Covid and other pathogen catapults
Forced-air leaf blowers, operating on petrol or lead or lithium batteries, disperse toxic and infectious agents including coronaviruses. The French High Council for Public Health (Haut Conseil de la Santé Publique, HCSP), seized by the General Directorate for Health (Direction Générale de la Santé, DGS), recommended in its opinion of April 4, 2020 during the first of the Covid waves, “especially not to use engines like leaf blowers to blow dust from the ground”.
(Français) Enquête publique relative à une demande d’autorisation d’extension du domaine de traitement de l’usine atomique Orano la Hague
Atomic cargo ship resumes service
The Russian nuclear-powered container ship Sevmorput, which lost half of her propeller last year on her way to Antarctica, has just left St Petersburg. She is carrying 1400 tonnes of equipment for the Rooppur nuclear power plant in Bangladesh. The heavy packages will be unloaded in Vladivostok and then transferred to a conventional vessel bound for Bangladesh. The Sevmorput will use the north-east sea route. According to the press release from Atomflot, a subsidiary of Rosatom, “the crew is ready for the task at hand, the technical characteristics of the vessel will allow her to travel the entire route without the help of an icebreaker.” “Timely delivery of equipment and materials for nuclear power plants under construction is crucial for the timely and cost effective accomplishment of our projects.” The St Petersburg-Vladivostok journey is expected to take 25 days.
