Newsletter XVI 2023 |
16 until 22. April
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Nuclear Power Accidents
This PDF file contains a list of accidents and releases of radioactivity. Some of this information was only made public under the most difficult of circumstances. As new information emerges, this list will be expanded and updated...
Excerpt for this month:
3 April 1960 (INES 4) NPP WTR-2 reactor, Waltz Mill, USA
5 April 1968 (INES 5 | NAMS 5) Nuclear factory Mayak, USSR
6 April 1993 (INES 4 | NAMS 4,8) Nuclear factory Tomsk 7, RUS
7 April 1989 (Broken Arrow) Submarine K-278 sank south of Bear Island, USSR
10 April 2003 (INES 3 | NAMS 3,9) NPP Paks, HUN
April 10th to May 15st, 1967 (INES ? Class.?) Nuclear factory Mayak, USSR
10 April 1963, Submarine SSN-593 sank 350 km from Cape Cod, USA
11 April 1970 (Broken Arrow) Submarine K-8 sank in the Bay of Biscay, USSR
11 April 1968, Submarine K-129 sunk 2900 km northwest of Hawaii, USSR
19 April 2005 (INES 3) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
21 April 1957 (INES 4) Nuclear factory Mayak, USSR
26 April 1986 (INES 7 | NAMS 8) NPP Chernobyl, USSR
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We are looking for current information. If you can help, please send a message to: nukleare-welt@reaktorpleite.de
22. April
Agriculture | Agri photovoltaics | Renewable Energy Sources Act
Solar systems on fields and pastures
When the farmer reaps twice
With photovoltaic systems, farmers can use their land twice: as agricultural land and for electricity production. So far, however, interested farmers have had to fight against sometimes fierce resistance. This could change now.
[...]
Farmer Hussong's project has been blocked since 2018. Ironically, the Saarland Chamber of Agriculture refused to approve his project for years. At a general meeting in 2012, she decided that PV systems should not be built on so-called priority areas. Agricultural priority areas are reserved for only one purpose - agriculture - and therefore cannot be built on, no matter what.
[...]
The fact that farmer Hussong can now build his agri-PV system in August is thanks to a political decision. In a so-called target deviation procedure, the Chamber of Agriculture was overruled by the Ministry of the Interior and Building in Saarland ...
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Increased radioactivity: Area at the "Wismut Pond" closed
Due to increased radioactivity, an area on the site of the former Steinach opencast mine in the district of Sonneberg is closed. According to the Ministry of the Environment, an area of around 1.500 square meters on the Wismut pond is affected. You are no longer allowed to enter. During measurements a year ago, increased levels of gamma radiation and even significantly increased levels in one area were found.
Therefore, access to the approximately 150-meter-long area should be closed off and signs put up. There is no immediate danger. The owner of the property and the fishing club have been informed.
The message from the Ministry of the Environment does not explain why the area was only closed a year after the increased values were determined...
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France | drought | Groundwater | Forest fires
A little water for tomatoes, a little for nuclear power
France is in a climatic state of emergency and is fighting over water: the groundwater is drying up, the protests are escalating. A new strategy is intended to calm people down.
A few days ago, the residents of four southern French municipalities found out via text message that France is in a climatic emergency. This contained a warning not to drink the tap water – it could be hazardous to your health. During the winter drought, the groundwater sank so low that it could no longer be extracted from the usual drilling site. Instead of turning off the tap completely, water from wells is now used for agriculture, the quality of which is not sufficient for consumption, explained the responsible water authority. 3.000 affected people had to queue in front of the town hall to pick up their ration of plastic water bottles...
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battery technology | Lithium ions | sodium ions
What makes sodium-ion batteries so interesting
They lag behind lithium-ion batteries in terms of performance, but they promise cheaper production and more uses. China takes the lead
The Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) is on many lips these days. Last year, it became the first company to mass-produce a sodium-ion battery. Competitor Hina soon followed, and its battery pack eventually made its debut in the Sehol E10X, the first electric car to use this technology.
It is primarily intended as a compact city car, because in terms of range, the "salt batteries" are not yet a competitor for the lithium-ion batteries, which have been constantly improved over the decades. A gap that is likely to narrow over time. And the new batteries are already scoring with various advantages...
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Runtime | Bavaria | Kini Jödler
The good will
Söder hugs fuel rods
Bavaria wants to continue to operate its last nuclear power plant on its own, says the CSU Prime Minister. In reality, in the election year, Söder wants to distract from the fact that his state has long delayed and hindered the energy transition.
Markus Söder is not picky. He embraces anything he thinks will serve him politically.
A tree, for example, if he wants to give the "eco" to keep the Greens, who have gained strength in the polls, small.
The Free Voters as junior partners in government when it seems to him the easiest way to continue governing.
And now: nuclear fuel rods.
[...]
Söder gives to the populists. Yes, you know. In 2011, when the super meltdown happened in Fukushima, he, then Minister of the Environment, went from being a nuclear power plant friend to a fervent one supporters of the exit. The local reactors are too dangerous.
He confirmed that just two years ago. Now he thinks it's necessary to return to work for "three, four, five years"...
21. April
Last Generation | Activists | climate protest
objectification required
1.400 experts stand behind climate protests
The debate is developing in the wrong direction, warn representatives of science. The protests are legitimate as a "last resort".
The climate protests of the last generation, which are increasingly paralyzing car traffic in this country, are highly controversial. Most recently, even the German branch of the climate activist group Fridays for Future distanced itself from the nature of the protests.
Now around 1.400 experts from the German-speaking area are behind the climate protests. At a press conference on Friday, they called on politicians to strike a new note in dealing with climate activism. They are concerned that violence against members of the Last Generation is escalating, it said...
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Nuclear phase-out | Material fatigue | old reactor
Nuclear power: worldwide on the decline
Markus Söder would like to continue to operate nuclear power plants on his own. In the past, as Bavarian environment minister, he sounded different. Why nuclear power is not only being phased out in this country, but worldwide.
The energy economist Claudia Kemfert from the German Institute for Economic Research in Berlin calls the demand made recently by liberals, conservatives and right-wing extremists for a demolition stop for nuclear power plants absurd.
[...]
For years, more nuclear power plants have been shut down worldwide than newly built, so that the shrinking of the global nuclear power plant fleet is likely to accelerate significantly over the next two decades.
The 284 of 420 reactors in operation worldwide have been in operation for over 30 years, 123 of them even longer than the 40 years for which the plants were originally designed. In the power plants, the constant bombardment by neutrons leads to the embrittlement of the steel of the cooling pipes and the concrete of the reactor vessel. The inevitable material fatigue makes the operation of these Methuselah reactors a kind of Russian roulette...
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Sanctions | Russian uranium | Import stop
Demand for an import ban
EU quarrels over Russian uranium
Gas, oil and coal are no longer allowed to be imported from Russia. However, uranium does. Without Russian uranium, many nuclear power plants in the EU could not continue to operate.
The list of sanctions against Russia is long, ranging from coal and oil to caviar. The EU imposed a total of 1242 individual sanctions between the beginning of the war and the beginning of April. The private assets of oligarchs were frozen, as were the foreign currency holdings of the Russian state bank, which were worth several hundred billion euros. The Europeans put together ten packages of sanctions that could damage Russia's economy.
What is striking is what has not yet been on any sanctions list: uranium. Russia's nuclear industry can still do business with the Europeans, lucrative deals that bring valuable foreign exchange to the Kremlin's coffers. And that is down to the Europeans themselves. Several member countries want to buy Russian uranium, Russian fuel elements and Russian nuclear power technology for their nuclear power plants even during the war...
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Heat pump | Energy Efficiency | Heat pump fact sheet (pdf)
Overview of new heat pumps – they can do that
Are you considering bringing the heat pump into your home instead of oil or gas heating? The good news: The devices that will soon be on the market have left their teething problems behind.
The heat pump is seen as the way to the energy transition. But it is not without controversy, because previous models cannot provide enough heat in some old buildings. In addition, certain refrigerants in the heat pumps are considered to be harmful to the environment. Manufacturers presented their latest developments at the ISH energy trade fair in Frankfurt in March. Have heat pumps improved in 2023?
"Basically, one can say that from a technical point of view, things are looking very good for end customers at the moment," says energy expert and trade journalist Tim Gessler. “Anyone who buys an up-to-date heat pump can be confident that they are getting a good device. Technical development has made incredible progress in recent years." ...
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storage technique | Batteries | lithium recycling
Lithium from old batteries
An amazingly simple process recovers up to 76 percent of the lithium from batteries
Raw material from electronic waste: Thanks to a new process, the recovery of lithium from used lithium-ion batteries is becoming easier, cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Instead of aggressive chemicals, this mechanochemical recycling only uses grinding, water, aluminum and heat. In tests, up to 76 percent of the lithium was recovered with it. Another advantage: the process does not require the batteries to be sorted or dismantled and is suitable for all lithium compounds used in batteries, as researchers report.
Lithium-ion batteries permeate our everyday life: they not only supply notebooks and smartphones, toys, remote controls and other small devices with wireless power, but also act as the most important energy storage device for electromobility. But the raw materials for the batteries are scarce: the indispensable lithium in particular is in demand worldwide and is becoming increasingly valuable. There are also lithium deposits in Germany, but whether the exploitation is worthwhile is still being tested in pilot projects...
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engine of evolution
How our genome made us human
It's an evolutionary mystery: genetically, we're hardly any different from our closest relative, the chimpanzee—our genes are 98,7 percent identical. Despite this, our ancestors developed numerous abilities and anatomical differences that distanced them ever further from their simian relatives. But how?
What are the differences to the monkey?
This is where the part of our DNA that lies outside of the protein-coding genes comes into play. Long disregarded as "junk DNA," this collection of controls and gene copies is proving to be a key evolutionary region. In recent years, scientists have identified numerous segments in these DNA regions that differ between humans and great apes.
One of these stretches of junk DNA may have played a crucial role in our brain development and, more importantly, our frontend...
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21 April 1957 (INES 4) Nuclear factory Mayak, USSR
11 people were exposed to radiation and became ill, one of the workers died 12 days later.
Wikipedia
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerntechnische_Anlage_Majak
Criticality accident in containers with highly enriched uranium
Too much uranium solution had collected in a container in a glove box, making it critical. The container then burst open and parts of the solution ran into the glove box. One worker received a radiation dose of 30 to 46 Gray and died 12 days later. Five other workers in the same room were exposed to over 3 Grays each and subsequently became radiation sick. Five other people received doses of up to 1 Gray.
The event was classified as Level 4 (accident) on the International Nuclear Event Rating Scale (INES).
20. April
Nuclear lobby | Nuclear economy | Disposal
The incorrigible
The nuclear lobby's reactions to the shutdown of the last German nuclear power plants ranged between anger and defiance. They no longer understand the world because they were used to appearing as know-it-alls and all-rounders, which an anxious, because ignorant, society would have to obey. For a long time, politicians fulfilled their every wish, while the media mainstream praised the supposed marvels of technology.
When a red-green federal government made the first decision to phase out two decades ago, the nuclearists were confident that things would change over such a long period of time. You should be right, Union and FDP were at your service in 2010, but a super meltdown in Japan soon destroyed the exit from the exit. And again, the nuclear industry was given an 11-year deadline to organize its next renaissance. That didn't work for a variety of reasons, including because a CDU chancellor didn't want to be fooled a second time.
Accordingly, April 15, 2023 was no occasion for a pause or for critical and self-critical reviews of sixty years of commercial nuclear energy. What have we done, why did it happen this way? Why did it take so long to draw conclusions? What could have been done differently and better? If only a fraction of government subsidies for the nuclear industry had been invested in renewable energy, where would we be today?
Instead, there was what was for the time being the final iteration of worn-out arguments, fierce accusations against green old men and their alleged ideological stubbornness, dramatic warnings of an energy crisis, embellished portrayals of the "best and safest reactors" in the world...
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Renewable energies | Energy supply | Powerrequirements
Energy supply without nuclear power
How Germany currently generates electricity
The last German nuclear power plants are off the grid: since mid-April, the German energy supply has had to do without nuclear power. Which energy sources will fill the resulting gap? A look at the daily updated data from the Federal Network Agency.
The use of nuclear energy to generate electricity in Germany is history. On the evening of April 15, 2023, technicians disconnected the Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 nuclear power plants. After 63 years, the proportion of nuclear power in the German energy grid fell to zero. The other energy sources - including above all coal, wind power, oil, natural gas, solar and biomass - have to step in to completely cover Germany's electricity needs.
How the electricity mix in Germany is changing as a result of the historic phase-out of nuclear power can be observed using up-to-the-minute data from the Federal Network Agency ...
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Shutdown of the Aw | Nuclear lobby propaganda | Disinformation
Use of acid common
Operators initiate decontamination after nuclear power plant shutdown
The Greens allegedly had nuclear power plants "destroyed with acid," they say. The decontamination is a normal procedure after the shutdown - and independent of political circumstances.
Even shortly after the last German nuclear power plants (AKW) were shut down, some politicians would like to see them continue to operate. Allegedly, certain parts of two nuclear power plants that were shut down at the end of 2021 were flushed with acid so violently that it was impossible to start them up again, according to an online article. This was done "under green responsibility" and "without permission". Why these claims are misleading.
Rating
The decontamination initiated by the nuclear power plant operators after shutdown is common practice and part of the operating license. Political power relations play no role here...
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lifetime extension | nuclear power | CO2 Reduction | Electricity price
Post-nuclear debate
The tour de force after the nuclear phase-out
Electricity from nuclear power is history in Germany - now it's about a far greater effort than the completed phase-out: the transformation to a renewable energy system. A new analysis is now available from the eco-energy industry.
[...]
The nuclear replacement of natural gas and coal was also limited in winter: natural gas consumption fell by only 2022 terawatt hours from November 2023 to April 2,2, which is 0,3 percent of German annual consumption. This is what the energy consulting firm Enervis calculated in an analysis for the eco-energy cooperative Green Planet Energy and the environmental organization Greenpeace.
According to the study, there is only a marginal climate effect: fossil power plants generated around 2,4 terawatt hours less due to the additional nuclear power plant runtime, which corresponds to a CO2 reduction of 1,5 million tons. For comparison: the entire energy industry emitted 260 million tons of CO2 in 2022.
According to the analysis, the price-relieving effect of nuclear power was also small. The electricity price fell by 0,2 cents per kilowatt hour due to the extension of the service life by three and a half months until mid-April ...
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Climate protection | Dryness | temperature records
Climate report for Europe Unprecedented heat and drought
High temperatures, drought, retreating glaciers: 2022 was the year of records in Europe. This emerges from the report of the climate monitoring service Copernicus. The continent experienced the hottest summer since weather records began.
Average temperatures in Europe reached new highs last year. This emerges from the annual report of the European climate monitoring service Copernicus, which was published in Bonn.
Accordingly, the continent experienced the hottest summer since weather records began and the second warmest year overall. Records were also registered for solar radiation, glacier retreat in the Alps and the number of days with extreme heat in southern European countries. At the same time, forest fires released more CO2 than at any time in 15 years ...
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photovoltaic research | Solar cells | fuel sunlight
Colorado State University (CSU)
Chemists propose ultra-thin material to double solar cell efficiency
Making solar cells not from silicon but from an abundant natural material called molybdenum disulfide
Solar energy technologies, which use solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity or storable fuels, are becoming increasingly important in a world that is moving away from fossil fuels to meet its energy needs.
[...]
CSU chemists propose making solar cells not from silicon but from an abundant natural material called molybdenum disulfide. Using a creative combination of photoelectrochemical and spectroscopic techniques, researchers performed a series of experiments that showed that extremely thin films of molybdenum disulfide exhibit unprecedented charge carrier properties that could one day drastically improve solar technologies...
19. April
Energy transition | Energy Efficiency | law watered down
Cabinet wants energy efficiency law:
Germany must save energy
The federal government has agreed on its long-awaited efficiency law. However, compared to the first drafts, she watered it down.
BERLIN taz | The energy transition will not work without massive energy savings. The federal government therefore wants to introduce an energy efficiency law. On Wednesday, the cabinet agreed on a draft, along with a law on climate-friendly heating.
[...]
"Insufficient planning security"
This is criticized, for example, by the German Energy Efficiency Business Initiative, an association of more than 200 companies from various sectors that want to pay particular attention to energy saving and climate protection. "The draft for the Efficiency Act does not provide sufficient planning security for investments," said its boss Christian Noll ...
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EU Parliament | deforestation | Rainforest
Measure against deforestation: wood, coffee, oil: EU tightens import rules
Chocolate, furniture, coffee - many everyday products indirectly lead to deforestation in tropical regions. The EU now wants to put an end to this and is tightening import regulations.
Coffee, wood, palm oil and other products may no longer be sold in the EU if forests have been cleared for them. The EU Parliament approved a corresponding project on Wednesday in Strasbourg.
Against deforestation in the Amazon region
This is intended to significantly reduce the deforestation of the rainforest, for example in the South American Amazon region. According to information from the EU Parliament, ten percent of the deforestation between 1990 and 2020 can be attributed to consumers in the EU ...
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Biodiversity | Species extinction | man made
Ecologist Essl: "Humans are the sole cause of the sixth mass extinction"
Biodiversity researchers warn of the local extinction of species. They criticize the insect study by the Ministry of Agriculture and Chancellor Nehammer's car summit
With one million animal and plant species on the brink of disappearing globally, the last UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) spoke of the "biggest extinction of species since the dinosaurs died out". Measures such as protecting 30 percent of the sea and land surface by 2030, less use of pesticides and more money for nature conservation are intended to stop the alarming trend.
[...]
"It is true that there have been several mass extinctions in Earth's history. But unlike the dinosaurs, where there was a cosmic cataclysm, and the other planetary disturbances, now it is man alone who is responsible for what is occurring sixth mass extinction in the history of the earth is the cause", said the ecologist Franz Essl at a press conference of the Zoological-Botanical Society in Austria (ZooBot) ...
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CO2 | Greenhouse gas emissions | Carbon capture
The Rise of Carbon Dioxide as a Renewable Carbon Source
Capacities of more than 1,3 million tons for CO2-based products are already in place and are expected to quadruple by 2030
[...]
The capacity forecast for CO2-based products by 2030 is estimated to be more than 6Mt/a. In this context, methanol projects, methane plants, ethanol and hydrocarbons in particular show high growth dynamics – the latter in particular for the aviation sector.
CCU-based products generate lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to comparable fossil-based products. This applies provided that all of the energy used to capture and convert CO2 comes from renewable sources and green hydrogen. Many technologies already achieve high greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 90% compared to fossil technologies.
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Resistance | anti-nuclear movement | shutdown hard
No closing time for the resistance
The champagne corks popped on Saturday in front of the Neckarwestheim nuclear power plant. Opponents of nuclear power celebrated a great success in their protest history with the shutdown of the last nuclear power plant. The yellow flags with the red sun, however, will not be laid down very quickly.
"Winning together - 50 years of the anti-nuclear movement" is written on one of the many banners that are blowing in the cool wind on April 15 in the EnBW car park. After some discussions with the energy company, the supporting group "finally switch off" was allowed to organize the switch-off party on the company premises as planned. During the festival, the white steam from the cooling tower behind the parking lot rises into the gray sky, according to EnBW, the system was switched off at 23:59 p.m. The mood is relaxed and peaceful, only two police officers are strolling across the parking lot. According to the organizers, 500 people came by shuttle bus, car and bicycle to celebrate on this cold spring day. At the information stands there are not only flyers, but also cake and sparkling wine, music and soap bubbles blow over the crowd from the stage. Many of the revelers are veterans of the anti-nuclear movement. Almost nobody wants to retire as an activist after April 15th...
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19 April 2005 (INES 3) Nuclear factory Sellafield, GBR
20 tonnes of uranium and 160 kilograms of plutonium escaped from a ruptured pipe at Sellafield's Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) over the course of a year.
Wikipedia
This accident in 2005 is the first and only Sellafield accident after Windscale 1957, who is still in German Wikipedia can be found.
Apparently, slowly but surely, all important information about accidents in the nuclear industry is being removed from Wikipedia!
In April 2005, a leak was discovered in Sellafield, through which around 83.000 liters of radioactive liquid, consisting of nitric acid, uranium and plutonium, escaped unnoticed for months. It is the most serious incident at a nuclear facility in Great Britain since 1992. The public was only informed weeks later, the first press reports appeared on May 9, 2005. The "Independent on Sunday" later reported that the pipe had been leaking since August 2004, but this was not discovered until April 19, 2005.
The British nuclear company BNG (British Nuclear Group), which is responsible for the decommissioning of the Sellafield reactors, was fined on 16 October 2006 for negligence to pay £500.000 (around 750.000 euros) for the incident. The cost of this event is estimated at $76 million.
Since the late 1940's and Windscale/Sellafield's inception, approximately 20 incidents of greater or lesser severity involving the release of radioactivity have been reported. 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.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellafield
Nuclear power accidents by country#United_Kingdom
AtomkraftwerkePlag
Sellafield (formerly_Windscale), United Kingdom
On April 19, 2005, a leak from a damaged pipe was discovered at the THORP facility, from which 83.000 liters of radioactive acid had spilled. The British nuclear company British Nuclear Group (BNC) admitted that it had not complied with safety regulations and was ordered to pay 500.000 British pounds. The incident has been classified by the IAEA as a serious INES level 3 incident...
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. As far as the theory...
YouTube - Reactor bankruptcy
Uranium economy: Facilities for processing uranium
Reprocessing plants turn a few tons of nuclear waste into many tons of nuclear waste
All uranium and plutonium factories produce radioactive nuclear waste: uranium processing, enrichment and reprocessing plants, whether in Hanford, La Hague, Sellafield, Mayak, Tokaimura or anywhere in the world, all have the same problem: With every processing step More and more extremely toxic and highly radioactive waste is being produced ...
18. April
nuclear power | Disinformation | Electricity Maps
No, we EXPORT electricity to France
France imports much more electricity from Germany than the other way around – in fact, France is the largest consumer of German electricity.
[...]
A false claim often repeated by right-wing disinformation spreaders is that once Germany phased out nuclear power, they would simply have to import nuclear power from France to compensate. This is just fundamentally wrong and dishonest manipulation...
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Sustainable like atom and gas | Greenwashing | taxonomy lawsuit
Accusation of "greenwashing"
Environmental organizations sue EU taxonomy
Greenpeace, the BUND, the WWF and other environmentalists have complained to the European Court of Justice against the EU Commission. The reason is the classification of nuclear energy and natural gas as sustainable.
Several environmental organizations are taking the Europe-wide classification of natural gas and nuclear energy as "sustainable" to court. Greenpeace, BUND, WWF and others filed complaints against the EU Commission at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the organizations said. They accuse the authority of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of "greenwashing". The environmental organizations had threatened such a lawsuit last September.
Since the beginning of January, investments in natural gas or nuclear power plants in the EU can also be classified as climate-friendly. This caused discussions and criticism, as climate-damaging carbon dioxide is emitted when gas is burned and radioactive waste is produced when nuclear energy is used.
The lawsuit is directed against the so-called taxonomy. In it, the European Union lists areas in which investments can be made to combat climate change. Financial products can thus be advertised as "sustainable", even if they envisage investments in gas or nuclear power plants...
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lobbyists | Lobby Rules | EU Parliament
EU Parliament tightens its rules for lobbyists
In future, MEPs will not be allowed to lobby MEPs for six months after leaving Parliament
Strasbourg – As a consequence of the corruption scandal involving the EU Parliament, the European parliament has tightened its lobbying rules. After the group leaders approved a plan by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the European Parliament announced on Monday in Strasbourg that MEPs would not be allowed to lobby MEPs for six months after leaving the European Parliament. The reform will come into force on May 1 ...
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battery technology | Fraunhofer Institute | salt and pottery
Salt and ceramics: salt-based batteries from ALTECH and the Fraunhofer Institute
Ceramic solid-state battery: Altech Group is commercializing a salt-based battery together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS). In an interview with ingenieur.de, Uwe Ahrens, managing director of Altech Batteries GmbH and board member of Altech Advanced Materials AG, explains how the new ceramic solid-state battery based on common salt works.
[...]
engineer.de: What is the potential of solid-state batteries compared to other battery technologies and what advantages do they offer?
Uwe Ahrens: These batteries have a number of significant manufacturing and application advantages. On the one hand, the temperature-independent use should be mentioned. Without external cooling or heating, the battery can be used in a range between -20 °C and +60 °C without loss of voltage. This not only extends the geographical area of application, but at the same time the ancillary costs are significantly reduced, since there is no need for temperature management by air conditioning. The batteries are therefore also completely silent.
In contrast to today's lithium-ion batteries, Cerenergy® batteries are non-flammable. No thermal chain reaction can occur since the battery does not contain any combustible materials. The main component of the batteries is obtained from common table salt. This greatly increases the range of applications: the batteries can be operated without any problems in buildings and halls. Safety distances are not to be observed and the batteries can also be safely stacked ...
17. April
Climate targets | buildings and traffic | Climate Expert Council
Bad climate testimony for the traffic light
The Expert Council fears that Germany will miss its climate targets. No wonder, especially when it comes to traffic, nothing is moving forward. Driving is too cheap, and the Minister of Transport has received carte blanche from the Chancellor to do nothing.
It sounds so sober: The Expert Council for Climate Issues presents its report on emission data. But the testimony given by the five traffic light scientists is devastating.
According to this, Germany has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions only slightly - and not because of great efforts, but because of the war-related throttling of industrial plants. So the climate has only benefited from the temporary economic crisis.
The two biggest sinners – the building and transport sectors – are making no progress on climate protection. The experts are therefore rightly concerned that Germany will miss its climate targets...
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Ukraine | Tanks | Uranium ammunition
War against Ukraine: Peace Council fears use of uranium ammunition
The Peace Council Heilbronn fears that uranium ammunition could be used by Leopard tanks in Ukraine. The Council has therefore turned to Chancellor Scholz.
The Heilbronn Peace Council has contacted Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to prevent the use of uranium ammunition in the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Great Britain plans to supply appropriate tank ammunition. The Leopard tanks that Germany delivered to Ukraine could also potentially fire British uranium ammunition...
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renewable | Tender Solar | German Federal Network Agency
Solar tender: Enough bids received again
Never before in the history of solar tenders in Germany have so many bids been received by the Federal Network Agency as at the last auction. The increase in the maximum price has had an effect.
For the first time since July 2022, a tender for market premiums for electricity from solar parks was oversubscribed. By March 1, 2023, the Federal Network Agency received a total of 347 bids for 2.869 megawatts of solar power output. The bids thus significantly exceeded the tender volume. Because this was 1.950 megawatts. “Never before have so many bids been submitted in such a tender by the Federal Network Agency. It is now important to maintain this high bid level in order to push ahead with the necessary expansion in the long term," says Klaus Müller, President of the Federal Network Agency.
Maximum price increased
The measures taken by the Federal Government and the Federal Network Agency to get the auctions going again are having an effect. Because the federal government has given the Federal Network Agency the opportunity to increase the maximum value if there are signs that the tender will be signed. The Federal Network Agency was able to raise the maximum values from the original 5,7 to 7,37 cents per kilowatt hour...
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Nuclear phase-out | Insurance | global warming
"Nonsense" - ZDF expert Harald Lesch dismantles arguments from nuclear power advocates
The ARD talk on Sunday evening was about shutting down the last nuclear power plants in Germany. Opinions clashed.
Germany's nuclear phase-out was finally completed with the end of the last nuclear power plants Isar 2, Emsland and Neckarwestheim 2 at the weekend. The nuclear power plants were taken off the grid on Sunday night. Although a political decision was made a long time ago, the debate has now flared up again under the impact of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the energy crisis.
[...]
According to Lesch, nuclear energy is a dead-end technology that is financed entirely by the state. In addition, the question of the repository has still not been resolved. This was a “gift” for future generations.
It is also about a “technology that is not insurable. That alone should give us all a lot to think about,” says the 62-year-old. So the economic question is already clear. Global warming over the next few decades would also argue against nuclear power, as was already evident in France last summer...
16. April
Söder's nuclear power plant: election campaign with nuclear power
Markus Söder knows that German nuclear power plants are a thing of the past. To heat up the mood for yourself, they are always good.
[...]
Bavaria's Prime Minister has apparently forgotten that after the Fukushima disaster, as Bavarian Minister for the Environment, he mutated into one of the most ardent supporters of the phase-out. And that he suddenly realized that the two Isar nuclear power plants are located in the approach path of Munich Airport and therefore pose a threat. Opponents of nuclear power had been saying that for decades.
Now Söder is also concealing the failure of the previous federal governments in which the CSU was involved and who relied on Putin's gas. Union politicians also liked to travel to Moscow to pursue their own friendly Bavarian foreign policy, and in the meantime they slept through the energy transition. Instead of giving in to nuclear power plant fantasies, Söder should push ahead with the expansion of idle wind power in Bavaria.
He also seems to forget that nuclear energy is neither clean nor cheap. Where would the repository be built in the Free State if the nuclear power plant was operated in-house? ...
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Finland connects new nuclear reactor
Twelve years late, a new nuclear reactor in Finland is now delivering electricity. He is said to be the most powerful in Europe. The final storage question has been clarified in Finland.
While Germany shut down its last three nuclear power plants, a new nuclear reactor went online in Finland – more than twelve years late. "Regular electricity production started today," said operator TVO. The EPR brand pressurized water reactor is the third reactor at the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant in south-west Finland.
The Olkiluoto 3 reactor was built by the Franco-German consortium Areva-Siemens. Construction began in 2005. According to expert estimates, it cost eleven billion euros – almost three times as much as originally planned. With 1.600 megawatts, the reactor is the most powerful nuclear reactor in Europe and the first new one in Finland for more than 40 years...
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Expansion of renewables | G7 countries
Climate ministers discuss in Japan
G7 resolve massive expansion of renewable energies
As much power as 150 nuclear power plants: By 2030, the leading industrial nations are planning significantly more offshore wind power plants. Solar power is also expected to increase. What does this mean for energy security?
The seven leading industrial nations (G7) have set themselves more ambitious goals for the expansion of renewable energies. For the first time, the G7 states have set specific goals for the expansion of solar energy and wind energy on the high seas, according to the final document for the meeting of environment and climate ministers.
In addition to Japan and Germany, the G7 includes the USA, Canada, Great Britain, France and Italy. The main points of the agreement:
- An additional 2030 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity is planned by 150, which corresponds to the capacity of 150 nuclear power plants.
- In addition, an additional 1000 gigawatts of photovoltaics are to be installed. Germany has already decided to build around 2030 gigawatts of solar and 150 gigawatts of offshore capacity by 22.
- At the same time, the G7 confirmed that they would no longer build any new coal-fired power plants and accelerate the shutdown. However, the coal phase-out proposed by some countries for 2030 was not decided. Germany is also planning to bring the phase-out of coal forward to 2030.
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Nuclear lobby | Nuclear phase-out
Nuclear phase-out: no German special way
The government is isolated with the nuclear phase-out, the Union, FDP and business associations complain. A look at the EU shows that this is not true
With their criticism of the German nuclear phase-out, the CDU/CSU, FDP and business associations are bringing out heavy rhetorical artillery. The exit was "a dramatic mistake," says FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki. The Economic Council of the CDU sees this as a "great danger for Germany as a business location". And CDU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn speaks of "a black day for climate protection".
However, the reference to an alleged energy policy special path of the Federal Republic is particularly popular with the local nuclear apologists. Markus Jerger, the head of the Federal Association of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW), claims that Germany is »one of the very few nations in the world to opt out, while other countries are investing heavily in nuclear power...
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Chemical industry | EU Commission | PFAS ban
EU wants to ban PFAS
"Eternal chemicals suspected of being carcinogenic"
Although they are sometimes harmful to health, they are found in many products: PFAS. Hundreds of places in Germany are contaminated by these eternal chemicals. Germany is therefore working with four other countries to ban PFAS throughout the European Union, which should take effect from 2026. The Federal Environment Agency is currently working on a corresponding draft of the EU Commission. The office's team of experts includes chemist Jona Schulze. In an interview with ntv.de, he explains the dangers of PFAS and what is important when working on the ban.
ntv.de: Eternal chemicals accumulate in soil. They have been found in at least 1500 locations in Germany. How do PFAS harm health and the environment?
Jonah Schulze: We cannot say that all PFAS have harmful effects in the environment, but they are persistent, meaning they remain in the environment for a long time. This is because they are composed of long carbon chains with some or all of the hydrogen atoms replaced by fluorine atoms. This is one of the strongest compounds known in the field of organic chemistry.
How many PFAS are there?
We assume that there are up to 10.000 individual chemicals that can be summarized under this term...
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Nuclear phase-out | Grid without nuclear electricity
Out of nuclear energy
Last three nuclear power plants in Germany shut down
No more nuclear power: Actually, the last three nuclear power plants in Germany should have been shut down by the end of 2022. The energy crisis gave them three more months to run. Now they are switched off.
Germany has completed the nuclear phase-out: the last three nuclear power plants went offline on Saturday evening. This was announced by the operators of the Meiler Isar 2 in Bavaria, Neckarwestheim 2 in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony. In order for the nuclear power plants to be considered switched off, a few technical steps were necessary after the generators had been disconnected from the public power grid.
The operators had been producing electricity through nuclear fission up to the last possible hour - according to the operator, the Neckarwestheim 2 power plant was the last to go offline at 23.59:XNUMX p.m. ...
| Current news+ | Background knowledge |
Current news+
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Poison of eternity | Radioactivity | uranium | Kini Jödler | WiP
Poisons for eternity - uranium and its radioactive relatives
The idea that we humans could counter the global rise in temperature with super-hot nuclear furnaces (nuclear power plants) seems just as implausible to me as the idea that breeder reactors produce their own fuel; the perpetuum mobile would be possible and the law of conservation of energy would have been settled once and for all.
Good thing this nonsense is over now; here with us and for the moment. Nevertheless, we should always keep an eye on the shelf life of political decisions. The "Friends of MIC" won't give up and will keep bugging us. Surely they'll have a few new, expensive reports in their luggage and presents for the children.
Those who believe that nuclear technology is clean and safe to use also believe that radioactivity is good for health.
Venoms should only be administered in doses at which the venom will have a beneficial medicinal effect on the patient. For uranium and all its radioactive daughters, the dose value should be around 0.
With the meanwhile worldwide approx. 450.000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste a sword of Damocles hangs over mankind for about 1 million years. We humans ourselves have created the possibility of wiping out all life on this planet.
At the forefront in the fight against nature is always the "primacy of politics" ;-) and in the shadow of the politicians, industry acts quietly but very effectively. Glyphosate, PFAS and tons of other goodies come out of chemical industry reactors. We owe uranium and its radioactive relatives, including the 450.000 tons of toxic waste, to the active cooperation of the armaments and chemical industries and their lust for power through nuclear weapons and access to unlimited sums of tax money.
The industry and its shareholders earn billions from the overexploitation of the environment. When it comes to cleaning up, the industry likes to pretend that cleaning up is not their responsibility. The costs are passed on to the taxpayer and those directly affected suffer ...
Facts that are often denied
1. Only 30 (29) of 193 UN member states operate commercial nuclear reactors, in the EU it is 13 of 27 states.
Germany is not alone and isolated, more than 160 countries do not want to poison themselves either!
In other words, a minority puts those radioactive Easter eggs in the nest of the majority. It becomes even more unbearable when you realize that 9 nuclear weapon states dictate the rules to the rest of the world (184 countries).
That, Herr Söder, is what I call violence.
2. The German nuclear phase-out law was passed by the Bundestag on June 30, 2011 with an overwhelming majority (513 out of 592 MPs). All members of the CDU/CSU and FDP have agreed to phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022.
What have the brave fighters for nuclear energy done in the last 12 years? You were in government responsibility for a large part of the time and did not lift a finger against the nuclear phase-out law!
But the news in 2023 will sound very different: the nuclear phase-out is said to be the sole "fault" of the Greens and solely their responsibility. Loud Kini Jödler the Greens even have it Nuclear phase-out enforced by force. Was that a barely covert call to rebellion against the rule of law or just dull propaganda and election campaign noise?
Don Trumpl could hardly twist the truth better. Our trainee populists have chosen Donald as their role model. Lies, lies, lies and when nobody can hear it anymore, they tell even fatter lies.
3. "City Treasurer's Paradises"
These were golden times for the villages and communities where the nuclear industry had spread. The treasurer needed money for a school gymnasium or a public indoor pool, no problem, the nuclear energy supplier paid a lot of business taxes. The club life also profited from the radiating neighbor, generous donations were made for the shooting range of the sports shooting club, etc.
The ever faster advancing energy turnaround now distributes the trade tax rather decentrally. Wind and solar energy can - thanks to nature - be harvested throughout the country, if politics has set the right course. The previous beneficiaries of nuclear policy must learn to get along without all the money from the nuclear industry; to see the loss as an opportunity and to take responsibility for their own electricity situation. The fat years are over, get out of the golden cage, life is beautiful!
To be continued ...
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Background knowledge
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The map of the nuclear world
How much radioactive poison can life endure?
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The internal search for
brought the following results, among others:
March 25, 2023 - What uranium ammunition would do to Ukraine
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March 13, 2023 - Poisons Forever - Glyphosate, PFAS, Uranium and all their relatives
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February 23, 2023 - How Bayer, BASF & Co lobby for PFAS
YouTube
Keyword search: radioactive and toxic
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Radioaktiv und giftig
Videos:
Federal Office for Radiation Protection - 2:07
How does radiation affect humans?
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Terra X Lesch & Co - 7:22
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ZDFinfo documentary - 13:54
The invisible danger of radioactivity and its consequences
Playlist - radioactivity worldwide ...
This playlist contains over 150 videos on the topic
Ecosia
This search engine is planting trees!
Keyword search: radioactive and toxic
https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=Radioaktiv und giftig
Federal Office for Radiation Protection
What is ionizing radiation?
Radiation transports energy - emanating from a radiation source. The energy is transported in the form of electromagnetic waves (such as with X-rays) or as a stream of particles (for example with alpha or beta radiation).
In the case of ionizing radiation, there is (per photon) a greater transport of energy than, for example, in the case of visible light or infrared radiation (heat radiation). Matter penetrated by ionizing radiation can be altered as a result. Chemical bonds can be broken or atoms and molecules ionized. Ionization means: Electrons are "knocked out" from the shell of atoms or molecules. The remaining atom or molecule is then (at least briefly) electrically positively charged. Electrically charged particles are called ions.
When ionizing radiation hits living cells or organisms, it can cause damage to the cells and organisms through these ionization processes or through other changes in molecules...
Wikipedia
Radioactive waste
Radioactive waste, commonly known as nuclear waste, is radioactive material that cannot be used or that may no longer be used due to political regulations. Most nuclear waste is created through the use of nuclear energy. Smaller amounts arise in medicine and research; some states have significant legacies from the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons. Incidental radioactive substances and other material contaminated by them are always kept in interim storage facilities; the management of high-level radioactive waste through disposal, transmutation or reuse is an important task for mankind...
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Radiation exposure
Radiation exposure is the effect of ionizing radiation on living things or on matter...
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