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Weapon-grade plutonium shipped cross-country
The Department of Energy plans to scale down U.S. nuclear weapons program by consolidating special nuclear materials — read: weapon-grade material — at five federal sites by the end of 2012 and reducing the square footage and staff within those sites by 2017; nuclear materials will have to be shipped from different labs around the country to these five sites
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DOE IG offers details of 24 October Oak Ridge security breach
Certain areas of the U.S. nuclear labs are designated “limited areas” by DOE; employees are prohibited from bringing into these secure areas any equipment capable of transmitting data wirelessly; at Oak Ridge, 38 laptops had been allowed into restricted areas, and IG finds that nine of these laptops had later been taken on foreign travel — two of them to countries on DOE’ sensitive countries list
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U.K. nuclear power plan draws fire
A group of academics issue a report arguing that the established nuclear-power industry would inevitably move on to the use of fast-breeder reactors to manufacture plutonium for use as fuel, increasing the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation
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Cleveland BioLabs's candidate for radiation sickness treatment rejected
Cleveland Biolabs developed treatment of gastrointestinal effects of acute radiation syndrome; DoD decided it was not interested
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Russia begins delivery of nuclear fuel to Iran's Bushehr plant
As the Bush administration’s recent NIE report fatally weakens case against sanctions on Iran for its nuclear activities, Russia begins delivery of fuel to Iran’s Bushehr plant; in addition to intensified uranium enrichment program, Iran will soon be able to choose the plutonium path to a nuclear weapon
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Spain tightens security of nuclear plants
There are eight active nuclear power plants in Spain; recent incidents — Greenpeace activists breaching security in one plant; an employee trying to smuggle out uranium tablets in another — convinced the authorities that more must be done to secure them
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New York opposes extending Indian Point license
Indian Point nuclear plants in Westchester County are surrounded by 20 million people within a 50-mile radius, more than any other reactor in the country; plants’ operator applied for a 20-year extension license, but the State of New York says plants pose too much risk and should be shut down
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Bulgaria to build the first Russian-designed nuclear reactor in the EU
Bulgaria will be the first EU country to build a nuclear power plant based on Russian design; the plant will be built at a site deemed unsafe two decades ago because it was prone to earthquakes
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U.S. intelligence: Iran halted work on nuclear weapons in 2003
The U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, which represents the consensus view of all sixteen American spy agencies, asserts that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold
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Europeans install radiation detectors as U.S. question detectors' efficacy
U.S. legislators raise questions about DHS’s $1.4 billion program which aims to deploy nuclear radiation detectors in U.S. ports; GAO raises questions about test methodology of latest technology; Europeans, though forge ahead with port deployment
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How real is the nuclear threat for the United States?
Graham Allison: “Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not in the decade ahead”
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Uncertainties about nuclear waste storage
The waste created in the production of U.S. nuclear weapons is buried in Hanford, Washington; there is a growing uncertainty about the subsurface paths nuclear contaminants take, where they travel, and how fast
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ECBC recognized for contribution of chemical, biological standoff detection
Edgewood Chemical Biological Center’s research and development of standoff biological and chemical detectors is recognized by the U.S. Army
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CANBERRA offers new interactive CD for popular UltraRadia radiation monitor
Monitoring nuclear radiation and dosage levels is becoming more important for firefighters, HAZMAT teams, paramedics, and other first responders — but also for soldiers in the theater; it is also important for those in the nuclear power industry
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Major conference on illicit nuclear trafficking to open next week
The IAEA next week will hold a major conference on illegal possession and illicit trafficking of nuclear materials; in 1995 the IAEA established the Illicit Trafficking Database; to date, it has received reports on approximately 1,250 incidents
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The long view
Keeping the Lights on with Nuclear Waste: Radiochemistry Transforms Nuclear Waste into Strategic Materials
How UNLV radiochemistry is pioneering the future of energy in the Southwest by salvaging strategic materials from nuclear dumps –and making it safe.
Model Predicts Long-Term Effects of Nuclear Waste on Underground Disposal Systems
The simulations matched results from an underground lab experiment in Switzerland, suggesting modeling could be used to validate the safety of nuclear disposal sites.