aurora news

11/09/09 BBC reports France to pay nuclear test compensation

Nearly 40 years after the first of its 210 nuclear tests, France is preparing to compensate people affected by the fallout. The move leaves the UK isolated in its policy of rejecting liability for illnesses suffered by test participants

The French government long blocked compensation claims by systematically appealing - usually with success - against occasional court victories by veterans.

The new bill would offer money to people present at tests - which continued until 1996 - who have contracted one of 18 types of cancer designated by the UN. This brings France broadly into line with the US.

After presenting the bill to the cabinet late last month, Defence Minister Herve Morin said that if the government had moved sooner, the effect could have been like "sticking a pin in a balloon".

"For a very long time, engaging in a process of compensating the victims of nuclear tests was to risk weakening this colossal effort that France made to give itself a nuclear weapon, and thus to preserve its sovereignty," he said.

But he also acknowledged the "physical and psychological distress" of the veterans, and the need for France to "put its conscience at rest".

11/06/09 Sting planned on radioactive wasp nests at Hanford

Hanford workers are going after some of the nuclear reservation's most bizarre waste this month -- radioactive wasp nests.

There are so many radioactive nests spread over six acres by H Reactor in northern Hanford that six to 12 inches of top soil are being dug up to remove the nests.

And another 50 to 60 nests built by mud dauber wasps are spread over about 75 acres.

"We can hand dig those with a shovel and buckets," said Dave Martin, radiological engineer for Washington Closure Hanford.

The nests all were built in 2003, when a one-time series of conditions aligned. A circle about a mile wide surrounding H Reactor is the only place at Hanford believed to have the problem with radioactive mud dauber nests.

"Fortunately, they don't fly far," said Todd Nelson, spokesman for Washington Closure.

22/01/09 aurora launch new website

It has been quite a while since we produced the original web site and significant developments have taken place within the Company that weren’t obvious just by looking that at the old Website.

We have tried to capture much more fully the extent and scope of our radiation safety services whilst also demonstrating our commitment to the very highest standards of customer care.

The website clarifies the full range of technical services Aurora provides and which markets we currently serve. In this way information can be sought through a service or market axis.

Whilst redesigning the website we also took the opportunity to freshen up the Aurora logo and corporate templates. All correspondence, reports etc from Aurora will now be produced in this new style.