The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has helped remove 27 disused highly radioactive sources - mainly used for medical purposes such as treating cancer and sterilising instruments - from five South American countries. It was the largest such project facilitated by the IAEA in terms of both the number of sources and countries involved.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has renewed its contract with Southwest Research Institute to operate the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses. The five-year contract is valued at up to USD52 million.

The Japanese nuclear regulator has approved the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's plans for decommissioning the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor. JAEA submitted the plan - which had earlier been approved by a government-appointed team - to the Nuclear Regulation Authority in December last year.

UPDATED Both houses of the US Congress have approved an omnibus appropriations bill including USD1.2 billion for nuclear energy. The bill will see the suspension of sales by the Department of Energy of surplus uranium to pay for decommissioning work at the former Portsmouth uranium enrichment plant.

Orano USA and Waste Control Specialists plan to form a joint venture to license a consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) for used nuclear fuel at the WCS site in Andrews County, Texas. The joint venture will request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission resume its review of the CISF licence application WCS originally submitted two years ago.

Affiliates of Entergy Corporation and NorthStar Group Services Inc have signed agreements with State of Vermont agencies and other parties on terms for the sale approval of the shut-down Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant to NorthStar. The sale will enable the accelerated decommissioning of the single-unit boiling water reactor plant.

A new process for the chemical decontamination of the reactor cooling system and subsystems in nuclear power plants has been developed by Germany's Siempelkamp NIS Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH. The procedure - which took four years to develop - has been successfully demonstrated in a German nuclear power plant.

A memorandum of understanding signed by Holtec International and Energoatom envisages the adoption by Ukraine of Holtec's small modular reactor technology with the country becoming a manufacturing hub for SMR-160 reactor components. Separately, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun a technical review of an application by Holtec for a consolidated spent fuel interim storage facility proposed for southeastern New Mexico.

Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania has announced the removal of the last used fuel assembly from the reactor of unit 2. Some of the used fuel was removed from the reactor after its final closure in 2009, but the remainder was left pending the launch of an Interim Spent Fuel Storage Facility.

The UK's National Nuclear Laboratory is to carry out an expert peer review of a Canadian research programme on microbiologically influenced corrosion of canisters that will be used to dispose of used nuclear fuel. The NNL has been contracted by Canada's National Waste Management Organisation to review its work on the potential for corrosion of the copper-clad canisters.

A cover has been installed over the fuel handling machine that will help remove fuel from the storage pool of unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The removal of the fuel is scheduled to start in mid-2018.

Work to dismantle the reactor pressure vessel's internals at unit 2 of the Oskarshamn nuclear power plant in Sweden is set to begin at the end of April. Plant operator OKG AB said this will mark the start of the first major decommissioning work at the plant.