It was an action packed week for the US along with news of major plans for future nuclear energy development in the UAE. Companies and institutions in this round-up include: The International Atomic Energy Agency, The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Duke Energy, Oconee plant, The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Structure Vision Ltd, The North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA), Nuvia Ltd, Nuclear Energy Institute, US Department of Energy, Yucca Mountain, The National Nuclear Caucus, The Idaho National Laboratory, Korea Electric Power Corp., Florida Power & Light, Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) of the Kingdom of Thailand, Louisiana Energy Services and Alternate Energy Holdings.

IAEA top inspector resigns

The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed the resignation of a top nuclear inspector in charge of the UN agency's efforts to ensure global non-proliferation, according to a Press TV report.
IAEA Deputy Director General and head of Safeguards Department, Olli Heinonen, is stepping down this August for personal reasons, IAEA spokesman Gill Tudor said on Thursday.
Heinonen, appointed to the post by former IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei, has been working with the agency for almost 30 years.
Heinonen, 63, was also in charge of verifying the non-diversion of Iran and Syria's nuclear programs over Western allegations that they may not be entirely aimed at civilian applications of the technology.
The news follows reports last week that Iran had barred two IAEA inspectors from entering the country, protesting that they had leaked information to the media before the official issuance of the Agency's latest report on Iran's nuclear programme. The inspectors concerned were not named.
The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) criticized the IAEA report as "unreal in its entirety."
Tehran rejects the Western allegations, said Press TV report, arguing that as an IAEA member and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to peaceful nuclear energy.

NRC sets meeting with Duke Energy over Oconee plant violations

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on July 13 to discuss with officials of Duke Energy, operators of the South Carolina Oconee nuclear plant, the safety significance of apparent violations of NRC requirements linked to problems with the plant’s standby shutdown system.

According to the NRC, the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the safety significance of two apparent violations associated with degradation of Oconee’s standby shutdown facility.

The facility is intended for use when normal and emergency systems are inoperable. A third violation associated with materially incorrect information provided to the NRC from the plant’s action plan to address the degradation will also be discussed.

No decision on enforcement action will be made at the meeting. NRC officials will review information presented by Duke Energy at the meeting and reach a later decision on appropriate regulatory action. 

Structure Vision launches decommissioning process software

Structure Vision Ltd, a company that develops engineering software for the Particle Analysis and Nuclear Decommissioning markets, has had its first customer release of the company’s NuPlant™ software.

The technology is designed to address the needs of site licensing companies, decommissioning contractors, new build operators and reactor vendors by providing a detailed and accurate analysis of the decommissioning requirements of a complete nuclear facility.

The NuPlant™ software “allows the user to visualise the various stages in the dismantling process for a complex decommissioning project”

According to a company statement, companies will be able to use the software to see the cutting and packing of objects to optimise the way in which the various components of the facility are packed for storage.

In addition, the NuPlant software has a comprehensive reporting system to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for documentation.

Structure Vision was awarded an Exceptional Grant of £300K for R&D from the The North West Regional Development Agency (NWDA) to develop the NuPlant™ software for the nuclear industry and received the Rushlight Award for Nuclear Energy in 2008. NuPlant™ has undergone full testing and validation with leading contractors and Site License Operators within the Nuclear Decommissioning Industry.

“Nuvia Limited has worked closely with Structure Vision to help develop the NuPlant software”, said Bob Mathews, CTO of Nuvia Ltd.  “We see how the expertise of our experienced engineers, project managers and QS staff working with this software can improve our estimating, optimisation and planning for complex decommissioning tasks and in particularly how we can reduce the waste volume and dose uptake from size reduction of active wastes”.

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive of the NWDA, said: “I am delighted that the NWDA R&D grant for this hi-tech engineering software has really helped Structure Vision to get this useful product to market. The NuPlant technology could revolutionise nuclear decommissioning projects, it is already an award winner and has great future potential.”

NRC judges says Yucca doors not shut yet

Last Tuesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled against the immediate closure of Nevada’s nuclear waste repository, Yucca Mountain, claiming that neither the Obama administration nor the Department of Energy have the authority to permanently terminate the project.

Despite Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu’s assertion that “Yucca Mountain is no longer an option,” and Obama’s unwillingness to allocate federal funds to the project, all hope is not lost for the reopening of Nevada’s nuclear waste repository, according to local news reports.

John Keeley of the Nuclear Energy Institute said in a FrumForum report that the Yucca Mountain issue no longer resided in the hands of Congressmen, claiming that the ultimate decision regarding Yucca Mountain “is not a question of changing state politics. This is a federal [law] issue.” 

Similarly, David Cherry, press secretary to Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D), expressed to FrumForum editors that the project’s termination is no longer contingent on congressional decisions, insisting, “it’s dead.”“On the contrary – to the dismay of Keeley, Cherry, and other Yucca opponents – it seems that both federal law and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission require all parties to defer to Congress in determining the fate of the contentious nuclear waste repository” said a FrumForum report. 

According to the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board’s Resolution, “unless Congress directs otherwise, [Department of Energy] may not single-handedly derail the legislated decision-making process by withdrawing the Application. DOE’s motion must therefore be denied.”

New Nuclear Initiative set up in Idaho

United States Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch and Idaho State Representative Erik Simpson have announced that they will be setting up a new nuclear initiative.
“I am announcing the formation of The National Nuclear Caucus, and I have developed a website, and assembled incredible talent from around the country," said Representative Simpson in a local meeting in Idaho.
According to local news reports, the caucus will include nine members from Washington State, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Idaho, and Tennessee.
"Everyone I asked to be on this caucus agreed.

"I had a hundred percent interest, a hundred percent dedication," said Representative Simpson.
The group is bi-partisan with two democrats and seven republicans, the report explained.

Representative Simpson told those at the local meeting that it's very important when dealing with nuclear power, to have both sides involved.

NRC awards $5m to 37 education programmes

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded nearly $5 million to 37 different institutions for nuclear education curricula development.

Recipients include Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities located in 22 states.

“This program has introduced thousands of students to the nuclear field and helps to prepare a workforce for the future,” said Bill Borchardt, the NRC’s Executive Director for Operations.

The NRC supported specific curriculum development programs in the following disciplines: nuclear engineering, radiochemistry and radiobiology, health physics, materials and mechanical engineering, reliability and risk analysis, electrical engineering, safeguards and security, human factors and human reliability and fire protection engineering. 

UAE and Russia to sign nuclear energy agreement

The United Arab Emirates and Russia plan to sign “in the near future” an agreement to work together on nuclear energy, according to a Bloomberg report.

“After the signing of the cooperation agreement, we will have the potential to work on research reactors and we also plan to take part in the Emirates’ program with the Koreans,” Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said in Moscow after a meeting last week with U.A.E. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The report said that the U.A.E. awarded an $18.6bn contract in December to Korea Electric Power Corp. to build four nuclear plants by 2020 as it seeks to meet increasing demand for power.

The plants, to be built on the coast of western Abu Dhabi, will each have capacity of 1,400 megawatts.

Florida Power & Light President says lack of upgrades cost customers $1.2bn

Florida Power & Light President Armando Olivera told the Sun Sentinel board that the state of Florida should have used more nuclear power to drive down energy costs.

"Frankly, we wish we had more nuclear," he said.

"Our bills would be even lower than they are today."

He said if upgrades at FPL’s Turkey Point and St. Lucie County plants were done five years ago, customers would have saved an estimated $1.2bn in fuel costs.

The utility is working to get permits for two new reactors to be built at Turkey Point, but according to Oliver the project feasibility is still undecided.  

"Natural gas prices are down so the economics...are not as attractive," he said.

Plus, he noted that the design FPL and other utilities are using hasn't been approved given that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has concerns about its resistance to hurricanes.

In regards to the recent change in fate of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, Olivera told the newspaper that “it’s not the best public policy to store the spent fuel” at about 100 locations throughout the country.

“Each one needs safeguards,” he said.

NRC and Thailand’s Atoms for Peace meet for talks

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) of the Kingdom of Thailand held a workshop in Bangkok, Thailand, last week on best ways to regulate the location of nuclear power plants in Thailand.

The workshop is part of NRC's program to help countries develop sustainable regulatory programs to protect people and the environment.

NRC experts shared their experience developing nuclear safety and security requirements covering the locations of nuclear power plants. Participants also discussed areas of potential cooperation.

The OAP will use results of this workshop while developing a regulatory framework for approving a site for the first commercial nuclear power plant in Thailand.

The OAP is Thailand's regulatory authority for the production and use of nuclear energy and radioactive materials.

Louisiana Energy services discuss enrichment plant start-up

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has scheduled a meeting in Eunice, N.M., to discuss issues related to the start-up of the Louisiana Energy Services gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant.

That discussion will include the agency’s decision to allow the plant to begin operation, the inspections that led to that decision, the operational inspection program and continued construction inspections.

The LES URENCO USA Facility, located near Eunice, was granted an NRC license in June 2006.

The license allows LES to enrich uranium up to 5 percent of the isotope uranium-235 for use in the manufacture of nuclear fuel for commercial power plants.

The NRC completed its thorough readiness review earlier this month and concluded that the facility could begin operation under its NRC license.

LES is a subsidiary of URENCO, a company that has been using centrifuge technology in Europe for many years.

Burr energy bill backs nuclear and other resources

United States Senator Richard Burr and a Republican colleague have introduced energy legislation they say would help the United States diversify its energy portfolio without the political hurdle of a cap-and-trade system.

According to a Charlotte Observer report, the bill would provide “a bevy of tax credits and taxpayer-financed support for nuclear plants, electric vehicles, natural-gas vehicles and a variety of renewable energy sources.”

Unlike the Senate's better-known energy legislation, though, this bill contains nothing about global warming.

"It's not a climate bill. It's not a carbon bill," Burr said in an interview.

"But ... it would probably have a bigger impact on the reduction of emissions than the Kerry-Lieberman bill."

A bill introduced last month by Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman would create a carbon-trading market that requires energy companies producing carbon emissions to pay a price in an effort to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Burr and Senator Saxby Chambliss of the state of Georgia say they want to reduce dependence on foreign oil and that they had consulted with energy companies in writing their legislation.

Alternate Energy Holdings one step closer to plant approval status

Alternate Energy Holdings, Inc. has entered the final stage of gaining local approval to build a nuclear power plant after officially filing a rezone application last week.
"This is the final step at this level and a major milestone for AEHI because we've gotten to this point in a relatively short amount of time,” said Don Gillispie, AEHI CEO.

“Often this process can drag on for more than a year, and we've been able to reach this stage in about six months.

“I believe it demonstrates the desire Payette County residents have to build a nuclear power plant here."

The Payette County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a county-wide zoning change.

The Idaho Energy Complex is expected to bring $5.3 billion to Idaho, which is about 10 percent of the State's gross domestic product, according to news and company estimates.

The project will create more than 5,000 jobs, which average $60,000 during construction and $80,000 during operations.