Foreign News

The new HBO series “Chernobyl” dramatizes the accident and horrific aftermath of a nuclear meltdown that rocked the Ukraine in 1986. Twenty-five years later, another nuclear catastrophe would unfold in Japan, after the magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami triggered a disastrous system failure at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Both of these accidents released radiation; their impacts were far-reaching and long-lasting. But how do the circumstances of Chernobyl and Fukushima compare to each other, and which event caused more damage?

Live Science 24th May 2019 read more »

The Bulgarian government has invited strategic investment in the Belene nuclear power plant project. The “call for expressions of interest for a strategic investor and/or acquisition of a minority shareholding and/or purchase of electricity” was published in the Official Journal of the European Union yesterday.

World Nuclear News 23rd May 2019 read more »

ON 6 May the final system-wide trials of a new dry storage facility at Chernobyl began. ISF2, located at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, will process and store spent nuclear fuel to allow for decommissioning of the plant.

Chemical Engineer 22nd May 2019 read more »

The startling data obtained by an NGO in Tamil Nadu and a subsequent expert’s opinion put questions over the robustness and safety of the 1000 MW unit-1 of the reactor of Kudankulam nuclear plant built by a Russian company. The serious apprehensions regarding the unit came out even as the authorities of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd disclosed on Saturday that the 1000 MW unit-1 of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant which was shut down in November 2018 due to technical faults may resume its operation in the next two days. Some of the senior reactor engineers in the country are placing suspicion over the quality of the reactor. “Unit-1 for which works began in 2002 was commissioned in December 2014. But this reactor has been facing problems since day one was commissioned and had undergone many breakdowns and closures. Unit-one has been shut down for most of the time since its commissioning and this is a matter of serious concern,” said an NPCIL engineer with decades of experience in designing and commissioning nuclear power reactors. According to details collected by an NGO representing the anti-nuclear power brigade from the NPCIL under the Right to Information Act, unit-one had tripped 11 times since March 2016 and the unit-2 had tripped 19 times since March 2016. According to the engineer who does not want to disclose his identity “by the time unit-one resumes operations, chances are that the unit-2 would conk-out. ‘This is what we have seen in the past,” he said.

The Statesman 19th May 2019 read more »

US must ‘reassert global leadership’ in nuclear energy or lose out to Russia and China. American nuclear energy leadership faces stiff headwinds. Nuclear plants are shuttering nationwide due to competition from cheap natural gas. This means more fossil fuels, less clean energy, and a big step backward for emissions reductions and climate change. Regardless of our political affiliation or region, developing advanced nuclear energy technologies is a win for the country.

CNBC 22nd May 2019 read more »

From 2009 to 2012, Gregory Jaczko was chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which approves nuclear power plant designs and sets safety standards for plants. But he now says that nuclear power is too dangerous and expensive – and not part of the answer to the climate crisis.

Environment Working Group 22nd May 2019 read more »

Vattenfall’s CEO: More nuclear power not the solution. The solution to the climate issue is not in the nuclear power and by driving further Ringhals 1 and 2 further. It emphasizes Vattenfall’s CEO Magnus Hall in SvD. The disadvantage of nuclear power is that it has become so expensive to build that it is difficult to motivate to build new nuclear power, he says to the newspaper. Jan Björklund (L) and Ebba Busch Thor (KD) want to lift Vattenfall’s decision to close Ringhals 1 and 2. We do not intend to do that. It is not a good calculation for us to drive on. Ringhals 2 goes on dispensation now. There is a problem with a containment plate in the reactor. If we do not close it, we must demolish and redo, says Magnus Hall.

Fplus 20th May 2019 read more »