Posted by NucNet on 9 June 2015 in NucNet
The Group of Seven industrial powers’ agreement to cut greenhouse gases by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century is an “admirable initiative” that means all clean energy technologies, including nuclear, will have a role to play in the future energy ...
Posted by NucNet on 8 June 2015 in NucNet
The European Union must ensure a political and regulatory level playing field for all low-carbon energy sources – nuclear, wind, solar, hydro – in the EU energy mix, Westinghouse Electric Company said today. The company, whose technology is the basis for approximately half of the world’s commercial nuclear ...
The UK’s new nuclear power stations and other energy infrastructure projects must be “designed to look beautiful” to garner essential public support, energy secretary Amber Rudd told The Independent newspaper. Ms Rudd said that with the government hoping to build new nuclear plants in the coming years it ...
Posted by SONE on 30 May 2015 in Newsletters
LEARNING EXPENSIVE LESSONS Two significant reports have been released in recent weeks detailing the technical progress which has been made in dealing with the aftermath of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear reactor accidents. In both cases, progress has been substantial. Politically, however, the two events continue to have ...
Posted by NucNet on 30 May 2015 in Issues
A correction In last months NI we muddled up the dates in the first item – ‘An uncertain future’. Sizewell B began operating in 1995, so that if the new Hinkley Point station were to start up in the mid 2020s there would be a gap of some ...
Posted by NucNet on 22 May 2015 in NucNet
Between 1,400 and 1,600 jobs are set to be cut across 12 Magnox nuclear sites in the UK up to September 2016 under restructuring plans announced by Magnox Limited. The company said the mission to safely decommission the Magnox sites has always predicted reducing staff numbers over ...
Posted by NucNet on 21 May 2015 in NucNet
Japan’s Nuclear Regulation Authority has decided to increase the maximum annual radiation exposure limit for nuclear workers in emergencies to 250 millisieverts (mSv) per year from the current 100, starting from April 2016, a statement said. The standard worker dose limit for Japanese workers is 50 mSv per ...
Posted by NucNet on 18 May 2015 in NucNet
The replacement of fossil-fuel electricity by nuclear fission at a pace which could limit the more severe effects of climate change is technologically and industrially possible, but whether this will happen depends primarily on political will, strategic economic planning, and public acceptance, researchers say. In a paper published ...
Posted by NucNet on 12 May 2015 in NucNet
UK company Metalcraft has been awarded a contract potentially valued at £50 million (€69m, $78m) for the provision of stainless steel storage containers for nuclear waste at the UK’s Sellafield site in Cumbria, northwest England. Sellafield Ltd, the company responsible for decommissioning work at Sellafield, said Metalcraft was ...
Posted by World Nuclear News on 12 May 2015 in WNN
Metalcraft will supply 2200 high-integrity stainless steel storage boxes to store historic radioactive waste retrieved from a silo at the UK’s Sellafield site. The contract is worth up to £50 million ($78 million). The three-meter-cubed boxes will be used to store safely and securely historic intermediate-level waste (ILW) ...
Posted by NucNet on 8 May 2015 in NucNet
Lower fossil fuel prices and slower economic growth in Southeast Asia will lead to a decline in global growth of nuclear and renewable energy sources, a report by energy company BP said. BP’s Energy Outlook 2035 report tested the assumption that the economies of China and India grow ...
Posted by NucNet on 7 May 2015 in NucNet
Japan’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority has approved the start of tests on impervious underground “frozen walls” at Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear station site, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (Jaif) said. Tepco has been working on the walls as one way to deal with contaminated water coming from ...
Posted by SONE on 30 April 2015 in Newsletters
LIVING WITH THE LEGACY Nuclear waste storage and disposal in the UK is back in the news – and for once the news is good. Firstly, Parliament approved a change in the law which will make it easier to explore potential sites for an underground radioactive waste depository.
Posted by NucNet on 30 April 2015 in Issues
An uncertain future Our last nuclear power station, Sizewell B began operating in 1966 ; it is possible if EDF plans go ahead, that the next may start operating by the mid 2020s, a gap of over 50 years. We can of course upgrade and extend the lives ...
Posted by World Nuclear News on 23 April 2015 in WNN
Miniature submarines are being used to recover cobalt cartridges dating back to the 1950s from storage ponds at the UK’s Sellafield site. The cartridges were used for producing isotopes for medical and industrial applications. Sellafield Ltd estimates there are some 800 cobalt cartridges being stored in Sellafield’s Pile ...
Posted by World Nuclear News on 22 April 2015 in WNN
A court had ruled against a petition opposed to the restart of units 1 and 2 of the Sendai nuclear power plant in Japan’s Kagoshima prefecture. The units now look set to resume operation later this year, becoming the first of the country’s reactors to be restarted since the ...
