The USA has asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor and verify the disposition of surplus plutonium in South Carolina, US energy secretary Ernest Moniz said on 5 December. Moniz’s announcement was made at an IAEA conference which aims to strengthen global nuclear security. world-nuclear-news.org

Media coverage of Hinkley Point C has tended to focus on EDF Energy’s financial agreement with the UK government and is only now being recognised for the economic benefits it will bring to the local economy, Nigel Knee, head of the company’s nuclear policy, said yesterday. EDF Energy’s updated analysis shows that almost £4 billion ($5 billion) will go into the regional economy of the South West of England over the lifetime of the project, Knee told delegates at the Budapest Energy Summit. world-nuclear-news.org

A three-nation enterprise involving investment from Kazakhstan and China and support from France is underway, as AREVA of France announced the construction start of a uranium processing plant in Kazakhstan that is scheduled to begin production in 2020. nuclearstreet.com

Germany’s highest court will decide next year on complaints brought by utilities against a tax on nuclear fuel rods, a spokesman said on Thursday, in a further challenge to the government’s energy policy. reuters.com