Russia plans to start construction next year of a nuclear fuel fabrication facility for its lead-cooled fast-neutron Brest-OD-300 reactor, Siberian Chemical Combine said on 27 December. Based in Tomsk, Siberia, SCC is a subsidiary of TVEL, the nuclear fuel manufacturing unit of state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

The Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian Parliament, has approved amendments to the law governing Rosatom, which give the state nuclear corporation's supervisory board the power to approve the development and financing of nuclear power projects. The law was presented by Alexey Dmitrienko, a member of the Federation Council's economic policy committee, on 26 December.

JSC Isotope is to supply isotope products to Brazil under a five-year agreement signed with the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN). According to the agreement, which is in addition to Russia's current weekly supplies to Brazil of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) and iodine-131, JSC Isotope will supply lutetium-177, yttrium-90, cobalt-57, and sources of ionizing radiation based on iridium-192 and germanium-68/gallium-68 generators.

The assembly of the reactor of Rostov 4 has been completed, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said yesterday.

Turkey has formally launched construction of its first nuclear power plant with the pouring of concrete for the sub-base foundation of the nuclear island. A ceremony held at the Akkuyu nuclear power plant site to mark the launch on 10 December, followed the issuance of a limited construction permit.

The process of loading the 163 fuel assemblies into the core of unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant in western Russia began on 8 December, state nuclear corporation Rosatom announced. The VVER-1200 unit is scheduled to start up next year.

Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov and Egypt's Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker today signed notices to proceed with contracts for the construction of four VVER-1200 units at the El Dabaa nuclear power plant.

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".

The reactor vessel for unit 1 of the Leningrad Phase II nuclear power plant was installed yesterday, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. The installation work at the plant, which is in Sosnovy Bor in western Russia, used 'open top' technology, which "allows equipment to be inserted into the sealed area directly through the open top of the cylindrical part of the reactor building", Rosatom said.

The operator of the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant in Russia has demonstrated a commitment to safety and is taking many improvement initiatives, an Operational Safety Review Team team from the International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded.

GE Steam Power Systems has announced the signing of a contract to deliver the main equipment of the conventional island for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Büyükeceli, Turkey. The contract has been awarded to AAEM Turbine technology LLC, the Saint Petersburg, Russia-headquartered joint venture between Atomenergomash JSC and General Electric.

Russia's Rosatom has signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian companies Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras (Eletrobras) and Eletrobras Termonuclear SA (Eletronuclear) to promote cooperation in nuclear power. It includes the possible construction of a new nuclear power plant in Brazil, Rosatom said.