Perry speaks out for Yucca Mountain

23 June 2017

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The USA has a moral obligation to address its nuclear waste issue, and restarting the Yucca Mountain licensing process and committing to establishing an interim storage facility for used fuel will accelerate the fulfilment of that obligation, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry this week told House and Senate appropriations subcommittees.

Perry addressed the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development on 20 June and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development the following day, to present the Department of Energy's proposed 2018 budget. In his testimony to both committees, he said the need to address nuclear waste management was a "moral" obligation. "For too many years, the prior administration has literally kicked the can down the road on nuclear waste," he said.

Toshiba granted extension to accounting deadline

23 June 2017

Japan's Toshiba Corporation has been granted an extension to the deadline for the submission of its audited earnings results for the 2016 financial year, which ended on 31 March. At the same time, the company has slightly revised its annual loss estimate.

Canadian siting studies for commercial IMSR

22 June 2017

IMSR_facility_(CC-BY-SA)-48Terrestrial Energy has begun a feasibility study for the siting of the first commercial Integral Molten Salt Reactor at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories' Chalk River site, with a further vision of creating a technology hub at CNL to support the commercialisation of small modular reactors.

UK regulator identifies 11 proposals for research

21 June 2017

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has 53 research projects and proposals amounting to about £1.2 million ($1.5 million) in its Regulatory Research Register for 2016-17, which it published last week.

US court blocks WCS sale

23 June 2017

Texas_Compact_(WCS)-48A US court has blocked EnergySolutions Inc's $367 million acquisition of Waste Control Specialists LLC, ruling in favour of an antitrust filing against the merger by the US Department of Justice.

Bradwell completes treatment of fuel element debris

22 June 2017

Bradwell FED removal - 48 (Magnox)All the fuel element debris waste at the UK's Bradwell nuclear power plant has now been treated to reduce the radiological risk at the site, Magnox Ltd announced yesterday. Removal of the waste is an important step towards Bradwell's planned closure, it said.

Further agreements flow from AtomExpo

21 June 2017

More cooperation agreements and contracts have been signed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom and its subsidiaries during the IX AtomExpo International Forum it is hosting this week in Moscow. The latest agreements, with Asian and European companies, cover collaboration in a wide range of nuclear-related areas and beyond.

Preserving and developing Germany's nuclear expertise

Despite Germany choosing to phase out its use of nuclear energy, the country must not lose its nuclear expertise, research and industry, writes Ralf Güldner.

Nuclear expertise is important for research, for industry but above all for the state itself. Many people may simply not be aware of this.

The topic of preserving and building up nuclear expertise by shifting operational responsibility to federally-owned companies will gain relevance particularly in the waste management sector. Taking into account all the authorities and public companies that operate in this sector, we could soon be talking about up to 4000 employees. Together with the civil servants and government employees in other areas of nuclear technology, in expert appraisal and in research, it may be assumed that in the future at least a sixth of the more than 30,000 employees in the industry will be assigned to the public sector.

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