THE HAGUE (AFP) — A nuclear reactor in the Netherlands closed for safety reasons, causing cancer patients to face longer waits for diagnoses, is unlikely to be back in operation before late November, its owners said.
"Repair work will last in any case until the end of November, which means that the November irradiation cycle is cancelled," the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG) said in a statement on Wednesday.
AMSTERDAM, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The Dutch government ruled out on Thursday any chance of Dutch utility Delta gaining permission to build the country's second nuclear power station during the current administration's term of office to 2011.
'The coalition government agreement is crystal clear. We will not make any decisions over the construction of new nuclear power stations,' Environment Minister Jacqueline Cramer of the Labour party (PvdA) told Dutch radio station BNR.
A statement by the Socialists that nuclear power is not a taboo subject within the party could signal a parliamentary majority in favour of building new nuclear power plants in the Netherlands, reports Wednesday’s Telegraaf.
‘Everything is open to discussion. Nuclear power is not taboo for the SP,’ Socialist party (SP) leader Agnes Kant is quoted by the paper as saying.
Accident investigators will today begin their investigation into the cause of an explosion at a company which makes centrifuges for the Urenco uranium factory in Almelo.
No-one was hurt in the blast, which the fire brigade describes as a ‘chemicals incident’.
BRUSSELS, July 4 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch government said Friday that Iranian students are banned from approaching locations or being enrolled in study programs in the Netherlands where they might gain access to nuclear science, Radio Netherlands reported Friday.
The government specified five locations and nine academic courses which will even be out of bounds to Iranians who hold a Dutch passport. They include the Borssele nuclear power plant in southwestern Netherlands and a test reactor at Delft University of Technology.
After a meeting in Paris, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner have said that there has to be a debate on nuclear energy now that fuel prices are rising. The two ministers believe the European Union should be less dependent on oil and gas imports and more thought should be put into new energy sources including nuclear power.
The Netherlands has added its name to the growing list of European countries that might build nuclear power stations to help meet their greenhouse gas targets.
Maria van der Hoeven, Dutch economics minister, said she could not envisage a nuclear-free future if the government was to meet its CO 2 targets.
The Netherlands only commercial power plant at Borssele wants to begin using plutonium to generate electricity, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Thursday.
The plant’s owners, regional electricity firm EPZ, has made a formal application to the environment ministry.
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Urenco Group said 2007 was another successful year for uranium enrichment company in which turnover rose 15 pct on the previous year to surpass 1 billion euros for the first time.
The company, one third owned by the UK government via British Nuclear Fuels Ltd., said full-year pretax profit after minorities grew to 238.5 million euros, largely driven by the strong performance of its existing operations.
THE HAGUE, March 19 (Reuters) - The Netherlands will focus on developing cleaner coal plants and raising renewable energy output to cut carbon emissions rather than expanding its nuclear energy industry at present, the environment minister said.
While other European countries like Britain are taking a fresh look at nuclear power due to its credentials as a carbon free energy source, the Dutch government is sticking to an agreement to build no more nuclear plants during its mandate.
