Washington state wants a federal judge to issue an injunction requiring the Department of Energy and its contractor to take steps to protect workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Tri-City Herald reports that from January through July, Hanford workers reported suspicious smells or symptoms that indicate exposure to chemical vapors.

A team of risk experts who have carried out the biggest-ever analysis of nuclear accidents warn that the next disaster on the scale of Chernobyl or Fukushima may happen much sooner than the public realizes.

Weekly science journal Nature.com has published an overview of issues surrounding relicensing the United States' aging nuclear facilities, and writes that former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Allison Macfarlane believes generators are investing as little as possible in upgrades and maintenance.

Fire poses one of the greatest risks to nuclear power safety. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) estimates that the risk of reactor meltdown due to fire is about 50 percent—roughly equal to all other risk factors combined.