International

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/10/2014 Calling the current state of the U.S.-Russia relationship “one of the worst in bilateral history, not only since the Cold War,” former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said this week that the two nations should restore dialogue on the mutual disarmament of nuclear weapons. During an Oct. 6 event in […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 10/10/2014 A new U.S.-Vietnam civil nuclear agreement fully entered into force last week after an exchange of diplomatic notes Oct. 3 that finalized the deal. Notably, the agreement has raised questions from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle because it lacks legally binding restrictions on enrichment and reprocessing, known […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/10/2014 While negotiations on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty have been deadlocked in the U.N. Conference on Disarmament (CD) since 2011, nuclear expert and Princeton professor Zia Mian said this week that U.S. Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty could initiate a path forward for a future agreement. “It would […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/10/2014 The Mitsubishi Research Institute, the Japanese organization responsible for the awarding of contracts for the conceptual study and feasibility study for fuel debris removal the Fukushima Daii-chi Power Station, announced late last week it had awarded subsidies to 11 organizations under three subject areas to better study cleanup techniques. […]

A new U.S.-Vietnam civil nuclear agreement fully entered into force last week after an exchange of diplomatic notes Oct. 3 that finalized the deal. Notably, the agreement has raised questions from some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle because it lacks legally binding restrictions on enrichment and reprocessing, known as the ‘gold standard.’ The […]

Calling the current state of the U.S.-Russia relationship “one of the worst in bilateral history, not only since the Cold War,” former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said the two nations should restore dialogue on the mutual disarmament of nuclear weapons. At a Monday presentation in Washington focusing on the U.S.-Russia relationship, moderator and former […]

Four vehicles designed to transport radiological materials were commissioned last week in Kazakhstan after a joint effort between the United States, the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan. The transport vehicles will help Kazakhstan meet international guidelines for protecting radiological materials in transit, the National Nuclear Security Administration said Friday. The transport vehicles were purchased thanks to […]

The Mitsubishi Research Institute, the Japanese organization responsible for the awarding of contracts for the conceptual study and feasibility study for fuel debris removal the Fukushima Daii-chi Power Station, announced late last week it had awarded subsidies to 11 organizations under three subject areas to better study cleanup techniques. The fuel debris removal at Fukushima […]

Sellafield Awards £336M Contract to Jacobs-Led Team  Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/2/2014 A team of team of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty has won a contract framework worth up to £336 million ($546 million) for the Box Encapsulation Project at Sellafield, site license company Sellafield Ltd. announced this week. The project aims to treat waste […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/3/2014 While U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech this week at the United Nations marked the second time in two weeks that senior Obama Administration officials have advocated for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty’s entry into force while citing the need for Congressional educational outreach efforts, it remains unclear when the […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/3/2014 Coming on-line this week, SaskPower’s Boundary Dam in Canada became the world’s first post-combustion coal-fired carbon capture and storage project. “It is huge. It literally could be a game changer. Almost any company now or any government, if they’re going to continue to burn coal, should be looking at […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 10/3/2014 Recent actions by Russia to ramp up its nuclear modernization program could serve as a major threat to the United States’ nuclear posture, Hudson Institute fellow William Schneider said this week. Speaking at an Oct. 1 event, Schneider said Moscow’s modernization plans stand in contrast to U.S. modernization efforts, which […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/3/2014 The size of U.S. and Russian stockpiles of deployed nuclear weapons grew significantly over the last six months, according to the latest New START Treaty data released by the State Department this week. The Oct. 1 declaration reveals that the U.S. had 1,642 deployed warheads under the treaty’s counting rules […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority elaborated late last week on how Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM), the responsible organization for the construction of a repository for the nation’s high level waste, will conduct the initial geologic screening to determine potential host sites for a disposal facility. In a […]

The size of U.S. and Russian nuclear stockpiles grew significantly over the last six months, according to the latest New START Treaty data released by the State Department this week. The Oct. 1 declaration reveals that the U.S. had 1,642 deployed warheads under the treaty’s counting rules as of Sept. 1, an increase of 57 […]

The Tokyo Electric Power Company and the United Kingdom’s Sellafield Ltd. officially signed an agreement to share knowledge and lessons-learned on long-term decommissioning work, TEPCO announced yesterday. The two sides announced the agreement in principle earlier this year, but now the agreement is official. Sellafield will help TEPCO at its Fukushima Daii-chi Power Station in […]

Sellafield Limited yesterday announced the award of a contract framework worth up to £336 million ($546 million) to a team of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty for the Box Encapsulation Project. The project aims to treat waste from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and prepare it for long-term storage, as well as process waste from […]

Sellafield Limited yesterday announced the award of a contract framework worth up to £336 million ($546 million) to a team of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty for the Box Encapsulation Project. The project aims to treat waste from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and prepare it for long-term storage, as well as process waste from […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/26/2014 After Russian President Vladimir Putin made remarks earlier this month boasting of Moscow’s nuclear capabilities, a Sept. 22 article published by Russian state-owned RIA Novosti reports that Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced this week that Russia will renew its strategic nuclear forces by 100 percent, up from the […]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sept. 26 joined about 30 other world leaders and representatives from a total of about 90 countries at a meeting on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at United Nations Headquarters in New York to issue the Seventh Joint Ministerial Statement calling for the treaty’s entry into force. “Almost […]

The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority elaborated late last week how Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM), the responsible organization for the construction of a repository for the nation’s high level waste, will conduct the initial geologic screening to determine potential host sites for a disposal facility. In a white paper released over the summer, the […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/26/2014 Despite tensions between the U.S. and Russia, 53 kilograms of highly enriched uranium were returned from Poland to an undisclosed facility in Russia last week in a joint operation coordinated by the National Nuclear Security Administration, and work remains on track to complete the HEU cleanout of Poland by 2016, […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 9/26/2014 As negotiations continue on an extension of the U.S. civil nuclear agreement with South Korea, the Council on Foreign Relations is recommending that the current agreement be extended until 2021 so that a study underway on proliferation risks can be taken into account. Congress earlier this year passed a two-year […]

New Dounreay Funding Profile Expected at End of the Year Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 Completion of a new funding profile for the Dounreay site is now not expected to occur until the end of this year, though officials had originally hoped to complete the process this month. “It’s such a big thing, they don’t […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 9/26/2014 A large private sector presence, coupled with world leaders making significant commitments at the U.N. Climate Summit held this week in New York, could be the motivation the world needs to develop important low-carbon technologies at an accelerated pace, Janet Peace, Vice President of Markets and Business Strategy at […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Allison Macfarlane and former NRC Commissioner William Magwood called on countries to make better progress at building geologic repositories for the spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors in remarks during the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference, held this week in Vienna. Both Macfarlane and […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 9/26/2014 A group of national and regional governments, as well as more than 1,000 companies and investors, have formed a new group to help push for the wide-spread adoption of carbon pricing in an effort to combat climate change. The creation of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition was announced by […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 9/26/2014 The U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada late last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding concerning enhanced energy efforts including carbon capture and storage. Under the MOU, the countries will work together on various fronts including knowledge sharing, technical information and research plans aimed at a variety […]

AVANTech, Inc. announced yesterday that it has received a contract to provide radioactive waste water treatment system to a nuclear plant in Mexico. AVANTECH will provide its AtrexTM system, to treat high conductivity liquid waste streams at the Laguna Verde Nuclear Station. “The addition of Mexico to our list of US and International sites with […]

Russia is expected to renew its strategic nuclear forces (SNF) by 100 percent, more than the previously reported 70 percent renewal, according to a report by Russian state-owned RIA NOVISTI that cited Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. “The formation of the technical basis for strategic nuclear forces is going at a faster rate, and, […]