Extensive geotechnical and geophysical site characterization at the Moorside site in West Cumbria, UK, will be mostly complete by the end of the year, according to geotechnical survey specialists Fugro. The campaign has included onshore and offshore geological investigations. world-nuclear-news.org

The governments of the Republic of Tunisia and the Russian Federation signed an agreement on Monday that lays the groundwork for peaceful uses of atomic energy.  nuclearstreet.com

French nuclear reactor manufacturer AREVA said Friday that it was continuing on several levels with the investigation of manufacturing and paperwork anomalies that involve components made at the Le Creusot forge. nuclearstreet.com

India is indicating that a major shift may be in store for its relations with China; a national think tank chaired by PM Narendra Modi has prioritized strategic dialogue between the countries, and the world’s two most populous countries are set to discuss the construction of nuclear plants. sputniknews.com

 

 

 

 

The latest tourist attraction in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing isn’t an amusement park – it’s a former underground nuclear facility. upi.com

The HTC Vive version of Chernobyl VR Project is released today, along with a short “making of” documentary about the game’s aims. polygon.com

Days after his re-election as leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn – a lifelong campaigner against nuclear weapons – has agreed not to challenge Labour’s existing support for renewing Trident nuclear weapons on the grounds of maintaining party “unity”. independent.co.uk

The Pentagon released the latest number of nuclear weapons in the United States stockpile and declassified other information regarding the country’s nuclear arsenal history Tuesday, continuing the Obama Administration’s five-year-old plan to slowly declassify more information. ibtimes.com

One of the reactors at the Talen Energy nuclear power plant in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania will be shut down in the coming weeks for maintenance, the company announced Monday. citizenvoice.com

Could small nuclear fusion reactors provide the clean energy safety net the world needs? businessgreen.com

Using nuclear power seems to be the stuff of weapons for mass destruction and extinction. However, nuclear power is used in a very opposing perspective now as it aims to put an end to cancer. Thanks to nuclear imaging, doctors and scientists are just a few steps away from terminating. hngn.com

Doubt has been cast on whether the request for proposals for the procurement of nuclear power will be issued on Friday as promised by South African Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson. ewn.co.za

       North Korea has been in the news a lot lately. They recently conducted a nuclear test, the fifth in series, in their quest to miniaturize nuclear warheads to attach to missiles. Recent military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean peninsula have enraged the N.K. dictator and brought more threats of nuclear annihilation from him. There have been calls from conservatives inside and outside S.K. for S.K. to develop its own nuclear weapons.

         There are international economic sanctions on N.K. to try to get them to abandon their nuclear weapons program. There have been attempts to pressure China to use their influence with N.K. to get them back to the bargaining table. Now S.K. has just announced that they have an elite military strike force that is ready to enter N.K. and assassinate the dictator if they feel that N.K. is getting ready to launch an attack against S.K.

       The U.S. is basically working on two “tracks” to try to deal with the threats posed by N.K. and their nuclear weapons program. The first track or the “carrot” consists of offering to remove sanctions and resume trade with N.K. if they halt their nuclear weapons development and get rid of existing nuclear warheads and missiles. Unfortunately, this approach must be considered to be a failure since the sanctions have not stopped N.K. from working on nuclear weapons.

      The U.S. recently constructed an anti-missile system in S.K. to protect it against N.K. missiles. This system was installed in S.K. over the strenuous objections of China who claim that it could also be used against Chinese missiles in case of military conflicts over territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Since China has the most leverage over N.K., this dispute does not bode well for getting China to help get N.K. to the negotiating table.

      The second track or “stick” consists of plans and preparations to deal with N.K. belligerency by any means necessary including the possibility of a preemptive nuclear attack against N.K. This approach does not appear to be a viable option because the U.S. is just not willing at this point to use preemptive military action against N.K. In addition, a nuclear attack on N.K. would spread fallout to S.K.

        In view of the failure of both of these tracks to produce any positive results, there have been calls for developing a new policy towards N.K. One suggestion has been that economic sanctions be unilaterally removed. Lobby the U.N. to sign a formal peace treaty with N.K. ending the still existing state of war. Have the U.N. recognize N.K. as a member of the U.N and recognize the current regime as the legitimate government of N.K. This would all be accomplished without any mention of or action with respect to the N.K. nuclear weapons program or missile program.

       If this could be accomplished, then N.K. could become a full member of the international family of nations. They could be offered economic and developmental assistance in return for signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and conforming to the current international standards with respect to their existing nuclear and missiles programs. This new approach offers a break from the past and the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the problems posed by a nuclear N.K.

Map of North Korea:

Holtec International has successfully completed a series of free drop-tests on its HI-STAR ATB-1T waste cask. The cask has a rectangular footprint, unlike cylindrical fuel-bearing transport casks. world-nuclear-news.org

South Korea has elite troops on standby ready to assassinate Kim Jong Un if the country feels threatened by North Korean nuclear weapons, the country’s defense minister revealed this week. edition.cnn.com

A senior White House official reaffirmed Washington’s firm opposition to calls among South Korean conservatives for nuclear armament in response to the North Korean nuclear issue. english.hani.co.kr

Nuclear power isn’t emissions-free. concormonitor.com

       The World Nuclear Association held its 41st Annual Symposium in London last week. Jerry Head, senior vice president of regulatory affairs at GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy, told the attendees that standardization in the nuclear industry would be very beneficial. He mentioned seven specific areas in which standardization would help the industry from the design stage of nuclear power reactors all the way to decommissioning.

      The first thing he mentioned dealt with the different design requirements in different countries each with their own laws and regulations. If international standards could be agreed upon and implemented, then reactor designs could be moved from one country to another without having to satisfy different regulations and processes.

      Second, he said that different countries may have different strengths with respect to evaluation of nuclear power reactor designs. This would mean that if a particular design had already been approved in its country of origin and other countries, then a country considering the design could be confident that it had already been well reviewed.

     Third, the current complexity of the supply chain that has to do a lot of customization for different reactors in different countries could be replaced by a simpler and more cost effective supply chain that could take advantage of standardized component designs. The fewer the design changes between projects in different countries, the more confidence that project managers could have that the components will adhere to specifications.

       Fourth, standardization can benefit the product life-cycle of nuclear power plants. Most plants are licensed for sixty years. As time goes by, designs are improved. If many different reactors operating at a given time are all built according to a standardized design, then improvements to that standardized design can be made to all of the reactors of that design.

        Fifth, if operators and regulators of nuclear power plants in different countries are all working on reactors with the same design, then they will be able to share information on best practices and improvements. This synergy will lower costs and improve operations and safety among different countries.

       Sixth, owners groups can cooperate and collaborate on planning for dealing with emergencies and accidents better if their reactors share the same design.  This will allow them to develop equipment and procedures to better deal with problems associated with a particular shared reactor design.

       Seventh, when the time comes to decommission a particular reactor, procedures developed and lessons learned from decommissioning other reactors with the same standard design will be very useful.

       Eight years ago the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency established the Multinational Design Evaluation Program (MDEP). According to the NEA, MDEP works on the development of “innovative approaches to leverage the resources and knowledge of national regulatory authorities that are currently or will be tasked with the review of new nuclear power reactor designs”. The nuclear regulatory authorities of 15 countries participate in MDEP.

       The International Atomic Energy Agency maintains the ARIS Database of commercial reactor designs. There are forty two designs currently in the database. Some of these have passed reviews for construction in particular countries while others are still in the evaluation stage. Five reactor designs have passed or are undergoing the Multinational Design Evaluation Program. These include: the Hitachi’s Advanced Boiling Water Reactor, the Westinghouse’s AP1000, the EDF/Areva’s European Pressurized Reactor, the Korean-designed Advanced Pressurized Reactor-1400; and Rosatom’s VVER design.