Commercial Low-Level Waste

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 […]

A member of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has been elevated to the chairmanship as of Aug. 31, the agency announced Tuesday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott selected Jon Niermann as TCEQ chairman for an indefinite term, according to a press release. He replaces Bryan Shaw, who retired Friday after nearly 11 years on the […]

John Stang Perma-Fix expect its GeoMelt radioactive waste treatment system to go into fuller production in late 2018 at its Washington state location, according to President and CEO Mark Duff. Early this year, the Atlanta-based waste management company entered into a contract with Veolia Nuclear Solutions to install its patented vitrification technology in Perma-Fix’s Richland […]

By John Stang Perma-Fix expects its GeoMelt radioactive waste treatment system to go into fuller production in late 2018 at its Washington state location, according to President and CEO Mark Duff. Early this year, the Atlanta-based waste management company entered into a contract with Veolia Nuclear Solutions to install its patented vitrification technology in Perma-Fix’s […]

One of the members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Monday moved over to serve as the agency’s new executive director. He was quickly replaced on the commission by a former TCEQ staffer and short-term U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employee. The state agency, with nearly 3,000 employees overseen by three commissioners, regulates […]

International Isotopes’ net loss for the first half of 2018 was 79 percent smaller than the number for the same period of last year, according to the latest earnings report from the Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine specialist. Net loss dropped from nearly $1.4 million to $297,875 on a year-over-year basis, International Isotopes said Wednesday. […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services’ net income for the second quarter of 2018 outstripped the number for both the preceding earnings period and the same quarter of last year. The Atlanta-based waste management company on Wednesday reported $610,000 ($0.05 per share) in net income attributable to common stockholders for the period ended June 30. It was the […]

Idaho-based environmental services provider US Ecology nearly tripled its net income in the second quarter of 2018, as earnings improved largely across the board. Net income landed at $13.2 million ($0.60 per share) for the three-month period ended June 30, up from a flat $5 million ($0.23 per share) in the second quarter of 2017. […]

Former Waste Control Specialists President and CEO Rod Baltzer said Wednesday he has joined another radioactive waste management company as chief operating officer. “I am the Chief Operating Officer of Deep Isolation … a startup company focused on the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel deep underground,” Baltzer said in an update to his […]

Former Waste Control Specialists President and CEO Rod Baltzer said Wednesday he has joined another radioactive waste management company as chief operating officer. “I am the Chief Operating Officer of Deep Isolation … a startup company focused on the storage and disposal of spent nuclear fuel deep underground,” Baltzer said in an update to his […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission pushed back publication of new supplemental rules for Part 61 low-level radioactive waste disposal to early 2019, the independent federal agency said this week. Previously, the commissioned planned to publish the new supplemental rules this summer. “The staff encountered some complexities in implementing the changes required in the supplemental rule, so […]

Montana state officials expect next month to present local stakeholders with an updated set of proposed rules for management of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) waste. That would initiate a months-long process of review, including a public comment period, leading to anticipated finalization of the rules in early 2019, according to the Montana […]

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 […]

Stakeholders urged the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to move cautiously as it studies potentially establishing a new designation and disposal approach for what is now informally called very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW). More than 40 separate comments were submitted ahead of the May 15 deadline after the agency in February initiated a broad program to enhance […]

Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne on Wednesday signed legislation enabling the state to establish regulations for management of certain radioactive materials. Lynne assumed the duties of governor while Gov. John Hickenlooper was out of the state. The state’s Radiation Control Act prohibited Colorado from establishing regulations on naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally […]

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) has received legislation that would enable the state to establish regulations for management of certain radioactive materials. The state’s Radiation Control Act prohibits Colorado from establishing regulations on naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency first takes that […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality this week initiated a rulemaking that would reduce a number of charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) at the Waste Control Specialists complex in Andrews County. Without discussion during a meeting Wednesday, the three-member commission approved a hearing and publication of proposed amendments to the Texas Administrative […]

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 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is considering a rulemaking that would reduce a number of charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists complex in Andrews County. The changes to the Texas Administrative Code would apply to fees for the WCS-managed, state-owned Texas Compact Waste Facility. Waste Control Specialists has […]

An organization comprised of 82 mayors in the Montreal area last week unanimously issued a resolution of objection to plans for a radioactive waste disposal facility at Chalk River, Ontario. The Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) “is initiating a process to oppose this nuclear dump development project and intends to work with the City of Gatineau […]

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission has approved a revised rule aimed at providing additional information about low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) being imported into the state. Among a number of changes to the original proposal, waste disposal providers covered by the rule would now only be required to issue semiannual reports on their […]

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission has approved a revised rule aimed at providing additional information about low-level waste being imported into the state. Among the changes to the original proposal, waste disposal providers covered by the rule are now only required to issue semiannual reports on their operations. The commission voted on […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is taking public comment through June 5 on a request for an update to federal regulations regarding storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel. Ray Lutz, and his California watchdog group Citizens’ Oversight, filed the petition for rulemaking on Title 10, Part 72, of the Code of Regulations in January. His […]

A Colorado lawmaker has introduced legislation that would mandate state adoption of rules for disposal of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM). The state Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) had been seeking a sponsor for legislation that would relieve the prohibition in Colorado’s Radiation Control Act […]

A Colorado lawmaker has introduced legislation that would mandate state adoption of rules for disposal of naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM). The state Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has been seeking a sponsor for legislation that would relieve the prohibition in Colorado’s 1963 Radiation Control […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving toward a potential rulemaking on disposal of Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) and transuranic (TRU) radioactive wastes from nongovernment sources, this week requesting public input for a regulatory basis that would help guide the process. The commission first requested the regulatory basis in December 2015, after Texas inquired about licensing a […]

The executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will retire in April after more than four years on the job. The state agency did not say whether Richard Hyde would be replaced on an interim basis. The commission is the state regulator for the Waste Control Specialists site in Andrews County, one of […]

The state of Montana is revising a set of proposed rules issued last year for management of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) waste. The state Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said in a Jan. 24 memo it believes “revisions of the rules are warranted to address public concern and stakeholder input” received since […]

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 […]