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The Pros and Cons
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Don't let the PROS CON you!

Page Updated:
August 14, 2026

• Nuclear Industry News

Nuclear News Stories

Read the latest news stories on nuclear power

What went right - and what went WRONG?

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• Nuclear Plant
Accident Timeline

Events to Make You
Distrust Nuclear Power:

Read the BBC account of the varous nuclear accidents beginning in 1957.

Click now to learn more.

• • Romanian Nuclearelectrica Starts Shutting
  Down Sole Working Nuclear Reactor

  What Problems Low Water Supplies Can Cause

  

  August 13, 2026 -Romanian state-owned nuclear power producer Nuclearelectrica (ROSNN.BX), opens new tab has started the process of disconnecting its sole working reactor from the power grid due to record low Danube river levels, it said on Thursday.

  The drought-hit river already forced it to shut down one reactor in late July. The company has two 706-megawatt reactors in Cernavoda on the Danube, accounting for a fifth of the country's power output.

• • Democratic Governors Turn to Nuclear
  Power as Response to Energy Crunch

  State officials in Blue States Are Increasingly Embracing Nuclear Energy as Demand for Electricity Surges Nationwide...
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  August 12, 2026 -Democratic governors seldom see eye to eye with President Donald Trump when it comes to energy policy.

  A notable exception: expanding nuclear power.

  Kathy Hochul of New York, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and JB Pritzker of Illinois are among a growing list of Democratic governors who have taken steps this year to encourage nuclear development.

• • Nuclear Power Push Ramps Up Uranium Mill

  And Tribal Health Concerns
  
  {NPR}

  August 12, 2026 -On a hot April day, Malcolm Lehi maneuvered his Jeep Wrangler over a rough dirt road. He drove past junipers and sagebrush in search of Entrance Spring on land long connected to his tribe, the Ute Mountain Ute.

  The cool, mossy spring lies just across the highway from White Mesa Mill, the nation's only remaining conventional uranium mill, which produces yellowcake for nuclear power fuel.

• • Gavin Newsom Says He Won’t Extend Operations
  For California’s Sole Nuclear Power Plant

  The Governor’s Remarks Are a Blow For Supporters of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  August 10, 2026 -California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday said that he will not move this year to extend operations at Diablo Canyon, California’s only nuclear power plant, beyond the current expiration date.

  What happened: During a press conference in Oakland, POLITICO asked Newsom (D) whether the state should act this year to keep Diablo Canyon open beyond 2030.

  “That will be the determination of the next administration, a determination made by policymakers [who] will be here a lot longer than I will,” Newsom said. “I have a sell-by date in five months.”

• • Drought and Scorching Heatwaves Threaten
  Europe’s Vision of a Nuclear-Powered Future

  Nuclear Power Offers Europe a Reliable Way of Powering Itself Without Laying Waste to the Planet. But...
  
  {INDEPENDENT}

  August 8, 2026 -It is an image that somehow captures the crisis of Europe’s present and future: a smouldering wildfire burning on grassland just two miles from a nuclear plant.

  More than 100 firefighters were called in to tackle the blaze sweeping through Dunwich Heath on the Suffolk coast at the end of July, which lies just north of the Sizewell B nuclear plant that powers up to 2.5 million British homes. The fire tore through the equivalent of 210 football pitches on the Suffolk coast before it was extinguished.

• • Nuclear Waste Delivers a Political Haymaker

  Five States Say It Can Be Done
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  August 5, 2026 -Five Republican-led states are now jockeying to host nuclear technology hubs — and possibly spent nuclear fuel — in a show of heightened political interest in breaking through chronic barriers to new U.S. reactors.

  Oklahoma, Louisiana, Idaho, Tennessee and Utah are in the running to host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses — Energy Department-backed facilities that would support the full nuclear fuel cycle, from enriching uranium and fabricating fuel to reprocessing and disposing of waste.

• • World’s First Nuclear Waste
  Repository Nears Operating Permit

  The Onkalo Underground Repository For Spent Nuclear Fuel Built by Posit Oy
  
  {Bloomberg}

  August 4, 2026 -The world’s first permanent underground repository for spent nuclear fuel moved a step closer to opening after Finland’s safety regulator backed its operating license application.

  The Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority said Tuesday the facility meets the country’s safety requirements, clearing the final regulatory hurdle before the government can grant an operating permit. The Economy Ministry said the license could be submitted to the government this autumn.

• • Nuclear-Powered Data Centers Could
  Crop Up Across the Country

  Triple-Digit Temperatures Scorched Front Range, Eastern Plains, According to National Weather Service
  
  {energy central}

  August 2, 2026 -Power couple: AI infrastructure company Crusoe and nuclear developer Aalo Atomics (one of the four companies to reach criticality under the DOE’s Reactor Pilot Program) are partnering to bring modular reactors to data centers. After a pilot project at Idaho National Lab, they aim to install Aalo reactors at Crusoe’s data centers by 2029 (these facilities are built or planned throughout the US).

  Plus, an SMR swap: The NRC has approved Holtec’s plan to clear the site of the shuttered Oyster Creek nuclear plant. Its replacement? Four new SMR units with a total expected capacity of 1.4 GW (more than 2x the capacity of the retired plant). Holtec is hoping to power them on in 2036.

• • Douglas County Commissioners Exploring
  Possibility of Small Nuclear Reactors

  Douglas County Commissioners Explore Small Modular Reactors as a Potential Carbon-Free Power Source
  
  {DENVER7}

  August 1, 2026 -Over the last few weeks, Denver7's Douglas County Reporter Tyler Melito has been learning about a possible, long-term development for Douglas County: the construction of small modular reactors in the county.

  SMRs are smaller sized nuclear plants, a newer type of technology designed to produce carbon-free electricity.

• • Hungary Braces For a Full
  Shutdown of the Paks Nuclear Plant

  This, as the Danube
  River Hits Record Lows

  

  August 1, 2026 -Hungary’s only nuclear power plant will shut down for the first time in its history due to record-low water levels on the Danube River, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said Friday, adding that the plant may not come back online for several weeks as the river is expected to continue receding.

  The Paks nuclear plant, located around 90 kilometers (50 miles) south of the capital Budapest, is operating at less than half its normal capacity, producing 965 megawatts of power rather than the usual 2,000.

• • 5 States Advance In Energy Department’s
  High-Stakes Nuclear Fuel Disposal Program

  States in the South and West could host campuses aimed at tackling one of the nuclear industry’s toughest challenges...
  
  {POLITICOPRO}

  July 28, 2026 -The Department of Energy announced Tuesday that it is in talks with Utah, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Idaho to create special nuclear hubs that would support “final disposition of used nuclear fuel.”

  Earlier this year, 26 states submitted proposals to DOE to host “nuclear lifecycle innovation campuses” that would support the development of nuclear fuel and the storage of used fuel, from uranium enrichment and fuel fabrication to reprocessing technology and waste disposal.

• • Why Restarting a Nuclear Power Plant
  Can Be Much Harder Than Expected

  The First U.S. Attempt at Reopening a Shuttered Reactor has Been Held Back By Run-Down Equipment and a Lack of Planning

  

  July 27, 2026 -When Michigan’s oldest operating nuclear power plant shut down in 2022, it was supposed to be for good. The plant, which sits on the coast of Lake Michigan, had company — dozens of other reactors had already been wound down.

  But soon after the turbines stopped spinning, those plans changed. A little-known company from Camden, N.J., quietly started taking steps to attempt what no one had done before in the United States: restart a shuttered nuclear reactor. The process would take about two years, estimated the company, Holtec International.

• • Trump Admin Moves To Scrap 50-Year
  US Radiation Safety Standard

  The Proposal is Open For Public Comment Until August 31
  
  {NEWSWEEK}

  July 25, 2026 -The Trump administration is seeking to scrap a decades-old radiation safety principle that requires companies and institutions using radioactive materials to keep radiation exposure as low as reasonably possible, even when it is already below legal safety limits.

  The proposed change by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was published in the Federal Register on July 15. It would replace the long-standing "As Low As Reasonably Achievable" (ALARA) principle with a "graded approach," which the NRC says reduces ambiguity.

• • Fusion is Ready. Is Trump’s Washington?

  Companies Chasing the Power of the Sun Say They're Ready to Scale
  
  {POLITICO}

  July 24, 2026 -On a rainy July day at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a former U.S. Army base-turned-research park forty miles northwest of Boston, dozens of material science experts and engineers are intently focused on the task at hand: assembling huge, 10-foot long magnets out of stacks of superconducting copper-colored tape on a massive factory floor.

  Specialized welders will soon attach the magnets to a partially-built nuclear reactor, which looks vaguely like something out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (Iron Man comes to mind.) To be clear: This isn’t the atom-splitting “fission” reactor most people are familiar with, the likes of which once sparked public fear in the United States and is now experiencing a renaissance. It’s a fusion reactor, nicknamed SPARC, designed to trigger the same atom-fusing reaction that powers the sun.

• • The US-Saudi Arabia Nuclear Deal Could
  Bolster the Industry’s Domestic Revival

  Just What the Saudis Need?
  
  {energy central}

  July 23, 2026 -The deal: The US has agreed to help Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear program (and possibly allow the kingdom to enrich uranium domestically). This 30-year, multibillion-dollar collaboration will give “American companies a central role” in building Saudi nuclear infrastructure, the Wall Street Journal wrote.

  The downstream: The Trump administration claims the deal will inject billions into the US nuclear industry, The New York Times reported. Among the possible beneficiaries? Westinghouse, which is already partnering with the DOE on a fleet of up to 10 AP1000 units.

• • Leaked Document Reveals White House Nuclear Waste Plan

  The Trump Administration Is Seeking To Move Past Yucca Mountain as the Nation’s Sole Repository and Store Waste in Willing States
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  July 27, 2026 -The White House is pushing Congress to break a decades-long impasse around the handling of nuclear waste and entice states to get on board, according to a document obtained by POLITICO.

  The Trump administration is seeking changes to federal law to allow the Department of Energy to partner with states willing to store waste generated at the nation’s nuclear reactors, according to the document laying out “legislative principles.” It has been circulating on Capitol Hill and among nuclear industry leaders.

• • Trump Approves Landmark Nuclear Deal
  With Saudi Arabia in Big Win for Kingdom

  Deal Could Mean Large Profits For American Companies But Also Raises Concerns About Nuclear Proliferation in Middle East
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  July 22, 2026 -The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached a landmark agreement to provide the kingdom with a civilian nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment on its territory, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have reached a landmark agreement to provide the kingdom with a civilian nuclear program and potentially open the door to uranium enrichment on its territory, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.

  The 30-year, multibillion-dollar deal gives American companies a central role in developing Saudi Arabia’s nuclear infrastructure while shutting out foreign competitors.

• • Dominion Energy Uses 3D Printing to
  Help Maintain Nuclear Power Plants

  Keeping Up With Aging
  
  {energy central}

  July 19, 2026 - You can 3D-print anything these days…including parts for nuclear plants. Dominion is using this tech to churn out replacement components and safety devices for its nuclear fleet (which makes up a third of its energy supply). This will help Dominion maintain aging plants as parts get trickier to find

• • States Are Rolling Out Laws to Protect
  Ratepayers—and Push For More Nuclear

  Protecting Consumers From Rate Increases
  
  {energy central}

  July 14, 2026 -New York is now the first US state to enact a data center moratorium. The one-year construction ban addresses projects >50 MW (unlike a similar state bill passed this year, which covers data centers >20 MW). During the temporary ban, Gov. Kathy Hochul is directing state officials to develop environmental standards for future data centers.

  In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker signed bills aiming to ease utility customer concerns. These 1) expand low-income energy discounts and 2) require a state commission to publish a report (by Jan. 1, 2027) breaking down monthly electric bill charges.

• • First Commercial Nuclear-Powered Satellite Launched

  A New Kind of Takeoff
  
  {energy central}

  July 14, 2026 -These days, nuclear is (literally) taking off: The first-ever commercial nuclear-powered satellite launched into the cosmos last week. This steady power source could prove especially handy in deep space—and on the dark side of the moon, where solar just won’t cut it.

• • How Could Loosened Radiation
  Exposure Rules Affect Public Health?

  A Proposed Rule Change Could Expose More Americans to Higher Doses of Radiation From Nuclear Facilities

  

  July 10, 2026 -A proposed rule from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) would ease the standard for low-dose radiation exposure. The NRC argues the change will bring more clarity to the nuclear industry, but the health effects of this rule on the public are not so clear. And if the change takes effect, then people living near nuclear facilities could be exposed to higher doses of radiation than they are currently.

  The change would do away with a principle called ALARA, which stands for “as low as reasonably achievable.” Under ALARA, there are maximum doses of radiation exposure that workers and the public must stay below. But beyond those thresholds, nuclear operators are also required to continuously try and push doses downward—to as low as is “reasonably” achievable.

• • As Nuclear Heads For World Domination,
  the US Takes the Crown For Crude Production

  Why is the U.S. Lagging Behind?
  
  {energy central}

  July 10, 2026 -On nuclear: Global capacity is projected to rise by 44% over the next decade and reach 535 GW, thanks in part to rapid buildouts in India and China. The latter is set to eclipse the US and become the world’s top nuclear power.

  On crude: But the US isn’t slowing down on the oil side. Last year, the country cranked out 13.6M/barrels per day and kept its spot as the leading crude oil producer (a trend that began in 2018 when the nation beat out Russia)

• • S.D. County Votes to Declare Uranium Mining a 'Nuisance'

  The Ballot Initiative Was in Response to a Proposed Mine in Fall River County
  
  {GREENWIRE}

  July 9, 2026 -A South Dakota county voted Tuesday to declare uranium extraction a “nuisance,” offering a fresh example of how local support for mining tied to the energy transition can falter because of its potential impacts.

  Voters in Fall River County approved the ballot initiative, which was backed by opponents of the Dewey-Burdock project, a uranium mining proposal in the county overseen by EnCore Energy, a Texas-based mining company.

• • Uranium Mining Grows As Trump
  Seeks to Feed a Nuclear Boom

  The Federal Government Recently Approved a South Dakota Uranium Project That Moved Through the FAST-41 Permitting Process
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  July 9, 2026 -The U.S. is beginning to see signs of a uranium mining boom as the Trump administration pushes to revive a nuclear power sector it believes is vital to feed the grid and power-hungry data centers.

  Most of the uranium used in U.S. nuclear power plants today is imported primarily from Kazakhstan, Canada, Uzbekistan, Australia, Namibia and Russia, with federal analysts warning that owners and operators of U.S. reactors face possible uranium shortages over the next decade. While Russia dominates the global market for the nuclear fuel, the U.S. banned imports of that company’s uranium in 2024, although there are allowances for limited waivers until 2028.

• • Life of Sizewell B Extended By Another 20 Years

  Sizewell B Provides Energy to More Than Two Million Homes
  
  {The BBC}

  July 8, 2026 -A nuclear power plant on the East Coast will produce electricity for a further 20 years after a deal was reached between its owner EDF and the government.

  Sizewell B, near Leiston, Suffolk, started operating in 1995 and was due to reach the end of its life in 2035, but will now continue operating until 2055.

• • The DOE’s Advanced Reactor Program
  Checked Off the White House Deadline

  And Invest $150M in Oil and Gas
  
  {energy central}

  July 7, 2026 -Just in time: This past weekend, Aalo Atomics’ design reached criticality. It’s the fourth reactor in the DOE pilot program to hit that breakthrough (following Deployable Energy’s announcement on July 1, which fulfilled President Trump’s goal for three critical reactors by Independence Day).

  HALEU-lujah: Meanwhile, Centrus Energy has finalized an agreement to receive $900M from the DOE to scale up HALEU production at its facility in Ohio.

• • Google Backs Nuclear Fusion Startup Targeting
  Europe’s First Commercial Power Plant

  Google Backed Proxima Fusion in a €411 Million, or $468 Million, Funding Round
  
  {CNBC}

  July 7, 2026 -Google has backed Germany-based Proxima Fusion, which is looking to build Europe’s first commercial fusion power plant, in a 411 million euros ($468 million) round, the company announced on Tuesday.

  Nuclear fusion is the process of combining two hydrogen atoms to form one helium atom, releasing huge amounts of energy.

• • NRC Looks to Speed Up Reactor Build-Out,
  Scrap Decades-Old Radiation Standard

  The Nuclear Regulatory Body is Moving to Replace a Half-Century-Old Standard That Radiation Exposure Should Be As Low As Possible to Protect Human Health
  
  {E&E NEWS}

  July 2, 2026 -The Nuclear Regulatory Commission unveiled new proposals Wednesday geared toward speeding up the construction of new reactors and overhauling the way the agency regulates radiation safety.

  The regulator said it wants to give nuclear applicants the chance to use “modern, risk-informed approaches” for their safety analyses and model updates.

  Further, the NRC said that it would allow “certain early site activities under a general license” after an applicant applies for a license to start construction on a new reactor.

• • U.S. to Overhaul Radiation Safety
  Rules to Spur Nuclear Expansion

  The NRC Plans to End Longstanding Guidance That Radiation Exposure Be “As Low As Reasonably Achievable”

  

  July 1, 2026 -The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday proposed overhauling its safety rules for radiation exposure from nuclear power plants, saying that the current regulations are too costly and go beyond what is needed to protect human health.

  The N.R.C. would keep its existing limits on the maximum amount of radiation that workers and the public can receive each year. But it is proposing to eliminate a principle in place for decades that said nuclear-plant operators should keep radiation exposure “as low as reasonably achievable.” In some cases, that meant regulators could order plants to install additional equipment to drive radiation exposure far below the legal limits.

• • Trump Energy Department Hits Its
  Target On Small Nuclear Reactors

  Now Comes the Hard Part
  
  {POLITICO}

  July 1, 2026 -The Trump administration announced Wednesday that three advanced nuclear reactors built by U.S. companies had reached key operational milestones, meeting its July 4 goal to advance the nascent technology it hopes will revolutionize the power sector.

  A reactor from Houston-based Deployable Energy became the third during Trump’s term to reach criticality, in which it produces a stable nuclear chain reaction, as part of a program sponsored by the Energy Department. The administration’s focus on deploying smaller nuclear technologies comes as U.S. energy demand is soaring, driven in part by the rise of power-hungry data centers.

• • The Country’s Two Oldest Nuclear Plants
  Could Stick Around For 20 More Years

  Pushing the Envelope
  
  {energy central}

  June 29, 2026 -Constellation has applied to extend the licenses of the Nine Mile Point Unit 1 and R.E. Ginna reactors in New York. If the requests are greenlit by the NRC, they would add to around two dozen US reactors with operating licenses stretched to 80 years.

• • Deep Fission Could Build up to 18.5 GW
  of Mile-Deep Advanced Nuclear Reactors

  If All That Digging Works Out
  
  {energy central}

  June 25, 2026 -Deep in deals: The company recently raised $40M in its IPO. Now, Deep Fission says it has inked letters of intent with customers including data centers and co-developers. But it has a huge hurdle ahead: Deep Fission has to prove it can drill a commercial-scale borehole…and safely place a prototype reactor inside.

  While we’re here: AZ Gov. Katie Hobbs shot down a bill to speed up the deployment of SMRs. It would’ve enabled utilities to build them without environmental studies or public hearings…and stopped most counties from regulating them.

• • Expert Explains How to Fix America’s
  100,000-Ton Nuclear Waste Crisis

  Watch How America Could Find a Permanent Home For the World’s Largest Stockpile of Nuclear Waste...
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  June 24, 2026 -The U.S. has more commercial nuclear waste than any other country in the world. But years after a plan to build a permanent repository unraveled, the nation still relies on temporary storage solutions that were never engineered to last forever.

  Watch Allison Macfarlane, former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, break down why the country fell behind—and what it will take to finally build a long-term home for these radioactive materials.

• • Europe's Heatwave Curbs French Nuclear Plants

  Nuclear - Not Clear

  

  June 24, 2026 -A heatwave sweeping western Europe reduced France's nuclear output on Wednesday as high temperatures across the country reduced access to water needed to cool reactors.

  Output was reduced by 4.1 gigawatts, or 7%, of total power demand at midday, data from French utility EDF showed.

  Temperatures have topped 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places in France, which, combined with reduced wind speeds, has boosted wholesale electricity prices.

• • The DOE is Pouring $17.5B in Loans
  Into the US Nuclear Supply Chain

  It’s the DOE’s Latest (Massive) Step Toward Fulfilling Trump's executive Orders to Kick Off Construction...
  
  {energy central}

  June 23, 2026 -The low-interest loans will help five projects secure steam generators, pressure vessels, and other parts for Westinghouse AP1000s—notorious for their specialized components that can take years to make and acquire.

  The timeline: By helping new nuclear builds get materials more quickly, the funds could help reactors come online up to three years quicker, according to Office of Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory Beard. For a notoriously slow industry, that’s some impressive speed (after all, Georgia’s Vogtle Power Plant fell around seven years behind schedule).

• • U.S. Bets Billions of Dollars in Low-Cost
  Loans Can Revive Nuclear Power

  Energy Department Will Let Utilities Tap Government Funds to Kick-Start Reactor Orders
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  June 23, 2026 - The Trump administration is so eager to see a nuclear power renaissance that it is starting to fund billions of dollars for reactor orders.

  In a new deal expected to be announced Tuesday, low-interest loans amounting to $17.5 billion from the Energy Department will be available for utilities to finance equipment orders for the Westinghouse AP1000, the company’s flagship nuclear reactor, a version of which China is building at industrial scale.

• • The DOE is Pouring $17.5B in Loans
  Into the US Nuclear Supply Chain

  It’s the DOE’s Latest (Massive) Step Toward Fulfilling Trump's Executive Orders to Kick Off Construction On 10 Large Nuclear Reactors By 2030
  
  {energy central}

  June 23, 2026 -The low-interest loans will help five projects secure steam generators, pressure vessels, and other parts for Westinghouse AP1000s—notorious for their specialized components that can take years to make and acquire.

  The timeline: By helping new nuclear builds get materials more quickly, the funds could help reactors come online up to three years quicker, according to Office of Energy Dominance Financing Director Gregory Beard. For a notoriously slow industry, that’s some impressive speed (after all, Georgia’s Vogtle Power Plant fell around seven years behind schedule).

• • The NRC is Moving Full Steam Ahead
  to Fuel the US Nuclear Revival

  No Nukes Is Not Good News
  
  {energy central}

  June 22, 2026 -What happened: The commission has proposed “sweeping changes” to fast-track the development of US nuclear fuel infrastructure. These shifts “would modernize regulations governing the production, storage, use and security of nuclear materials,” the NRC wrote. For example, the commission wants to create a specific licensing process for spent fuel reprocessing facilities.

  The background: This effort stems from President Trump’s 2025 executive order calling for an NRC overhaul. His goal is to quadruple domestic nuclear capacity by 2050 and “produce lasting American dominance in the global nuclear energy market.”

• • Another SMR Has Gone Critical Ahead
  of President Trump’s July 4 Deadline

  The Reactor Appears to Have Been Developed in the Philippines
  
  {energy central}

  June 21, 2026 -On Thursday, Valar Atomics’s Ward250 became the second advanced nuclear reactor in the DOE’s pilot program to reach criticality (exactly two weeks after Antares Nuclear’s Mark-0 reactor hit that milestone). Plus, it’s the first DOE-authorized reactor built outside of a national lab. The company’s next goal? Churn out power in the reactor…before July 4.

  Speaking of: Elementl Power has signed an agreement with GE Vernova Hitachi Nuclear Energy to build a 1.5-GW SMR plant in Ohio. Elementl has filed a request to connect to PJM for the plant’s first 600MW of output. (PJM is expected to make a decision later this year.)

• • A New NRC Rule Could Make the
  Nuclear Renaissance a Bit More Affordable

  Nuclear’s Role In the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  June 17, 2026 -The rule reduces cost barriers for nuclear projects by, for example, putting fixed caps on NRC licensing and service fees. These changes are designed to make the agency’s licensing process “more predictable, transparent, and accessible for innovators and existing licensees alike.”

• • New York Plans to Bring 5GW of New Nuclear Online By 2050

  Here's How They'll Do It
  
  {energy central}

  June 15, 2026 -NYSERDA and the state’s Department of Public Service have laid out the options to meet that lofty goal.

  The costs: To fund this massive buildout, NY residents could pay between $15-$24B in subsidies over 25 years. Plus, private investors—and ratepayers—could cover any cost overruns (and with the industry’s track record, those will most likely pile up).

• • China Is Building a Nuclear Reactor
  Small Enough to Ride on a Truck

  The Prototype Could Bring Steady Power to Remote Sites and AI Data Centers
  
  {THE WALL STREET JOURNAL}

  June 9, 2026 -China says it is testing a prototype nuclear power system designed to be mounted on a truck — a 10-megawatt unit that researchers describe as a mobile source of long-lasting electricity for places where the grid is weak, absent, or too slow to build.

  The prototype was developed by a team at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology, part of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science. Chinese researchers say it could one day power remote regions, islands, ships, emergency sites, ocean and space systems, and even some AI data-center operations.

  That’s the pitch, at least. Because not that much information has been made public.

• • Tennessee Becomes the First State to Roll Out Fusion Regulations

  Fusion Energy Gets Prioritized
  
  {energy central}

  June 8, 2026 -A commercial power plant based on nuclear fusion is decades in the future. The path to that future is through a forest of many alternative designs. The two major groves in this forest are magnetic confinement fusion (as in the DIII-D tokamak, the largest operating tokamak in North America) and inertial confinement fusion (as in my hometown’s Lawrence Livermore National Lab's National Ignition Facility.)

  The above two projects are NOT operating power plants, but simply experiments, and several additional experiments and prototypes may lead to power plants. Also, there are other experiments that might (long-shot) lead to an operating power plant. This paper is about one of the off-mainstream fusion experiments..

• • Small Modular Nuclear Reactor
  Reaches Criticality In First Test

  The Reactor, From a Startup Called Antares, Isn’t Ready to Generate Power Yet
  
  {ars TECHNICA}

  June 5, 2026 - Just over a year ago, the Trump Administration issued an executive order meant to accelerate the development of nuclear power in the US. While an entire startup ecosystem has developed around the use of different—and typically smaller—reactor designs, only one of them has been fully licensed so far, and there are no plans to actually build any instances of that design.

  The executive order directed the Department of Energy to have three different reactor designs reach criticality in a bit over a year. On Thursday, a startup called Antares announced that a test reactor it had placed at the Idaho National Laboratory had reached criticality, making it the first new design to cross this threshold. Criticality means that the nuclear reactions inside the hardware had become self sustaining; it does not mean the reactor had started to generate power.

• • Three Mile Island is Back On Track For a (Possible) 2027 Restart

  A Data Centers Boost
  
  {energy central}

  June 3, 2026 -Constellation’s $1.6B plan to bring nuclear back to Three Mile Island—now called the Crane Clean Energy Center—has cleared a major hurdle. FERC is allowing Constellation to transfer 760 MW of Capacity Interconnection Rights from its Eddystone plant to Crane. (Previously, PJM said Crane couldn’t connect to the grid until 2031 due to needed transmission upgrades.)

  Need for nuclear: The revamped facility will power Microsoft data centers, and it could become the country’s first fully revived nuclear plant.

• • China’s Nuclear Power Capacity Nearly Doubled Since 2016

  As of May 2026, China Had 60 Operational Reactors With 58.7 GW of Total Capacity Installed At 18 Different Sites
  
  {eia}

  June 5, 2026 -From 2016 to 2024, China’s nuclear generation capacity increased 76% (24 GW), based on our International Energy Statistics (IES) data. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Power Reactor Information System (PRIS), China added an additional 1.1 GW of nuclear power capacity in 2025 and 2.2 GW in 2026 (through May). China is continuing to build out its nuclear generating capacity and has 36 reactors under construction, accounting for more than 49% of total world nuclear construction, according to PRIS.

  China’s nuclear fleet is concentrated near population centers in the eastern part of the country, along the Pacific Ocean coastline from the Liaoning province in the north to the Hainan province in the south. According to IAEA’s PRIS, China’s existing nuclear fleet mostly consists of pressurized water reactors.

• • Utilities Are Warming Up to the Nuclear Revival

  The Nuclear Conversation is Back In a Big Way
  
  {energy central}

  June 2, 2026 -Duke is willing to build more nuclear to satisfy rising data center demand—if developers can saddle some of the (notorious) financial risk.

  Meanwhile, the New York Power Authority has issued a “request for qualifications” for SMR and large-scale reactor developers. Companies need to show they can kick off construction before 2033 (in order to receive IRA tax credits).

• • Can Startup Curio Launch the Country’s
  First Nuclear Fuel Recycling Facility?

  A First For the Nuclear Industry
  
  {energy central}

  June 1, 2026 -The latest: The D.C.-based company has begun the NRC application process for a facility designed to process up to 4K metric tons per year of used fuel from commercial light water reactors.

  The background: Curio claims its process avoids proliferation hazards because it doesn’t produce pure plutonium. Last fall, the company demonstrated its tech with the Idaho, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, and Sandia National Laboratories.

• • Another Advanced Nuclear Startup
  Wants to Cash In On the Capacity Scramble

  What's Next For Nukes?
  
  {energy central}

  May 28, 2026 -Not long after X-energy’s record-breaking $1B+ IPO, Newcleo has announced its own plan to go public. The Paris-based startup plans to merge with a blank-check company—typically a faster route than a traditional IPO.

  This deal, slated to close in H2 2026, would place Newcleo’s value at around $2.4B. The move will “enable us to rapidly advance our reactor deployment and fuel manufacturing capabilities across Europe and the United ?States,” CEO Stefano Buono said.

• • The DOE Wants to Give Nuclear
  Startups Weapons-Grade Plutonium

  Experts Have Concerns
  
  {energy central}

  May 27, 2026 -The agency is in talks with five SMR companies (including Oklo and Exodys Energy) for what could become the first-ever transfers of such plutonium to the private sector.

  The background: The agency has long sat on >50 tons of leftover plutonium from Cold War-era weapons—which it now sees as a prime fuel source to kick-start the US advanced nuclear industry. President Trump floated the idea in an executive order last year, which sparked plenty of backlash.

  The risks: Some politicians and energy experts aren’t huge fans of the idea. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) worries “rogue states or terrorists” could get their hands on the plutonium and build nuclear weapons.

• • Conference at UN to Review Nuclear Non-
  Proliferation Treaty Fails to Reach Agreement

  A Four-Week United Nations Conference Reviewing the Treaty to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Ended Friday Without Agreement...

  

  May 22, 2026 -A four-week United Nations conference reviewing the treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons ended Friday without agreement as the United States and Iran sparred over Iran’s nuclear program.

  Vietnam’s U.N. Ambassador Do Hung Viet, who chaired the conference, announced that there was no consensus among the 191 parties to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty on even a watered-down final document.

• • The US Nuclear Renaissance Comes With a $100B+ Price Tag

  Who Said This Renaissance Would Come Cheap
  
  {energy central}

  May 12, 2026 -Maintaining a fully homegrown US nuclear industry while meeting President Trump’s goal to 4X capacity by 2050 won’t be easy—it’ll require investments totaling $105–170B, McKinsey estimates.

  The firm says the country will be “severely challenged” in building out the entire supply chain, which includes conversion ($30–45B), fabrication ($10–20B), and enrichment ($30–40B). This means that the DOE's recent $2.7B award for enrichment is merely a drop in the radioactive bucket.

• • Wildfire Crews Race to Keep Fierce California
  Blaze From Former Nuclear Reactor Site

  Shifting Winds Placed a Former Nuclear Reactor and Rocket Testing Site in the Path of the Growing Sandy Fire

  

  May 19, 2026 -Her gray SUV packed and a fire-proof bag ready, Melissa Bumstead didn’t waste any time Monday as plumes of smoke engulfed the sky near her suburb.

  Most neighbors in West Hills—about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles—stayed put after only a voluntary “evacuation warning” was issued for the area. But not her.

• • Could Ohio Repeat the Mistakes Behind
  Its Largest Public Corruption Scandal?

  Ohio’s Nuclear Revival Plan is Giving Critics Flashbacks to the Massive HB 6 Corruption Scandal
  
  {energy central0}

  May 18, 2026 - A state House bill would let Ohio utilities build and own nuclear plants (again) under certain conditions. Its supporters claim that nuclear is too expensive and long-lived for private developers to finance it alone.

  The safeguard pitch: Utilities would need to lock down long-term power contracts. Only after those contracts expire could costs flow to other customers—and only if regulators decide the plant’s power is at or below market prices. But to critics, it’s just the same old song in a new key.

• • The Race to Develop American-Made Nuclear Fuel

  Two Companies Want to Revive the Atrophied Domestic Market For Enriched Uranium to Fuel Power Plants and the U.S. Arsenal
  
  {ENERGYWIRE}

  May 18, 2026 -Nuclear power companies and the U.S. government are approaching a cliff — a gradually emerging shortage of enriched uranium to fuel new reactors and the backbone of America’s military deterrence.

  Companies, with help from the Department of Energy, are racing to build factories and enrichment capabilities in an effort to stand up an industry that the United States abandoned at the end of the Cold War.

• • India to Shrink Zones Around Nuclear Reactors to Free Up Land

  India Agrees to Cut Nuclear Buffer Zones to 500M For Small Reactors, 700M For Large Reactors

  

  May 11, 2026 -India plans to reduce the size of exclusion zones around nuclear plants to free up significant amounts of land for reactor expansions, three officials familiar with the matter said, in a move to attract private investment that is likely to face backlash from opposition parties and the public.

  At present, all nuclear reactors in India have a minimum buffer of about 1 km (0.62 miles) around reactors where no habitation or economic activity is allowed, a provision meant to keep radiation risks at a distance.

  India's atomic energy regulator and the Department of Atomic Energy have approved an "in principle" plan to reduce these buffers, the three officials said. They requested anonymity because they are not authorised to speak to the media.

• • The White House is Placing Big Bets on the US Nuclear Revival

  The DOE Could Soon Offer Loan Guarantees for a Coalition of Five to Six (mysterious) Utilities
  
  {energy central}

  May 9, 2026 -This tranche is separate from the $80B Westinghouse? deal with the Department of Commerce, which covers another 10 AP1000s. But the two efforts could eventually merge.

  On the fuel side: The National Nuclear Security Administration received 1.7 metric tons of HALEU from Japan—the biggest international uranium shipment in agency history. It’ll feed the DOE’s HALEU Availability Program and help close fuel gaps for advanced reactor developers.

• • Nuclear Reaches 41% of TVA’s Power Supply

  The Biggest US Public Power Provider is Feeling Bullish On Nuclear
  
  {energy central}

  May 6, 2026 -TVA’s nuclear fleet (one of the country’s largest) provided 41% of the utility’s power in the first half of 2026, up from 31% a year earlier. Interim CEO Mike Skaggs said that nuclear ranks high on TVA’s priority list, and it’s “a good investment to meet our future energy needs.”

• • The State of Play for US Nuclear in 2026

  The Trump Administration’s 400-GW Nuclear Goal is Looking Like Wishful Thinking
  
  {energy central}

  April 30, 2026 -A new Third Way assessment of 22 active US nuclear projects warns that the industry is essentially giving out “participation trophies"...while falling far behind the Trump administration’s goal of 4Xing capacity by 2050.

  By the numbers: Out of 22 analyzed projects, only half are intended for commercial use; of those, just seven have secured offtake commitments and two hold NRC construction permits. And if every active project and planned restart actually succeeds? The US would still stop 289 GW short of Trump’s target.

• • This Company Says Nuclear Fusion Could
  Finally Power the Grid — and Soon

  People in Costa Rica and Other Latin American, Asian and African Countries Are Increasingly Buying Electric Vehicles to Avoid Spiking Fuel Prices

  
  {CNN}

  April 30, 2026 -A Massachusetts-based fusion company took another step this week in its race to become the first to get the same power fueling the sun and stars onto the US electrical grid.

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is currently building a donut-shaped machine called a tokamak — a chamber where atoms are smashed together in 100-million-degree plasma. The nuclear fusion reaction, forcing two atoms to merge, creates heat energy in the same way as the sun. It’s the polar opposite of conventional nuclear energy — a fission reaction that splits atoms. And it could be the key to unlocking nearly limitless power, all without long-lived nuclear waste or greenhouse gases that warm the planet. Fuel for fusion is abundant. It’s derived from deuterium, found in seawater, and tritium, which is extracted from lithium.

• • China Says It Can Now Build 50 Nuclear Reactors at Once

  What About the United States?
  
  {ZME SCIENCE}

  April 29, 2026 -China’s rapidly expanding nuclear program has entered a new phase.

  A new report from the China Nuclear Energy Association says the country now has the capacity to build up to 50 nuclear reactors simultaneously, spanning the full chain from design to construction.

  China currently operates 60 commercial nuclear reactors. Another 36 are actively under construction, representing half of all the new reactors on the planet.

  But they also did something else. They ordered record amounts of Chinese clean technology, seeking to hedge against other oil shocks in the future.

• • Fusion Energy Group Seeks PJM Connection
  For First Commercial Power Plant

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is Now the First Fusion Developer to Brave a Major US Interconnection Queue
  
  {energy central}

  April 28, 2026 -Yesterday, Commonwealth announced it had applied to plug a 400-MW plant (the Fall Line Fusion Power Station) into PJM. The MA-based company plans to bring the plant online in VA’s Data Center Alley by the early 2030s.

  The details: CFS relies on a relatively small tokamak system powered by high-temp superconducting magnets, and its demo machine is currently about 75% complete. Backed by nearly $3B in capital, the developer has already secured Dominion Energy as a utility partner and inked offtake agreements with Google and Italian energy firm Eni.

• • Could Fusion Energy Soon Join the U.S. Power Grid?

  The Fusion Energy Start-Up Commonwealth Fusion Systems Aims to Bring Its First Power Plant Online By the early 2030s, but...

  
  

  April 28, 2026 -On Tuesday a fusion energy start-up announced that it has applied to join a U.S. power grid—a first that could one day see households and businesses powered by nuclear fusion.

  Commonwealth Fusion Systems is looking to join a power grid that is operated by PJM Interconnection and provides 182,000 megawatts of power to more than 67 million people living in 13 states and Washington, D.C. But technical hurdles to bringing fusion online remain—one major obstacle is actually producing a stable fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes.

• • The Trump Administration Keeps Moving to Sway Nuclear Rules.

  Nuclear’s Role in the Grid of the Future
  
  {energy central}

  April 21, 2026 -During his first Capitol Hill appearance, newly confirmed NRC Chair Ho Nieh shook off Democrats’ claims that White House mandates and staffing cuts are compromising the agency’s independence.

  The controversy: A proposed rule would allow the DOE or Pentagon to evaluate advanced reactor designs before developers even seek an NRC license. The NRC is also considering a plan that could reassign or eliminate up to 40% of the staff focused on plant safety—in favor of new reactor licensing.

• • Fusion Breakthrough: One
  Step Closer to Solving Key Challenges

  Another Step Towards a
  Working Fusion Reactor
  
  

  Nov. 8, 2021 - In fusion power, two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process. The process takes place in a fusion reactor and, at least in theory, this energy can be harnessed; but the practical aspects are extremely challenging.

  An important problem for fusion reactors is maintaining the plasma core extremely hot (hotter than the surface of the sun), while also safely containing the plasma — something fusion researchers refer to as “core-edge integration”.

• • Is Thorium the Nuclear Answer?

  Thorium Nuclear Reactors
  Mentioned by Andrew Yang

  Dec. 23, 2019 (energycentral)- Andrew Yang mentioned Thorium Nuclear Reactors as one of the advanced nuclear fission reactor concepts. Yang has also talked about making a prototype thorium reactor by 2027. There is a US startup working on a Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor. If Flibe Energy was fully funded then they could build their planned 20-50 MW modular nuclear reactor by 2027. China also has an extensive molten salt and thorium reactor program. It is also possible to have more conventional reactors or pebble bed reactors adapted to use some thorium.

  Yang has proposed nuclear subsidy—$50 billion over five years. If there was that level of subsidy, then the other advanced nuclear projects would complete for it. There would be a lot of push for the molten salt reactors that use Uranium. The Thorcon molten salt reactor seems like a design that could scale to 100 GW per year of construction. In the rest of this article, I will review the status of the US, China and Indian Thorium reactor projects.

• • TerraPower: Nuclear Innovation
  (Striving to Improve the World)

  We Need Advanced Nuclear Now
  TeraPower Says It's Rready

  TeraPower-TerraPower’s founders entered the nuclear energy arena to meet growing electricity needs and lift billions out of poverty. Advanced reactors and other isotopic applications are now possible with technology and enhanced computing capabilities that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. TerraPower says that they are ready to build the clean energy of tomorrow - today.

  One of their founders, incidentally, is Bill Gates.

• •  The Hanford Nuclear Leak Is Irreparable  

  D.O.E. To Permanently
  Close Damaged Hanford Tank

  Jan. 2, 2018 - The Energy Department says it will permanently close a damaged radioactive waste storage tank on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

  The department says that Tank AY-102 has widespread damage and should not be repaired.

  Click now for more on this earthFix story.

• •  The U.S. Backs Off Nukes - But Not Georgia 

  The U.S. Backs Off Nuclear
  Power. Georgia Wants to
  Keep Building Reactors

  Aug. 31, 2017,  The New York Times - Even as the rest of the United States backs away from nuclear power, utilities in Georgia are pressing ahead with plans to build two huge reactors in the next five years — the only nuclear units still under construction nationwide.

• • Uranium Mining in the Grand Canyon?

  Keeping Uranium Mining
  Out of the Grand Canyon

  The Grand Canyon is an irreplaceable natural treasure. Its stunning vistas, ancient geology, and winding Colorado River are world renowned — drawing over 5.5 million visitors to the park each year. Moreover, more than 40 million people and 4 million acres of farmland depend on the Colorado River for clean, safe water.

  Yet, irresponsibly operated uranium mines located on federal public land just miles from the North and South Rims threaten to permanently pollute the Grand Canyon landscape and the greater Colorado River.

• • What's the NRC Hiding on Palo Verde?

  Nuclear Leaks: The Back Story
  the NRC Doesn’t Want You to
  Know about Palo Verde

  June 14,2017 - One of two emergency diesel generators (EDGs) for the Unit 3 reactor at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station in Arizona was severely damaged during a test run on December 15, 2016.

  The operating license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) allowed the reactor to continue running for up to 10 days with one EDG out of service. Because the extensive damage required far longer than 10 days to repair, the owner asked the NRC for permission to continue operating Unit 3 for up to 62 days with only one EDG available. The NRC approved that request.

• • The USA's 10 Riskiest Nuclear Power Plants 

  Where Are They - And
  What Are the Dangers?

  March 18, 2011 - As we watch the continuing catastrophe in Japan unfold with no clear expectations of the outcome, one thing is for certain: The safety of nuclear power has become a hot topic of conversation. While some countries are shutting down plants, many other are reevaluating the safety of theirs and strategizing over future plans.

• • Ohio House Speaker Arrested for Bribery

  The Speaker and Four Others
  Were Attempting to Bail
  Out the Ohio Nuclear Industry

  July 21, 2020,(POWERGRID INTERNATIONAL)-The powerful Republican speaker of the Ohio House and four associates were arrested Tuesday in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohio’s two nuclear power plants.

  Hours after FBI agents raided Speaker Larry Householder’s farm, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers described the ploy as “likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio.”

  Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants’ financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo.

• • Is The Energy of the Future Finally Here?

  World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion
  Experiment Clears Milestone

  July 24, 2019,(Scientific American) -A multination project to build a fusion reactor cleared a milestone yesterday and is now 6 ½ years away from “First Plasma,” officials announced.

  Yesterday, dignitaries attended a components handover ceremony at the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in southern France. The ITER project is an experiment aimed at reaching the next stage in the evolution of nuclear energy as a means of generating emissions-free electricity.

• • Old Nuke Plants Are Dragging Down Clean Energy

  Why America’s Old Nuclear
  Plants Could Be Dragging Down
  Clean Energy Development

  Apr. 25, 2017 -New York and Illinois are investing billions to keep old facilities in action, and Connecticut, New Jersey, and Ohio are among states contemplating the same idea. It’s an expensive process, though it does mean that new natural gas plants aren’t required to fill the gaps left by wind and solar.

• • Revisiting the Three Mile Island Meltdown 

  Documentary:Meltdown at Three
  Mile Island 40 Years Later

  EnergyCentral Mar. 28, 2019 -The Three Mile Island accident on March 28, 1979 is still considered the worst at a U.S. nuclear plant in history. Due to a series of human and technical errors, the core of the Unit Two reactor at TMI partially melted down.

  Though debated and controversial, research over the past 40 years concluded only a small amount of radiation escaped into the atmosphere and didn’t result in any deaths or injuries.

  This documentary details what happened inside the containment building at TMI on March 28: the chaos, confusion, miscommunication and fear in the area surrounding the plant afterwards and the legacy of TMI after the accident.

• • British Nuclear Project Becomes Messy

  Huge British Nuclear
  Project Becomes a
  Diplomatic Flash Point

  Aug. 15, 2016 -Once considered a vital part of Britain’s clean-energy future, the beleaguered Hinkley Point nuclear plant project looked further than ever from becoming reality this week as a row erupted between the three countries developing the massive facility: the U.K., France, and China.

• •  Does Fail-safe Nuclear Power Actually Exist?   

  Could We Actually Have
  Fail-safe Nuclear Power?

  Aug. 2, 2016 -The Shanghai Institute’s effort to develop molten-salt reactors, a technology that has sat all but forgotten in the United States for decades, reflects just how daring China’s nuclear ambitions are. Already, the government has invested some two billion Chinese renminbi ($300 million) over the last five years in molten-salt R&D. Building actual plants will require tens of billions more.

• •  Florida Power & Light Sued For Radio-Active Leak 

  Florida Nuclear
  Plant Operator Sued for
  Polluting Drinking Water

  July 15, 2016 -Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against Florida Power & Light Co., operator of the Turkey Point nuclear facility, saying that the company violated the Clean Water Act by discharging contaminants from the plant, impacting nearby drinking water.

  Click now to read the story
  (Hint: Bring your Geiger Counter).

• • The Protrusion of Confusion Over Fusion

  The Real Problem With
  Fusion Energy

  May 27, 2016 -The longstanding joke about fusion — that it’s the energy source of the future, and always will may not be the field’s biggest problem.

  Click now for what
  might be encouraging news.

• • All Things Nuclear

  Fukushima: Taking On the NRC

  Union of Concerned Scientists - If the Nuclear Regulatory Commission balks at implementing new safeguards in a reasonable time frame on the grounds that it does not have enough information about what happened in Japan, then the agency also cannot have enough information to relicense operating reactors or license new ones...

  More by clicking now.

• • Russia Criticized For Its Arctic Nuclear Activity

  Nuclear Security: Power
  Plants Are Poorly Protected
  Against Malicious Acts

  Oct. 10, 2017   Greenpeace - The nuclear power plants around us are “The Sword of Damocles” over our heads.

  A new report by independent experts, submitted to authorities in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg, questions security at French and Belgian nuclear facilities and points at their vulnerability to outside attacks. These experts are particularly concerned about a certain type of facility at nuclear plants: the spent fuel storage pools.

  These pools tend to contain the highest volume of radioactive matter in a nuclear plant and are very poorly protected. Rather than wait for the worst to happen, let’s address this issue and take action.

• • Dangers of Densely Packed Nuclear Waste Pools

  The Case for Moving U.S.
  Nuclear Fuel to Dry Storage

  Apr. 14, 2011   M.I.T. Technology Review - One of the lesser-noted facts of the Fukushima nuclear disaster—where loss of coolant in spent-fuel pools has resulted in massive radiation releases—is that some fuel at the plant was stored in so-called dry casks, and these casks survived the March 11 earthquake and tsunami intact.

  This fact is likely to result in new calls to move some spent fuel out of water pools at reactor sites in the United States—where it is packed more densely than the fuel in the stricken Japanese pools—and into outdoor dry casks, experts say.

  Worried? Click now to get radio-active.

• • Links Between Nuke Power and Weapons

  The Links Between Nuclear
  Power and Nuclear Weapons

  - Nuclear weapons and nuclear power share several common features. The long list of links includes their histories, similar technologies, skills, health and safety aspects, regulatory issues and radiological research and development. For example, the process of enriching uranium to make it into fuel for nuclear power stations is also used to make nuclear weapons. Plutonium is a by-product of the nuclear fuel cycle and is still used by some countries to make nuclear weapons.

  There is a danger that more nuclear power stations in the world could mean more nuclear weapons. Because countries like the UK are promoting the expansion of nuclear power, other countries are beginning to plan for their own nuclear power programs too. But there is always the danger that countries acquiring nuclear power technology may subvert its use to develop a nuclear weapons program.

  Click to read more from
  the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.