A new graphite irradiation research program has been launched in support of ageing management of Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors (AGRs) in the UK. Last week, EDF Energy announced new scheduled closure dates for four of its UK AGR nuclear power plants.

Belgium's Tractebel Engineering has signed a contract to be owner's engineer for the planned Pallas research reactor to be built at Petten in the Netherlands. The facility will replace the existing High Flux Reactor that has been in operation since 1961 and take over its role as a major supplier of the world's medical radioisotopes.

Qualification irradiation tests of fuel elements for the demonstration HTR-PM high-temperature gas-cooled reactor plant being built at Shidaowan, China, have been completed in the Netherlands.

The used fuel covered by a contract Areva signed last month with Dutch utility EPZ to supply three "next-generation" TN 17 MAX casks contains 96% of valuable energy materials that can be recycled through treatment-recycling operations, Areva spokesperson Caroline Sagne told World Nuclear News today.

Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has signed a contract with a South Korean consortium to upgrade its research reactor.

The Dutch government will provide a loan so that necessary upgrades can be made to enable the aging Petten research reactor to operate for a further ten years, by which time its replacement should have started up.

The last used fuel from the Low Flux Reactor (LFR) at Petten has been transported to the Netherlands' central radioactive waste storage facility. Decommissioning of the research reactor is underway.

Separate incidents at research reactors supplying molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) have once again illustrated the fragile nature of the medical isotope's supply chain. Meanwhile a unique new facility has started production of lead-212.

Areva has begun producing mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel for use in the Borssele nuclear power plant in the Netherlands. It will mark the country's first use of such fuel.

An €80 million ($105 million) state loan for the construction of a replacement for the High Flux Reactor (HFR) in the Netherlands meets EU rules, the European Commission has concluded. The Pallas reactor will take over HFR's role as a major supplier of the world's medical radioisotopes.

The Dutch government has confirmed its intention to sell its one-third stake in Urenco, clearing the way for the possible full privatization of the world's second-largest uranium enrichment company.

Belgium's BR2 reactor is to run an additional production cycle to guarantee supplies of vital medical isotopes while the Netherlands' HFR reactor remains out of action due to unforeseen problems.