident at the Cattenom nuclear power plant
In a reactor block of the Cattenom nuclear power plant, an inspection revealed that there was not enough water in the retention basin. In the event of an accident, this could have had serious repercussions.
There was another serious breakdown at the Cattenom nuclear power plant. On Monday last week, during a tour of the fourth reactor block, which is currently being shut down for maintenance work, workers noticed a low water level in the retention basin, the operator of the plant, the French energy group EDF, announced. In the event of an accident, the water in the retention basin is used as a reserve so that it can be pumped into the reactor building for cooling purposes. According to EDF, a fault in a circulation pump could have caused the lack of water. The breakdown did not have any impact on the immediate safety of the facility, the statement said. However, according to the EDF, problems could have arisen in the event of an accident. The French nuclear authority has given the incident a 1 on the seven-point scale.
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Climate Crisis | green energy | green growth
Growth and the climate crisis: the illusion of green growth
Green energy will not be enough to sustain our economic model. Waste is no longer an option. A reply to Malte Kreutzfeldt.
The energy transition is said to be quite simple. All you have to do is order e-cars, insulate the houses and install heat pumps - and the climate is saved. At least that's how our former taz colleague Malte Kreutzfeldt sees it, who therefore believes that "green growth" is a real option (taz from 11).
Of course it would be nice if we didn't have to change our lives as long as we installed enough wind turbines and solar panels. But unfortunately it is an illusion that green electricity could be enough to fuel eternal growth...
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Energy transition | renewable | Power generation
Global energy transition: Lots of wind and sun
Energy and climate – compact: Renewable energy sources are on the rise worldwide, China is the leader in all fields.
The share of wind power and solar systems in the increasing global electricity production rose to over ten percent for the first time in 2021. This is reported by the Ember platform, a London-based think tank specializing in data analysis relating to renewable energy sources...
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Russia | Ukraine | reparations
UN General Assembly
Russia should pay reparations to Ukraine
The UN General Assembly has declared that Russia must pay reparations for the consequences of its aggressive war in Ukraine. In addition, Kyiv should document damage.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Kyslytsia began his speech to the UN General Assembly by quoting: "Large areas of our country were occupied by the enemy, who destroyed whole towns and villages and turned them into ruins. Factories, power plants, railways. That's why we believe that it is a moral right of countries subjected to occupation to receive compensation."
A demand not from a Ukrainian official, but a quote from former Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov - given his country's devastation in World War II...
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As of today we are eight billion
World population exceeds the eight billion mark for the first time
Full planet: According to calculations by the UN, there are eight billion people on earth as of today. The world population has reached a new high. However, population growth has already slowed down in recent years: the global growth rate is now less than one percent. However, some countries, including India, still have high birth rates. India could overtake China as the world's most populous country by 2023.
The world population has been growing faster than ever since the beginning of modern times - with consequences for us and our planet. Because the more people there are, the more space, energy and raw materials we use. Humanity is already consuming more energy than ever before, and there are now more man-made materials than biomass on Earth. Nature, sustainability and climate protection are also suffering from the increasingly dense population ...
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14. November
media research | Diplomats | Arms trade
Research "shadow diplomats"
Hundreds of honorary consuls involved in crimes around the world
Hundreds of honorary consuls are involved in criminal cases, as international research shows. It's about drugs, weapons and also sex crimes.
Berlin. According to international media research, hundreds of so-called shadow diplomats such as honorary consuls have been involved in criminal or at least problematic activities worldwide. According to “Spiegel”, the research was initiated by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the US research platform ProPublica.
Almost 60 media in 46 countries took part in the "Shadow Diplomats" project.
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Postponed nuclear repository decision:
From one extreme to the other
It is no surprise that the decision on a repository site has been further delayed. The planned year 2031 was never realistic.
September 1988: The Swiss repository company, Nagra, begins exploratory drilling in Siblingen in the canton of Schaffhausen and, because of the proximity to the border, also invites German journalists. Geologists present the first drill cores from the crystalline rock, are open in their communication and appear above all to be scientifically driven. They make it clear that a project like this takes time. Much time.
Now, 34 years later, Switzerland has decided on the final location for a deep repository. This is interesting because Germany has been giving the impression for decades that it can complete a comparable process in a much shorter time: from the start of the selection process to the location decision, around 13 years should be enough. That couldn't work; now it is clear that the decision will be further delayed by years ...
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Energy supply | Privatization | Infrastructure
Green privatization
Baden-Württemberg plans partial sale of high-voltage grid. "Critical infrastructure" sell off fine - as long as China is not involved
Putting so-called critical infrastructure into private hands is not a fundamental problem in Germany. In Baden-Württemberg this can be observed well at the moment: If the »right« buyer takes action – that means: they don’t come from China, as the recent examples of Elmos and ERS Electronic have shown – and the »right« purpose is also being pursued, the Privatization even most welcome ...
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13. November
Nationalization of energy company:
Uniper denies nuclear power plant plans
Uncertainty in Sweden: What will happen to the country's nuclear reactors if Germany takes over the energy company?
STOCKHOLM taz | The energy company Uniper has no intention of building a new nuclear reactor in Sweden. "We rule that out for Uniper," said Uniper spokesman Georg Oppermann on Swedish radio: "We have no plans to build new nuclear power plants, either in Sweden or anywhere else."
He was reacting to statements to the contrary by Åsa Carlson, CEO of the Swedish Uniper subsidiary "Barsebäck-Kraft". She had presented plans for a “Clean Energy Park” near the disused Barsebäck nuclear power plant in southern Sweden, in which “other fossil-free” electricity would be produced in addition to nuclear power...
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World Climate Council | Economic growth | World population
Climate Council conceals the influence of population growth
As one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, population growth is barely mentioned in the latest IPPC report.
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCP) addresses neither a possible reduction in economic growth nor a further increase in the world population. Not only measures to slow down the increase in world population are taboo, but also measures to reduce per capita consumption. The synthesis report of April 2022 by a working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (ICCP), which is intended to show political, economic and technological options for reducing anthropogenic climate change, contains proposals for reducing energy demand, but always within the framework of "sustainable development". Goals SDG).
The IPCC did not examine the possibility of reducing growth and thus per capita consumption. "Demographics" are not included in this IPCC synthesis report, although the responsible working group confirms that the size of the population has a direct effect on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions ...
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Groundwater | Drinking water | Dryness
Will Berlin and Brandenburg soon have to be supplied with water from the Baltic Sea?
The drought in the region is increasing and is endangering the drinking water supply. Which solutions are being discussed and what they bring.
Climate change causes rivers and regions in Germany to dry up in summer. Brandenburg is particularly affected: Without the mine water from the lignite opencast mine, the water level of the Spree would be much lower in the warm season...
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World population | growth | Human right
We are eight billion
World population: The growth looks rapid and gives cause for concern, but it is gradually coming to an end. Now a new demographic problem is troubling neoliberal hardliners.
It has only been eleven years since the world population passed the seven billion mark. And sometime this November, there will already be eight billion plus of us. This growth is rapid and gives cause for concern. Nevertheless, it is by no means daring to predict that this growth will come to an end before the end of this century.
While the world population was still growing by around 2011 million people per year in 80, this growth has now fallen to almost 66 million pa. Accordingly, the forecasts have been revised downwards ...
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12. November
Lützerath | Garzweiler | Coal exit
Renewed protest Demonstrators demand preservation of the town of Lützerath
An alliance of environmental associations and climate policy organizations called for a demonstration in Lützerath at the Garzweiler II opencast mine on Saturday. Demonstrations were held in 20 other German cities at the same time.
Lignite excavators, wind turbines, activists wrapped in thick scarves and some masked stand in the wind on the edge of the cliff and look at the hole. At the same time as the 27th UN climate conference in Egypt (COP27), those involved are calling for a coal phase-out in Germany that is compatible with compliance with the 1,5-degree limit. The village of Lützerath at the open-pit mine, which is threatened with demolition, is to be saved for this purpose. The Aachen police expected around 2000 demonstrators in advance. According to the organizers, around 2200 people demonstrated...
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Energy transition | Developing countries | COP27
The climate clock is ticking: Germany too must finally pay its debts
Without climate money from the rich North there will be no energy transition in the developing countries. But the industrialized countries only offer meager handouts. About climate justice, dirty tricks and the fight for trillions of dollars.
A current calculation shows that the developing countries will need two trillion dollars a year up to 2030 to implement a rapid energy transition. According to a UN report, at least half of the funds should come from rich countries.
But at the COP27 ("Conference of the Parties"), the climate summit in Egypt, the industrialized countries once again failed to meet their pledge of 100 billion dollars, a sum that they should actually have reached by 2020. Only around 80 billion were made back then...
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greenhouse earth | Global Warming | Capitalism | climate hell
Expert: Path to "climate hell" not irreversible
Heidelberg (dpa / lsw) - From the point of view of an expert, the drastic warning from UN Secretary-General António Guterres of a "climate hell" should not be dismissed as alarmism. "The formulation makes a reversal seem possible and calls for action," said Philipp Schrögel from the Heidelberg Käte Hamburger College for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies.
[...]
The metaphor "Kimahölle" stands in the tradition of the term "Hothouse Earth" which was coined by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Schrögel cannot imagine a fight against global warming without criticizing capitalism with its belief in unlimited growth and inexhaustible prosperity and the ruthless exploitation of natural resources. "Social and ecological steps are inseparable and must not be played off against each other." ...
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nuclear law | Runtime | Military | Arms industry
Harnessed to the nuclear cart
Armin Simon from the nationwide anti-nuclear organization explained the Bundestag's decision to extend the lifetime of nuclear power plants until April ».ausgestrahlt«:
The government coalition's approval of longer nuclear power plant runtimes is a serious mistake. The lifetime extension weakens established safety standards and ignores acute reactor safety deficiencies. The SPD and the Greens let themselves be harnessed to the nuclear carts of the FDP, CDU, CSU and AfD. It is clear that they want to make the stretching operation of the piles by April the door opener for a further extension of the service life. The nuclear phase-out is in serious danger.
[...]
According to a new study, military CO2 emissions are responsible for around 5,5 percent of global emissions. If the global military were a country, it would have the fourth largest carbon footprint in the world - larger than Russia's. On the occasion of the report published on Thursday by "Scientists for Global Responsibility" (SGR) and "Conflict and Environment Observatory" (CEOBS), the medical peace organization demands IPPNW calls on the German federal government to campaign for a special report and an assessment of the climate impact of war and the military at the climate conference ...
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11. November
Energy transition | Climate protection | energy charter | CETA
Decision of the traffic light factions Germany should withdraw from the Energy Charter
The Energy Charter has long been criticized by environmentalists. According to the will of the traffic light groups, Germany should now withdraw from the agreement in order to advance the energy transition and thus climate protection.
The factions of the traffic light government want Germany to withdraw from a controversial international energy agreement in order to promote climate protection. Members of the Bundestag from the SPD, Greens and FDP announced that they planned to withdraw from the so-called Energy Charter as quickly as possible, like France or the Netherlands.
The agreement, which came into force in 1998, is intended to protect investments in energy projects and has long been criticized by environmental organizations. For example, it allows investors to sue states before arbitral tribunals. Green party leader Katharina Dröge praised the planned step as a "milestone" ...
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nuclear lobbyist | Lindner | speed limit | continued operation
Speed limit against continued nuclear power plant operation: Lindner and his poisoned offer to the Greens
Shortly before the decisive nuclear power plant vote, the FDP leader suggested horse-trading towards the Greens. They arrange themselves almost noiselessly with the stretching operation.
The date for the final vote on the extension operation of the remaining three nuclear power plants fitted into the picture. Exactly at the beginning of the carnival on 11.11. the Bundestag voted to temporarily continue operation of the Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland kilns until April 15, 2023.
While the fools of the republic were celebrating the beginning of the fifth season, at 11.11:XNUMX a.m. the members of parliament - some even in brightly colored suits - voted after months of arguments on what is probably the final end date for the German use of nuclear power. A dispute in which some of those involved seemed to have lost the seriousness over the months...
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Nuclear waste | Castor | Interim storage | hot cell
Lubmin interim storage facility: BUND calls for "hot cell"
The search for a repository for German nuclear waste is taking longer than planned. Therefore, highly radioactive waste must be stored in the Lubmin interim storage facility beyond the year 2050.
It is questionable whether there will be a repository for nuclear waste in Germany in 2050. The search is taking longer than planned. That is why 74 castors have to be stored longer in the Lubmin interim storage facility. The BUND in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania therefore calls for more security in the form of a so-called "hot cell". This is a shielded room in which castor containers can be opened and repaired remotely.
"Hot cell" not required by law
Such a "hot cell" would have to be installed in the planned warehouse for castors, which is to be built in Lubmin in 2024. According to current legislation, however, there is no need for this, according to the managing director of the disposal plant for nuclear plants, Henry Cordes. The Bundestag would have to decide on this. The construction would cost an amount in the high double-digit millions. In the new warehouse that is being built in Lubmin, a place is reserved in case the law should change...
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Energy transition | Climate catastrophe | primary energy
Climate protection and capitalism:
Fail? Does not have to be
The mood is spreading that the energy transition is too slow to stop the climate catastrophe. There is reason for optimism.
It is obvious that climate activists are rather pessimistic when it comes to whether the climate crisis can still be stopped. Your role is to push politics along with criticism.
[...]
The switch from fossil fuels to green electricity reduces the final energy requirement for transport and heating: one liter of diesel has an energy content of around 10 kilowatt hours. This means that a car in the Golf class can travel about 17 kilometers. A comparably large electric car drives over 10 kilometers with 50 kilowatt hours of electricity. By switching to electric cars powered by green electricity, the demand for final energy falls by 70 percent.
The situation is similar with heating: With gas and oil heating, part of the energy is lost; one kilowatt hour of energy in the fuel therefore always results in less than one kilowatt hour of heat in the home. With a heat pump it is the other way around: it extracts heat from the environment and thus generates 3 to 5 kilowatt hours of heat from one kilowatt hour of electricity. When switching from a fossil-based heating system to a heat pump powered by green electricity, the final energy requirement drops by a third to a fifth - without it getting colder in the apartments...
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Bundestag decides nuclear power plant lifetime extension
The Bundestag has approved the temporary continued operation of the last three German nuclear power plants to secure the power supply. Before the vote, there was a heated debate in Parliament.
The Bundestag has decided to extend the service life of the three remaining German nuclear power plants. The Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland kilns are to remain in operation until April 15 next year.
In a roll-call vote, 375 MPs voted in favor of amending the Atomic Energy Act, 216 voted against and 70 abstained, as Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki announced. 661 votes were cast ...
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Last Generation | climate activist | hope
Shaking up the "stupor citizens"
On the forms of action of the last generation and an unintended side effect of Markus Lanz's talk show. A comment.
The world has always been ripe for the revolutionary. What in retrospect appears as a preliminary stage, as an immature situation, was once seen as the last chance for change. He is with the desperate whom judgment sends to the place of execution, not with those who have time.
max horkheimer
On Wednesday evening, Markus Lanz once again revealed his bourgeois limitations in his program named after him. He talked himself into a rage trying to stand up to a young and bright last-generation climate activist.
"You're sitting here at 20. You have to be optimistic. You have to have faith in people's abilities and in their ability to adapt," says the moderator. Instead, they are oiled around and made to be pessimistic. He did not tell us where a young person should get his confidence in the abilities of mankind and how he is supposed to pull off the feat of being optimistic under today's conditions...
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Poland | Westinghouse | Lubiatowo-Kopalino
Why Poland orders nuclear reactors from the US
Poland relies on nuclear energy, although according to the International Energy Agency it is a phased-out model. Bizarre: The bankrupt Westinghouse group should fix it. But what do nuclear power plants in Poland have to do with the Ukraine war?
Poland - and US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm - need to be congratulated for brokering the deal. The country wants three "nuclear lemons" from the United States buy.
With incredible short-sightedness, the Polish government has signed an agreement with the US company Westinghouse to build three nuclear reactors.
Everyone involved seems to be ignoring the fact that Westinghouse was bankrupted by its disastrous nuclear projects in South Carolina and Georgia. The first project was canceled mid-construction and the second, Plant Vogtle, is now years behind schedule and well behind the original 2016 commissioning date, with costs kept skyrocketing and now exceed $30 billion.
Also overlooked was that former Westinghouse Electric Company vice president Jeffrey A. Benjamin, in 16 counts. It's about a conspiracy, various allegations of fraud and false records by the listed company in the now abandoned VC Summer 2 reactor project in South Carolina...
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Sellafield | Nuclear factory | remanufacturing
11 November 1983 (INES 3) Sellafield Nuclear factory, GBR
Accidental transfer of 59 TBq of radioactivity with solvents and raw materials from building B205 to a sea tank in building B242.
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This accident, as well as several other releases of radioactivity originating from Sellafield, are no longer in the German Wikipedia a DAK Bungalow.
The fire of Windscale in October 1957, classified as a "serious accident" (INES 5), is the only pre-2005 Sellafield accident that has not yet disappeared from Wikipedia...
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Wikipedia
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
The complex was made famous by a catastrophic fire in 1957 and by frequent nuclear incidents, which is one of the reasons why it was renamed Sellafield. Up until the mid-1980s, large quantities of the nuclear waste generated in day-to-day operations were discharged in liquid form via a pipeline into the Irish Sea.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield#Incidents
Radiological releases
Between 1950 and 2000 there were 21 serious off-site incidents or accidents involving radiological releases that warranted classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale, one at Level 5, five at Level 4 and fifteen at Level 3. In addition, there were in intentional releases of plutonium and irradiated uranium oxide particles into the atmosphere known for extended periods in the 1950s and 1960s...
Translated with https://www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
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There are comparable nuclear factories all over the world:
Uranium enrichment and reprocessing - facilities and sites
During reprocessing, the inventory of spent fuel elements can be separated from one another in a complex chemical process (PUREX). Separated uranium and plutonium can then be reused...
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10. November
Lingen fuel assemblies | Uranium Russia | Mikhail Dudin
Lingen: opponents of nuclear power demonstrate against uranium transport
Opponents of nuclear power have once again staged a protest in Emsland, calling for uranium deliveries from Russia to Germany to be stopped. They fear that a transport will soon arrive in Lingen.
According to the organizers, 20 to 25 people took part in the vigil in front of the fuel element factory in Lingen on Thursday. It is unclear whether nuclear fuel is actually delivered to Lingen. A police spokeswoman declined to comment. Lingen is also one of three nuclear power plants that are due to remain online until mid-April 2023 due to the energy crisis.
Uranium could be brought to Lingen by truck
According to information from the Münsterland action alliance against nuclear plants, the Russian nuclear ship "Mikhail Dudin" is on its way from St. Petersburg to Rotterdam (Netherlands). It has uranium on board that is to be brought to Lingen by truck, according to a spokesman ...
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Repository | Nuclear waste highly radioactive | Ministry of Environment
Information from the Ministry of the Environment
Search for repository for nuclear waste takes longer than planned
According to the law, a repository for highly radioactive waste should actually be found by 2031. According to a report by the Federal Society for Repository Search, this deadline cannot be met.
According to the Federal Environment Ministry, the search for a repository for German nuclear waste cannot be completed by 2031 as intended. At the request of the German Press Agency, the ministry announced that the procedure could not be completed by the planned date "taking into account the high requirements for selecting the location with the best possible security".
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Bulgaria | Kozloduy | Fuel rods
Fuel rods from Russia: Bulgaria's interim government needs alternatives
Bulgaria's National Assembly has committed the interim government to expediting the process of procuring non-Russian fuel rods for the two Soviet reactors at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
The proposal to speed up the procurement process for non-Russian nuclear fuel came from GERB, the party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.
According to the party, the government must urgently ensure the country's energy supply and national security by providing an alternative to Russian fuel for the nuclear power plant.
With sufficient MEPs backing the GERB proposal, the caretaker government must now ensure that the first shipment of non-Russian fuel rods is no later than April 2024 and that the deal must be fully independent of Russian suppliers...
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France | Parking | solar roof
Larger parking lots must have solar roofs
By covering parking lots with solar systems, France wants to install an output of up to 11 gigawatts.
The French government's plans to expand renewable energies have cleared an important hurdle. After negotiations with the Senate, operators of parking spaces with more than 80 parking spaces will be obliged to cover them with solar systems. The Senate passed a corresponding bill on November 4, 2022.
Accordingly, the law should come into force on July 1, 2023. Car parks with 80 to 400 parking spaces will then have to cover half of their area within five years. Larger car parks with more than 400 parking spaces have three years to do this...
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gas crisis | billion profit | excess profit tax
Gas crisis ensures billions in profits at RWE
For months, companies like RWE have made great profits from the energy prices. Now the federal government wants to "skim off" part of the profits of the crisis beneficiaries.
Dusseldorf In the past nine months, the Essen-based energy group RWE has more than doubled its profit to 2,1 billion euros (EBIT) compared to the previous year. Although the business with renewable energies also increased significantly, the water/biomass/gas segment made up the majority. Thanks to the high gas prices, the adjusted Ebitda rose from 430 million euros in the previous year to more than 1,1 billion euros.
The prices for electricity, gas and other energy sources have been rising massively for months. As a result, RWE's profits are significantly higher. Trading in electricity and gas had already brought the company its best result in years in 2021...
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Climate change | Greenland ice | Sea level
Greenland: The cold north-east is also melting
Ice loss and contribution to sea level rise six times higher than previously forecast
Underestimated effect: In the cold north-east of Greenland, the glaciers react more strongly to climate change than previously assumed - with consequences for global sea levels. According to new data, even 200 kilometers from the coast, the ice streams are now flowing measurably faster and have lost several meters in thickness. If this continues, this region of Greenland could lose six times more ice than predicted by the year 2100. This alone would raise sea levels by up to 15,5 millimeters.
Greenland has the second largest ice reservoir on earth - and one of the fastest disappearing. The ice loss from the Greenland glaciers is already accelerating exponentially in some places, and the melting could even be irreversible in some areas. So far, the glaciers in southern and northwestern Greenland have been particularly affected. The cold northeast, on the other hand, was long thought to be the last stable part of the Greenland ice sheet.
In recent years, however, the north-eastern part of the Greenland ice sheet has also shown the first signs of dissolution: Zachariae Isstrøm, one of the two large coastal glaciers in this region, has tripled its flow rate and doubled its melting rate since 2012. The catchment area of both glaciers together covers around twelve percent of the ice sheet in the interior of Greenland. If this area were to thaw completely, it could raise sea levels by 1,10 meters...
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09. November
Friday, November 11, 8:30 a.m. - Republic Square, Berlin
Stop the nonsense! Protest action on the amendment to the Atomic Energy Act
On Friday, November 11.11.2022th, XNUMX, the Bundestag intends to decide to extend the service life of the last three operating nuclear power plants. On this sad occasion, .broadcast calls for a protest action in front of the Reichstag to make it clear:
Continued operation of the nuclear power plants? Dangerous and unnecessary. Stop the nonsense!
Nuclear power is extremely risky - and absolutely unnecessary for the energy supply in Germany. The so-called stress test 2.0 also shows that the power supply in Germany is secure, even without nuclear power plants...
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Nuclear power plants longer on the grid? Agreement despite abdominal pain
Chancellor Scholz's decision to temporarily leave three nuclear power plants - including the Emsland nuclear power plant - on the grid was a topic in the Bundestag on Wednesday. How do MPs from Lower Saxony feel about this?
Two members of the Bundestag from the Greens have announced that they will vote against the planned law for the temporary continued operation of the three nuclear power plants until mid-April: Members of the Bundestag Filiz Polat from Osnabrück and Julian Pahlke from Leer point out, among other things, that the electricity from the Emsland nuclear power plant is not needed. This high-risk technology should therefore no longer be used. However, most of the other Greens members of the Bundestag will probably support the law - despite a stomach ache, it said ...
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Nuclear waste | Castor | Interim storage | transportation security
How long do castors last in the interim storage facility?
A repository for highly radioactive nuclear waste will not be ready for operation until 2050 at the earliest. The castors, which are designed for 40 years, must last until then. A research project is now simulating how safe the containers would be even after 100 years.
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Maik Stuke estimates that not much will happen as long as it is in interim storage. But if the castors are one day transported by train across the republic to the repository, it is unclear what that means for stability. Therefore the aging process is simulated. The data is fed into complex computer programs that hope to be able to predict developments over the next 100 years. Research is also being carried out into so-called muon tomography. It basically works like a computer tomograph in a hospital, except that particles from cosmic rays are used. These muons only interact with very dense matter like uranium or plutonium. The hope: to take pictures of the inside of the cask that show whether the fuel assemblies are still intact...
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Sweden temporarily shuts down its largest nuclear reactor
A turbine shutdown has occurred in Sweden's largest nuclear reactor. That is why the Scandinavian country is now taking the reactor off the grid. In July, the power plant had to be disconnected from the grid.
Stockholm. The largest nuclear reactor in Sweden, Oskarshamn 3, was temporarily taken off the grid on Wednesday. The reason for this is a turbine shutdown, according to information from the Nord Pool power exchange. A spokeswoman for the operator OKG confirmed this. Troubleshooting is running. How long it will take to fix the problem could not be estimated at midday...
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France | EDF | cover-up | Security Check
Leaks and corrosion prevent Macron's nuclear plans
The French government's utopian demand to start up the old reactors again in winter because of the risk of blackouts is shattered by real safety problems in the reactors.
The bad news for the French government when it comes to the power supply and the dangers of blackouts in the country, to which President Emmanuel Macron has already prepared the population, is not coming to an end. One of those bad news stories just came out of the Civaux nuclear power plant.
There the power plant operator had EDF, against the possible because of covers-up of incidents is determined, a radioactive leak discovered.
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The planned restart on January 8th is now uncertain. Since August 1st, the periodic safety review has been carried out, which is due every ten years.
Security checks also in Germany
This is exactly the test that has been pending for the three German piles, which are now scheduled to go into operation by April, for three years. On Friday, however, the traffic light government wants to urgently pass an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act in the Bundestag in order to allow dangerous stretching operations despite the lack of safety checks...
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Punish | Last Generation | climate glue
Trittin (Greens): CSU runs bad trivialization of terrorism
Green politician Jürgen Trittin accuses the CSU of playing down the terror of the Red Army faction with its statements on the "Last Generation" protest movement. In the phoenix interview, Trittin said: "Dobrindt is playing down terrorism really badly." The politician from B'90/Greens justified this as follows: "Despite all the criticism that one can have of the actions of the Last Generation, there is one essential difference: The RAF aimed to kill people, to murder them. Violence against people to use it is terrorism. People who stick to the streets endanger themselves first and foremost." The protest, even if its form is viewed by some as questionable, does not justify "such hate campaigns as the CSU is now launching against these people," added Trittin. In a newspaper interview, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt called for tougher penalties against the climate protection activists in order, according to Dobrindt, to prevent further radicalization and the formation of a "Climate RAF"...
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08. November
Leak in French nuclear plant:
Cumulative Incidents
A leak at the Civaux nuclear plant puts a strain on France's strained power grid. This also has an indirect impact on the supply situation in Germany.
"No danger to the environment and the health of the population!"
The statement by the deputy director of the French radiation protection authority IRSN, Karine Herviou, on an incident at the Civaux nuclear power plant, intended to calm the public, sounds routine. Because the partially aged reactors are prone to breakdowns. The reason for the official all-clear is a leak in the cooling system of a reactor in the French plant near Poitiers.
The problem was identified last Wednesday, and the IRSN reported it almost a week later. It is emphasized that no radioactivity was released. According to the information available, a seal in the cooling system was leaking. It is the first time such a problem has been observed. The repair and the necessary cleaning work did not pose any particular difficulty and would probably only take "a few days" ...
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Czech Republic's new nuclear power plants: Austria insists on anti-nuclear course
Vienna confirmed it will maintain its firm anti-nuclear stance towards neighboring countries after reports that the Czech Republic's plans to build new nuclear power plants are more advanced than previously thought.
Austria is the leading anti-nuclear country in Europe. The government was never able to put the only nuclear power plant from the 1970s into operation due to strong resistance from the population. Vienna is currently suing the European Commission for classifying nuclear power as “green” under the EU taxonomy for sustainable finance...
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nuclear law | continued operation | Safety
The amendment to the Atomic Energy Act in the Environment Committee:
Nuclear power plant continued operation dangerous and superfluous - stop the nonsense!
Photo and protest action in front of the Bundestag on Friday, November 11, 2022
The environment committee of the German Bundestag will advise tomorrow, Wednesday, on the 19th amendment to the Atomic Energy Act, which is intended to regulate the controversial nuclear power plant stretch operation until 2023. The passage of the law is already planned for Friday. The organizations .broadcast, Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) and Doctors for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) are appealing to all members of the Bundestag not to agree to the continued operation of the three nuclear power plants. With a protest action on Friday in front of the Bundestag, the organizations pointed out the great dangers of the continued operation of the nuclear power plants. A huge, smoking crack nuclear power plant and numerous nuclear waste barrels illustrate the nonsense of such a decision ...
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France | EDF | Radioactive
Radioactive leak discovered at Civaux nuclear plant in France
According to the energy supplier EDF, the leak in the primary cooling circuit of the nuclear power plant in south-west France was noticed a few days ago. There is no security risk.
French energy supplier EDF has discovered a radioactive leak at its Civaux nuclear power plant in the southwest of the country. It occurred in the primary cooling circuit and was noticed last Wednesday, EDF said. There is no security risk. No radioactivity was measured outside the facility. There were also no personnel near the leak. The nuclear regulator ASN requested a report on the incident from EDF ...
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Poland | Westinghouse | Lubiatowo-Kopalino
Poland is consolidating its nuclear power plant expansion plans
Poland's answer to the energy crisis is nuclear power. The European coal country is planning three nuclear power plants that will replace a large part of the coal-fired power generation. France, South Korea and the USA are on board.
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The US group Westinghouse Electric Company was awarded the contract for the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site for the first planned nuclear power plant. The place is located on the Baltic Sea coast northwest of the port city of Gdansk. Three pressurized water reactors of the AP 1000 type are planned, which the planners expect to go online in 2033.
The location is only around 150 kilometers as the crow flies from the German border. The Greens had had environmental and nuclear experts draw up a report last year. The experts come to the conclusion that in the event of a reactor meltdown, in 75 percent of the possible weather conditions, the neighboring countries would be more severely affected by radioactive radiation than Poland itself. Depending on the weather situation, an estimated 4,5 million people across Europe would be exposed to increased radioactive radiation affected.
A nuclear power plant of Soviet design was built near Gdansk around 40 years ago, but it was never completed, mainly because there were civil protests at the time. In Zarnowiec, not far from the now planned location, you can still see the ruins of the never-completed basic construction of a nuclear power plant from 1982. The construction was stopped after the GAU in Chernobyl. Now everything has to start all over again...
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Current news+
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Punish | activist | Climate policy
Penalties for activists
And what about the climate?
The Union wants to punish road blockers harder. As an opposition, you should actually denounce the lame climate policy of the traffic light.
The Bild newspaper is already looking forward to it. This week, the CDU/CSU intends to submit a motion to the Bundestag for "minimum prison sentences" for road blocker demands if they impede the passage of rescue services. In addition, it should be possible to impose “preventive custody” on repeat offenders. The details are still unclear: How high should the "minimum prison sentence" be? Should it also no longer be possible to suspend the sentence on probation? And how should the Bundestag regulate preventive detention when the federal states are responsible for averting danger? Does the Union want to change the Basic Law right away – or just ignore it?
But that's probably not the point for the protagonists of these ideas. For them, the most important thing is the direction: tougher penalties for climate stickers! We will hear that often. The Union will probably formulate its application in such a way that the traffic light coalition can only reject it. And then every blockage is that last generation at the same time a "traffic light blockade". In line with the Union slogan of the 1990s, without abolishing the right to asylum, "every asylum seeker is an SPD asylum seeker".
Of course, the coalition can counter and accuse the Union of disregarding the judiciary. After all, harsher penalties would already be possible today. According to the current legal situation, imprisonment of up to three years can be imposed in the event of coercion. If a person dies negligently due to a blockade, five years in prison are possible.
But the judiciary has not yet had to decide on a case in which rescue vehicles were obstructed. It looks as if the Union wants to prevent fines for the blockades in general. The judiciary would then no longer be able to impose the penalties that it previously found appropriate.
The announced Union proposal not only raises questions for the CDU/CSU, but also for the last generation. How can it be that at the beginning of the climate conference in Egypt everyone is talking about higher penalties for road blockades and nobody about the German government's inadequate climate policy? Hasn't the strategy of the civil resistance completely backfired? Is it about climate protection for the last generation, or do they mainly want to go into the textbook on moral ethics?
As the opposition, the Union should actually attack the coalition's hesitant climate policy. But that is not in their interest. Thanks to Last Generation, she now has a different target for her attacks.
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Background knowledge
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reaktorpleite.de
Map of the nuclear world:
Man-made disasters...
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The internal search for
brought the following results, among others:
August 28, 2022 - The arguments used by politicians and industry to slow down climate protection
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December 01, 2021 - How many of our greenhouse gas emissions are we attributing to China?
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March 30, 2021 - NASA researchers find direct evidence of human-caused climate change
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YouTube
Keyword search: greenhouse gas and emission doku
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Treibhausgas und Emission doku
Videos:
Federal Environment Agency - 4:10
UBA explanatory film: Greenhouse gases and the greenhouse effect
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climate:neutral - 8:09
Carbon dioxide: What are the biggest climate killers?
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ZDF - 43:35
Germany in climate change / With Harald Lesch
Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...
This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic
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Ecosia
This search engine is planting trees!
Keyword search: man-made climate change
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=menschgemachter%20Klimawandel
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Federal Environment Agency
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change special report on climate change and land systems
The August 2019 IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land Systems (SRCCL) summarizes the scientific knowledge on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security and greenhouse gas fluxes in land systems.
What does the special report convey?
From the perspective of the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the report contains important messages:
- Land systems are the basis of human life, but humans are putting them under enormous pressure through the destruction of forests, soil degradation and climate change.
- Depending on the type, scope and intensity of use, land systems are both sources and sinks of greenhouse gases.
- Climate change is exacerbating the already existing pressures on land systems through permafrost degradation, desertification and land degradation as a result of temperature rise, but also through the effects of extreme events. Land degradation itself is also becoming a driver of climate change, for example because significant amounts of greenhouse gases are released in drained peatlands.
- Sustainable development paths with reduced energy demand (e.g. through a low-meat lifestyle) and lower greenhouse gas emissions reduce the risks of climate change.
- A number of land-based options for action offer high greenhouse gas reduction potential and minimize conflicts between different sustainability goals. The options for action include demand-oriented measures such as agroforestry, improved soil carbon management and stopping deforestation and forest degradation.
- Land-based climate protection measures are an important building block for the 1,5°C target of the Paris Climate Agreement. Most include both large-scale afforestation and massive bioenergy expansion (often associated with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)). Such land-based climate protection measures can increase the pressure on land areas and lead to trade-offs with negative effects on land degradation and food security.
- The framework for sustainable land-based climate protection measures (“good governance”; governance) must move in the direction of a multi-level approach at all levels and with all stakeholders, through the legal protection of the land rights of small farmers and indigenous population groups, especially in the Global South, through the pricing of environmental costs and by redirecting investment flows can be redesigned quickly and efficiently.
What is the significance of the special report for international, European and German climate policy?
Against the background of the hitherto insufficient national climate contributions (NDCs) for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the contracting states of the climate framework convention confirmed at the COP24 in Katowice 2018 that more climate protection measures must be implemented globally. This means that land systems, as an important building block for compliance with the 1,5 °C upper limit, are also coming more into the focus of climate policy ...
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Wikipedia
Jevons paradox
In economics, the Jevons paradox is an observation made by William Stanley Jevons that technological advances that allow more efficient use of a resource ultimately lead to increased use of that resource, rather than decrease it. In a broader sense, today we speak of a rebound effect.
General
In his 1865 book The Coal Question, Jevons observed that England's use of coal increased after the introduction of James Watt's coal-fired steam engine, although it was far more efficient than Thomas Newcomen's earlier variant. Watt's innovations made coal a cheaper source of energy and led to the increasing use of his steam engine in transportation and other industries. This led to the overall increase in coal consumption, although at the same time the specific consumption of each individual application decreased...
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climate change denial
Climate change denial (also sometimes referred to as climate change denial, climate science denial, or man-made global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, denying, contesting, or challenging the scientific consensus of climate research on global warming currently taking place. These include, in particular, trend denial, i.e. denying that the earth is currently warming, denial of causes, i.e. denying that the effect is man-made, and denial of consequences, i.e. denying that warming is causing major social and ecological problems. In addition to these three basic categories, consensus denial is often added, i.e. denying that the core statements in research have long been undisputed. Among other things, climate change skepticism, climate skepticism and climate skepticism are also used as a self-designation.
Despite the scientific consensus that has prevailed since the early 1990s at the latest, which is shared by all scientific academies of all major industrialized countries, parts of the public continue to reject the existence of man-made global warming, especially in some Anglo-Saxon countries. The rejection is particularly pronounced in countries in which, for economic reasons, an influential counter-movement has been created with large financial investments by companies, especially in the areas of extraction and utilization of fossil fuels, the aim of which is to destroy the existence of the scientific consensus through conscious to undermine sowing doubts. A distinction can therefore be made between "naive denial" by laypeople, based on ignorance of the scientific literature, and "motivated denial" by individuals and organizations who have access to the relevant information...
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Newsletter XLIV 2022 - November 01st to 07th
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