EnergySolutions

The Board of Directors for the Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) voted Thursday to expedite decommissioning of the shuttered Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. The new approach is expected to shave nearly four decades from the timeline for decommissioning, starting less than two years from now and wrapping up in 2028. It should […]

A nuclear industry specialist has been selected to lead the AECOM-EnergySolutions joint venture that will decommission the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The companies announced Wednesday that Tom Dieter would succeed AECOM Senior Vice President Matt Marston as executive sponsor at SONGS Decommissioning Solutions. Dieter’s over 32 years of work in management […]

While not much has appeared to happen for the majority of the past year, there is still reason for optimism that the federal government will find a way forward to establish a means for permanent disposal of the most radioactive form of low-level waste, an industry executive said. Congress did not address the issue of […]

By John Stang EnergySolutions is seeking an exemption to Utah state regulations so the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services company can dispose of depleted uranium from disassembled bullets at its Clive waste facility. The Utah Waste Management and Radiation Control Board is scheduled to be briefed on the request Thursday. Meanwhile, a 30-day public comment […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined there would be no significant environmental impact in approving the license termination plan for the Zion Nuclear Power Station in Illinois. Agency staff on June 25 issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the 2014 request from ZionSolutions, a subsidiary […]

EnergySolutions in May signed a $9.45 million contract to complete dismantling and decommissioning of the long-retired Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) facility in Arkansas. This final leg of the remediation includes placing the reactor itself into a special container in October. The reactor is one of the few structures left on the site, according […]

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) on Monday reported that exposure to radioactive materials near St. Louis, Mo., could be linked to a heightened danger of various types of cancer. Coldwater Creek in north St. Louis County was contaminated by upstream storage facilities for radiological waste from uranium extraction operations in […]

The state of Utah has formally recognized workplace safety and health activities at EnergySolutions’ radioactive waste disposal facility at Clive, Utah. The Salt Lake City-based company said Friday it had obtained Voluntary Protection Program status from the Utah Labor Commission’s Occupational Safety and Health Division (UOSH). “Admission to VPP status constitutes UOSH’s official recognition of […]

The state of California should by the first quarter of 2019 give formal approval for major decommissioning to begin on the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), an executive with the decommissioning general contractor said Friday. SONGS Decommissioning Solutions, a partnership of AECOM and EnergySolutions, expects the California State Lands Commission will by the end of […]

Longtime Energy Department nuclear cleanup hand Ken Picha has been named to a top post at DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) on an acting basis. Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management Anne Marie White said in a widely distributed email on May 25 that Picha was replacing Dae Chung as acting EM associate […]

NorthStar Group Services on Monday told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it will have sufficient funds to both decommission the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and manage its spent fuel. The New York City company was responding to the agency’s latest request for additional information as it reviews the application to transfer the NRC license […]

EnergySolutions said Monday it has promoted the head of its nuclear decommissioning business to president and CEO. Ken Robuck will officially replace David Lockwood on June 30, according to a press release from the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services provider. Lockwood will stay on as executive chairman. Robuck joined EnergySolutions in August 2013 as senior […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should establish a new classification for radioactive waste – “Class D” – to replace the more nebulous Greater-Than-Class C designation, according to disposal provider EnergySolutions. “The NRC should designate a new waste category specifically defining what it is. It should not be defined by what it is greater than, or […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should establish a new classification for radioactive waste – “Class D” – to replace the more nebulous Greater Than Class C designation, according to disposal provider EnergySolutions. “The NRC should designate a new waste category specifically defining what it is. It should not be defined by what it is greater […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions supports allowing use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for certain operations even before the facility ceases operation, an executive said last week. “We are very supportive of using the decommissioning funds early for legitimate decommissioning activities at nuclear power plants,” Daniel Shrum, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

Nuclear services provider EnergySolutions supports allowing use of nuclear power plant decommissioning trust funds for certain operations even before the facility ceases operation, an executive said last week. “We are very supportive of using the decommissioning funds early for legitimate decommissioning activities at nuclear power plants,” Daniel Shrum, senior vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

Nearly a year after putting it on ice, Waste Control Specialists aims to revive its application for a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license to build and operate a facility for consolidated interim storage of used nuclear reactor fuel. It is doing so in a joint venture planned with Orano USA, the nuclear services and technology […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has less than $500,000 left in its available balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund, which pays for the agency’s work on the proposed Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository in Nevada. In its latest update to Congress on activities related to licensing of Yucca Mountain, the NRC said its unobligated Nuclear […]

Salt Lake City-based nuclear services company EnergySolutions said this week it has centralized its decontamination and decommissioning team at an office in Charlotte, N.C. Roughly 30 employees, who had previously been spread around the nation, are now working in a 16,000-square-foot office on West Trade Street in the city’s downtown. In a press release, EnergySolutions […]

A United Kingdom House of Commons committee on Wednesday lambasted the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority for its handling of an expensive contract for nuclear-reactor decommissioning that is being canceled early following an expensive legal challenge. An excessively complicated contract process led to selection of the “wrong bidder,” Cavendish Fluor Partnership, and then to a roughly […]

The Utah House of Representatives this week passed legislation that would reduce radioactive waste disposal fees paid by EnergySolutions by more than $1.7 million annually. The bill from Rep. John Knotwell (R) would cut the flat fee paid by radioactive waste disposal facilities in the state by the amount they paid in taxes in the […]

The Utah House of Representatives this week passed legislation that would reduce radioactive waste disposal fees paid by EnergySolutions by more than $1.7 million annually. The bill from Rep. John Knotwell (R) would cut the flat fee paid by radioactive waste disposal facilities in the state by the amount they paid in taxes in the […]

By John Stang A week after announcing that private-equity firm J.F. Lehman had acquired Waste Control Specialists (WCS), the companies are largely closed-mouth about details of the deal. The involved parties – Lehman, WCS, and former owner Valhi Inc. – announced the sale in three separate press releases after market close on Friday, Jan. 26. […]

Waste Control Specialists is still seeing interest from other potential buyers in the wake of its foiled merger with rival EnergySolutions, a company spokesman said last week. “People and entities are still looking at it and we anticipate there will be new ownership at some point,” WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said by telephone on Dec. […]

Waste Control Specialists is still seeing interest from other potential buyers in the wake of its foiled merger with rival EnergySolutions, a company spokesman said last week. “People and entities are still looking at it and we anticipate there will be new ownership at some point,” WCS spokesman Chuck McDonald said by telephone. McDonald said […]

Congress has received the Department of Energy’s report on options for disposal of Greater-Than-Class C and Class-C-Like Waste, setting the stage for legislative approval of the department’s preferred alternative to potentially divide the material between commercial sites and DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The Energy Department projects the United States will hold […]

The parent company for low-level radioactive waste disposal provider Waste Control Specialists is scheduled to release its latest earnings report after market close on Thursday. Valhi Inc. management will not conduct an earnings call with financial analysts, according to Janet Keckeisen, vice president for corporate strategy and investor relations. Valhi reported net income of $8.8 […]

Time ran out Monday for companies to submit proposals on a five-year low-level radioactive waste disposal contract with the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management, business that is now held by Waste Control Specialists and EnergySolutions. The Energy Department is expected to announce winners of the business, which could be worth a maximum outlay of […]

Time ran out Monday for companies to submit proposals on a five-year low-level radioactive waste disposal contract with the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management, business that is now held by Waste Control Specialists and EnergySolutions. The Energy Department is expected to announce winners of the business, which could be worth a maximum outlay of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking input on the draft regulatory analysis that will lay out updated cost and benefit figures for its revised Part 61 rule on low-level radioactive waste storage. The draft analysis was issued in September 2016 alongside NRC staff’s proposed final rule package. The commission itself last month directed a […]