NRC Accepts Urenco USA’s License Amendment Request for LEU+
On March 8, 2024, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) accepted Urenco USA’s License Amendment Request (LAR) to increase enrichment levels from 5.5% to 10% (Low Enriched Uranium+ or LEU+). The NRC has agreed to review our request and expects to make a final decision by the end of 2024.
The arrow is pointing up
There have been significant changes in the outlook for the existing U.S. nuclear fleet in the last few years. In 2021, we were looking at the early closure of units and could not even think of license extension. Since then, the combination of the U.S. government recognizing the clean-air benefits of nuclear and the impact of the war in Ukraine has resulted in a lot of positive activity on Capitol Hill for nuclear.
Orange County leading a grim trend: Cancer among younger people
Yes, it’s still true that older people are more likely than younger people to be diagnosed with cancer. Cells change more frequently, and in different ways, when you’re older. And decades of lifestyle choices and exposures can — and often do — result in some form of cancer.
But according to new data from several health organizations, younger people are starting catch up, cancer-wise.
Make (some) nukes history
The Make Nukes History campaign aims to raise public awareness about the civilization-ending risks posed by today’s nuclear arsenals. It reminds us that while Oppenheimer is a history lesson, nuclear weapons are very much still with us, but that we can put an end to what J. Robert Oppenheimer started.
US Promotion of Banned Fukushima Seafood Contradicts Biden’s Cancer Initiatives
Chinese President Xi Jinping to end China’s ban on imports of Japanese seafood imposed in response to Japan’s discharging of radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific, telling Jinping, “I want to work with you to create a brighter future for Japan-China ties for the sake of the next generation.”
Blocking renewable energy is a top state legislative priority for network of pro-fossil fuels think tanks
The Energy and Policy Institute is publishing new research profiles of SPN and several affiliated think tanks involved in coast-to-coast efforts to block renewable energy projects
USA is littered with nuclear sites that could face danger from natural disasters
The U.S. has more than 3,700 nuclear warheads stockpiled around the country and 54 nuclear power plants in 28 states. And while nuclear energy facilities and weapons sites have always been built with potential natural disasters in mind — whether it was earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes or floods — those disasters stress their support systems and create new worries for safety experts.
Conflicts of interest surrounding nuclear laws could undermine US safety
Nearly 50 years ago, Congress passed the Energy Reorganization Act and took an axe to the Atomic Energy Commission, the secretive federal agency created after the World War II-era Manhattan Project to develop and control military and civilian nuclear technology. The AEC was formerly led by Lewis Strauss, the antagonist to J. Robert Oppenheimer recently portrayed on-screen by Robert Downey, Jr.