General Electric (GE) provides to ENUSA, Spanish fuelmaker, with uranium oxide enriched in U-235. The material travels from USA to Spain in special cans mechanically sealed within a sea container. Upon taking out the material, ENUSA sends the empty cans back to GE in the USA. On 1997-02-05, the ENUSA fuel making plant located in Juzbado, province of Salamanca, dispatched a shipment of 150 supposedly empty cans to USA. Upon receiving the shipment, GE noticed on 1997-03-06 that there were 2 cans containing in all 102.42 kg of uranium oxide enriched on average of 3.5% U-235. Estimated activity of the material is around 8E+9 Bq, however outer surface of cans and sea container were found clean. GE informed ENUSA and American authorities. According to point IV-5-1-2 of the INES Manual, superseded for point C3.3 of the October96 addendum, "Permanent Loss or Discovery in an Inappropriate Location of Radioactive Sources" the event was rated level 1. Should the point IV-5.2.6 "Transport of Unirradiated Nuclear Fuel Material" be used the rating would also be that of a level 1.
The Netherlands has agreed to allow Urenco to be used for the British military nuclear program. This clears the way for uranium enriched by Urenco to be used in nuclear weapons. With his decision, Foreign Minister Berendsen (CDA Christen Democrats) is departing from the principle that civilian and military nuclear applications must remain strictly separate. […]
Behnam Raeesian is an internationally recognized visual artist and poster designer from Iran, known for bold political and cultural works. Through exhibitions, workshops, jury roles, and collaborations with cultural institutions worldwide, he has built a strong voice in contemporary political graphic design. His projects confront complex issues such as nuclear risk and technological impact, transforming […]
Everywhere you look, the nuclear industry’s hype machine is in overdrive. Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and the UK government all tout small modular reactors as the silver bullet for climate change and energy security. Tech billionaires are hiring nuclear veterans. Wall Street is whispering about “round-the-clock power” for artificial intelligence data centers. For those old enough […]
Kernenergie en veiligheid: A wargame sought to test if a major radiological release that would prompt the evacuation of millions of civilians in South Korea could distract key US allies from assisting and rebuffing an all-out military invasion of Taiwan. The short answer was yes. The game originally presumed that China, wanting to keep the […]
Big batteries and EVs to the rescue again as faults with new nuclear plant cause chaos on Nordic grids The Finnish nuclear power plant Olkiluoto was finally connected to the grid last year, at an estimated cost of €11 billion compared to the original budget of €3 billion. That cost blowout forced its developer, the […]
