News
Publish date: September 16, 2004
Written by: Erik Martiniussen
News
The UKs radwaste producers currently hold shares in Nirex. These are: British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL), United Kingdom Atomic Energy Agency (UKAEA), and British Energy. The Ministry of Defence also provides funds for the company but is not a shareholder.
Now, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Margaret Beckett will make Nirex independent of the industry and bring the company under greater government control. In a statement written to the British parliament Beckett said she would secure the companies independence from the industry, by setting up a new government-owned company limited by guarantee (CLG) to hold the shares and oversee Nirexs business.
The new arrangement is to become fully operational from April 1st 2005. On the same day, the Nuclear Decommission Authority (NDA) will take over all responsibility for the decommissioning of public sector civil nuclear sites, and begin funding Nirex.
Chris Murray, Nirexs managing director, told Nuclear Engineering magazine that the conditions are now right to allow publicly acceptable progress to be made.
The UKs radioactive waste management strategy is currently under review, and a long-term strategy for waste management is not expected before 2006.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.