Proving the integrity of the reactor pressure vessel of unit 1 of Switzerland's Beznau nuclear power plant is taking longer than originally expected, owner Axpo said. It now expects to be given regulatory approval to restart the unit by the end of this year.
EDF has completed building a one-third scale reactor containment building that will be used to verify construction methods and to study ageing of the materials used in the structure.
A groundbreaking ceremony has been held to launch the start of construction of a new laboratory building at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre at Karlsruhe in Germany. The new building will replace older ones on the site.
Russia's Research Institute of Atomic Reactors and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute have signed a memorandum of understanding on scientific and technical cooperation.
The reactor pressure vessel head has been installed at unit 2 of the Fangchenggang nuclear power plant in China's Guangxi province following the completion of fuel loading. Installation of the vessel head was carried out using the first Chinese-developed bolt tensioning machine.
An agreement to cooperate in using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has been signed between the national nuclear research institutes of Thailand and Vietnam.