Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority today formally accepted a report concluding unit 2 of Chugoku Electric Power Company's Shimane nuclear power plant meets the country's new safety standards. The utility must still obtain local consent before the 789 MWe boiling water reactor can be restarted.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a licence to Interim Storage Partners LLC to construct and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for used nuclear fuel in Andrews, Texas. Interim Storage Partners is a joint venture of Waste Control Specialists LLC and Orano USA.

Finnish utility Fortum today submitted its environmental impact assessment report for the Loviisa nuclear power plant to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The report assesses the environmental impacts of a potential extension of the operation of the plant's two VVER-440 pressurised water reactors or, alternatively, the decommissioning of the plant, as well as the environmental impacts of the final disposal facility for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.

The European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group has started its second review at Belarus' Ostrovets nuclear power plant. Experts from eight European countries will spend three days verifying that recommended safety improvements have been carried out.

NAC International has announced that its Optimus-H system for packaging radioactive waste has been certified for use in Canada. Optimus-H is more heavily shielded than the Optimus-L version which was certified last year, and is suitable for a broader range of higher activity wastes.

The project to dismantle the historic Chernobyl Shelter Object can begin, after Chernobyl NPP was granted the requisite licence today. The ageing Shelter has been superseded by the New Safe Confinement, which now surrounds unit 4 and contains equipment to undertake the work.

The UK has launched a consultation on proposed regulations for nuclear-powered ships that would enable UK-flagged vessels to use the power source and international vessels to visit its ports. "The UK is committed to enabling the adoption of new technologies that manufacturers and ship owners may choose to meet legal requirements relating to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore will establish a regulatory framework that will support nuclear-powered ships as an alternative fuel option," said the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

Nuclear safety regulators in Canada and the US have completed their first collaborative project on licensing of SMRs. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have issued a joint report to provide feedback to X-energy on the manufacturing codes it proposes to use in both countries for the reactor pressure vessel of its Xe-100 design.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discontinued work on a rulemaking that would have added a framework for licensing commercial reprocessing facilities to its regulations. In a notice published by the US Federal Register on 29 July, the regulator said its decision was based on the costs of conducting the rulemaking coupled with limited interest from industry.

The operators of the Bruce, Darlington and Pickering nuclear power plants must submit data to demonstrate the safe operation of pressure tubes and obtain regulatory authorisation before restarting any currently shut-down reactors at those sites. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says it has issued orders to Bruce Power and Ontario Power Generation out of an "abundance of caution".

PreussenElektra has received the second and final permit needed for the dismantling of the Unterweser nuclear power plant, while RWE Nuclear has received approval for its so-called 'sub-project 2' for the dismantling of the Lingen nuclear power plant. Both approvals were issued by the Lower Saxony Ministry for the Environment, Energy, Building and Climate Protection.

The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Japan's Niigata Prefecture will not be restarted until fiscal 2022 (ending March 2023) at the earliest, Tokyo Electric Power Company said in a revised business plan. The company submitted the plan yesterday to the government for approval. Tepco is awaiting regulatory approval to restart units 6 and 7 at the plant.