A nuclear waste to be broken up in Belgium
According to the Northwest Evening Mail, the Pacific Sandpiper is to be demolished in Belgium. The Pacific Sandpiper belongs to the English ship company, Pacific Nuclear Transport Ltd (PNTL), and was launched in 1985. She measures 104 meters long with a light weight of 3,950 tons. This floating nuclear waste, the Pacific Sandpiper, transported a total of 500 radioactive spent fuel containers throughout her career. These shipments were operated within the scope of reprocessing contracts with the Japanese electricity producing companies TEPCO and Kansaï, from Japan to France for Cogema-AREVA and from Japan to the UK for BNFL (British Nuclear Fuels Limited). In January 2004, the ship also transported vitrified nuclear waste, which originated from the AREVA factory in La Hague, (France) between Cherbourg and Japan.
French Russian Joint-Venture, at all Costs
While, forest fires are ravaging over Russia and the nuclear sector is menaced and in confusion, France is not dissuaded and continue to exchange radioactive materials with Russia.
Today, at least 9 depleted uranium containers and 16 enriched uranium containers (each of them with around 100 billion becquerels “Bq”) should be loaded aboard a small cargo carrier Kholmogory at the Port of Le Havre. Photos and a video are available of the atomic train on Robin des Bois’s internet site. They were taken on August 9th in Le Havre, France.
An ex nuclear cargo carrier to be demolished in Alang
Without any drumming up, Germany, pioneer in Europe on the application of nuclear energy to power vessels, has let the ex Otto Hahn leave to be manually demolished in Alang bay India. She was launched in 1967 and represents the symbol of failure concerning the first wave of nuclear powered merchant ships. The Otto Hahn was reconverted into a conventional cargo vessel in 1980. The nuclear reactor of 38 MW was removed, yet it is legitimate to suspect that after having been exploited for thirteen years structural elements were exposed to uncontrolled radiation or radioactive releases. In August 1973 the vessel was the victim of a major accident when two fuel elements of the reactor broke.
