DOE amends UF6 sale agreement, outlines disposal plans

GE-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) and the US Department of Energy (DOE) have signed an amendment to their agreement for the sale of depleted uranium hexafluoride (UF6) inventories underpinning plans for a commercial laser enrichment facility at Paducah in Kentucky. Separately, the DOE has formalised how it plans to dispose of any waste depleted uranium […]

Materion to supply coolant for Kairos molten salt reactor

Kairos Power of the USA has entered into a strategic collaboration with advanced materials supplier Materion Corporation to develop a reliable and cost-effective supply of coolant for its fluoride salt-cooled, high-temperature reactor (KP-FHR). Materion will supply beryllium fluoride, technical consultation, key interfaces and support services. The KP-FHR is an advanced reactor technology that uses uranium […]

Russia processes 100,000 tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride

Russia’s Electrochemical Plant (ECP) at Zelenogorsk in Krasnoyarsk in May completed the processing of 100,000 tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUHF) at its W-ECP plant. “Thanks to the painstaking systematic work performed by the staff of the Electrochemical Plant, the plant has been operating stably for 10 years of operation, without failures, successfully completing its […]

“Our country will receive waste from foreign nuclear power plants built by Rosatom from time to time”

Environmentalist Vladimir Slivyak on the industry that “always kept its affairs secret” On March 19 and April 6 of this year, German eco-activists protested against the export of new shipments of radioactive waste to Russia, “cynically undertaken in the midst of the pandemic to safely avoid protests.” Realnoe Vremya spoke with Vladimir Slivyak, co-chairman of […]

NRC renews operating licence for Honeywell uranium conversion plant

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed the operating license for Honeywell International’s uranium conversion facility in Metropolis, Illinois, for an additional 40 years. The new licence expires in 2060, NRC said. Honeywell submitted its licence renewal application in February 2017. NRC staff concluded that renewing the licence would not pose an undue risk […]

How quickly can Iran make a nuclear bomb?

Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant has been in operation for almost ten years.Credit: Majid Asgaripour/AP/Shutterstock Iran has accumulated 1,200 kilograms of enriched uranium — more than doubling the stockpile it had just three months ago, according to a statement from a senior official at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on 25 January. That’s enough […]

NNSA Plans to Take Some Portsmouth DUF6 for Weapons Programs

The National Nuclear Security Administration has decided to use a cleanup facility in Ohio to help produce high-purity depleted uranium metal for nuclear weapons programs. The semiautonomous Department of Energy weapons agency will do that by installing a fourth process line at the depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion facility at the Portsmouth Site near Piketon, Ohio, […]

Evaluation of public dose from FHR tritium release with consideration of meteorological uncertainties.

Highlights Chronic airborne tritium release modeling was performed for three locations of future FHR construction. Carried out parametric study of critical meteorological and geometric parameters. Dose prediction for the near future was conducted for three locations. Dominance of meteorological parameters differs significantly for various geological locations. The study confirms the necessity of tritium management in […]

Cold trap removal helps advance DOE site cleanup

Cleanup efforts at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant took a significant step forward late last month when the first of 22 cold traps used in the uranium-enrichment process was shipped off-site. During the plant’s uranium-enrichment years, cold traps supported various processes, including activities at the C-410 feed plant. That 5-acre facility […]