Areva Inc has asked the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend work on the design certification of the US EPR until further notice, prompting Unistar Nuclear Energy to request the suspension of the review of its construction and operation licence application for Calvert Cliffs 3.

US design certification of Korea's APR1400 reactor design can begin in earnest after the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission formally accepted a revised application from Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power.

Having already improved on-site emergency protection measures, Switzerland's Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate is now ordering nuclear power plant operators to ensure that off-site measures are also boosted.

The state of Wyoming will regulate its own uranium industry following legislation that allows it to apply to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to become an Agreement State.

South Korea's nuclear safety regulator has approved a seven-year licence extension for the refurbished and uprated Wolsong 1 pressurized heavy water reactor. The unit has been offline for two years while discussions continued on renewing its licence.

The US nuclear regulator has begun an inspection at the construction site of VC Summer unit 2 to assess the cause and impact of "inadvertent damage" to the unit's containment vessel.

Significant tasks have been completed in the clean-up and decommissioning of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, an international expert mission has concluded. However, it says many challenging issues remain.

Additional inspections at Electrabel's Doel 3 and Tihange 2 power reactors have revealed more extensive flaking within their reactor pressure vessels than previously identified, the Belgian regulator has announced.

South Korea's Wolsong 1 power reactor continues to await permission to restart. The refurbished and uprated unit has laid dormant for two years while discussions continue on renewing its licence.

The UK has agreed to extend the secondment of a senior nuclear inspector to Vietnam's Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety as part of their continued cooperation. Meanwhile, US-based GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has agreed to cooperate in training for nuclear safety analysis while Russia will help promote nuclear energy in the country.

Two units at the Takahama nuclear power plant have moved one step closer to restarting following final approval by the Japanese regulator of changes in the reactor installations. They become the third and fourth reactors in Japan to gain such permission.

Unit 2 of the four-unit Tricastin nuclear power plant in southern France has been given approval by the French nuclear regulator to operate for a further ten years.