Units 6 and 7 of Tokyo Electric Power Company's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture meet Japan's new regulatory standards, the Nuclear Regulation Authority announced today. They are the first of the country's boiling water reactors determined to meet the standards.

Finnish utility Teollisuuden Voima Oyj announced today that hot functional tests have started at the first-of-a-kind EPR unit at Olkiluoto. These key pre-operational tests ensure coolant circuits and nuclear safety systems are functioning properly before fuel is loaded.

Finnish multi-metal company Terrafame has been granted permission by the country's nuclear regulator to recover a small quantity of uranium while it experiments with chemical processes it will use in an actual uranium recovery plant. The company plans to start producing uranium as a by-product from its Sotkamo mine towards the end of 2019.

Kansai Electric Power Company has applied to the Japanese regulator for pre-service inspections of unit 3 of its Mihama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. These inspections mark the final regulatory stage in the restart procedure for the country's reactors.

The chairman of the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Senator John Barrasso, has called on the US Environmental Protection Agency to withdraw a proposed rule requiring uranium recovery operators to conduct up to 30 years of groundwater monitoring following in-situ leach uranium production.

Successful completion of the Generic Design Assessment process for Hitachi-GE's UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor is a "huge step forward" for Hitachi's UK subsidiary Horizon Nuclear Power, two senior executives said this week.

Hitachi-GE's UK Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (UK ABWR) is suitable for construction in the UK, regulators have concluded following an in-depth Generic Design Assessment. The regulators said they were satisfied the reactor "meets regulatory expectations on safety, security and environmental protection at this stage of the regulatory process".

World Nuclear Association yesterday presented its Harmony programme to members of Foratom, the Brussels-based trade association for the nuclear energy industry in Europe. Harmony is the nuclear industry vision for the future of electricity and how nuclear energy can help the world achieve its 2-degree climate target.

A 20-year ban on the mining of uranium near the Grand Canyon has been upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The court ruling effectively confirmed that the ban is lawful and the government has the power to impose it.

Ontario Power Generation and over 30 partner organisations have completed Exercise Unified Control, a two-day, large-scale emergency preparedness exercise at the Pickering nuclear power plant. The exercise is part of the lead-up to the relicensing of the plant in 2018.

EDF has received permission from France's Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire to restart three reactors at the Tricastin power plant after carrying out repairs to a canal embankment. The regulator ordered the temporary shutdown of Tricastin's reactors on 27 September because of the risks of failure of a 400 metre long portion of the embankment of the Donzére-Mondragon canalin the event of an earthquake. 

Russian regulator Rostechnadzor has issued operating licences for two new nuclear power units, Leningrad Phase II-1 and Rostov-4, Rosenergoatom said today. The nuclear power plant operator subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Rosenergoatom said the licences "confirm the readiness of the units for physical launch - fuel loading - in December".