Hopes that the "fast breeder"- a plutonium-fueled
nuclear reactor designed to produce more fuel than it consumed -- might
serve as a major part of
the long-term nuclear waste disposal solution are not merited by the
dismal track record to date
of such sodium-cooled reactors in France, India, Japan, the Soviet
Union/Russia, the United
Kingdom and the United States, according to a major new study from the
International Panel on
Fissile Materials (IPFM).

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK - February 19 - A series of

studies [1] released today

by the United States Geological Survey show elevated uranium

levels in wells, springs, and soil in and around uranium exploration

and mining sites within the watershed feeding Grand Canyon

National Park and the Colorado River.

Obama, a Democrat who is trying to win Republican support for a bill to overhaul U.S. energy practices, said the United States needed to increase its supply of nuclear power to meet its energy needs and fight climate change.

Can anyone say "uranium munitions"? Does anyone believe it just coincidence that Fallujah was attacked with these in 2004?

The NRC's (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) Neil Sheehan has confirmed leaks involving 27 of 104 licensed US reactors, and says that probably doesn't account for all of them. At Yankee, Oyster Creek and elsewhere, rotting pipes are the likeliest culprit, but no one is 100% certain.

An expansion of nuclear facilities and energy sources is
unlikely to occur over the next two decades, unless the global community
adopts major changes to improve safety and security as well as working
to prevent the risk of proliferation, said a new report released on Thursday.

"Uranium mining has already contaminated lands and waters in and around Grand Canyon, and today's research confirms that new uranium mining would threaten aquifers that feed Grand Canyon's springs, the Colorado River, and nearly 100 species of concern," said Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity. "These risks aren't worth taking - and they're risks neither the government nor industry can guarantee against."

Investing in emerging technologies that can eventually thrive on their own makes sense, but the nuclear industry doesn't fit the bill. After more than 50 years as one of the biggest recipients of federal subsidies, the industry should sink or swim on its own.

Nuclear weapons are the ultimate threat to life and the environment and the most extreme violation of human rights. They are dangerous in anyone’s hands and any use would be a crime against humanity. We call upon governments, in cooperation with civil society, to launch the process of abolishing nuclear weapons in a visible manner. To that end, the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), to be held in May 2010, provides a critical opportunity to achieve this goal.

Most scientists in this field agree that there is danger even in small doses of radiation