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Regulation & Safety

Regulation & Safety
Fukushima Daiichi water to be discharged into sea

Fukushima Daiichi water to be discharged into sea

The Japanese government today announced its formal decision that the treated water stored at the Fukushima Daiichi site will be discharged into the sea. Tokyo Electric Power Company is expected to start discharging the mildly-radioactive water in 2023 in line with international standards and regulations.

Regulation & Safety 13 April 2021

Hunterston B cleared for six months of operation

Hunterston B cleared for six months of operation

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has today provided EDF with permission for Reactors 3 and 4 at the Hunterston nuclear power plant in North Ayrshire, Scotland to return to service for a limited period of operation. This will be the power station’s final period of operation before moving into the defueling phase.

Regulation & Safety 13 April 2021

Most Read

Design anomaly found in Flamanville EPR nozzles

Dutch research reactor ends use of HEU targets

UK's Hinkley Point B approved for restart

Leningrad II-2 gets clearance for commercial operation

Security lapses impact Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart

Regulators must learn from each other, says head of ASN

IAEA supports discharge of Fukushima Daiichi water

Latest data confirms 'indiscernible' impact of Fukushima radiation

Mixed court rulings for Japanese reactors

Regulators must learn from each other, says head of ASN

Regulators must learn from each other, says head of ASN

Nuclear regulation requires "humbleness and openness", Olivier Gupta, Director-General of France's nuclear safety regulator, told OECD Nuclear Energy Agency Director General William Magwood in a WebChat yesterday. Gupta has been Director-General of the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire since 2016 and has been chair of Western European Nuclear Regulators Association since 2019.

Regulation & Safety 24 March 2021

Design anomaly found in Flamanville EPR nozzles

Design anomaly found in Flamanville EPR nozzles

EDF notified France's nuclear safety regulator, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, on 3 March of a significant event concerning a design anomaly on three nozzles of the main primary system of the EPR reactor under construction at Flamanville. The concerned nozzles were produced in 2011 based on a 2006 design file. The regulator has asked EDF how it plans to deal with this anomaly.

Regulation & Safety 23 March 2021

Mixed court rulings for Japanese reactors

Mixed court rulings for Japanese reactors

The Hiroshima High Court today overturned a temporary injunction against the operation of unit 3 at Shikoku Electric Power Company's Ikata nuclear power plant in Japan's Ehime prefecture. Meanwhile, the Mito District Court has ordered a suspension of the operation of unit 2 at Japan Atomic Power Company's Tokai plant in Ibaraki prefecture.

Regulation & Safety 18 March 2021

Dutch research reactor ends use of HEU targets

Dutch research reactor ends use of HEU targets

The Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group has ended its use of high-enriched uranium targets in the production of radioisotopes at the High Flux Reactor in Petten, the Netherlands. The reactor itself was converted from HEU fuel, which can pose a proliferation risk, to low-enriched uranium fuel in 2006.

Regulation & Safety 18 March 2021

Security lapses impact Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart

Security lapses impact Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart

Tokyo Electric Power Company has failed in its duty to protect nuclear materials at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority. A series of security breaches has prompted the regulator to suspend the process for inspections needed to restart unit 7 at the plant.

Regulation & Safety 17 March 2021

UK's Hinkley Point B approved for restart

UK's Hinkley Point B approved for restart

The UK's Office for Nuclear Regulation has today provided EDF with permission for Reactors 3 and 4 at the Hinkley Point B power station in Somerset, England, to return to service for a limited period of operation. This follows ONR's assessment of whether cracking observed in the graphite bricks that form the reactor core could compromise the key nuclear safety requirements.

Regulation & Safety 17 March 2021

Leningrad II-2 gets clearance for commercial operation

Leningrad II-2 gets clearance for commercial operation

Rosatom has received regulatory approval to start the commercial operation of the second VVER-1200 reactor at the Leningrad nuclear power plant in western Russia, which is scheduled for the end of this month. The existing Leningrad plant site in Sosnovy Bor has four RBMK-1000 units, while Leningrad II will have four VVER-1200 units.

Regulation & Safety 15 March 2021

UK urges Tehran to cease flouting nuclear deal

UK urges Tehran to cease flouting nuclear deal

While the UK remains committed to making the Iran nuclear deal a success, Tehran must stop all activity that breaches the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and come back into compliance, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during their telephone call yesterday. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly said the Biden Administration is unwilling to compromise further on efforts to encourage Tehran to hold talks with the USA.

Regulation & Safety 11 March 2021