Electricite de France has 9 reactors off-line as demand spikes during deep freeze

France must resort to importing electricity during a severe cold snap because 9 of its 58 reactors are shut down for various reasons. This calls into question nuclear power industry claims of being a reliable source of baseload electricity, and further shatters the myth that nuclear power in France operates without a hitch. As the Union of Concerned Scientists reported in its 2006 "Walking a Nuclear Tightrope: Unlearned Lessons of Year-plus Reactor Outages," nuclear power's un-reliability has plagued the U.S. time and time again. In a destabilized climate, such atomic outages will only increase as a safety precaution.

Radiation levels around Areva's Gabon mine unacceptable

A new investigation by CRIIRAD, the independent French radiation laboratory, has found high levels of radioactivity around the now abandoned Areva-owned uranium mine site in Gabon, Africa. According to CRIIRAD, the mine produced 7.5 million metric tonnes of radioactive silt of which two million tonnes was dumped in a river. CRIIRAD conducted an initial study in Gabon but returned in 2009 to find that mine workers' housing was built with radioactive materials. CRIIRAD stated that "local populations have been unwittingly doses of radiation that are totally unjustified."

Areva's uranium mining grab in Namibia could devastate the Kalahari

The hidden cost of Britain's new generation of nuclear power could be the destruction of the Kalahari desert in Namibia and millions of tonnes of extra greenhouse gas emissions a year, The Observer reports. French nuclear giant, Areva, and Rio Tinto are leading the charge to ravage the precious desert ecosystem with new uranium mines in Namibia. The Observer quoted Bertchen Kors, director of the Namibian environment group, Earthlife, who said of the proposed mines: "Large areas of the desert will be inevitably devastated. They will do immense damage. We fear that there will be major contamination of the ground water supplies." A similar situation already exists in Niger, north west Africa, where Areva has mined uranium for 40 years, leaving a legacy of radioactive contamination, water depletion and disease. Areva also won the contract to open Africa's biggest uranium mine - at Imouraren in Niger.

Jeremy Leggett reveals the fallacies behind the UK plan for new French reactors

Responding to the U.K. government's announcement that it will press ahead with potentially 15 new nuclear reactors at 10 sites - many if not all of which would be the French EPR - , Jeremy Leggett lists 12 compelling reasons why this is a  rash and reckless plan. (Social entrepreneur Jeremy Leggett is founder and Chairman of Solarcentury, the UK's largest solar solutions company, and SolarAid, a charity set up with Solarcentury profits. He is author of The Carbon War and Half Gone.)

Cadarache at 50 represents potential for nuclear catastrophe

The nuclear center at Cadarache – which houses close to 50 nuclear installations as well as an enormous inventory of radioactive waste, turns 50 years old on October 14, 2009. The facility is built on a fault line that is the most seismically active in France and close to another that registered the highest level of seismic activity the country ever recorded (in 1909).  In the case of an earthquake or serious accident, the release of plutonium and other radionuclides into the surrounding environment could transform Provence into a sacrifice zone devoid of inhabitants for thousands of years.  On a daily basis, Cadarache has leaked radioactivity into the nearby Durance river and into the environment. Cadarache is also the chosen location for the international fusion boondoggle know as ITER, a project that will likely never see fruition. It is time to end this unacceptable risk, says the Cadarache watchdog group, Mediane pour sortir du nucléaire, a position supported by the national network, Sortir du Nucléaire, of which Beyond Nuclear is a member.