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Nuclear Engineering International
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Welcome to the latest edition of Nuclear Engineering International's newsletter on LinkedIn.
Another busy week for the sector and lots of news items shared.
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See this week's highlights below:
WESTINGHOUSE’S AP300 SMR APPROVED FOR UK REVIEW
US-based 西屋电气公司 has received formal approval from the UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) to enter the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) for its AP300 small modular reactor (SMR).
This is the first of the two-Step GDA process that will initiate work with the Office for Nuclear Regulation, the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales. The GDA process is intended to assess the safety, security, and environmental protection aspects of a new reactor designs, separately from applications to build them at specific sites. A reactor has completed the GDA process when it receives a Design Acceptance Confirmation (DAC) from the ONR and a Statement of Design Acceptability (SoDA) from the Environment Agency.
NUSCALE FACES INVESTOR FRAUD INVESTIGATION
US law firm Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of NuScale Power Corporation. The investigation concerns whether NuScale and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities?fraud?or other unlawful business practices, Pomerantz said.
On?29 July, Hunterbrook Media reported that “the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Division of Enforcement is conducting an ‘active and ongoing’ investigation into NuScale”, citing “SEC’s?July 24?response to an open records request obtained by Hunterbrook.” Although the SEC’s response to Hunterbrook’s request did not provide details regarding the subject of its investigation, Hunterbrook’s report noted that “the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission raised significant questions about NuScale’s risk mitigation plans for one of its reactor designs”. It further asserted that “after a decade and a half of research and development, NuScale has yet to commercialise any reactors”.?
KASHIWAZAKI-KARIWA APPROVED FOR RESTART
The mayor of Kashiwazaki in Japan’s Niigata Prefecture has reportedly indicated his willingness to approve the restart of two reactors (units 6&7) at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa NPP. “We have reached a stage where we can accept a possible request for reactivation,” Masahiro Sakurai said during a meeting with Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) President Tomoaki Kobayakawa.
According to Jiji press, at the meeting, Kobayakawa formally told the mayor of TEPCO’s plans to decide on possible decommissioning of some of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s units 1-5 two years after the restart of units 6&7.
FUKUSHIMA SUSPENDS FUEL REMOVAL
Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said it has suspended its attempt to use a robot to remove a small amount of radioactive debris from unit 2 of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP, which suffered a reactor meltdown after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The demonstration project was stopped when workers noticed that five 1.5-metre pipes used to manoeuvre the robot had been placed in the wrong order and could not be corrected within the time limit for their radiation exposure. The pipes were to be used to push the robot through a penetration point in the primary containment vessel and pull it back when it finished. Once inside the vessel, the robot would be operated remotely from a safer location.
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FRAMATOME APPROVED TO TRANSPORT HIGHER-ENRICHED FUEL
Framatome announced that the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has approved a licence amendment allowing transport of fresh nuclear fuel assemblies in the US with enrichment up to 8%, using its existing TN-B1 boiling water reactor (BWR) fuel assembly shipping containers. This will enable Framatome to deliver advanced fuel products for light water reactor plant operators.
NRC approval builds on other recent regulatory milestones for Framatome . NRC recently approved Framatome to apply the company’s suite of Advanced Codes and Methods to operating conditions with U-235 enrichments above the industry standard of 5% for pressurised water reactors (PWR). NRC also approved a licence amendment allowing Framatome to transport fresh PWR nuclear fuel assemblies in the with U-235 enrichments up to 8%.
CZECH REPUBLIC PAVES WAY FOR SMRS
Czech power company ?EZ has concluded a safety contract with the government for the development of small and medium-sized modular reactors. The security agreement will make it possible to ensure the security interests of the state in the selection of a future partner for the development and construction of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the Czech Republic.
According to the Low Carbon Act, it is a necessary document that precedes the actual selection of the supplier. Minister of Industry & Trade Jozef Síkela said: “Our efforts to develop nuclear energy in the Czech Republic are not limited to the successful tender for new units in Dukovany and the preparation of new sources for the Temelín location. Small and medium-sized reactors can be an integral part of the Czech Republic’s future energy mix. They can provide citizens and companies not only with electricity, but also with heat, so they can replace aging coal-fired facilities.”
UKRAINE PLANS REVIVAL OF CHIGIRINSKY NPP
Ukrainian nuclear utility Energoatom plans to complete the Chigirinsky NPP in the Cherkasy region, the construction of which was frozen in 1989 in the wake of the Chernobyl accident.
“The Energoatom team is actively working on the search for new construction sites,” Energoatom said in a statement. The most promising is the Chigirin NPP near the town of Orbita in Cherkasy Oblast. There are plans to build four new power units there using [Westinghouse] AP1000 technology.” Construction is planned for the period up to 2050.
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