Budget & Policy

Steven Ho is the new chief of staff to National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator Jill Hruby, Hruby said Thursday afternoon during a virtual forum. In his new role, Ho will be Hruby’s administrative point man at the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency. Ho was most recently director of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. December 01: Meeting: The Environmental Management Advisory Board meets in hybrid session at 1 p.m. Central Time at Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, Napoleon Room C-3, 500 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. 02: Rollout of the […]

Establishing a federal commission dedicated to overseeing the disposal of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors should be one of Congress’s most pressing tasks, according to a new report from the government’s independent research organization. Congress “will need to establish a single-mission entity with responsibility for managing and disposing of commercial nuclear waste,” the National […]

In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will not publish on Wednesday, Nov. 22 or Thursday, Nov. 23. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Monday, Nov. 28.

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Although you may have noticed the sudden appearance of Formula One content in recent RadWaste Monitor wraps, that ends this weekend with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix — the last of the season. Before we head off into this last weekend before Thanksgiving, though, here are some other stories RadWaste Monitor was […]

As final votes were tabulated across the country following last week’s midterm elections, Nevada’s incumbent senior senator, a staunch opponent of a national nuclear waste repository there, managed to hold onto her seat, state election stewards reported this week. Although she trailed former state attorney general Adam Laxalt (R) heading into the weekend, Catherine Cortez […]

While the House of Representatives is reportedly swinging to red from blue, a Democrat and political newcomer has claimed the Republican-held seat in Washington state not far from the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. Meanwhile, a narrow victory by incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) over state attorney general Adam Laxalt (R) gives Democrats a […]

While the House of Representatives is reportedly swinging to red from blue, a Democrat and political newcomer has claimed the Republican-held seat in Washington state not far from the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat who owns an auto repair shop with her husband, claimed 50.2% of the vote in this […]

Ohio’s former state House speaker wants to exclude statements by a dead alleged accomplice from his upcoming federal trial for bribery related to two financially struggling reactors. Attorneys for ex-speaker Larry Householder (R) also want a federal judge to ban from his trial references to a separate but related bribery scandal involving the former head […]

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. November 14-18: Conference. The American Nuclear Society kicks off its annual winter meeting in Phoenix, Ariz., with opening plenary session starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. Virtual access available. 14: Meeting: The Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory […]

As Nevada over the weekend counted the final ballots from last week’s midterm elections, the state’s incumbent senior senator, a staunch opponent of a national nuclear waste repository there, managed to hold onto her seat, state election stewards reported. Although she trailed former state attorney general Adam Laxalt (R) heading into the weekend, Catherine Cortez […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is distributing $30 million in grant money to minority serving institutions to bolster math, science and technology education among non-white students in South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state. The funds should help develop science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) proficiency among students at traditionally black, hispanic and […]

In congressional races in Washington state, incumbents who help control the purse strings for the Hanford Site, the Department of Energy’s largest and most expensive nuclear cleanup property, won re-election. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), whose 4th congressional district includes Hanford and who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, was declared the winner by the Associated […]

In federal elections, stability often prevails in the mostly rural areas that are home to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s major labs, plants and sites. The 2022 midterm elections this week largely continued the trend, with all of one new face among the mostly unaffiliated contingent of lawmakers who represent the states and districts that […]

The legislative process could prove an obstacle to the Department of Energy’s goal to get a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel up and running within a decade or so, an agency official said during a recent webinar. DOE’s prediction that its proposed interim storage site could be open in 10-15 years is, […]

Three days after Americans went to the polls for the midterm election, it remains unclear whether two staunch opponents of a Nevada geologic repository will remain in power in the Silver State, according to election data. As of Friday, incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) trailed her Republican opponent, former state attorney general Adam Laxalt, […]

In congressional races in Washington state, incumbents who help control the purse strings for the Hanford Site, the Department of Energy’s largest and most expensive nuclear cleanup property, won re-election. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), whose 4th congressional district includes Hanford and who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, was declared the winner by the Associated […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is distributing $30 million in grant money to minority serving institutions to bolster math, science and technology education among non-white students in South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state. The funds should help develop science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) proficiency among students at traditionally black, hispanic and […]

07: Earnings: BWX Technologies will release its quarterly earnings after the markets close and then conduct a conference call with financial analysts, available online, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.  09: Meeting: Oak Ridge Site-Specific Advisory Board holds a hybrid meeting starting at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. While board members attend in person at the DOE […]

The Washington state congressional delegation wrote to President Joe Biden last week, urging more federal funding for the Hanford Site in fiscal 2024 as the former plutonium production facility starts turning low-level radioactive tank waste into glass. The DOE and Bechtel are targeting the startup of the Direct-Feed-Low-Activity-Waste Facility at the Waste Treatment Plant by […]

WASHINGTON — The National Nuclear Security Administration late last week was still preparing to explain to Congress what caused construction of the agency’s next-generation uranium manufacturing hub in Tennessee to fall two years behind schedule, the agency’s head said here. “We’re not ready for public statements” about the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) Jill Hruby, administrator […]

A senior official at Entergy Corp. said this week that the energy company believes a sweeping federal legislation package passed over the summer that includes tax incentives for nuclear power plants could bring value to its stakeholders. Entergy is “optimistic” about the potential benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August by […]

Earnings were mixed at Leidos, Reston, Va., in the third quarter, which the government defense and services company said Tuesday was affected by challenges to contract awards by business rivals. Net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $164 million or $1.17 a share, down from $208 million, or $1.43 a share, in the […]

The Washington state congressional delegation wrote to President Joe Biden last week, urging more federal funding for the Hanford Site in fiscal 2024 as the former plutonium production facility starts turning low-level radioactive tank waste into glass. The DOE and Bechtel are targeting the startup of the Direct-Feed-Low-Activity-Waste Facility at the Waste Treatment Plant by […]

November Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. 01: Atlantic Council, “The future of US nuclear strategy: Releasing the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review.” Features senior Department of Defense officials. 1030 15th St. NW, 12th floor, Washington. 2:00 p.m. Streaming online. Register here. 01: […]

A California congressman last week unveiled legislation that, if made law, would establish a dedicated public engagement office within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Rep. Mike Levin’s (D-Calif.) proposed bill, introduced Oct. 21, would establish an “Office of Public Engagement and Participation” within NRC that would, among other things, “support public participation” in agency proceedings and […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Boards sent the Department of Energy a reminder about overdue safety reports for several nuclear weapon sites, according to a letter dated Oct. 20. DOE’s delay is “affecting the Board’s safety oversight,” Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) chair Joyce Connery wrote in the letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer […]

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, pledged last week to seek funds for possible replacement of a middle school closed three years ago after public disclosure of radioactive contamination on the campus near the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Manchin, who also sits on the Senate […]

The National Nuclear Security administration will create a new risk management strategy with the Pentagon, mandate more regular infusions of new technology into nuclear-weapons design and manufacture and build new science facilities, according to the Nuclear Posture Review the Joe Biden administration released Thursday. Those are the three pillars of the plan laid out to […]

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, pledged last week to seek funds for possible replacement of a middle school closed three years ago after public disclosure of radioactive contamination on the campus near the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Manchin, who also sits on the Senate […]