Nucleotidings

Drums of radioactive sludge from Sellafield's Pile Fuel Storage Pond (PFSP) - the world's oldest nuclear storage pond - have been processed in the site's encapsulation plant for the first time. The waste is now ready for long-term disposal. world-nuclear-news.org

Robot probes sent to one of Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear reactors have suggested worse-than-anticipated challenges for the plant’s ongoing cleanup. cbsnews.com

The Trump administration's arrival has forced the U.S. nuclear industry to revise its climate-based pitch for government assistance for at-risk reactors. sciencemag.org

       As nuclear power plants age, they are subjected to "cracking, fatigue, embrittlement of metal components, wear, erosion, corrosion and oxidation." Embrittlement is a is the formation of cracks in the steel components over time as they are bombarded by neutrons. This creates tiny holes inside the crystal matrix of the steel. These tiny holes combine to form bigger and bigger holes that eventually become visible cracks. It is a major problem at nuclear power plants.