North America

Shutdown At Reactor Could Affect Isotope Supply
16 February 2009

CANWEST NEWS SERVICE(OTTAWA) - A spokesman for Atomic Energy of Canada Limited said a shutdown at Chalk River Laboratories could result in a shortage of medical isotopes. This shutdown came Sunday afternoon when a problem was discovered with the mechanism used to extract the rods containing the radioactive isotopes. MDS Nortan expects a 50 per cent shortage of isotopes from the reactor this week. Source: http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/news/story.html?id=1295672 (Reliability: Low - 32.04)

North America

AECL Turns To Ottawa To Cover $100-Million Overrun
13 February 2009

GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER(OTTAWA) - A cash shortfall forced Ottawa to give $100 million to AECL, Ltd. An AECL spokes woman said the work of retooling a nuclear reactor is "highly complex," and the company ran into "unforseen technical challenges" but is working to get back on track. The money comes in addition to $351 million allocated by the federal budget to continue design work and maintenance on the Chalk River facility. Critics believe, because of this, the Ontario government should be weary of purchasing a new reactor from AECL. Source: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090213.RAECL13/TPStory/Business (Reliability: Moderate - 39.74)

Africa, Australia, And South America

Uranium's Next Frontier: Niger
9 February 2009

THE GLOBE AND MAIL (NIAMEY, NIGER)-Niger, the poorest country in the world by some measures, is potentially the next big frontier for uranium. Canadian mining companies, together owning 40 per cent of Niger's mining exploration permits, are exploring for uranium in the famed Arlit uranium belt in northern Niger despite rebel unrest, controversey over 'slave wages,' and safety fears. Cameco Corp. the world's largest uranium producer, is among the Canadian companies in Niger searching for uranium. Last month, Niger signed a deal with Areva, the French nuclear giant, to develop one of the biggest uranium mines in the world. The $1.5-billion deal will make Niger the second-biggest uranium producer in the world. Source: http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090209.wrniger09/BNStory/Business/home (Reliability: Moderate - 44.26)

Eastern Europe

Europe Steps Towards Shared Repository Concept
12 February 2009

WORLD NUCLEAR NEWS (LONDON)--After seven years of preliminary studies, fourteen European countries voted unanimously in support of a proposal to develop a European Repository Development Organization (ERDO). The vote occurred at a symposium on European Regional Repositories in Brussels on 27 Jan 09. The purpose of the ERDO is to promote shared regional nuclear waste storage and disposal facilities for small-scale users of nuclear materials. Membership to the ERDO is conceptualized as voluntary and open to countries with nascent, limited applications of nuclear technology. Delegates also discussed concerns regarding potential ERDO legal issues, economic impacts, safety and security considerations and public attitudes towards multinational nuclear waste depositories. The International Atomic Energy Agency advocates regional cooperation for shared repositories, such as that exemplified in the proposed ERDO, to store and dispose of high-level, long-lived nuclear wastes. Source:
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=24640 (Reliabiltiy: High - 47.94)

Middle East

Computer Model Says Iran Won't Build Nuclear Bombs
7 February 2009

AFP (LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA)--A new projection based on a gaming and computer model predicted that Iran will not build a nuclear weapon. The model, created by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, a political scientist and an adviser to the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense, estimated that by the end of next year, Iran will stabilize its nuclear program at the point where the country makes enough weapons-grade fuel to build national pride but not enough to produce a nuclear weapon. Reports indicate that CIA officials find Bueno de Mesquita's computer models accurate 90 percent of the time. Source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jlj9r48mmKlzVyN1bvwtS-WrgcaA (Reliability--Moderate 41.40)

Former Soviet Union

Russia, India Sign $700 Mln In Nuclear Fuel Deals
11 February 2009

REUTERS (MOSCOW)-Russia signed more than $700 million in deals on Wednesday to supply India's nuclear reactors with fuel pellets. Russia's state-owned nuclear company, Atomenergoprom, said its nuclear fuel unit, TVEL, and Indian nuclear officials signed the deals in Mumbai. Russia is building two 1000 megawatt reactors at Kudankulam in southern India and intends to build four more reactors at the site. Typical Russian reactors cost $2 billion, however Russia is expected to give a considerable discount in order to secure cooperation. Russia also plans to cement economic relations with India by doubling trade to $10 billion by 2010. Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-37956420090211 (Reliability: High - 47.94)

Asia

Image via Wikipedia

North Korea Might Be Making Missile Preparations
10 February 2009

A U.S. spy satellite snapped an image within the last several days of preparations at a North Korean missile site. The photograph shows North Korea assembling telemetry equipment at the site -- equipment that would be needed for a launch to take place, but so far, there is no direct evidence of a missile being moved to the launch pad. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said: "I'm not going to get into intelligence reports, but it would be nice if North Korea would focus on getting positive messages across to the -- to its negotiating partners about verification and moving forward with the denuclearization." Tension between South Korea and North Korea has increased in recent weeks, with North Korea announcing it will scrap peace agreements with the South, warning of a war on the Korean peninsula and threatening to test a missile capable of hitting the Western United States. http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/10/north.korea.missile/index.html?eref=rss_world (Source Reliability: High -- 47.94)

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