Commercial Low-Level Waste

By John Stang The Montana Legislature’s Environmental Quality Council voted 12-2 on Wednesday to remove an informal objection to setting a state radionuclide-concentration limit of 50 picocuries per gram for its landfills to accept technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) waste. In April, the Environmental Council made that informal objection, which delayed the rulemaking […]

Representatives of the nation’s regional low-level radioactive waste compacts have begun discussions on possible means for assistance to sustain operations at a financially troubled disposal facility in Texas. The talks on the state-owned, privately run Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility are being coordinated through the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum. Officials from all 10 […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Tuesday reported a 112.3% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2020, even as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite into its business. Sales rose from $11.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $24.9 million in the three-month period ending March 31 of this year, according to a […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Tuesday reported a 112.3% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2020, even as the COVID-19 pandemic began to bite into its business. Sales rose from $11.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $24.9 million in the three-month period ending March 31 of this year, according to a […]

US Ecology on May 8 said a freeze on all discretionary spending and reduced travel are among the cost controls instituted earlier this year as part of an effort to save tens of millions of dollars in annual expenses to blunt the business impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. The belt-tightening is part of a set […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Tuesday reported a $112.3% increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2020, even as the COVID-19 pandemic began to hit its business. Sales rose from $11.7 million in the first quarter of 2019 to $24.9 million in the three-month period ending March 31 of this year, according to a press […]

US Ecology on Friday said a freeze on all discretionary spending and reduced travel are among the cost controls instituted earlier this year as part of an effort to save tens of millions of dollars in annual expenses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tightened spending was among a triad of money-saving measures announced in March, […]

By John Stang Goodwill impairment charges totaling $300.3 million knocked US Ecology’s net income significantly into the red for the first quarter of 2020. The Boise, Idaho-based waste management specialist “recognized a $283.6 million goodwill impairment charge on its Energy Waste Disposal Services business operating within the Environmental Services segment,” according to a press release […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered initial support for licensing a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of thousands of tons of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The recommendation is included in a draft version of the environmental impact statement for Interim Storage Partners’ planned consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it identified no safety violations during three unannounced inspections in the first three months of 2020 of used fuel operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The findings were presented in an April 28 letter from Greg Warnick, chief of the agency’s Reactor […]

US Ecology said Monday the value of its stock has been nearly halved by the “unprecedented time of uncertainty” generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission provided further illustration of the stress being placed on the radioactive waste management industry, within the larger chaos the crisis has created […]

US Ecology said Monday the value of its stock has been nearly halved by the “unprecedented time of uncertainty” generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission provided further illustration of the stress being placed on the radioactive waste management industry, within the larger chaos the crisis has inflicted […]

Regulators in Canada have requested additional detail on Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ environmental impact statement (EIS) for its planned near-surface disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste at the Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario. The group of federal and provincial officials, headed by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), submitted 37 information requests for the updated EIS […]

Companies in the radioactive waste processing and disposal industry acknowledged this week they are feeling the pinch from the COVID-19 pandemic, but emphasized that they remain fully open for business. At least one industry mainstay confirmed that it has sought federal assistance via the $2.2 trillion CARES Act signed into law on March 27 to […]

Waste Control Specialists on Sunday noted a slowdown in shipments from some customers during the COVID-19 crisis, but said its disposal facility in Texas remains open for business. The drawdown of some federal facilities to essential operations “has delayed some planned waste shipments,” President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing […]

The members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday unanimously approved the next steps in revising state regulations to reduce one charge for disposal of low-level radioactive waste in a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. The vote by the three-member panel sets up publication and a hearing on the amendment to […]

The members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday unanimously approved the next steps in revising state regulations to reduce one charge for disposal of low-level radioactive waste in a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. The vote by the three-member panel sets up publication and a hearing on the amendment to […]

The state of Montana has delayed until May final publication of new rules on landfill disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) waste in landfills. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality had planned to issue its notice of adoption this month, but has pushed that back to May 29 due to the COVID-19 […]

A viable program for treating supplemental low-activity waste at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state can be developed for any one of three major technologies – vitrification, grouting, and steam reforming, according to an April 1 report from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel. But grouting and steam reforming would […]

Radioactive waste management provider US Ecology said Tuesday it would cut tens of millions of dollars in costs this year to offset the economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boise, Idaho-based company said in a press release that unspecified “cost control initiatives” should save $15 million to $20 million annually. A 30% cut […]

Radioactive waste management provider US Ecology said Tuesday it would cut tens of millions of dollars in costs this year to offset the economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boise, Idaho-based company said in a press release that unspecified “cost control initiatives” should save $15 million to $20 million annually. A 30% cut […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was urged Monday to give the public more time to comment on two controversial proceedings after the COVID-19 crisis has passed. Currently, stakeholders have a matter of weeks to provide input on a key environmental document in federal licensing of a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in New Mexico, as […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is scheduled next week to consider updating its regulations to reduce a specific fee for disposal of radioactive waste at a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. With approval from the commission, the curie inventory charge would be cut from $0.40 per millicurie (1/1000th of a curie) […]

Radioactive waste management provider US Ecology said Tuesday it would cut tens of millions of dollars in costs this year to offset the economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boise, Idaho-based company said in a press release that unspecified “cost control initiatives” should save $15 million to $20 million annually. A 30% cut […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is scheduled next week to consider updating its regulations to reduce a specific fee for disposal of radioactive waste at a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. With approval from the commission, the curie inventory charge would be cut from $0.40 per millicurie (1/1000th of a curie) […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was urged Monday to extend consideration of updating its rules on disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) in landfills until the COVID-19 crisis has passed, or to just end the proceeding altogether. Extending the comment period on the proposal for up to six months past the end of the pandemic […]

The organizer of a major nuclear cleanup and waste industry conference held earlier this month said Monday one participant has tested negative for COVID-19 after a potential exposure. Results from testing of one other participant are pending, possibly by today, according to Waste Management Symposia. “We hope to receive the results of the first attendee […]

By John Stang Telecommuting and social distancing are in play across the nation’s radioactive waste industry as the novel coronavirus 2019 sweeps the United States. The limited number of companies that responded to inquiries this week reported no COVID-19 cases among their workforce and no cutbacks in operations, though they did not rule out slowdowns […]

PHOENIX – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering merging two long-running efforts to update federal regulations on disposal of radioactive waste, a senior official said here Monday. Agency staff is currently determining the paths forward for both a potential rulemaking on Greater-Than-Class C Waste and the continuing Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Rulemaking, according to Patricia […]

PHOENIX – Another company indicated Monday it would be ready to bid on an anticipated procurement from the Department of Energy to design a facility for interim storage of nuclear waste. “We are interested in interim storage,” Rod Baltzer, chief operating officer for Deep Isolation, told RadWaste Monitor. “With our design, we do think you […]