• One step closer to controlling nuclear fusion

    Nuclear fusion – heating gas to several million degrees so it becomes plasma — holds the promise of abundant energy, but controlling the fusion process inside a nuclear reactor is exceedingly difficult; scientists achieve a breakthrough in controlling instability in the plasma

  • Fukushima decontamination efforts proves to be daunting task

    For the past several months Japan has been steadily recovering from the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that ravaged the country on 11 March, but now cleanup crews have begun to tackle one of their most difficult jobs yet – decontaminating areas hit by radioactive fallout

  • New material for building thermonuclear fusion reactors

    Two European projects – ITER and DEMO — propose development of fusion reactors that are economically viable; this work depends on the development of new structural materials capable of withstanding damage by irradiation and elevated temperatures resulting from the fusion reaction

  • Japanese government, Tokyo Electric blasted for handling of Fukushima

    A recent report revealed that Japan’s response to the nuclear crises at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy plant following the devastating 11 March earthquake and tsunami was riddled with false assumptions, miscommunication, and poor planning

  • Fukushima reaches cold shutdown conditions, critics scoff

    Last week Japanese officials declared that the beleaguered Fukushima Daiichi power plant had become stable enough for engineers to complete a “cold shutdown”; officials also stated that the facility had ceased to leak substantial amounts of radiation, a claim received skeptically by critics

  • The north of England can become the world’s nuclear base

    Despite the repercussions from Fukushima, the nuclear new-construction renaissance continues in countries such as China, India, and the United Kingdom with sixty reactors under construction, 155 planned, and a further 338 proposed’ a new study suggests the that the north of England can become a hub for nuclear power-related activities

  • Small, modular reactors to figure in U.S. energy future

    A newly released study concludes that small modular reactors (SMR) may hold the key to the future of U.S. nuclear power generation; an SMR would have a generating capacity of 600 megawatts or less, would be factory-built as modular components, and then shipped to their desired location for assembly

  • U.K. approves new reactor designs

    U.K. regulators have given interim approval to two new nuclear reactor designs — the EDF and Areva’s UK EPRTM and Westinghouse’s AP1000; the regulators say that there are still some issues to be addressed, and that neither reactor can be built in the United Kingdom until these issues are resolved

  • Decontaminating radiation-laced water at Fukushima Daiichi

    Thanks to special radiation devices, made by UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, cleanup crews in Japan have been able to treat five million gallons of water contaminated by radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

  • Hairline cracks discovered in Ohio nuclear plant

    The discovery of several hairline cracks at a nuclear power plant in Ohio has watchdog groups questioning its structural integrity; on Monday a team of inspectors found several hairline cracks including one thirty-feet long at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant, located outside of Toledo

  • Eight months later, Fukushima reactor could still be active

    Troubles continue at the beleaguered Fukushima Daichii nuclear power plant in Japan with officials detecting radioactive xenon gas, a byproduct of nuclear fission, from reactor two nearly eight months after the dangerous meltdowns

  • Nuclear power shortages forces Japan to reduce consumption

    As winter approaches, residents of Japan are being asked to cut power consumption by 10 percent as many of the country’s nuclear reactors have remained offline since the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic energy plant

  • New technology for safe storage of radioactive waste

    Researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters

  • Leeds sludge experts target nuclear waste

    Researchers from the University of Leeds have teamed up with Sellafield Ltd. to clean up radioactive sludge produced by the U.K. nuclear industry; the newly formed Sludge Center of Expertise will play a key role in describing the behavior of the sludge wastes that have arisen after years of operation at Sellafield and other nuclear sites across the United Kingdom

  • Decontaminating Japan to cost at least $13 billion

    Last week Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the government will spend at least 1 trillion yen, or $13 billion, to decontaminate areas affected by nuclear radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant