Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Something akin to the canceled Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository in Nevada is still central to disposal of thousands of canisters from the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to the lifecycle cost report published last week. The Bechtel-built Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford, expected to run for 40 years or […]

A bill making its way through the New Mexico state legislature aimed at blocking a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state will no longer ban the storage of such waste outright, according to amendments adopted in committee Monday. A package of amendments on House Bill 127, adopted by unanimous vote […]

Something akin to the canceled Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository in Nevada is still central to disposal of thousands of canisters from the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to the lifecycle cost report published last week. The Bechtel-built Waste Treatment Plant at Hanford, expected to run for 40 years or […]

No existing federal law allowed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to license a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas, the Lone Star State’s attorney general told a federal judge Monday, rolling out his long-awaited argument in the state’s lawsuit against the agency. NRC “lacks authority” to grant a license to Interim […]

A bill making its way through the New Mexico state legislature aimed at blocking a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state will no longer ban the storage of such waste outright, according to amendments adopted in committee Monday. A package of amendments on House Bill 127, adopted by unanimous vote […]

State lawmakers in New Mexico want to ban storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in the Land of Enchantment, and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is with them. The ban, moving on parallel tracks through the state’s bicameral legislature in the form of two bills that advanced out of committee this week, appeared […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s current suite of safety regulations should work as intended in the event of a future cross-country nuclear waste transportation campaign, the agency’s material control chief said this week in a public meeting. “We do feel we are well positioned for any future shipments of spent fuel based on our strong regulatory […]

Banning storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in New Mexico would be like diverting a planet-killing asteroid, a New Mexico state Senator who supports a ban said this week. “This is our Don’t Look Up moment,” said state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) Tuesday during a New Mexico Senate Conservation Committee hearing, referencing the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s current suite of safety regulations should work as intended in the event of a future cross-country nuclear waste transportation campaign, the agency’s material control chief said Wednesday in a public meeting. “We do feel we are well positioned for any future shipments of spent fuel based on our strong regulatory framework […]

Banning storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in New Mexico would be like diverting a planet-killing asteroid, a New Mexico state Senator who supports a ban said Tuesday. “This is our Don’t Look Up moment,” said state Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D) Tuesday during a New Mexico Senate Conservation Committee hearing, referencing the 2021 […]

Interested stakeholders will get a chance to talk to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about a recent report reviewing the agency’s ability to regulate large-scale spent nuclear fuel transport in the U.S. NRC was scheduled host a virtual meeting Wednesday to discuss the staff report and answer stakeholder questions, according to a notice from the commission. […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. As the nation’s capital braces for what could be another snowy weekend, here’s a look at some other stories RadWaste Monitor was tracking across the civilian nuclear power space this week. Sweden Approves Geologic Repository, Pending Safety Review The Swedish government this week approved a proposed geologic repository for the nordic nation’s […]

A federal court will rule on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s request to toss a state lawsuit over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel “as soon as possible,” according to minutes from a hearing held last week. The Jan. 20 hearing was the latest turn in New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas’s lawsuit […]

A bill introduced in New Mexico’s state legislature last week, and backed by the governor, aims to block a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel by banning the storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in the Land of Enchantment. If it became law, Senate Bill (SB) 54, introduced Jan. 19 by […]

International efforts to develop strategies for disposing of nuclear waste have made strides recently, the U.N.’s nuclear energy organization said in a report published last week. “It is evident that significant progress has been made globally in formulating national policies and strategies and in implementing legal and regulatory systems that define responsibilities for the ongoing […]

A bill introduced in New Mexico’s state legislature last week, and backed by the governor, aims to block a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel by banning the storage of high-level nuclear waste and spent fuel in the Land of Enchantment. If it became law, Senate Bill (SB) 54, introduced Jan. 19 by […]

A lawsuit filed in federal court last week aims to force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to turn over more records related to a 2018 spent-fuel handling mishap at a California nuclear power plant under decommissioning, according to court records. The suit, filed Jan. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California […]

A federal court will rule on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s request to toss a state lawsuit over a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel “as soon as possible,” according to minutes from a hearing held last week. The Jan. 20 hearing was the latest turn in New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas’s lawsuit […]

WV State Senate Bill Reversing Ban on Nuclear Plant Construction Headed to Full Chamber A bill advancing through West Virginia’s state legislature would walk back an existing ban on new nuclear power plants in the Mountain State.  Senate Bill (SB) 4, which passed the state Senate’s economic development committee on a voice vote Wednesday, would […]

Three of the Department of Energy’s national laboratories are participating in an international survey aimed at testing the long-term effectiveness of safety systems that could be used in the storage of high-level radioactive waste, according to a press release this week. Lawrence Berkeley, Sandia and Los Alamos (LANL) National Laboratories are working alongside Swiss national […]

The Department of Energy is planning this year to award cash to communities exploring the prospect of hosting a federal interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, the agency said this week. “We expect to announce a funding opportunity for interested groups and communities later this year,” a DOE spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor in an […]

The last railcar in a proposed spent nuclear fuel rail transport system is en route to Colorado this week for testing, the Department of Energy said in a press release. The Rail Escort Vehicle (REV) will undergo multiple-car testing at a site near Pueblo, Colo., DOE said in its Monday statement. The railcar is set to […]

Sam Brinton will join the Department of Energy’s nuclear power office as the agency’s second-in-command of nuclear waste issues, the nuclear-waste policy expert and current global political director for Deep Isolation announced this week. Brinton, who currently serves as global political affairs director at aspirant nuclear-waste services company Deep Isolation, will become the Office of […]

Attempts by New Mexico’s attorney general to pit a federal nuclear waste law against a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent fuel in Texas don’t pass legal muster, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told an appeals court last week. State Attorney General Hector Balderas’s December argument that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) is “inextricably […]

In the latest rallying cry for an issue now back-burnered for a decade, the federal government’s independent technical experts on nuclear waste called on the Department of Energy to help forge a “long-term political commitment” to site a nuclear waste repository. “Successful repository implementation needs a legal framework that clearly describes the roles of the […]

As the Department of Energy inches towards the March deadline for its federal interim storage information request, the agency’s nuclear energy chief is impressed with some of the responses already rolling in, she said this week. “We’re coming into this with a pretty open mind as to what [a federal interim storage site] should look […]

In the latest rallying cry for an issue now back-burnered for a decade, the federal government’s independent technical experts on nuclear waste called on the Department of Energy to help forge a “long-term political commitment” to site a nuclear waste repository. “Successful repository implementation needs a legal framework that clearly describes the roles of the […]

Sam Brinton will join the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy office as the agency’s second-in-command of nuclear waste issues, the nuclear-waste policy expert and current global political director for Deep Isolation announced Monday. Brinton, who currently serves as global political affairs director at aspirant nuclear-waste services company Deep Isolation, will become the Office of Nuclear […]

Attempts by New Mexico’s attorney general to pit a federal nuclear waste law against a proposed commercial interim storage facility for spent fuel in Texas don’t pass legal muster, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told an appeals court Friday. State Attorney General Hector Balderas’s December argument that the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) is “inextricably linked” […]

Vermont’s citizen-led nuclear waste advisory committee would support “immediate action” by the federal government to site an interim storage facility for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, if a draft opinion presented to the committee is finalized. The draft opinion included alongside a Dec. 6 meeting of the Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens’ Advisory Panel (NDCAP) proposed […]