Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again pushed back the deadline for the public to comment on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s planned spent fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The 60-day extension now allows comments though Sept. 22. The previous deadline was July 22, which was already a 60-day extension from […]

An article in the June 12 issue of RadWaste Monitor, “Army Corps Issues Sources-Sought Notice for Alaska Reactor Decommissioning,” should have said APTIM Federal Services’ engineering contract for utility segregation for the retired SM-1A nuclear reactor at Fort Greely, Alaska, is worth roughly $2 million.

Waste Control Specialists continues to study whether it should accept Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste for disposal from the Department of Energy, according to President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson. The Energy Department in 2018 identified the WCS disposal complex in Andrews County, Texas, as its likely end location for the national stockpile […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday voted almost unanimously in favor of promoting Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes to the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy. In the panel’s voice vote, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) raised the sole objection to advancing Menezes toward confirmation as deputy secretary of energy […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in Canada could by September begin preparing to drill the first test boreholes in the second of two locations still in contention to house a deep geologic repository for spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants. At least two boreholes will be drilled starting this fall in South […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday voted almost unanimously in favor of promoting Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes to the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy. In the panel’s voice vote, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) raised the sole objection to advancing Menezes toward confirmation as deputy secretary of energy […]

Tuesday was a good night for congressional incumbents in Nevada, who easily overcame primary challenges. The state’s four members of the House of Representatives all advanced to the Nov. 3 general election, according to unofficials results from the Nevada Secretary of State. Five-term Rep. Dina Titus (D) took home over 86% of the vote against […]

Holtec International President and CEO Kris Singh on Wednesday said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should not give the public extra time to comment on a key document in licensing his company’s planned facility in southeastern New Mexico for storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. In a draft environmental impact statement issued in March, […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday voted almost unanimously in favor of Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes’ nomination to the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy. In the panel’s voice vote, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) raised the sole objection to advancing Menezes’ nomination as deputy secretary of energy to […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in Canada could by September begin preparing to drill test boreholes in one of two locations still in contention to house a geologic repository for spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants. At least two boreholes will be drilled in South Bruce, in southern Ontario, as part of […]

By John Stang The activist organization Beyond Nuclear filed an appeal Thursday in federal court in hopes of overturning two orders from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that have kept a proposed spent fuel storage facility on track in New Mexico. Beyond Nuclear’s filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is accepting nominations for experts to a new panel that will write reports on the nuclear fuel cycle and waste issues linked to advanced nuclear reactors. Nominations are due by June 11, according to the National Academies. The experts will “evaluate and assess (1) the merits and viability […]

Some of the United States’ radioactive spent fuel could be recycled for use in advanced nuclear power reactors, but the nation still needs a long-term repository for the waste, according to the head of the industry policy organization. Used nuclear fuel retains 95% of its original energy, Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing an Oregon utility during the COVID-19 pandemic to delay mandatory physical requalifications for security personnel at the spent fuel storage pad for a decommissioned nuclear power plant. Portland General Electric Co. received notice from the regulator on May 28. The document was posted to the NRC website on Tuesday. […]

By John Stang California-based radioactive waste disposal company Deep Isolation is increasing its focus on business opportunities in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. On Tuesday, executives conducted a webinar to introduce their company to potential clients in the “EMEA” region. A follow-up session is planned for June 16. The online meetings are an opportunity […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing an Oregon utility during the COVID-19 pandemic to delay mandatory physical requalifications for security personnel at the spent fuel storage pad for a decommissioned nuclear power plant. Portland General Electric Co. received notice from the regulator on May 28. The document was posted to the NRC website on Tuesday. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in April spent just $84 of its remaining balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a radioactive waste repository. As has been the case each month for more than a year, the agency used the money for unspecified “program planning and support.” The expenditure left it with a Nuclear […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is accepting nominations for experts to a new panel that will write reports on the nuclear fuel cycle and waste issues linked to advanced nuclear reactors. Nominations are due by June 11, according to the National Academies. The experts will “evaluate and assess (1) the merits and viability […]

Some of the United States’ radioactive spent fuel could be recycled for use in advanced nuclear power reactors, but the nation still needs a long-term repository for the waste, according to the head of the industry policy organization. Used nuclear fuel retains 95% of its original energy, Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with a set of updates to its oversight of storage pads for spent nuclear fuel, including downshifting the frequency for standard inspections to once every three years. The agency intends this year to complete the revisions to its independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) inspection program, with all […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with a set of updates to its oversight of dry-storage pads for spent nuclear fuel, including downshifting the schedule for standard inspections to once every three years. The agency intends this year to complete the revisions to its independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) inspection program, with all […]

The nominee for the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy on Wednesday affirmed the Trump administration’s intention to move ahead with a program for interim storage of nuclear waste rather than continuing to press for disposal under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Let me be very clear about this. The president has been very […]

The nominee for the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy on Wednesday affirmed the Trump administration’s intention to move ahead with a program for interim storage of nuclear waste rather than continuing to press for disposal under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “Let me be very clear about this. The president has been very […]

An article in the May 8 issue of RadWaste Monitor cited an incorrect figure for the goodwill impairment charges reported for US Ecology’s first-quarter earnings. The total amount was $300.3 million.

Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal reaffirmed Thursday her interest in finding a foreign provider of reprocessing for used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “We can collaborate with entities that currently recycle used fuel and not necessarily have to have our own recycling plant in-country, so that’s certainly an option that my […]

Over the course of a decade, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has halved the amount of time needed to review and decide on applications for renewal of storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel. “My understanding is it used to take something like 48 months and now it’s taking something on the order of 24 months, which […]

By John Stang The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week approved its first regulatory exemption of the COVID-18 pandemic for a spent fuel storage licensee, along with lifting work-hour limits for another nuclear power plant. As of Wednesday, GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy has been granted a two-month extension to file the license renewal application for its […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will next week consider Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes’ nomination to the No. 2 spot at the Department of Energy. The White House in March nominated Menezes as deputy secretary of energy. He would succeed Dan Brouillette, who became energy secretary in December. After a career on Capitol […]

BWX Technologies said Wednesday it has pushed back to mid-2022 its schedule for beginning commercial output of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), partly due to supply issues created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussing the company’s latest earnings in a conference call with financial analysts, BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden reaffirmed comments he made in […]

The Waste Control Specialists office staff in Andrews County, Texas, is working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the company’s waste disposal operations continue unabated, President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson said Thursday. “The WCS site continues in full operation,” he said during a web-only remote meeting of the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste […]