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Attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Significantly Increase Accident Risk, IAEA Head Says

IN THIS ISSUE:Attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Significantly Increase Accident Risk, IAEA Head Says, US Talks with Russia to Discourage Space Anti-satellite Nuclear Weapons Ongoing, Can Europe Still Count on America’s Nuclear Umbrella?, In South Korean election, North Korea and its Nukes Barely Move the Needle, UK Should Consider Wider Range of Nuclear Power Options, says Top Official, Sicken

Published on April 9, 2024

Attacks on Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Significantly Increase Accident Risk, IAEA Head Says 

Associated Press

The head of the U.N.’s atomic watchdog agency on Sunday condemned a drone strike on one of six nuclear reactors at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, saying such attacks “significantly increase the risk of a major nuclear accident.” In a statement on the social media platform X, Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed at least three direct hits against the ZNPP main reactor containment structures took place. “This cannot happen,” he said. Russia blamed Ukraine for the attack, but the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency didn’t attribute blame. Kyiv officials made no immediate comment.

US Talks with Russia to Discourage Space Anti-satellite Nuclear Weapons Ongoing

MAGGIE MILLER and ERIN BANCO | POLITICO

The Biden administration is in talks with Russia and allied nations to try and prevent Moscow from positioning an anti-satellite nuclear weapon in space, a senior Pentagon space official said Friday. American officials are using the United Nations and countries such as China and India to persuade Moscow to back down from its plans to test launch its space weapon. Those conversations have accelerated in recent weeks following the public disclosure of Russia’s space developments.

Can Europe Still Count on America’s Nuclear Umbrella?

Yaroslav Trofimov | The Wall Street Journal 

Would an American president, especially a re-elected Donald Trump, be willing to risk nuclear war for Helsinki, Tallinn or Warsaw? And if not, could Europe’s own two nuclear powers—France and, to a lesser extent, the U. K.—provide enough deterrence of their own to discourage Putin from probing Western resolve and encroaching on members of NATO and the European Union that were once under Moscow’s sway?

In South Korean election, North Korea and its Nukes Barely Move the Needle

Jeongmin Kim | NK News

South Koreans are set to go to the polls in less than a week to choose their lawmakers for the next four years, but despite heightened inter-Korean tensions and even warnings about the possibility of war, North Korea has been almost completely absent from the election. Both the ROK public and the vast majority of candidates have demonstrated a marked disinterest in North Korean issues ahead of the April 10 general elections, concentrating instead on more pressing domestic concerns. Polls show that voters are far more worried about economic issues, governance and the cost of living than North Korea and national security, with few identifying inter-Korean issues as a decisive factor when choosing whom to support. The public’s apathy about the DPRK is mirrored in the policy platforms of the major People’s Power Party (PPP) and Democratic Party (DP), with the conservative ruling party barely mentioning North Korea and the progressive opposition recycling outdated policies.

UK Should Consider Wider Range of Nuclear Power Options, says Top Official

Rachel Millard | Financial Times

The UK should consider a range of technologies for future large-scale nuclear power plants as it seeks to revive the sector, according to the top official overseeing those efforts, casting doubt over the country’s long-standing nuclear relationship with France. Simon Bowen, chair of Great British Nuclear, the public body responsible for the delivery of new projects, said the UK would need “at least another couple” of large nuclear power stations after the two currently in development by French state-owned power company EDF… Bowen said he expected a big part of that gap would be filled by a fleet of so-called “small modular reactors” (SMRs). Great British Nuclear is running a competition that could see it invest up to £20bn alongside the developers of two winning designs from a shortlist that includes bids from the UK’s Rolls-Royce, EDF, Westinghouse and another US rival GE Hitachi.

Sickened by U.S. Nuclear Program, Communities Turn to Congress for Aid

Catie Edmondson | The New York Times

The Mallinckrodt plant processed the uranium that allowed scientists at the University of Chicago to produce the first man-made controlled nuclear reaction, paving the way for the first atomic bomb. But the factory — and the program it served — left another legacy: A plague of cancer, autoimmune diseases and other mysterious illnesses has ripped through generations of families like Ms. Scheig’s in St. Louis, and other communities across the country that were exposed to the materials used to power the nuclear arms race. Now Congress is working on legislation that would allow people harmed by the program but so far shut out of a federal law enacted to aid its victims — including in New Mexico, Arizona, Tennessee and Washington state — to receive federal compensation.

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