Nuclear Power & Radiation

"The 1,150-megawatt [TVA Watts Bar Unit 2] generator, four decades in the making, is now producing electricity for to 650,000 homes and businesses in southern Tennessee."

"A top U.S. Energy Department official in southern New Mexico says the agency plans to close off part of the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository due to contamination and stability concerns."

"President Vladimir Putin suspended a 16-year-old deal with the United States to dispose of weapons-grade plutonium on Monday, further calling into question the future of the beleaguered mixed oxide facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina."

"The British government announced on Thursday that it would push ahead with a contentious deal to build a nuclear power station financed in part with French and Chinese investment, but only after making changes intended to address security concerns."

"North Korea defiantly celebrated its fifth nuclear test Friday, claiming that it can now make warheads small enough to fit onto a missile and warning its "enemies" — specifically the United States — that it has the ability to counter any attack."

"When utility executives gathered over dinner in 2001 to commiserate about looming reactor closures and start lobbying Congress for help, their first order of business was picking a name for their advocacy group."

"FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION — The part above ground doesn’t look like much, a few silver pipes running in a straight line, dwarfed by the far more massive, scarred reactor buildings nearby."

"Everywhere you turn, it seems, there's news about the human microbiome. And, more specifically, about the bacteria that live in your gut and help keep you healthy. Those bacteria, it turns out, are hiding a big secret: their own microbiome. A study published Monday suggests some viruses in your gut could be beneficial."

"Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s 'frozen wall of earth' has failed to prevent groundwater from entering the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and the utility needs a new plan to address the problem, experts said."