Archive

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has released online a database that makes available all ISO harmonised symbols, which are commonly used in textile product labelling. Around 3,500 graphical symbols are available, searchable by symbol ID, name, keyword, shape, function, application and meaning.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A GERMAN consortium of RWE Nukem and GNB – Gesellschaft für Nuklearbehälter has been awarded the contract for constructing a spent fuel storage facility helping the decommissioning of Bulgaria’s Kozloduy plant. The Euro 49 million contract is being financed by Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund, which is managed and administered by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has used its Euratom powers to give Finland the go-ahead to build a new fifth nuclear power plant, citing the need to replace old fossil fuel plants. The first ordered in the European Union for more than a decade, the plant should command an electrical capacity of 1600 MWe from 2009.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has called on Sweden to be clear about its long-term intentions regarding nuclear energy in its anticipated policy statement on the issue, to attract sufficient investment guaranteeing the country’s future energy supplies. Any solution must provide a long-term vision and be credible, said an IEA assessment.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN INVESTIGATIVE team was sent by the European Commission to the Czech Republic’s Temelin plant, to check for environmental dangers posed by the escape of three cubic metres of water from its cooling system. The Brussels team found all water was retained in a drain; radioactive material had remained inside the building and there had been no worker exposure.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE SHARE of nuclear power in the European Union’s (EU) energy source mix has been “projected to decline” over the next 30 years in the European Environment Agency (EEA)’s latest ‘environmental signals’ report. Despite the European Commission’s current enthusiasm for nuclear power, the EEA says that “moratoria and phase-out policies in several countries” will continue, biting into nuclear energy production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE SWEDISH government should clarify its long-term intentions regarding nuclear energy, to attract sufficient investment guaranteeing the country’s future energy supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. Whilst praising Sweden’s “sensible” combination of market forces with government influence in electricity markets, the IEA assessment says there is too much uncertainty over the future of Swedish nuclear power.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANCE is being taken to the European Court of Justice by the European Commission, which says French regulations illegally imposes “burdensome arrangements” for providing telecommunications services by cable. Brussels claims France is breaking the European Union ‘cable’ and ‘full competition’ directives, for instance by insisting cable businesses offering telecommunications services must consult with affected municipalities in advance, (standard telecom operators are exempted from this).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE DOMINANCE of fossil fuels in energy production is set to continue for the next 30 years, even growing a little, the European Environment Agency (EEA)’s latest ‘environmental signals’ report has predicted. Despite the European Union’s (EU) efforts to promote renewable energy, it is “not expected to raise its share significantly” of energy production sources, while “nuclear energy is projected to decline”, it predicted.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RUSSIA and the European Union (EU) have struck a wide-ranging trade deal helping Moscow’s application for World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership, notably by opening up its utility sectors to foreign trade. In particular, Russia has promised to raise its prices for industrial users of natural gas, so it “covers costs, profits and investment needed for exploitation of new fields”.…