Ambient office = 81 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 130 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 126 nanosieverts per hour

Serano pepper from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 115 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office = 74 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 100 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 108 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient office = 73 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 130 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 126 nanosieverts per hour

Jalapeno from Central Market = 76 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 117 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 105 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 102 nanosieverts per hour

     European Commissioner (EC) for Energy Kadri Simson has announced that the EC will establish an Industrial Alliance dedicated to small modular reactors (SMRs) in early 2024 in response to calls from the nuclear industry, research community and nuclear safety regulators.
     The Commission established a European SMR pre-Partnership in June with the overall objective of identifying enabling conditions and constraints, including financial ones, towards safe designs, construction and operations of SMRs in Europe in the next decade and beyond. This will be done in compliance with the E.U. legislative framework in general and the Euratom legislative framework in particular.
     Simson spoke at a European Small Modular Reactor Partnership event in Bratislava, Slovakia in early November. She said, “After a long and intense work of preparation, we must now draw conclusions on the opportunity and potential for establishing a European Industrial Alliance on SMRs. Industrial alliances are a tool to facilitate stronger cooperation and joint action between all interested partners. Industrial alliances can play a role in achieving key EU policy objectives through joint action by all the interested partners. A successful deployment of SMRs by the next decade will be an important and timely milestone on our path to climate neutrality by 2050. I am confident that the EU can have a leadership role in achieving technological maturity for SMRs. This means to me that the first SMRs must be connected to the European electricity grid within a decade at the latest. This must be our goal.”
     Simson noted that analyses undertaken by the European SMR pre-Partnership have indicated that an industrial alliance “is the appropriate concept” for the European SMR Partnership. The Stakeholders’ Forum “confirmed interest and readiness” for an industrial alliance. The Forum took place in Brussels in late October.
     Simson added that “With a clear mandate from the Member States willing to use this technology in their energy mix, this determination of the stakeholders calls on the Commission to do its part and prepare the establishment of an Industrial Alliance on SMRs. I believe that there is today both the political opportunity and the industrial case to promote the development of SMRs in Europe. I stand ready to initiate within the Commission the necessary steps to establish the EU Industrial Alliance for SMRs early next year.”
      Simson mentioned that skills and industrial competence, licensing, management of use fuel and radioactive waste will need to feature prominently in the next steps towards a European initiative on SMRs.
     Yves Desbazeille is the Director General of European nuclear trade body Nucleareurope. He welcomed the announcement of the creation of the industrial alliance. He went on to say that “SMRs are expected to bring many benefits to the EU as a whole in terms of helping to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors, as well as creating jobs and generating economic growth in the EU. The groundwork has been laid by its predecessor, the European SMR pre-Partnership and we are delighted that the European Commission is now giving its full backing to this key technology of the future.”

Ambient office = 86 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 95 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 97 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 101 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 103 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 94 nanosieverts per hour

     A minister-led working group in the Czech Republic examined the potential of small modular reactors (SMRs), possible sites and called for the start of construction in the first half of the 2030s. The plans will be included in the State Energy Policy and Spatial Development Policy of the Czech Republic report.
     Jozef Síkela is the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade. He issued a statement the day after final bids were received for the construction of a new reactor at the Dukovany nuclear power plants. He said, “Small and medium-sized reactors will be a great addition to the modern power system of the Czech Republic, both in terms of electricity and heat generation. Our vision is for SMRs to complement large nuclear units from 2030s-40s onwards. In this way, we will capitalize on the unique know-how of our nuclear industry. The approved roadmap will provide investors with a certainty, so that they can prepare sites and subsequently make investment decisions. This will give Czech companies the opportunity to participate in supply chains of Czech and foreign projects in the future, to look for partners abroad and play an important role in the development of this promising field.”
     The Czech government approved the working group’s Czech SMR Roadmap – Applicability and Contribution to the Economy document. The Roadmap sets out the framework for SMR’s potential in the Czech Republic and suggests sites, possible investor models and legislative changes. The Roadmap also includes information on the various design options. The ministry’s statement noted that among those interested in cooperating with Czech companies were Rolls-Royce SMR and GE Hitachi. The Roadmap mentioned that their designs were said to be the “most advanced in the development of a functional SMR”.
     The Roadmap considered the progress of Czech SMR projects but suggested that they are at a “very early stage of development”. It goes on to suggest that the government continues to back them through other programs designed to support research and development rather than as the initial wave of SMRs. However, the Roadmap does raise the question of to what extent “foreign designs will be available if the high demand indicated by for instance neighboring Poland materializes (sources hint at plans for 79 reactors from GE Hitachi, up to 8 GW from Rolls-Royce SMR and others)”.
     With respect to potential sites, the Roadmap includes forty five in total. These include the existing nuclear power plants Temelin and Dukovany and adds “promising locations at current coal-fired power plants, e.g. Dětmarovice and Tisováplus”.
     Petr Třešňák is the Deputy Industry Minister. He said, “Due to their size and power output, these reactors can be a suitable replacement for coal-fired power plants which are being phased out. Apart from current nuclear sites, which were primarily intended for the construction of classic nuclear reactors, SMRs can be sited on other locations. These need to be identified and prepared in time.”
     The ministry said, with respect to SMRs, that “the next five to ten years will be key in terms of their marketability, with corresponding business opportunities” and that, as with other energy projects, will require some form of state aid and the “Czech government advocates for a level playing field for nuclear energy development at the European level, particularly in the area of EU policies and programs, financing, and market design”.