Low-cost nuclear reactor barrier could withstand Chernobyl or Fukushima

Researchers suggest a new type of safety barrier for nuclear reactors, which could have prevented the disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, could reduce the probability of core melt to that of a large meteorite hitting the site. Following the most notorious accidents in the history of nuclear energy at Three Mile Island (1979), Chernobyl (1986) …

Greenhouse gas concentrations in atmosphere reach yet another high

Another year, another record Geneva, 25 November 2019 – Levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization. This continuing long-term trend means that future generations will be confronted with increasingly severe impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures, more extreme weather, water stress, …

CNNC powers China-Namibia relations

  Namibian President Hage Geingob said that the Rossing Uranium Mine — operated and managed by the China National Nuclear Corporation, or CNNC — is one of the important projects in China-Namibia cooperation. The President, speaking during a recent meeting with Chinese officials, said Namibia welcomes more investment from Chinese companies in infrastructure, mining and …

Energy-starved Africa looks to India for nuclear reactors

As part of India’s strategy to expand its footprint in Africa, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is exploring supply of small nuclear power reactors to the electricity-starved countries. Interestingly, India’s civilian nuclear power programme has caught the fancy of African countries because climate change has impacted their conventional hydropower generation capacity, which was primarily …

US ending sanctions waiver for site where Iran resumed uranium enrichment

The United States is ending a sanctions waiver for civil-nuclear work at a site where Iran recently announced it was enriching uranium, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday. “The United States will terminate the sanctions waiver related to the nuclear facility at Fordow effective Dec. 15, 2019,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department. “The …