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NEW NUCLEAR: |
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Resear ch for EOn's nuclear future |
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28 October 2008 |
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Germany-based power giant EOn is to cooperate on
research for the future of nuclear energy with
France's main research institute, the CEA. |
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Constr uction starts at Leningrad II |
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27 October 2008 |
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First concrete has been poured for the first new
reactor at the second phase of the Leningrad nuclear
power plant (Leningrad II) in Russia. Four new units
are expected to begin operating at the plant by
2018, the leaders of Russia's new-build plan. |
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Dedica ted nuclear component factory |
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24 October 2008 |
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The nuclear power plant supply chain has been
boosted considerably by the announcement of a new
large component factory in the USA. Areva has teamed
with Northrop Grumman for a joint venture to make
parts for EPR units worldwide. |
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NUCLEAR POLICIES: |
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Nuclea r decisions delayed in South Africa |
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22 October 2008 |
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Speculation is mounting on whether South Africa's
nuclear new build program will get a chance to
deliver in an atmosphere of continuing political
turmoil. Decisions on new build are now thought to
be put back until after a 2009 election. |
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REGULATION & SAFETY: |
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Contro l rod woes for Swedish units |
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28 October 2008 |
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Maintenance outages at Forsmark 3 and Oskarshamn 3
have been extended after defects were found in
control rods. The units, totalling 2323 MWe of
capacity, are not expected to restart until the end
of November or early December. |
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Flaman ville supply chain 'needs oversight' |
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27 October 2008 |
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Areva has been told to monitor its subcontractors
more closely after it was discovered that one had
supplied a pressure system part without properly
following testing procedures. |
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Contam inated metals in France and Sweden |
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24 October 2008 |
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Buttons produced at a factory in France for elevator
manufacturer Otis have been found to be radioactive
as have components imported into Sweden. The source
of the radiation has been traced back to a foundry
in India. |
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Go-ahe ad for Tricastin fix |
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23 October 2008 |
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Electricite de France (EdF) has been given
permission to go ahead with a new plan to dislodge
two fuel assemblies that became stuck during the
refuelling of the Tricastin 2 reactor. The
assemblies have been stuck since 8 September. |
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CORPORATE: |
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Westin ghouse awards AP1000 containment vessel
contract |
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27 October 2008 |
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Chicago Bridge & Iron Co (CB&I) has been awarded an
engineering, procurement and construction (EPC)
contract by Westinghouse to build two nuclear power
containment vessels. Which project the parts are for
remains a secret. |
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Nuclea r companies confident in crisis |
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24 October 2008 |
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The financial crisis is not expected to have a
significant effect on the fortunes of nuclear
companies. Areva and Exelon both posted results
today, putting faith in the strong fundamentals of
their businesses. |
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Toshib a-Westinghouse for EdF generator coils |
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23 October 2008 |
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A Toshiba-Westinghouse consortium has been awarded a
contract by Electricite de France (EdF) for the
renewal of stator coils in the generators of more
than ten of its nuclear power plants. The deal
follows another with Alstom for EdF's generators. |
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EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL: |
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Uraniu m asset drops on market fluctuations |
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27 October 2008 |
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Recent market changes are a factor in a $72 million
drop in the value of a gold and uranium mine. The
values of both minerals have dropped since the sale
of a major stake in the Cooke mine was negotiated,
particularly in recent weeks. |
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Hungar ian research reactor fuel returned to Russia |
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23 October 2008 |
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Some 155 kilograms of high-enriched uranium (HEU)
research reactor fuel has been transported from
Hungary to a storage facility in Russia by the US
National Nuclear Security Administration. The
material arrived at the Mayak facility yesterday. |
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Domini on shuts down on uranium price slump |
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22 October 2008 |
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The Dominion uranium mine has been shut down,
possibly permanently, because of start-up troubles
and the sharp drop in the spot price of uranium. The
mine was supposed to produce over 4 million pounds
of uranium oxide per year. |
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INDUSTRY TALK: |
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Motor rally takes in European nuclear sites |
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28 October 2008 |
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A series of seminars on "Nuclear Power Engineering -
New Generation" has been held in the form of an
international motor rally. The rally began at
Russia's Leningrad nuclear power plant on 4 October
and passed through Scandinavia before heading into
central Europe, taking in nine nuclear power plants
along the way. |
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'Spy pigeons' arrested |
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24 October 2008 |
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[AFP, 20 October]
Iranian security forces have arrested two "spy
pigeons" near the Natanz uranium enrichment facility,
the Etemad Melli newspaper reported. One of
the pigeons had some metal rings and "invisible"
strings attached to it. |