International

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is denying a petition from a retired Department of Energy nuclear physicist calling for the agency to mandate augmented monitoring of reactor spent fuel pools and reactor coolant and fuel. Alexander DeVolpi, who worked at the Argonne National Laboratory for more than 40 years to 1999, “requested that the NRC amend its […]

The United Kingdom’s Sellafield site has started placing sludge from one of its two legacy fuel storage ponds into an interim holding site, the nuclear facility’s operator said Tuesday. Sellafield Ltd. in mid-December transported the initial batch of sludge from the Pile Fuel Storage Pond to the Cumbria nuclear site’s waste encapsulation plant (WEP). The […]

The United States and Russia have significant opportunities to collaborate on cleanup of nuclear contamination and the prevention of nuclear terrorism, even as they remain antagonists in other spheres, according to a report issued this week by nongovernmental groups from both nations. The report, “Pathways to Cooperation,” resulted from a February 2016 meeting of experts […]

The United States and Russia have significant opportunities to collaborate on cleanup of nuclear contamination and the prevention of nuclear terrorism, even as they remain antagonists in other spheres, according to a report issued this week by nongovernmental groups from both nations. The report, “Pathways to Cooperation,” resulted from a February 2016 meeting of experts […]

Mum is the word on when shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) are scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina following a recent federal court decision against environmental groups seeking to block the transports from Canada. “In order to preserve operational security, DOE/NNSA does not comment on planned shipments of nuclear material,” a National […]

The United States and 20 other nations are following through on a pledge made at the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit to reduce and eventually end use of nuclear weapon-grade uranium in the civilian sector. The nations laid out a four-part agenda in a Jan. 30 joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency, first reported […]

Mum is the word on when shipments of highly enriched uranium (HEU) are scheduled to arrive at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina following a recent federal court decision against environmental groups seeking to block the transports from Canada. “In order to preserve operational security, DOE/NNSA does not comment on planned shipments of nuclear material,” a National […]

The United Kingdom’s Sellafield site for the first time has moved sludge from one of its two legacy fuel storage ponds into an interim holding site, the nuclear facility’s operator said Tuesday. Sellafield Ltd. in mid-December moved the first batch of sludge from the Pile Fuel Storage Pond to its encapsulation plant. The material there […]

The Russian cruise missile that the United States has for years characterized as breaching the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty has been put into the field, The New York Times reported Tuesday. The 1987 accord, sealed by the United States and then-Soviet Union, prohibits nuclear and non-nuclear ground-based ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and […]

U.S. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled briefings for next week on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the ongoing progress of Project Aim. The briefings represent the first commission meetings under new Republican Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki, who President Donald Trump chose last month to replace Chairman Stephen Burns, an Obama […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled briefings for next week on the lessons learned from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the ongoing progress of Project Aim. The briefings represent the first commission meetings under new Republican Chairwoman Kristine Svinicki, who President Donald Trump chose last month to replace Chairman Stephen Burns, an Obama administration appointee […]

A federal judge on Thursday ruled against requiring the Department of Energy to produce a new environmental impact statement for shipments of highly enriched uranium from Canada to the agency’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The ruling opens the door for shipments to begin as soon as this month. Upward of 150 shipments, totaling […]

The future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should be shaped by strengthening its conventional and nuclear capabilities as well as bolstering dialogue with Russia, experts said Wednesday during a panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The arrival of the Donald Trump administration has put NATO’s future  “in doubt to some degree,” […]

The U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has opened bidding for £3 million ($3.7 million) in development contracts for decommissioning work at Sellafield’s Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (Thorp) and Magnox Reprocessing plant. The NDA on Monday requested applications by April 26 for projects that will focus on the development of robots and remotely operated equipment. The purpose […]

The State Department’s top arms control official is resigning today, apparently at the request of the Trump administration. He joins a large number of managers exiting the agency. Thomas Countryman has been acting undersecretary for arms control and international security since October 2016, after Rose Gottemoeller left the State Department last summer to join NATO […]

The Donald Trump administration is reportedly preparing executive orders that will limit or cut United States funding to international organizations under certain conditions. The New York Times reported Wednesday it had obtained two draft executive orders, one of which would cut U.S. funding for United Nations agencies and international organizations that meet certain criteria, including […]

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ famous Doomsday Clock ticked another 30 seconds toward midnight on Thursday, illustrating the organization’s increased fears of global annihilation at the start of the Trump administration. The minute hand on the 70-year-old metaphor dropped from three minutes to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight, closer than the world has been to […]

Environmental activist attorneys argued in federal court this week that an environmental assessment (EA) is needed before the Department of Energy trucks 6,000 gallons of liquid highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Canada to the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. Meanwhile, attorneys for the Energy Department want the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that there is […]

President Donald Trump suggested in an interview published Monday he would pursue a nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia, with sanctions relief as a sweetener, a notion that some Russian officials and now-former President Barack Obama dismissed as two separate issues. “They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good […]

Sellafield Ltd. has agreed to a collaborative agreement with the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) for the £70 billion ($86.7 billion) decommissioning of the United Kingdom’s Sellafield site, the companies announced Wednesday. The two partners will focus on reducing hazards at the U.K.’s most complex nuclear waste site through technical research and development. The 55-building decommissioning project is […]

A senior Russian diplomat indicated this week the government has no interest in a potential U.S. offer of sanctions relief as a sweetener for nuclear arms reductions. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who will take office on Friday, suggested such a proposal in a recent  interview with the London Times: “They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see […]

President-elect Donald Trump suggested in an interview published Monday he would pursue a nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia, with sanctions relief as a sweetener. “They have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced […]

French multinational nuclear company AREVA on Wednesday announced the formation of a new subsidiary to manage its operations in the United States. The move is part of the troubled company’s broader restructuring, in which it is focusing on nuclear fuel cycle work and selling off its reactor business. Sam Shakir, an executive with AREVA for […]

French multinational nuclear company AREVA on Wednesday announced the formation of a new subsidiary to manage its operations in the United States. The move is part of the troubled company’s broader restructuring, in which it is focusing on nuclear fuel cycle work and selling off its reactor business. Sam Shakir, an executive with AREVA for […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees to lead the Departments of State and Defense this week offered divergent positions on the United States’ future relationship with Russia. Rex Tillerson, tagged as secretary of state, and James Mattis, the secretary of defense nominee, during their respective Senate confirmation hearings addressed the issues of U.S. projection of strength worldwide […]

Rex Tillerson, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of state, condemned recent Russian actions in the world during his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday, while expressing support for cooperation between the two nations on areas of common interest. The former ExxonMobil CEO, who has close business ties to Russia, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the […]

The European Commission announced Tuesday it had approved a capital financing plan intended to enable troubled French nuclear multinational AREVA to restructure its operations. The French state, which owns 86.5 percent of AREVA, intends to provide the company with 4.5 euros ($4.8 billion) in capital. AREVA has also received offers from strategic investors to supply […]

South Carolina has hit the restart button on a multimillion-dollar fine over a missed plutonium disposition deadline at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS). A 2003 agreement between the state and DOE requires the federal government to process 1 metric ton of plutonium at SRS through the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF), […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) maintains that a location near Lake Huron is the best for the company’s planned deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, after considering alternate options as requested by Canada’s top environmental official. The Ontario government-owned corporation announced Tuesday that it has made its case to Canadian Environment and […]

A commercial carbon capture and storage project in India is proving environmentally beneficial, even if that isn’t what the plant’s owner had in mind. The plant was launched in October 2016 and has been actively capturing CO2 from the flue gas of a 10-megawatt coal boiler owned by Tuticorin Alkali Chemicals & Fertilizers near Chennai, […]