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NEA Advances SFCOMPO Database Upgrade to Support Spent Nuclear Fuel Nuclide Inventory and Decay Heat Validation

The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) held the ninth annual meeting of the Technical Review Group (TRG) for the International Spent Nuclear Fuel Analysis Data Database (SFCOMPO) on July 9 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Thirty-three experts from research institutions, regulatory bodies, waste management organizations, and industry across 12 countries attended the meeting. The experimental and evaluated data contained in SFCOMPO are primarily used to validate computational tools related to nuclear safety and the nuclear fuel cycle, with applications including reactor physics, criticality safety, radiation shielding, and radioactive waste management. Accurate characterization of spent nuclear fuel is an essential foundation for supporting decisions on storage, transportation, reprocessing, and disposal, and is also relevant to...

2026-08-01

Romania Declares National State of Emergency for August Amid Decline in Power Generation

Romania's Acting Prime Minister and Energy Minister Ilie Bolojan announced on July 31 after a cabinet meeting that Romania would enter a national state of emergency in August due to a decline in power generation caused by drought. Bolojan stated that the drought has reduced water levels in rivers, with a notable decrease in the flow of the Danube River. The flow has dropped from over 4,000 cubic meters per second to 1,600 cubic meters per second. He said that as a result, the water level in the intake basin of the Cernavodă NPP has fallen, and Unit 1 of the plant had to be shut down recently. He also noted that Unit 2 of the Cernavodă NPP faces a high risk of shutdown. Should Unit 2 go offline, Romania's total...

2026-08-01

Japan's Chugoku Electric Power swings to loss in FY2026 Q1 as nuclear shutdown raises costs

Japan's Chugoku Electric Power Co. announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter (April-June) of fiscal year 2026 on July 31. During the reporting period, the company's sales increased 4.4% year-on-year to 343.9 billion yen, up 14.3 billion yen from the same period last year, mainly driven by growth in electricity sales volume. Profit performance, however, came under significant pressure. The company posted an operating loss of 5.3 billion yen, an ordinary loss of 3.2 billion yen, and a net loss of 3.7 billion yen for the first quarter, compared with a net profit of 26.8 billion yen in the same period last year, a year-on-year decrease of 30.5 billion yen. This marks the first time since the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 that the company has recorded simultaneous losses in operating profit, ordinary profit, and net profit over a four-year period. The company stated...

2026-08-02

Japan aims to rebuild up to 5 retired nuclear power plants by the 2040s

The Japanese government held a ministerial meeting on nuclear power on July 31 and decided to rebuild up to 5 retired nuclear power plants by the 2040s. This is the first time since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident that the Japanese government has set a specific numerical target for nuclear plant reconstruction. Kansai Electric Power Company's Mihama Nuclear Power Plant Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae stated at the meeting that to steadily advance nuclear power investment, the Takaichi cabinet will continue to promote nuclear energy policy. According to the direction set at the meeting, Japan plans to rebuild 2 to 5 nuclear power plants by the 2040s, with a total installed capacity of approximately 2.2 million to 5.5 million kilowatts; by the 2050s, the reconstruction scale will expand to 11 to 14 plants, with a total installed capacity of approximately 12.7 million to 16 million kilowatts. The Japanese government plans to...

2026-08-01

U.S. Navy Awards General Dynamics Electric Boat Contract for Construction of 14 Nuclear Submarines

General Dynamics Electric Boat announced that the U.S. Navy has awarded it a contract package for the construction of 14 nuclear submarines, with a total contract value of $76.6 billion. According to information released by the company, under this announced U.S. Navy contract framework, General Dynamics Electric Boat will receive $29.5 billion for the construction of five Columbia-class submarines, and an additional $42.1 billion for the construction of nine Virginia-class submarines. The contract also includes funding to support shipyard infrastructure construction. General Dynamics Electric Boat serves as the prime contractor for the program. A portion of the construction work will be subcontracted to Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. ...

2026-08-01

Canadian nuclear fuel supplier Cameco announces Westinghouse Electric IPO plan

Canadian nuclear fuel supplier Cameco Corporation has announced that its joint venture, Westinghouse Electric Company, has confidentially submitted a preliminary registration statement for a proposed initial public offering. The IPO aims to further advance Westinghouse's business development in the nuclear power sector and bring new sources of funding to the company. Currently, Cameco holds a 49% stake in Westinghouse, with Brookfield Renewable Partners owning the remaining 51%. Westinghouse is one of the world's largest nuclear services companies and the supplier of the world's first commercial pressurized water reactor (PWR). Its technology platform covers the entire nuclear power value chain, with 41 of the...

2026-08-01

North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Conducts Supervisory Radiation Environmental Monitoring at Tongliao Uranium Industry

To further strengthen the radiation environmental monitoring management of uranium mining and metallurgy facilities, consolidate the primary responsibility of enterprises for radiation environmental monitoring, and fortify the radiation environmental safety defense line of uranium mining and metallurgy facilities, the North China Regional Office of Nuclear and Radiation Safety Supervision under the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as the North China Regional Office) recently organized and carried out supervisory radiation environmental monitoring work at CNNC Tongliao Uranium Industry Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tongliao Uranium Industry). Personnel from the Nuclear and Radiation Monitoring Center of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were simultaneously dispatched to collaborate on the work. This monitoring work strictly adhered to the standard requirements of the "Regulations on Radiation Environmental Monitoring for Uranium Mining and Metallurgy" and the regulatory requirements of "three full coverages" in radiation environmental monitoring, closely focusing on the rad...

2026-08-01

The Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment Successfully Held a Technical Seminar on Performance Testing of Iodine Adsorbers in Nuclear Facilities

Recently, the technical seminar on performance testing of iodine adsorbers in nuclear facilities, hosted by the Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (hereinafter referred to as "the Center") and organized by the Key Laboratory of Radioactive Gas Purification Technology of CNNC, was held in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. Representatives from domestic nuclear facility operation, design, testing and inspection organizations, as well as relevant personnel from the Center's Reactor Department, Event Assessment Department, and General Operations Department attended the meeting. The seminar focused on core topics such as periodic testing methods for iodine adsorbers in ventilation systems of nuclear facilities, acceptance criteria, and test cycle requirements under long-term operation. Participants conducted in-depth exchanges on the advantages and disadvantages of radioactive versus non-radioactive test methods for iodine adsorber adsorption efficiency, 2-inch...

2026-08-01

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station launches 22nd release of radioactive wastewater into the ocean, approximately 7,800 tons this time

On the morning of July 30, 2026, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) initiated a new round of nuclear-contaminated water discharge into the ocean at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This marks the 4th release within 2026 and the 22nd since the discharge plan began in August 2023. According to data released by TEPCO, this discharge is expected to continue until the 17th of next month, with a total volume of approximately 7,800 tons. The total amount of radioactive substance tritium contained therein is as high as approximately 1.3 trillion becquerels. Prior to this, Japan had conducted a total of 21 rounds of radioactive wastewater discharge by the 24th of this month, with a cumulative discharge volume reaching approximately 165,000 tons. This action continues to draw attention and concern from neighboring countries and the international community. This time...

2026-07-31

Helong-2 Magnet Coil Project Kickoff Meeting Successfully Held at Lanzhou Taiji

On July 29, 2026, the Helong-2 magnet coil project kickoff meeting was successfully held at Lanzhou Taiji. This project involves core components of ENN's third-generation spherical torus hydrogen-boron fusion device, featuring extremely high technical precision, massive system integration complexity, and stringent engineering development standards. Undertaking this core development task represents ENN Group's high recognition and full trust in Lanzhou Taiji's technical capabilities, manufacturing strength, and quality control competence, laying a solid foundation for further deepening cooperation between the two parties. In the next step, Lanzhou Taiji will coordinate its premium R&D and production resources to focus on tackling core fusion technologies, implementing strict review and meticulous control throughout the entire process from structural design, multi-physics simulation, process trial production, to manufacturing...

2026-07-31

Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment and Director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, Led a Delegation to Attend the China-Russia Joint Coordination Meeting on Nuclear Safety

On July 27, at the invitation of the Federal Environmental, Industrial and Nuclear Supervision Service of Russia, Dong Baotong, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment and Director of the National Nuclear Safety Administration, led a delegation to attend the China-Russia Joint Coordination Meeting on Nuclear Safety. During the meeting, the National Nuclear Safety Administration introduced China's latest progress in always placing nuclear safety at the highest priority, strengthening the building of nuclear safety regulatory forces, improving regulatory functions in key areas, and promoting the adaptation of regulatory capacity to the development of the nuclear industry, under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Ecological Civilization and the holistic approach to national security; shared China's in-depth participation in global nuclear safety governance, as well as the Integrated Regulatory Review Service of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Russian side appreciated...

2026-07-31

Brazilian Nuclear Safety Authority Opens Public Consultation on Updates to Nuclear Power Plant and Industrial Nuclear Instrumentation Regulations

The Brazilian National Nuclear Safety Authority (ANSN) has launched a public consultation to update regulations for nuclear power plants and industrial applications. The initiative aims to revise requirements for notification of operational events at the Angra Nuclear Power Plant and establish unprecedented radiation protection rules for measurement instruments in the production sector; comments will be accepted until September. The regulatory body's action is part of the industry's institutional improvement schedule, calling on power generation companies, operators, universities, and supply chain participants to submit technical contributions to the new normative texts. The revision aims to standardize information processes at nuclear power plants, improve technical oversight, and expand governance of operational data at the Almirante Álvaro Alberto Nuclear Power Plant located in Angra dos Reis...

2026-07-31

Siemens Healthineers and Cleveland Clinic Launch 10-Year Strategic Alliance to Advance Innovation in Advanced Imaging and Radiation Oncology

On July 30, Siemens Healthineers and Cleveland Clinic announced the launch of a 10-year strategic alliance, building on their 35-year partnership to further drive clinical and workflow innovation, enhance patient care quality, and improve healthcare operational efficiency. Under the collaboration arrangement, Siemens Healthineers will provide Cleveland Clinic with a range of diagnostic imaging and treatment-related technologies, covering magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, radiation oncology, interventional radiology, and X-ray. Both parties stated that the alliance will focus on areas such as diagnostic imaging, cardiology, and radiation oncology, providing clinical teams with new tools and training support, and offering patients more...

2026-07-31

ANSTO Australia Develops New Solution for Immobilizing Sulfate-Bearing Radioactive Waste

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) announced on July 31, 2026, that its researchers have developed a new waste treatment material for immobilizing sulfate-bearing radioactive waste, which is expected to solve the technical challenges in the long-term management of such waste and provide a reference pathway for similar radioactive waste treatment internationally. The related research has been published in the Journal of the European Ceramic Society. The study demonstrates for the first time the application of Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) technology in consolidating a dedicated glass-ceramic waste form for sulfate-rich nuclear waste. The research originated from ANSTO's need to manage waste generated during the production of medical radioisotopes, among which sulfate-bearing liquid waste...

2026-07-31

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Science Center Organizes 2026 Annual Major Science and Technology Infrastructure Operation Training

The joint training for the 2026 annual operating facilities (SSRF & SXFEL) of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Advanced Research Institute"), was held in Haiyan, Zhejiang Province from July 28 to 30. Academician Zhao Zhentang, Director of the Academic Committee of Shanghai Advanced Research Institute and Director of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Science Center; Deng Haixiao, President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Advanced Research Institute; Chen Fengwei, Secretary of the Party Committee; Tai Renzhong, Vice President and Executive Deputy Director of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Science Center; Zhou Sigen, Vice President; and over 260 representatives from the operation team of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility Science Center, various functional departments of Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, and sister institutions participated in the training. The opening session was hosted by...

2026-07-31