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The slightly elevated levels of three different radioisotopes recently detected in northern Europe are probably related to a nuclear reactor which is either operating or undergoing maintenance, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement on 3 July.

The recorded air concentrations of the particles were very low and posed no risk to human health and the environment, the statement said.

However, the IAEA also said the geographical origin of the release has not yet been determined.

Last week, Estonia, Finland and Sweden reported levels of ruthenium-103, caesium-134 and caesium-137 isotopes in the air which were higher than usual.

The IAEA, in an effort to help identify the possible origin of the radioisotopes, contacted counterparts in Europe and asked for information about whether they were detected in their countries, and if any event there may have been associated with the atmospheric release.

Source: Nucnet
Date: Saturday, 04 July 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/elevated-radioisotope-levels-in-nordic-region-likely-linked-to-nuclear-reactor-7-5-2020

The recent detection of slightly elevated levels of radioisotopes in northern Europe is likely related to a nuclear reactor that is either operating or undergoing maintenance, when very low radioactive releases can occur, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said yesterday. The geographical origin of the release has not yet been determined.

Source: World Nuclear News
Date: Saturday, 04 July 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Source-of-low-level-European-release-remains-unsol

The International Energy Agency’s (IEA’s) latest Clean Energy Progress Track report published on 11 June, assesses the full range of energy technologies and sectors.

Source: NEI Magazine
Date: Tuesday, 16 June 2020
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiea-says-nuclear-is-not-on-track-to-meet-sustainability-goals-7973661

Policy uncertainty is ‘preventing industry from making investment decisions’ Policy uncertainty in a number of countries is preventing the nuclear industry from making investment decisions and “forthright recognition” by governments of the value of nuclear energy would encourage policymakers to explicitly include nuclear in their long-term energy plans and commitments under the Paris Agreement, the International Energy Agency has said.

The Paris-based agency said in a report on meeting climate goals that nuclear policy uncertainty is partly the result of inconsistencies between stated policy goals – such as climate change mitigation – and policy actions.

While some countries maintain they can meet decarbonisation objectives while phasing out nuclear (Belgium, Germany, Spain, Switzerland) or reducing its share (France), others continue to recognise the need to increase nuclear reliance: China, Russia, India, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and Uzbekistan.

In late 2018, the EU long-term energy strategy clearly stated that nuclear power – together with renewables – will form the backbone of the EU power system in order to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, the IEA said. At the same time, ongoing EU taxonomy discussions regarding the eligibility of nuclear power generation for sustainability funding highlight the difficulties in recognising the contribution that nuclear energy makes to climate change mitigation.

Source: Nucnet
Date: Friday, 12 June 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/agency-calls-for-forthright-recognition-of-nuclear-energy-6-4-2020

Slovakia’s nuclear and decommissioning company Jadrová a vyraovacia spolocnos (JAVYS) announced on 2 June that it had completed “one of the most complex operations of the Jaslovské Bohunice V1 decommissioning project”.

Source: NEI Magazine
Date: Friday, 05 June 2020
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsdecommissioning-milestone-at-slovakias-bohunice-vi-7955839

Work to remediate legacy uranium mining sites can begin in Tajikistan now that the country's framework agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has entered into force. The bank has also announced the signature of a contract for remediation work at the Shekaftar site in Kyrgyzstan.

Source: World Nuclear News
Date: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/EBRD-announces-progress-in-uranium-remediation-wor

Photo courtesy Google. NucNet and the Swiss Nuclear Forum (Nuklearforum Schweiz) have launched an upgraded version of their Nuclearplanet world nuclear map, an interactive world map showing all civil nuclear power plants and radioactive waste repositories with key information on each site.

Nuclearplanet was developed by the Swiss Nuclear Forum and is hosted on their website, but can be accessed via NucNet’s website. It is available in English, French and German.

Nuclearplanet is maintained and updated by the Swiss Nuclear Forum in cooperation with NucNet based on data taken from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), the Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste (Nagra) and other primary sources.

Source: Nucnet
Date: Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/nucnet-and-swiss-forum-launch-interactive-world-nuclear-map-3-2-2020

The Ignalina nuclear power station in Lithuania. Photo courtesy EBRD. The decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power station in Lithuania is “well advanced” and has reached a new milestone with the delivery of the final storage cask for spent nuclear fuel, one year ahead of schedule, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development confiremd today.

Germany-based GNS (Gesellschaft für Nuklear-Service) said last week it had delivered the final cask. The casks are used for the storage of spent nuclear fuel assemblies that date from the time when the facility’s two Russian 1,185-MW RBMK units were operational.

Lithuania closed the first unit at Ignalina in 2004 and the second in 2009 following safety concerns about its Soviet-designed reactors. The EBRD is managing the Ignalina International Decommissioning Support Fund, established in 2001.

The EBRD said today that the decommissioning process is well advanced. An interim storage facility for spent fuel opened in October 2016 and has since received a total of 142 Constor RBMK 1500-M2 casks loaded with 12,891 spent fuel assemblies from the Ignalina reactors and storage ponds of Units 1 and 2.

Source: Nucnet
Date: Tuesday, 03 March 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/decommissioning-of-soviet-era-reactors-well-advanced-says-ebrd-3-1-2020

International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol on 12 February told the Agency’s Big Ideas speaker series that a "grand coalition" of all stakeholders is needed to address the challenge of climate change, including the energy sector, which it accounts for most of the world's carbon dioxide emissions.

Source: NEI Magazine
Date: Saturday, 15 February 2020
Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newsiea-stresses-need-to-combat-climate-change-7773146

Agency 2019 data shows coal still strong in Asia, but on retreat in advanced economies IEA director Fatih Birol speaking at the IEA Ministerial Meeting; Paris, November 2017. Photo courtesy Andrew Wheeler/IEA. Newly released data by the International Energy Agency (IEA) has shown that global CO2 emissions from energy generation flattened in 2019 at about 33 gigatonnes (Gt) mainly thanks to gains in advanced economies* because of the expanding role of renewable sources, a fuel transition from coal to natural gas, and higher nuclear power output.

The IEA said CO2 emissions remained unchanged from their 2018 levels, although the global economy expanded by 2.9%. The data shows that emissions remained largely stable between 2013 and 2016 and then experienced two years of consecutive growth in 2017 and 2018. An IEA chart showing CO2 emissions since 1990 (orange for advanced economies, yellow of rest of the world). Image courtesy IEA.

According to the IEA, increased nuclear power generation in advanced economies, particularly in Japan and South Korea, avoided the release of over 50 megatonnes (Mt) of CO2 in 2019.

Source: Nucnet
Date: Thursday, 13 February 2020
Original article: nucnet.org/news/iea-report-says-global-co2-emissions-remained-stable-in-2019-2-3-2020

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