Efforts by the U.S. and Europe to bring Iran back to the nuclear negotiating table have been rebuffed. “Considering the recent actions and statements by the United States and three European powers, Iran does not consider this the time to hold an informal meeting,” an Iranian foreign minister official said Feb. 28. [node:read-more:link]
In a long-awaited review of defence, security and foreign policy released March 16, the British government included plans to increase its stockpile of nuclear warheads. The planned increased to no more than 260 would reverse a decision a decade ago to reduce the inventory to 180 from 225 by the mid-2020s. [node:read-more:link]
British plans to increase its stockpile of nuclear warheads has been condemned by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as “utter hypocrisy”, given British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s stated concerns about Iran’s nuclear program. “Unlike the UK and allies, Iran believes nukes . . . are barbaric and must be eradicated,” Zarif wrote. [node:read-more:link]
Pakistan’s army chief, Gen Qamar Javed Bajway, wants his country and India to “bury the past” now that they have a ceasefire agreement in place in a border region the two nuclear powers have squabbled over for decades. However, he says, it was up to India to create a “conducive environment” and said the United States had a role to play in ending regional conflicts. [node:read-more:link]
The new U.S. administration will join talks in Vienna designed to revive a nuclear deal with Iran from which the former administration withdrew in 2018. The six countries still party to the agreement must find a way for the U.S. to lift the former administration’s sanctions against Iran, which has said it will not meet with the U.S. until that happens. [node:read-more:link]
A power failure apparently caused by a planned explosion struck Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site April 11 in what Iranian officials was sabotage. Israeli and U.S. intelligence sources have said Israel was involved. [node:read-more:link]
A diverse team of professionals tackle the common challenges related to Hazardous Material spills due to ground transportation accidents. [node:read-more:link]
Marsh's Chemical Practice has produced a 2009 benchmark study that compares the risk management and insurance programs of more than 220 chemical industry buyers in the United States. [node:read-more:link]
The MHMI series is a three volume set of pdfs (with a video) comprised of recommendations for on-scene (prehospital), and hospital medical management of patients exposed during a hazardous materials incident. Vol I: Emergency Medical Services; Vol II: Hospital Emergency Departments; Vol III: Medical Management Guidelines.The MHMI series is a three volume set of pdfs (with a video) comprised of recommendations for on-scene (prehospital), and hospital medical management of patients exposed during a hazardous materials incident. [node:read-more:link]
(2005) Marine shipments of hazardous chemical cargo may be attractive terrorist targets because of their large volume and inherent toxicity or flammability. The Maritime Transportation Security Act and the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code give the U.S. Coast Guard far-ranging authority over the security of hazardous marine shipping. The agency has developed port security plans addressing how to deploy federal, state, and local resources to prevent terrorist attacks. [node:read-more:link]
The North Korean foreign ministry is threaten yet again to resume nuclear and long-range missile tests, accusing the U.S. of having instigated a European condemnation within the UN Security Council of the latest weapons tests. The ministry says talks in Sweden last weekend by Pyongyang and Washington had collapsed because the U.S. offered no new proposals. [node:read-more:link]
The importance of civil nuclear power as a tool for geopolitical influence is highlighted in a new report released by the Helsinki-based European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats. Citing case studies of situations in Belarus, Hungary and Finland, the report concludes, among other things, that “nuclear energy employed as a tool for any hostile intent has a different logic compared to oil and gas, for example, which have more explicit physical and logistical dependencies.” [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Air Force officer who heads the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre in the Department of Defense says there is “no stronger proponent” for AI within the DoD. However, as the U.S. begins a multi-billion-dollar modernization of its Nuclear Command, Control and Communications facilities, LGen Jack Shanahan says he pauses when AI is considered for NC3. [node:read-more:link]
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says he is opten to “small changes, additions or amendments” to his country’s 2015 nuclear agreement with six wetern powers if the U.S. lifts economic sanctions. President Donald Trump, immediate rejected the offer when both leaders were at United Nations headquarters in New York. [node:read-more:link]
Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, site of the worst accident at a U.S. nuclear power plant, has been completely shut down by its operator. Unit 2 at the site was destroyed by a meltdown in 1979 and Exelon Corp. of Chicago decided to shut down Unit 1, which was licensed to operate through 2034, after failing to secure financial support from the state government. [node:read-more:link]
