On September 2, 1999 a container for the transport of radioactive reference materials was picked up at the IRMM, Geel, Belgium, and sent for maintenance to CROFT Associates in Abingdon, UK, via Luxembourg. The shipping container was assumed to be empty but in reality contained a reference material in form of diluted solutions of plutonium in nitric acid (0.69 g of plutonium in total). The shipping container was transported to Abingdon and opened at CROFT, the manufacturer of the container, on the 7th of October. There the radioactive material was discovered through routinely performed radiation measurements. The material was subsequently transported to the UK Nuclear Research Centre at Harwell where it is in safe storage. At no time there has been been a spillage of the material, a contamination of persons or any release to the environment. Justification of Rating: This incident has been rated at level 2 on INES, as there were significant failures of safety provisions.
An analysis by the Norwegian NGO Bellona of transborder trade operations with the customs code 840130 (irradiated fuel assemblies or fuel elements) show a more than twofold increase of import to EU countries of fresh nuclear fuel in cash terms – from 280 million Euros in 2022 to 686 million Euros in 2023. In physical […]
The French government has said it is "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut its reliance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is in Russia. "The option of […]
Jan vd Putte quickly changed from dressing as the pied piper at the protest during the IAEA nuclear power conference to warn for the Russian nuclear power conglomerate Rosatom and its role in Ukraine.
Anke Herold, Executive Director Oeko-Institut, Freiburg (Germany), in Brussels about the claim to triple nuclear by 2050: IPCC scenarios vs forecast development of nuclear.
