International

After more than a year of trying, International Atomic Energy Agency teams experts on Monday were granted access to the sixth and final reactor hall at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Situated on the frontlines of Russia’s war on Ukraine, the plant has been under Russian occupation almost since the beginning of Moscow’s February 2022 […]

In early December, National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator Frank Rose completed a multiday visit to Hawaii to meet with senior military officials regarding regional security and nuclear non-proliferation issues.  Rose met with U. S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) officers and staff from Dec. 4-8, in a series of meetings focusing on the regional security environment, […]

On the Friday before Christmas, President Joe Biden (D) signed the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, setting a year’s worth of spending limits and policy for national security programs, including those at the Department of Energy. The bill is separate from annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies. Agencies including DOE and the […]

In early December, National Nuclear Security Administration Deputy Administrator Frank Rose completed a multiday visit to Hawaii to meet with senior military officials regarding regional security and nuclear non-proliferation issues.  Rose met with U. S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) officers and staff from Dec. 4-8, in a series of meetings focusing on the regional security environment, […]

An environmentalist lawsuit seeking to delay construction of the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility could stretch out until at least May, according to a scheduling order filed this week in the federal district court for South Carolina in Aiken. In the two year-old lawsuit, four environmental groups sued the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), arguing […]

Holtec International, Jupiter, Fla., and Ukraine’s national nuclear power company, Energoatom, announced this week that they signed an agreement in principle to build a factory in Ukraine that will make parts for the company’s SMR-300 small modular reactors.  The parties will create a “[j]oint Venture between Energoatom and Holtec for a Ukrainian manufacturing facility and […]

NNSA signs agreement with Japan, Korea for environmental science and nuclear tech exchange The National Nuclear Security Administration, Japan and South Korea signed a trilateral agreement to collaborate on emerging nuclear technologies.  The three countries signed what they called a framework to create a memorandum of cooperation that will launch early next year to “facilitate […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration, Japan and South Korea signed a trilateral agreement to collaborate on emerging nuclear technologies.  The three countries signed what they called a framework to create a memorandum of cooperation that will launch early next year to “facilitate scientific collaboration in critical and emerging technology areas,” the National Nuclear Security Administration […]

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, sitting on the frontlines of Russia’s war on Ukraine for nearly two years, is battling to retain power for cooling to its six reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency says.  The plant has lost external power, amidst ongoing combat, at leat eight times since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. […]

The U.S. and 21 other countries at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai on Saturday agreed to work together on “tripling nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050,” according to a Department of Energy press release. Among other things, including the continued development of new nuclear reactors and encouraging financial organizations to invest in […]

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost all off-site power overnight Dec. 3 and temporarily relied on emergency diesel generators for the electricity needed to cool its reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The main power line – the only remaining main power line at the ZNPP compared to the four it had before […]

The Navy plans to conduct its first submarine maintenance work in Australia using a U.S. submarine tender ship in summer of 2024, when dozens of Australian sailors aboard will learn to repair U.S. nuclear-powered submarines. Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven on Thursday said the trilateral AUKUS partners of Australia, U.K. and the U.S. […]

The U.S. and 21 other countries at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai on Saturday agreed to work together on “tripling nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050,” according to a Department of Energy press release. Among other things, including the continued development of new nuclear reactors and encouraging financial organizations to invest in […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration welcomed a baker’s dozen of non-governmental experts on arms control and nonproliferation to its Nevada facilities, including parts of the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) outside Las Vegas, the agency announced this week.  The Nevada site hosts a variety of nonproliferation projects, largely focused on the ability to detect low-yield […]

Henry Kissinger, a Cold War diplomat and presidential adviser called one of the more consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century, died Thursday at age 100, national media reported. Kissinger, who spoke with a European accent, became “an unlikely media star” during his time as secretary of state for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald […]

A trilateral partnership to give Australia nuclear powered attack submarines is “an enduring commitment,” a “generational opportunity” and a major investment in the economy, a senior state department official said in prepared remarks Monday. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. is “is an opportunity for us not only to strengthen […]

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost its main power connection on Sunday, forcing it to rely on backup electricity for reactor cooling, the U.N.’s nuclear power agency said Sunday. There was no reported timeline for repairing the line. It is the latest in a string of power disruptions to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which […]

Henry Kissinger, a Cold War diplomat and presidential adviser called one of the more consequential and controversial figures of the 20th century, died Thursday at age 100, national media reported. Kissinger, who spoke with a European accent, became “an unlikely media star” during his time as secretary of state for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald […]

Sarah Stevenson, a staffer on the Senate energy and Natural Resources Committee, is leaving Congress for a job with the Air Force, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday during a committee hearing.  Stevenson, an American Nuclear Society congressional fellow, spent her time on the committee, roughly a year, “educating people concerning what nuclear has done, […]

A trilateral partnership to give Australia nuclear powered attack submarines is “an enduring commitment,” a “generational opportunity” and a major investment in the economy, a senior state department official said in prepared remarks Monday. The AUKUS partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. is “is an opportunity for us not only to strengthen […]

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost its main power connection on Sunday, forcing it to rely on backup electricity for reactor cooling, the U.N.’s nuclear power agency said Sunday. There was no reported timeline for repairing the line. It is the latest in a string of power disruptions to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which […]

One of the six reactors at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost power for about an hour and a half last week, causing an emergency diesel generator to kick in to provide electricity for cooling and other functions, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.  Plant personnel continue to investigate what caused the 90-minute power outage […]

The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations in southern California is 60% dismantled, the San Diego Union Tribune reported. The paper quoted plant decommissioning executives.   The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving toward deciding whether Pacific Gas and Electric Corp.’s application to extend the operating license of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in Avila Beach, […]

France successfully test-fired an M51.3 long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile, without a nuclear warhead aboard, over the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 18. The test firing was conducted by the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) from the Ballistic Launch Site (BLB) in Biscarrosse in southwest France. The flight comes just seven months after the successful acceptance test […]

France successfully test-fired an M51.3 long-range submarine-launched ballistic missile, without a nuclear warhead aboard, over the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 18. The test firing was conducted by the General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) from the Ballistic Launch Site (BLB) in Biscarrosse in southwest France. The flight comes just seven months after the successful acceptance test […]

One of the six reactors at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant lost power for about an hour and a half last week, causing an emergency diesel generator to kick in to provide electricity for cooling and other functions, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.  Plant personnel are investigating what caused the 90-minute power outage to […]

The Government Accountability Office expects to publish several major reports on Department of Energy nuclear remediation issues over the next several months, according to the congressional watchdog agency. Nathan Anderson, director of the Natural Resources & Environment unit for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said between now and December a report on H Canyon at […]

A new team of International Atomic Energy Agency personnel crossed the frontlines in Ukraine this week to perform nuclear safety and security missions at the besieged Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. It is the thirteenth such mission since the IAEA last year established a permanent presence at the site to help prevent a nuclear accident during […]

The Navy’s top submarine officer this week said the tripartite AUKUS agreement’s optimal pathway would have the U.S. sell at least three attack submarines to Australia in the 2030s. Following his remarks at the Naval Submarine League’s annual symposium on Nov. 7, Commander of Submarine Forces Vice Adm. Bill Houston told reporters the current plan […]

Jacobs, Dallas, got a two-year, $53-million contract from EDF Nuclear Operations to support activities ranging from defueling to life extension at several nuclear power plants in the United Kingdom, the company said this week in a press release. The Project Management Resources framework contract is a successor to an existing deal Jacobs has with EDF […]