Washington airs NRC grievances

The leadership issues consuming the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been played out in front of American lawmakers over two consecutive days but there is no real resolution in sight...
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Small reactors could figure into U.S. energy future

A newly released study from the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) concludes that small modular reactors may hold the key to the future of U.S. nuclear power generation...
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Japan says stricken nuclear power plant in cold shutdown

Japan declared its tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant to be in cold shutdown on Friday, taking a major step to resolving the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years but some critics questioned whether the plant was really under control...
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Bill Gates working with China on new nuclear reactor

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates confirmed Wednesday he is in discussions with China to jointly develop a new and safer kind of nuclear reactor...
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U.S. Questions IAEA Atomic Power Assistance to Syria

The Obama administration on Monday voiced "strong reservations" over the International Atomic Energy Agency's role in an initiative to support the eventual construction of a Syrian atomic energy station, Reuters reported...
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World Powers Seen Closing in on Draft IAEA Iran Measure

The five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany are fervently pursuing a unified response to a new International Atomic Energy Agency report pointing to possible nuclear-weapon activities in Iran, Western nation envoys told Reuters on Wednesday...
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Driving on with Fukushima roadmap

Six of ten stabilisation goals at Fukushima Daiichi are complete, with official recognition of cold shutdown still outstanding despite low core temperatures...
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Small reactors planned for Zhangzhou

A demonstration nuclear power plant featuring small, modular reactors is to be constructed at Zhangzhou in China's Fujian province. The plant will provide the city with electricity, heat and water desalination...
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U.N. Assessment Seen Challenging Iran's Defense of Atomic Effort

Experts said a new U.N. assessment pointing to possible nuclear-weapon development efforts in Iran could make it more difficult for the Middle Eastern nation to argue that its atomic activities are strictly peaceful, the New York Times reported on Tuesday...
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IAEA Report Details Iranian Nuclear Program Activities

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Tuesday issued a report stating its "serious concerns" that Iran is clandestinely working toward developing a nuclear weapon...
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MOX Fuel Precursor Produced in U.S.

The United States has produced roughly 530 pounds of plutonium oxide from nuclear-weapon cores, a preliminary measure in turning the bomb material into mixed-oxide fuel for powering nuclear reactors, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said on Thursday...
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South Korea Warns of Another Nuclear Test by North

A senior South Korean official on Friday warned that North Korea could conduct another nuclear trial blast or fire off another long-range missile if there is no progress in restarting the long-stalled six-nation negotiations on Pyongyang's atomic activities, the Yonhap News Agency reported...
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Iran "Tricked and Misled" IAEA, Former Official Says

"When I think about the nuclear activities of certain states, for instance Iran's nuclear program, I have to say that we allowed ourselves to be placated too often. We should have done more than carrying out our inspections. Yes, with hindsight you could perhaps even say we failed," former IAEA safeguards chief Olli Heinonen said...
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Small nuclear reactors for power and icebreaking

Russia's commitment to civil marine nuclear power is growing. Power units for three new icebreakers are seen as the forerunners of a small reactor design for next-generation floating nuclear power plants...
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Feds: Virginia nuclear plant will remain closed until operator proves it's safe

NRC sent Dominion a letter Friday outlining the actions that must be taken before the North Anna plant can continue operating. The letter says that the plant will remain closed until Dominion is able to show “that no functional damage occurred to those features necessary for continued operation without undue risk to the health and safety of the public.”...
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Obama's Anti-Nuke Push Bogging Down: Experts

President Obama's bid to alter the U.S. nuclear stockpile in pursuit of a nuclear weapon-free world has achieved much less to date than anticipated by a number of issue experts, the Atlantic magazine reported on Thursday...
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Profitable today, competitive tomorrow

Nuclear and gas will compete to provide future baseload power generation in Europe, as standard coal-fired power plants will no longer be profitable, the latest study by the OECD's Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) on electricity prices concludes...
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Accident mitigation - be prepared

The post-Fukushima nuclear industry needs to pay more attention to its preparedness to mitigate nuclear accidents as well as to accident prevention, according to the managing director of the World Association of Nuclear Operators...
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China's pause for thought

Fukushima made a huge impact on China's nuclear industry," Yun Zhou, a special consultant of Ux Consulting and research fellow at Harvard University, told the WNA Symposium. The country will rethink regulation before returning to full-speed nuclear build...
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Egypt Demands IAEA Inspections in Israel

Israel's refusal to permit broad-scope inspections of its atomic sites could endanger the International Atomic Energy Agency's reputation as a reliable enforcer of the nuclear nonproliferation regime, Egypt told IAEA member nations on Monday...
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Korean Envoys' Meeting Could Lead to Full Nuke Talks

Talks slated for Wednesday between the top atomic negotiators for North and South Korea could lead to a long-awaited breakthrough toward relaunching a moribund process intended to shutter Pyongyang's nuclear operations, the Associated Press reported...
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Planned Defense Cuts Endanger U.S. Nuke Spending Plan

A new U.S. congressional agreement to reduce funding to military-related programs has placed in doubt a nuclear weapons complex spending plan negotiated last year amid efforts to win ratification of an strategic arms control deal with Russia, Arms Control Today reported in its latest issue...
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Radioactive Cesium Spreads Over Wide Area in Japan Disaster

High concentrations of radioactive cesium 137 have spread over thousands of square miles since the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi atomic facility began more than six months ago, but area's size appears to be dwarfed by the region similarly affected by the 1986 Chernobyl incident, the Asahi Shimbun reported...
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Nuclear Power Exporters Back Common Security Measures

A global coalition of firms that market atomic energy facilities on Thursday unveiled new, common procedures aimed in part at maximizing the physical protection of newly constructed sites and preventing the spread of weapon-sensitive material and systems...
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Plant Vogtle is Litmus Test of Nuclear Renaissance

Georgia, with its two pending nuclear reactors, may serve as the country’s litmus test for the nuclear renaissance...
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China leading nuclear energy growth

A race to build nuclear plants in China is outweighing the backlash against atomic energy sparked by the crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, an industry group says...
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China Reviewing its Regulatory Framework

"Fukushima made a huge impact on China's nuclear industry," Yun Zhou, a special consultant of Ux Consulting and research fellow at Harvard University, told the WNA Symposium. The country will rethink regulation before returning to full-speed nuclear build...
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NRC gives staff 45 days to review nuclear safety recommendations

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has given its technical staff 45 days to analyze a series of sweeping safety recommendations put forth by a federal task force last month...
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US makes nuclear fuel reserve available

The USA has formally announced the availability of a reserve stockpile of low-enriched uranium for use in nuclear fuel, derived from downblended surplus military material. Meanwhile, Belarus has suspended a program to exchange high enriched uranium fuel with the US...
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Fewer Contaminants Seen Escaping From Japan Nuclear Plant

The level of radioactive contaminants escaping from damaged reactors at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy complex has dropped in the last month, the plant's operator announced on Wednesday...
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NRC infighting goes nuclear

It's war at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
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Don't count out nuclear just yet

As harrowing as the Fukushima debacle has been, it hasn't dimmed the hopes of nuclear technologists, suppliers and manufacturers. In fact, it may even have helped them...
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Economics hinder US new build

The near-term prospects for an expansion in the use of nuclear energy in the USA "will be miserably hard and extremely challenged by economics," according to the head of Exelon, the country's largest nuclear utility...
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Regulatory shake-up in Japan

Japan is beginning work on a new regulatory structure for its nuclear energy industry with competence centralised in a body linked to the Ministry of the Environment...
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NRC sets hearing for new nuclear plant in Georgia

Federal regulators will soon consider whether to allow Southern Co. to construct what could become the nation's first new nuclear plant in a generation...
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IAEA Proposes Safety Checks of 10% of World's Reactors

The U.N. atomic agency would carry out international safety checks of ten percent of the world's reactor units over a three-year period, under a draft action plan to prevent any repeat of Japan's nuclear crisis...
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Advanced Reactor Gets Closer to Reality

Terrapower, a startup funded in part by Nathan Myhrvold and Bill Gates, is moving closer to building a new type of nuclear reactor called a traveling wave reactor that runs on an abundant form of uranium. The company sees it as a possible alternative to fusion reactors, which are also valued for their potential to produce power from a nearly inexhaustible source of fuel...
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Georgia Power's nuclear project could open on time

Georgia Power may finish its first nuclear reactor for Plant Vogtle two months ahead of schedule despite delays, possibly opening in April 2016, the company told state utility regulators Friday...
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Nuclear stress tests begin for Japan

Japan's two-step nuclear stress tests are beginning as government and authorities seek to bring back nuclear power supply. The move by Japanese safety authorities is inspired by the European Union's response to the Fukushima accident as well as the urgent need to reassure the public...
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NRC report calls new wave of reactors safer

Two nuclear reactor designs slated for use in the United States could be safer than existing plants if a prolonged power outage occurred, a federal safety taskforce said Wednesday in a report examining lessons learned from the Japanese earthquake and nuclear crisis...
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US task force calls for sweeping new rules at nuclear power plants

U.S. nuclear power regulators should consider a slew of new requirements designed to ensure that the country’s 104 nuclear reactors can withstand a major disaster, a federal task force says in a new report...
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NC State says small reactor leak poses no threat

North Carolina State University says a small leak in a nuclear reactor it uses for research poses no public health threat...
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Modular reactor a move into nuclear future

The Tennessee Valley Authority is moving forward with plans to build the nation's first modular nuclear power plant at the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site in Oak Ridge...
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Nuclear technology is Russian priority

Nuclear energy has been formally recognised as a critical technology in a decree that makes nuclear development a priority for Russia. President Dmitry Medvedev signed off a list of 27 technologies as critical to Russia, including nuclear energy, the nuclear fuel cycle, safety of radioactive waste and used nuclear fuel...
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Fukushima cover takes shape

With a lightweight construction compared to the thick reinforced concrete of a reactor building, it will form a seal around the damaged building and reduce any ongoing emission of radioactivity and protect the building from the weather.
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Pakistan Seen as Having Fastest Expanding Nuke Stockpile

A soon-to-be-published analysis has determined that Pakistan is expanding its nuclear arsenal at a much faster rate than any other nation and could have 200 nuclear bombs in 10 years if the present pace of production is maintained, the Indian Express reported on Thursday...
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Design Flaw Fueled Nuclear Disaster

Some senior engineers at Tokyo Electric Power Co. knew for years that five of its nuclear reactors in Fukushima prefecture had a potentially dangerous design flaw, but the company didn't fully upgrade them, dooming them to failure when the earthquake hit, a Wall Street Journal examination of the disaster shows...
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Senate confirms NRC official after hold

The Senate confirmed William Ostendorff to a second term on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Thursday evening, shortly after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lifted his procedural his hold on the nominee...
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Waste solution a UK priority

The UK is looking for ways to speed up its radioactive waste disposal program, hoping to have an underground facility in operation by 2029...
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German parliament approves plan to end use of nuclear energy by 2022

German lawmakers have overwhelmingly approved the government’s plan for the country to shut down all its nuclear power plants by the end of 2022. Parliament’s lower house voted 513-79, with eight abstentions, for the shutdown plan in Europe’s biggest economy. Most of the opposition voted in favor...
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Scientists monitor air as fire burns near NM lab

As crews fight to keep a New Mexico wildfire from reaching the nation's premier nuclear-weapons laboratory and the surrounding community, scientists are busy sampling the air for chemicals and radiological materials...
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Bloomberg Blasts Cuomo's Plans to Close Indian Point

“Well, if you close Indian Point down today we’d have enormous blackouts,” the mayor quipped when questioned by a reporter about the development during a press conference at Gracie Mansion Wednesday...
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France Lifts Nuclear-Safety Spending

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said his government would beef up spending on nuclear-safety research and development, seeking to reassure voters amid a nascent political debate over France's reliance on atomic energy...
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Fort Calhoun defends against flood

The Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant switched to diesel generators for a time yesterday amid the severe Missouri flooding that looks set to continue for another month...
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U.N. Panel Reports Possible Iran Sanctions Breaches

A U.N. Security Council panel on Thursday said it had learned since late March of three new purported breaches of international penalties targeting Iran's disputed atomic activities...
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Senators demand congressional probe on nuke safety

Three U.S. senators, alarmed by findings of an Associated Press investigation about aging problems at the nation's nuclear power plants, asked Thursday for a congressional investigation of safety standards and federal oversight at the facilities...
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AGING NUKES, PART 4 OF 4: NRC and industry rewrite nuke history

When commercial nuclear power was getting its start in the 1960s and 1970s, industry and regulators stated unequivocally that reactors were designed only to operate for 40 years. Now they tell another story — insisting that the units were built with no inherent life span, and can run for up to a century, an Associated Press investigation shows...
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Nuclear to play part in TVA future

The safety and reliability of nuclear power is being examined closely in an Associated Press series that began earlier this week and concludes next week. It asserts that the NRC regularly lowers its standards to prolong the life of nuclear reactors. Ashok Bhatnagar, TVA senior vice president of nuclear generation development and construction says that is not the case. He says there is very close oversight at all U.S. nuclear power plants whether they are under construction or operating.
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Lead scientist at NRC blasts boss over nuke dump

A government scientist in charge of reviewing the safety of the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste dump in Nevada is accusing his bosses of letting "political pressures" and "manipulation" taint the process...
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More nations join European 'stress tests'

The European Commission's initiative to check the safety of nuclear power plants in extreme circumstances has grown to include 196 reactors with the participation of seven neighbouring countries...
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Minister calls for restart of Japan's reactors

A shortage of electricity would be the greatest obstacle to economic recovery in Japan following the huge earthquake and tsunami in March, according to the country's industry minister. He said that this makes local permission for restarting Japan's nuclear power plants essential...
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U.S. Urged to Press Case Against Iranian Nukes

The United States must focus on convincing Iran not to establish a nuclear deterrent, as the Middle Eastern nation is now for the most part equipped to do so, according to a RAND assessment made public on Tuesday...
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Russian President Backs Updated Plutonium Disposal Pact

An update to a U.S.-Russian pact on eliminating stockpiled weapon-usable plutonium has received Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's approval, the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper reported on Tuesday...
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Expert Report Warns of Continued Nuclear Terrorism Danger

Russian and U.S. experts in a collaborative report on Monday warned of the continued worldwide danger that terrorists might acquire and use a nuclear weapon, according to Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs...
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UPDATE:Areva, Utilities Discuss Pact On US Nuclear Fuel-Recycling Center

The U.S. arm of nuclear reactor-maker Areva SA (ARVCY, AREVA.FR) is in talks with utility companies about the prospect of a recycling center for spent nuclear fuel in the U.S., a top company official said Monday...
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Radiation’s Unknowns Weigh on Japan

As officials in Japan agonize over what constitutes a safe radiation dose for people who live near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, the state of the science has been a daunting problem. Studies on the effects of exposure are based mostly on large doses delivered quickly by atomic bombs, while radiation from the Fukushima disaster would more likely result in small doses delivered over many years...
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3 nuclear reactors melted down after quake, Japan confirms

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday...
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Chu to Promote Atomic Collaboration During Russia Tour

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is expected on a six-day trip to Russia this week to promote bilateral cooperation on nuclear nonproliferation and civilian atomic power initiatives, the Energy Department said on Friday...
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New Data Hints at Iranian Nuke Efforts: Amano

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano on Monday said his organization had obtained data on operations that suggest Iran's atomic activities included weapons-related elements, Reuters reported...
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World needs willing takers for nuclear waste-report

Governments could take pointers from Sweden and Finland when trying to find places to
store the world's growing pile of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, a group of arms control experts said on Friday...
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TEPCO eyes design flaw in hydrogen explosion

A design flaw in the exhaust system within the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant may have caused a hydrogen explosion at the No. 1 reactor March 12 that blew the top off the structure...
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New tests find AP1000 shield 'strong,' Westinghouse says

To support its case for the safety of its nuclear power plant design, Westinghouse Electric Co. said on Friday that Purdue University researchers tested the shield building for the AP1000 and found it more than meets federal regulator's strength requirements.
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New system to keep fuel pools cool

A stand-alone emergency fuel pool cooling system (EFPCS) developed by Westinghouse would be able to keep used fuel cool in emergencies including the loss of all plant power, the company claims...
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Swiss cabinet goes for nuclear phase out

Nuclear development may be put on hold in Switzerland after a cabinet decision not to allow replacement of existing reactors. If the policy gets through parliament, the last nuclear energy could be generated in the mid-2030s...
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Three Reactors at Japanese Plant Have Melted Fuel, NRC Says

Three reactors at Japan’s stricken power plant have melted fuel rods and it may take longer than nine months to gain control at the site, said William Ostendorff, a member of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
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UPDATE 4-EU finalises "stress tests" for nuclear reactors

European nuclear watchdogs have agreed details of new safety checks on the region's 143 reactors and said a group would be set up to deal with the risks of a nuclear crisis arising from a terrorist attack...
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GE Vice Chairman Sees Nuclear Sector Delays After Japan Crisis

The head of General Electric Co.'s (GE) energy business said Wednesday that he is optimistic on the long-term outlook for the nuclear-energy sector despite an obvious slowdown in the wake of the disaster in Japan...
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EU to Decide on Nuclear Stress Tests by June, Oettinger Says

The European Union will probably agree on parameters for stress tests on nuclear power plants by next month, EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said...
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South Texas Project meets safety performance for year

The South Texas Project's nuclear power plant received Nuclear Regulatory Commission safety approval Thursday...
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Bieber 'mans-up' to face radiation

Thousands of Japanese teenagers were this month celebrating the courage of Canadian singer Justin Bieber after he kept dates to perform in Osaka and Tokyo...
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More supercomputer power for US lab

Research into nuclear and energy-related issues at the USA's Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has taken a step forward with the installation of a new 12,512-processor supercomputer...
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Nuclear power can endure Fukushima 'bump in the road': Blix

A former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Hans Blix, said Wednesday he believed the development of nuclear power would continue despite Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, which he described as a "bump in the road" for the industry...
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U.S. Was Warned on Vents Before Failure at Japan’s Plant

Five years before the crucial emergency vents at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were disabled by an accident they were supposed to help handle, engineers at a reactor in Minnesota warned American regulators about that very problem...
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NRC to revise nuclear plant seismic-review model

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to issue updated requirements for seismic reviews of nuclear plants by the end of this year, it said at a Wednesday meeting with industry representatives...
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Russia Intentionally Delayed Iran Reactor: Report

Leaked records indicate Russia secretly moved in 2006 to undermine activities at Iran's unfinished Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Israeli newspaper Yediot Aharonot reported on Thursday...
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Former Officials Call for U.S., Russian Nuclear Transparency

Three former high-level U.S. officials have joined two nonproliferation specialists in calling on Russia and the United States to continue making public details about their respective strategic nuclear arsenals...
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U.S. Nuclear Agency Releases New Strategic Plan for Next Decade

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration on Wednesday published a new outline for implementing President Obama's nonproliferation agenda and modernizing the country's nuclear enterprise...
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NEI Report on Japan's Nuclear Reactors

Below is a round-up of noteworthy news that happened this week with regard to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the U.S. nuclear industry's response...
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Our atom plants safe, U.S. and Europe regulators say

Nuclear power plants in the United States and Europe are safe, regulators said on Monday, promising to look at ways to strengthen safety further in the wake of Japan's atomic disaster...
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Amano calls for safety improvements

As the International Atomic Energy Agency holds its first major international nuclear safety meeting following the crisis at Fukushima, director general Yukiya Amano has called for more to be done to strengthen nuclear power plant safety...
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Mongolia Might Store Foreign Spent Nuclear Fuel, Senior U.S. Official Says

The Obama administration has held informal talks with Mongolia about the possibility that the Central Asian nation might host an international repository for its region's spent nuclear fuel, a senior U.S. diplomat said yesterday...
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Experts Differ Over U.S. MOX Fuel Plan

Debate persists among experts over a U.S. plan to convert 34 metric tons of excess weapons plutonium to nuclear power plant fuel at a $5 billion facility under construction in South Carolina, Scientific American reported on Friday...
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Nuclear power industry ups outreach to Congress

The nuclear power industry has dramatically stepped up its outreach to Capitol Hill following Japan's nuclear power plant crisis as it works to combat calls for a moratorium on new plants...
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Japan Reactor Crisis is Becoming More Stable, U.S. NRC Says

Japan's crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant “continues to further stabilize,” said Bill Borchardt, the executive director for operations at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
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US Sending Robots to Japan to Help Nuclear Plant

The U.S. will send "radiation-hardened robotics" and cameras to help Japan stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Japanese officials were "very, very interested" in determining the robots' capabilities, said Peter Lyons, an acting assistant energy secretary. Such machines could operate where radiation would harm people...
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Cuomo says NRC to make Indian Point top priority

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is making a top priority of reviewing the Indian Point power plant located north of New York City near a geologic fault line...
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Westinghouse Electric CEO on Safety of Nuclear Plants in U.S.

The U.S. nuclear industry boasts a "tremendous" safety record that resulted from "basically going overboard" on policy and criteria, said Aris Candris, president and CEO of Westinghouse Electric. Candris said the country's nuclear facilities are built to withstand earthquakes and tsunamis and that he doesn't expect U.S. policy reforms in the aftermath of the reactor crisis in Japan...
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Japan Committed to Atomic Power as Renewable Energy Insufficient

Japan remains committed to nuclear power after a tsunami crippled the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant, leaking radiation, because the country needs non-polluting energy sources, the government’s nuclear safety spokesman said...
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New British Subs to Use Safer Power Reactors

The United Kingdom will not consider installing in a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines a reactor model that is in some fashions similar to the failed systems at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant, the London Guardian reported on Wednesday...
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Pentagon Studying Additional Nuke Reductions

The U.S. Defense Department has received an Obama administration directive to consider if it is possible to make even deeper cuts to the nation's nuclear deterrent than those mandated by a new strategic arms control treaty with Russia, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday...
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Fuel Removed From Iranian Nuclear Reactor

A significant technical issue at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant has forced plans to remove 163 fuel rods from the core of the facility's reactor, Tehran informed the International Atomic Energy Agency last Wednesday...
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Obama Official Sees Chance for CTBT

A senior State Department official last week said there is a realistic chance for U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported...
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Suspected Nuclear Facility Sighted in Syria

A site near the Syrian capital of Damascus has gained attention among Western intelligence services as a possible one-time host to undisclosed atomic activities in the Middle Eastern nation, Reuters reported...
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Global Nuclear Materials Lockdown to Take Longer Than Four Years

A senior U.S. official last week signaled that President Obama's goal of securing the world's loose nuclear material is likely to take longer than the four-year time frame he gave shortly after taking office...
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Pact with France to develop nuclear energy

France and Saudi Arabia will sign on Tuesday an agreement for bilateral cooperation in developing the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes...
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DOE won't assume oversight for commercial nuclear reactors: official

The US Department of Energy does not intend to sidestep nuclear power regulators, despite a proposal by a DOE contractor to have it authorize construction of small modular reactors at a federal facility, a DOE official said Friday...
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GOP Bill Eliminates $1B in Nuclear Agency Funds

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration stands to lose $1.1 billion under a Republican-led budget proposal slated for passage this week in the House of Representatives, potentially affecting the agency's efforts to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal and prevent acquisition of nuclear weapons by extremists, Foreign Policy magazine reported yesterday...
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GNF joins beryllium fuel initiative

GE Energy fuel fabricating arm Global Nuclear Fuel America (GNF-A) has joined an initiative working on improving the thermal performance of nuclear fuel using beryllium oxide (BeO)...
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Westinghouse announces Small Modular Reactor

Westinghouse has officially "introduced" its 200 MWe Small Modular Reactor (SMR), and says it is preparing for a role in the US Department of Energy's demonstration program...
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Is a U.S. Nuclear Revival Finally Underway?

The first new nuclear reactor ordered in the U.S. in roughly three decades is beginning to take shape in the red clay near Augusta, Ga. Southern Co. and its partners have dug 27.5 meters down into that soil to reach bedrock and are now filling up the hole to provide a stable foundation for what is likely to be the first of a new generation of reactors in the U.S.: two new AP-1000 models at the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant that stand next to two older pressurized water reactors, which came online in the 1980s...
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States sue NRC over on-site waste storage

Three north-eastern US states - Connecticut, New York and Vermont - are suing the federal nuclear regulator for allowing the on-site storage of radioactive waste for up to 60 years, claiming the decision violates federal laws...
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Obama Seeks More Money for NNSA, Less for Key Nonproliferation Efforts

The Obama administration yesterday put forth a spending plan that would boost funding for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration to nearly $12 billion in the next fiscal year. It marks the second year in row that the nuclear agency has been selected for a cash infusion...
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US must move past Yucca dump for nuke waste-Chu

In a letter to the administration's blue ribbon commission on nuclear waste, Chu said the Yucca project failed to get backing from surrounding communities and "produced years of continued acrimony, dispute, and uncertainty."...
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Small Modular Reactors in Obama Budget Plan

The Obama administration’s 2012 budget proposal will include a request for money to help develop small “modular” reactors that would be owned by a utility and would supply electricity to a government lab, people involved in the effort say...
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Cables Document Attempts to Smuggle Nuclear, Radiological Materials

Officials at U.S. embassies around the globe in recent years reported a number of possible attempts to smuggle nuclear and radioactive materials, newly leaked diplomatic cables show...
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Chinese Nuclear Power Target Too 'Aggressive'

An "over-aggressive" target for the nuclear power industry by 2020 may harm the sector's healthy development, an industry expert from the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) think tank cautioned...
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Prof. McDeavitt's Research Highlighted

Nuclear fuel containing beryllium oxide as well as uranium oxide has been shown to be longer lasting, more efficient and safer than conventional nuclear fuels, an ongoing research project claims...
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Analyst Questions "Dirty Bomb" Warnings

Western governments in recently disclosed warnings overstated al-Qaeda's progress in efforts to acquire material for radiological and nuclear weapons, Adnkronos International yesterday quoted a defense specialist as saying...
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Analysts Worry Over Egypt's WMD Past in Uncertain Future

As Egypt remains in a state of political upheaval, observers worry about what would happen to any potential WMD resources in the hands of a potential new government with unpredictable foreign policy aims, NBC News reported yesterday...
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Iran Urged to Assess Damage From Computer Worm

A top Iranian nuclear official today called on his country to examine assertions that the Stuxnet computer worm has infiltrated critical systems at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant and could wreak havoc should the facility enter operation, Reuters reported...
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Clinton, Gates to Address Tactical Nukes

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates are set to discuss tactical nuclear weapons cutbacks and other issues in presentations at a major annual security meeting this weekend in Munich, Germany, the State Department said ...
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U.S. Intelligence Fears Al-Qaeda Plotting to Strike Wall Street

U.S. intelligence officials are informing the heads of some of the country's most powerful financial entities that Yemeni-based al-Qaeda operatives could be plotting terrorist strikes against Wall Street banks or their top managers, NBC News reported on Tuesday...
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NNSA Backs Medical Isotope Production Bill

The National Nuclear Security Administration on Tuesday expressed support for legislation aimed at encouraging U.S. manufacturing of medical isotopes and curtailing use of bomb-grade uranium for isotope production...
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Obama Issues Assurances on New START

President Obama in a statement to the U.S. Senate yesterday issued several assurances on his administration's plans for implementing a new strategic nuclear arms control treaty with Russia...
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Budget Resolution Hurts Obama’s Nonproliferation Goals

The short-term continuing budget resolution approved by the U.S. Congress last December undercuts programs crucial to President Obama's goal of securing the world's loose nuclear materials, according to a recent analysis by a nongovernment organization...
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Medvedev Inks New START Ratification Text

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev today announced he had inked his country's ratification document for a new nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, Russia Today reported...
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U.S. Pushes to Advance Fissile Material Talks

Critics of a potential fissile material cutoff treaty would wield greater influence over the terms of an eventual pact by allowing negotiations to proceed at the international Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, a top U.S. arms control official said yesterday...
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Russia Demands NATO Investigation of Stuxnet Worm

The "Stuxnet" computer worm that infiltrated Iranian atomic facilities merits a formal investigation by NATO, Russia's ambassador to the military alliance said yesterday, adding the malware could have caused a radiological material release on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster...
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Disarmament Deadlock Risks Proliferation, U.N. Chief Warns

Nuclear weapons are becoming more vulnerable to proliferation and acquisition by extremists due to a lingering stalemate at the international Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said yesterday...
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Chu plugs R&D to hit Obama's clean-energy target

Can a country that gets nearly half of its electricity from burning coal really get 80 percent of its electricity from "clean-energy sources" in less than 25 years? According to Energy Secretary Steven Chu, the answer is yes if the U.S. cranks up its "innovation machine."...
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Nuclear power poised to help meet demands of climate change legislation

A host of recent analyses has concluded that the nation’s use of nuclear energy must increase in the coming decades to meet rising electricity demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions...
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Measure Seen Threatening Funds for U.S. Nuclear Labs

A one-sentence resolution passed yesterday by the U.S. House of Representatives sets the stage for U.S. nuclear weapons complex funding to be slashed to fiscal 2008 levels for the remainder of this budget year, according to Representative Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)...
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Areva seeks to put lead-212 in hospital

Areva has permission to conduct early stage tests on a new cancer treatment using lead-212, which can be extracted from industrial activities including the reprocessing of used nuclear fuel...
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NASA’s Hansen Presses Obama for a Carbon Cost and Nuclear Push

A host of thinkers and doers focused on energy and climate have contributed statements they’d give if President Obama used his State of the Union message to announce a listening tour on how to shape a sustained American energy quest...
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Oil giant Saudi Arabia looks to alternative energy

With vast oil reserves that are far from exhausted, Saudi Arabia, facing rising domestic energy demand that could cut into its oil exports, has decided to explore nuclear and renewable energy, Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi has said...
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U.S.-China Statement a Turning Point on North Korea

China's acknowledgment of a newly unveiled North Korean uranium enrichment facility marked an important turning point in Beijing's relationship with the United States and could lead to further cooperation as the two nations contend with the Stalinist state's nuclear program, foreign affairs experts say...
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Onsite used fuel storage period extended

US nuclear power utilities will now be able to store used fuel onsite for up to 60 years after plant shutdown under revisions to regulations which came into effect today. This period had previously been limited to 30 years...
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China and Exelon deepen ties

Subsidiaries of Exelon and China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation, effectively making Exelon the preferred nuclear service provider for the Chinese nuclear giant...
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Energy Sector to Parse Obama Speech for Clarity on Regulation

In two previous big speeches on Capitol Hill, President Barack Obama planted global warming and energy near the top of his agenda, prodding lawmakers to get moving despite reservations about the sour economy...
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Palo Verde Brings Electricity and $1.8B to Arizona Economy

Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station makes more than electricity for a big portion of the Southwest. The power plant also brings about $1.8 billion annually to the Arizona economy, operator Arizona Public Service Co. said...
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French Company Designs Underwater Nuclear Plant

Nuclear power plants could be located underwater, as one of France's biggest shipbuilders is working with a large builder of nuclear plants to develop a reactor that could be placed up to 100 meters (328 feet) below the surface...
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Obama Ups Pressure on China to Deal With North Korea

U.S. President Obama told his Chinese counterpart again this week that if Beijing did not take a harder line toward North Korea, the United States would shift troops in Asia to safeguard itself against a possible missile attack from the North, the New York Times reported yesterday...
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Iran Nuclear Deadlock Persists at Meeting

An Iranian diplomat signaled initial optimism about the direction multilateral negotiations were taking today in Istanbul, Turkey, but another participant said the sides had made no movement toward resolving a long-running nuclear standoff, the Associated Press reported...
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NuScale scales back spending

NuScale Power, a Corvallis-based nuclear energy startup company, is suspending some of its operations as it scrambles to find a replacement for its principal source of funding, an East Coast hedge fund adviser who is the target of a lawsuit by the federal government...
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NRC panel: new reactor can withstand plane crash

The finding by the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards means regulators could decide this year whether to give final approval to the company's AP1000 reactor, which utility companies have picked to power new plants in the Southeast...
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China and the U.S. sign energy deals

China and the United States signed $13 billion worth of energy deals on Tuesday, coinciding with Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to the United States.
The deals were announced at the Second China-US Strategic Forum on Clean Energy Cooperation in Washington, a gathering of government leaders, business executives and experts from both countries. The first meeting took place in Beijing in 2009.
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Iran Talks to Focus on Fuel Swap, Nuclear Monitoring

Global powers are set at multilateral talks with Iran this week to pursue the resuscitation of a uranium exchange proposal as well as broader authority for the International Atomic Energy Agency to audit Iranian nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal reported today...
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North Korean Actions Needed to Resume Talks: U.S.-China Statement

U.S. President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday voiced their "concern" with North Korea's uranium enrichment operations and urged the Stalinist state to take the "steps" that would permit a return to long-stalled six-nation nuclear talks, according to a White House release...
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U.S., China Agree to Expand Nuclear Security Ties

The United States and China yesterday inked an agreement to set up a collaborative nuclear security center inside the Asian power that would seek to spread best practices on the safeguarding and accounting of nuclear materials, the Associated Press reported...
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NRC Should Perform Non-Proliferation Assessment of Laser Enrichment Technology

There is clear private benefit to laser enrichment: If GE-Hitachi successfully commercializes SILEX, it stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. A more challenging question is whether there is a net public benefit. To evaluate the public benefit, we consider three separate issues: technical, economic, and legal...
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Westinghouse trails forthcoming small reactor

Westinghouse's development of a small modular reactor has been confirmed via an advertisement in its monthly magazine...
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Nuclear power a leader in safety

American oil and gas companies should bring in a self-regulation regime akin to that in nuclear power if they are to prevent safety lapses like the Deepwater Horizon blowout, said a Presidential report...
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Maintain nuclear perspective, China told

China should 'keep a clear head' on nuclear power, concentrate more on Generation-III reactors and keep its new build ambitions for 2020 to around 100 GWe, said a state body yesterday...
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GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy teaming up with suppliers

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy believes it will be another three to five years before the world economy supports nuclear power plant orders, senior vice president of nuclear plant projects Danny Roderick said.Meanwhile, the Castle Hayne-based company is working to re-establish a nuclear infrastructure in the U.S. Over the next couple of weeks, Roderick said, the company will announce agreements with several large U.S. companies establishing a nationwide network of nuclear power component plants.
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Nuclear fear-mongers hinder America's energy future

''Surely, we can be as bold as the French." That plea by Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, was delivered to a federal panel on nuclear waste disposal. The punch line is a reminder that the Obama administration's nuclear energy policy is a bad joke. The French are better known for their fine food and wine than their courage, but the land of foie gras and frog legs is a leader when it comes to nuclear power. France generates more than 80 percent of its electricity from nukes, more than any other nation. In contrast, the United States, held back by anti-nuclear doomsayers for 30 years, barely cracks the 20 percent mark.
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NRC: Arizona’s nuke plant OK for license renewal

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sees no apparent safety issues that would keep Arizona's nuclear power plant from getting its license renewed for another 20 years of operation...
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Iran's nuclear sites tour proposal flounders

Iran's proposal for a tour of its nuclear sites floundered on Thursday after China effectively rejected the invitation and Russia cautioned such a trip could never replace U.N. inspections or talks between Tehran and world powers...
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New International Nuclear-Fuel Bank Likely To Find Few Customers

When Russia’s quasi-commercial, quasi-strategic nuclear monopoly Rosatom announced the opening of a nuclear fuel bank in remote Siberia last December, it was a milestone in the nuclear age. The goal of the fuel bank is to offer a nuclear fuel supply of last resort to a country denied access to nuclear fuel...
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