Nuclear Reactor

'Kudankulam plant is almost ready to begin functioning'

Chennai: The first unit of the 1,000 MW Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP), set up by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL), is almost ready for beginning the fission process, said a top official of the country's atomic regulator.

"As of now, the test reports and the results submitted by NPCIL relating to the first unit of KNPP are satisfactory. A team of experts will be going to KNPP ON Monday. If all things go well, it will be in matter days we will issue the sanction for the reactor beginning the fission process," Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) chairman SS Bajaj told reporters.

According to him, the unit will be given five-year operational licence. The licence period may be restricted, if needed, based on the plant's performance parameters, Bajaj added.

Queried about the manner of complying with the 15 directions given by the apex court on Monday when it gave its nod for the plant, Bajaj said: "We have an advisory committee. The Supreme Court's directions have been given to it. It will decide whether any new committee has to be set up or the existing set-up is sufficient to comply with the apex court orders."...more    

Defective valves found in Kudankulam pre-commissioning tests

Mumbai: India's nuclear regulator ordered replacement of four defective valves of the system that cools the reactor of Kudankulam nuclear power plant after the problem was detected during ongoing pre-commissioning tests. The defect in the components of the four valves--there are thousands of such devices in a nuclear reactor--was found during pre-commissioning tests early this year, officials said. "During testing of thousands of valves installed in the plant, the performances...  

Meet North Korea's new Kim, same as the old Kims?

North Korea's young leader Kim Jong-un is using his forebears' time-tested "crazy-guy-in-the-neighborhood" strategy, senior US officials say, but with a provocative new twist - aiming Pyongyang's threats directly at the United States. There are indeed signs of an earlier method in what might seem like Kim's rhetorical madness, which US policymakers say is patterned after more than a half century of rule over the reclusive state by his father and...  

North Korea to restart work at closed nuclear reactor

North Korea will restart all nuclear facilities including its shuttered Yongbyon nuclear reactor, its official KCNA news servce said on Tuesday. ...  

Trust our nuclear technology: French president to India

French President Francois Hollande on Friday urged India "to trust" his country's nuclear technology and extended France's support to the Indian nuclear power generation programme. ...  

Canada to allow civil nuclear trade with India

New Delhi: Canadian firms will soon be able to export uranium and nuclear reactors to India for the first time in almost four decades following an agreement between the two countries, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday. It will end a penalty Canada imposed in 1976 after India secretly exploded its first nuclear bomb in 1974, commonly called "Smiling Buddha", using material from a Canadian-built reactor in India....  

Kudankulam: Protesters bury themselves in sand, 250 held

Kudankulam (TN): Around 250 people were on Sunday arrested in Tuticorin after being stopped from heading towards anti-nuclear agitators here who, in a fresh form of protest against loading of fuel in Kudankuklam plant, buried themselves upto waist in beach sand. The slogan-shouting protesters, who were held for violating police regulatory orders after being denied permission for the march, were later let off. A 'solidarity march' by cultural leaders from...  

Kudankulam protesters form human chains in sea

The villagers protesting against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday entered sea water and started a 'Jal Satyagraha' demanding the loading of uranium fuel in the reactors be stopped. ...

Kudankulam to be fuelled by mid-August

New Delhi: The Kundankulam nuclear reactor would be fuelled by mid-August, according to a report. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd is hopeful of soon getting clearance from the sectoral regulator to fuel the first reactor at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), a senior official said. "We had two detailed meetings with Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Friday and Saturday. We hope to get a positive response from AERB...  

Pak speeding up work on its fourth N-reactor

Washington: Pakistan is half way through the construction of its fourth nuclear reactor at Khushab, which will give it capability to speed up plutonium manufacturing, latest US satellite imagery has revealed. On completion, the reactor would enable Islamabad to build large number of smaller nuclear warheads, Washington-based eminent think-tank Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) said. Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme is considered to be among the fastest growing in...  

France waits for India to clarify N-liability framework

New Delhi: In the midst of the run-up to the French presidential elections, France has been in dialogue with India to clarify issues relating to the nuclear liability law, and is waiting for New Delhi to establish the legal framework before signing commercial contracts for setting up atomic reactors. Last month, French nuclear experts had come to India and held talks with Indian experts to clarify issues relating to the...  

Japan quake anniversary: Nuclear safety in focus

Houston: The anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that destroyed communities along the northeast coast of Japan and crippled a large nuclear plant has focused nuclear supporters and foes on safety and the future of atomic power. In the United States, regulators on Friday issued the first formal rule changes to make nuclear plants safer based on recommendations from last year's Fukushima industry task force. Since the March 11 disaster,...  

Iran to install fuel rods in Nuclear reactor

Tehran: Iran will insert its first domestically-produced nuclear fuel rods into a research reactor in Tehran on Wednesday, a top Iranian official said. "Because western countries were unwilling to help us, we began enriching uranium to 20 percent to make nuclear fuel rods," Ali Bagheri, deputy chief of Iran's National Security Council, said in an interview. "These nuclear rods, the first created by Iranian specialists, will be inserted tomorrow into...  

Nuclear reactors not affected by cyclone 'Thane'

Chennai: It was business as usual at the Kalpakkam atomic power plants, around 80 km from Chennai, even as cyclone Thane lashed the coastal districts affecting normal life on Friday. The two power plants of Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) located on the Kalpakkam coast were generating power as usual, though necessary precautions against the cyclone have been taken, said a senior official. "Both the units are generating 150 MW...  

World's oldest working civil nuke reactor to shut

London: The operator of the world's oldest working civilian nuclear reactor says it will be shut down next year after nearly 45 years of service. Magnox Ltd says that Reactor One at the Oldbury power station in western England will stop generating electricity in February 2012. The station's Reactor Two was shut in June. The plant had earlier been scheduled to shut in 2008, but the company managed to keep...  

PM sends emissary to Koodankulam nuclear site

New Delhi: The fast in Koodankulam protesting the building of new nuclear reactors in the area entered its tenth day on Tuesday. The Prime Minister sent an emissary hoping to keep the peace. Whether at Jaitapur in Maharashtra not long ago, or Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu now, public anger against nuclear power plants are getting bigger and louder. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has done an about turn on...  

Rawatbhata nuclear plant to get 2 new reactors

Rawatbhata (Rajasthan): As the Nuclear Suppliers Group tries to throw a spanner into India's nuclear plans, the country has begun work on its latest nuclear reactor. While new foreign reactors are welcome, the country has big plans for the cheap and proven nuclear technology it already has. Rawatbhata in Rajasthan is one of India's largest nuclear plants, with six functional reactors. Now they plan to add two new ones, of...  

Japan quake reconstruction to cost $ 184 bn

Tokyo: Japanese Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said on Sunday the government may need to spend 10 trillion yen to 15 trillion yen ($184 billion) for reconstruction from the devastating earthquake that hit the country's northeast in March. The government may need to issue bonds to meet the costs but should not do so without coming up with ways to pay for redemption, Yosano said, signalling that some form of tax...  

Kaiga N-reactor shut down after smoke alarm

Kaiga: A nuclear power reactor at the Kaiga Generating Station (KGS) was shut down after a smoke detection alarm went off on Friday. A smoke detection alarm appeared in the control room of Unit 3 on Friday around 4.30 am following which the 220 MWe nuclear power plant was shut down, the Nuclear Power Corporation said in a statement here. "On inspection of the respective area, it has been found...  

Japan nuclear leak found in reactor pit

Tokyo: Japan's prime minister made his first visit to the country's tsunami-devastated region on Saturday as officials grappling to end the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl said they may have discovered why radiation has been leaking into the sea. Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said it had found a crack in a concrete pit that was leaking water at its No.2 reactor in Fukushima, measuring 1,000 millisieverts of radiation per...