Plutonium nitrate leaked from a corroded pipe to the containment cell and accumulated as a crystalline solid mass. There was no release to the Operations Areas nor to the Environment. The spillage was removed, the plant repaired and restarted. The evaporator cell incident at Sellafield which involved the recovery of radioactive liquor and was safely and successfully dealt with, has now been reclassified from Level 1 to Level 3 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. The incident on September 8 involved an escape of plutonium nitrate from defective pipework into a contained cell, but did not result in any release of radioactivity to the environment or plant operating areas and no one was exposed to any abnormal radiation exposure. However, it has now been reclassified to Level 3 on the scale following a thorough examination which concluded that the installed safety devices were not monitoring adequately under the existing circumstances. As it was, the plutonium nitrate which escaped into the cell was safety contained and a comprehensive programme of work has since been undertaken not only in carrying out repairs but also in the installation of various equipment and monitoring instrumentation designed to give earlier warning of any similar failure in future and ease recovery operations.
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
From the IPFM: During a visit to the Civaux nuclear power plant on 18 March 2024, France's Minister of the Armed Forces unveiled a plan to use the plant to produce tritium for the French nuclear weapons program. Civaux is a civilian power plant that belongs to and is operated by Electricité de France. According […]
An analysis by the Norwegian NGO Bellona of transborder trade operations with the customs code 840130 (irradiated fuel assemblies or fuel elements) show a more than twofold increase of import to EU countries of fresh nuclear fuel in cash terms – from 280 million Euros in 2022 to 686 million Euros in 2023. In physical […]
The French government has said it is "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut its reliance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is in Russia. "The option of […]
Jan vd Putte quickly changed from dressing as the pied piper at the protest during the IAEA nuclear power conference to warn for the Russian nuclear power conglomerate Rosatom and its role in Ukraine.
