HELSINKI, July 30 (Reuters) - A small fire at the construction site for a new nuclear reactor in Olkiluoto, western Finland, spread to two floors of the reactor building, before it was put out, plant operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) said on Wednesday.
"A small amount of contruction materials had caught fire," TVO said in a statement, and added the fire was noticed at around 2:00 a.m (2300 GMT) and it was put out four hours later.
A new generation of nuclear power stations could be built in flood-risk or "environmentally protected" areas, under proposed rules set out by the Government today.
Green safeguards are listed among "discretionary" criteria ministers intend to use to decide where to put the controversial reactors - not those that would instantly rule out a site. Prime Minister Gordon Brown is believed to want up to eight new reactors as part of a global "renaissance of nuclear power" to help end reliance on fossil fuels.
Irish people are exposed to higher levels of radiation than previously thought, with the latest figures from the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII) showing nine per cent greater exposure than had been recorded.
The most comprehensive study ever undertaken by the RPII has found that Irish exposure to radiation is more than one third higher than the international average and that the cancer causing gas radon is the primary source of radiation exposure in Ireland.
The main Lithuania"s electricity producer Ignalina nuclear power plant (AE) is stopped for a two-month scheduled repair. One generator of Ignalina AE second block will be stopped on July 29, and the entire block – on August 2.
Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday appealed for the prime minister to shed light on a media report in which it was claimed that Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is considering Malta as a suitable spot for a nuclear power plant.
AD’s spokesman for sustainable development Carmel Cacopardo said the report featured in the Italian newspaper Il-Sole 24 Ore and mentioned Malta, Albania and Montenegro as possible sites for power plants. The report was compiled after a statement released in relation to Dr Gonzi and Mr Berlusconi’s meeting last week.
CEZ Romania expects the construction of the third and fourth reactors at the Cernavoda nuclear plant to be delayed about one year. On the other hand, CEZ bought in Eastern Romania a wind energy project evaluated at 100 million euro.
"We haven't been invited until now to continue the negotiations for the construction of the two Cernavoda rectors", said the CEZ Development Manager, Doru Voicu, who added that the company also waits for a response from Termoelectrica, in order to establish a partnership and build two thermal plants.
Russia and the European Union will embark on a new round of negotiations to lift hidden quotas on Russia's nuclear exports in September 2008 during the Russia-EU summit, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Sergei Kiriyenko, said today. He reiterated that the two sides were currently negotiating a new cooperation agreement. In addition, the EU presidency is currently held by France, Europe's largest nuclear power producer and consumer. It's time to step up talks on the matter, Kiriyenko noted.
ELEKTROSTAL, July 29 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has taken a look at technology of nuclear fuel production for nuclear power plants during his visit to the machine-building plant Elemash on Tuesday.
He was shown the whole technological chain – from production of “nuclear tablets” to heat clusters.
The plant’s director general Oleg Kryukov said “this is wholly our production - design, software and drawings; we buy parts abroad”.
MINSK, July 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian state nuclear power corporation Rosatom has agreed to take part in a tender for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Belarus, the ex-Soviet republic's energy ministry said Tuesday.
Belarus plans to build a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2,000 MW, with the first unit to come online in 2016 and the second in 2018. The plant is expected to have Generation III water-moderated reactors.
PARIS, July 29 (Reuters) - More than 120 workers evacuated a nuclear power plant in southern France on Tuesday after an alarm was set off, the nuclear safety authority said.
Plant owner EDF said the alarm was triggered accidentally but the safety authority ASN said it would await an independent examination before making any conclusions.
