Nuclear Waste Storage

DOE Budget Request Submitted
13 February 2007

NUCLEAR ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL (UK) -- US secretary of energy Samuel W. Bodman announced President Bush’s $24.3 billion budget request for the Department of Energy (DoE) for the 2008 fiscal year, to strengthen energy security by diversifying resources and reducing reliance on foreign sources.

The FY 2008 request, which is 26% more than last year’s, is designed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy, clean coal and nuclear. This comes through the Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI) which promotes the development of cleaner sources of electricity production and which accounts for $2.7 billion of the total DoE budget.

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management requests $495 million to further plan for a permanent, geologic repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. At $50 million below the FY 2007 request, the latest budget sets the DoE on a path to file a licence application no later than 30 June, 2008.
Source: www.neimagazine.com

Source Reliability: 7.5

-Josh

Uranium Mining and Milling

Uranium Cleanup Faces Delay-- Moab Decontamination Could Take 20 Years
9 February 2007

DESERT MINING NEWS (WASHINGTON) — The Energy Department's new 2028 completion date to clean up uranium-mill tailings in Moab shocked Rep. Jim Matheson at an Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday.

Matheson asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman about the project's status and why the department has a pending request for a contractor to move only 2.5 million tons of waste over five years.
The project, as approved by Congress, is to move the 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings from a pile near the Colorado River, north of Moab, to a location near Grand Junction, Colo.
Bodman told Matheson that the department has made the decision to move the tailings pile, but the project is expected to take 20 years, with completion in 2028.
Source: http://deseretnews.com

Source Reliability: 7

-Tom

Nuclear Power Reactors

Company To Lease Land Along Snake River For Nuclear Power Plant
8 February 2007

SUNNY VALLEY NEWS (IDAHO) - Alternate Energy Holdings Incorporation (AEHI) announced thursday, 8 February 2007, that it has signed a lease agreement with an Idaho farmer to purchase 4,000 acres along the Snake River to build a 1,500 Megawatt nuclear reactor. The company claims they will use the energy to pump irrigation water, for Idaho’s energy grid, and to sell on the open energy market. Public Citizen Energy Program maintains the proposal is completely unnecessary to meet Idaho’s energy needs and could put local communities on the hook for millions. Michele Boyd, legislative director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program stated that “this land grab in Idaho by AEHI is obviously an effort to get in on federal taxpayer handouts... In fact, the billions in federal subsidies are not enough to make nuclear power cost-competitive, so those companies have snookered local communities into ponying up hundreds of millions more. I doubt that is what Idahoans have in mind.” Mr. Boyd is referring to the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which provides more than $12 billion in cradle-to-grave subsidies for new nuclear power plants.
Source: http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=3042

Source Reliability: 7.5

-Ryan

Uranium Enrichment and Refinement

Nuclear Terrorism Risk Seen Growing
7 February 2007

REUTERS(LONDON)---Western governments must take seriously the possibility of terrorists exploding a nuclear bomb as the necessary materials and know-how for producing a nuclear weapon become easier to acquire, security analysts associated with the EastWest Institute argue in two new reports. In a separate report, London's influential Chatham House think-tank said it is feasible that terrorists could acquire an atomic bomb, build one themselves, create an "improvised nuclear device" or blow up a nuclear power station. According to Paul Cornish, the head of the international security program at Chatham House, the design, materials and engineering for a bomb "have all become commodities, more or less available to those determined enough to acquire them."
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/02/07/AR2007020701919.html

Source Reliability: 8

Comment: According to the EastWest Insititute, materials and know-how on how to make a nuclear bomb, will continue to become more accessible as more states move towards acquiring nuclear capabilities. One of the largest concerns is that terrorist organizations will acquire uranium that does not need to be put through the enrichment process, but however, can be used to create a low-grade improvised bomb. This bomb would not release as much force as an atomic explosion; however, the force would likely still be equivelant to that of an explosion of a few kilotons of TNT.

--Nate

Nuclear Conversion And Processing

Thorium Power Provides Update On Talks With Poland
9 February 2007

CCNMATTHEWS (MCLEAN)— Thorium Power Ltd. announced 9 February 2007 that discussions are currently underway with senior Polish government officials and representatives from the Swierk Institute of Atomic Energy in Warsaw regarding the development of nuclear power infrastructure in Poland. Over the past quarter, a regular series of meetings have been held between Thorium power delegates and the Polish government. and discussions continue to advance in a most positive manner. Thorium Power is a leading developer of low waste, non-proliferative nuclear fuel processing technology.

Poland has formally submitted its 2007 budget to the European Union. The budget includes a request of 95 million Euros ($123 million) over a six-year period specifically for the development of nuclear infrastructure. The scope of the projects include vetting light-water reactors for the generation of electricity, and high-temperature reactors for the generation of electricity and process heat for the gasification of coal and conversion of coal into liquid. The Thorium delegates and the Polish government representatives are giving particular attention to incorporating thorium-based fuels in their light water and high temperature reactor programs. The project also provides for the development of research reactors and expansion of the country's nuclear research facilities.
Source: http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=634888

Source Reliability: 7.5

-Ian

Nuclear Waste Storage

Nuclear Storage: Ready, Willing, Able, And Undecided
6 February 2007

ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY (UNITED KINGDOM) -- An expert report into the UK's long term nuclear waste storage plans has concluded there are no insurmountable technical barriers to storing nuclear waste deep underground. But the report urges government policy makers to keep the public informed about their plans.

By the summer of 2007, the government hopes to unveil a report explaining how suitable storage sites can be selected. From the granite or crystalline rocks found in Scotland to the clays found through the Midlands and East of England, between a third and two-thirds of the UK is geologically suitable for storing waste some 300-1000 metres deep, Alan Hooper of Nirex UK told reporters at a press conference.

Another question facing the government is whether any repository should stay open for a time - allowing waste to be monitored and perhaps retrieved - or whether it should be instantly sealed. The scientific consensus was that sealing immediately was probably safer, said David Read of the University of Aberdeen.

Wherever nuclear waste ends up being buried, getting public consent will be just as important, experts warned. Even if the process went without a hitch from now on, it would take at least twenty years to complete, said Read.
Source: www.rsc.org

Source Reliability: 8

-Josh

Fuel Fabrication

Removal Of Damaged Fuel Completed At Paks
30 January 2007

WNN (PAKS) — TVEL removed some 30 damaged nuclear fuel rods from a washing tank at Paks 2. The undamaged reactor restarted on 30 December 2006. On 10 April 2003 water circulation in a nuclear fuel washing well was inadequate causing a Level 3 incident on the International Nuclear Events Scale. Highly radioactive material accumulated on the floor of the well as 30 nuclear fuel rods suffered damage from overheating. In remarks reported by Nuclear.Ru, Istvan Kovacs, director general of MVM, part owners of the plant, said he had personally insisted on choosing the bid from Russia's TVEL to complete the removal ahead of the other bidder, Areva NP, who had manufactured the original washing equipment when known as Framatome ANP. Kovacs said: "All fuel fragments and pellets have been removed, placed in special tubes and transferred to the hold-up pool." The recovery operation should be complete by March after the decontamination and removal of the tank, and the decontamination of washing well 2. Source: www.world-nuclear-news.org

Source Reliability: 8

Comment: The Paks Nuclear Power Plant is the only operating nuclear power station
in Hungary. The plant’s four reactors produce more than 40 percent of the electrical power generated in the country.

-Kelly

Fuel Fabrication

Appeals Rejected Against PBMR Fuel Plant
30 January 2007

WNN (KOEBERG) — South Africa's Minister for Environmental Affairs and Tourism, has rejected appeals against a pilot plant at Pelindaba to manufacture fuel for Eskom's planned pebble-bed modular reactor (PBMR) at Koeberg. Marthinus van Schalkwyk released his Record of Decision (RoD) on 26 January. He said that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) complied with the necessary requirements and that the plant would not have a “significant detrimental impact on the environment.” The Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) had received a total of 27 appeals from various organizations and individuals. The appellants were, among other things, dissatisfied with the EIA process, opposed to the consequences of long-term storage of high-level radioactive waste and contaminated materials, as well as the environmental impacts associated with the pilot fuel plant in terms of radiological safety and accident scenarios, such as graphite fires and health impacts. Source: www.world-nuclear-news.org

Source Reliability: 8

Comment: The Pelindaba Nuclear Research Center is home to the South African nuclear weapons program and the Atomic Energy Board site, which includes the Safari-1 research reactor, a hot cell complex, a waste disposal site, and conversion and fuel fabrication facilities.

-Kelly

Nuclear Research Reactors

£20m For Nuclear Research Centre
26 January 2007

THE ENGINEER ONLINE (LONDON) -- The University of Manchester’s Dalton Nuclear Institute and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) are establishing a major new nuclear research facility in West Cumbria, England, according to a collaboration agreement that calls for each organisation to invest USD 20 million over a seven-year period. The new lab will be equipped with specialized equipment that will drive research into radiation sciences and engineering decommissioning. The new facility, which will form part of the UK Government's recently announced National Nuclear Laboratory, will be located at Westlakes Science and Technology Park, near Whitehaven. The lab will have close links with the existing British Technology Center (BTC) at Sellafield, which is managed by Nexia Solutions.
Source: The Engineer Online

Source Reliability: 8

Comment: The BBC provides a fuller discussion of Nexia Solutions and the UK effort to develop a national laboratory system in this article. BBC Online

- Pat

Nuclear Power Reactors

Alerts Shut 4 Swedish Nuke Plants
3 February 2007

REUTERS (STOCKHOLM) - Four out of Sweden's 10 nuclear reactors were off-line on Saturday 3 February 2007 because of safety worries, capping a difficult week for the Nordic country's nuclear industry. State owned power group Vattenfall shut down Forsmark reactors 1 and 2 after it detected a problem in a rubber seal on the outer wall of one of the reactors. Earlier this week Vattenfall shut down the Ringhals 3 reactor to check and adjust instruments after some anomalous readings. Its sister reactor, Ringhals 1, has been off-line since Monday after a problem with its cooling system. Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/02/03/nuclear.sweden.reut/

Source Reliability: 9

Comment: Sweden relies on nuclear power for around half of its energy. The Ringhals nuclear power plant is the largest in Sweden and accounts for roughly 20 percent of Sweden's electricity production. The Forsmark nuclear power plant accounts for roughly a sixth of Sweden’s electricity production.

-Ryan

Nuclear Mining and Milling

Rio Tinto Underlines Australia's Opportunity For Uranium
02 February 2007

PEOPLE’S DAILY ONLINE (CHINA)— The world's second biggest mining company Rio Tinto has said big opportunities are opening up for Australia to meet growing world demand for uranium. "We have got some prospects for increasing our uranium production in the two-to five-year time frame," said Rio Tinto Chief Executive Leigh Clifford on February 2, 2007. "So in the relatively short time frame, and clearly the nuclear power industry is going to be supplied with uranium from somewhere, there is a real opportunity for our group and Australia to be the supplier and be the reliable supplier," he said. Source: http://english.people.com.cn/200702/02/eng20070202_346974.html

Source Reliability 7.5

-Tom

Uranium Enrichment and Refinement

Diplomats Say Iran Has Begun Assembling Machines At Underground Uranium Enrichment Plant
2 February 2007

ASSOCIATED PRESS (VIENNA)---Hundreds of workers in Iran have set up piping, control panels and electric cables at the Natanz underground uranium enrichment plant in Iran, diplomats said today, February 2. This is the final step before installing equipment that the international community fears could be used to make nuclear arms. The diplomats accredited with the International Atomic Energy Agency emphasized that the work at the plant was preliminary. But one diplomat said that centrifuges were already being lowered by freight elevator into the facility, along with other equipment needed to assemble "cascades''. Cascades are centrifuges in a series that spin and re-spin uranium gas to the required level of enrichment. These diplomats said that to their knowledge, no centrifuges had yet been set up. Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/world/4520623.html

Source Reliability: 8

Analysis: Due to evidence that Iranian workers have been working at this underground facility for at least the past three weeks including, laying down piping, control panels and electrical cables, and other evidence that suggests that centrifuges have begun to be lowerd down into the facility, it is likely that the Iranian government will begin to install 3000 gaseous centrifuges at the Natanz facility by next week. A diplomat, associated with the International Atomic Energy agency also stated, today, that all the preliminary work for installation on the centrifuges has been completed at the Natanz facility and that all that is left is the actual installation of the 3000 centrifuges.

Analytic Confidence: 7

--Nate

Nuclear Conversion And Processing

India Has No Constraint To Proceed With 'Closed Fuel Cycle'
30 January 2007

HINDUSTAN TIMES (MUMBAI)— India will not have any constraint to proceed with the "closed fuel cycle" as Russia has recognised India as its equal partner as well as a responsible nuclear country, top officials of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) said 30 January 2007. The NPCIL statement follows a 25 January 2007 agreement where four Russian nuclear reactors will be constructed in Kudankulum by 2012 to 2013. NPCIL officials further stated that the Indo-Russian nuclear agreement signed on 25 January 2007 stands in "sharp contrast to Indo-US nuclear deliberations in which the whole agenda apart from providing economic benefit to US business, further restricts 'even' India's indigenously created technologies, under the guise of non-proliferation."

"Issues on spent fuel was never a problem with Russians and they have clearly said about the use of closed fuel cycle with the Russian reactors," NPCIL officials further stated. India would be able to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons when the closed fuel cycle is used. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1915499,0008.htm

Source Reliability: 6.5

-Ian

Nuclear Waste Storage

America Faces Bigger Risk Than Agency Claims
29 January 2007

CHICAGO TRIBUNE (CHICAGO) -- A Chicago Tribune investigation found that the U.S. Energy Department is exaggerating its progress in securing tons of nuclear-weapons fuel spread across the globe. Among the ways the government overstates its success is through a numbers game that ignores the highly enriched uranium in many reactors around the world.

Documents and interviews show that one of the first things energy officials did, after restructuring its program to retrieve bomb fuel, was to make their job easier: They quit trying to remove bomb fuel from eight reactors that proved to be difficult cases, including one in Russia using four nuclear bombs' worth of fuel a year. In all, the Bush administration is trying to remove weapons-grade fuel from 60 research reactors worldwide, often speaking of this list as if it were complete. However there are at least 41 more reactors using highly enriched uranium fuel that the U.S. is not addressing.

Only 7 percent of the known quantities of U.S.-supplied spent fuel has been shipped back to America. Eighteen tons remain spread worldwide. Much of that fuel is in Europe and other parts of the developed world, but experts say the material is a potential threat no matter where it is.

The week of 21 January 2007 provided a fresh reminder. Georgian authorities disclosed they caught a man trying to sell highly enriched uranium he had hidden in plastic bags inside his pocket.

He came from the nation with the largest supply of vulnerable bomb fuel: Russia. Source: chicagotribune.com

Source Reliability: 8

Analysis: It is likely that the majority of the 18 tons of U.S.-supplied spent fuel remaining throughout the world will be shipped back to the U.S. or secured elsewhere within the next decade. Nearly 20% of the outstanding 18 tons is located at one facility in Obninsk, near Moscow. Furthermore, as the number of relatively “easy” locations to extract weapons-grade spent fuel from decreases, the U.S. Energy Department will begin to focus its resources on more difficult/troublesome locations that this source claims it has neglected to consider.

Analytic Confidence: 6

-Josh

Nuclear Power Reactors

PSEG N.J. Hope Creek Reactor Shut
29 January 2007

REUTERS (NEW YORK) -- Public Service Enterprise Group Inc.'s (PSEG) will shut down its 1,049-megawatt Hope Creek nuclear power station in New Jersey by early Monday, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said. On Friday, the unit was operating at full power. The Hope Creek station, which entered service in 1986, is located in Hancock’s Bridge in Salem County, about 40 miles south of Philadelphia. One MW powers about 800 homes in New Jersey. PSEG told the NRC it planned to file for a 20-year extension of Hope Creek's original 40-year operating license in Sept. 2009. After the NRC accepts another application, it usually takes the nuclear regulator about 22 months to make a decision on a license renewal without a hearing and about 30 months with a hearing. PSEG told the NRC it planned to file for a 20-year extension of Hope Creek's original 40-year operating license in Sept. 2009. Source:
http://tinyurl.com/3e552j

Source Reliability: 9

-Ryan

Nuclear Conversion And Processing

Renova And Tekhsnabexport Team Up With Uranium
22 January 2007

KOMMERSANT (MOSCOW)— Viktor Vekselberg's Renova Group and OAO Tekhsnabexport (TENEX) on Friday 19 January 2007 announced a joint venture to conduct uranium exploration and production in South Africa, Namibia and Gabon. Renova partner Mark Buzuk told Kommersant that the venture may later extend to the Dordon-Aimak and Gurvan-Bulag deposits in Mongolia. An industry source said that Renova may receive up to a 50-percent share in the African joint ventures with Tekhsnabexport, the latter’s first deal with another Russian firm and the most lucrative for a partner since a 25-percent deal with the Japanese firm Mitsui. Buzuk told Kommersant that Renova would completely finance the project, adding that Tekhsnabexport would handle sales of uranium, while Renova would have the right to sell accompanying metals, such as gold. Kommersant quoted unnamed analysts as applauding Renova’s uranium deal, where profitability can reach 80 percent. Source: http://www.kommersant.com/p735629/Renova_Tekhsnabexport_uranium/

Source Reliability: 7.5

Comment: Tekhsnabexport has not indicated any plans over processing the fuel at conversion facility at Angarsk, Russia. Developing nuclear programs in Japan, China, and India are likely destinations for the yellowcake.

-Ian

Nuclear Mining and Milling

Uranium One To Raise Production, Cut Costs By Mining Dumps At Dominion
27 January 2007

MINING WEEKLY (SOUTH AFRICA)— Uranium-miner UraniumOne plans to increase production and reduce costs over the next three years at its Dominion, South Africa mining operation by recovering uranium and gold from mine dumps located on the property, according to a company statement UraniumOne released on 17 January 2007. The statement reported that these dump sites have indicated reserves of 1.2 million pounds of uranium and 55,000 ounces of gold. The company has additional prospecting applications pending for 16,815 hectares. After almost doubling in 2006, uranium prices are likely to continue a strong run, Mining Weekly suggested, adding that demand continues to outstrip supply and miners rush to bring new operations into production. Source: http://www.miningweekly.co.za/min/utilities/search/?show=100190

Source Reliability: 8.5

-Tom

Nuclear Research Reactors

AMEC Extends Laboratory
25 January 2007

ENGINEER ONLINE (LONDON) AMEC is adding 10 percent additional floor space to its nuclear science laboratory in the northwest England town of Birchwood on 26 January 2007. The company's nuclear consultancy, AMEC NNC, expects to add significantly to AMEC's 80 existing jobs in order to meet demand from customers such as British Energy, British Nuclear Group and UKAEA.

'This extension will support current UK reactor operations work and also play a major role in decommissioning activities of British Nuclear Group at Sellafield and Magnox reactor sites. We anticipate adding to our team of 80 scientists in the coming months and also continuing to develop the North West as a major centre of expertise vital for the future of the UK nuclear industry,’ said Greg Willetts, AMEC NNC's Director of Laboratory Services. Source: http://www.e4engineering.com/Articles/297882/AMEC+extends+laboratory.htm

Source Reliability: 9

-Pat

Fuel Fabrication

U.N. Officials Say Iran Plans To Start Installing Centrifuges Next Month
26 January 2007

AP (DAVOS) — Senior Iranian officials have informally told officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran expects to announce in February 2007 its intention to install 3,000 centrifuges in an underground facility at Natanz, according to comments made by Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei on 26 January 2007 on the margins of the World Economic Forum. U.N. officials, who demanded anonymity because the information was confidential, emphasized that Iran had not notified their agency officially. Source: http://www.panews.com/news/local_story_026104025.html?keyword=topstory

Source Reliability: 8

-Kelly

Nuclear Waste Storage

Video Clip Of Transportation Cask Testing.

Uranium Enrichment and Refinement

Putin Calls For Global Nuclear Energy
24 January 2007

UPI (MOSCOW)--- On Tuesday 23 January 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed that international organizations like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) establish uranium enrichment centers where all countries can gain access to nuclear technologies and materials under strict international regulation. President Putin, who was to travel to India on Wednesday 24 January 2007, told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti that the world must meet growing energy demands while also avoiding nuclear weapons proliferation. Source: http://www.upi.com/Energy/view.php?StoryID=20070124-011603-5448r

Source Reliability: 7.5

--Nate

Nuclear Waste Storage

Ukrainian NPP's To Soon Store Spent Fuel Domestically
22 January 2007

EASTBUSINESS.ORG (UKRAINE) -- Ukrainian Fuel and Enery Minister Yuriy Boyko told reporters in Simferopol late last week that Ukrainian nuclear power plants will be using a new, Ukraine-based storage facility to conserve spent nuclear fuel. Use of this new facility will be restricted to Ukrainian nuclear facilities only. Boyko also said that at present, three of Ukraine's nuclear power plants lack storage facilities and send their waste to Russia. Meanwhile, Russia has been raising the cost of these storage services. If Russia shuts down its spent fuel facilities to Ukraine, the local nuclear plants will be forced to close their doors.

Source: Eastbusiness.org Accessed via Nexus.com 23 January 2007 (Reliability: 6)

Comment: Ukraine currently has 15 operating water-moderated nuclear reactors, which supply approximately 49% of the nation's energy. Ukraine also has plans underway to build an additional 2 reactors which would increase the nation's nuclear energy output of 13,168 MW's by another 1,900 MW's.

-Josh

Nuclear Mining and Milling

Kazakhstan To Expand Uranium Production And Supply
18 January 2007

WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS (UK)— Kazakhstan plans to expand uranium production in 2007, in addition to marketing its nuclear fuel products to Western and Asian markets. The country plans to increase uranium production by 31% in 2007, to 6937 tons, compared with output of 5279 tons in 2006, the Kazakh Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry announced. Over the 2001-2005 period, Kazakh uranium production rose from 2000 to 4357 tons per year, and further mine development is underway with a view to annual production of 15000 tons by 2010.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/2zlk6d

Source Reliability: 8.5

-Tom

Enrichment and Refinement

Iran President Defies U.N. Sanction Resolution
21 January 2007

REUTERS (TEHRAN)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday, January 21st, that the United Nations Security Council will not change the Iranian government's nuclear policies by passing additional sanctions resolutions against Tehran. "The resolution was born dead and even if they issue 10 more of such resolutions it will not affect Iran's economy and policies,'' Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said in a speech to the Iranian parliament broadcast live on state television. According to Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, "The issue about suspension of uranium enrichment does not have any logical or legal basis. Therefore it is not acceptable."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-iran-nuclear-ahmadinejad.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Source Reliability: 7.5

-Nate

Nuclear Conversion And Processing

Pakistan Expanding Nuclear Reactor Facilities To Give Increased Capabilities For Nuclear Weapons
18 January 2007

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL (WASHINGTON)— The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) concluded that Pakistan is expanding its nuclear facilities in order to make nuclear weapons. ISIS based their conclusion on commercial satellite imagery it received from DigitalGlobe and GeoEye of the Chasma nuclear industrial park in Pakistan. ISIS indicated that the imagery depicts the construction of a second nuclear reactor at Chasnupp, a fuel fabrication facility, and a fuel reprocessing facility. Although ISIS was not certain that the facilities are operational, the nature and rate of construction indicate the facilities may soon be ready for operations. ISIS further stated that the reprocessing facility may be capable of "separating weapons-grade plutonium out of spent reactor fuel in order to develop thermonuclear weapons as well as increase the size of its nuclear arsenal."
Source: www.upi.com

Source: Reliability: 8

Pictured Right: Map of nuclear facilities in Pakistan including the Chasnupp nuclear industrial park. Source: http://tinyurl.com/39lapc

-Ian

Nuclear Research Reactors

Vietnam To Upgrade Sole Nuclear Reactor
18 January 2007

VIETNAM NEWS AGENCY (HO CHI MINH CITY)— The Nuclear Research Institute (NRI) at Da Lat has temporarily shut down Vietnam’s only nuclear reactor for necessary repairs to its control system (see photo, right). According to that country’s National Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety and Control, the 500 KW nuclear reactor, which NRI has used for training and research for nearly a quarter of a century at the institute’s facilities in the central highlands province of Lam Dong, is getting its second upgrade in a decade courtesy of a combination of domestic and international funding. Foreign experts will supervise tests of the reactor in March 2007, and NRI will bring the reactor back on line in May 2007.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/yvav25

Source Reliability: 7

-Pat

Fuel Fabrication

India, Russia To Ink Deal On Nuke Units During Putin’s Visit
20 January 2007

PTI (MOSCOW) – During President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi next week, India and Russia are likely to ink an initial agreement on the construction of four additional nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu's Kudankulam. A top government official said,"We will provide all-round support to India in its quest for the civilian nuclear technology, including joint development of new generation reactors, supply of nuclear fuel as it is the only option to satisfy the energy requirements of its rapidly expanding economy." Moscow is already building two units of 1000 MW in Kudankulam. Source: ptinews.com

Source Reliability: 7

-Kelly

Nuclear Power Reactors

Nuclear Plant Shut Down After Box Breaks Loose
17 Janurary 2007

AP (MONTICELLO, MN.) - Xcel Energy Inc. shut down its nuclear plant at Monticello indefinitely while experts investigate why a large component broke loose and triggered the plant's automatic safety systems. Jan Strasma, spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said a 35,000-pound control box fell off a steal beam inside the plant, but outside the reactor, last Wednesday, 10 January 2006. He went on to say the control box dropped about a foot onto a large steam pipe, and probably damaged the pipe and perhaps insulation on other steam lines. This incident caused the reactor's automatic shutdown, and no radiation was released, federal and company officials said. "There was no release of radioactivity, no threat to public health and safety, and all of the reactor's safety systems functioned normally," Strasma said.
Source: http://wcco.com/local/local_story_016225203.html

Source Reliability: 9

-Ryan

Nuclear Waste Storage

Order For Diablo Review Stands Up
17 January 2007

THE TRIBUNE (SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA) - The U.S. Supreme Court announced Tuesday January 16th that it will not review a lower court decision requiring an examination of how a terrorist attack on Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant's aboveground waste storage could harm the environment. That ruling will likely force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and PG&E to redo the environmental analysis of the dry-cask storage facility, complete with more public hearings to specifically address how the environment could be harmed if terrorists attack the facility. NRC officials do not yet have a timeline for fulfilling the court ruling, said Dave McIntyre, NRC spokesman. Diablo Canyon's used but still highly radioactive nuclear waste is now stored in two pools at the plant. These pools are nearly full, and PG&E needs to transfer some of the older spent fuel to dry casks to make way for newer spent fuel.
Source: http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/16478024.htm

Source Reliability: 7

-Josh