Commercial Low-Level Waste

The Staff Related Memorandum related to the revision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 10 CFR Part 61 waste classification system should be issued “soon,” NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane said yesterday at the Platts 10th Annual Nuclear Energy Conference. For the SRM to be issued, all five commissioner’s votes need to be in. “Sometime soon,” Macfarlane […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/24/2014 The Texas Compact Commission rule review experienced a delay this month after a meeting with stakeholders to discuss possible changes was pushed back due to scheduling conflicts, according to Compact Chairman Bob Wilson during the Commission’s public meeting last week.  Wilson had previously said that this meeting—originally scheduled for […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/24/2014 The Sierra Club will continue its challenge against the Barnwell low-level waste disposal facility license renewal early next month in the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The Sierra Club initially loss its challenge in the Administrative Law Court, which upheld the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/24/2014 Waste Control Specialists received approval from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality this week to begin offering customers extended bulk disposal services for low-level Class A waste in its RCRA hazardous waste landfill. The new service comes after WCS aligned its license amendment for exempted waste from the TCEQ […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 AREVA TN announced this week that it has entered into an agreement with Waste Control Specialists to provide support services for its TN RAM Cask. The agreement opens up a new disposal pathway for utilities to dispose of waste in the WCS facility, which accepts Class A, B, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 A majority of the commissioners on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have voted to reduce the proposed standard for the time of compliance in its revision of the NRC’s 10 CFR Part 61 waste classification system, RW Monitor has learned. The new revision would reduce the initial time of compliance […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/25/2014 The agreement between EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists to ship Class B and C low-level radioactive waste from the Zion decommissioning appears to remain intact, but it is unclear when, or if, shipments are likely to occur, according to EnergySolutions spokesman Mark Walker. Previously, the agreement appeared to have […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/18/2014 A Texas state court of appeals judge earlier this month denied a challenge by the Sierra Club against the byproduct disposal permit issued to Waste Control Specialists by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The case centered on TCEQ’s denial to hold a contested-case hearing during the permitting process, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/18/2014 Waste Control Specialists has begun to reach out to the local community in Andrews, Texas, to help determine if there is local interest in potentially hosting an interim storage facility for high-level nuclear waste. With state officials having expressed an interest in potentially hosting such a site, WCS met […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/4/2014 Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry expressed support for examining the state’s role in potentially storing high-level waste in a letter he sent to Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst and Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus late last week.  Straus has asked state lawmakers to begin considering the logistics […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 4/4/2014 An agreement between EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists to ship Class B and C low-level radioactive waste from the Zion decommissioning project for disposal at WCS appears to have fallen apart, RW Monitor has learned. EnergySolutions received an exemption from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that enabled the company to […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/28/2014 The Department of Energy has begun conducting market research on companies capable of treating low-level radioactive waste and mixed low-level waste, according to a Sources Sought Synopsis/Request For Information posted this week. The current set of Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts for waste treatment services ends next year in June, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/28/2014 Robatel Technologies received a Certificate of Compliance from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week that enables its Type-B shipping cask design to begin transporting waste. Waste Control Specialists contracted with Robatel to provide three Type B casks capable of shipping Class B and C low-level radioactive waste. The first […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/21/2014 Valhi Inc., the parent company of Waste Control Specialists, expects WCS to begin operating profitably in 2014 after suffering an operating loss in 2013, although the company warned it would not be opposed to seeking “strategic alternatives” if cash flow does not improve, according to a Securities and Exchange […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/21/2014 Changes should be made to the current regulatory system in place for disused sources to incentivize licensees to reuse, recycle, or disposal the disused sources promptly, a Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum working group recommended in a report presented this week at the LLW Forum in Austin, Texas. Working under […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/7/2014 Waste Control Specialists has received the first of three Type B casks— capable of shipping Class B and C low-level radioactive waste—and will begin entering into contracts with customers for its cask transportation services. The new casks, manufactured by Robatel, fill a glaring industry need as only four casks […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/31/2014 With Waste Control Specialists securing approval earlier this month to dispose of exempt low level waste in its RCRA landfill, many in the disposal and treatment industry have varied views on how the market will be impacted. The license approval granted from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality has […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists each remain on track to receive new Type-B casks— capable of shipping Class B and C low-level radioactive waste—in the first quarter of this year, spokesmen for both companies said this week.  EnergySolutions, which owns and operates the four Type-B casks that currently service […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 AREVA TN announced this week that it has entered into an agreement with Waste Control Specialists to provide support services for its TN RAM Cask. The agreement opens up a new disposal pathway for utilities to dispose of waste in the WCS facility, which accepts Class A, B, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 EnergySolutions and Waste Control Specialists each remain on track to receive new Type-B casks— capable of shipping Class B and C low-level radioactive waste—in the first quarter of this year, spokesmen for both companies said this week.  EnergySolutions, which owns and operates the four Type-B casks that currently service […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 1/17/2014 AREVA TN announced this week that it has entered into an agreement with Waste Control Specialists to provide support services for its TN RAM Cask. The agreement opens up a new disposal pathway for utilities to dispose of waste in the WCS facility, which accepts Class A, B, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 5/16/2014 Valhi, Inc., the parent company of Waste Control Specialists, reported this week that its waste management segment suffered an operating loss of $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2014, a larger loss compared to the operating loss of $1.6 million in the same period of 2013. In its […]

The following interview with WCS President Rod Baltzer was performed last week by RW Monitor Reporter Jeremy L. Dillon on the sidelines of the 2014 Waste Management Symposium in Phoenix, Ariz. WCS appears to have really made some changes this year with the recent announcement of receiving approval for exempt waste bulk disposal in its […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/14/2014 Members of a panel made of up of government and industry officials recommended a gap analysis of the current regulatory framework for low-level radioactive waste during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission public meeting held last week to discuss the NRC’s strategic assessment of the  low-level radioactive waste regulatory program. The […]

The Staff Related Memorandum related to the revision of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 10 CFR Part 61 waste classification system should be issued “soon,” NRC Chairman Allison Macfarlane said yesterday at the Platts 10th Annual Nuclear Energy Conference. For the SRM to be issued, all five commissioner’s votes need to be in. “Sometime soon,” Macfarlane […]

EnergySolutions is set to purchase Studsvik’s U.S. operations in deal worth $23 million. The sale includes Studsvik’s operations in Erwin and Memphsi, Tenn., as well as its holding in SempraSafe. Additionally, EnergySolutions acquires patents related to the THOR treatment technology in China and the rights to use the patents in the commercial market in North […]

The Southeast Compact Commission is negotiating with Ted Buckner to serve as its new Executive Director, according to a resolution issued by the Commission late last week. The resolution also authorizes an ad hoc group, made up of Chairman Michael Mobley, Vice-Chairman Debra Shults, Secretary-Treasurer Herbert Wheary, Chairman of the Policy and Planning Committee John […]

Valhi Inc. named three new members to its board of directors, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from late last week. Included was William Lindquist, current CEO of Waste Control Specialists. WCS is a subsidiary of Valhi, and Lindquist serves as a vice president within Valhi. “Effective February 27, 2014, the registrant’s board […]

EnergySolutions has completed its purchase of Studsvik’s commercial U.S. operations, the company announced yesterday. The deal includes the purchase of Studsvik’s processing facilities in Erwin and Memphis, Tenn., the acquisition of the THOR technology for the commercial North American and Chinese markets, and Studsviks’s portion of its and EnergySolution’s joint venture with the SEMPRASAFE resin […]