nuclear | Common News Update

Apr122021 by adminNo Comments

Iran accuses Israel of causing nuclear site blackout

World

April 12 (UPI) -- Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Monday accused Israel of being responsible for causing the blackout a day earlier at the Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran, vowing Tehran will take retaliatory measures, according to state-run media. Zarif made the comments before lawmakers during a national security and foreign policy commission, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported. Advertisement On Sunday, Iranian officials said an electrical circuit issue had caused a power outage at the Natanz site, with Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, describing the incident as an act of "nuclear terrorism." No casualties or contamination were reported, officials said. Zarif told the lawmakers that Iran's response will be to further advance its nuclear ...

Apr112021 by adminNo Comments

Iran nuclear: ‘Terrorist act’ at underground Natanz facility

World

ReutersA nuclear facility in Iran was hit by a "terrorist act" a day after it unveiled new advanced uranium centrifuges, a top nuclear official says.He did not say who was to blame but urged the international community to deal with nuclear terrorism.Israeli media suggest the incident was a result of an Israeli cyber attack.Last year, a fire broke out at the Natanz underground facility, which the authorities alleged was the result of cyber sabotage.The latest incident comes as diplomatic efforts to revive a 2015 nuclear deal - abandoned by the US under the Trump administration in 2018 - have resumed. On Saturday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani inaugurated new centrifuges at the Natanz site, which is key to the country's uranium enrichment programme, in a ceremony broadcast live on televisi...

Mar292021 by adminNo Comments

New Mexico sues US over proposed nuclear waste storage plans

Technology

New Mexico is suing the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over concerns that the federal agency hasn’t done enough to vet plans for a multibillion-dollar facility to store spent nuclear fuel in the stateBy SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated PressMarch 29, 2021, 9:30 PM• 4 min readShare to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- New Mexico sued the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday over concerns that the federal agency hasn’t done enough to vet plans for a multibillion-dollar facility to store spent nuclear fuel in the state, arguing that the project would endanger residents, the environment and the economy.New Jersey-based Holtec International wants to build a complex in southeastern New Mexico where tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants aro...

Mar122021 by adminNo Comments

North Korea sanctions slow, but don’t stop nuclear development, analyst says

World

March 12 (UPI) -- A former director at the International Atomic Energy Agency said international sanctions against North Korea worked to slow weapons development. Sanctions had a definite impact on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, but it has not stopped the Kim Jong Un regime from continued development, former IAEA deputy director general Olli Heinonen said, according to Voice of America's Korean service on Friday. Advertisement Heinonen also said economic embargoes had an indirect impact on the North's weapons program. Sanctions blocked sources of North Korean foreign currency earnings and hit the regime's exports. Those changes had an effect on state funding for the nuclear program, Heinonen said. While sanctions are not entirely ineffective, Heinonen said it alone does not prevent ...

Mar42021 by adminNo Comments

Report: Signs of activity at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear facility

World

Seoul, March 4 (UPI) -- Commercial satellite imagery shows that a coal-fired steam plant is in operation at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear facility in possible preparation to extract plutonium for weapons, according to an analysis by U.S. website 38 North. In a report published Wednesday, satellite images from Feb. 25 and March 2 revealed smoke coming from a steam plant that provides heat to Yongbyon's radiochemical laboratory. Advertisement "Smoke was observed emanating from the plant's smokestack at various times from late-February and early March, suggesting that preparations for spent fuel reprocessing could be underway to extract plutonium needed for North Korea's nuclear weapons," the 38 North report said. "However," the report added, "this could also mean simply the facility is bei...