The Japanese government has designated “Intensive Contamination Areas” near downtown Tokyo from Fukushima disaster. enenews.com Why is TEPCO speeding up the removal for Fukushima's Unit 4 spent fuel rods from the damaged pool atop the structure. enenews.com When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission furloughed most of its staff during the recent government shutdown, many in the nuclear industry understandably asked "why?" nuclearstreet.com Switzerland's Mühleberg nuclear power plant will be permanently shut down in 2019 instead of the earlier planned 2022 because of "uncertainty surrounding political and regulatory trends," operator BKW FMB Energy has announced. world-nuclear-news.org