An expert mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has started in the Bulgarian NPP Kozloduy. The mission has been invited by the Agency for Nuclear Regulation and by the government following a request of the NPP, to assess the fulfillment of the program for upgrading of its Russian VVER 1000 reactors. The program has been implemented stage-by-stage during repair works in 2002 and 2007.
Minsk, Nov 06, 2008 (BBC Monitoring via COMTEX) — Seven residents of Hrodna Region’s Astravets District have announced their intention to campaign against the government’s plans to build a nuclear power plant in the area in western Belarus.
The group is led by Mikalay Ulasevich, a sole entrepreneur and member of the [opposition] United Civic Party. (more…)
SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) - The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog on Wednesday praised Spain’s regulator but recommended stepping up efforts to find a permanent site for dumping spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste.
Urich Schmocker, head of an International Atomic Energy Agency mission to Spain, said building a central storage facility was just an interim solution. (more…)
STUTTGART, Germany: A German engineer has acknowledged that he helped procure parts for a centrifuge system that authorities say was meant for Libya’s now-abandoned nuclear weapons program, a court said Thursday.
Gotthard Lerch went on trial in June, accused of supplying Libya with sensitive technology in the knowledge that the country was seeking atomic weapons. Prosecutors have accused him of playing a key role in the network led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. (more…)
Russia intends to build 26 major nuclear power reactors over twelve years to come, chief of the state-run corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said. Kiriyenko was speaking at the 52nd general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on 29th september.
“The pace of commissioning new nuclear power reactors is pegged to our current plans, but it can be adjusted in terms of scale and deadlines,” he said.”Construction work is underway at five sites (Leningrad, Novovoronezh, Kalinin, Rostov and Beloyarsk NPPs),” he said, adding that design and exploration work was in progress on another 14 reactor projects. (more…)
VIENNA — The U.S. has backed Serbian efforts to transfer the remaining nuclear waste at the Vinča Institute out of the country by 2010.
The U.S. delegation supported the project at the International Atomic Energy Association’s (IAEA) General Conference in Vienna, said Deputy Science and Technology Minister Miroslav Vesković. (more…)
An international watchdog aiming to prevent the theft from nuclear sites of material that could be used in terrorist attacks has been launched.
The World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS), which will be based in Vienna, Austria, will seek to prevent the material falling into the wrong hands. (more…)
VIENNA, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will provide $17 million to help improve safety at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the site of the world’s worst civilian nuclear disaster, and fully decommission it, a top Russian nuclear official said on Monday.
Three reactors of the Chernobyl plant continued to operate for several years after reactor number four exploded in 1986, the last reactor shutting down in 2000. The reactors still contain nuclear fuel rods, and require constant monitoring. The fourth reactor is housed in a Soviet-era sarcophagus set to be replaced by a $1.4 bln metal structure. (more…)
Melbourne, Sept 19 (PTI) Fearing that Russia may use the uranium from Australia for its nuclear weapons program, Federal Parliament’s Treaties Committee today advised the government to delay ratifying the treaty with the nation.
Australia is expected to review a report by the committee which advised against uranium sale to Russia before its makes a final decision on the matter. (more…)
Sept. 19 (Bloomberg) — Germany, which plans to end its use of nuclear power by 2021, has a “critical” lack of qualified nuclear scientists to inspect the 17 German atomic energy plants and maintain its expertise, Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel said.
Germany must find ways to encourage people to enter the field even with the planned phaseout of nuclear energy, Gabriel said today at a Berlin briefing. The federal environment ministry, which is responsible for nuclear safety, has about 15 employees to oversee inspection for all of Germany, which isn’t enough, he said. (more…)
