September, 2009

Technology development and demonstration continues; updated AC100 production machines being prepared for lead cascade testing program - By Stephen Heiser - USEC Inc. is providing an update on the status of deployment of the American Centrifuge technology following an agreement with the Department of Energy in early August to delay final review of USEC’s loan guarantee application to build...

Inside Hitachi's Advanced Boiling Water Reactor - By Duncan Williams - A recently issued patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,349,518), assigned to Hitachi, Ltd., indicates that many of the efficiencies found in the Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR), including its smaller size, is due to its reactor core design. Before we discuss how the ABWR attains its smaller size, we must first understand how...

620-acre impoundment would have about a third as much water as Mountain Island Lake near Charlotte - Edited by April Murelio - According to a report in The Charlotte Observer, Duke Energy plans to build a large, backup water supply at its Lee nuclear plant site in South Carolina, responding to worries that the proposed plant's massive water needs could overwhelm the Broad River during droughts...

To begin this new initiative, Jaczko released his views on several items before the Commission, including a draft final rule on decommissioning planning and a draft policy statement on safety culture - By Linton Levy - Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko has announced he plans to begin immediately releasing his votes to the public, moving away from the Commission's long...

Nuclear industry will have huge opportunities in India after the civilian nuclear deal signed last year with the U.S. - Edited by Mark McFadden - According to a BBC report, a major increase in nuclear power generation over the next 40 years will help India reduce its impact on global warming, Indian PM Manmohan Singh says. Speaking in Delhi, Manmohan said the nuclear industry would have huge...

About 100 researchers — from China, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, the United States and many European countries — attended - By Linton Levy - Scientists from around the world descended on West Yellowstone, Mont., for a three-day conference on the use of graphite in nuclear reactors. Idaho National Laboratory researcher Will Windes organized the 10th International Nuclear Graphite...

The bulk of the new workers will join Areva’s workforce of 75,000 in France, the United States, China, and the Middle East - Edited by April Murelio - According to a report in The Times Online, Inside a cavernous factory in the French steel town of Chalon-sur-Saône, technicians are welding a giant drum that will one day form the heart of a Chinese nuclear reactor. Once finished, the...

Units are intended to go into operation in May 2014 and March 2015 - Edited by Mark McFadden - According to a report by China's Xinhua, China's State Council (Cabinet) has given the go-ahead to the phase one project of the Shandong Haiyang nuclear power station. The Council's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission reported in a statement on its website Sunday...

State is a prime candidate for nuclear to replace the aging coal plants - By Linton Levy - Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. (AEHI) executives visited Colorado last week to meet with a number of key county and state leaders to ascertain the support for a combination nuclear and solar power plant in Pueblo County. The trip also included a review of the property by a nuclear site expert to determine...

Prepared remarks of Commissioner Dale Klein at the World Nuclear Association - Edited by Stephen Heiser - Thank you. I am pleased to be here to provide a regulator’s perspective on the global marketplace in nuclear energy. We all know that the various steps in the fuel cycle, the design and construction of nuclear power plants, and the manufacturing of parts and components, have all...

Agency remains concerned about radioactive sources that aren´t secure, and that there needs to be an overarching strategy to deal with this issue - By Linton Levy - Policymakers from several IAEA Member States explored radioactive waste issues during the Senior Regulators´ Meeting on the penultimate day of the Agency´s General Conference. The participants introduced their...

NRC will transfer an estimated 500 licenses for radioactive material to New Jersey’s jurisdiction - By Stephen Heiser - The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has completed an agreement with New Jersey, under which the state will assume NRC’s regulatory authority over certain radioactive materials. New Jersey becomes the 37th NRC Agreement State, effective Sept. 30. Under the agreement...

Engineers should be able to design better, more efficient reactors down the road - By Stephen Heiser - A new project at Idaho National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory will improve the way scientists model the inner workings of nuclear reactors. Researchers from the Idaho and New York labs, led by INL's Giuseppe Palmiotti, won a competitive grant from the Department of Energy's...

Project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter 2009 and will take approximately a year from design through delivery - By Linton Levy - Flanders Corporation has won a purchase agreement for 145 Filtration Containment Systems for the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility from Shaw AREVA MOX Services, LLC for $15.5 million. The process equipment will be used in a wide variety of applications...

Remarks By The Honorable Gregory B. Jaczko Chairman Of The NRC - Edited by April Murelio - The Howard Baker Forum Washington, DC I appreciate the opportunity to speak with you today, during the first in a series of roundtables examining U.S.-Japan cooperation in different energy sectors. Before I begin my remarks, I would like to note that a number of the new design certifications and combined...

River Bend nuclear station turnaround sets stage for sustained excellence - By Stephen Heiser - River Bend Station reached an unprecedented milestone recently, when it achieved a perfect 100 index score based on criteria established by the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. The perfect score places River Bend among only a few nuclear plants in the nation to achieve this rating. “This...

Nuclear states endorse IAEA’s work on historic day - By April Murelio - The work of the IAEA and its central role in the global non-proliferation regime were acknowledged at a UN Security Council summit meeting held on 24 September in New York. Council members unanimously adopted US-sponsored resolution 1887 (2009), in which the IAEA’s role in addressing nuclear threats and non-compliance...

INL team will collaborate with scientists at the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System - By Linton Levy - A new research project at Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory will use an innovative approach to learn how to get more use from nuclear fuel. INL has won a competitive research grant that could help nuclear fuel be recycled or used for longer periods of time to...

AREVA will provide refuelling and outage services, replace and repair plant equipment and provide engineering and maintenance support - By Stephen Heiser - AREVA has announced that it has signed a five-year alliance with Progress Energy to become its comprehensive supplier of services and products for the utility’s four nuclear power plants. The multi-million dollar contract consolidates...

On schedule to finish downblending the equivalent of 20,000 nuclear warheads into commercial nuclear power plant fuel by the end of 2013 - By Stephen Heiser - USEC Inc. has announced that the Megatons to Megawatts program has eliminated the equivalent of 15,000 nuclear warheads, completing 75 percent of the program’s goal, and is on schedule to finish downblending the equivalent of 20,000...

Summit On Nuclear Non-Proliferation And Nuclear Disarmament At United Nations Headquarters - Edited by Linton Levy - President Obama: The 6191st meeting of the Security Council is called to order. The provisional agenda for this meeting is before the Council in document S/Agenda/6191, which reads, "Maintenance of international peace and security, nuclear proliferation, and nuclear disarmament...

IAEA Leads Collaborative Project on Nuclear Technology - By April Murelio - Member States have been briefed on an IAEA project that helps nations chart their way forward in choosing innovative technologies when developing sustainable nuclear energy. The International Project on Innovative Nuclear Reactors and Fuel Cycles (INPRO) brings together technology holders and users so that they can...

Finck is the associate laboratory director for Nuclear Science & Technology at INL - By Stephen Heiser - One of Idaho National Laboratory's top managers, Phillip J. Finck, Ph.D., has been elected to the membership of the elite International Nuclear Energy Academy (INEA). INEA is a group of prominent, experienced scientists, engineers and related nuclear energy specialists who conduct...

KSG runs a simulator center which is the largest of its kind in the world - By Linton Levy - IFS, a global enterprise applications company, has announced that the German nuclear power simulator and training company, KSG Kraftwerks-Simulator-Gesellschaft mbH (KSG), has chosen to implement IFS Applications to enhance its planning and financial processes. KSG runs a simulator center which is...

Roadmap for meeting future demand at lowest reasonable cost may include third nuclear generating unit at the North Anna Power Station - By Stephen Heiser - Dominion Virginia Power has filed its Integrated Resource Plan with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, a document that forecasts growth in customers' demand and energy over the next 15 years at the lowest reasonable cost to customers...