Nuclear Farewell?
With the bankruptcy of Westinghouse and thepending dismemberment of its Japanese parent Toshiba, two ongoing – and way behind schedule and over budget – U.S. nuclear projects are in deep jeopardy.
Switzerland votes to phase out nuclear energy and switch to renewables
Swiss voters have backed government plans to replace the power from ageing nuclear reactors with renewable energy. A total of 58.2 per cent of voters supported the phaseout of nuclear energy in a binding referendum on Sunday. Under the Swiss system of direct democracy, voters have the final say on major policy issues.
França investiga contrato de R$ 71 mi para conversão de urânio para o Brasil
Procuradores franceses que estiveram no Brasil na semana passada iniciaram conversas com investigadores brasileiros da Operação Lava Jato para saber se o esquema de corrupção que atingiu a Eletronuclear e levou o ex-presidente Othon Luiz Pinheiro Silva à prisão também se estendeu ao contrato para a conversão de urânio usado nas usinas nucleares de Angra 1 e 2.
Highly Radioactive Liquid Shipments Have Begun – But Can Still be Stopped
On this Mother’s Day, I regret to inform you that the trucking of 23,000 litres of highly radioactive liquid material from Chalk River Laboratories (CRL) in Ontario to the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina has begun. The first truckload arrived at SRS last month (see the official communication copied below).
Storage Tunnels Collapse in Washington
The Department of Energy declared a state of emergency at the Hanford (Washington State) nuclear site after a tunnel storing contaminated radioactive materials collapsed. The collapse, which was discovered Tuesday, forced hundreds of workers to take cover to avoid potential exposure. Hanford is the nation’s most polluted nuclear weapons production site.
Fire crews finally extinguish Fukushima blaze in no-go zone as officials battle radiation rumors
A wildfire near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has finally been extinguished after a 12-day battle waged by firefighters and Self-Defense Force troops in special protective gear left 75 hectares of tainted forest scorched, and local officials scrambling to quash radiation rumors.
Tunnel with nuclear waste collapses in Washington state
A portion of an underground tunnel containing rail cars full of radioactive waste collapsed Tuesday at a sprawling storage facility in a remote area of Washington state, forcing an evacuation of some workers at the site that made plutonium for nuclear weapons for decades after World War II.
EXCLUSIVE- UAE delays launch of first nuclear power reactor-source
The commercial start-up of the first of four nuclear reactors that South Korea’s KEPCO is building in United Arab Emirates is set to be delayed because the local operating company is not ready to run the reactors, a nuclear industry source said.
Pro-nuclear lobby still fired up on deal despite court’s refusal
Last week’s ruling by the High Court in Cape Town that set the procurement of 9.6GW of nuclear right back to square one apparently did little to damp the enthusiasm of the small pro-nuclear lobby. The government is determined to build power plants driven by reactors, but unaffordable agreements and huge costs loom if Russia’s Rosatom wins bid.
Mount Juman forest fire in Namie
A forest fire has been burning in the no-entry zone of Namie in Fukushima since April 29th and has been the subject of many news reports of varying quality. The site is among the most highly-contaminated by the Fukushima disaster, well within the “difficult-to-return” zone.