October 3, 2016 – Olean Times Herald – Plan for radioactive liquid over Peace Bridge raises concern – New York lawmakers say more review is needed before liquid radioactive waste is trucked over the international Peace Bridge and driven across New York’s highways. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Brian Higgins have asked the U.S. Energy Department for a new environmental impact statement on plans for tractor-trailers to carry nuclear waste from Ontario, Canada to the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The trucks would cross from Canada into Buffalo by way of the Peace Bridge before continuing their 1,100-mile trip. The lawmakers say more than 150 shipments are planned between Dec. 1 and January 2018. They say a new review is needed because one done previously evaluated only solid, not liquid, material.

October 3, 2016 – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Why does the NT need a PET scanner and how do they work? – Positron emission tomography (PET) scans are used to diagnose and detect a host of diseases and are particularly useful for patients with cancer, heart disease, epilepsy and other neurological diseases. They are often used in conjunction with computed tomography (CT) scanners. The Northern Territory currently has no PET scanner, although during this year’s federal election campaign both the Coalition and Labor promised to provide one for Darwin. President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) in the Northern Territory, Dr Robert Parker, said a PET scan would be welcomed by doctors in Darwin. “We are always interested in better health outcomes in the NT,” he said.

October 3, 2016 – NewKerala.com – Method to control ‘hot’ electrons comes a step closer – In a promising step towards being able to manipulate and control the behaviour of high energy, or ‘hot’, electrons, scientists have, for the first time, identified a method of visualising the quantum behaviour of electrons on a surface. Hot electrons are necessary for a number of processes and the implications of being able to manipulate their behaviour are far-reaching — from enhancing the efficiency of solar energy, to improving the targetting of radiotherapy for cancer treatment. “Hot electrons are essential for a number of processes — certain technologies are entirely reliant on them. But they’re notoriously difficult to observe due to their short lifespan, about a millionth of a billionth of a second,” said one of the researchers Peter Sloan from University of Bath in England.

October 3, 2016 – The Founders Daily – Cameco Corporation (CCJ) Shares are Down -3.17% – Cameco Corporation (CCJ) : During the past 4 weeks, traders have been relatively bearish on Cameco Corporation (CCJ), hence the stock is down -7.46% when compared to the S&P 500 during the same period. However, in the past 1 week, the selling of the stock is down by -3.33% relative to the S&P 500. The 4-week change in the price of the stock is -7.96% and the stock has fallen -3.17% in the past 1 week.

October 3, 2016 – Daily Mail – North Korea sees a surge in deformed babies and radiation deaths as Kim Jong-un’s nuclear bomb tests claim their first lives – his own people – North Korea has reportedly seen a surge in incurable diseases and radiation deaths after it carried out its fifth nuclear test. Last month the secretive state triggered a magnitude 5.3 earthquake with a successful explosion which drew immediate condemnation from North Korea’s neighbours and Washington. Now those living close to the Punggye-ri nuclear site, in the north-east of the country, are paying the price for the nuclear tests, a defector has claimed.

October 3, 2016 – Business Standard – SC scrutinises impact of mobile towers; seeks Centre’s report – The Supreme Court today initiated a scrutiny of “deleterious” effects of radiation emanating from mobile towers and sought a report from the Centre on several aspects including steps taken to enforce standards for such emissions. “What are adverse impacts of such mobile towers? Is there any agency to monitor? Have you (Department of Telecom) got a system in place to enforce the standards, if any, for radiation from such towers,” a bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices C Nagappan and A M Khanwilkar asked.

October 3, 2016 – PS News – Graduates invited to go nuclear – The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation’s (ANSTO) graduate program for engineers is open for applications. Successful candidates will be offered a two-year placement to work alongside Australia’s only nuclear multi-purpose reactor and leading science infrastructure. Lucy Griffith (26) joined ANSTO in February 2015 after studying for a double degree in electrical and electronic engineering, and mathematics and computer science, at The University of Adelaide. “I was looking at a whole bunch of engineering graduate programs towards the end of my degree, but there were a couple of things that really drew me to ANSTO,” Ms Griffith said. “Firstly of course, was the chance to work with unique nuclear technology, and secondly, were the structured rotations and development opportunities across the organisation.”

October 3, 2016 – Business Day – Another delay for SA’s contentious nuclear programme – SA will have to wait a little longer before pressing ahead with a highly contentious and very costly expansion of its ageing nuclear power fleet. Last week was supposed to mark a key step forward in plans formulated back in 2010, but at the 11th hour the government balked. Early in September, the Department of Energy announced it would finally issue a tender for the construction of between six and eight power stations with a combined capacity of 9,600MW on September 30.

October 3, 2016 – Twst.com – AZZ Inc. Announces the Divestiture of its Nuclear Logistics LLC Operating Unit to Westinghouse Electric Company – AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ), a global provider of galvanizing, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the power generation, transmission, distribution and industrial markets, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to divest its Nuclear Logistics LLC (“NL”) operating business unit to Westinghouse Electric Company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and are subject to customary terms and conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the fall of 2016.

October 3, 2016 – PressTV – Putin suspends plutonium disposal deal with US – Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the suspension of a plutonium disposal agreement with the United States due to Washington’s “hostile actions” against his country. The Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PDMA) was suspended for “a threat to strategic stability posed by the hostile actions of the US against Russia,” according to a document signed by Putin on Monday. Among other reasons mentioned in the document are “the radical change in the environment, and the inability of the US to deliver on the obligation to dispose of excessive weapons plutonium under international treaties, as well as the need to take swift action to defend Russian security.” Russia stressed that it would not use its fissile material for any military purpose.

October 3, 2016 – LongIsland.com – Governor Cuomo Inspects Indian Point Nuclear Facility By Boat and Provides Update on Oil Spill – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today inspected Indian Point Nuclear Facility by boat and provided an update on the State’s response to an oil spill reported at the facility. On Friday, September 30, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation immediately responded after being notified by Entergy that an unspecified amount of oil leaked from a heat exchanger into a cooling water discharge canal inside the facility.

October 3, 2016 – iNews.co.uk – Meet ‘AbdoMan’ – whose radioactive torso could help researchers treat cancer – Cancer researchers have created a replica human torso they hope will lead to personalised treatments for patients. Dubbed ‘AbdoMan’, the sophisticated 3D printed model allows experts to safely and reliably improve radiation therapies. Created by a team at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, AbdoMan replicates how radioactivity is distributed within the abdomen of a human patient. The researchers fill the model torso with a radioactive solution to replicate the complex distribution of radioactivity in tumours and normal tissue within a body organ, such as the liver. This allows them to create images that simulate the distribution of the radiation doses delivered by internal forms of radiotherapy.

October 3, 2016 – WRDW 12 – Aiken SFR Group wants to bring nuclear waste and solutions – A question many in South Carolina are trying to answer. “What are we going to do with spent fuel?” said Mike Stake. A letter sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Committee says bring it to Barnwell, basically says putting all the waste in the state in one spot is the best bet for everyone. “It really has no benefits for the people from Aiken and Augusta,” Tom Clements said, Director of SRS Watch. Clements says moving the waste here only exposes more workers to radiation and opens up the risk of transportation problems. Further more, he says moving it around solves nothing.

October 3, 2016 – Statehouse Report SC – COUICK: Best decision made for two nuclear units – The consumers’ advocates at the state Office of Regulatory Staff negotiated an important settlement that could have a positive effect on millions of South Carolina electricity users, and we hope the state Public Service Commission will agree. The agreement was reached between SCE&G and a number of parties, including electric cooperatives, that intervened in an SCE&G request to the PSC about construction contract changes for two nuclear power units being built near Columbia. The agreement grew out of SCE&G’s request for a so-called “fixed price option,” which the utility claimed would provide more cost-certainty for a project that has gone several billion dollars over budget so far.

October 3, 2016 – Business Wire – U.S. Department of Energy Selects Fluor Joint Venture to Operate the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Facilities – Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC (MCS), a joint venture comprised of Atkins, Fluor and Westinghouse, to operate the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facilities at DOE’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Kentucky, and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The contract is valued at $318 million for the joint venture over a five-year period of performance beginning in 2016. Work will begin in the first quarter of 2017. The project includes the operation of DUF6 conversion facilities for the purpose of processing DOE’s inventory of stored DUF6, a co-product of the uranium enrichment process. The facilities convert DUF6 to depleted uranium oxide for possible future reuse, storage or disposal. A co-product of the conversion process is hydrofluoric acid, which can be reused in industrial processes.

October 3, 2016 – Pilot-Tribune & Enterprise – OPPD offers performance plans at nuclear plant – Since the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) Board of Directors voted June 16 to close the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Station (FCS), 141* employees so far have signed Key Employee Performance Plan (KEPP) agreements totaling approximately $12.7 million** if they all meet their conditions. All incentive payments are in addition to each exempt and union employee’s current salary, usual incentives or pay opportunities, benefits and severance pay. The figures were tallied at the end of August. OPPD will update its numbers at the end of each month. According to OPPD, KEPPs are “an effective and industry-proven tool to assist in retaining talent.” OPPD says the plans are a nuclear industry “standard for utilities faced with decommissioning.”

October 3, 2016 – KOB 4 – Coalition opposes tax exemption for LANL, Sandia – A New Mexico coalition is pushing to prevent tax-exempt operators from taking over the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories and depriving the state of the labs’ hefty tax contributions. The Los Alamos Monitor reports that the Regional Coalition of Los Alamos National Laboratory Communities has asked state lawmakers to consider eliminating the exemption status for any potential future nonprofit contractors at the laboratories. The coalition wants the state to continue to receive the roughly $200 million in annual gross receipts tax, even if nonprofit management takes over.

October, 3, 2016 – NBC San Diego – Critics Question Plans For Nuclear Waste Storage At San Onofre – The threat of a nuclear meltdown is no longer a concern at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station because it’s shut down. A shuttered nuclear plant does present another potential threat to public safety, according to an editorial in the April 2016 edition of Scientific American Magazine. The article warns of a greater danger, and says “more threatening than a meltdown, it’s the steady accumulation of radioactive waste.” The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station was permanently retired by its owners, Southern California Edison, SCE, and SDG&E in 2013. The plant’s operations left 3.6 million pounds of radioactive waste behind. If all goes as planned that radioactive waste is headed to bluffs just north of the dead reactors above San Onofre State Beach. It will sit near Interstate 5 in Southern California between two major metropolitan areas, San Diego and Los Angeles, where 17 million people call home.