International

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 […]

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 Monday in a press release. The Project Management Resources framework contract is a successor to an existing deal Jacobs has with EDF Nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it will raise the amount of third-party insurance operators of nuclear reactors must carry by $50 million a year.  Reactor operators now must carry $500 million for each licensed reactor, up from $4450 million. The change will be effective on Jan. 1, according to an Oct. 19 Federal Register Notice. […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security and Jordan’s Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission have eliminated the Middle Eastern nation’s reliance on radioactive materials for human blood research and testing.  With the NNSA’s help, Jordan has now replaced all high-activity cesium-137 irradiators with X-ray technology, the agency said in an Oct. 30 statement. […]

The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday wrapped up a three-day inspection of wastewater discharges from the shuttered Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan, the U.N. group announced. The four-day mission began Oct. 24 and concluded Oct. 27. The task force included experts from 11 countries, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote in […]

Navy officials on Wednesday told a House panel that several legislative proposals are needed to prevent delays in the tripartite AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between the U.S., U.K. and Australia.  In a joint statement, Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven, Commander of Naval Submarine Forces Vice Adm. William Houston, and Program Executive Officer for […]

Another nuclear power plant in Ukraine is now at risk because of nearby combat, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Explosions blew out window glass and shook the foundations of the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP) in western Ukraine overnight on Oct. 24, shattering windows at the site and temporarily cutting power to some off-site […]

Two decommissioning workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan were sprayed with radioactive waste while cleaning out pipes at the shuttered plant, the Associated Press reported this week. Neither of the workers, who were both wearing protective gear, ingested any radioactive waste, AP reported, citing a statement from plant owner Tokyo Electric […]

Navy officials on Wednesday told a House panel that several legislative proposals are needed to prevent delays in the tripartite AUKUS nuclear submarine deal between the U.S., U.K. and Australia.  In a joint statement, Under Secretary of the Navy Erik Raven, Commander of Naval Submarine Forces Vice Adm. William Houston, and Program Executive Officer for […]

Another nuclear power plant in Ukraine is now at risk because of nearby combat, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.  Explosions blew out window glass and shook the foundations of the Khmelnitsky Nuclear Power Plant (KhNPP) in western Ukraine overnight on Oct. 24, shattering windows at the site and temporarily cutting power to some off-site […]

Future arms control agreements will be non-treaty accords that begin with “stealthy” conversations between diplomats willing to buck the status quo, a retired State Department official said in Washington at a government-sponsored forum named for him. Even before China began expanding its nuclear arsenal and Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time this century, it […]

The Department of Energy this week posted a new video online showing off the Atlas railcar the agency plans to use to transport spent nuclear fuel from commercial power plants. The agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy posted video, among other places, on the social network X.   The Japanese foreign ministry condemned Russia’s decision to […]

A bipartisan group of senators this week went public with a request that President Joe Biden (D) compel the Navy to release a study they say is critical to oversight of a trilateral agreement to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines. “We understand that a Submarine Industrial Base 2025 (SIB-25) study from the U.S. Navy […]

A bipartisan group of senators on Tuesday went public with a request that President Joe Biden (D) compel the Navy to release a study they say is critical to oversight of a trilateral agreement to provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines. “We understand that a Submarine Industrial Base 2025 (SIB-25) study from the U.S. Navy […]

Future arms control agreements will be non-treaty accords that begin with “stealthy” conversations between diplomats willing to buck the status quo, a retired State Department official said in Washington at a government-sponsored forum named for him. Even before China began expanding its nuclear arsenal and Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time this century, it […]

Paul Murray this week had his first official day as the the Department of Energy’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition.  Murray was internally announced as the full-time head of the agency’s civilian nuclear waste programs on Sept. 28. On Oct. 8, DOE added his name to the Nuclear Energy office’s organization […]

A new team of nuclear experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant on Oct. 4, the twelfth rotation since the agency established a permanent presence at the site in September 2022. Teams from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been working with Russian and Ukrainian officials, as well […]

A new team of nuclear experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived at Ukraine’s embattled Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant on Oct. 4, the twelfth rotation since the agency established a permanent presence at the site in September 2022. Teams from the International Atomic Energy Agency have been working with Russian and Ukrainian officials, as well […]

The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has appointed Rob Fletcher as the permanent CEO of Magnox Limited, the authority said in a recent press release. Fletcher has been acting Magnox chief executive since May, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said in the press release. Fletcher permanently fills the vacancy created when Gwen Parry-Jones OBE left […]

Russia is considering withdrawing from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty ratified by the United Nations in 1996, Reuters, ABC News and other outlets report.  Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of Russia’s State Duma, made the announcement on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier had warned that Moscow could rescind its ratification […]

If another nuclear arms control treaty replaces the New START treaty that expires in 2026, the National Nuclear Security Administration will need new technologies to keep track of Russia’s large and widely dispersed nuclear arsenal, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.  The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has started investing in […]

The United Kingdom awarded contracts worth $4.9 billion total to three British companies to design and manufacture the future SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered attack submarines. The U.K. Ministry of Defense signed the Detailed Design and Long Leads phase of work on Oct. 1 with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock to “progress the program through the design, prototyping […]

The United Kingdom awarded contracts worth $4.9 billion total to three British companies to design and manufacture the future SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered attack submarines. The U.K. Ministry of Defense signed the Detailed Design and Long Leads phase of work on Oct. 1 with BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Babcock to “progress the program through the design, prototyping […]

If another nuclear arms control treaty replaces the New START treaty that expires in 2026, the National Nuclear Security Administration will need new technologies to keep track of Russia’s large and widely dispersed nuclear arsenal, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.  The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has started investing in […]

A day after an all-hands meeting at NRC headquarters, which largely focused on remote work, Dan Dorman, the agency’s executive director for operations and chief steward of its latest remote work rules, faced questions from a House committee about post-pandemic telework policies. Congress this year has grilled the NRC about reported dips in employee morale. […]

The U.S.-Japan Nuclear Security Working Group convened for its 12th meeting at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee earlier this month for a wide-ranging discussion on nuclear non-proliferation issues. Corey Hinderstein, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, and Ambassador Mitsuko Hayashi, deputy director general of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign […]

The U.S. and Philippine governments are in the home stretch of signing a 123 agreement to boost cooperation on both civil energy projects and nuclear non-proliferation efforts. Quoting Philippine Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin, the Manila Bulletin — that nation’s largest English language newspaper — said the two countries are on the brink of signing the […]

The U.S. and Philippine governments are in the home stretch of signing a 123 agreement to boost cooperation on both civil energy projects and nuclear non-proliferation efforts.  Quoting Philippine Energy Undersecretary Sharon Garin, the Manila Bulletin — that nation’s largest English language newspaper — said the two countries are on the brink of signing the […]

The U.S.-Japan Nuclear Security Working Group convened for its 12th meeting at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee earlier this month for a wide-ranging discussion on nuclear non-proliferation issues.  Corey Hinderstein, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) deputy administrator for defense nuclear nonproliferation, and Ambassador Mitsuko Hayashi, deputy director general of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign […]

A series of explosions was heard near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant in recent days, a team of International Atomic Energy Agency officials based at the facility have reported.  The blasts point to a possible escalation of military activity in the area surrounding the nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said […]