More delays for FIN-5.
(July 14, 2006) Finnish power company TVO said that the completion of the country's fifth nuclear power reactor - and the world's first EPR reactor - will be further delayed by a year due to planning complications. The 1,600-megawatt reactor is now not expected to be in operation until the second quarter if 2010. The project had already been delayed for several months when construction had to be stopped because of faulty concrete. TVO project manager Martin Landtman said that the Franco-German supplier, Areva-Siemens would not be able to complete on schedule due to the scale of the project. "The individual designs and plans have taken longer than earlier expected," said Landtman, adding, "The timetable has also been affected by the fact that such a sizable and demanding project has not been carried out for many years. Finland's nuclear regulatory authority STUK has criticised the management of the EPR project. Areva shares on the Paris stock exchange fell by 7.71% upon the news that more funds would be set aside to cover costs of the delays.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, July 13 2006; AP, July 11 2006
Activists arrested in Russia.
(July 14, 2006) Thirteen environmentalists were arrested after staging an anti-nuclear protest in St Petersburg where the G8 Summit will be held. Protest organisers Bellona, a Norwegian environmental group, said that activists were roughed up by Russian police at the rally held to protest against the storage of nuclear waste in Russia.
AFP, July 11 2006
U.S. to offer Russia sweetener on Iran.
(July 14, 2006) Breaking with decades of tradition, the United States is to negotiate a civil nuclear deal with Russia to 'encourage' Moscow to support its efforts to get sanctions imposed on Iran over its alleged nuclear weapons ambitions. The deal, still in its infancy, could lead to Russia earning billions of dollars storing irradiated nuclear fuel from US reactors.
The Independent, July 10 2006
Bishops declare Trident evil.
(July 14, 2006) Nineteen bishops have written to Tony Blair warning him against replacing Britain's nuclear weapons describing them as "evil" and "profoundly anti-God". As a devout Christian, it is hoped that the intervention of the religious leaders will have some affect. The letter says: "Trident and other nuclear arsenals threaten long-term and fatal damage to the global environment and its people." The bishops suggest that the vast sums that would be required to replace the weapons would be better spent fulfilling commitments made to ending poverty at last G8 Summit in 2005 and on addressing pressing environmental concerns.
The Independent, July 10 2006
Climate impact on Swedish NPP.
(July 14, 2006) The management of Sweden's Ringhals-4 revealed that it was forced to decrease power by 50% when saltwater used for cooling reached almost 25 degrees C (77 degrees F), the upper limit for cooling water temperature on July 8. By reducing power, it hoped to help reduce the seawater temperature since water being returned to the sea would be cooler. Sweden has been experiencing a heat wave and ocean water temperatures have been rising rapidly.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, July 10 2006
Earthlife granted right to appeal.
(July 14, 2006) The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has granted Earthlife Africa Cape Town (ELA CT) leave to appeal the earlier judgement of Acting Judge of the High Court, Judge Fevrier, in the Eskom Board Minutes Court Case. The SCA also set aside the costs order in the leave to appeal application. ELA CT has commended the SCA for recognizing the validity of its application and for ensuring that the law is applied equitably. In 2005 ELA CT launched an application for access to Eskom Board Minutes pertaining to the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) in the hope that these documents would provide Eskom's rationale for failing to supply adequate information on the health impacts and economics of the PBMR.
Earthlife Africa press release, July 7 2006
EU enrichment deal.
(July 14, 2006) Urenco and Areva have signed an agreement to establish the uranium enrichment centrifuge technology joint venture, Enrichment Technology Co (ETC). Areva bought a 50% stake in ETC, which comprises all Urenco's centrifuge research and development, enrichment installations, design and manufacturing activities for 500 million Euros (around US$ 635 million). An initial agreement signed in 2002 needed approval from the three governments owning Urenco (UK, Germany & Netherlands) as well as being subject to competition clearance from the European Commission.
WNA Weekly Digest, July 7 2006 & News Briefing 06.27, July 5-11 2006
Chernobyl thyroid cancer link.
(July 14, 2006) A new U.S. study has confirmed a substantially increased risk of thyroid cancer among people exposed to radiation during childhood and adolescence following the Chernobyl nuclear accident. The study is the first to measure the risk of thyroid cancer associated with specific radiation dosage. A total of 13,127 of the 32,385 individuals living in the most contaminated area of the Ukraine during the meltdown and who ere under 18 at the time were screened between 1998 and 2000. The Columbia University (New York) doctors, led by Dr. Geoffrey R. Howe, found that 45 cases of thyroid cancer occurred compared with 11.2 cases that would have been expected in the absence of radiation exposure.
Reuters, July 7 2006
Pakistan seeks foreign nuclear investment.
(July 14, 2006) In an apparent bid to get its own civil nuclear deal from the U.S., Pakistan has announced that it is ready to allow foreign companies to invest in its nuclear power plants with the option to take back spent fuel to allay proliferation concerns. Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri said that there was "no case for not giving [this] nuclear technology to Pakistan", that "no harm" would be done to global counter proliferation efforts and that he would press Islamabad's case on international visits. The minister rejected reports of cooler Pak-US relations following U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice's comments that President Musharraf needed to increase efforts against al-Qaeda and the Taliban and urges to hold "free and fair elections", instead claiming that the Bush administration had highly praised its counter-terrorism efforts on the Afghan border.
The Indian Express, July 5 2006
UK govt inspectors dismiss reactor crack reports.
(July 14, 2006) Correspondence between reactor operator British Energy (BE) and the Nuclear Safety Directorate (NSD) have revealed structural damage to nuclear reactors in the UK. The documents passed to Greenpeace UK, and analysed by independent nuclear engineer John Large, show that the bricks making up the reactor cores of the UK's 14 advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR) are cracked although they continue to operate. In a severe event the cracked graphite bricks could cause safety mechanisms to fail, potentially resulting in a nuclear accident. A report by NSD on the Hinkley Point AGR NPP concluded that there is "an increased likelihood of increased risk should we agree to continued operation." The government's nuclear inspectors have since played down the reports claiming that "matter has moved on" and that they are confident of safety.
The Guardian & Greenpeace UK press release, July 5 2006
Thirteen in Cernavoda bid.
(July 14, 2006) Romania will allow thirteen bids to be submitted for the construction and operation of the third and fourth nuclear reactors planned for the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. The country currently operates one Candu reactor at the site and plans to launch a second - funded with a 2004 Euratom loan - next year. The Ministry of Economy said that offers from Romanian firms TESS Conex-ASAM-Iasi, Electrica Bucuresti, Alro Slatina, AES (U.S.), Enel (Italy), Iberdrola (Spain), Gabriel Resources (Canada), Electrabel (Belgium), Germany's RWE and E.ON, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Ansaldo with AECL (Italy and Canada), and Unit Investments with Dogan Enerji (Luxembourg and Turkey) are expected by July 30. Works on Cernavoda began some 30 years ago but were abandoned in 1990 when a survey revealed equipment in poor condition and faulty welding.
Reuters, June 29 2006
Indonesia nuclear tender set for 2007.
(July 14, 2006) Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro announced that the government is to hold a tender to select contractors for the construction of the country's first nuclear power plant next year. In accordance with the country's energy policy, the reactor is expected to be sited at Gunung Muria - at the base of a dormant volcano in a highly seismic area and near four of Indonesia's most important sites of Islamic pilgrimage - and should go online between 2015 and 2016. Purnomo said that foreign investors were most likely to be interested in the project, which would be coordinated by the National Nuclear Power Agency's Nuclear Energy and Development Centre. Past efforts by former president Soeharto to bring nuclear power to the country were abandoned following strong public and NGO resistance.
The Jakarta Post, June 29 2006; Greenpeace UK email, June 30 2006
Russia test-fires ballistic missile.
(July 14, 2006) The ballistic missiles was fired from a submarine in the Barents Sea and landed on the Kura test range in the Kamchatka peninsula some 3,000 miles away in the country's far east. Russian Navy spokesman said that the test demonstrated the "high readiness of the Navy Strategic Nuclear Forces".
Associated Press, June 30 2006
Free treatment for nuke test survivors.
(July 14, 2006) The remaining survivors of British nuclear tests carried out in Australia between 1952 and 1963 will now be eligible for free cancer treatment. The new federal government policy follows the release of a seven-year study into the link between the nuclear tests and incidents of cancer in test participants. Although the study found that cancer rates among the group was higher than that of the general population, it concluded that there was no connection between exposure to radiation and the participants increased cancer rates. Some 16,000 Australians took part in the tests at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia and at the Monte Bello Islands off the coast of Western Australia. More than 11,000 participated in the health study, which began in 1999, and half have since died.
Yahoo! Australia, June 28 2006
Japanese worker irradiated.
(July 14, 2006) A worker at the Rokkasho nuclear fuel reprocessing plant was exposed to a 'small' amount of radiation but has apparently suffered no health problems as a result. An official of the Aomori prefecture government said that a doctor had examined the man and that there had been no effect either the man or on the surrounding environment.
Reuters, June 26 2006
Uranium refinery for Saskatchewan.
(July 14, 2006) Lorne Calvert, Saskatchewan Premier, has visited Paris to persuade the state-owned Areva group to build a uranium refinery and conversion facility in his province. Areva already has stakes in two uranium mines in the province, which is a major source of uranium although processing is currently done elsewhere. The province will lower its corporate income taxes and phase out a tax on capital to encourage the French nuclear giant. In addition, Calvert will also meet with Cameco Corp. of Saskatoon, the owner of the third major uranium mine in Saskatchewan, which also operated a uranium refinery and conversion facility in Chalk River Ontario. According to Calvert, "several communities in Saskatchewan are clamouring to have a uranium refinery built in their area".
Globe and Mail, June 23 2006
Swedish opposition would stop decommissioning.
(July 14, 2006) Should Sweden's four main opposition parties win the September election, they would halt nuclear decommissioning although they would not support the construction of new nuclear plants now. According to a joint statement released on June 14, the opposition would review the issue of new build toward the end of its four-year term if elected. The minority Social Democratic government remains committed to phasing out nuclear and have already shut down two Barsebaeck reactors.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, June 14 2006
Spain could extend plant lifetimes.
(July 14, 2006) After pledging to shut down Spain's nuclear power plants in its manifesto, the socialist government of Jose Luis Zapatero now says that it will only be able to stick to that "if circumstances allowed and taking into account our energy supply needs". Environment Secretary Soraya Rodriguez told Reuters that the government had not drawn up a timetable for the closure of the country's eight nuclear reactors and had not yet decided whether they could be closed down as yet - no decision will be made before the next general election, due by March 2008. Industry minister Jose Montilla admitted that the government would now consider lifetime extension for some existing units depending on safety assessments by the Nuclear Safety Council. However, the government said that the party's anti nuclear policy had not changed and Montilla insisted that there could be no new nuclear build in Spain due to social opposition and costs.
Reuters, June 1 2006; Platts Nuclear News Flashes, May 31 2006
Russia takes back nuclear fuel.
(July 14, 2006) On May 30, Russia announced that it would repatriate spent nuclear fuel from reactors set up by the former Soviet Union in seventeen countries by 2013 as part of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI). The countries involved host 20 Soviet-era reactors in total and have agreed to participate in the initiative, which will cost around US$ 150-200 million. GTRI was launched by the U.S. in 2004 and aims to identify, secure and remove U.S. and Russian nuclear materials located in other countries around the world to avoid them falling into the hands of terrorists. Russia carried out its first repatriation operation in April, removing 63 kilograms of uranium - enough for two and a half nuclear bombs - from a reactor near the Uzbek capital of Tashkent and just 37 kilometres from the border with Afghanistan.
MosNews, May 30 2006
U.S. HEU leak.
(July 14, 2006) Some 35 litres of high-enriched uranium solution leaked into a glove box and onto the floor at a U.S. facility in March according to an NRC Event Rating Form filed to the IAEA's INES (International Nuclear Event Scale) information system. The facility was not identified. NRC's Cynthia Jones, who filed the report, said there were no injuries or casualties but that a criticality accident could have occurred under the conditions at the facility. If there had been an accident, it would likely have delivered an exposure to "at least one worker... high enough to cause acute health effects or death," she said. According to the report, the operator stopped all HEU processing in the area. The event was provisionally rated at Level 2 (incident) on the seven-level INES. The report is posted on the IAEA web site at http://www-news.iaea.org/news/.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, May 10 2006
Chinese reactor connected to grid.
(July 14, 2006) Built by Russia's Atomstroyexport on a turnkey basis, the Tianwan-1 VVER-1000 was connected to the Chinese grid on May 12.
The unit will operate at 30% nominal power for testing purposes until the end of the year. The Tianwan project comprises of two modern VVER-1000s located in China's Jiangsu province. It was the first nuclear power plant export order for the Russian industry in a decade and the first one implemented during the "transition to market conditions." The plant was built under a 1992 bilateral cooperation agreement. Atomstroyexport said that hot testing had begun at Tianwan-2, in preparation for fuel loading at that unit. Both units have been significantly delayed due to equipment and licensing difficulties.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, May 12 2006
U.S. EPR to be developed.
(July 14, 2006) Constellation Energy and Areva have signed a memorandum of understanding for a joint project to develop a U.S. EPR reactor. The two companies say they will finalise the technical assistance agreement expected to include an "exchange of engineers, documentation and assistance services" needed to advance the deployment of Areva's 1,600-MW PWR, the US Evolutionary Power Reactor. UniStar Nuclear aims to build and operate a fleet of EPRs under turnkey contracts and is working with Bechtel Power Corp. as the architect-engineer and constructor; Electricite de France will help to promote the EPR "as the technology of choice for nuclear fleets around the world". Areva is working to convert the European design to meet U.S. standards and plans to submit a design certification application for the EPR to the NRC next year.
Platts Nuclear News Flashes, June 1 2006