Russia readies hypersonic missile for launch in fresh nuclear threat  euronews.com

North Korea fires ballistic missiles towards sea off east coast Aljazeera.com

UK opens applications for GBP60 million HTGR research world-nuclear-news.org

Borssele earmarked for two new reactors world-nuclear-news.org

Ambient office = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 110 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 113 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 99 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 68 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 65 nanosieverts per hour

Biden administration holding out hope North Korea won’t proceed with possibly imminent nuclear test washingtimes.com

India tests long-range missile for nuclear deterrence apnews.com

Refurbished OPG reactor cleared to begin fuel loading world-nuclear-news.org

Ukraine has the military capability to take back Crimea nbcnews.com

 

 

Ambient office = 66 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 111 nanosieverts per hour

Blueberry from Central Market = 126 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Dover Sole from Central = 95 nanosieverts per hour

     BWX Technologies Inc is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. BWX is a supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government. They provide technical, management and site services to support governments in the operation of complex facilities and environmental restoration activities. BWX will produce TRISO fuel in to power the Project Pele microreactor. Pele is the first microreactor to be manufactured and operated in the U.S.
      BWX is manufacturing a core for Project Pele, TRISO fuel for additional reactors and coated particle fuel for NASA under a thirty-seven-million-dollar award from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL will manage the contract and provide technical support and oversight.
     The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) has partnered with the Department of Energy (DoE) to develop, prototype and demonstrate a transportable reactor. This is being called a whole-of-government effort in Project Pele to develop a transportable microreactor. Such reactors can deliver clean, low-carbon energy where and when it is needed. They will be a resilient power source for DoD operational needs. They can also potentially be used in the civilian and commercial sectors for disaster response and recovey, power generation at remote locations, and deep decarbonization initiatives.
     BWX was chosen earlier this year by the SCO to construct the prototype which is to be completed and delivered in 2024 for testing at INL. The TRISO fuel will be delivered separately.
     TRISO stands for TRIstructural-ISOtropic fuel. The TRISO particles contain a spherical kernel of enriched uranium oxycarbide surrounded by layers of carbon and silicon carbide. These outer layers trap fission products inside the particles. TRISO has been described by the DoE as “the mort robust nuclear fuel on Earth.” The high-assay low enrichment (HALEU) fuel is down blended from the U.S. stockpile of high-enriched uranium (HEU). BWX’s facilities are the only private U.S. facilities that are licensed to possess and process HEU.
       Kathryn Huff is the U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy. She said that it was “extremely exciting to see decades of DOE’s investments in TRISO fuel … paying off to power many of the most innovative advanced reactor designs to be deployed within this decade”.
      John Wagner is the INL Laboratory Director. He said, “This commercial TRISO fuel production line is the culmination of more than 15 years of work at INL and other DOE national laboratories, in partnership with BWXT, to develop and qualify this fuel with immense potential for use in microreactors, space reactors and other advanced reactor concepts. As the United States moves steadily toward a carbon-free energy future, nuclear power is an essential part of the journey. Project Pele will demonstrate the viability of this fuel type, opening the door for other advanced reactors.”
     BWX said that it has expanded its speciality coated fuel production manufacturing capacity through previously announced awards funded by the DoD Operational Energy Capabilities Improvement Fund Office and NASA and program management provided by SCO. In addition to TRISO, BWX also produces speciality coated fuels for NASA for the space nuclear propulsion project inside the agency’s Space Telescope Mission Directorate.

Putin’s nuclear bombers take flight in show of force as Russia ‘readies nuke missiles to strike West’ the-sun.com

New Leaders for Nuclear Forces, Minuteman Modernization, WWII Ace Promoted af.mil

Dismantling of Vermont Yankee reactor core completed world-nuclear-news.org

Point Lepreau nuclear plant taken offline after power loss cbc.ca

 

 

Ambient office = 54 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 114 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 114 nanosieverts per hour

Red bell pepper from Central Market = 79 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 110 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 87 nanosieverts per hour

Part 2 of 2 Parts (Pease read Part 1 first)
     Reducing the radiotoxicity of nuclear spent nuclear fuel waste by design could reduce the challenges of HLW disposal. Some advanced reactors designs and fuel cycles can transmute specific types of highly radioactive HLW with extremely long half-lives (specifically transuranic isotopes) into LLW with much shorter half-lives by exposing it to high levels of neutron radiation. These designs could produce waste that is radioactive for thousands of years as opposed to hundreds of thousands of years. The design and siting requirements for HLW deep geological repositories would be significantly simplified.
     Creating new HLW disposal solutions could also reduce the social burden of HLW management. One innovative technical solution that is being explored is for HLW to be disposed of is deep geological boreholes. HLW has historically been intended for disposal in a small number of large mined geological repositories. Siting, construction and operation of a small number of big repositories is challenging politically and technically. Deep borehole technology would employ advanced drilling technologies to distribute HLW deep underground across a large number of boreholes. This would reduce the burden on any nearby communities. These boreholes could be easier to site and could be much further underground than conventional mined repositories.
     In all cases, the use of consent-based siting processes should be implemented. It would not be a good idea to place the burden of long term HLW management on communities that don’t understand, approve of, or benefit from the waste disposal facility. These consent-based siting practices will probably require additional political and social engagement. However, building community trust is critical to ensuring development of durable long-term solutions to the management of HLW.
     These technology and policy innovations are at varying levels of technological maturity. However, each could have a positive impact on management and disposal of spent nuclear fuel. Continuing support is needed to help develop these technologies and assess both their technical viability and potential impact on nuclear waste management and disposal. Ongoing Department of Energy programs, such as ONWARDS, are first steps in early-stage research and development of such technologies. Policy, economic and social incentives will also be needed to drive adoption and deployment of sensible nuclear waste solutions.
     Companies, policy makers, stakeholders, and communities need to work together to manage advanced spent nuclear fuel waste. New technology and policy solutions to nuclear waste could further reduce the burden on communities, society and the environment. Managing and disposing of the waste produced by the generation of electricity with advanced commercial nuclear power reactors is critically important to protect public and environmental health, and in developing public trust and social license for advanced nuclear energy deployment as part of the solution to climate change.
      There has been a great deal of publicity lately about small modular reactors. These reactors produce three hundred megawatts or less of electricity. They are said to be safer, cheaper, smaller and less complex than big conventional commercial nuclear power reactors. They would be produced in factories and assembled from modules shipped to the ultimate site. While they would be considered as advance nuclear reactors, they do not produce substantially less spent nuclear fuel waste. And the waste they do produce is as radioactive or more than that produced from conventional nuclear power reactors.

Cold hydro testing for Vogtle 4 completed world-nuclear-news.org

Majority of Finns champion nuclear power euronews.com

Jacobs Wins Contract to Support UK Nuclear Regulator prnewswire.com

Putin: Any country that launches nuclear attack on Russia will be wiped out jpost.com

 

Ambient office = 46 nanosieverts per hour

Ambient outside = 93 nanosieverts per hour

Soil exposed to rain water = 91 nanosieverts per hour

English cucumber from Central Market = 90 nanosieverts per hour

Tap water = 70 nanosieverts per hour

Filter water = 57 nanosieverts per hour