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"Not everybody is so sanguine about the Soviet experience. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an expert from Russia's largest oil exporter Rosneft (ROSN.MM), urges the United States to ignore calls for the atomic option. "That would bring Chernobyl to America," he says. Vladimir Chuprov from Greenpeace's Moscow office is even more insistent that BP not heed the advice of the veteran Soviet physicists. Chuprov disputes the veterans' accounts of the peaceful explosions and says several of the gas leaks reappeared later. "What was praised as a success and a breakthrough by the Soviet Union is in essence a lie," he says. "I would recommend that the international community not listen to the Russians. Especially those of them that offer crazy ideas. Russians are keen on offering things, especially insane things." Former Minister Mikhailov agrees that the USSR had to give up its programme because of problems it presented. "I ended the program because I knew how worthless this all was," he says with a sigh. "Radioactive material was still seeping through cracks in the ground and spreading into the air. It wasn't worth it.""

"It was only one paragraph buried deep in the most plain-vanilla kind of diplomatic document, 40 pages of dry language committing 189 nations to a world free of nuclear weapons. But it has become the latest source of friction between Israel and the United States in a relationship that has lurched from crisis to crisis over the last few months. At an annual meeting to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in May, the United States yielded to demands by Arab nations that the final document urge Israel to sign the treaty - a way of spotlighting its historically undeclared nuclear weapons."

"NEARLY a quarter of a century after the nuclear reactor at Chernobyl in the Ukraine exploded and spewed radioactivity across the world, it has finally stopped making Scottish sheep too "hot" to eat. For the first time since the accident, levels of radioactive contamination in sheep on all Scottish farms dropped below safety limits last month, enabling the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to lift restrictions. Controls on the movement and sale of sheep have been in force since after the explosion in 1986. The Chernobyl reactor near Kiev scattered a massive cloud of radioactivity over Europe after it overheated, caught fire and ripped apart because of errors made by control room staff. It was the world's worst nuclear accident, and has been blamed for causing tens of thousands of deaths from cancers. Peat and grass in upland areas of Scotland were polluted with radioactive caesium-137 released by the reactor, blown across Europe and brought to ground by rain."

"A fire inside a nuclear power station took firefighters seven hours to extinguish yesterday. Emergency plans were put into effect as more than 45 firemen tackled the blaze at the Sizewell B station near Leiston, Suffolk. The blaze in a building which is used to control fuel started at 8.45pm on Friday and was not fully extinguished until 3.40am yesterday. Crews wearing breathing equipment entered a charcoal absorber used to filter gas and flooded it with water to cool the surrounding area."

"Korea settled for a top 16 spot in the South Africa World Cup, the first such feat on foreign soil, but in terms of nuclear deals, Korea appears to be breezing past top dogs such as France. After winning a mega deal in the Middle East last year, Korea is now in talks with the Turkish government to build a pair of nuclear power reactors with the aim of gaining substantial results this year. The latest blip on Korea's atomic energy export radar is Mexico, where a senior bureaucrat asked for assistance in nurturing specialists in nuclear power plants. Mexico's Energy Minister Girogina Kessel Martinez made the request at a recent meeting with his counterpart Choi Kyung-hwan, minister of knowledge economy. ``Originally, it was not on the official agenda. But Mexican officials made the request all of a sudden. Martinez plans to visit Korea for more detailed discussions,'' a ministry official said."

"Poland and the United States on Saturday signed a deal on a future US anti-missile shield in Europe which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said would help ward off threats from Iran. "This is the first agreement that implements the US European-based Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA) for ballistic missile defense and enables the stationing of a US land-based SM-3 missile defense interceptor system in the Republic of Poland," said a joint statement issued by Clinton and Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. "This agreement marks an important step in our countries? efforts to protect our NATO allies from the threat posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction," it added."

"A fire at the nuclear power station Sizewell B on the Suffolk coast was made safe by firefighters after six-and-a-half hours. The fire broke out just before 2100 BST in the building housing a charcoal absorber which is used to filter out gases. It was brought under control by 0330 BST after the charcoal absorber was flooded. Eight fire crews attended the blaze at the power station near Leiston."

"The issue of energy subsidies is heating up. The cards are out, positions are being redefined and bargaining is in process. A concerted effort is on to get this anomaly to the maximum possible and the issue was mentioned at the just-concluded G20 summit in Toronto too. The final communiqué at the end of the G20 summit here in Toronto not only noted with appreciation the report on energy subsidies from the International Energy Agency, OPEC, OECD and the World Bank combined, but also welcomed the work of the finance and energy ministers "in delivering implementation strategies and timeframes, based on national circumstances, for the rationalization and phase out - over the medium term - of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourages wasteful consumption, taking into account vulnerable groups and their development needs." The IEA, OPEC and the World Bank report on fossil fuel subsidies was prepared at the request of the previous G20 summit in Pittsburgh."

"Bellona presents an analysis of the draft law "On Management of Radioactive Waste," currently under consideration in the Russian legislature. This position reflects the opinion shared equally by Bellona and experts from most ecological non-governmental organisations operating in Russia. Aleksandr Nikitin, 01/07-2010 - Translated by Maria Kaminskaya Foreword The draft Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Management of Radioactive Waste" (hereinafter, the Bill) has been under preparation by Russian legislators for over ten years. At present, the bill is going through its second reading at the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma. According to the requirements set forth by the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, which Russia signed in Vienna in 1999 and ratified in 2005, countries that employ nuclear energy must have a regulatory and legal framework in place to ensure safe management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and radioactive waste. The proposed legislation will govern all legal relations arising in the field of management of SNF and radioactive waste. As an instrument to regulate such relations, the Bill is without doubt a necessity. Precisely how such relations will be regulated by the Bill in its current form, however, is a different matter. For the reader's convenience, the following analysis has been divided into three distinct parts detailing the potential ecological, social, and economical issues raised by the Bill. This analysis represents the opinion shared equally by Bellona and the majority of experts working with ecological non-governmental organisations in Russia. The ecological impact 1. The fundamental ecological problem that arises with the passing of the Bill is that it will legalise the existing practice of injecting liquid radioactive waste (LRW) inside geological formations for disposal."

"Vietnam and the United States agreed Friday to set up radiation monitoring equipment in the Asian nation's major container port, federal officials said. The National Nuclear Security Agency said the goal is to bar the smuggling of nuclear material through the port of Cai Mep in the province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. "Our partnership with Vietnam will greatly strengthen our capability to prevent nuclear and radiological smuggling through the maritime system in a key, strategic region of the world," said Kenneth Baker, a top official with the agency. "We appreciate Vietnam's efforts and commitment to keeping these dangerous materials out of the hands of terrorists, smugglers and proliferators.""

"European states are still using African coasts as a dumping ground of toxic waste, even after enactment of legislation aimed at ending the practice by the European Union. The worst examples of such dumping in the recent past, according to a report by the international environmental campaign group Greenpeace, is at the Somali port of Eel Ma'aan, north of Mogadishu. Greenpeace is now calling on the United Nations to investigate the dumping of toxic and radioactive materials in Somalia. In a 36-page document titled "Toxic Ships," the UK-based group claims that it has photographic evidence from an inconclusive investigation by the Italian authorities into the suspected burying of shipping containers filled with toxic waste inside the foundations of the port at Eel Ma'aan, in the 1990s."

"A group of atomic bomb survivors in Hiroshima on Wednesday protested over the start of talks between Japan and India aimed at sealing a bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation pact, saying the move runs counter to attempts at nuclear disarmament. To access full stories on Kyodo News English website, it is necessary to subscribe. Please contact Kyodo's International Department in Tokyo via e-mail at kokusai@kyodonews.jp or call 03-6252-8301. If you are outside Japan, please contact Kyodo News International in New York at kni@kyodonews.com or call +1-212-508-5440. Currently we offer subscriptions to only corporate clients such as newspapers, magazines, trade publications, research institutes, government and international organizations."

"Russia angrily hit back on Tuesday at US claims that it had smashed a Moscow-organised spy ring, saying the accusations were reminiscent of the Cold War and could damage efforts to improve relations. The US Justice Department said 10 "deep-cover" suspects, accused of infiltrating US policymaking for the Kremlin, had been detained on suspicion of seeking details of US nuclear weapons and foreign policy."

"After a long period of inaction due to tight financing, the Russian nuclear fleet operator Atomflot gears up for decommissioning several of its old nuclear vessels - starting with the 1977-built nuclear icebreaker Siberia. Spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste have been removed from the ship, and works done to ensure the hull bottom is watertight. Next in line are the icebreaker Arktika and the nuclear maintenance vessels Lotta, Lepse, and Volodarsky. Alexey Pavlov, 29/06-2010 - Translated by Maria Kaminskaya Each nuclear icebreaker has its own finite useful life period - an estimated time frame that the vessel can remain in service. It is impossible to keep extending the life span of an icebreaker's various mechanisms without risking an increased incidence of equipment malfunctions and system failures. The first to be laid to rest on Atomflot's roster of nuclear icebreakers was the icebreaker Lenin: The veteran icebreaker is now permanently moored in the far northern city of Murmansk, retrofitted to function as a museum. Lenin's successors will be sent for complete dismantling, beginning with the Siberia. The vessel, which was put into commission in 1977 and broke Arctic ice until it was taken out of service in 1992, has been awaiting decommissioning for 18 years. Until very recently, Russia had no sufficient means to allocate to the costly procedure."

"Russia on Wednesday took a big step toward the controversial creation of the world's first floating nuclear power station, putting a barge that will house the plant into the water. Environmentalists say Russia's plan to dot its northern coastline with floating nuclear power plants is risky. The head of Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said the plant would be "absolutely safe" and predicted "big interest from foreign customers.""

"A court in central Sweden on Thursday handed out fines to 29 Greenpeace activists who broke into a nuclear power plant earlier this month, according to judicial sources. The activists -- 13 Germans, eight Poles, four Danes, a Frenchman, a Finn, a Swede and a Briton -- were given fines ranging from 190 to 1,600 euros (230-2,000 dollars) for trespassing, according to a copy of the judgment by the court in Uppsala obtained by AFP. In a statement, Greenpeace welcomed the fact that activists were found guilty of the lesser charge of trespassing, and not aggravated trespassing as sought by the prosecutor. A Polish activist was also found guilty of a lesser arms law violation for possession of pepper spray, according to the court's decision."

"SNP Energy and Climate Change spokesperson Mike Weir MP has warned UK government plans to fix carbon prices amount to a hidden subsidy for new nuclear power stations - despite an explicit assurance by the coalition government that no public subsidy would be used. After an exchange at energy questions in the Commons Mr Weir said: "Fixing the carbon price would amount to a hidden subsidy for new nuclear stations and blows wide open the bogus coalition claim that there will be no public subsidy for nuclear power. "There are already problems within the EU emission trading scheme over free permits and it is ludicrous to pretend the EU will agree to a carbon floor price. This leaves the UK Government in the ridiculous position of attempting to impose a carbon floor price in the UK alone. This is simply unsustainable and legally dubious."

"Energy Secretary Chris Huhne has denied allegations that his "prejudices" against nuclear energy contributed to the cancellation of the £80 million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters to build power plant components. Labour leadership contender Ed Miliband said the coalition's decision was based on the "short-sightedness" of a Tory party which was against state intervention and Mr Huhne's opposition to nuclear. But at Commons question time Mr Huhne said the decision was made because the loan was "simply unaffordable". Shadow energy secretary Mr Miliband said the "commercial loan" to Forgemasters would have resulted in at least £110 million returning to the Exchequer. Mr Huhne told him: "The loan to Sheffield Forgemasters was not a commercial loan. If it was a commercial loan it would have been arranged through the banks and not by the Government."

"The Federal Aviation Administration has fined two Indian companies $422,500 for sending a radioactive shipment of depleted uranium as cargo on a passenger-carrying British Airways flight from Mumbai to Logan International Airport in 2008. The FAA alleges that IIS & Allied Services and its freight forwarder, Gallant Freight & Travels, failed to declare the hazardous nature of the shipment, which wasn't properly packaged or labeled. Radioactive materials are not allowed to be shipped as cargo aboard passenger aircraft, with some exceptions. The depleted uranium was destined for QSA Global Inc. in Burlington."

"China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co. will start trial operations of a nuclear reactor at the Lingao plant that will supply electricity to the country's southern region and cut coal use. Commercial operations of the reactor, part of a phase-two expansion of Lingao, are expected to start in October and a second unit will commence in 2011, the government-controlled nuclear power supplier said in a statement posted on the website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission today. "