Nuclear Power & Radiation

"Oil fell to a seven-month low below $91 a barrel Wednesday after Iran agreed to allow the U.N. nuclear agency to restart an investigation into the country's nuclear program."

"WASHINGTON — Gregory B. Jaczko, whose three-year tenure as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been marked by bitter battles with colleagues and with Congress, announced Monday that he would step down as soon as a successor was confirmed."

"A push by congressional leaders to fund an embattled uranium enrichment project in Ohio has triggered strong bipartisan backlash in the House and accusations that leading GOP figures are backing earmarks for a project with similarities to the bankrupt solar firm Solyndra."

"When Alfredo Figueroa stands on the banks of the Colorado River he is reverent out of respect for his tribal heritage yet troubled for future of this overused waterway, which is not only the lifeblood of the Chemehuevi people but also the primary drinking water source for tens of millions of people in the Southwest."

"The troubled United States Enrichment Corp., on the brink of closing a Kentucky enrichment plant, has been bailed out in a complex Energy Department accord designed to keep that facility open one more year."

"Consumer, environmental and anti-nuclear advocates said Monday they will fight proposed state legislation allowing Duke Energy to more easily pass costs of a new nuclear plant on to N.C. customers."

"Duke wants N.C. lawmakers to allow it to recoup nuclear pre-construction and financing costs without filing a lengthy general rate case. The bill would instead let utilities adjust rates annually to recover those costs, something South Carolina, Georgia and Florida already allow."

"Without fanfare, the nation's nuclear power regulators have overhauled community emergency planning for the first time in more than three decades, requiring fewer exercises for major accidents and recommending that fewer people be evacuated right away."

"LOS ANGELES -- A $670 million overhaul at California's San Onofre nuclear plant was expressly intended to avoid the types of ailments that have sidelined its twin reactors. An overriding goal for a team of engineers who worked on steam generators installed at the plant in 2009 and 2010 was minimizing wear and tear on the nearly 40,000 tubes that carry radioactive water inside the massive machines. Customized design and manufacturing promised years of reliable service for a plant that can power 1.4 million homes in Southern California. But the opposite happened."

"Old collections of irradiated tissues could answer modern-day questions about the dangers of radiation. Now, researchers are making a concerted effort to save the stores."