Security Council to Talk Syria Nukes George Jahn | Associated Press
The U.N. Security Council plans to meet next week to discuss what to do about Syria's refusal to cooperate with an investigation of its alleged secret nuclear activities, diplomats told The Associated Press on Monday.
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Hans M. Kristensen and Robert S. Norris | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The US raid that killed Osama bin Laden has raised concerns about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. In the process of building two new plutonium production reactors and a new reprocessing facility to fabricate more nuclear weapons fuel, Pakistan is also developing new delivery systems. The authors estimate that if the country’s expansion continues, Pakistan's nuclear weapons stockpile could reach 150–200 warheads in a decade. They assess the country's nuclear forces, providing clear analysis of its nuclear command and control, nuclear-capable aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles. Full Article
Chikako Mogi | Reuters
Japan edged closer to its first nuclear power plant restart since the March earthquake following approval from a Japanese city mayor, but concerns about summer power shortages remained as it was unclear when other plants would follow suit. Delays in reactor restarts, combined with the shutdown of tsunami-hit plants, have left Japan with only 19 of its 54 reactors still operating. Before the tsunami-triggered atomic crisis, nuclear power provided about 30 percent of Japan's electricity. Full Article
Richard Harris | NPR
Japanese officials are still trying to understand all the factors that contributed to the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Officials already have concluded that the plant was not designed to withstand the 40-foot tsunami that hit it on March 11. But it is also likely that workers at the plant could have reduced the severity of the accident if they had made different decisions during the crisis. Full Article
Political News
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, introduced legislation to make good on the federal government's promise to provide safe and secure storage for the nation's spent nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Fuel Storage Improvement Act (S. 1320), which is co-sponsored by Mary Landrieu (D-LA), would create two federal interim storage repositories to centralize spent nuclear fuel that is currently being held at individual nuclear power plants around the country. Full Article
Anil Kakodkar | The Hindu
The recently reported decision of the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG) on additional restrictions for transfer of ENR (enrichment and reprocessing) technologies with adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) being a condition for transfer has caused huge unease in India. It negates the positive and forward-looking orientation with respect to ENR issues that was built into bilateral and multilateral agreements developed as a part of development of our international civil nuclear cooperation. Full Article
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