Japan speeds up return of Fukushima refugees to cut costs
Moscow (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
Japan will revoke evacuation orders for most of the people who were displaced by the Fukushima nuclear disaster so the government can save on compensation payouts and expedite reconstruction.
That announcement from the government on Friday was accompanied by news that it would wait to remove radioactive material at the wrecked Fukushima power station, Reuters reported.
Thousands of p ...
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S. Korea to close its oldest reactor
Seoul (AFP) June 12, 2015 -
South Korea's oldest nuclear reactor is expected to be shut down permanently in 2017 after growing safety concerns over the ageing facility.
A state energy committee has decided to urge the state-financed Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) to close the Gori Reactor No.1 in the southern port of Busan.
The 580 megawatt reactor would be the first reactor to be closed in South Korea. ...
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Vietnam to evacuate 1,288 households for construction of nuke power plants
Hanoi (XNA) Jun 16, 2015 -
A total of 1,288 households with a population of 4,911 are expected to be evacuated for construction of Vietnam's nuclear power plants.
The authorities have ratified a proposal on evacuation and resettlement of people in areas of Ninh Thuan 1 and 2 nuclear power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province, some 1,100 km south of Hanoi, local VNEconomy online newspaper reported on Tuesday.
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Japan Prepares to Restart Sendai NPP
Moscow (Sputnik) Jun 16, 2015 -
Japan's nuclear plant operator Kyushu Electric Power plans to restart its Sendai-1 power plant in the city of Satsumasendai in mid-August after a four-year break, the Kyodo news agency said Friday.
The company will start loading fuel into the plant on July 4 to prepare it for the restart, according to agency.
In 2011, Japan shut down all its nuclear power plants for safety checks aft ...
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Turning paper industry waste into chemicals
Leuven, Belgium (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Researchers at the KU Leuven Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis have found a more eco-friendly way to derive lignin - a paper industry waste product - from wood and convert it into chemical building blocks. The resulting chemicals can be used in paint, insulation foam, and several other products. The researchers published their findings in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. ...
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Researchers develop ultra-tough fiber that imitates the structure of spider silk
Montreal, Canada (SPX) Jun 16, 2015 -
Professors Frederick Gosselin and Daniel Therriault, along with their master's student Renaud Passieux, are not related to Spiderman. Nevertheless, these Polytechnique Montreal researchers have produced an ultra-tough polymer fibre directly inspired by spider silk! They recently published an article about the project in the journal Advanced Materials.
b>Spider silk: a thread with stunning ...
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Appeals court backs Shell's Alaska campaign
Washington (UPI) Jun 12, 2015 -
A federal appeals court ruled in favor of Royal Dutch Shell in a challenge from environmental groups to the company's oil spill response plans offshore Alaska.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, a division within the Department of Interior, acted appropriately when approving Shell's leases from 2005, 2007 and ...
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