• A New Way to Assess Radiation Damage in Reactors

    A new method could greatly reduce the time and expense needed for certain important safety checks in nuclear power reactors. The approach could save money and increase total power output in the short run, and it might increase plants’ safe operating lifetimes in the long run.

  • The Cold War Legacy Lurking in U.S. Groundwater

    In America’s rush to build the nuclear arsenal that won the Cold War, safety was sacrificed for speed. ProPublica has cataloged cleanup efforts at the 50-plus sites where uranium was processed to fuel the nation’s nuclear arsenal. Even after regulators say cleanup is complete, polluted water and sickness are often left behind.

  • U.K. Removes China from Sizewell C Nuclear Plant as Tensions Grow

    London has stripped Chinese firm CGN of its stake in the nuclear plant. British lawmakers were visiting Taiwan and China’s London ambassador was summoned over the alleged assault of a BBC reporter as tensions mount.

  • Zaporizhzhia: What Would Be the Consequences of an Accident?

    Although it’s impossible to say for sure what consequences an accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant might have on human health in the environment nearby, experts can make some predictions.

  • Fukushima Fears Notwithstanding, Japan Still Depends on Nuclear Power

    The 2011 Fukushima disaster helped seal the fate of nuclear power in Japan, or so it seemed. Tokyo now plans to extend the life of its nuclear plants and is considering new smaller, safer reactors.

  • Germany — No Exit from the Nuclear Energy Exit

    German Economy Minister Robert Habeck wants to keep two of the three German nuclear power plants on standby for an extra three months as an emergency reserve. That is the right decision.

  • Studying Molten-Salt Nuclear Reactor Materials

    $9.25 million DOE nuclear energy research program aims to improve safety and efficiency of sustainable nuclear energy.

  • Russia's Stranglehold on the World's Nuclear Power Cycle

    Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, countries supporting Ukraine have imposed several packages of sanctions targeting Russia’s lucrative energy industry (mostly oil, gas, and coal. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently called on the international community to come up with a stronger response and ban Russian imports from yet another sector: nuclear power. But blocking and replacing Russia’s deliveries of uranium, reactors, and nuclear technology to the rest of the world is easier said than done.

  • Are Attacks on Nuclear Plants Legal under International Law?

    As fears rise that there could be a nuclear disaster at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant, DW looks at the Geneva Conventions, to which both Russia and Ukraine are signatories. Targeting nuclear plants is not actually banned.

  • Situation at Europe's Largest Nuclear Plant “Out of Control”

    After Russian forces occupied a Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in March, the situation has deteriorated, experts say. The IAEA said that the reactor — Europe’s biggest — is “extremely vulnerable” to meltdown after all safety measures had been “violated” by Russian forces.

  • Germany Mulls U-Turn on Nuclear Phaseout

    German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has raised the possibility of lengthening the life of the country’s nuclear power stations. Berlin’s decision to get rid of the plants has come under question amid energy security concerns.

  • Assessing the Environmental Impact of Nuclear Power Generation

    Nuclear power is considered a panacea for the environmental degradation caused by fossil fuels. However, its environmental impact and natural resource use need to be assessed. Researchers make a life cycle assessment of resource use in nuclear power generation from uranium.

  • Will Germany Return to Nuclear Power?

    As Germany moves to wean itself off Russian energy, politicians are debating a pause to the country’s planned nuclear phaseout. Experts warn, however, that it may not be so easy.

  • Nuclear Forensics International Group Anniversary Meeting at Livermore

    After a little more than 25 years, the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) is returning to its roots in Livermore, California. Founded in 1995 in a meeting at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), the ITWG met in Europe for 24 straight years from 1996 through 2019.

  • Protecting Nuclear Waste Containers from Metal-Corroding Microbes

    Canada has about three million bundles of used nuclear fuel, which contain the solid uranium that powers nuclear reactors. They’re stored in above-ground containers at seven facilities across the country, with 90,000 added every year. The containers only last about 50 to 100 years, but used nuclear fuel must be stored for one million years before its radiation levels return to that of naturally occurring uranium ore. Canada is getting closer to moving all its spent nuclear fuel to a single facility, and encasing each fuel container in bentonite clay, and researchers are studying whether that clay could support microbial life – which could eat away at the metal containers.