More governments must introduce policies to support the long-term operation of nuclear power plants to maximise the environmental, employment and economic benefits they bring, the World Nuclear Association said yesterday on the publication of its new technical position paper The Enduring Value of Nuclear Energy Assets.

The Swedish government has approved a Radiation Safety Authority proposal to implement new emergency preparedness zones around nuclear power plants by July 2022. Internal and external emergency zones as well as a planning zone will be set at a radius of 5, 25 and 100 km, respectively.

Russia's regulator Rostechnadzor has issued a permit for the physical start-up of Leningrad II unit 2, which completed hot tests last week. The regulator's inspection of the unit "confirmed its high degree of readiness for the start of physical launch, during which nuclear fuel will be loaded into the reactor core for the first time", state nuclear corporation Rosatom said today.

Belgium's Federal Agency for Nuclear Control says it is in favour of a proposal for the disposal of high-level and/or long-lived radioactive waste in a geological repository. The draft proposal was developed by Ondraf/Niras, the Belgian agency for the management of radioactive waste, and was submitted to the public and various government services, including the FANC, for consultation between 15 April and 13 June.

A recent International Atomic Energy Agency survey of regulatory bodies in over 90 countries found that national regulators are using innovative methods to ensure the safety of radiation sources is not compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such sources are used mainly in medicine, industry and research.

The US Department of Energy "strongly supports" the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's proposal to apply risk-based emergency preparedness requirements to small modular reactors (SMRs) and other new technologies. DOE said the NRC's proposed rule is "the next step in determining the appropriate Emergency Planning Zone size for SMRs and is crucial for the US nuclear industry and the overall development of the technology".

The American Nuclear Society has called on the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to take action on reprocessing and recycling of used nuclear fuel, saying the lack of an efficient, technically robust, and technology-inclusive regulatory foundation is a barrier to innovation, especially for vendors of advanced nuclear reactors.

Japan Atomic Energy Agency has today received permission from the Nuclear Regulation Authority to make changes to the reactor installation of the High-Temperature Test Reactor in conformity with revised safety requirements. This marks the first time a restart permission has been granted for a Japanese gas-cooled reactor.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has for the first time accepted a single dry run inspection of multi-purpose canister (MPC) lid welding representing used fuel loading at multiple nuclear power plant sites. The welding dry run was conducted by Holtec International and Exelon Generation in support of Exelon's implementation of Holtec's dry cask storage systems at its Peach Bottom nuclear power plant. The systems are also planned for use at its Limerick, Ginna, Nine Mile Point and Calvert Cliffs plants.

Spanish decommissioning firm Enresa has submitted an application to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge for the transfer of ownership of the Garoña nuclear power plant and the first phase of its dismantling. The single-unit plant was shut down in mid-December 2012.

The nuclear sector has reacted quickly and effectively to the unprecedented challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic without compromising safety, security or non-proliferation, panellists in a webinar hosted by the UAE Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation said yesterday. They also considered how to apply lessons learned in the post-pandemic era.

The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s upper house of parliament, has adopted a draft law on nuclear safety that enables state-run nuclear power plant operator Energoatom to secure a EUR200 million (USD220 million) loan from Euratom. The parliament said yesterday it had approved "in the second reading and as a whole" draft law №2373 On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on the Safety of Nuclear Energy Use.