NucNet: Global Nuclear News

The nuclear communications network

November 2008	October 2008	September 2008	August 2008
July 2008	June 2008	May 2008	April 2008
March 2008	February 2008	January 2008	December 2007

June 2008

New Study To Consider Nuclear Power Potential For Saskatchewan

30 Jun (NucNet): Bruce Power is to study the potential of bringing nuclear energy to the Canadian province of Saskatchewan as part of a wider look at clean energy technologies.

Russia Plans New Federal Law On Radioactive Waste

27 Jun (NucNet): Russia says a special council of the Duma (lower house of parliament) that met earlier this week is expected to approve a draft law on the treatment of the country’s radioactive waste.

Japan And Kazakhstan Near HTR Research Agreement

24 Jun (NucNet): The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and the Kazakhstan Atomic Energy Committee have signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for an agreement on research into high-temperature gas cooled reactors (HTRs).

Cameco In Laser Enrichment Venture With GE Hitachi

24 Jun (NucNet): Canada’s Cameco Corporation said yesterday that it is joining a uranium enrichment business venture in the US which will extend the company's involvement in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle.

McCain Plans To Almost Double Number Of US Reactors

20 Jun (NucNet): Republican presidential nominee John McCain will push to build 45 new nuclear reactors in the US by the year 2030, with the ultimate goal of 100 new units, almost doubling the 104 nuclear plants now in use.

Expert Panel Says IAEA Budget Needs To Double By 2020

19 Jun (NucNet): The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urgently needs increased resources and an immediate “one-time budget increase”, a panel of international experts has recommended.

Physicists Urge Europe To Maintain Nuclear Technology Expertise

18 Jun (NucNet): Physicists in Europe have expressed “alarm” at the declining number of nuclear science students and have called for the preservation of nuclear knowledge to ensure the continent remains a key player in the development of nuclear energy.

New Report Praises Japan’s Energy Policies And ‘Technology Leadership’

17 Jun (NucNet): The International Energy Agency (IEA) has praised Japanese policies for showing “technology leadership” and helping to drive enhanced energy security and climate change mitigation worldwide.

Brazil’s Angra Service Contracts Awarded To Areva

17 Jun (NucNet): France’s Areva group has been awarded six service contracts for work on Brazil’s Angra-1 and -2 nuclear reactor units.

Iran Offered Nuclear Technology Help If Enrichment Is Suspended

16 Jun (NucNet): The US and the UK today reaffirmed offers of help for Iran to establish a domestic nuclear power programme provided the country suspends nuclear enrichment plans.

Japan Safety Agency Says No Quake Damage Reported At Nuclear Facilities

14 Jun (NucNet): No damage has been reported at any of Japan’s nuclear facilities and there have been no releases of radiation detected after a strong earthquake hit the north of the country earlier today.

Brown Says World Could Need 1,000 New Nuclear Units

13 Jun (NucNet): The world could need as many as 1,000 new nuclear power in the next 40 years to meet climate change and energy requirements, Britain’s prime minister Gordon Brown said yesterday.

IAEA Recommends ‘Thorough Evaluation’ Of Mothballed Philippines Plant

13 Jun (NucNet): A mothballed nuclear power plant in the Philippines must be “thoroughly evaluated” by technical inspections and economic evaluations by nuclear power experts with experience in preservation management, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.

UK Calls For Volunteer Communities For Deep Geological Repository

12 Jun (NucNet): The UK government is inviting communities to volunteer to host a deep geological repository for the storage of higher activity radioactive waste.

UK Unveils ‘Action Plan’ For New Nuclear

12 Jun (NucNet): UK business secretary John Hutton has unveiled a government action plan for new nuclear power plants, including the creation of an Office of Nuclear Development and a Nuclear Development Forum that will bring together government and industry to discuss key issues and maintain the momentum towards new units.

New Nuclear Plant Studies Halted In Finnish Community

12 Jun (NucNet): Finnish power company Fennovoima has halted studies in one of the communities under consideration for hosting a new nuclear power plant because the project has “divided” local decision makers.

Framework Application Submitted For New Swiss Nuclear Plant

10 Jun (NucNet): An application to build a new third generation light-water reactor (LWR) unit in Switzerland has been submitted for a general licence – a ‘framework approval’ – to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy.

Japanese Utilities Join Australia Uranium Exploration Project

6 Jun (NucNet): Three Japanese power utilities are going to take part in a joint venture project to explore a uranium mining concession in Australia.

SNSA Director Gives Statement On Krsko Coolant Leak

5 Jun (NucNet): Yesterday’s leak of coolant from the primary circuit of Slovenia’s single-unit Krsko nuclear power plant “most probably” originated in one of the instrumentation lines, said Andrej Stritar, director of Slovenian Nuclear Safety Administration (SNSA).

Plans For Kazakhstan Conversion Plant Move Forward

5 Jun (NucNet): Canada’s Cameco Corporation and Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazatomprom are forming a new company to push ahead with development of a uranium hexafluoride conversion facility in Kazakhstan.

Provisional Level 0 INES Rating For Incident At Slovenia’s Krsko

5 Jun (NucNet): A leak of coolant from the primary circuit of Slovenia’s Krsko nuclear power plant, which led to a controlled shut-down of the plant yesterday, has been provisionally rated as level 0 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).

Energy Secretary Announces Yucca Mountain Licence Application

3 Jun (NucNet): The long-awaited application to construct the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada has been submitted to nuclear regulators, energy secretary Samuel Bodman announced today.

‘Uranium Resources Sufficient For Long Into Future’, Says New Red Book

3 Jun (NucNet): There is enough uranium known to exist to fuel the world's fleet of nuclear reactors at current consumption rates for at least a century, according to the latest edition of the world reference on uranium published today, the so-called ‘Red Book’.

UK’s NIA Challenges Friends Of The Earth Report

2 Jun (NucNet): The UK Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has challenged a Friends of the Earth report claiming that new nuclear plants cannot be built without subsidies.

Report Calls For DOE To Focus On Advanced Reprocessing Activities

2 Jun (NucNet): The US Department of Energy (DOE) should focus on research and development of advanced reprocessing activities, a Government Accountability Office report has said.