Hinkley
Bulldozers are busy out on the Somerset coast as engineers make initial preparations to build the giant new power station which designers claim could provide electricity to five million homes. When and if the scheme gets into full gear, the building project will be even bigger than the work going into the London 2012 Olympics.
Western Daily Press 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Energy giant EDF Energy admitted it was waiting to learn lessons from the Fukushima disaster in Japan before it finalised plans for the new Hinkley C nuclear plant. The site on the Somerset coast is already awash with bulldozers, as work is done to remedy some of the environmental damage done by the builders of Hinkley A. EDF is waiting for the outcome of the official inquiry, compiled by chief nuclear inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, into whether Japans nuclear crisis holds lessons for the safety of Britains nuclear industry before progressing. It is unclear if it will impact on the target of opening in 2018. Mr Cann was speaking as part of a rare tour of what will be Europes biggest civil engineering project. He said the new site would have not one but two large sea walls capable of withstanding the unlikely event of a Bristol Channel tsunami.
Western Daily Press 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
The Environment Agency is seeking the views of local communities around Bridgwater and Burnham-on-Sea, in Somerset, and parts of South Wales, on applications for environmental permits to operate a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. The Agency received two environmental permit applications from NNBGenCo, a subsidiary of EDF Energy, relating to operation of a nuclear power station on the North Somerset coast at Hinkley Point, across the Bristol Channel from Wales. The applications relate to discharges and disposals of radioactive waste and operation of standby power supply systems.
BYM Marine Environment News 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Environment Agency 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
News that the nuclear regulator will assess whether the road network to the proposed new Hinkley Point nuclear plant is adequate for emergency vehicles has been welcomed by bypass campaigners. They believe the regulator will agree with them that construction traffic could cause congestion which could cost lives. EDF Energy, the French energy giant proposing to build new twin reactors at Hinkley has offered road improvements for the construction phase, but many fear they will not prevent snarlups on the route from the M5 through Bridgwater and Cannington.
Power Engineering 20th Aug 2011 more >>
Local homeowners have joined hoteliers and caravan park owners to offer hundreds of rooms to rent for construction workers due to build EDF Energys Hinkley Point C project. More than 1,250 rooms in private homes have been registered so far, alongside accommodation in B&Bs, guest houses, hotels and static caravans.
Construction Enquirer 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Radwaste
Council Directive 2011/70/Euratom of 19 July 2011 establishing a Community framework for the responsible and safe management of spent fuel and radioactive waste.
Eur Lex 2nd Aug 2011 more >>
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future has just released its recommendations on how to resolve America’s nuclear waste dilemma. The Blue Ribbon Commission has provided some sound analysis and introduced some new ideas, but overall, it has focused more on the symptoms of America’s failed approach to nuclear waste management than addressing the system’s structural deficiencies. U.S. nuclear waste management must transition to a more market-oriented system. Moving the responsibility for nuclear waste management away from the federal government will be difficult, but it is necessary for an economically rational and sustainable resolution to America’s nuclear waste dilemma.
Waste Management World 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Storage options for used nuclear fuel are likely to be re-considered following the incidents at Fukushimas spent fuel pools. But whether storage is local, centralised, or deep under ground, we need to keep our options open. It remains rather early to assess the full consequences for the nuclear industry in the aftermath of the Fukushima accident. There are a huge number of separate bodies busily preparing reports with recommendations, and this process may well last for several years.
Nuclear Engineering International 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Uranium
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.
World Nuclear News 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Companies
Mori Seiki is a Tier 1 partner in the new Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the Advanced Manufacturing Park between Sheffield and Rotherham and is involved in the development of machining methods for nuclear power station components.
Machinery 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Ernst & Young has announced the appointment of Director Tim Cooper who joins the firms Manchester office from Babcock International with over 20 years experience in the nuclear sector.
Consultant News 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Japan
Tokyo says evacuations near plant to be extended. Radioactive contamination may keep some areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex off limits for years, Japan’s government said Monday. In its first detailed survey of the evacuation zone around the plant, the education ministry said it found spotsmostly within three kilometers (nearly two miles) of the plantwhere annual radiation exposure could reach 200 to 500 millisieverts. The government requires people to evacuate if the cumulative dosage is likely to exceed 20 millisieverts per year. The annual limit for nuclear-plant workers in normal circumstances is 50 millisieverts (250 millisieverts in emergency conditions).
Wall Street Journal 23rd Aug 2011 more >>
Residents who lived close to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant are to be told their homes may be uninhabitable for decades, according to Japanese media reports. The Japanese prime minister, Naoto Kan, is expected to visit the area at the weekend to tell evacuees they will not be able to return to their homes, even if the operation to stabilise the plant’s stricken reactors by January is successful.
Guardian 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
FT 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Times 23rd Aug 2011 more >>
Japan will have a new prime minister by early next week, a Cabinet minister said today. Prime Minister Naoto Kan has faced demands to step down amid criticism of his handling of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis. Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano said Mr Kan told Cabinet members today that his days are numbered and they should be ready to resign en masse next Tuesday. On Friday, Parliament is set to pass two key Bills which Mr Kan wanted to see through. Polls show Mr Kan’s approval rating has fallen below 20%. Critics accuse him of a lack of leadership and survivors complain of slow relief efforts. Former foreign minister Seiji Maehara is favourite to take over. He is set to join the party leadership race on Monday.
Independent 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
US
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board has approved the $4.9bn plan for the completion of the Bellefonte nuclear reactor in Alabama, US. TVA president and CEO Tom Kilgoren said during the construction of the Bellefonte plant, TVA will integrate safety modifications from the extensive review of the lessons learned from the Fukushima nuclear plants in Japan.
Energy Business Review 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Iran
Russia has proposed to construct more nuclear plants in Iran, in a bid to enhance the nations nuclear building programme. Earlier, the nation announced plans to build research nuclear reactors and uranium enrichment facilities. It also planned to build ten to twenty nuclear power plants to eventually generate 20,000MW of electricity to supplement the nations power needs.
Energy Business Review 22nd Aug 2011 more >>
Space
As we start to look at exploring more intensively in the Solar System and to plan again for Mars and lunar missions, space nuclear power is facing a problem, explained Tom Rice, business development manager of the National Nuclear Laboratory at the recent UK Space Conference. Previous nuclear power in space has used plutonium as its fuel, he said, and the changing landscape of the nuclear industry and research community here on Earth has meant that this is not so easy to come by any more. We need alternative fuels, he said, and the UK and Europe are active in the search for them.
The Engineer 15th Aug 2011 more >>
