Decommissioning

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Friday it had completed decommissioning of the radioactively contaminated STURGIS barge, which should be towed next week for shipbreaking. The parts of the retired nuclear reactor and all other radioactive waste on the vessel have been removed at the Port of Galveston, Texas, and shipped to Waste Control […]

Demolition-related work could restart next week at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, but contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. has been cleared only to resume lower-hazard operations. Most work has been stopped at the highly radioactively contaminated facility since December, when a spread of radioactive material was discovered for the second time in 2017. […]

Scott Anderson has been promoted to president and general manager of the cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state, CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley. Anderson has been the No. 2 executive at the West Valley contractor for three years, serving as senior vice president and general manager. […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week conducted its on-site inspection of an August mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The agency declined to discuss details of the special inspection beyond those laid out in an Aug. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it remains on track to rule by the end of this month whether to approve the license transfer for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. An agency spokesman did not give a more specific schedule for the decision, which the NRC has said only would occur in the […]

By John Stang A new approach to decommissioning the nearly retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey could save $200 million, according to owner Exelon and prospective buyer Holtec International. The plant’s single boiling-water reactor is scheduled to shut down on Monday. The two companies’ license transfer application was filed with the Nuclear […]

The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) is considering cutting decades off the time it planned to complete decommissioning of the shuttered Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. Expediting the process could save more than $200 million and nearly 40 years of work, according to an analysis presented to the OPPD Board of Directors this week. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has officially terminated the license for the long-closed Rancho Seco Nuclear Generating Plant in California, according to a notice posted Tuesday to the Federal Register. That opens the property in Herald, Calif., for unrestricted use. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) began providing power from the pressurized water reactor in […]

Scott Anderson has been promoted to president and general manager of the cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state, CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley. Anderson has been the No. 2 executive at the West Valley contractor for three years, serving as senior vice president and general manager. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began its on-site inspection Monday of an August mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The agency declined to discuss details of the special inspection beyond those laid out in an Aug. 24 press release on […]

Issues raised by a group of senators about the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ongoing rulemaking for reactors shifting to decommissioning have and will be considered as the proceeding advances, according to NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki. “The specific issues in your letter – regulation by exemption, public participation and awareness, spent fuel storage, and financial and physical […]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates a House of Representatives bill to reauthorize appropriations for ongoing environmental remediation at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state would cost $345 million from fiscal 2019 through 2023. The figure is based on the estimated outlays for the five years, rather than the authorized level of […]

Some information of the well decommissioning program at the Hanford Site in Washington state has not been kept up-to-date, the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office said in an audit report released on Aug. 31. The audit was a follow-up to a January 2005 audit on well decommissioning activities, which found numerous problems. Every time […]

Seventy percent of all retired reactors around the world were undergoing decommissioning as of July, according to the latest World Nuclear Industry Status Report. That figure covers 115 of 173 permanently shuttered reactor units, the report issued Tuesday says. Nineteen reactors have been fully decommissioned, which the report defines as defueled, deconstructed, and dismantled. Thirteen […]

Less than one year before its scheduled closure, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts remains in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lowest safety ranking allowed for an atomic energy plant to continue operations. The NRC made the determination in its latest quarterly performance evaluation for the single-reactor facility in Plymouth, made public on Aug. 30. […]

Seventy percent of all retired reactors around the world were undergoing decommissioning as of July, according to the latest World Nuclear Industry Status Report. That figure covers 115 of 173 permanently shuttered reactor units, the report issued Tuesday says. Nineteen reactors have been fully decommissioned, which the report defines as defueled, deconstructed, and dismantled. Thirteen […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week received the application to transfer the operating license for the Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey from owner Exelon to prospective buyer Holtec International. Spokespeople for the NRC and Holtec confirmed the application had been filed and said it should be publicly available this week. No additional […]

Some information of the well decommissioning program at the Hanford Site in Washington state has not been kept up-to-date, the Department of Energy’s Inspector General’s Office said in an audit report released Friday. The audit was a follow-up to a January 2005 audit on well decommissioning activities, which found numerous problems. Wells are used at […]

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates a House of Representatives bill to reauthorize appropriations for ongoing environmental remediation at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state would cost $345 million from fiscal 2019 through 2023. The figure is based on the estimated outlays for the five years, rather than the authorized level of […]

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) confirmed recently the cleanup road map for the entire Santa Susana Field Laboratory site, due this year, will not be published until 2019. State spokesman Sanford Nax confirmed by email the DTSC now expects to issue the program management plan (PMP) for the 2,800-acre site in early […]

Los Angeles-based engineering giant AECOM on Monday announced that it has promoted former Department of Energy official Mark Whitney to lead its nuclear and environment business unit, filling the slot vacated by Todd Wright. Wright recently retired as executive vice president and general manager of the AECOM branch, but is staying on at the company […]

By John Stang The California Coastal Commission has decided not to review a watchdog organization’s request for an extensive probe of an Aug. 3 mishap in the transfer of spent reactor fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “Based on the information we have we believe this is a nuclear […]

The owners of operational and shuttered nuclear power plants in 2017 all demonstrated “assurance” that they are prepared to manage the costs of decommissioning their facilities, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Agency staff offered its assessment in a summary of its evaluation of the decommissioning funding status reports filed last year by licensees for […]

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) confirmed Friday the cleanup road map for the entire Santa Susana Field Laboratory site, due this year, will now not be published until 2019. State spokesman Sanford Nax confirmed by email the DTSC now expects to issue the program management plan (PMP) for the 2,800-acre site in early […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed set of rules for nuclear power reactors in decommissioning could leave taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in costs in the event of a major accident, according to four U.S. senators. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) aired a number […]

By John Stang Exelon and Holtec International aim by the end of this month to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer the operating license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. The two companies had initially hoped to submit the transfer application by Aug. 17. However, at an Aug. 15 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it is opening a special inspection of a recent mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The announcement comes as watchdog groups in California are demanding action, with one reportedly planning a lawsuit, in […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday gave interested parties more than two additional weeks to comment on the draft version of its interim staff guidance for materials licensees’ decommissioning funding plans. The document, when finalized, is intended to give stakeholders at the NRC and in industry “guidance based on developments and lessons learned regarding financial […]

The California State Assembly on Monday overwhelmingly approved legislation aimed at offsetting financial impacts from the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in San Luis Obispo County. The 67-1 vote on the Assembly floor for the legislation followed a 31-4 vote by the California Senate on May 29. Senate Bill 1090 now goes […]

Exelon and Holtec international are expected within a matter of days to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for transfer of the license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. Oyster Creek is one of three nuclear power plants Holtec plans to buy once they have ceased operations. Last week, […]