Nuclear Reactors

TOKYO - Hoping to avert potentially devastating summer power shortages, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan said Friday that his government would seek to restart two nuclear reactors in what would be a first step toward ending an almost complete shutdown of the nation's nuclear power industry. Noda declared units No. 3 and No. 4 at the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant in western Japan to be safe based on the results of computer simulations designed to check the reactors' tolerance of a large earthquake and tsunami like those last year that knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

TOKYO - Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped like giant fish that have become a potent antinuclear symbol. Japan was without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido went offline for mandatory routine maintenance. After last year's March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about...

Two Virginia nuclear reactors shut down since an earthquake hit the state in August did not suffer damage that would prevent them from running and are ready to restart, the plant's operator told the government Friday. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review is continuing and the agency has not decided whether the reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va., should return to service. "To date the staff has not identified any significant issues," said Eric Leeds, director of the office of nuclear reactor regulation.

Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance. After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has been restarted amid public worries about the safety...

NEW DELHI -- Russian President Vladimir Putin offered yesterday to build four nuclear reactors for India and give it broader access to Moscow's energy riches, as the old Cold War allies sought to reinvigorate their friendship. Putin, who will be the guest of honor at India's Jan. 26 Republic Day celebrations during his two-day visit, met yesterday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and officials from the two nations signed several deals on energy, scientific and space cooperation.

TOKYO - Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped like giant fish that have become a potent antinuclear symbol. Japan was without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido went offline for mandatory routine maintenance. After last year's March 11 earthquake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, no reactor halted for checkups has...

MUMBAI - A fire broke out in a chemical laboratory at India’s main nuclear research facility yesterday, killing at least two people, an official said. The fire was extinguished within 45 minutes at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center on the outskirts of Mumbai, the country’s financial and entertainment capital, said S.K. Malhotra, a spokesman for the center. Malhotra said no nuclear reactor or radioactivity was involved. Police were investigating the cause of the fire, he said.

Japan has failed to create a revamped nuclear regulatory agency by the promised date — April 1 — amid political infighting, raising questions about its commitment to bolstering oversight after last year's nuclear crisis. Authorities have been accused of lax supervision of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors after a massive earthquake and tsunami led to a meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet has endorsed a bill to create a more powerful and independent...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval today as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors in Georgia. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to approve Atlanta-based Southern Co.'s request to build two nuclear reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta. The vote clears the way for officials to issue an operating license for the reactors, which could begin operating as soon as 2016 and 2017.

Hundreds of Japanese are marching and waving "No nukes" banners to celebrate the last of this nation's 50 nuclear reactors switching off. The crowd at a Tokyo park Saturday said they were not concerned about government warnings of power shortages. One of three reactors at Tomari nuclear plant in the northern island of Hokkaido is going offline for routine maintenance checks. After last year's March 11 quake and tsunami set off meltdowns at Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, no reactor stopped for checkups has gone back up. Japan requires new tests on withstanding...

TOKYO - Hoping to avert potentially devastating summer power shortages, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan said Friday that his government would seek to restart two nuclear reactors in what would be a first step toward ending an almost complete shutdown of the nation's nuclear power industry. Noda declared units No. 3 and No. 4 at the Ohi Nuclear Power Plant in western Japan to be safe based on the results of computer simulations designed to check the reactors' tolerance of a large earthquake and tsunami like those last year that knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

TOKYO - A Japanese utility sought government approval Monday to restart two nuclear reactors even though some key upgrades to prevent another nuclear crisis will take three years. All but one of Japan's 54 reactors are offline for regular safety checks, and the last will be shut down in May. Residents fear another disaster like the Fukushima crisis, but Japan faces a severe power shortage if reactors are not restarted. The government issued new safety guidelines to address residents' worries, but it gave no deadline for when the improvements must be finished.

Japan has failed to create a revamped nuclear regulatory agency by the promised date — April 1 — amid political infighting, raising questions about its commitment to bolstering oversight after last year's nuclear crisis. Authorities have been accused of lax supervision of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors after a massive earthquake and tsunami led to a meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet has endorsed a bill to create a more powerful and independent regulatory body...

TEHRAN - Conservative rivals of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appeared on course yesterday to gain firm control of Parliament after elections that could embolden Iran's nuclear defiance and give the ruling clerics a clear path to ensure that a loyalist succeeds Ahmadinejad next year. Although Iran's 290-seat Parliament has limited sway over key affairs - including military and nuclear policies - the elections highlight the political narratives inside the country since Ahmadinejad's disputed reelection in 2009 and sets the possible tone for his final 18 months in office.

Residents of two towns in eastern China are at odds over plans for a nuclear power plant, in a dispute reflecting mixed attitudes toward the industry as work looks set to resume on projects suspended after Japan's Fukushima disaster. The government plans to raise China's nuclear power capacity to 80 gigawatts by 2020, according to the National Energy Commission. That is below the 90 gigawatt target reported before the Japan disaster, and less than the current nuclear capacity of the United States, which was just over 100 gigawatts last year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's first new nuclear power plant in a generation won approval today as federal regulators voted to grant a license for two new reactors in Georgia. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted 4-1 to approve Atlanta-based Southern Co.'s request to build two nuclear reactors at its Vogtle site south of Augusta. The vote clears the way for officials to issue an operating license for the reactors, which could begin operating as soon as 2016 and 2017.

TOKYO - Chanting "Sayonara nuclear power" and waving banners, tens of thousands of people marched in central Tokyo yesterday to call on Japan's government to abandon atomic energy in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear accident. The demonstration underscores how deeply a Japanese public long accustomed to nuclear power has been affected by the March 11 crisis, when a tsunami caused core meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex. The disaster, the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl, saw radiation spewed across a wide part of northeastern Japan, forcing the evacuation of...

NEW YORK — The nuclear crisis in Japan has laid bare an ever-growing problem for the United States — the enormous amounts of still-hot radioactive waste accumulating at commercial nuclear reactors in more than 30 states. The United States has 71,862 tons of the waste, according to state-by-state numbers obtained by The Associated Press. But the nation has no place to permanently store the material, which stays dangerous for tens of thousands of years. Plans to store nuclear waste at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain have been abandoned, but even if a...

FESSENHEIM, France - French President Nicolas Sarkozy is refusing to close an aging nuclear plant that has become a symbol of growing resistance to atomic energy in the country. The future of nuclear energy in France has become a campaign issue as the presidential election nears this spring, in part because of the earthquake and tsunami disaster at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant last year. But Sarkozy, who lags in the polls, said yesterday while visiting the plant in Fessenheim that it would be a huge mistake and a scandal to close it and lay off its workers.