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"Radioactive water that leaked from the nation's oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state's environmental chief said Friday. The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to halt the spread of contaminated water underground, even as it said there was no imminent threat to drinking water supplies. The department launched a new investigation Friday into the April 2009 spill and said the actions of plant owner Exelon Corp. have not been sufficient to contain water contaminated with tritium."

"Radioactive water that leaked from the nation's oldest nuclear power plant has now reached a major underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to much of southern New Jersey, the state's environmental chief said Friday. The state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station to halt the spread of contaminated water underground, even as it said there was no imminent threat to drinking water supplies. The department launched a new investigation Friday into the April 2009 spill and said the actions of plant owner Exelon Corp. have not been sufficient to contain water contaminated with tritium."

"Monju Restarted for the First Time in 14 Years Be they sodium leak detectors, radiation leak detectors, or temperature monitors, malfunction of the sensors that indicate that something is amiss has become routine. JAEA acts on the assumption that they are all false alarms. One is reminded of the story of the boy who cried wolf. Who will believe when the alarm is for real? Monju Restart: CNIC statement Statement issued by CNIC on May 6, 2010, the day that Monju was restarted. KK-1 Moves Closer to Restart The committee concluded that there were no problems regarding insertion of control rods and, with virtually no substantive questions from the committee members, start-up testing of KK Unit 1 was endorsed. Chugoku Electric's Unbelievable Lack of Awareness of Safety and Quality Control On March 30 Chugoku Electric Power Company announced that it had failed to carry out checks on a total of 123 pieces of equipment during past periodic inspections of Units 1 and 2 of its Shimane Nuclear Power Station, located in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. On April 30 it updated the number to 506 pieces of equipment. Uprating Nuclear Reactors Reduces Safety Uprating is one of many fronts on which Japan's nuclear safety is being whittled away. Others include extended operation cycles, life extensions for aging reactors and the use of MOX fuel in light water reactors. Japan to the Rescue of Sellafield MOX Plant According to NDA's web site, "Agreement has now been reached between the NDA and the Japanese Utilities on an overall framework for future fabrication of MOX fuel in SMP. 2010 Fiscal Year Electric Supply Plan Considering the past record, basing the CO2 emissions reduction plan on the Electric Supply Plan is a recipe for failure. 2010 Plutonium Utilization Plans and Plutonium Holdings Data should be published by all companies in writing in kilogram units for all separated plutonium, wherever it is held. Group Intro: Rainbow Kayak Squadron The Rainbow Kayak Squadron is a

Steve Fetter, dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy, supplies an answer: If the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) has accurately estimated the planet's economically accessible uranium resources, reactors could run more than 200 years at current rates of consumption. Most of the 2.8 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated worldwide from nuclear power every year is produced in light-water reactors (LWRs) using low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. About 10 metric tons of natural uranium go into producing a metric ton of LEU, which can then be used to generate about 400 million kilowatt-hours of electricity, so present-day reactors require about 70,000 metric tons of natural uranium a year.

Areva, the Paris-based nuclear vendor, has signed a contract to deliver 300 mt of uranium to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, Areva said Thursday. The quantity is sufficient to fuel a third of the Indian state-owned utility's operating reactor fleet, Areva said. Npcil, which operates about 4 GW of nuclear plant, has had to reduce the output of its reactors last year and this year for lack of sufficient uranium supply. Until this fall, members of the international Nuclear Suppliers Group were not allowed to trade with the country, which has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

A rolled-over semi truck on Interstate 76 near 88th Avenue closed the eastbound lanes of the highway for several hours Wednesday morning as emergency workers cleaned up some low-level radioactive medical supplies. The state patrol said the truck's driver was distracted by his cell phone when the crash happened.

The Bush administration's plan for a "renaissance" in nuclear power may be crimped by tightening world-wide supplies of uranium and a lack of enrichment facilities to turn the uranium into fuel for power plants. In a recent setback, an accident in October flooded the world's largest uranium mine, which was set to open in Canada next year. That nudged prices for processed uranium ore, already up more than 800% since 2001, even higher.

Russia will become the first supplier of nuclear fuel to India since a club of uranium producers lifted a three-decade ban on sales to the south Asian country. A unit of Rosatom Corp., Russia's holding company for all nuclear assets, will sign a contract with Indian atomic energy monopoly Nuclear Power Corp. on Feb. 11 in Mumbai to deliver 2,000 metric tons of uranium pellets, both companies said. India will pay $780 million for the fuel, Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said by phone from Moscow today. "We're very glad that a Russian company will be the first to supply India with low-enriched uranium after the Nuclear Suppliers Group canceled its restrictions," Novikov said.

AREVA (Paris:CEI) has signed today a contract* to supply 40 MOX fuel assemblies for unit 2 of the Shimanenuclear power plant, owned and operated by Japanese utility Chugoku EPCo. Under the terms of the contract, the fuel will be fabricated at AREVA`s MELOX plant in southern France, using plutonium recovered from the treatment operations performed at AREVA`s La Hague plant, thereby recycling it to be used in Japan as MOX fuel.

Florida Power & Light must be stopped from endangering our lives, destroying our water supply and making us pay for it. FPL plans to double the number of nuclear reactors at Turkey Point and to continue storing nuclear waste on-site indefinitely. Radioactive tritium leaks reveal the existing cooling canals already push saltwater into South Dade well fields -- new reactors will hasten this process. Further, FPL intends to run above-ground 230,000 volt transmission lines through Biscayne and Everglades National Parks, then up U.S. 1 adjacent to schools, hospitals, residences, businesses and commuter lines. In study after study, cancer rates are elevated along high voltage transmission corridors. FPL's own consultant stated these cancer risks cannot be dismissed.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to re-evaluate the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate, once made near Lake Mead, because of its potential health impacts on infants and children. Under the Bush administration, the EPA made a preliminary decision not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. In the 1990s scientists discovered perchlorate from two chemical plants in Henderson in Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead waters. Lake Mead supplies 90 percent of Las Vegas Valley's drinking water.

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to re-evaluate the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate, once made near Lake Mead, because of its potential health impacts on infants and children. Under the Bush administration, the EPA made a preliminary decision not to regulate perchlorate in drinking water. In the 1990s scientists discovered perchlorate from two chemical plants in Henderson in Las Vegas Wash and Lake Mead waters. Lake Mead supplies 90 percent of Las Vegas Valley's drinking water.

* Whitehaven News * News Sellafield admits hot tanks error but denies plant was 'hours from disaster' By Alan Irving Last updated 15:54, Wednesday, 15 April 2009 SELLAFIELD'S operators have denied the area was only hours away from a nuclear disaster due to failure in tanks containing highly radioactive liquid. * Title Author Copyright Description David Moore: 'Reassured that all the safety systems kicked in' 1 of 2 Photos Toggle Thumbnails Staff worked against the clock to supply cooling water to four of the 21 tanks, said to hold around 1,000 cubic metres of highly radioactive liquid waste. Details of the alert are given in the latest Sellafield site newsletter which says: "Cooling water was reinstated to the high-heat highly active storage tanks within two hours of the initial loss and to the remainder of the plant within eight hours... this is within the bounds of the plant safety case." But Cumbrian anti-nuclear group Core has made the startling claim that "this is perilously close to the timescale of 10.5 hours catered for in the Sellafield site emergency plan".

"MAINS water supplies in east Suffolk could be put under stress if permission is given to build a £6billion Sizewell C nuclear power station, according to critics. Figures revealed to a local watchdog group show that the existing Sizewell B plant uses about 800 cubic metres of mains water a day - estimated to be about 7% of the total demand in the local catchment area. Critics say based on this figure a twin-reactor Sizewell C would demand a further 1,600 cubic metres a day - in one of the driest parts of the country and where householders and businesses have in the past few decades faced restrictions on use."

"Uranium transfers canceled for 2011, continue for 2010 * Department doesn't want too much uranium in the market * Uranium transfers help pay cleanup of enrichment plant (Adds uranium transfers continuing for 2010) WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department has canceled plans to put into the market during 2011 extra government-owned surplus uranium supplies, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told Congress on Thursday, but the uranium transfers will continue for this year. The department had planned to transfer next year up to 1,125 tonnes, or about 2.48 million lbs, of its surplus uranium a year to raise money to pay for the cleanup of the Portsmouth uranium enrichment plant in Ohio."

Cement and ready-mix companies in the UAE are gearing up for a massive opportunity for supplying cement and concrete for nuclear power plants in the UAE. The UAE is expected to award contracts estimated to be worth $40 billion (Dh147bn) to build several nuclear reactors. According to a senior industry official, the contract for nuclear power plants would be a blessing for cement companies already struggling with falling demand and reduced profits.

Cement and ready-mix companies in the UAE are gearing up for a massive opportunity for supplying cement and concrete for nuclear power plants in the UAE. The UAE is expected to award contracts estimated to be worth $40 billion (Dh147bn) to build several nuclear reactors. According to a senior industry official, the contract for nuclear power plants would be a blessing for cement companies already struggling with falling demand and reduced profits.

The uranium industry was born on the west end of Energy Alley, the run from Green River, Utah, to Rifle. It has burst into bloom and sputtered to obscurity more than once. Like the half-lives by which radiation is judged to decay, though, the industry never has died. Two companies are burrowing into the red bluffs and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah to dig out uranium and start the process of generating electricity. Although the history of the uranium industry in the region goes back to Madame Curie and her discoveries in the late 19th Century, the supply is far from played out. Miners dug out about 250 million pounds of uranium for the World II and Cold War efforts, said George Glasier, president and CEO of Energy Fuels Inc., a Canadian, publicly traded company.

The uranium industry was born on the west end of Energy Alley, the run from Green River, Utah, to Rifle. It has burst into bloom and sputtered to obscurity more than once. Like the half-lives by which radiation is judged to decay, though, the industry never has died. Two companies are burrowing into the red bluffs and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah to dig out uranium and start the process of generating electricity. Although the history of the uranium industry in the region goes back to Madame Curie and her discoveries in the late 19th Century, the supply is far from played out. Miners dug out about 250 million pounds of uranium for the World II and Cold War efforts, said George Glasier, president and CEO of Energy Fuels Inc., a Canadian, publicly traded company.

French nuclear energy giant Areva said Monday it would supply Dubai with 11 electricity substations for 200 million euros (286 million dollars), as the emirate grapples with a serious debt crisis. "The order is the largest ever for Areva T&D (Transmission and Distribution) in the United Arab Emirates," Areva said in a statement. Philippe Guillemot, chief executive of Areva T&D, called it a "prestigious contract" that would strengthen his company's presence in the region.

French nuclear energy giant Areva said Monday it would supply Dubai with 11 electricity substations for 200 million euros (286 million dollars), as the emirate grapples with a serious debt crisis. "The order is the largest ever for Areva T&D (Transmission and Distribution) in the United Arab Emirates," Areva said in a statement. Philippe Guillemot, chief executive of Areva T&D, called it a "prestigious contract" that would strengthen his company's presence in the region.

The uranium industry was born on the west end of Energy Alley, the run from Green River, Utah, to Rifle. It has burst into bloom and sputtered to obscurity more than once. Like the half-lives by which radiation is judged to decay, though, the industry never has died. Two companies are burrowing into the red bluffs and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah to dig out uranium and start the process of generating electricity. Although the history of the uranium industry in the region goes back to Madame Curie and her discoveries in the late 19th century, the supply is far from played out. Miners dug out about 250 million pounds of uranium for the World II and Cold War efforts, said George Glasier, president and CEO of Energy Fuels Inc., a Canadian, publicly traded company.

The uranium industry was born on the west end of Energy Alley, the run from Green River, Utah, to Rifle. It has burst into bloom and sputtered to obscurity more than once. Like the half-lives by which radiation is judged to decay, though, the industry never has died. Two companies are burrowing into the red bluffs and canyons of western Colorado and eastern Utah to dig out uranium and start the process of generating electricity. Although the history of the uranium industry in the region goes back to Madame Curie and her discoveries in the late 19th century, the supply is far from played out. Miners dug out about 250 million pounds of uranium for the World II and Cold War efforts, said George Glasier, president and CEO of Energy Fuels Inc., a Canadian, publicly traded company.

The beginnings of the Manhattan Project can be traced to early science and technology research into uranium-238 conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. U-238 is the most common radioactive element, making up about 99 percent of the Earth's supply of uranium. Uranium-238 does not sustain a fission chain reaction, however, and must be modified into an isotope that can. It can be bombarded in a nuclear reactor to make U-235, the fuel used for the Hiroshima bomb. That isotope was made and separated at labs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The beginnings of the Manhattan Project can be traced to early science and technology research into uranium-238 conducted at the University of California, Berkeley. U-238 is the most common radioactive element, making up about 99 percent of the Earth's supply of uranium. Uranium-238 does not sustain a fission chain reaction, however, and must be modified into an isotope that can. It can be bombarded in a nuclear reactor to make U-235, the fuel used for the Hiroshima bomb. That isotope was made and separated at labs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

While Oak Ridge, Tenn., would make U-235, the fuel for the Hiroshima atomic bomb, Groves looked for a site in the West that was far from population centers. It also needed a generous supply of electricity to run the bomb factories and water to cool the reactors. Hanford, Wash., downriver from the just-completed Grand Coulee Dam and adjacent to the Columbia River, fit the bill. To develop plutonium, the Hanford Site in Benton County in south central Washington was carefully chosen in December 1942 as the perfect place.

While Oak Ridge, Tenn., would make U-235, the fuel for the Hiroshima atomic bomb, Groves looked for a site in the West that was far from population centers. It also needed a generous supply of electricity to run the bomb factories and water to cool the reactors. Hanford, Wash., downriver from the just-completed Grand Coulee Dam and adjacent to the Columbia River, fit the bill. To develop plutonium, the Hanford Site in Benton County in south central Washington was carefully chosen in December 1942 as the perfect place.