Jaco Kriek has resigned as CEO of PBMR Pty Ltd. The announcement comes weeks after South African government funding for the development of the pebble bed modular reactor (PBMR) was withdrawn, leaving the company facing large-scale restructuring and cuts of 75% to its 800 staff. Kriek, who has been CEO of PBMR Pty for the past six years, will assist with a hand-over process and continue to assist with specific PBMR activities over the next few months. Alex Tsela, the company's current general manager for nuclear compliance assurance, has been appointed as the acting CEO. 

The government of Finland is likely to start discussions on whether to licence the construction of a new nuclear power plant this month, according to reports in the country's media. National broadcaster YLE reported that the four parties in Finland's coalition cabinet have agreed a timetable for its consideration of an expansion of the country's nuclear generating capacity. According to economic affairs minister Mauri Pekkarinen, as there are no legal arguments remaining over the applications for a sixth nuclear plant lodged by Fortum, Fennovoima and TVO, the decision on whether to licence the construction of new reactors, and if so how many, will be a political one. The four political parties in Finland's coalition government have differing views on how many new plants should be licensed, ranging from the Greens, wanting none at all, to the National Coalition Party, which would like all three applications to be given the go-ahead. According to the Finnish media, Pekkarinen has said he plans to bring a government proposal before parliament in March or April, leading up to a parliamentary decision in June. TVO and Fortum have submitted applications to build new plants at their respective existing sites of Olkiluoto and Loviisa, while Fennovoima's application is for a new plant at either Pyhäjoki or Simo in northern Finland. The company withdrew a third possible location, Ruotsinpyhtää, from its application in November 2009.

A plan is under consideration to cull seagulls at the Sellafield nuclear site in northern England amid concerns that some have been swimming in open-air storage ponds containing plutonium and radioactive waste, The Times newspaper reported. "They fly in and float around on the open waste ponds and act as a gateway to poison the wider area," claimed Martin Forwood of anti-nuclear group Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment (CORE). Ali McKibbin, media relations manager at Sellafield, said that, while a mass cull is under discussion, the seagull problem was "under control", that there was no danger to the public and any methods used to kill the birds would be humane. She said that drugged bait would probably be the method used, although no final decision had yet been made. McKibbin added, "A professional pest control organization is employed to manage the number of gulls. All activities are done under licence in a safe and humane manner that causes the gulls minimum distress and suffering." She noted that some 350 animal carcasses - mostly birds but also some small mammals - were being stored in an industrial freezer at Sellafield as, under Environment Agency rules, any animal that dies on the site must be treated as nuclear waste as it may have been exposed to radiation. They will eventually be disposed of in a special landfill facility at Sellafield.