End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity” ~llaw
Jan 09, 2025
This is what a Small Modular Nuclear Reactor looks like. (More about this photo in the article)
LAW’s NUCLEAR WORLD NEWS TODAY with THE RISKS & CONSEQUENCES OF TOMORROW
Finally! The lightbulb up above our governmental heads lit up with the realization and concern about the potential spread of enriched uranium (nuclear fuel) black market trading, illegal distribution and mercenary theft, terrorism, and uncontrolled nuclear weapons proliferation, and other underground uses! Ultimately meaning strict government(s) oversight and control.
I have written several times in this blog of the scary and tremendously dangerous illegal proliferation of the nuclear fuel proposed to be used world-wide by the ‘new’ nuclear industry, all the while anxiously awaiting the U.S. federal government (and other nations) to awaken to the the incredible risk of this menacing enriched nuclear fuel proposed by the nuclear industry and related commercial interests to be used for new SMRs (Small Modular Nuclear Reactors) and other future nuclear power plants or stations.
The fuel proposed — by the involved corporate, banking, and government interests — of a 20% enriched uranium fuel (HALEU) although it is at the lower end of weapons-grade nuclear fuel, it is still weapons-grade — and that means it is subject to all kinds of theft, blackmail, and terrorism, and, of course, governmental control. ~llaw
US to study proliferation risk of HALEU nuclear fuel, after warning by scientists
January 9, 20259:32 AM PSTUpdated 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) – The U.S. agency in charge of nuclear security is commissioning a study on the proliferation risks of a more-enriched uranium fuel that nuclear power developers want to fuel new high-tech reactors, the head of the agency said this week.
Jill Hruby, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a statement published in the journal Science that it is important to address proliferation concerns of so-called high assay, low-enriched uranium fuel, or HALEU.
“NNSA recognizes that reactor type, fuel enrichment level, fuel quantity, and fuel form are important factors in evaluating proliferation risks and believes that risk-informed and adaptive approaches to the proliferation challenges inherent in nuclear energy are warranted,” Hruby said.
Planned new nuclear plants, known as small modular reactors, or advanced reactors, must set high standards for safety and security, “especially considering Russia’s takeover of Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant,” she said.
Russia in 2022 took the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, by force after it invaded Ukraine.
Hruby’s statement was in response to an article published last year in which scientists said HALEU poses a security risk because it can be used without further enrichment as fissile material in a crude nuclear weapon.
HALEU is uranium fuel enriched up to 20% instead of the 5% level of uranium fuel used in today’s commercial reactors.
Several companies are hoping to develop a wave of reactors that would use HALEU, including the Bill Gates-backed TerraPower, which wants to build a $4 billion plant in Wyoming by 2030. Nuclear has gotten attention from technology companies seeking new ways to power data centers and as U.S. power demand is growing for the first time in decades. None of the plants have yet to be built.
TerraPower did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In October, the U.S. Energy Department rolled out initial contracts to four companies hoping to produce HALEU domestically. Currently, commercial amounts of HALEU are only produced in Russia. The U.S. contracts will last up to 10 years and each awardee received a minimum of $2 million, with up to $2.7 billion available subject to congressional appropriations.
Hruby said NNSA has regularly collected data and evaluated HALEU risks, and is finalizing plans to commission a National Academies report. The reports are largely classified, she said. But the information will be used to inform programs, develop actions, and make recommendations to stakeholders.
Edwin Lyman, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists and an author of last year’s report, said he appreciated that Hruby is asking for the independent review of HALEU by the National Academies. “We are hopeful that this effort will lead to tighter security controls on HALEU to prevent its misuse by proliferators and terrorists.”
The authors had written that if HALEU enrichment is limited to 10% to 12%, the supply chain would be far safer with only modest costs.
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Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Leslie Adler
Thomson Reuters
Timothy reports on energy and environment policy and is based in Washington, D.C. His coverage ranges from the latest in nuclear power, to environment regulations, to U.S. sanctions and geopolitics. He has been a member of three teams in the past two years that have won Reuters best journalism of the year awards. As a cyclist he is happiest outside.
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(Please note that the Sunday and Saturday NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS are also added below by category, following Monday’s news posts in order to maintain continuity of nuclear news as well as for research for the overall information provided in “LLAW;s All Things Nuclear”.)
There are 7 categories, with the latest addition, (#7) being a Friday weekly roundup of IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) global nuclear news stories. Also included is a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives. The feature categories provide articles and information about ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links with headlines concerning the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
- All Things Nuclear
- Nuclear Power
- Nuclear Power Emergencies
- Nuclear War
- Nuclear War Threats
- Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are three Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in today’s Post.)
- IAEA Weekly News (Friday’s only)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’s NUCLEAR WORLD’s NEWS, Thursday, (01/09/2025)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Next-generation nuclear energy developer sues federal regulators – Reason Magazine
Reason Magazine
Why We Can’t Have Nice Things · Volokh · Newsletters · Donate · Donate Online … The regulation imposes significant costs on all nuclear energy …
Nuclear Deregulation – Marginal REVOLUTION
Marginal REVOLUTION
1. There has been small nuclear reactors on ships and submarines for years. I am sure they are classified and everything but does anybody know how are …
YouTube
… all things golden. Plus, how gold’s rally is triggering a boom in … This Is How China Builds So Much Nuclear Power | Odd Lots. Bloomberg …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
US to study proliferation risk of HALEU nuclear fuel, after warning by scientists | Reuters
Reuters
… nuclear power plant,” she said. Advertisement · Scroll to continue. Russia in 2022 took the Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe …
U.S. Department of Energy Announces $13 Million to Support Advanced Nuclear Reactor …
Department of Energy
New cost-shared grant program will offset fees associated with licensing advanced reactors and facilities. Office of Nuclear Energy.
US Nuclear Regulator Pursues ‘More Efficient’ Reactor Approvals – Energy Connects
Energy Connects
(Bloomberg) — The top US nuclear regulator is on a mission to streamline approvals for new reactors and accelerate power–plant construction.
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
IAEA Expands Radiation Emergency Preparedness Training with Spanish-Language …
Devdiscourse
The three-week programme, hosted by Argentina’s Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN), featured an integrated modular structure combining theoretical …
IAEA School Boosts Emergency Response in Latin America | Mirage News
Mirage News
Graduates of the school’s programme are now better equipped to strengthen their countries’ emergency preparedness and response (EPR) systems.
Nuclear War
NEWS
The risk of nuclear war continues to rise – The Hill
The Hill
Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in an exercise of Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrence forces to train actions of officialsperating ..
An unrelenting opposition to Earth’s most dangerous weapons – NobelPrize.org
Nobel Prize
Terumi Tanaka was thirteen years old when an atomic bomb struck his home city of Nagasaki, Japan, on 9 August 1945. He remembers the overwhelming .
Iran puts on show of force with war games ahead of Trump’s second term – CBS News
CBS News
… attack on its nuclear facilities. Brigadier Gen. Mohammad-Nazar Azimi, commander of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Najaf Ashraf …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
The risk of nuclear war continues to rise – The Hill
The Hill
Prior to the war in Ukraine, it was extremely rare for American or Russian leaders to imply a threat of nuclear use. Putin’s threats have dramatically .
An unrelenting opposition to Earth’s most dangerous weapons – NobelPrize.org
Nobel Prize
Their warning was not heeded, and at the height of the Cold War a staggering 70,000 nuclear weapons threatened humanity’s survival. Two doctors ..
US missile shield buckling under China, Russia, and North Korea – Asia Times
Asia Times
The GAO report says that the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has not fully addressed technical risks or updated threat-related performance .
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
We finally know where the Yellowstone volcano will erupt next | Live Science
Live Science
A detailed look at Yellowstone’s magma storage system finds that only one region is likely to host liquid magma in the long term.
What a Yellowstone Eruption Would Look Like – Newsweek
Newsweek
Despite widespread fears of a catastrophic “supervolcano” eruption, scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) have suggested that …
Study: Supervolcano eruption is least of our hazards in Yellowstone – Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
According to an analysis published last week in the journal Nature, while a significant amount of magma is beneath the Yellowstone Caldera, it is …