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Rising Seawater Temperatures Prompt New Nuclear Safety Rules: TEPCO Sets Temporary Shutdown Criteria for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced on August 7 that it has established a set of self-determined criteria for evaluating whether to temporarily halt nuclear reactor operations at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture, in response to rising seawater temperatures in the surrounding area. These criteria are not mandatory requirements directly imposed by external regulatory authorities, but rather proactive measures voluntarily implemented by TEPCO based on safe operational needs. According to the conditions announced by TEPCO, the company will consider temporarily shutting down the relevant nuclear facilities when the 7-day average seawater temperature in the waters surrounding the plant exceeds 31 degrees Celsius, when water temperatures above 34 degrees Celsius are observed, or when water temperatures above 33 degrees Celsius persist for 12 hours. These numerical thresholds indicate that seawater temperature has been incorporated as a key variable in nuclear power plant operational risk management.

2026-08-08

Russia's First Domestic 3D Scanner Helix Included in National Product Registry, Rosatom Completes Additive Manufacturing Technology Chain

The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has included the first domestically produced 3D scanner, the RangeVision Helix, in the Unified Register of Russian Electronic Products and the confirmed register of Russian-made industrial products. The registration was carried out in accordance with Russian Government Resolutions No. 878 and No. 719. Thus, the Helix has become the first and currently the only 3D scanner in Russia to be included in the aforementioned national registers. The RangeVision Helix was developed and manufactured by RangeVision, an additive manufacturing partner of Rosatom. Since 2025, the company has become the only Russian 3D scanner manufacturer included in Rosatom's additive manufacturing ecosystem...

2026-08-08

Finland's Onkalo Repository to Be Commissioned, Experts Say 100,000-Year Safety Assessment Still Faces Uncertainties

Finland's Olkiluoto is about to commission the world's first permanent deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel — Onkalo. The facility is designed for long-term underground containment of spent fuel, with a design safety period of up to 100,000 years. There remains debate within the nuclear industry over whether such facilities can remain safe over such an immense timescale. Dmitry Pripachkin, head of the Department of Radiation Physics and Nuclear Technology Safety at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute), stated that modern science does not yet possess tools capable of reliably predicting the state of such facilities after 100,000 years. Science can study the evolution of geological formations over long historical periods, but...

2026-08-09

Italian Neutrino Telescope Undersea Network Captures Fin Whale Songs

August 5 news, after months of silence, fin whale songs have once again been recorded in the southern Ionian Sea. This observation was jointly completed by multiple experiments connected to the underwater infrastructure of the Southern National Laboratory of the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (LNS-INFN), involving three projects: ITINERIS, LOWNOISER, and VONGOLA. The related work was carried out with the participation of LNS-INFN and the Sicilian Center for Nuclear Physics and Structure of Matter (CSFNSM). The detection occurred in late winter. At that time, the eastern Mediterranean region was affected by strong anthropogenic noise from a long-term geophysical survey of offshore oil and gas resources, and only weeks had passed since the transit of Hurricane Harry. Researchers identified fin whale signals amid the complex acoustic background...

2026-08-09

DXA Screening Among U.S. Medicare Population Declines 35% Over Nearly Two Decades

A new study shows that between 2005 and 2023, the rate of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) examinations among U.S. Medicare beneficiaries declined significantly, by 35%. DXA is commonly used for bone density testing and osteoporosis-related screening, and the findings suggest that disparities in screening access across different populations are widening. Researchers analyzed claims data from more than 5 million Medicare beneficiaries. The results showed that DXA utilization fell from 7,255 exams per 100,000 beneficiaries in 2005 to 4,690 per 100,000 beneficiaries in 2023. The study was published in Osteoporosis International. The decline was not uniform across populations...

2026-08-08

Unit 4 of Slovakia's Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant Reaches First Criticality

Slovenské Elektrárne stated that Unit 4 of the Mochovce Nuclear Power Plant reached first reactor criticality at 22:10 local time on August 6, and achieved minimum controllable power at 22:31. This is a key milestone in the pre-commissioning work of the unit, indicating that the reactor is ready for subsequent testing. First criticality refers to the first time the nuclear fuel in the core achieves a self-sustaining fission chain reaction. Slovenské Elektrárne stated that first criticality and reaching minimum controllable power are important steps in the commissioning process of a nuclear power plant, used to confirm the unit's readiness to enter the next phase of testing...

2026-08-08

Fluor's Q2 New Orders Surge to $6.1 Billion, Nuclear Fuel Enrichment Projects Boost Backlog to $26.9 Billion

U.S. engineering and construction giant Fluor demonstrated a clear acceleration in order intake in the second quarter of 2026, with new project awards reaching $6.1 billion, significantly higher than the $1.8 billion recorded in the same period last year. Among these, nuclear fuel enrichment projects emerged as a key highlight, driving the company's ending backlog to $26.9 billion. The rapid expansion in order volume indicates that customer demand for its engineering, procurement, and construction capabilities is recovering, and also reflects the tangible results of converting earlier front-end design and project development work. In terms of contract structure, 89% of Fluor's new orders this quarter were reimbursable contracts, while reimbursable contracts also accounted for 85% of total backlog, up from 80% in the same period last year....

2026-08-09

JINR delegation participates in the 51st Vietnam Conference on Theoretical Physics

From August 3 to 6, the 51st Vietnam Conference on Theoretical Physics (VCTP-51) was held in Nha Trang, Vietnam. A delegation of researchers from the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and the Laboratory of Information Technologies of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research attended the conference, engaging in exchanges with more than 170 scholars from Vietnam, Germany, India, China, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Japan, and other countries and regions. The conference topics covered multiple frontier directions in theoretical physics, including high-energy physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, and cosmology, as well as interdisciplinary research areas such as physics beyond the Standard Model, molecular physics, quantum optics and quantum information, biomaterials, and biomolecules. The broad agenda...

2026-08-08

Russian Company InterPolaris Completes Testing of Heat Exchangers and Mechanical Filters for Nuclear-Powered Icebreakers

Russian company InterPolaris has achieved a significant milestone in the manufacturing project of equipment for nuclear-powered icebreakers, successfully completing tests on two shell-and-tube heat exchangers and two mechanical filters. These units are designed for the specific operating environment of nuclear-powered icebreakers, and passing the tests means the products meet design requirements in terms of strength, sealing, stability, and long-term service capability. The shell-and-tube heat exchangers that passed verification are primarily used to heat water containing decontamination solutions using heating steam. Although this is a common heat exchange process in principle, in the icebreaker application scenario, the equipment must meet requirements far exceeding ordinary industrial standards. This horizontally arranged equipment is designed with consideration for continuous operation under prolonged ship listing conditions, with fixed structures capable of withstanding loads from various directions, and is required to maintain stable parameters and reliable sealing under complex sea conditions and operating regimes.

2026-08-09

Thorium Atomics Initiates Pre-Application Regulatory Engagement with U.S. Regulators for Tesseract TGR Reactor

On August 7, Thorium Atomics announced that it has initiated pre-application regulatory engagement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its Tesseract TGR advanced reactor project. Prior to this, the company submitted a letter of intent to the NRC outlining the technical and licensing discussions it plans to conduct with regulators in the future. Thorium Atomics submitted the letter of intent on June 23, 2026. The NRC subsequently responded by letter on July 24, 2026, confirming the assignment of project number 99902174 for the Tesseract TGR project and designating a project manager from the Office of Advanced Reactors to coordinate pre-application activities. This number will be used for the administrative management and tracking of future correspondence, meetings, submissions...

2026-08-08

Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to Raise Spent Fuel Pool Water Levels to Mitigate Power Outage Risks

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated that the operator of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has decided to raise the water levels in the spent fuel pools on site to enhance safety buffer capacity in the event of a prolonged loss of external power. The primary purpose of raising the water levels is to extend the time before water in the spent fuel pools begins to boil and evaporate under extreme conditions where external power to the plant is interrupted for an extended period, diesel reserves are depleted, and emergency diesel generators can no longer supply power to the cooling systems. Spent fuel pools are used to store used nuclear fuel underwater, typically for at least five years, allowing its radioactivity and residual heat to gradually decay, making continuous cooling a critical element of nuclear safety. All six units at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant...

2026-08-08

228 Research Reactors Worldwide in Operation, Supporting Medical Isotope Production and Neutron Science Innovation

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency on August 7, research reactors continue to drive innovation in science, medicine, and industry worldwide. Currently, 228 research reactors are in operation across 54 countries, with another 23 under construction or in the planning stage. Unlike nuclear reactors used for power generation, these reactors primarily produce neutrons to support medical, industrial, agricultural, geological, forensic, and nuclear science research. A research reactor pool photographed from above. (Photo: IAEA) In the medical field, research reactors are a vital source of medical radioisotopes. Among them, technetium-99m is widely used for diagnosing cancer and diseases of the heart, brain, and bones; a large number of medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures worldwide rely on this isotope. Other radioisotopes such as iodine-131 are also used in the treatment of cancer and thyroid diseases. The IAEA states that radioisotopes produced by research reactors serve millions of patients globally and are an essential component of modern nuclear medicine systems.

2026-08-09

Cancer Cryoablation Treatments at Southeast Region Nuclear Medicine Center in Korea Exceed 100 Cases

The Southeast Region Nuclear Medicine Center announced on August 8 that since introducing cancer cryoablation in 2024, the center has completed over 100 related procedures, providing treatment to a total of 104 cancer patients. Cryoablation is a minimally invasive tumor treatment method. During the procedure, doctors insert a thin treatment needle precisely into the tumor site under CT or ultrasound imaging guidance, freezing the lesion at ultra-low temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius or lower to cause cancer cell necrosis. As the low-temperature freezing itself has a certain anesthetic effect, this technique helps reduce patient pain, minimize damage to surrounding normal tissues, and promote faster postoperative recovery. According to the center, among the patients treated so far, there are 58 cases of liver cancer and liver metastases, 17 cases of primary lung cancer, recurrent lung cancer, and lung metastases, and 29 cases of renal cancer. Among them, 8 patients underwent treatment for two lesions simultaneously in a single procedure. Liver...

2026-08-08

Shanghai Electric Southwest Regional Headquarters Unveiled in Chengdu, Government-Enterprise-Research Collaboration Builds a New Hub for Green Energy

On August 6, the unveiling ceremony of the Southwest Regional Headquarters of Shanghai Electric Group was held in Chengdu. Jin Xiaolong, member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Shanghai Electric, attended the event and delivered a speech. More than 200 representatives from relevant government departments of Sichuan Province, Chengdu City and the Southwest region, the Shanghai Office in Tibet, key enterprises, research institutes, industry associations, as well as heads of relevant functional departments of Shanghai Electric headquarters and various industrial groups, participated in the event. The newly unveiled Southwest Regional Headquarters will be based in Chengdu, radiating to Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou and Tibet, positioned as a collaboration platform for the regional market, a service hub for industrial upgrading, and a connecting vehicle for ecosystem co-building, integrating Shanghai Electric's comprehensive advantages in energy equipment and green intelligent industry...

2026-08-08

Russian nuclear power plants generate 129.6 billion kWh of electricity this year

Alexey Likhachev, CEO of Rosatom, recently stated that since the beginning of this year, Russian nuclear power plants have generated a cumulative total of 129.6 billion kWh of electricity, exceeding the target set by the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Russian Federation by 7.8%. Likhachev noted that Russia is currently in its summer peak electricity consumption period, and nuclear power plants across the country are operating normally overall, with stable power generation and all safety requirements being met. He stated that hot weather does require operating entities to pay greater attention to cooling and heat reduction measures, but this is a seasonal factor that must be addressed in nuclear power plant operations. He pointed out that Russian nuclear power plants have fully considered different climatic conditions during their design and operation phases...

2026-08-08