A source pigtail with 1.86 TBq (50.4 Ci) Ir-192 in a radiography exposure device of one radiography agency was stolen by a certified radiation worker of another industrial radiography agency. The source pigtail was about 6" in length and weighed about 70 gm. After removing the source pigtail from the device the person placed it inside a folded umbrella, he then travelled by a three-wheeler taxi to the nearest local railway station and then in to the local train. When the local train passed over a bridge on the sea creek between New Mumbai and Greater Mumbai he threw the source pigtail into the sea. Main causes of the event were business rivalry and mental frustration of the person. He was able to remove the source pigtail as the radiography device was left in ready-to-operate condition i.e. with the pigtail lock key in position on the device. The stolen source pigtail could not be located despite extensive radiation surveys carried out underwater using high sensitivity radiation survey instruments. Since the missing source had been thrown in the creek during high tide time, it appears that the source pigtail have drifted away deep in the sea. Therefore, the radiological consequences would be insignificant in view of sufficient shielding provided by more than 6 m depth of seawater over the source pigtail. Since the source pigtail is not likely to affect the public, the event is considered to be insignificant from radiological safety point of view. The event is rated at level 2 on INES.
A vast subsea nuclear graveyard planned to hold Britain’s burgeoning piles of radioactive waste is set to become the biggest, longest-lasting and most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the UK. The project [UK's nuclear waste dump] is now predicted to take more than 150yrs to complete with lifetime costs of £66bn in today’s money...The […]
Last year, the Dutch Province of Limburg started an alliance in which, besides the local government, research institutes, small nuclear reactor (SMR) developers, utilities, industrial customers and funders cooperated. With this "Limburg SMR alliance" Limburg tried to lead the way towards an SMR in Limburg. The preferred site for a first SMR would be Chemelot, […]
From the IPFM: During a visit to the Civaux nuclear power plant on 18 March 2024, France's Minister of the Armed Forces unveiled a plan to use the plant to produce tritium for the French nuclear weapons program. Civaux is a civilian power plant that belongs to and is operated by Electricité de France. According […]
An analysis by the Norwegian NGO Bellona of transborder trade operations with the customs code 840130 (irradiated fuel assemblies or fuel elements) show a more than twofold increase of import to EU countries of fresh nuclear fuel in cash terms – from 280 million Euros in 2022 to 686 million Euros in 2023. In physical […]
The French government has said it is "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut its reliance on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is in Russia. "The option of […]