Innovation & Infrastructure

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 11/21/2014 A Canadian company reached a major milestone last week in its efforts to produce molybdenum-99, a medical isotope used in millions of procedures annually. Canadian Light Source, based in the province of Saskatchewan, announced the first shipment of medical isotopes produced in its dedicated linear accelerator. With Canada set […]

NRC Extends MOX Construction Deadline NS&D Monitor 11/21/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week extended the construction authorization deadline for completion of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility by 10 years until March 30, 2025. Contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services requested the extension in May after delays in construction due to funding cuts and delays […]

Permanent Security Fence Going Up in Front of Y-12 NS&D Monitor 11/21/2014 A new security barrier is being constructed at the Y-12 National Security Complex and this time it will be permanent. Steven Wyatt, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Production Office, confirmed this week that a “temporary” security fence alongside Y-12 entrance […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 11/21/2014 Battelle Energy Alliance, operator of the Idaho National Laboratory, issued a sources sought notice this week seeking interested parties who are capable of commercializing its prototype Integrated Waste Screening System (IWSS) design that helps in the segregation of radioactive waste. The system has applications with Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material […]

Battelle Energy Alliance, operator of the Idaho National Laboratory, issued a sources sought notice yesterday for interested parties who are capable of commercializing its prototype Integrated Waste Screening System (IWSS) design that helps in the segregation of radioactive waste. The system has applications with Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) waste produced as a by-product of […]

The Department of Energy is investing $425 million in its pursuit of exascale supercomputing, including the award of two new supercomputers at Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced the awards Friday, as well as a $100 million boost to DOE’s FastForward 2 program, which shepherds research and development into […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week extended the deadline for completion of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility by 10 years until March 30, 2025. Contractor CB&I AREVA MOX Services requested the extension in May after delays in construction due to funding cuts and delays in component deliveries. The scope of work will remain the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 11/14/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration will add an additional $8 million to its cost-sharing agreement with two companies trying to establish a domestic supply of the medical isotope molybdenum-99, the agency announced late this week. The NNSA entered into a cost-sharing agreement with the two companies, NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor  11/7/2014 Babcock & Wilcox is moving ahead with a plan to separate its power generation business from its government and nuclear operations group, the company said this week as it released its third quarter financial earnings. The split is expected to be completed by mid-2015, and will result in the creation […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 11/7/2014 Babcock & Wilcox is moving ahead with a plan to separate its power generation business from its government and nuclear operations group, the company said this week as it released its third quarter financial earnings. The split is expected to be completed by mid-2015, and will result in the creation […]

Babcock & Wilcox is moving ahead with a plan to separate its power generation business from its government and nuclear operations group, the company said yesterday as it released its third quarter financial earnings. The split is expected to be completed by mid-2015, and will result in the creation of two companies: Charlotte-headquartered Babcock & […]

Kurion received a contract worth approximately $10 million from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to demonstrate its tritium-removal technology as a possible remedy at Fukushima, the company officially announced yesterday. Kurion first previewed its contract with METI back in September when Kurion President John Raymont spoke at the RadWaste Summit in Summerlin, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/31/2014 The Department of Energy should take more steps to strengthen its cybersecurity program, DOE’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released this week. Cybersecurity has been a growing area of concern for the Department, especially after a 2013 breach of personal information of over 104,000 individuals. The IG […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 10/31/2014 The Department of Energy should take more steps to strengthen its cybersecurity program, DOE’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released this week. Cybersecurity has been a growing area of concern for the Department, especially after a 2013 breach of personal information of over 104,000 individuals. The IG […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/31/2014 Perma-Fix Environmental Services is attempting to pivot its design for the production of molybdenum-99 into a larger-scale version of its technology, Perma-Fix CEO Lou Centofanti said this week. The company announced earlier this year the successful demonstration of its technology to produce the medical isotopes used in millions of […]

Astoria Capital SA, a Polish investment firm, increased its shares in Perma-Fix Medical, a subsidiary of Perma-Fix, by approximately seven percent, Reuters reported yesterday. The increase in stocks would raise the investment firm’s share in the company to 10 percent, an indication of its belief in Perma-Fix’s ability to leverage its technetium-99m production technology. Perma-Fix […]

The Department of Energy should take more steps to strengthen its cybersecurity program, DOE’s Office of Inspector General said in a report released yesterday. “While the Department continued to make progress in correcting deficiencies identified in prior years, additional effort is needed to ensure that the risks of operating systems are identified and that systems […]

Abby L. Harvey GHG Monitor 10/24/2014 Capital SkyMine, a first-of-its-kind commercial-scale carbon capture and utilization demonstration project, opened this week outside of San Antonio, Texas. The project, owned by Skyonic, pulls flue gas off of the Capital Aggregates cement plant into the new $125 million Capitol SkyMine plant, where the CO2 is mineralized to create […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 10/17/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration is on the verge of qualifying a 3-D-printed part for use in a nuclear weapon for the first time, marking a major milestone in the meteoric rise of the new production technology. Additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, is already being used to produce tooling used […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has beefed up federal oversight of the Uranium Processing Facility project in the wake of a space/fit issue that added $540 million to the projected cost of the now-scaled-back facility, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released Friday. The project was criticized for inadequate federal oversight, but the […]

Army Corps Issues RFI for UPF Site Preparation NS&D Monitor 10/10/2014 The scaled-back Uranium Processing Facility appears to be finally moving forward. The Army Corps of Engineers has released a Request for Information seeking small businesses to perform site preparation work for the project, which has been delayed as the National Nuclear Security Administration examines […]

The scaled-back Uranium Processing Facility appears to be finally moving forward. The Army Corps of Engineers has released a Request for Information seeking small businesses to perform site preparation work for the project, which has been delayed as the National Nuclear Security Administration examines a new path forward for the project in the wake of […]

Mike Nartker and Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/19/2014 Contractors at several Department of Energy sites are facing growing maintenance needs that could disrupt cleanup efforts if not addressed, according to a set of assessments DOE recently provided to WC Monitor. The assessments were conducted as part of a complex-wide extent-of-condition review of deferred maintenance across […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/19/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration appears to be moving forward with plans to implement the Red Team recommendation on an alternative strategy to the all-in-one and too-expensive Uranium Processing Facility. According to a newly released staff memo by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, NNSA Uranium Program Manager […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 9/5/2014 Later this month, the Army Corps of Engineers will turn over the High Explosives Pressing Facility to Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, kicking off an extensive testing and readiness period that is expected to last another two years. But there is hope, among both the National Nuclear Security Administration and […]

The Army Corps of Engineers is expected to turn the High Explosives Pressing Facility over to Pantex Plant contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security later this month, and Corps officials say construction of the facility is expected to cost $66.97 million, just slightly over its $65 million budget. Dan Johnson, the area engineer and administrative contracting officer […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 KANSAS CITY, Mo.—National Nuclear Security Administration chief Frank Klotz said here late last week that he plans to reinvigorate plans to employ the Kansas City governance model more broadly across the weapons complex after efforts to implement the model stalled out in recent years. During a visit to the new […]

Todd Jacobson NS&D Monitor 8/29/2014 Construction has been largely completed on the Pantex Plant’s new High Explosives Pressing Facility and Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security is expected to take possession of the building next month, NS&D Monitor has learned. The facility isn’t expected to be immediately operational as it will have to go through rigorous […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission unanimously voted this week to approve the Staff’s proposal to enable a speedier and more efficient review of SHINE Medical Industries’ low-energy neutron source design for the production of molybdenum-99 under NRC’s 10.CFR.50 regulations. SHINE is one of several companies trying to get through the […]

RW Monitor 8/29/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Perma-Fix Environmental Services announced this week that it has received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for its Technetium-99 production technology. The Patent Office issued an allowance that granted Perma-Fix all the claims it made in its application for preparation of its Microporous Composite Material and its derivatives. […]