(OT) So France Does Turn Off Lights

In December last year when I posted an article from UK's Daily Mail that the French government would turn off the lights to save money and show 'sobriety', there was a comment doubting the story as coming from a dubious source.

Well it looks like it really happened, as of July 1, 2013.

The news does not necessarily come from a credible news source, but I made my judgment that it is a valid piece of news.

From Huffington Post (7/1/2013):

Paris Illumination Ban: 'City Of Light' Begins Turning Off Its Lights At Night To Save Energy

By Sara Gates

"The City Of Light" is losing some of its brightness.
Under Paris' illumination ban, merchants and non-residential building owners in the French city will be required to turn off their lights at night in order to save energy.

France's energy conservation decree, which was first passed in January, will take effect across the nation Monday night, and Paris is likely to feel the effects of the ban the most. The capital city is known for keeping its streets and monuments twinkling at night.

The illumination ban is expected to save 200 million euros (more than $260 million) and 250,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Earlier this year, ministry head Delphine Batho also indicated that the nationwide lighting restriction would cut down negative effects of artificial lighting.

Store and non-residential building owners will be required to turn off all interior lights by 1 a.m. or an hour after the last worker has left the premises, French TV channel TF1 reports. Exterior signs and building facades must also be extinguished between the hours of 1 and 7 a.m.

However, there are a few exceptions to the decree. The Eiffel Tower will continue its nighttime light shows and security-related lighting fixtures will remain lit, as well. Certain areas will also be granted immunity from the ban on holidays and during cultural events.

Each town's mayor will be responsible for enforcing the illumination ban and handing out 750-euro fines (nearly $980) to businesses that fail to turn off lights. Repeat offenders may also face suspension of electricity.

(Full article at the link)

As one of the comments to my December 2012 post pointed out, 78.8% of electricity in France comes from nuclear power, highest in the world. France has the 7th lowest electricity rate in EU, and the lowest CO2 emission per unit of GDP in the world.

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Two Workers Killed, One Serioiusly Injured in Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant in France

(UPDATE) According to AFP, three workers fell 4 meters (13 feet) when the platform they were standing on collapsed.

==========================================

Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant is located in Lorraine, in northeastern France. It has four pressurized-water reactors.

Press release from Autorite de Surete Nucleaire (2/28/2013):

Accident mortel du travail à la centrale nucleaire de Cattenom

L’ASN a été informée cet après midi par EDF de la survenue d’un accident du travail dans le bâtiment du réacteur 4 de la centrale nucléaire de Cattenom.

Cet accident a causé la mort de deux personnes et fait un blessé grave.

L’accident est survenu vers 17h00 lors de travaux de maintenance.

Le réacteur est à l’arrêt pour sa visite décennale depuis le 9 février 2013.

L’ASN est en charge de l’inspection du travail dans les centrales nucléaires en France.

Les inspecteurs du travail de la division de Strasbourg de l’ASN se rendent sur place.

-------------------------
(Google Translation, with some funny words but you get the idea)

Fatal accident at Chattenom Nuclear Power Plant

ASN was informed this afternoon by EDF of the occurrence of an accident in the reactor building 4 of the nuclear power plant Cattenom.

The accident killed two people and one seriously injured.

The accident occurred around 17:00 during maintenance.

The reactor was shut down for a visit ten since 9 February 2013.

The ASN is responsible for labor inspection in nuclear power plants in France.

Labor inspectors of the division Strasbourg ASN go there.

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OT: Obama Sends Letter to Congress Saying the US Was Part of the Failed French Rescue Attempt in Somalia

That's nice of him to do so, after the fact.

Somalia is one of Obama's favorite target practice sites for drone attacks.

France says the US is assisting them also in Mali, to fight the "rebels" so that Europe remain protected. Whatever.

France says the French hostage, who had been held since 2009, was killed by the terrorists. The terrorists say he is alive.

From CBS News (1/13/2013):

Obama: U.S. assisted France's failed Somalia rescue

President Barack Obama says U.S. forces assisted in a failed attempt to rescue a French citizen in Somalia on Friday.

Obama says the U.S. forces provided limited technical support to French forces leading the operation. The president says the Americans had no direct role in the assault on the compound where a French intelligence agent was believed to be held hostage.

French officials say the hostage is almost certainly dead. A French commando was also killed in the rescue attempt.

Obama disclosed the U.S. role Sunday in a letter alerting Congress about the deployment of U.S. forces.

The French commandos were there to free a French intelligence agent captured on Bastille Day in 2009. The man, known by his code-name Denis Allex, was chained up, abused and moved from one safe house to another, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday. Le Drian said the government decided to stage the rescue a month ago, when Allex's location seemed to have settled down "in a spot accessible by the sea."

The local accounts, along with that of a Somali intelligence official and the French defense minister, offer a glimpse into a chaotic rescue attempt in which nothing seemed to go as planned.

French officials, including the president, and a Somali intelligence official said Allex was almost certainly killed by his captors. The intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press, said Sunday that the home where the agent was held was destroyed in the attack Saturday, and that intelligence networks "do not have any information indicating he is still alive."

The Somali al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabab has offered no proof for its claims that Allex was still alive and that a wounded French soldier was in its custody as well. French officials acknowledge a missing soldier, but say they believe he is dead.

The fighting took an even steeper toll on the Islamists, according to French officials and locals. French officials said they counted 17 dead among the Islamists.

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OT: Lights Out for Paris, France

If you venture out in Paris between 1AM and 7AM, bring your torch (flashlight), says UK's Daily Mail.

As France's top court rules his 75% tax rate for the "rich" is unconstitutional, President Hollande goes on, trying to instill "sobriety" in the French by turning off lights in Paris and other cities, towns and villages all over the country.

And save money.

How about saving money by cutting your bureaucracy, Mr. President?

Instead, he will punish people - tradesmen, tourists, locals.

At least in France, rich people are defined as "having 1 million euro income or more", not like the US's 250,000 dollars or worse, Greece's 45,000 euro.

From Mail Online (12/29/2012; emphasis is mine):

Lights to be turned off in France to save money and show 'sobriety'

Paris may lose its trademark glow next year after plans emerged to extinguish its street lighting at night to save money.

French President Francois Hollande and his energy minister Delphine Batho are considering turning out the lights in and outside public buildings, offices and shops in the early hours of the morning.

If the scheme goes ahead, late-night revellers in the city would be advised to carry torches if they venture out between the hours of 1 and 7am.


The rules will also apply to other French cities, villages, and towns.

Batho said the measure would save energy and money, and show 'sobriety', although the plan has proved unpopular with traders.

It follows on from a new rule last July which states businesses must turn off neon lights between 1 and 6am. The measure was introduced as part of the French government's bid to improve its energy efficiency by 20 percent by 2020.

But the proposal was not popular with businesses, who believe that it could kill trade and discourage tourists.

'Visitors and locals follow the light, from one spot to another, all night long,' French chef and culinary consultant Didier Quemener told Quartz.

'My clients don’t want to be in the dark in the City of Light.'

France was visited by more than 81 million tourists in 2011 and the tourism industry employs some 900,000 people, according to government figures cited by Bloomberg.com.

Fearing for the impact on the economy, vice-president of France’s Commerce Council, Sofy Mulle, told Bloomberg there must be a better way.

She said: 'Surely we can work out environmentally friendly solutions that have less impact on our society and economy.'

The plan is already in place at the city’s more than 300 churches, bridges, and monuments, including the Eiffel Tower.

'One of our main objectives is to change the culture,' energy minister Batho told a French TV station.

'We need to end the cycle of producing more because we are consuming more. There should be sobriety in energy use.'

The energy minister Delphine Batho's word sounds ominous to me. To change the culture, to what she and her boss think should be. There should be sobriety, forced by them.

Well, they won the election, so they must be thinking, like the US president and the Japanese prime minister, that they have the mandate.

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French Officials Accuse US of Hacking Sarkozy's Computers, Attacks Bear Hallmarks of "Flame"

From The Hill (11/20/2012; emphasis is mine):

Report: French officials accuse US of hacking Sarkozy's computers

The United States used U.S.-Israeli spy software to hack into the French presidential office earlier this year, the French cyberwarfare agency has concluded, according to the newsmagazine l'Express.

The magazine reported late Tuesday that the computers of several close advisers to then-president Nicolas Sarkozy – including Chief of Staff Xavier Musca – were compromised in May by a computer virus that bears the hallmarks of Flame, which was allegedly created by a U.S.-Israeli team to target Iran's nuclear program. Anonymous French officials pointed the finger at the United States.

“You can be on very good terms with a 'friendly' country and still want to guarantee their unwavering support – especially during a transition period,” an official told the magazine. The alleged spying attack took place a few days before the second round of the French presidential elections, which Sarkozy lost to Francois Hollande, a socialist.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano reportedly did not deny the allegations when asked point-blank about them.

“We have no greater partner than France, we have no greater ally than France,” Napolitano reportedly answered, at the opening of an interview with l'Express. “We cooperate in many security-related areas. I am here to further reinforce those ties and create new ones.”

In the interview, Napolitano also said that the Flame and Stuxnet viruses had “never been linked to the U.S. government.”

The White House did not return a request for comment from The Hill.

I remember there was a little noted piece of news earlier this month that the oil giant Chevron admitted that their system was infected with Stuxnet.

From CNET (11/8/2012):

Stuxnet, the sophisticated computer virus that attacked a nuclear enrichment facility in Iran two years ago, also inadvertently infected Chevron's network.

Reportedly created by the U.S. and Israel, the highly destructive worm was designed to infect Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. Rather than steal data, Stuxnet left a back door meant to be accessed remotely to allow outsiders to stealthily knock the facility offline and at least temporarily cripple Iran's nuclear program.

The oil giant discovered the malware in July 2010 after the virus escaped from its intended target, Mark Koelmel, Chevron's general manager of the earth sciences department, told The Wall Street Journal.

"I don't think the U.S. government even realized how far it had spread," he said. "I think the downside of what they did is going to be far worse than what they actually accomplished."

A Chevron spokesperson told CNET that the company's network was not adversely affected by the virus.

"Two years ago, our security systems identified the Stuxnet virus. We immediately addressed the issue without incident," a Chevron representative said.

What does Stuxnet have to do with Flame? It turns out that they share the same source codes, according to Computerworld (6/11/2012):

The two pieces of malware -- Flame for reconnaissance, Stuxnet for attack -- each included a module that appears to originate from the same source code, likely written by a single programmer.

Persistent comments that Fukushima I Nuke Plant was infected by Stuxnet don't seem to take into account, though, that their network system hadn't been quite brought up to speed in the PC era, not advanced enough to get infected.

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#Radioactive Leak at France's Flamanville Nuclear Reactor, INES Level 1, No Harm to the Environment

From Reuters (10/25/2012):

No damage from leak at Flamanville nuclear reactor

(Reuters) - A contained radioactive water leak detected at EDF's Flamanville nuclear plant did not cause any damage to the environment or harm any employees, France's nuclear safety watchdog ASN and EDF said on Thursday.

The nuclear safety agency said on its website EDF had detected a leak in a water pipe that feeds the plant's reactor 1 primary circuit late on Wednesday. It was stopped and did not cause any radioactive contamination.

The incident was defined as a grade 1 incident on the international nuclear event scale (INES), where the maximum 7 is the most severe.

There were 66 Level 1 incidents in 2011 in France according to the ASN.

The 1,300 MW reactor 1 has been stopped for maintenance and refueling since July 26 and was in the last stages of the restarting process when the leak occurred.

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OT: French TV Depicts Japanese Goalie with 4 Arms, Calling it "Fukushima Effect"

The French soccer (football) team lost to the Japanese team 0 to 1.

From Kyodo News English:

French TV host riles Japan with "Fukushima" comment
Photo captured from a Belgian website that posted an image run by France 2 shows a composite picture of Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima with four arms. A host of the national television station France 2 reportedly angered the Japanese Embassy by showing the picture during a variety show on Oct. 13, 2012, citing the "Fukushima effect" when praising Kawashima for his performance in Japan's defeat of France in a soccer friendly held on Oct. 12.

Well, having 4 arms is nothing. Buddhism deities have just as many, and more. In fact, the Japanese phrase "八面六臂" (eight faces, six arms) is used to depict someone with extraordinary talent and energy, worth several people. Like Mr. Kawashima.

This "Sahasrabhuja-arya-avalokites'vara" statue is a Japanese national treasure. It is from the 8th century, and has 1,000 arms to save people in distress:

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France's Hollande Promises Fessenheim Nuke Plant Will Be Shut Down in 2016, and No Shale Gas Exploration in France

Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, which had steam leak earlier this month, will be shut down in 2016. Caveat? Hollande's conditions are adequacy of energy supply and job security in the region without the plant. (Hmmm)

Before the elections, Hollande promised that France's reliance on nuclear energy would drop from the current 75% to 50% by 2025 by shutting 24 reactors.

Uh... How is he going to make up for the gap? Answer: biofuels.

And no, France will never do the shale gas exploration. (Congrats, Russia. Gasprom's propaganda worked, with the help from the French nuclear industry.)

From France 24, citing AFP (9/14/2012; emphasis is mine):

France's Hollande outlines 'green' energy policy

AFP - President Francois Hollande Friday pledged to close France's oldest operational nuclear plant in 2016 and rejected seven proposals for shale gas exploration on health and environment concerns.

"The Fessenheim plant which is the oldest in our country, will be closed at the end of 2016 in conditions that will guarantee the supply needs of the region... and safeguard all jobs," he said at the start of a two-day energy conference.

France, the world's most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy.

But in a deal with the Greens before this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, Hollande's Socialist party promised to cut reliance on nuclear energy from more than 75 percent to 50 percent by shutting 24 reactors by 2025.

Addressing 14 ministers and about representatives from environmental bodies and business, Hollande said the nuclear plant at Fessenheim -- commissioned in 1977 and the object of a recent safety scare -- would be closed.

The plant, located on the banks of the Rhine, is close to the Swiss and German borders and is considered vulnerable to seismic activity and flooding.

Hollande also said seven applications for permission for hydraulic drilling to explore shale gas had rejected by his government, although he did not specify which ones.

"In the current form, no one can say that gas and shale exploration through hydraulic drilling, the only technique known today, is not exempt from posing great health and environment risks," he said.

Hollande affirmed his commitment to developing renewable energy and pledged every year to improve the energy efficiency of one million homes that are badly insulated.

France plans to reach the 10-percent European Union target of renewable energy in fuel by boosting the use of second-generation biofuels, which are made from crop residues, waste, algae or woody material, according to the action plan.

The president also announced the creation of a national biodiversity agency as demanded by several green organisations.

With his plan of punitively high tax rate for the "rich" (75% over 1 million euro), maybe there will be less to power in France anyway.

(Turn out the light, turn out the light...)

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Steam Leak at France's Fessenheim Nuclear Power Plant, 2 Workers Got Burns

(UPDATE) According to Washington Post, workers were preparing a chemical solution to treat waste water when the accident happened. (H/T reader Atomfritz)

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The cause of the accident is, according to the AFP article below, "oxygenated steam [which] had escaped after hydrogen peroxide reacted with water in a reservoir" during a maintenance operation.

(Now why are they pouring hydrogen peroxide in the reservoir? Killing the algae, perhaps?)

From AFP (9/5/2012):

Two slightly injured in accident at French nuclear plant

FESSENHEIM, France — A steam leak due to an accidental chemical reaction on Wednesday at France's oldest nuclear plant led to two people being slightly burnt and renewed calls to reduce the country's heavy reliance on atomic energy.

The accident occurred at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant in northeastern France within 1.5 kilometres (one mile) of the border with Germany and about 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Switzerland.

"It was not a fire," the local prefecture said, adding that oxygenated steam had escaped after hydrogen peroxide reacted with water in a reservoir.

About 50 firefighters were deployed, an official from the service said.

French power supplier EDF said "two people were slightly burnt through their gloves."

"It was a problem that cropped up during a maintenance operation," in an "auxiliary building in the nuclear complex but not in the building housing the reactor," the electricity giant said.

France is the world's most nuclear-dependent country, operates 58 reactors and has been a leading international proponent of atomic energy.

But in a deal with the Greens before this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, President Francois Hollande's Socialist party promised to reduce reliance on nuclear energy from more than 75 percent to 50 percent by shutting 24 reactors by 2025.

France's reliance on nuclear power has been increasingly called into question since the Fukushima disaster in Japan, which prompted Germany to announce plans to shut all of its reactors by the end of 2022.

Jean-Luc Cardoso, an official with the CGT union at the Fessenheim plant, said: "There was no fire, no death and two colleagues were slightly injured."

France's ecology ministry said there was no safety threat. Ecology Minister Delphine Batho termed it a "workplace accident" and promised that "a complete report on this incident will be made public."

On stream since 1977, Fessenheim has two water reactors. It is built along a huge canal and draws water for cooling from the Rhine river.

Due to its location, it is considered vulnerable to seismic activity and flooding and is provisionally scheduled to close in 2017.

After Wednesday's scare, former Green presidential candidate Noel Mamere said: "This incident proves that we must close Fessenheim as soon as possible," adding that it would be better to spend "billions of euros" on developing renewable energy.

Greenpeace and French environmental group Sortir du Nucleaire (Phase out the Nuclear Age) also mirrored the call.

Fessenheim is France's oldest nuclear power plant, which came on line on January 1, 1978 according to Wiki.

President Francois Hollande of France was expected to announce the closure of the plant once he was elected. (Has he done that yet?)

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Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant in France Stopped due to Technical Problem

From Le Monde (5/14/2012):

Un réacteur nucléaire arrêté à Gravelines après un problème technique

Un des réacteurs de la centrale nucléaire de Gravelines (Nord) a été arrêté lundi 14 mai en fin de matinée en raison d'un problème technique sans gravité et devrait "rapidement" redémarrer, a-t-on appris auprès d'une porte-parole de la centrale.

Le réacteur numéro 6 de la centrale de Gravelines, d'une puissance de 900 MW, est à l'arrêt en raison d'un "défaut sur un capteur sur une pompe", a précisé la porte-parole. "Il n'y a pas de problème de sûreté. C'est un problème technique. Le capteur est en train d'être remplacé et le redémarrage devrait avoir lieu bientôt", a-t-elle ajouté.

Sur son site internet, RTE, filiale d'EDF qui gère le réseau haute tension national, indique que le réacteur a subi un arrêt automatique lundi aux alentours de 11 h 30.

Le 5 avril 2012, la centrale de Penly (Seine-Maritime) avait elle aussi rencontré une défaillance sur l'une des pompes de son système de refroidissement, provoquant un incendie et un arrêt du réacteur.

From Reuters (5/14/2012):

May 14 (Reuters) - EDF's 900-megawatt Gravelines 6 nuclear reactor in northern France stopped in an unplanned outage on Monday at 0935 GMT, France's power grid RTE said on its website.

An EDF spokeman said the outage had been caused by a default on a sensor that measures the good working order of the reactor.

"We are assessing the problem before carrying out repairs," the spokesman said, adding he was unable to give a restart date.

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OT: Socialist Wins Presidency in France, Greece Parliamentary Vote with No Clear Majority

(UPDATE) Re: Greek Parliamentary Election
New Democracy and Pasok may not have 151 seats needed to form a coalition government. Left is calling for anti-bailout coalition. Stick it to the creditors (European banks)... Read Zero Hedge.

==================================

First, the French presidential election, headline at France 24:

Socialist Hollande beats Sarkozy to win French presidency

Socialist Party challenger François Hollande has beaten incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in a tight run-off election to win the French presidency with 51.9% of the vote to Sarkozy’s 48.1%, Ipsos exit polls show.

Here's NY Times coverage, with Sarkozy's remark "I become a citizen among you".

And Greece, from BBC (5/6/2012):

Greeks are voting in parliamentary polls, with the country's two mainstream parties expected to lose support to anti-austerity candidates.

The centre-left Pasok and centre-right New Democracy parties have been in coalition since last November.

They are both expected to suffer due to opposition to the austerity measures imposed by the government in exchange for international bailout funds.

No single party is expected to gain a majority.

...

A range of smaller parties looks set to benefit, from the communists to the anti-immigrant, far-right Golden Dawn party, he adds.

"I am going to vote one of the small parties. I have had enough of ND and Pasok," one voter, psychology student Maria, told the AFP news agency. "Ever since I was born people have just voted for them."

Some polls indicate that Golden Dawn could gain more than 5% of the vote and enter parliament for the first time.

In his party's closing rally on Friday, Pasok leader Evangelos Venizelos said Greeks faced a choice between continuing with the austerity programme in order to stay in the eurozone and "mass poverty".

New Democracy's leader Antonis Samaras said the Left was "playing games with the country's European future".

New Democracy is expected to emerge from the poll as the largest party, but with only around 22% of the vote.

Pasok, which has been governing in coalition with New Democracy since last November, has been in second place in opinion polls with around 18%.

Left-wing parties opposed to the terms of the bailout deal have collectively scored around 30% in opinion polls.

European equity markets have been somewhat discounting these outcomes, but decidedly not the US equity market which has been floating higher on hopium on declining volume.

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OT: French Presidential Election 1st Round Result

Hollande: 29%
Sarkozy: 26%
Le Pen: 18 to 20%

It looks like Sarkozy needs to veer more to the right to capture Le Pen's supporters, if he wants to remain the president of the republic.

From Reuters (4/22/2012):

UPDATE 6-Hollande tops Sarkozy in French vote, Le Pen surges

Far-right takes a fifth of votes in French first-round vote

* Socialist Hollande beats Sarkozy by 29 pct to 26 pct

* Economic gloom drives voting; debt and austerity tie campaigns

* Turnout healthy among 44.5 million voters in country of 65 million

By Catherine Bremer and Emmanuel Jarry

PARIS, April 22 (Reuters) - Far-rightist Marine Le Pen threw France's presidential race wide open on Sunday by scoring nearly 20 percent in the first round - votes that may determine the runoff between Socialist favourite Francois Hollande and conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande led Sarkozy by about 29 to 26 percent in reliable computer projections broadcast after polling stations closed, and the two will meet in a head-to-head decider on May 6.

But Le Pen's record score of 18-20 percent was the sensation of the night, beating her father's 2002 result and outpolling hard leftist Jean-Luc Melenchon, in fourth place on 11 percent. Centrist Francois Bayrou finished fifth on less than 10 percent.

Le Pen, who took over the anti-immigration National Front in early 2011, wants jobs reserved for French nationals at a time when jobless claims are at a 12-year high. She also advocates abandoning the euro currency and restoring monetary policy to Paris.

Her score reflected a surge in anti-establishment populist parties in many euro zone countries from Amsterdam to Athens as austerity and the debt crisis bite.

Voter surveys show about half of her supporters would back Sarkozy in a second round and perhaps one fifth would vote for Hollande, making her a potential kingmaker in the runoff.

...

(Full article at the link)

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Child Leukemia Doubles Near French Nuclear Power Plants, French Researchers Say

From Reuters (1/11/2012):

Jan 11 (Reuters) - The incidence of leukaemia is twice as high in children living close to French nuclear power plants as in those living elsewhere in the country, a study by French health and nuclear safety experts has found.

But the study, to be published soon in the International Journal of Cancer, fell short of establishing a causal link between the higher incidence of leukaemia, a type of blood cancer, and living near nuclear power plants.

France has used nuclear power for three decades and is the most nuclear-reliant country in the world, with 75 percent of its electricity produced by 58 reactors.

The study, conducted by the French health research body INSERM, found that between 2002 and 2007, 14 children under the age of 15 living in a 5-kilometre radius of France's 19 nuclear power plants had been diagnosed with leukaemia.

This is double the rate of the rest of the country, where a total of 2,753 cases were diagnosed in the same period.

"This is a result which has been checked thoroughly and which is statistically significant," said Dominique Laurier, head of the epidemiology research laboratory at France's nuclear safety research body (IRSN).

INSERM has carried out similar research with the IRSN since 1990, but has never before found a higher incidence of leukaemia in children living near nuclear power plants.

"But we are working on numbers which are very small and results have to be analysed with a lot of care," said Laurier, one of the authors of the study.

Laurier said the findings indicated no difference in risk between sites located by the sea or by rivers, nor according to the power capacity of the plant.

The IRSN said it recommended a more thorough study of the causes of the leukaemia cases found near nuclear power stations and hoped to set up international research collaboration.

"It's a rare disease and working on a bigger scale would allow more stable results," said Laurier.

A 35-year British study published last year found no evidence that young children living near nuclear power plants had an increased risk of developing leukaemia.

The research, conducted by scientists on the Committee of the Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), found only 20 cases of childhood leukaemia within 5 km (3.1 miles) of nuclear power stations between 1969 and 2004.

The scientists said the rate was virtually the same as in areas where there were no nuclear plants.

Studies have been conducted around the world into possible links between the risk of childhood blood cancers and living near nuclear plants.

A study on Germany, published in 2007, did find a significantly increased risk, but the COMARE team said these findings were probably influenced by an unexplained leukaemia cluster near a nuclear plant in Krummel, north Germany, that lasted from 1990 to 2005.

Excluding Krummel, evidence for an increased leukaemia risk among young children living close to German nuclear power plants was "extremely weak", it said.

(Reporting By Muriel Boselli, Editing by Alexandria Sage and Tim Pearce)

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France's Sarkozy Chimes in on Iran Nuke

Wag the dog, till the tail comes off...

From Zero Hedge (11/21/2011):

Luckily the market is all stable and stuff and can handle the prospect of a potential Iran war.

• SARKOZY WRITES LETTERS CONCERNING IRAN'S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
• SARKOZY SAYS IRAN'S PROGRAM IS A 'SERIOUS AND URGENT' THREAT
• SARKOZY SAYS NEW SANCTIONS WOULD FORCE IRAN TO NEGOTIATE

Now where is that weekly US naval update...

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More on Accident at Marcoule Nuclear Waste Processing Site in France: Furnace Had Many Problems Before

as reported by Kyodo News. Interestingly, if you go to Kyodo News site the article is not there. It was carried by several local/regional papers but in print only, as far as I know.

Rough translation from the original Japanese article, as appeared in Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun (9/15/2011):

French nuclear facility: Explosion took place right after the restart of the furnace operation

Employee says "The melting furnace broke down last week"

(Kyodo News-Paris) Regarding the explosion that took place on September 12 at the low-level radioactive waste treatment center (CENTRACO) in Marcoule in southern France, it was revealed that the melting furnace that exploded had broken down last week, and it was restarted on the day of the accident. French papers including Le Figaro reported it on September 14 as information from the sources in the French prosecutor's office who interviewed the employees at the center.

According to the employees testimony, the melting furnace, which is used to melt low level radioactive waste like workers' gloves, protective clothes and metal pumps, was stopped last week after "numerous problems" had been detected. The operation resumed in the morning of September 12, but metals weren't melted well. When an employee tried to break the lump using a stick-shaped object, the molten metal spewed from the lump, causing the explosion.

French prosecutors are set to start investigation on death and injury by negligence in a few days.

From the beginning of the accident, the French media had pointed out the possibilities of heated metal coming in contact with water, or of some chemical reaction taking place near the furnace as the cause of the explosion.

However, the prosecutors say, "To promote further melting using an equipment is a well-known procedure, even if it not practiced widely", indicating they haven't ruled out other possibilities.

According to the major French TV network TF1, the area around the furnace remains in high temperature and no one can approach anywhere near it, and the prosecutors and the French nuclear control bureau haven't made much progress in their investigation.

Le Figaro's article on September 13 had these details:

• Furnace was set at 1,500 degrees Celsius but the metal didn't completely melt;

• The employee tried to break the molten mass with a crowbar ("barre à mine").

Oh boy. Crowbar?

But just as TEPCO has the manual for the outside world and the "real" manual(s) for the workers to follow, breaking the molten metal blob with a crowbar probably is part of the "real" manual at the French plant.

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A Furnace Exploded at French Nuke Processing Facility, 1 Killed, 4 Injured, No Leak

or so they say for now. The facility is just outside Marseilles. The French Safety Authority has already declared the event as "closed" as of 4:56PM French Time.

First, from Reuters (9/12/2011):

(Reuters) - An explosion in a furnace at the Marcoule nuclear waste treatment site in southern France Monday killed one person, but there was no leak of radioactive material outside the site, officials said.

Four people were injured, one with serious burns, in the blast at the Centraco site, owned by French power utility EDF and adjacent to the Marcoule nuclear research center. The Centraco site does not house any nuclear reactors.

Fatalities in accidents at active nuclear sites in France are extremely rare, although deaths occasionally occur during plant construction.

Monday's blast comes amid heightened safety concerns in the wake of Japan's Fukushima disaster in March.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said it was seeking information from France about the explosion and had activated its incident and emergency center.

France's ASN nuclear safety watchdog said it was launching an inquiry into the cause of the explosion at 13:06 p.m. (1106 GMT) that hit shares in EDF, France's main power utility.

EDF said the blast was contained within the furnace, which is used to melt waste with levels of radioactivity ranging from low to very low.

"There was an explosion at the site of Marcoule at 13:06 p.m. causing one death and four injured," an EDF spokeswoman said. "We don't know the cause," she added.

STRESS TESTS

Local emergency services said there were no traces of radioactivity on the four people injured.

"The risk of fire is over and there is no radioactive or chemical contamination of either the interior or exterior of the site," a rescue worker said.

Police also said there was no contamination outside the Centraco complex, in operation since 1999.

The Centraco site is next to the town of Codolet in the Gard region, about 30 km (18 miles) from the city of Avignon and about 80 km from the Mediterranean coast.

The complex, employing some 350 people, processes scrap metal such as valves and pumps used in nuclear plant operations in a melting plant and also burns combustible waste in an incinerating plant, according to Centraco's website.

France -- the world's most nuclear-reliant country -- is carrying out stress tests on its 58 nuclear reactors in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster when the Japanese nuclear site was damaged in an earthquake and tsunami.

EDF shares, listed since late 2005, extended an earlier 3 percent loss to sink 6 percent in heavy volume, briefly touching a lifetime low of 17.89 euros. The stock later stabilised down 5 percent at 18.5 euros.

In its 2010 annual report, the ASN says that in 2008 it identified some weak spots in the Centraco site, operated by EDF subsidiary Socodei, that prompted it to ask Centraco to put forward an action plan to improve safety. It said the situation had improved since then at the site.

Malcolm Sperrin, director of Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, England said: "The French authorities are highly competent at disaster management and also in the implementation of safe practice in all industrial environments.

"It is unlikely that there will be significant, or any, releases of radiation into the wider environment but this will need to be confirmed in the next few hours or days."

The announcement by the French Safety Authority (ASN) says "End of the event":

The event that occurred this morning in Centraco, nuclear installation located near Marcoule site (Gard) is considered as closed.

The explosion of a furnace dedicated for the melting of the metallic radioactive waste triggered a fire that ended at 13h00 (11.00 UTC)

The building where the explosion occurred was not damaged. Injured people do not suffer from any radiological contamination and all measures conducted by the licensee outside of the building have shown no trace of radioactive contamination.

One worker died and 4 others have sustained injuries, one of whom suffered deep burns.

This event does not involve any radiological issue and no protective actions was required for the population.

ASN, the French Nuclear Safety Authority, has suspended its emergency organization; ASN is still in permanent contact with the prefecture of Gard and the licensee Socodei. ASN will conduct dedicated inspections in liaison with Labour inspection in order to analyse the reasons of the accident.

Centraco is owned by SOCODEI. The installation is dedicated to the treatment and conditioning of low level radioactive waste, either by melting of metallic waste or by incineration of incinerable waste.

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UK's Nuke Plant Shut Down Because of Jellyfish

Fukushima is on-going, Fort Calhoun and Cooper in Nebraska are surrounded by water, a French nuke plant had a fire, and a UK's nuke plant was shut down by jellyfish.

What is the world coming to?

From Reuters (6/29/2011):

(Reuters) - An invasion of jellyfish into a cooling water pool at a Scottish nuclear power plant kept its nuclear reactors offline on Wednesday, a phenomenon which may grow more common in future, scientists said.

Two reactors at EDF Energy's Torness nuclear power plant on the Scottish east coast remained shut a day after they were manually stopped due to masses of jellyfish obstructing cooling water filters.

Nuclear power plants draw water from nearby seas or rivers to cool down their reactors, but if the filters which keep out marine animals and seaweed are clogged, the station shuts down to maintain temperature and safety standards.

Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation said power plants follow a pre-planned programme when these situations occur.

Latest plant availability data from network operator National Grid showed Torness reactor 1 would return to service on July 5 and reactor 2 on July 6, but operator EDF Energy was unable to give a restart date.

Operators often take the opportunity presented by an unplanned stoppage to carry out maintenance work.

"We are working to clear the jellyfish from the waters near the power station. This work, as well as monitoring the area for more jellyfish, is ongoing," a spokesman for Britain's largest nuclear power operator, EDF Energy, said.

Scientists say jellyfish obstructing nuclear plants is a rare occurrence in Britain, though it has happened more often in other countries such as Japan.

But since it is happening in the UK, the article has to have a scientist who blames "global warming":

Increasing fishing activity and global warming are giving jellyfish populations a boost, scientists said, potentially making jellyfish invasions at nuclear power plants located near the open sea more common in the future.

"There are suggestions from some science data that over the past few years there has been an increase in swarms of jellyfish. It's possible it's linked to climate change," said Steve Hay, a plankton ecologist who specializes in jellyfish research at the Marine Scotland Science laboratory in Aberdeen.

He may well be right, but the article ends with a more mundane conclusion:

Overfishing of small fish which feed off jellyfish leaves them less exposed to natural predators and gives them more room to reproduce, the Marine Biological Association said.

Read the whole article at the link.

(h/t Irene)

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#Radioactive Tea in France: Shizuoka Governor Tells France Tea Is Safe, "No Problem"

Besides, the tea leaves may not be from Shizuoka anyway, says his government.

The Oxford PhD (in comparative economic history) governor of Shizuoka strikes again, responding to the news that the French authorities confiscated the radioactive tea from Shizuoka Prefecture at the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris for the high radioactive cesium count (1038 becquerels per kilogram), more than twice the safety limit for the EU. (I'm rather surprised that it's that high in the EU.)

From Asahi Shinbun (10:43PM JST 6/18/2011):

「静岡」の茶から基準を超える放射性物質が検出されたとのフランス政府の発表を受け、静岡県の川勝平太知事はコメントを発表し、「仮に製茶の数値が １千ベクレルだとしても飲用茶にすれば１０ベクレル程度になる。飲んでもまったく問題ないと考える」と県の独自調査の結果を示して安全性を強調。その上で 「情報を確認し、早急に輸出ルートを調査する」とした。

Governor Heita Kawakatsu of Shizuoka Prefecture issued a comment in response to the French government's announcement that the radioactive materials have been detected in Shizuoka tea in excess of the safety limit, and said "Even if the final blend tea measured 1,000 becquerels/kilogram, when you brew it the number will go down to about 10 becquerels. I don't think there's any problem at all if you drink the tea." He emphasized the safety of Shizuoka tea showing the survey done by the prefecture. He added that his government "will verify the French information, and investigate the export route."

　茶の輸出手続きを担当する同県経済産業部によると、フランスで検査対象となった茶の最終加工地が「静岡」だった可能性はあるものの、県内では他県産や海外産の茶葉を加工して出荷する場合もあり、茶葉自体がどこで生産されたものかはまだ分からないという。

The Economy and Industry Division of the Shizuoka prefectural government, who is in charge of export control of the teas from Shizuoka, said it was possible that the tea tested in France was final-blended in Shizuoka, but that didn't mean the tea leaves themselves were grown and harvested in Shizuoka. The division said the tea leaves from other prefectures and even from overseas are processed in Shizuoka and then shipped.

I don't have a PhD so I defer to the expert judgment of the governor, who must know more than we the mere non-PhD mortals do.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Trial in France May Have Affected the Japanese Government's Decision to Upgrade to INES Level 7

Or may not, as people involved in the trial seem to think the case will be dismissed anyway.

It is an almost a decade-long trial of the ex-director of the Central Service for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (SCPRI) who famously (allegedly) said "the cloud stopped at the border." He was referring to the radioactive fallout cloud from Chernobyl in May 1986.

Checking a Japanese site that has the Fukushima-related links submitted by the site members, I found a link this morning to a blog site that had a curious link. The member who submitted the blog link thought this was part of the reason the Japanese government decided to raise the accident level to INES Level 7.

The link at the blog site goes to a site called "Iran Japanese Radio IRIB World Service", and the news, in Japanese and dated 4/7/2011, talks about a trial in France of the ex-chief of the French agency for radiation protection, who is accused of having suppressed the relevant data from the Chernobyl nuclear accident and misled the public by underestimating the severity of the accident.

That's interesting. So I looked for the confirmation of the news from other sources, and I found one AP article written on March 31:

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor wants to drop a decade-long investigation into the fallout in France from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, citing lack of proof that it caused health problems.

The prosecutor argued in a Paris hearing Thursday that the probe has been inconclusive and should be abandoned, according to a judicial official. The official was not authorized to be named because the hearing was closed to the public.

The hearing came amid global worries about the risks of fallout from Japan's nuclear disaster, as Japanese authorities struggle to contain radiation from reactors destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami earlier this month.

Investigators said that the head of the French radiation safety agency at the time of the Chernobyl accident deliberately misled the public by minimizing the health risks in France from the radioactive cloud it produced.

The safety agency chief, Pierre Pellerin, is the only person who has been handed preliminary charges in the case. He has insisted on his innocence, and the prosecutor said there was no evidence he misled the public on purpose.

Researchers and cancer victims accuse the government of downplaying the effects of the Chernobyl explosion, partly to protect France's powerful nuclear industry. A few dozen people, including thyroid disease victims, staged a protest Thursday near the courthouse.

French authorities have been widely ridiculed for insisting after the Chernobyl accident that the radiation did not reach France, though neighboring countries all said it passed through their skies. Other European countries pulled milk from shelves or recommended that children take iodine tablets to reduce radiation risks, while France took none of these steps.

French government agencies have adjusted some of their initial radiation estimates since the accident, but deny any intentional deception.

The Paris appeals court will decide Sept. 7 whether to abandon the investigation. Until that decision is made, the probe is effectively frozen.

Since the Japanese nuclear troubles began, French nuclear safety authorities have taken pains to soothe the French public about potential risks, holding daily press conferences for two weeks after the tsunami.

The court hearing comes amid renewed questions about the safety of nuclear plants, and second thoughts by many countries about re-investing in nuclear energy. France is the world's most nuclear energy-dependent country, with more than 70 percent of its electricity coming from nuclear reactors and has been at the forefront of a recent so-called nuclear renaissance.

Further looking for additional information, I got to the article by Le Figaro, in French, dated 4/1/2011 (with Google translation, sentence by sentence; French in blue):

At the head of the Nuclear Protection Authority in 1986, the scientist is accused of having minimized the fallout over France.

Il aurait certainement souhaité meilleur calendrier. He would certainly want better timing. En pleine catastrophe nucléaire au Japon, la responsabilité du Pr Pierre Pellerin dans la gestion qu'eut la France des retombées du nuage de Tchernobyl voilà vingt-cinq ans, est étudiée par la justice. Full nuclear disaster in Japan, the responsibility of Professor Pierre Pellerin in the management of France What would the benefits of the Chernobyl cloud these twenty-five years, is considered by the court. Une étiquette colle à la peau du Pr Pellerin : celle d'avoir été l'homme qui aurait déclaré que «le nuage s'est arrêté à la frontière». A label is stuck with Prof. Pellerin: that of being the man who reportedly said that "the cloud stopped at the border." S'il n'a en réalité jamais prononcé cette phrase, celui qui était alors le directeur du Service central de protection contre les rayonnements ionisants (SCPRI), est accusé d'avoir minimisé l'impact des retombées radioactives sur la France et des risques encourus par la population. If he never actually uttered this sentence, the then director of the Central Service for Protection against Ionizing Radiation (SCPRI), is accused of having minimized the impact of radioactive fallout over France and Risk incurred by the population. Une attitude qui, selon les parties civiles, serait responsable d'une hausse des cancers de la thyroïde. An attitude which, according to plaintiffs, would be responsible for an increase in thyroid cancers.

«Tromperie aggravée» "Deception aggravated"

Le dossier dans lequel Pierre Pellerin âgé de 88 ans est mis en examen depuis 2006 pour «tromperie aggravée» était étudié jeudi à huis clos par la cour d'appel de Paris. The folder in which Pierre Pellerin aged 88 was indicted in 2006 for "aggravated deception" was examined Thursday in closed session by the Court of Appeal of Paris. Elle dira si la juge Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy peut poursuivre son enquête commencée en 2002. She [referring to the dossier] says if the judge Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy may continue its investigation began in 2002. Le parquet général qui requiert un non-lieu estime, que, à ce jour, l'accident de Tchernobyl du 26 avril 1986 n'a pas eu de conséquences sanitaires mesurables en France. The Prosecutor General's Office which requires a non-place [dismissal] is estimated that, to date, the Chernobyl accident of April 26, 1986 had no measurable health consequences in France. À l'issue de l'audience, même l'avocat des parties civiles, Me Bernard Fau, pronostiquait la fin prochaine de l'enquête. Following the hearing, even the plaintiffs' lawyer, Bernard Fau, prognosticated the end of the next survey. La décision sera rendue le 7 septembre. The decision will be made on September 7.

(The article continues.)

Le Figaro's article quotes the member of the French association of thyroid cancer patients, who says "En cas de non-lieu, nous irons plus haut." In case of dismissal, we will go higher [to appeal].

I also found this old AFP article from December 2005 that French authorities deliberately suppressed information about the radioactive fallout from the May 1986 Chernobyl disaster:

PARIS, Dec 15 (AFP) - French authorities deliberately suppressed information about the spread of radioactive fallout from the May 1986 Chernobyl disaster over France, according to details of an experts' report leaked Thursday.

Two independent physicists say in the report that the state-run Central Service for Protection against Radioactive Rays (SCPRI) knew of high levels of contamination in Corsica and southeastern France but kept the details under wraps.

The study was commissioned by magistrate Marie-Odile Bertella-Geffroy, who since 2001 has been examining allegations that the atomic cloud from Chernobyl caused a surge in cases of thyroid cancer in parts of France.

This week Bertella-Geffroy handed over the report -- originally completed in March -- to civil plaintiffs in the case, who passed details to AFP.

"Now we have proof that there was a breakdown in the system. So now the judicial case will succeed -- I can't see how it can do otherwise," said Chantal Hoir, president of the French Association of Victims of Thyroid Cancer.

The report states that the SCPRI issued imprecise maps that concealed the high levels of fallout in certain areas, according to sources who saw the document.

It also states that with full information health authorities could have taken targeted steps to reduce the exposure of vulnerable people such as children and pregnant mothers.

It was the first time an independent study gave substance to long-standing accusations from anti-nuclear groups that the French government deliberately played down the risk posed by the nuclear cloud.

(The article continues.)

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was awfully quick to come to Japan and offer assistance. The French company AREVA quickly won the contract to build a nuclear waste processing facility at Fukushima I Nuke Plant to process highly radioactive water in the buildings. Maybe President Sarkozy also quietly advised the Japanese government to avoid future trials by upgrading the Fukushima accident to the maximum Level 7. There is no higher level, so the Japanese won't be accused of minimizing the accident..

It's interesting to note that both France and Japan have very long tradition of the elite bureaucrats running the country.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Greenpeace Says MOX Fuel Leaving for Japan in April from France; Same Type Used in Reactor 3

From Morningstar.co.uk (3/24/2011), citing Dow Jones Newswires citing Kyodo News English, who buries the news behind the subscription wall:

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

A ship carrying nuclear fuel processed in France is scheduled to leave for Japan in early April, Kyodo News reported Thursday, citing the French affiliate of environmental advocacy group Greenpeace.

The uranium-plutonium mixed-oxide fuel, known as MOX fuel, is the same type as the one being used in the No. 3 reactor at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan, Greenpeace said.

The ship is expected to leave the port of Cherbourg in the week of April 4 but Areva SA (CEI.FR), France's state-controlled nuclear engineering firm, said it won't depart then, indicating a possible delay, according to Kyodo.

Areva and state power company Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) have sent equipment to Japan to assist with the crisis at the Fukushima plant, Areva's chief executive said last week.

-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2011 14:47 ET (18:47 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2011 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

More on MOX fuel in my previous post here.

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