Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered initial support for licensing a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of thousands of tons of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The recommendation is included in a draft version of the environmental impact statement for Interim Storage Partners’ planned consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has offered initial support for licensing a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The recommendation is included in a draft version of the environmental impact statement for Interim Storage Partners’ planned consolidated interim storage facility (CISF) in Andrews County. The document […]

The Energy Department has exercised a one-year option to keep Spectra Tech on the job overseeing spent fuel facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory through March 2021. Procurement documents show the department picked up its last option in February for the current contrac. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based engineering and environmental services firm began work on […]

The American Nuclear Society has formally backed preliminary findings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. The March 10 draft environmental impact statement (EIS) from staff at the industry regulator “provides a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts […]

A coalition of commercial concerns and research institutions is studying the potential for disposing of radioactive spent fuel from next-generation nuclear power reactors on-site rather than having to ship it to another, possibly distant, location. The parties hope by September to issue their findings from the feasibility study of on-site horizontal deep borehole disposal, according […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it identified no safety violations during three unannounced inspections in the first three months of 2020 of used fuel operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The findings were presented in an April 28 letter from Greg Warnick, chief of the agency’s Reactor […]

The Energy Department has exercised a one-year option to keep Spectra Tech on the job overseeing spent fuel facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory through March 2021. Procurement documents show the department picked up its last option in February for the current contrac. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based engineering and environmental services firm began work on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for May 8 to discuss means of relief that could be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to licensees for independent spent fuel storage Installations (ISFSI). “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how NRC ISFSI licensees can request temporary regulatory relief during the COVID-19 public health […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it identified no safety violations during three unannounced inspections earlier this year of used fuel operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The findings were presented in an April 28 letter from Greg Warnick chief of the agency’s Reactor Inspection Branch, to Doug […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a meeting for May 8 to discuss means of relief that could be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic to licensees for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs). “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how NRC ISFSI licensees can request temporary regulatory relief during the COVID-19 public health […]

The Energy Department has exercised a one-year option to keep Spectra Tech on the job overseeing spent fuel facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory through March 2021. In February, DOE picked up its last option for the current contract, according to procurement documents. The Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based engineering and environmental services firm began work on […]

Deep Isolation said Monday it has secured a contract to support an industry feasibility study on the potential for same-site selection for both new advanced nuclear power reactors and borehole-based disposal of the spent fuel they will generate. The Berkeley, Calif., company offers the nuclear waste disposal approach being studied – horizontal deep borehole. For […]

The American Nuclear Society last week formally backed preliminary findings from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent nuclear fuel. The March 10 draft environmental impact statement (EIS) from staff at the industry regulator “provides a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts of the […]

Federal agencies will gradually return to normal operations in parallel with the White House’s three-phase plan to reactivate the national economy as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes, the Trump administration said Monday. The new guidance does not provide a set schedule for the process, but rather says managers must make decisions on reducing telework and staffing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected nearly all appeals to a 2019 decision by one of its bodies against holding any adjudicatory hearings sought on a license application for storage of spent nuclear fuel in southeastern New Mexico. However, the commission did direct the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) to reconsider one set […]

US Ecology said Monday the value of its stock has been nearly halved by the “unprecedented time of uncertainty” generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission provided further illustration of the stress being placed on the radioactive waste management industry, within the larger chaos the crisis has created […]

US Ecology said Monday the value of its stock has been nearly halved by the “unprecedented time of uncertainty” generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission provided further illustration of the stress being placed on the radioactive waste management industry, within the larger chaos the crisis has inflicted […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it would give the public additional time to comment on a preliminary finding in support of licensing a facility in New Mexico for temporary storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. “We’ve extended the public comment period on our draft Environmental Impact Statement for #Holtec‘s proposed spent #nuclear […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday it intends by the end of 2020 to finish its evaluation of the application to transfer the licenses for the Indian Point Energy Center in New York state from owner Entergy to prospective buyer Holtec International. “Our review could be completed later this year,” according to Bruce Watson, chief of […]

Companies in the radioactive waste processing and disposal industry acknowledged this week they are feeling the pinch from the COVID-19 pandemic, but emphasized that they remain fully open for business. At least one industry mainstay confirmed that it has sought federal assistance via the $2.2 trillion CARES Act signed into law on March 27 to […]

A coalition of four jurisdictions supporting development of a storage facility in New Mexico for spent nuclear fuel has supported giving the public more time to comment on a key document from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Stakeholders currently have until May 22 to comment on the NRC draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) for Holtec International’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has acceded to a request from three senior members of Congress to delay collection of fees from licensees for 90 days amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision appears to supersede a more limited approach for economic relief previously planned by the industry regulator. All invoices for annual fees scheduled to be […]

Companies in the radioactive waste processing and disposal industry acknowledged this week they are feeling the pinch from the COVID-19 pandemic, but emphasized that they remain fully open for business. At least one industry mainstay confirmed that it has sought federal assistance via the $2.2 trillion CARES Act signed into law on March 27 to […]

A coalition of four jurisdictions supporting development of a New Mexico storage facility for spent nuclear power plant fuel on Tuesday tentatively supported giving the public more time to comment on a key document from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Stakeholders currently have until May 22 to provide input on the NRC draft environmental impact statement […]

A former employee of energy technology firm Holtec International said in a federal lawsuit Monday that she was forced to resign in January in the face of harassment and illegal practices on medical and family leave. Gereka Bracey is seeking reimbursement for lost earnings, punitive damages, damages for emotional distress, and legal costs, according to […]

The Idaho congressional delegation last week urged Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette to prioritize preparation of spent nuclear fuel at the Idaho National Laboratory for shipment out of state by the end of 2034. The Energy Department should follow the U.S. Navy’s lead in getting spent fuel at INL “road ready,” the lawmakers said in a […]

Waste Control Specialists on Sunday noted a slowdown in shipments from some customers during the COVID-19 crisis, but said its disposal facility in Texas remains open for business. The drawdown of some federal facilities to essential operations “has delayed some planned waste shipments,” President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing […]

A viable program for treating supplemental low-activity waste at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state can be developed for any one of three major technologies – vitrification, grouting, and steam reforming, according to an April 1 report from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel. But grouting and steam reforming would […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering six staff recommendations for improving oversight of storage pads for spent nuclear fuel. The recommendations include increased training for inspectors and updating relevant documents. They were generated by a lessons learned evaluation from the agency’s Region IV office regarding the NRC response to an August 2018 mishap involving spent […]

The members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Wednesday unanimously approved the next steps in revising state regulations to reduce one charge for disposal of low-level radioactive waste in a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. The vote by the three-member panel sets up publication and a hearing on the amendment to […]