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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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)...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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."...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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 ...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.

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...
Read Article.