Sellafield
The company which runs the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant said it had no immediate plans to close the Thorp facility despite campaigners’ calls. On Monday, one of three evaporators – used to condense highly radioactive liquid – was shut down after a rise in radioactivity was detected. It led to campaign group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (CORE) saying Thorp should be closed. But Sellafield Ltd said no decision had been taken to shut Thorp.
BBC 19th May 2009 more >>
Sellafield Ltd, the company that operates THORP (Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant) under contract to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), faces the prospect of having to close the plant for an indefinite period because of increasing problems with managing the dangerous liquid high level wastes produced by the site’s reprocessing operations. At the heart of the problem are two of the site’s three Evaporators which process the wastes and which are becoming increasingly unreliable. Whilst two new Evaporators are planned, the first is unlikely to come into service until 2013/14 at the earliest.
CORE Press Release 18th May 2009 more >>
Sizewell
Whaaat? So that’s what they were. The rectangular monstrosity I’d seen while driving up the coast was Sizewell 1, the huge white golfball beside it was Sizewell 2. “They’re trying to build a third,” said Jackson with unshakeable calm, “I expect it’ll be a pyramid or something. It’s not very nice to think what might happen. I give some support to the Stop Sizewell campaign, but I’m not bothered by it on a daily basis.” He yawned. “I think we’ll probably be all right…” I left him there, offering lunchtime tea and coffee to passing browsers, with a Home Counties Chernobyl seething nearby.
Independent 19th May 2009 more >>
Nuclear Decommissioning
Dressed in see-through PVC suits and bright yellow Marigold rubber gloves, they look like Michelin Men on a mission. But this is not a spoof. The members of this small group of specialists are taking part in a training exercise, gearing up for what is potentially one of the most dangerous jobs in the world – the dismantling and demolition of the most complex nuclear facility ever created.
BBC 19th May 2009 more >>
Nuclear Myth
Proponents who lobby Congressional, state and local officials to advance new reactors routinely argue that the United States is falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to the deployment of nuclear power. But University of Greenwich Professor of Energy Studies Stephen Thomas says that the supposed “nuclear renaissance” that is claimed to be going on today in Europe is a myth. As part of a visit to the United States, Thomas will provide an overview of the current status of new reactor construction in Finland, France, the U.K., and other nations. Even before the current financial crisis set in, the cracks in the predicted “nuclear renaissance” were evident in terms of design problems, runaway costs, shaky finances and bottlenecks of needed components and scarce skilled labor.
Yahoo 19th May 2009 more >>
Pakistan
Pakistan has denied that it is expanding its nuclear arsenal after the US said that it has unearthed new evidence that it has done so.
BBC 19th May 2009 more >>
Pakistan said on Tuesday that its nuclear weapons programme was not “static” in response to comments by the US and analysts that it was increasing its nuclear arsenal. The issue has raised concerns in the US, where the administration favours increasing civilian assistance to Islamabad with military aid, in spite of complaints that Pakistan used past assistance to improve resources to combat India rather than focus on militant extremists.
FT 19th May 2009 more >>
The US does not know the location of all of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons but is confident they are ‘pretty secure’.
Telegraph 19th May 2009 more >>
UAE
US plans to sell nuclear technology and expertise to the United Arab Emirates have hit a series of obstacles including rising worries about security, undemocratic governance, and human rights. The bigger question is how Barack Obama can square the sale with his commitment to fight nuclear proliferation, especially in the Middle East, and create a world free of atomic weapons.
Guardian 19th May 2009 more >>
Russia
Russia has commenced the construction of its floating nuclear power plant. The power plant is being assembled at the Saint Petersburg-based Baltic Shipyard by Energoatom Concern OJSC. This power plant is first of the seven floating nuclear power plants which the company plans to construct, as reported by company officials. The contract for construction of the first of the floating nuclear power plants is valued at RUB983 billion, as reported by Interfax.
Computer Business Review 18th May 2009 more >>
No serious threats to safety have been registered in Russia’s nuclear industry in the last six years, Sergey Kiriyenko, director general of the county’s state nuclear energy corporation has told Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
Nuclear Engineering International 19th May 2009 more >>
China
The battle to dominate China’s nuclear construction boom is not over as Beijing is hedging its bets on untested foreign reactor technology, an executive with France’s Areva said. Industry insiders assumed in 2007 that the French firm had been left in the cold when China selected Areva’s biggest rival, U.S.-based Westinghouse, as its major supplier of “third-generation” nuclear power plant designs. But Areva has since won a contract to supply two of its own reactors to the Taishan project in southeast China’s Guangdong province.
Guardian 20th May 2009 more >>
India
Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy, Inc. (GE-Hitachi) for cooperation on Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) and Boiling Water Reactor (BWR) nuclear power plants. The recent agreement between India and US concerning cooperation in the field of nuclear energy has paved new opportunities for both the countries.
Computer Business Review 19th May 2009 more >>
Interactive Investor 19th May 2009 more >>
Romania
France will assist Romania to construct a new nuclear reactor, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in the meeting with Romanian President Traian Basescu. Romania wants a new nuclear reactor, as reported by Basescu to the media. The location of the new nuclear reactor will soon be decided and is planned to come into service in 2020.
Computer Business Review 18th May 2009 more >>
Armenia
Armenia is going to construct a new nuclear power plant in place of its Metsamor nuclear plant by the start of 2011, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisian said. The projected capacity of the new nuclear plant will be 1,000 megawatt (MW) to 1,200 MW, which would be more than double of Metsamor’s sole operating reactor that generates more than 40% of Armenia’s electricity. The Soviet-built Metsamor reactor is due to be decommissioned in 2017.
Computer Business Review 18th May 2009 more >>
Kazhakhstan
Kazakhstan is continuing study of the plan to host the international nuclear fuel bank in its territory, Kazakh Atomic Energy Committee Chairman Timur Zhantikin said. The country is reviewing the technical details to host the international nuclear fuel bank and discussing the fuel bank’s location. Once the technical feasibility study of the plan is proved, Kazakhstan will offer to host the international nuclear fuel bank to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Computer Business Review 18th May 2009 more >>
Iran
US President Barack Obama has told Iran it has until the end of the year to respond to his diplomatic outreach over stopping its nuclear programme.
Telegraph 19th May 2009 more >>
Submarines
The Ministry of Defence has admitted that nuclear submarines have leaked radioactive material into water nine times in the last 12 years
Telegraph 20th May 2009 more >>
POLITICIANS in Plymouth are urging for “greater transparency” following reports of a leak onboard a nuclear submarine in Devonport Naval Base. The incident, which according to the Ministry of Defence “did not pose any safety risk to the environment, the public or crew involved”, happened on March 25 on HMS Turbulent. News of the leak emerged earlier today following a question by the Shadow Defence Minister, Julian Lewis, in Parliament about the number of radioactive leaks from submarines.
Plymouth Evening Herald 19th May 2009 more >>
Faslane
A £150 million jetty the size of a block of flats has been floated up a river to its new base where it will be home to the Royal Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The Valiant Jetty, which was planned out for five years and took another five years to build, is designed to serve the Royal Navy’s submarines for the next 50 years at the Clyde naval base at Faslane. It was floated down the River Clyde from Inchgreen Dry Dock in Greenock, 12 miles to Faslane by five tugs and took around six hours to complete the journey.
Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser 19th May 2009 more >>
Disarmament
Russia and the US on Tuesday began talks in Moscow aimed at limiting their nuclear arsenals.
FT 19th May 2009 more >>
Times 20th May 2009 more >>
Reuters 19th May 2009 more >>
