China AP1000 construction progress and Raw Uranium in Libya

1. Construction of the Sanmen Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear power plant has reached a milestone with the installation of the pressure vessel for the first reactor. On 19 September, Sanmen’s second reactor had the third ring of the containment vessel put in place. The same work at unit 1 was carried out on 12 September 2010.

2. China may resume approvals for new nuclear power plant projects early next year when a nuclear safety plan is completed, the official China Securities Journal reported on Wednesday.

3. A CNN journalist said he saw thousands of barrels at the Sabha site evidently filled with raw uranium. The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday affirmed that there is a cache of yellowcake uranium in Libya.

The reported sighting of the uranium at the Sabha military facility — now in the hands of opposition fighters — seems to conflict with information provided by the United States in August that all unrefined uranium in the country was stored at a nuclear reactor at Tajura. The reactor reportedly holds roughly 500 to 900 metric tons of yellowcake uranium, according to previous reports. The nuclear material is not judged a high-level security risk, as it would need considerable industrial-level processing and enrichment to be suitable for use in a weapon

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