Regulation and Safety

Regulator OKs Belgian reactor restart

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:24:34 GMT

Belgian reactor operator Electrabel is preparing to restart units at Tihange and Doel after national nuclear regulators confirmed that crack-like indications discovered in the reactors' pressure vessels are of no safety significance.

New cover for fuel removal at Fukushima Daiichi 1

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:02:39 GMT

A four-year process is planned to rebuild the cover over Fukushima Daiichi 1, equipping it to remove used reactor fuel still stored there.

Futaba access restrictions relaxed

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:25:19 GMT

Residents will be able to repair tsunami damage in the town of Futaba after the Japanese government decided to prepare for the removal of parts of the town from the Fukushima evacuation zone.

Isotope reactor steps up to the plate

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:38:23 GMT

Belgium's BR2 reactor is to run an additional production cycle to guarantee supplies of vital medical isotopes while the Netherlands' HFR reactor remains out of action due to unforeseen problems.

Regulatory approval for Fessenheim 2 upgrades

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:12:17 GMT

French nuclear regulators have prescribed a program of works to be carried out at Fessenheim 2 to allow France's second-oldest nuclear unit to continue to operate beyond its third ten-yearly inspection.

Shots fired at Watts Bar

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 10:29:35 GMT

Security guards at Tennessee Valley Authority's Watts Bar nuclear power plant fired shots yesterday morning in an incident which is now under investigation.

Air cooling for Finnish plant

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:51:46 GMT

New cooling towers will help to ensure safety at Finland's Loviisa nuclear power plant even if the seawater normally used to cool the plant were to be unavailable.

Update to US emergency guidelines

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 16:05:16 GMT

The US Environmental Protection Agency has drafted new guidelines to protect workers and the public in a radiological emergency. Open for public comment, the latest draft is an update to EPA guidelines issued in 1992.

Pits pose problems at Fukushima

Jeremy Gordon — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:40:46 GMT

Tepco is emptying the three water storage pits that were found to be leaking at Fukushima Daiichi. In around two months the contaminated water should all have been removed to tanks.

Jail sentence for falsification

Jeremy Gordon — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:35:27 GMT

An American court has sentenced a former engineering safety manager to 78 months in prison for falsifying information about injuries at three nuclear power plant sites.

US nuclear safety goes from strength to strength

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:21:37 GMT

Contracts have been signed for the operation of two regional US response centres to manage emergency backup equipment, while newly released performance metrics for 2012 show US plants achieving good safety performances.

Fukushima internal exposures low, study finds

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:41:40 GMT

Some 99% of residents of Fukushima prefecture and neighbouring Ibaraki have barely detectable levels of internal exposure to caesium-137, a group of Japanese researchers has found. Of the remaining 1%, all showed levels well below the government-set limit.

Czech Republic now HEU-free

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:49:49 GMT

With the completion of the final shipment of used fuel from the research reactor at Rez to Russia, all highly enriched uranium (HEU) has now been removed from the Czech Republic.

Tepco tackles rodent problems

Jonathan Cobb — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 22:57:07 GMT

Tepco has now suffered two power supply problems at Fukushima Daiichi, both thanks - directly and indirectly - to small animals, while senior managers have had their pay cut over the matter.

Industrial accident at centrifuge plant

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 15:32:22 GMT

Two men lost their lives after an accident at the Enrichment Technology manufacturing plant in the Netherlands at Almelo on 29 March. The non-nuclear facility makes and maintains equipment for uranium enrichment.

Fatal accident at Arkansas

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:55:00 GMT

One man was killed and eight were injured in a crane failure at the Arkansas Nuclear One power plant on 31 March. An unexplained failure caused a heavy lift gantry to collapse in the process of moving a 500-tonne component inside the turbine building.

Mühleberg appeal upheld

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:04:28 GMT

The Mühleberg nuclear power plant can continue operating indefinitely, Switzerland's Federal Court has ruled, overturning a March 2012 ruling by the Federal Administrative Court that it would have to close in June.

Fukushima pool cooling resumes after power loss

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:26:35 GMT

An electrical failure on the evening of 18 March led to the loss of cooling systems at the fuel pools of Fukushima Daiichi units 1, 3 and 4, as well as the shared pool. However, operation of all the systems was resumed within 30 hours.

Crisis exercise tests international cooperation

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:38:42 GMT

A large-scale multinational response exercise has tested out the reactions of organisations and agencies in the Scandinavian-Baltic region to a hypothetical severe accident at Finland's Loviisa nuclear power plant.

Environmental OK for Darlington refurb

Warwick Pipe — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:32:20 GMT

The Canadian nuclear regulator has given Ontario Power Generation environmental approval for the refurbishment and continued operation of its four-unit Darlington nuclear power plant.

Fukushima frame levels up

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:25:34 GMT

The frame of a structure to cover Fukushima Daiichi 4 has reached the third level and is now higher than the reactor building. It will enable the removal of used reactor fuel from the storage pool.

EBRD funds Ukrainian safety program

Jeremy Gordon — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:30:06 GMT

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to provide a €300 million ($388 million) loan to bring all of Ukraine's operating nuclear power plants in line with modern safety standards.

Controlling doses at Fukushima plant

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 14:14:50 GMT

Radiation levels across the Fukushima Daiichi power plant site have dropped significantly as clean-up efforts continue. Most workers receive less than 1 milliSievert of radiation per month - well within normal limits.

Leningrad 1 decision before year end

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:32:55 GMT

Rosatom head Sergei Kiriyenko praised work to develop technical solutions to enable the world's oldest RBMK reactor to continue operating during a visit to Leningrad 1. The fate of the unit will be made clear by 1 November.

Steps to protect nuclear plant from oil disaster

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:23:55 GMT

A catastrophic fire and explosion at a Total oil terminal could affect safety at the adjacent Gravelines nuclear power plant, an annual review of nuclear safety in France has revealed. Total and EDF will make changes to avoid effects on nuclear safety from a previously unconsidered scenario.

Radiation declines at Fukushima

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 15:27:27 GMT

The latest aerial survey of the Fukushima region reveals a pattern of contamination significantly reduced in the space of a year by natural processes of radioactive decay and dispersal.

Canada funds hunt for new isotope sources

Claire Maden — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:59:39 GMT

Three projects to develop new supply sources for the key medical isotope technetium-99m have been selected to receive over C$21 million ($20 million) in funding under Canada's Isotope Technology Acceleration Program.

Fatal platform fall at French plant

Warwick Pipe — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:35:14 GMT

Two contract workers have died and a third seriously injured in an accident during maintenance work in a reactor building at EDF's Cattenom nuclear power plant in north-eastern France.

WHO: Low radiation risk from Fukushima

Warwick Pipe — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:44:34 GMT

Radioactivity released by the Fukushima accident posed a low risk to Japan's population, said the World Health Organisation. It expects no observable health effect in the wider population, but raised estimations of cancer risk for two towns.

Clear view in unit 3's pool

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:19:43 GMT

A camera inspection of Fukushima Daiichi 3's used fuel pool has revealed no damage to stored fuel, but a huge amount of concrete sediment on the racks.

New regulations approach in Japan

Jeremy Gordon — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:25:26 GMT

Japan's new nuclear regulations could demand that operators are prepared to avoid an accident even in the case of war or deliberate aircraft impact. Draft rules are at the first public comment stage.

No impact from Chernobyl roof collapse

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 18:17:19 GMT

Sections of the walls and roof of Chernobyl 4's turbine building have collapsed under weight of snow, officials reported, noting no change in radiation levels at the site.

Continuing cleanup of Fukushima pool

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 15:53:04 GMT

A large twisted steel truss has been removed from the fuel pool of Fukushima Daiichi 3 as part of efforts to clear debris from the pond and service floor area.

Action plan for Belgian reactor tests

Warwick Pipe — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 17:07:34 GMT

Belgian utility Electrabel has submitted an action plan to the country's nuclear regulator for carrying out additional tests to determine whether two of its reactors can safely be restarted following the discovery of manufacturing defects in their reactor pressure vessels last year.

Resolution on EU stress test lessons

Jeremy Gordon — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 17:26:14 GMT

The European Parliament's energy committee has approved a draft resolution recommending the speedy implementation of lessons learned from stress tests conducted at the European Union's (EU's) nuclear power reactors.

Nuclear plant design needs blue sky approach

Claire Maden — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:28:48 GMT

Designers of nuclear plants should have more responsibility over plant design throughout the operating lifetimes of all their reactors, according to a new study by a working group of the World Nuclear Association.

Southern and SCE&G seek concrete answers

Warwick Pipe — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:05:52 GMT

In nearly identical letters, US utilities building AP1000 reactors at Vogtle and Summer have submitted licence amendment requests intended to clarify concrete reinforcement requirements. Timely action is crucial if construction deadlines are to be met.

Japan learns nuclear restart requirements

Jeremy Gordon — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:16:16 GMT

Tough new rules for Japanese nuclear power plants have been revealed in draft form. Among them are that power companies should be able to contain a severe accident situation for an entire week without outside help.

Fukushima Daiichi 4 frame takes shape

Jeremy Gordon — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 16:20:19 GMT

The first layer of steel framing for a cover that will allow removal of used fuel from Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 has been completed.

Second cover assembly underway at Fukushima

Jeremy Gordon — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:18:06 GMT

The installation of steel columns next to Fukushima Daiichi unit 4 marks the start of construction on a cover that will aid in the removal of fuel. This is the second cover to get underway at the site.