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UPDATED A small amount of radioactive iodine was released into the environment yesterday during an incident involving the handling of test fuel in the reactor hall of the Halden research reactor in Norway.

Russia and Norway yesterday signed a protocol on the practical measures required for their inter-governmental agreement on early notification of nuclear accidents and exchange of information on nuclear facilities. The protocol was signed in Vienna during the International Atomic ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Agency's General Conference by Rosatom director general Sergey Kirienko and Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority director general Ole Harbitz.

Russia and Norway plan to sign a protocol soon on early notification in the event of a nuclear accident, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom said yesterday. The statement followed a meeting of the Russian-Norwegian commission on nuclear and radiation safety held in the Norwegian town of Kirkenes.

The regulatory authorities of Sweden, Norway and Ukraine have agreed to cooperate in making improvements to the regulatory guidelines of the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine as well as establishing more robust safety systems at nuclear power plants in the country.

Thorium fuel is now being tested in the Halden research reactor in Norway. It was loaded in the last week of April, defining the start of a physical test program that will simulate how the thorium fuel operates in a power reactor.