Decommissioning

By John Stang Southern California Edison plans in 2021 to apply for a second California state permit in order to remove parts of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) that are in Pacific Ocean. If approved by the California Coastal Commission, the offshore permit would authorize the utility to tackle the portions of the […]

A number of companies with broad experience in nuclear and environmental remediation operations sent representatives to a Sept. 16 site visit for the decommissioning procurement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ retired SM-1 reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. Among the participants were Westinghouse, AECOM, Bechtel, APTIM, Atkins, EnergySolutions, and BWX Technologies, according to the […]

AECOM announced Monday it plans to sell its government contracting business for $2.4 billion to two investment firms rather than advancing a previous plan to spin the branch off into a stand-alone public company. Affiliates of New York City-based American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg are joining to buy AECOM’s Management Services business. In its press […]

Holtec International believes it can complete decommissioning of the three-reactor Indian Point Energy Center by 2036, assuming it receives federal authorization to buy the Buchanan, N.Y., nuclear power plant. The Camden, N.J., energy technology company laid out its schedule in a presentation Thursday to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials in advance of applying to assume […]

EnergySolutions on Tuesday said it had sealed the deal for acquisition of reactor Unit 2 (TMI-2) at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, which famously partially melted down 40 years ago. Under the newly signed contract, the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services firm will buy TMI-2’s assets and obtain its licenses from […]

Centrus Energy on Wednesday said it had finished the $15 million decontamination and decommissioning of the K-1600 plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier met its budget and schedule commitments for the job, according to a press release. “I’m pleased our team was able […]

Centrus Energy on Wednesday said it had finished the $15 million decontamination and decommissioning of the K-1600 plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier met its budget and schedule commitments for the job, according to a press release. “I’m pleased our team was able […]

House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) on Thursday said she would retire from Congress rather than seeking re-election in 2020. “I am honored that my colleagues in Congress elected me as the first Chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee and will fight vigorously for House Democratic priorities as I negotiate spending bills for fiscal […]

By John Stang A watchdog organization on Monday asked a state court in California to halt the transfer of used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) and to make majority owner Southern California Edison prove it is on track to move the radioactive waste to an off-site location. The San Diego […]

A total of 181 nuclear power reactors around the world have been retired as of July 1, but only 19 of those have been fully decommissioned, according to the 2019 version of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report. The number of shuttered reactors rose by eight from the 2018 version of report. The United States, […]

A total of 181 nuclear power reactors around the world have been retired as of July 1, but only 19 of those have been fully decommissioned, according to the 2019 version of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report. The number of shuttered reactors rose by eight from the 2018 version of report. The United States, […]

Centrus Energy on Wednesday said it had finished the $15 million decontamination and decommissioning of the K-1600 plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier met its budget and schedule commitments for the job, according to a press release. “I’m pleased our team was able to […]

Eight nuclear power plants have been retired since 2013 in the face of continued energy market pressure, with five more scheduled for shutdown over the next six years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday. The latest early retirement was Exelon’s reactor Unit 1 at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pa., on Sept. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday asked states and Indian tribes to weigh in with their thoughts on best practices and operations for organizations intended to provide local guidance for decommissioning of nearby nuclear power plants. That input would be incorporated into an agency report on the topic that was mandated in the Nuclear […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has suspended work on a study of potential regulatory updates for disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) while it considers other approaches to the matter. As recently as March, the agency said it expected to issue its scoping-study findings before the end of spring. However, staff is now separately […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission as of Tuesday has placed a new branch in charge of oversight of the recently retired reactor Unit 1 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pa. Oversight has been transferred from the agency’s operating power reactor inspection program to its decommissioning power reactor inspection program under […]

New Jersey has established a panel of state officials to provide additional oversight of decommissioning at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced Wednesday. The Oyster Creek Safety Advisory Panel “will enhance existing oversight to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and provide assurances to the public that the proper protocols for […]

The U.S. Energy Department on Monday formally announced it would demolish the final 18 structures at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The plan is laid out in a new record of decision for remediation of the DOE-held Area IV and Northern Buffer Zone at Santa […]

The U.S. Energy Department on Monday formally announced it would demolish the final 18 structures at the former Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The plan is laid out in a new record of decision for remediation of the DOE-held Area IV and Northern Buffer Zone at Santa […]

Exelon on Friday shut down its reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Unit 1 powered down for the last time at noon, according to an Exelon press release. Workers will now spend several weeks removing used fuel from the reactor for cooling. The reactor retirement came more than a week earlier […]

A former staffer at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) who worked on radioactive waste issues has returned as a commissioner. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday appointed Bobby Janecka to the third spot on the commission, according to a press release. The other members are Chairman Jon Niermann and Commissioner Emily Lindley. […]

By John Stang Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects completion by 2021 of an overhaul of regulations covering nuclear power reactors making the transition from operations to decommissioning. That is two years later than anticipated when the NRC commissioners in 2014 told staff to proceed with the rulemaking, Bruce Watson, chief of the […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects completion by 2021 of an overhaul of regulations covering nuclear power reactors making the transition from operations to decommissioning. That is two years later than anticipated when the NRC commissioners in 2014 told staff to proceed with the rulemaking, Bruce Watson, chief of the NRC’s Reactor Decommissioning […]

Power company Exelon has moved up the retirement date for its reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania to Friday, a senior U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said Tuesday. Reactor Unit 1 had been scheduled to close by Sept. 30. “We originally were told it would shut down by the end […]

HENDERSON, Nev. — There is roughly three decades of environmental work left at the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, mostly at Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, according to one official. “We’ve got about 30 years of cleanup to do, we think, based on a relatively flat funding […]

The latest soil samples from around the Rocky Flats Natural Wildlife Refuge show residual radiological contamination at the one-time nuclear weapons site in Colorado poses no health threat for employees, hikers, or nearby communities, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a report Sept. 6. The samples taken in June around the former location […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Sept. 6 visited the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to assess challenges associated with cleanup of the site. The Energy Department said in a Friday press release that Perry was keeping a promise he made in June to visit the facility. The Energy […]

The latest soil samples from around the Rocky Flats Natural Wildlife Refuge show residual radiological contamination at the one-time nuclear weapons site in Colorado poses no health threat for employees, hikers, or nearby communities, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a report Friday. The samples taken in June around the former location of […]

HENDERSON, Nev. — There is roughly three decades of environmental work left at the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, mostly at Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, according to one official. “We’ve got about 30 years of cleanup to do, we think, based on a relatively flat funding […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Friday visited the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory to assess challenges associated with cleanup of the site. The Energy Department said in a Friday press release that Perry was keeping a promise he made in June to visit the facility. The Energy Department […]