Decommissioning

Entergy has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to authorize the reduction of insurance for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts following its closure a few weeks from now. In two March 25 letters, the New Orleans-based power company asked the agency to by April 1, 2020, approve exemptions to federal regulations on financial […]

Open-air demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state is scheduled to resume today after being suspended for more than 15 months. It will be the first demolition at the plant since the airborne spread of radioactive contamination was discovered in December 2017. Workers for Hanford cleanup contractor CH2M Hill […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday formally rejected the petition from a Chicago environmental organization to suspend the licenses for three FirstEnergy Corp. nuclear power plants set for closure by October 2021. In a notice posted in the Federal Register, the agency said it had had not found that FirstEnergy and the subsidiaries that […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for April 25 in Florida to take public comment on Duke Energy’s request for the release of much of the property for its retired Crystal River nuclear power plant. In January, Duke filed the request for release of 3,854 acres of the 4,738-acre property from the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a petition to revise federal regulations and allow nuclear power plant operators to use their decommissioning trust funds for removal of major components prior to shutdown. The agency on March 20 docketed the rulemaking petition filed in February by Gerard Van Noordennen, vice president for regulatory affairs at […]

Centrus Energy should wrap up $15 million worth of decontamination and decommissioning at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee by Sept. 30, according to a financial filing Monday. Last September, DOE issued the contract to the Maryland-based company to prepare the K-1600 building for demolition. Centrus leased space in K-1600 to further test […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts this week forcefully pushed back against the suggestion that it not be given party status in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission review of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. Power company Entergy is scheduled to close Pilgrim by May 31, then hopes this year to sell the […]

Fifteen Democratic members of Congress from states with retired or soon-to-close nuclear power plants this week urged leading House appropriators to provide $25 million to help the Department of Energy establish interim storage of radioactive waste. Two corporate teams are seeking Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses for sites that could hold used fuel commercial power plants […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a company’s request to revise federal regulations to allow nuclear power plant operators to use their decommissioning trust funds for removal of major components prior to shutdown. The agency on March 20 docketed the rulemaking petition filed in February by Gerard Van Noordennen, vice president for regulatory affairs at nuclear services […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes that Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy proceeding will not affect the utility’s plan to begin decommissioning its two Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactors in 2024 and 2025. On March 16, the NRC responded in writing to PG&E’s Feb. 26 request for the federal agency’s opinion on […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it intends to fine Southern California Edison $116,000 for an August 2018 mishap in handling of used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). While it has 30 days to contest the decision, the California utility said it would pay the penalty. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes that Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy proceeding will not affect the utility’s plan to begin decommissioning its two Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactors in 2024 and 2025. On March 16, the NRC responded in writing to PG&E’s Feb. 26 request for the federal agency’s opinion on whether the bankruptcy […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it intends to fine Southern California Edison $116,000 for an August 2018 misplay in handling of used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). While it has 30 days to contest the decision, the California utility said it would pay the penalty. “Southern California Edison […]

A longtime executive in the United Kingdom nuclear industry will take over as chief executive officer of Magnox Ltd. later this year, the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) said Tuesday. Gwen Parry-Jones will formally assume the CEO position in September, when Magnox Ltd. becomes a subsidiary of NDA, a nondepartmental government agency established in 2004 […]

Demolition preparations have resumed at the X-333 Process Building at the Department of Energy’s shuttered Portsmouth Site in Ohio after a piece of old uranium-enrichment equipment caught fire there last week, an agency spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The fire ignited at about 10:30 p.m. on March 14, after personnel with site cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth cut […]

The Energy Department continues to work on selecting a winning vendor to characterize, deactivate, and tear down some low-risk structures for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management in Tennessee. In August 2018, the Energy Department issued a request for proposals for a small business set-aside contract, potentially worth almost $25 million over five years, […]

The Trump administration is proposing to shift management of cleanup of more than 20 radioactively contaminated former nuclear sites from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers back to the Department of Energy. The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) would be placed into the portfolio of DOE’s Office of Legacy Management, accounting for nearly all […]

The decommissioning and dismantlement of the STURGIS barge, free of radioactive contamination and a former nuclear power reactor, was effectively completed last week, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. International Shipbreaking Ltd. has been sectioning the vessel at its Brownsville, Texas, facility since January. As work has proceeded, more of the STURGIS has […]

The owner and prospective buyer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts said this week that the state and a local advocacy group should not be allowed to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license transfer review needed for the sale to proceed. In separate filings Monday with the NRC, power company Entergy and […]

By John Stang Pacific Gas & Electric plans to issue a request for proposals around September for accelerated transfer and storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. Representatives from the utility briefed its Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel on this plan during a March 13 […]

By John Stang With little discussion, the California State Lands Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the final environmental impact report on decommissioning the two standing reactors at the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The three-member panel also signed off on a lease application authorizing decommissioning of offshore components of the plant. The commission’s […]

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

The decommissioning and dismantlement of the STURGIS barge, now free of radioactive contamination and a former nuclear power reactor, was effectively completed last week, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. International Shipbreaking Ltd. has been sectioning the vessel at its Brownsville, Texas, facility since January. As work has proceeded, more of the STURGIS […]

The Energy Department continues to work on selecting a winning vendor to characterize, deactivate, and tear down some low-risk structures for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management in Tennessee. In August 2018, the Energy Department issued a request for proposals for a small business set-aside contract, potentially worth almost $25 million over five years, […]

Demolition preparations have resumed at the X-333 Process Building at the Department of Energy’s shuttered Portsmouth Site in Ohio after a piece of old uranium-enrichment equipment caught fire there last week, an agency spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The fire ignited at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, after personnel with site cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth cut open the […]

The Energy Department and its contractors expect demolition of the X-326 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to begin in July 2020, federal managers said March 7 at the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix, Ariz. Most deactivation work has been completed at the building built in the 1950s to enrich uranium, first for […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to update its generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for decommissioning of nuclear power reactors, which was last revised 17 years ago. The document, as the name indicates, assesses possible environmental impacts from decommissioning of NRC-licensed nuclear power facilities. The agency determined the 2002 version of the GEIS needed to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

The Omaha, Neb., Public Power District has apparently selected a contractor to assist in the decommissioning of the closed Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. In a short briefing Tuesday to the OPPD Board of Directors’ Nuclear Oversight Committee, utility officials said they are in negotiations with one potential contractor. They declined to name the […]