Tokyo Electric Power Company has suspended the first attempt to extract fuel debris from within the primary containment vessel of unit 2 at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after an error in the setup of the debris retrieval device was identified.

Germany's Krümmel nuclear power plant has been given the regulatory go-ahead to move from post-operation to decommissioning, with dismantling work scheduled to take about 15 years.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has awarded GBP30 million (USD39.1 million) to four-year projects to drive "new techniques to deliver safe, sustainable and cost-effective decommissioning".

The two 143-metre-tall cooling towers of the shut down single-unit Grafenrheinfeld nuclear power plant in Germany have been demolished in a controlled explosion.

Nuclear Restoration Services has been given planning consent to demolish the turbine hall and electrical annexe at the decommissioned Sizewell A Magnox nuclear power plant in Suffolk, England.

The lower section of the reactor vessel of the Oak Ridge Research Reactor has been removed and transferred to a cask for eventual shipment and disposal. The reactor was an isotope production and irradiation facility from 1958 and was permanently shut down in July 1987.

The first phase of the dismantling of the reactor vessel at Italy's Garigliano nuclear power plant has been completed with the removal of contaminated metal components from the deflector, the upper part of the vessel.

Unit 1 of Taiwan's Maanshan nuclear power plant has been taken offline and will be decommissioned following the expiry of its 40-year operating licence, in accordance with Taiwan's nuclear phase-out policy. The closure leaves the island with just one reactor remaining in operation.

Four years after it shut down, NextEra Energy is looking into restarting the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant, CEO John Ketchum has confirmed.

Workers at Russia's Balakovo nuclear power plant have removed the first of four used steam generators from a storage facility and prepared it to be transported for dismantling and disposal.

Japan's Muroosystems Corp has signed an acquisition agreement for Nukem Technologies Engineering Services, which specialises in decommissioning, waste management and engineering services.

Dismantling of the Finnish Reactor 1 research reactor at Aalto University's Otaniemi campus in Espoo has been completed, marking the first nuclear reactor to be decommissioned in Finland. The experience gained will serve as a model for decommissioning commercial nuclear reactors in the country.