Nuclear Power Today articles from October 2004

Nuclear Power Today archives from October 2004

NRC Cites Oconee Plant for Inconsistent Safety Measures.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced its staff has determined that Duke Energy's fire response procedures at the Oconee nuclear power plant near Seneca, SC "were not consistent with the plant's licensing basis for manning...

China Allows Foreign Bids on New Nuclear Reactors.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Bloomberg recently reported that China plans to award the development contract for four of its eight proposed nuclear reactors to an international company, such as Areva SA, Westinghouse Electric Company or Siemens AG, with construction to...

Chubu Temporarily Ceases Operations at Hamaoka No. 4 Unit.(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Reuters recently reported that Japan's Chubu Electric Power Company, Inc. has temporarily shut down the 1.1-million-kilowatt No. 4 nuclear power unit at its Hamaoka facility. According to Reuters, Chubu said the No. 4 unit will likely...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
October 1, 2004... 4TH AMERICAN NUCLEAR ENERGY SYMPOSIUM 2004, October 3-6, 2004, Deauville Beach Resort, Miami Beach, FL 7TH BIENNIAL TLG SERVICES, INC. DECOMMISIONSING & DECONTAMINATION CONFERENCE, October 4-6, 2004, Grand Hotel Marriott, Point Clear, AL...

NRC to Hold Final Nuclear Safety Research Conference in DC.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... After more than 30 years, the final Nuclear Safety Research Conference (NSRC), sponsored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), will take place this month in Washington. The NRC said the event, held annually since 1973, will be linked...

GE Urges U.K. to Develop Nuclear Power to Meet Energy Needs.(General Electric)(United Kingdom)(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Bloomberg recently reported that General Electric Company's (GE) global nuclear unit chairman and CEO Andrew White commented during an interview last week that the U.K. should construct new reactors and increase nuclear power generation in...

Chinese Researchers Demonstrate New Gas-cooled Reactor.(Brief Article)
October 4, 2004... Chinese news agency Xinhua recently reported the demonstration last week outside of Beijing of a new "high-temperature, gas-cooled" nuclear reactor developed by Tsinghua University. According to Xinhua, atomic scientist and former...

NRC, PG&E Hold Meeting to Discuss Missing Fuel Investigation.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Pacific Gas and Electric Company)(Brief Article)
October 5, 2004... Local California newspaper the Times-Standard recently reported that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) held a public meeting last week to discuss the search nuclear fuel missing from PG&E's...

Indian Point Security Guards Ink Labor Deal With ENN.(Entergy Nuclear Northeast)(Brief Article)
October 5, 2004... The Associated Press (AP) reported last week that security guards at Entergy Nuclear Northeast's (ENN) Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, NY have signed a five-year labor agreement with the company, avoiding a potential strike at the...

METI Calls for Closure of Mihama Nuclear Power Unit.(Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)(Brief Article)
October 5, 2004... Japanese news service Kyodo recently reported that Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco) was directed late last week by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) minister Shoichi Nakagawa to shut down the Mihama nuclear power plant's No. 3...

Japanese, French Officials Dispute Location of ITER.(International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2004... Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently reported that Japanese Office of Fusion Energy deputy director Takahiro Hayashi has informed the news service of his disappointment with French research minister Francois d'Aubert's comments late last week...

Australia Considering Remote Islands for Nuclear Waste Facility.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2004... The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) recently reported that Australia's environment minister Ian Campbell last week announced that the Australian government is currently investigating "remote offshore islands" to build a federal...

Nigerian University Installs Nuclear Reactor For Research.(Ahmadu Bello University)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2004... Agence France-Press (AFP) recently reported that Ibrahim Umar, director of Nigeria's Ahmadu Bello University Centre for Energy Research and Training informed the news service last week that the school has installed a new nuclear reactor to be...

NRC Environmental Draft Approves ANO-2 Renewal.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2)(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced that its staff has found no environmental reason to withhold renewal of the operating license for the Arkansas Nuclear One, Unit 2 (ANO-2) facility in Russellville, AR. The...

Swedish Government Works With Other Parties on Reactor Closure.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently reported that Sweden's Social Democratic government has reached an agreement with the country's Center and Left Parties to cease operations at the Barsebaeck 2 nuclear power unit next year. According to...

Kyrgyzstan Bans Importation of Nuclear Waste.(Brief Article)
October 7, 2004... Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently reported that the government of Kyrgyzstan announced last week it has banned the importation of nuclear waste for reprocessing at the country's Kara-Balta facility. According to AFP, the ban was...

NRC Chairman Discusses Nuclear Plant Security at ANES.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairman Nils Diaz commented earlier this week during the Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium (ANES) in Miami Beach, FL that security at U.S. nuclear power plants has been substantially upgraded since September...

Exelon, PSEG to Exchange Nuclear Plant Management.(Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 8, 2004... Dow Jones recently reported that Exelon Corporation and Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc. (PSEG) have announced plans to exchange 10 managers from the companies' nuclear subsidiaries for an 18-month period in an attempt to improve safety...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
October 8, 2004... NEI INTERNATIONAL URANIUM FUEL SEMINAR 2004, October 10-13, 2004, Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL UNDERSTANDING NUCLEAR SAFETY: A FUNDAMENTAL COURSE FOR PROSPECTIVE NUCLEAR SAFETY PROFESSIONALS, October 11-22, 2004, Center for...

NRC Announces New Advisory Committee Appointment.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced the appointment of Richard Denning to its Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). In his new position, NRC said Denning will serve as an independent advisor to the...

AEC Says Fuel Reprocessing More Expensive Than Disposal.(Atomic Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
October 13, 2004... United Press International (UPI) reported last week that Japan's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recently released new estimates that place the cost of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel at 1.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of output, which is...

New Nuclear Reactor Under Development in Finland.(Brief Article)
October 13, 2004... Reuters recently reported that Finland is constructing a new 3-billion euro (approximately $3.7-billion) 1,600-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant in Olkiluoto, the only new reactor currently being built in Western Europe. According to...

NOTICE TO EIN PUBLISHING SUBSCRIBERS.(Public Notice)
October 13, 2004... Due to technical difficulties, EIN did not publish its newsletters on Tuesday, October 12. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your continued support. (EIN STAFF: 10/12)

NRC Approves Opening of BLEU Project Facilities.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Blended Low-Enriched Uranium)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced it has approved a request by Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) to use "special nuclear material" as part of its Blended Low-Enriched Uranium (BLEU) project. The approval amends...

Kepco Completes Inspections of Nuclear Reactors.(Kansai Electric Power Company)(Brief Article)
October 18, 2004... Kyodo recently reported that Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco) revealed during a safety panel evaluation earlier this month that it has completed inspections of all the company's nuclear reactors. According to Kyodo, the safety panel is...

Please Accept Our Apologies for Last Week's Technical Problems.
October 19, 2004... During the week of October 11, EIN Publishing experienced, for the first time in eight years, a computer crisis the extent of which disabled us from sending out our daily newsletters and communicating with our subscribers via e-mail. We greatly...

NRC Approves Opening of BLEU Project Facilities.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Blended Low-Enriched Uranium)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced it has approved a request by Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc. (NFS) to use "special nuclear material" as part of its Blended Low-Enriched Uranium (BLEU) project. The approval amends...

NRC Proposes Fine Against SCI for Firing Whistleblower.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Soil Consultants, Inc.)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff are recommending a $9,600 fine against Soil Consultants, Inc. (SCI) for firing a dispatcher whom managers believed had reported safety problems at the facility. The firing took place in August of...

NRC Announces New Advisory Committee Appointment.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced the appointment of Richard Denning to its Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS). In his new position, NRC said Denning will serve as an independent advisor to the...

TVA to Invest $200 Million in Faulty Nuclear Plant Generators.(Tennessee Valley Authority)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... The Associated Press (AP) recently reported that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will have to invest $200 million in repairs at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant in Spring City, TN. According to AP, four of the $7-billion facility's steam...

UKAEA Says Able to Halve Time, Cost of Nuclear Cleanup.(United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) recently announced it has cut the estimated cost of the cleanup program on its nuclear sites by nearly one-third to 4.8 billion pounds (about $8.6 billion) from its previously published figure...

Slovak Minister Seeks Two-year Delay in Reactor Shutdown.(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently reported that Slovakia's economy minister Pavol Rusko recommended during a press conference earlier this week that the country's Jaslovske and Bohunice nuclear power plants, which are scheduled to shut down...

Kepco Completes Inspections of Nuclear Reactors.(Kansai Electric Power Company)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Kyodo recently reported that Kansai Electric Power Company (Kepco) revealed during a safety panel evaluation earlier this month that it has completed inspections of all the company's nuclear reactors. According to Kyodo, the safety panel is...

Russia's Gazprom to Acquire Atomstroieksport.(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Reuters recently reported that officials in Russia are urging the country's gas monopoly Gazprom to acquire Atomstroieksport, a Russian company that constructs nuclear energy power stations outside of the country and currently has approximately...

New Nuclear Reactor Under Development in Finland.(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Reuters recently reported that Finland is constructing a new 3-billion euro (approximately $3.7-billion) 1,600-megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant in Olkiluoto, the only new reactor currently being built in Western Europe. According to...

AEC Says Fuel Reprocessing More Expensive Than Disposal.(Atomic Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... United Press International (UPI) reported last week that Japan's Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recently released new estimates that place the cost of reprocessing spent nuclear fuel at 1.4 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of output, which is...

Brazil Nears Agreement With UN Over Nuclear Plant Inspection.(United Nations)(Brief Article)
October 19, 2004... Knight Ridder recently reported that U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell and his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim announced during a meeting last week that Brazil has almost reached an agreement with the United Nations (UN) that would allow...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
October 19, 2004... NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE, November 4-5, 2004, Colonnade Hotel, Boston, MA AMERICAN NUCLEAR SOCIETY (ANS) WINTER MEETING AND NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY EXPO, November 14-18, 2004, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC IAEA'S...

NRC Begins Special Inspection at Hope Creek Nuclear Plant.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced it has begun a special inspection into the rupture of an eight-inch drain line that led to a manual shutdown of the Hope Creek power plant in Hancock Bridge, NJ earlier this month. ...

Wolf Creek Nuclear Station Shuts Down After Lightning Strike.(Brief Article)
October 20, 2004... Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation recently announced that its generating station in Burlington, Kansas automatically shut down last week after lighting struck the plant during a thunderstorm. According to the company, the lighting...

Pakistan Urges Development of Alternative Fuel Sources.(Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2004... Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reported last week that officials with the Pakistani government have requested that the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) explore the development of nuclear power generation facilities that utilize energy...

Final Defense Bill Excludes Nuclear Waste Storage Provision.(Brief Article)
October 21, 2004... The Salt Lake Tribune recently reported that the defense bill passed earlier this month ultimately failed to include a Utah-supported provision aiming to prevent the storage of nuclear waste on the state's Skull Valley Indian Reservation. ...

Consumer Energy to Extend Outage of Palisades Nuclear Plant.(Brief Article)
October 21, 2004... Consumers Energy announced last week it will likely delay restarting its Palisades nuclear plant for five to six weeks pending further inspections and possible repairs to two reactor vessel head penetrations. During an inspection of the...

India, U.S. Representatives Meet to Discuss Nuclear Exchanges.(Brief Article)
October 21, 2004... Agence France-Presse (AFP) recently reported that U.S. undersecretary of state for commerce Kenneth Juster is conducting discussions with Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran and concerning the removal of U.S. bans on Indian organizations'...

NRC Postpones Ruling on Vermont Yankee Uprate Request.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced that due to safety concerns, it is delaying its ruling on a request by Entergy Nuclear to uprate power production by 20 percent at its Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station (VYNPS). ...

Hitachi to Work With GE on New U.S. Nuclear Reactor.(General Electric Company)(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Reuters recently reported that Hitachi, Ltd. has announced plans to work with General Electric Company (GE) to construct a new 1.4-million kilowatt advanced nuclear reactor in the U.S. by 2010. According to Reuters, a Hitachi spokesperson...

Russia, Bulgaria Discuss Nuclear Power Cooperation.(Brief Article)
October 22, 2004... Russian Information Agency (RIA) Novosti recently reported that Russian minister of industry and energy Viktor Khristenko has been meeting in Bulgaria to discuss the countries' work together on energy issues, particularly nuclear power. ...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
October 22, 2004... NINTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION ON DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, November 1-3, 2004, London Marriott Hotel, London, England NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE, November 4-5, 2004, Colonnade Hotel, Boston, MA...

Oconee Nuclear Plant Reports Unusual Event.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... According to reports in North Carolina's Triangle Business Journal, the Oconee nuclear plant in Seneca, SC, experienced an "unusual event" emergency last week when water in its spent fuel pool dropped below normal levels. Charlotte,...

South Africa Looks to Nuclear Power to Reduce CO2 Emissions.(carbon dioxide)(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... South African newspaper the Cape Times recently reported that Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs chief director in charge of nuclear affairs Tseliso Maqubela commented during a Department of Environmental Affairs parliamentary committee...

U.K. Official Considers Potential Closure of Sellafield Plant.(Brief Article)
October 25, 2004... The Guardian recently reported that an inquiry conducted by U.K. National Audit Office head Sir John Bourn into the financially troubled Sellafield nuclear fuel plant in Cumbria reveals that the government is currently considering closure of...

NRC to Rule on U.S. Sale of Nuclear Reactors to China.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 26, 2004... Knight Ridder recently reported that Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) chairman Nils Diaz said last week that he expects the commission will vote within the next few months on whether to allow the U.S. to sell nuclear reactors to China. ...

TEPCO Ceases Operations at Newly Restarted Reactor.(Tokyo Electric Power Company)(Brief Article)
October 26, 2004... Bloomberg news service recently reported that Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has suspended operations at its 1,100-megawatt Fukushima Daini No. 4 reactor in Fukushima prefecture just one day after restarting power production at the...

Activists Protest at Spain's Garona Nuclear Plant.(Brief Article)
October 26, 2004... Agence France Presse (AFP) reported last week that approximately 20 Greenspeace activists chained themselves to the entrance gate of Spain's Garona nuclear plant to protest the Spanish government's continued use of nuclear energy. ...

NB Power Mulls Nuclear Plant Renovation During Shutdown.(New Brunswick)(Brief Article)
October 27, 2004... The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) recently reported that New Brunswick (NB) Power's Point Lepreau nuclear power plant has been out of operation since an unexpected shutdown ceased production at the facility more than two weeks ago....

EDF to Build Forerunner EPR Nuclear Reactor.(Electricite de France)(European pressurized water reactor)(Brief Article)
October 27, 2004... Electricite de France (EDF) recently announced plans to build a new forerunner European pressurized water reactor (EPR) nuclear reactor in Flamanville, Basse Normandie. According to EDF, the location was selected based on "the property...

NRC Initiates Additional Security Review of Public Documents.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) earlier this week initiated an additional security review, by agency experts, of publicly available documents "to ensure that potentially sensitive information is removed from the agency website." During...

Progress Energy Submits License Renewal Application to NRC.(Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Progress Energy recently announced it has submitted a license renewal application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requesting 20 additional years of operation for Unit 1 and 2 at its Brunswick Nuclear Plant, extending the reactors'...

Russian Environmentalists Question Atomic Energy Ministry.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2004... Russian news service RIA Novosti recently reported that national environmental group Ekozashchita condemned government officials at the Radioactivity in the Human Environment conference in Moscow for reducing Russia's spending on nuclear waste...

BNFL Submits Borehole Drilling Application for Cumbria Site.(British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd.)(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... BBC News recently reported that the city council in Cumbria, England is currently reviewing two planning applications submitted by British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. (BNFL) for the drilling of 16 boreholes at the Drigg nuclear waste storage site in...

Ukraine to Develop Two Additional Reactors.(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... AFX News reported last week that the Ukrainian government has announced it will build two new nuclear reactors at a cost of $1 billion each. The announcement comes shortly after two new reactors were brought on line in Ukraine. Energy...

Greenpeace Protests Brazilian Nuclear Programs.(environmental organization Greenpeace)(Brief Article)
October 29, 2004... Reuters recently reported that members of the environmental organization Greenpeace held demonstrations earlier this week outside of the state-owned Brazilian Nuclear Industries (INB) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to protest the country's new...

Weekly Update.(Calendar)
October 29, 2004... 9TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION ON DECOMMISSIONING OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, November 1-3, 2004, London Marriott Hotel, London, England NORTH AMERICAN ENERGY: A CHANGING LANDSCAPE, November 4-5, 2004, Colonnade Hotel, Boston, MA ...