U.S.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on July 1 said potential top civil penalties for violations of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act had been doubled from $140,000 to $280,469 per violation, as mandated under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015.
A preliminary “catch-up” fine update is demanded by Aug. 1 of this year, according to an NRC press release. The agency, under the law, must also update fines for inflation each year, starting next January.
“The NRC may assess penalties up to the new maximum in all cases assessed after Aug. 1, even if the violation occurred before that time,” the release says. “The NRC will soon publish conforming changes to the agency’s enforcement policy, which includes the process for assessing civil penalties based on the violation’s severity and the type of licensee.”
International
Sellafield Ltd. said Friday the United Kingdom would by the end of 2016 make the second of two repatriation shipments of vitrified highly active waste to Switzerland.
The waste is the byproduct of reprocessing and recycling at the Sellafield site of spent nuclear fuel that had been used to power atomic energy plants in Switzerland, according to a Sellafield press release. It did not cite the amount of waste involved in the shipments.
“The Vitrified Residue Returns (VRR) programme is a key component of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) strategy to repatriate highly active waste from the UK, fulfil overseas contracts and deliver UK Government policy,” according to the release. “These returns involve Sellafield Ltd working in partnership with International Nuclear Services (INS) to remove the waste from the Sellafield site.”
The waste will head by sea to France, where French multinational AREVA will transport it by train to Switzerland, Sellafield Ltd. said. “The shipment will be carried out in full compliance with all applicable national and international regulations.”
Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co. (SKB) said Friday it had sealed a three-year deal to provide expert assistance to Taiwan for permanent disposal of spent nuclear fuel.
National power provider Taipower has been given until 2017 to deliver a report to the Taiwanese government regarding disposition of spent fuel from six reactors dating to the late 1970s, according to an SKB press release.
Personnel from SKB International will provide their know-how in matters such as design of the repository and safety measures. “The intention is to use final repository techniques that correspond to the methods used in Sweden and Finland, the KBS-3 method,” which involves three layers of protective subterranean storage: copper containers held within bentonite clay surrounded by rock.
The conditions in Taiwan, of course, are not the same as those in Sweden or Finland, the release notes. For example, Taiwan is not likely to face an ice age in the future, but does face a far higher danger of earthquakes.
Expert personnel from SKB and Finnish spent fuel disposal specialist Posiva have already met with representatives from Taipower and two research organizations involved in the disposal project. Multiple seminars are planned going forward.
Taiwan has not yet identified potential sites for the repository, the SKB press release says. The facility is not expected to open until 2055, which SKB International official Hans Forsstrom described as an “ambitious” schedule.
Terms of the agreement were not released.
Seven nuclear reactors, five of them in Japan, were permanently shuttered in 2015, the World Nuclear Association said Tuesday.
The list encompasses Grafenrheinfeld in Germany, declared closed in June; Genkai 1, Mihama 1 and 2, Shimane 1, and Tsuruga 1 in Japan, closures dating to just after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that were formalized in March 2015; and Wylfa 1 in the United Kingdom.
“It is noteworthy that of these only one (Wylfa) was due to business-as-usual engineering and economic reasons,” the association said in its World Nuclear Performance Report 2016. “Grafenrheinfeld in Germany was closed for political reasons and the five Japanese units have been offline since soon after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in 2011 and their status as permanently shutdown was made official in 2015 as an accounting change.”
The seven plants represented 3,934 in megawatts capacity, the report says. By contrast, a total capacity of 9,875 megawatts was added globally last year, primarily in China.
While the number of operable reactors increased from 436 to 439 in 2015, the industry faces a number of challenges, including low natural gas prices and continued repercussions from the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, according to the report. Capacity additions at plants last year could not keep up with premature retirements in the United States, where power companies have said natural gas, poor market designs, and other pressures have forced them to shut down reactors before their life cycle ends.
“Considerable experience has been gained [globally] in decommissioning various types of nuclear facilities,” the report says. “About 90 commercial power reactors, 45 experimental or prototype power reactors, as well as over 250 research reactors and a number of fuel cycle facilities, have been retired from operation.”
No less than 15 of the roughly 140 retired power reactors have been completely disassembled, with more than 50 undergoing disassembly, a similar number in SAFSTOR, and three entombed.
French multinational AREVA on July 1 announced that it had completed the sale of nuclear instrumentation and measurement subsidiary Canberra.
The sale to Mirion Technologies was announced last December, months before AREVA declared a more ambitious restructuring last month.
“The sale of Canberra to Mirion is in line with our previously announced restructuring plan and our strategic roadmap released in June,” AREVA CEO Philippe Knoche said in a press release. “Mirion was chosen by AREVA in part because of its long history as a reliable supplier to the nuclear industry, its track record of creating and maintaining highly skilled jobs in France and its strong financial backing. The timely closing of this transaction is a testament to our commitment to pursuing AREVA’s transformation. I sincerely wish a great success to Mirion and Canberra.”
Canberra employs about 1,000 workers.
AREVA in June announced a major reorganization including the formation of New Co., which will hold the company’s nuclear fuel cycle operations.
