New Nukes
The potential for the Lib Dems to halt the UK’s nuclear new-build programme has been the one to cause major concern among some quarters of the engineering community. Dr Sue Ion, one of the country’s leading nuclear experts, has warned that if the policy goes ahead, it would have a devastating impact on Britain’s ability to ’keep the lights on’.
The Engineer 4th May 2010 more >>
Sizewell
State-of-the-art remote video equipment is being used to help engineers repair Sizewell B power station. The nuclear power station, on the coast south of Southwold, was shut down in March after abnormal readings were taken in the containment building and it has been offline since.
Lowestoft Journal 6th May 2010 more >>
East Anglian Daily Times 6th May 2010 more >>
Bradwell
AROUND 200 extra workers are to be employed at Bradwell power station as part of the continuing decommissioning process.
Maldon Standard 6th May 2010 more >>
Westinghouse
Westinghouse hits setback with new nuclear reactor approval. Nuclear reactor builder Westinghouse is to update the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) this month on its progress towards proving its reactor design is safe for use in the UK.
New Civil Engineer 6th May 2010 more >>
Canada
The federal government is now expected to sell its entire stake in the Candu reactor division of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., a move that could have profound implications for Canada’s nuclear industry and billions of dollars in plant refurbishments across the country. When the government announced in December it was formally inviting bids for the Candu division, federal officials said Ottawa was open to a range of investment options, including a 100 per cent takeover. A spokesperson at Natural Resources Canada says that remains the government’s official position. But stakeholders who have been briefed by investment bank Rothschild, which is overseeing the bidding process, have been told the government has now decided to unload its entire stake. Without the government retaining at least some ownership, it’s difficult to see how the Candu technology will survive, said Ivanco. Companies such as French-owned AREVA have expressed interest in acquiring the division, but it’s more likely they would look to sell their own reactors, rather than continue to develop next-generation Candu technology.
Calgary Herald 4th May 2010 more >>
Uranium
In one of the poorest countries in the world, ranking last in the Human Development Index of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), where more than 40% of children are underweight for their age, water and access to improved water sources is scarce and almost three quarters of the population are illiterate1, the French nuclear giant AREVA extracts precious and deadly natural resources, earning billions for its Fortune 5002 corporation, and leaving little behind but centuries of environmental pollution and health risks for the citizens of Niger.
Greenpeace 4th May 2010 more >>
Contamination levels in the air, water and soil in Niger above internationally accepted limits.
Greenpeace Nuclear Reaction 5th May 2010 more >>
NPT
The mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki called for a world without nuclear weapons at a U.N. conference on the international nuclear nonproliferation regime Friday, saying the tragedy that citizens suffered in the nuclear attacks on the two Japanese cities should never be repeated.
Japan Today 8th May 2010 more >>
Japan
A gas leak detector marred the restart of the Monju fast-breeder reactor by developing problems on Friday, the government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said.
Kyodo News 8th May 2010 more >>
US
Dominion Resources Inc’s has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industry’s Advanced Pressurized Water Reactor (APWR) technology for its proposed new nuclear power plant in Virginia, the company said on Friday.
Dominion launched a competitive bidding process last fall to find an engineering and construction partner after failing to negotiate a contract with General Electric Co /Hitachi Ltd to build the company’s advanced nuclear design, the 1,550 MW Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor (ESBWR). Changing its preferred nuclear design for a proposed third reactor at Dominion’s North Anna station will require the company to amend its nuclear license application, delaying the project beyond the company’s previous target date of 2016-2017.
Interactive Investor 8th May 2010 more >>
North Korea
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il, has promised to work with China to resume denuclearisation talks, according to state media reports of his secretive visit to Beijing this week.
Guardian 8th May 2010 more >>
Morning Star 7th May 2010 more >>
Spain
The Spanish government is to decide the future of two nuclear reactors in Spain after the country’s nuclear watchdog, CSN, said that they were safe for another ten years. The permits for the Almaraz I and II nuclear units are due to expire in early June but CSN says that they could continue to operate provided that the operators make a number of modifications. The last time that a nuclear power station’s operating permit came up for renewal in July 2009, the government ordered closure by 2013 even though CSN had recommended a further ten years of operation.
Utility Week 7th May 2010 more >>
Australia
A Senate report backing the federal government’s plan to establish a nuclear waste dump in the Northern Territory has been labelled by critics as flawed and a whitewash. The federal government is considering Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, for a facility that would store low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.
Sydney Morning Herald 8th May 2010 more >>
Trident
One of the clearest examples of the gulf between voters and politicians is the main parties’ commitment to nuclear weapons and the replacement of Trident. It should be an election issue, says Rebecca Johnson. But since parliamentary democracy has so far ignored the view of the majority, civil disobedience is necessary to force the issue, argue Cynthia Cockburn and Sian Jones, who report from the blockade of the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston. Nuclear policy – and the hugely expensive decision to replace Trident – ought to be an election issue, but it is barely even discussed. Despite more than 65 per cent public support for nuclear disarmament, the two largest parties still act as though Britain needs nuclear weapons, refusing to acknowledge that the world has changed and that replacing Trident is incompatible with British and international non-proliferation and security objectives.
Red Pepper 7th May 2010 more >>
Coal
Pressure from the British government and energy companies has encouraged the European Union to drop new regulations that could have led to the closure of Drax and other heavily polluting coal-fired power stations within six years. The sector was facing tougher emissions targets but has been given an extra three years’ grace period to 2019 after Britain argued it faced an “energy crunch” before large-scale wind farms and nuclear stations came on stream closer to 2020. The lifeline for up to half a dozen coal or gas-fired power facilities, which could lead to 60m tonnes of extra C02 being released into the atmosphere by Drax alone, has angered green groups but been welcomed by power providers.
Guardian 8th May 2010 more >>