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South Korea's National Assembly Passes Amendments on Radiation Disaster Response, Strengthening the Treatment System for Radiation Victims

The South Korean National Assembly held a plenary session on the 20th and passed two livelihood bills proposed by Rep. Yoon Jun-byeong, a member of the Parliamentary Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Fisheries Committee. The bills concern the establishment of a radiation disaster response system and adjustments to the support system for surviving family members of national meritorious persons. Under the amendments passed, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute will be granted the qualification to operate as a specialized hospital for treating radiation victims. This arrangement aims to further improve the national medical safety net, enabling industrial radiation workers and victims of accidental radiation incidents to receive faster and more systematic treatment and rehabilitation support. Meanwhile, another amendment was also passed. This amendment, in accordance with the Constitutional Court's ruling of nonconformity, abolishes the provision that prioritized age as the sole criterion in the payment of survivor benefits to families of national meritorious persons of the same rank. After the relevant institutional adjustment, greater emphasis will be placed on safeguarding the rights of low-income households to reduce blind spots in welfare support.

2026-08-21

Canada Approves Bruce Power Hot Cell Facility Operations, Strengthening Lutetium-177 Medical Isotope Supply Chain

Bruce Power has recently received approval from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to operate its on-site hot cell facility for target carrier removal (TCR) work, a critical step in the production process of the medical isotope lutetium-177 (Lu-177). Lu-177 is used in the treatment of prostate cancer and is increasingly applied in targeted therapies for precision medicine. Under the approval, Bruce Power can perform the relevant processing steps on site, further streamlining the isotope production process, reducing transportation requirements, while helping to enhance operational safety, lower emissions, and strengthen Ontario's capabilities in the global medical isotope supply chain. The hot cell facility was completed earlier this year...

2026-08-20

Slovenia's Krško Nuclear Power Plant Returns to Full Power Operation

On the evening of August 18, 2026, as meteorological conditions further improved, temperatures dropped, and river water temperatures declined, the Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK) increased reactor power to 100%, resuming full-load operation. During full-power operation, the plant will keep the entire cooling tower system in service to ensure compliance with relevant environmental limits and reduce the need for water withdrawal from the Sava River for cooling the plant's tertiary circuit. Previously, due to environmental restrictions related to the Sava River, the Krško Nuclear Power Plant reduced unit power to 80% on August 6, 2026. On August 14, following preliminary improvements in meteorological conditions, plant power was increased to 90%. Under the special operating conditions of this summer, when...

2026-08-20

US OSI Systems Secures Approximately $200 Million Contract for Mobile Vehicle Inspection Systems

On August 17, 2026, OSI Systems, Inc. announced that its Security division has been awarded a five-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with a ceiling value of approximately $200 million. Under the contract, OSI Systems will provide CBP with mobile Rapiscan® passenger vehicle inspection systems. The company stated that the initial task orders under the contract include the first batch of systems, along with related services and training content. Ajay Mehra, President and Chief Executive Officer of OSI Systems, stated that this contract will enable the company to continue supporting CBP in deploying vehicle security inspection systems. The Rapiscan mobile inspection systems help users flexibly allocate resources in response to changing on-site requirements, supporting border security and critical infrastructure protection efforts.

2026-08-18

Nuclear-powered icebreaker "Leningrad" completes installation of two RITM-200 reactors

United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) announced that Baltic Shipyard has completed the installation of two RITM-200 nuclear reactors on the Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker "Leningrad". The "Leningrad" is the sixth vessel in the Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreaker series. The vessel is being built by Baltic Shipyard under an order from Rosatom, and its keel-laying ceremony was held on January 26, 2024. Project 22220 nuclear-powered icebreakers are primarily designed to ensure year-round navigation in the western Arctic waters of Russia. Equipped with nuclear propulsion systems, these vessels can perform icebreaking escort and fairway maintenance missions under complex ice conditions.

2026-08-18

Armenia Responds to Claims of Metsamor NPP Closure: Operating License Valid Until 2036

In response to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's claims that the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant is outdated and could pose a potential threat to the region, Arman Yeghoyan, a lawmaker from Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party, stated that the operating lifetime of a nuclear power plant is not unilaterally determined by the governments of neighboring countries. Yeghoyan noted that every nuclear power plant has an established operating period, and the Metsamor NPP is currently authorized to operate for a maximum term extending to 2036, information that has long been public. He also stated that the Armenian side has announced it is studying options for building a new nuclear power plant...

2026-08-14

Russian Scientists Develop Bioluminescent Bacterial Bioassay for Screening Safe Low-Dose Radiation Levels in Animals

Russian researchers have developed a rapid bioassay method based on bioluminescent bacteria that can be used to assess safe dose ranges of ionizing radiation for animals, providing an early screening tool for low-dose radiation applications in livestock farming. The study involved researchers from the Institute of Biophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Federal University, and Krasnoyarsk State Agrarian University. The research team noted that low-dose ionizing radiation ranging from tens to hundreds of milligrays (mGy) may activate a series of physiological processes in animals, including metabolism, growth, and biomass accumulation; however, if the dose exceeds the safe range, it may cause physiological...

2026-08-14

Construction Advances at Denison's Phoenix Uranium Project in Canada

Denison Mines Corp. of Canada recently filed its quarterly and semi-annual financial documents for the period ending June 30, 2026, and disclosed the latest progress on its Phoenix uranium project construction, uranium sales, and exploration activities. According to the company's disclosure, site preparation work has continued to advance since on-site construction commenced at the Phoenix project in March 2026. To date, more than 20% of the site civil works have been completed, with roadbed civil works for the process plant and wellfield areas nearing full completion. Construction management facilities and temporary camp facilities have also been installed and put into operation. With the temporary camp now in service, accommodation capacity at the Wheeler River project site has increased to nearly 400 people, providing conditions for a larger construction workforce in the coming phases. Denison stated...

2026-08-13

Poland's First Nuclear Power Plant Enters New Phase with Deepening Polish Enterprise Participation

Poland's first nuclear power plant (Lubiatowo-Kopalino site) has transitioned from the preparatory stage to substantive on-site construction. On August 12, Polish Nuclear Power Company (PEJ) officially handed over the construction site to the general contractor, American company Bechtel, while Budimex, one of Poland's largest construction firms, commenced earthworks. This marks another significant milestone for the project following the securing of financing, the refinement of the legal framework, and support from technology partners. Polish Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka stated that this investment will enhance Poland's energy security and sovereignty, while creating stable and predictable energy prices for households and businesses. To date, PEJ has signed contracts with approximately 4...

2026-08-13

Azerbaijan Says It Can Supply Electricity to Armenia, Focus on Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning Replacement

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on August 12 that Azerbaijan could supply electricity to Armenia. He also stated that Armenia cannot indefinitely extend the operating lifetime of the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The Armenian government has not yet responded to this proposal, nor has it indicated whether it would consider importing electricity from Azerbaijan. As signs of easing relations between the two countries emerge, the possibility of cross-border transportation and energy infrastructure development is being revisited. Armenia has long relied on Russia and Iran for its energy security. Currently, the country is studying proposals from companies in the United States, Russia, China...

2026-08-13

Texas to Accelerate Opening of Sterile Fly Facility to Combat New World Screwworm Outbreak

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that, in response to the New World screwworm (NWS) outbreak already detected in Texas and New Mexico, the sterile fly facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, will open early next spring, approximately seven months ahead of the original schedule. Construction on the facility began in April of this year, and once completed, it will produce sterile flies to support outbreak control efforts using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). Under the plan, the facility will reach full operational capacity by the end of 2028, producing approximately 300 million sterile flies per week. The Sterile Insect Technique works by releasing sterilized flies into the environment to mate with wild screwworms, thereby interrupting the reproductive cycle and reducing the risk of continued parasite spread...

2026-08-12

US Oak Ridge National Laboratory Restarts Tungsten-188/Rhenium-188 Generator Production to Support Targeted Cancer Therapy Research

The US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) recently restarted and upgraded its tungsten-188/rhenium-188 (W-188/Re-188) generator manufacturing operations to meet the demand for the rare medical isotope rhenium-188 in targeted cancer therapy research. The laboratory last manufactured such generators in 2011. Radiochemist Becca Hores demonstrated the assembly process of the W-188/Re-188 generator. Depending on radioactivity levels, these generators must be assembled in gloveboxes or hot cells. Image credit: Maggie Gregg/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US Department of Energy. Rhenium-188 is produced by the radioactive decay of tungsten-188. ORNL irradiates tungsten-186 in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to produce tungsten-188...

2026-08-12

Sophelio Launches Fusion Equilibrium Challenge, Opening DIII-D and MAST Experimental Datasets

On August 11, Sophelio launched the Fusion Equilibrium Challenge. The competition has been accepted into the 2026 Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS) competition track, making it the first fusion energy-related challenge to enter this track. The challenge is co-organized by Sophelio together with the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) FAIR-MAST project, and the Institute for Fusion Studies (IFS) at the University of Texas at Austin, with data hosted on the Hugging Face platform. Open to the global machine learning community, the competition re...

2026-08-12

Korean Research Team First to Quantitatively Reveal Radiation Degradation Mechanisms in Gallium Arsenide Semiconductors

A semiconductor research team in Korea has recently succeeded, for the first time in the country, in quantitatively identifying the performance degradation mechanisms of gallium arsenide (GaAs) compound semiconductors under radiation environments. Gallium arsenide is regarded as a key material for next-generation aerospace, aviation, and defense systems, and the findings contribute to understanding the impact of high-energy radiation on the reliability of compound semiconductor devices. The research was led by Professor Kim Min-soo and Professor Hwang Hyun-jun from the Department of Semiconductor Engineering, in collaboration with the Advanced Radiation Research Center at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and WaveTrack Corporation. The research team noted that communication and power equipment aboard low-Earth-orbit satellites or detectors, when exposed to high-energy radiation environments over extended periods, may experience...

2026-08-11

Unit 2 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Phase II automatically shut down for equipment maintenance

At 21:45 local time on August 8, 2026, Unit 2 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant Phase II was shut down by the automatic system due to the need for thermal-mechanical equipment maintenance. After the maintenance work is completed, the unit will be reconnected to the grid. The shutdown was carried out in accordance with established procedures and design logic. The plant reported no violations of safe operation limits or operating conditions for any of the units. Currently, RBMK-1000 Units 3 and 4 of Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant, as well as Unit 1 of Phase II, are operating normally and carrying electrical loads in accordance with the dispatch schedule. RBMK-1000 Units 1 and 2 are in the preparation stage for decommissioning...

2026-08-10