Platts - Wednesday, July 23, 2003 http://www.platts.com ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--22July2003 China, U.S. move closer on nuclear technology transfer issue China and the U.S. are close to ending a long-standing impasse over nuclear technology transfer, Richard Stratford, the director of the State Department's Office of Nuclear Energy Affairs, said July 22. The issue concerns assurances the U.S. has been negotiating with China for years as a precondition for transfers of U.S. nuclear technology under Part 810 of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The heart of the dispute is over the U.S. insistence on firm non-retransfer provisions. Speaking to the Nuclear Energy Institute's fuel forum in Washington, D.C., Stratford said that July 21 he had received word that the Chinese had essentially accepted the latest U.S. proposal. He said it appeared that only minor editing of diplomatic notes was needed to seal the deal. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--22July2003 DOE issues report on new reactor designs A report on new reactor designs anticipated to be available in 2030 in the U.S. was issued July 21 by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA). The report, simply titled "New Reactor Designs," runs through the existing NRC-certified designs, none of which has been constructed in the U.S., and provides Web links for those interested in learning more about each reactor. It also summarizes the only reactor design now undergoing certification review--Westinghouse's AP1000; six designs that are in various stages of pre- application review; two designs that may later be submitted for pre-application reviews; and several concepts for so-called Generation IV reactors, which are at least a decade away from being commercially viable. The EIA report is at http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/analysis/ nucenviss2.html. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--21Jul2003 Bush favors retiring admiral as NRC chairman President Bush plans to nominate a retiring U.S. Navy admiral to the NRC to finish out the remainder of former NRC Chairman Richard Meserve's five-year term, which expires June 30, 2004. In an unusual move, a July 18 White House press release also said that Bush intends to tap Vice Adm. John Grossenbacher to be chairman upon his Senate confirmation. Typically, a candidate is further along in the confirmation process or has been approved by the Senate before being designated to the agency's top post. But sources say the White House has always made it clear to NRC Chairman Nils Diaz, who replaced Meserve, that his appointment was temporary. Diaz has declined to discuss his conversations with administration officials but has acknowledged that the chairman serves at the president's pleasure. Grossenbacher, currently commander of the U.S. Submarine Forces in the Atlantic, was set to retire Aug. 1, but that could delayed to early September. A spokesman for the commander of the Naval Submarine Forces said Grossenbacher won't leave until his replacement, Rear Adm. Kirkland Donald, has been confirmed by the Senate. ------------ London (Nuclear News Flashes)--21Jul2003 BNFL checking Wylfa for new problem The 980-megawatt Wylfa magnox station is being dogged by a new problem. Both reactors are shut down, owner British Nuclear Fuels plc (BNFL) told Platts July 21, so that some weld defects in brackets supporting the boiler tubes in Wylfa-1 can be further checked to define the scope of any repair work. Wylfa-1 has been in a maintenance outage since May 9, during which the weld defects were discovered. Wylfa-2 also was shut down July 17 to have its brackets checked. Wylfa's boilers are inside the concrete reactor vessels. Heat generated in the fuel rods is transferred by carbon dioxide gas to water inside the boiler tubes, which are often referred to as steam generators. The station suffered a 16-month shutdown starting in April 2000 to deal with a number of other problems, including flaws in a number of welds holding the steam pipes--superheater headers--in position. ------------ Washington (Nuclear News Flashes)--18Jul2003 DOE early waste acceptance off the table House provisions on early spent fuel storage were dropped as a concession to Nevada, Rep. David Hobson's (R-Ohio) office said July 18. Hobson, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over DOE spending, announced the move on the House floor before lawmakers approved a $27.3-billion energy and water funding bill for fiscal 2004, keeping intact appropriators' $765-million allocation for the DOE waste program. He pledged that the $4-million earmarked in the bill report for DOE work on planning early waste acceptance at a high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. would be spent instead on improving the safety of spent fuel casks. Lawmakers defeated an amendment that would have moved $30-million from the waste program to DOE's renewable energy program. ------------