Russia's Rosatom and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development have announced milestone dates for two projects in their so-called Nuclear Window program.
Russia expects to reprocess all of its 'damaged' used nuclear fuel - at Mayak Production Association in Ozersk - by 2030, and to open the second stage of its centralized dry storage facility - at the Mining and Chemical Combine in Zheleznogorsk - by 2016.
_68x48.jpg "Rokkasho (JNFL) 68x48")
Russia's Atomenergomash has developed a unique mobile facility for processing low-level waste.
The final shipment of waste from the reprocessing of Belgian research reactor fuel has been made from the UK to Belgium.
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency will shut its reprocessing plant in Tokai, reportedly due to the costs of modifications required under post-Fukushima safety regulations.
All of the used nuclear fuel from a historic US experimental reactor that ceased operations half a century ago has been dissolved in an equally historic chemical processing plant, completing a major step towards final disposition of the material._47x48.jpg "Prism (GE-Hitachi) 47x48")
Spanish utility Iberdrola will work with GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy to develop a proposal to build a Prism integral fast reactor in the UK, but is yet to decide the scope of its involvement either as an engineer or operator of the potential plant.
China and France have celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations with the agreements to continue the two countries' long-term strategic nuclear energy partnership.