| NEW NUCLEAR: |
| Latest Qinshan unit goes commercial |
| 22 October 2010 |
| Qinshan Phase II unit 3 has become China's 13th nuclear unit to enter commercial operation, China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has announced. |
| EdF tenders for turbine halls |
| 21 October 2010 |
| Electricite de France (EdF) has launched a tender for the supply and construction of turbine halls for proposed new EPR-based nuclear power plants in France and the UK. |
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| WASTE & RECYCLING: |
| UK maintains decommissioning spending |
| 20 October 2010 |
| Some of the deepest cuts in public spending in decades have been announced in the UK. However, funding for the nuclear industry has essentially been unaffected by the austerity with spending on clean-up remaining close to current levels. |
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| NUCLEAR POLICIES: |
| Nuclear diplomacy |
| 25 October 2010 |
| Nuclear energy has been a topic under discussion in recent days for diplomats from Russia, Armenia, France, Libya, and India, Vietnam and Japan, with declarations and intentions announced but few commitments made. |
| Nuclear material transport accord signed |
| 22 October 2010 |
| Russia, Ukraine and Slovakia have signed an intergovernmental agreement on the transportation of nuclear materials between Russia and Slovakia via Ukraine. The agreement enables the continued shipment of Russian fuel through Ukraine to Slovakia's power reactors. |
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| REGULATION & SAFETY: |
| Extended operating period for Higashidori 1 |
| 25 October 2010 |
| Tohoku Electric Power is preparing to extend the period of operation of its Higashidori unit 1 from 13 months to 16 months, following a change in regulations. The unit would be the first in Japan to run for longer than 13-month periods. |
| TVA requests extension to Bellefonte 1 permit |
| 25 October 2010 |
| Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has requested a further extension to the construction permit for Bellefonte unit 1 in order to keep the option open to complete the partially-built unit. |
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| CORPORATE: |
| Consent sought for Polish energy buyout |
| 21 October 2010 |
| Would-be builder of Poland's first nuclear power plant Polsksa Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has applied for consent from the country's antitrust authority to buy an 84% stake in rival utility Energa SA, seen as a vital step in its nuclear construction plans. |
| Price is 'set' for Belene |
| 20 October 2010 |
| Bulgaria has put a maximum price tag of Eur7 billion ($9.7 billion) on the Belene nuclear power plant while extending for a second time its contract with AtomStroyExport by six months. |
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| EXPLORATION & NUCLEAR FUEL: |
| White Canyon sales agreement |
| 19 October 2010 |
| Uranium from White Canyon's Daneros mine in Utah will be put on the spot market by Denison Mines according to a new sales agreement. |
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| INDUSTRY TALK: |
| Washington office for Tenex US subsidiary |
| 22 October 2010 |
| Tenam, a fully owned subsidiary of Russian fuel cycle supplier Techsnabexport (Tenex), has opened an office in Washington DC to support, expand and supplement Tenex's business in the USA. |
| French waste agency wins case of champagne |
| 22 October 2010 |
| A French administrative court has rejected a plea by CIVC - a champagne trade association - to prevent the national radioactive waste management agency Andra from continuing to store and dispose of low-level radioactive waste at its facility in Soulaines in France's Champagne-Ardenne region. |
| Construction of new Tsuruga units delayed |
| 21 October 2010 |
| Japan Atomic Power Co (Japco) has announced a further delay in the start of construction of the Tsuruga 3 and 4 nuclear power reactors. The company said that construction, which was scheduled to begin this month, had been postponed due to delays in safety checks by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Meti). |
| All change at shut-down Bulgarian reactors |
| 21 October 2010 |
| Licences for two shut-down reactors at Bulgaria's Kozloduy plant have been formally transferred to state radioactive waste enterprise DP RAO by the country's nuclear regulatory agency in a move that heralds the implementation of decommissioning work at the units. |
| Communist Party expels Kang Rixin |
| 19 October 2010 |
| Former head of China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) Kang Rixin has been expelled from the Communist Party of China after a corruption investigation. |
