CND Press Digest: Friday 31st March 2023

War In Ukraine/NATO

• A paper on the increase of uranium measured in the air, taken from air samples gathering by AWE Aldermaston.
• The Morning Star on Rafael Grossi’s recent trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Meanwhile, Grossi has scaled back hopes of forming a security zone around the site, instead focusing on specific safety and protection measures agreeable to both Kyiv and Moscow.
• The Telegraph on Russia’s use of nuclear threats: “In a country the size of Ukraine, you would need to use hundreds of these weapons to have any effect whatsoever; and if you’re using hundreds of nuclear weapons then that’s no longer a small step on the escalation stairway. All it would do is cross the nuclear taboo and potentially open up a pathway to escalation that nobody wants. Their use would kill hundreds of people, irradiate a big chunk of land – but all for very little military effect.”
• The Independent with a report on Russia’s recent nuclear weapons exercise.
• Donald Trump on his Republican rival Ron De Santis’ recent comments about Vladimir Putin: “Calling Russia a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons, or calling Putin, quote, ‘an authoritarian gas station attendant with some legacy of nuclear weapons from the old Soviet Union’ is exactly the kind of simple-minded thinking that has produced decades of failed diplomacy and ultimately war,” Trump said.
• One expert warns The Mirror that nuclear material from Zaporizhzhia could fall into the wrong hands and be used in a dirty bomb.  

TPNW

• The Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2022 report is out now. 

British Nuclear Weapons

• Daily Record on the fire that broke out on board a Vanguard-class sub last year - with local councillors in western Scotland raising safety concerns on behalf of their constituents.
• British nuclear test veterans are now able to apply for medals recognising their service - however won’t be extended to include those who participated in the more secretive nuclear testing such as test that took place in Nevada up until 1991.

AUKUS

• ABC reports on how Australia’s Department of Defence is struggling to complete mandatory security clearances for skilled staff to work on the sensitive AUKUS nuclear submarine program.
• Humanitarian and aid organisations have called on Australia to boost its aid budgetto compensate for its role in AUKUS.
• AUKUS Chief Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead has revealed in an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia that not all of Australia’s new nuclear-powered submarine fleet will be at sea at any one time.

UK Nuclear Energy

• compromise on new targets for renewable energy after agreeing to make an exception for nuclear power in certain sectors amid pressure from France. The agreement now includes counting “low-carbon” hydrogen generated with electricity from atomic power plants as part of separate targets for renewable hydrogen used by industry, which can be reduced by one-fifth under certain conditions.
• Meanwhile, Germany has criticised France over Russia’s continued role in its nuclear industry.

Fukushima

• Reuters with an infographic on the filtering system used by TEPCO on the water used to cool the nuclear fuel at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament