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"Toshiba is still planning to apply this year for federal approval to test its small-scale nuclear power plant in Galena, according to various reports. The Japanese company is planning reactors known as "4S," meaing "super-safe, small and simple," with hopes of starting construction in 2014. "We aim to get 4S orders in remote areas where it is more cost-efficient to generate power on a local basis than use power grids," spokesman Keisuke Ohmori told Business Week. "A great many people are interested." Toshiba and TerraPower, a company controlled by Bill Gates, have been in talks about engineering and research issues related to what is known as a "traveling wave reactor" that would use depleted uranium."

Hundreds of miles from the nearest power plant, the roughly 700 residents of Galena, Alaska, depend on costly generator-supplied electricity for their homes. But now, they want to go nuclear. No, not a traditional hulking nuclear power plant. That would be far too big. Instead, town leaders have signed up for what some call a "pocket nuke" or "nuclear battery" that produces just 10 megawatts - about 1 percent of the energy an average nuclear plant generates. Japanese manufacturer Toshiba has told the town it will install its new "4S" (Super-safe, small, and simple) reactor free of charge by 2012. The unit, which would be buried about 100 feet underground, would only have to be refueled every 30 years or so. A turbine station would sit above the reactor, turning heat from the reactor into electricity.

Japan's major nuclear reactor manufacturers have begun developing small nuclear power systems for both developed and emerging countries, a report said on Saturday. Toshiba Corp. is developing an ultra-compact reactor with an output of about 10,000 kilowatts and has started procedures for approval in the United States, the Nikkei business daily said. The new reactor, the Toshiba 4S, is designed to minimise the need for monitoring and maintenance, with an automatic shutdown function to ensure safety in case of problems, the newspaper said.

Japan's major nuclear reactor manufacturers have begun developing small nuclear power systems for both developed and emerging countries, a report said on Saturday. Toshiba Corp. is developing an ultra-compact reactor with an output of about 10,000 kilowatts and has started procedures for approval in the United States, the Nikkei business daily said. The new reactor, the Toshiba 4S, is designed to minimise the need for monitoring and maintenance, with an automatic shutdown function to ensure safety in case of problems, the newspaper said.

The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has paid more than $4.5 billion to 48,072 individuals under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry. "We got this program up and running in eight months by July 31, 2001, and I'm very proud that the department has processed more than $4.5 billion in benefits to workers and their families efficiently and with compassion," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.