Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy has begun a limited program to explore opportunities for recycling used nuclear fuel, a senior official said Tuesday. “We are starting a small effort to look at some of these options, but it’s early in development and there’s no clear outcome on where it’s going […]

The Department of Energy should expand its use of underground research laboratories (URLs) for research on geologic disposal of nuclear waste, including establishing facilities in the United States, a federal panel of experts said in a report Tuesday. The Energy Department has since 2012 participated in research at URLs in Europe and Asia, the Nuclear […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy has begun a limited program to explore opportunities for recycling used nuclear fuel, a senior official said Tuesday. “We are starting a small effort to look at some of these options, but it’s early in development and there’s no clear outcome on where it’s going […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The White House does not plan to request any funding in fiscal 2021 for licensing the nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., issue experts said at an industry conference here Tuesday. That would reverse the Trump administration’s efforts in its last three budget proposals to persuade Congress to appropriate money to […]

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in Canada said Friday that just two communities in Ontario remain in contention to host an underground disposal facility for spent fuel from the nation’s nuclear power plants. The locations are the township of Ignace in northwest Ontario and the municipality of South Bruce in southern Ontario. In a […]

Legislation introduced Wednesday in the New Mexico Senate would update the responsibilities of the state’s Radioactive Waste Consultation Task Force to include oversight of commercial spent nuclear fuel storage. The task force was established in the 1978 state Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Act, largely to act as the New Mexico government’s negotiator for siting, licensing, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday formally rejected a petition from a California advocacy group to update federal regulations to require toughening of dry-cask storage of spent fuel at nuclear power plants. The agency said the regulatory infrastructure already in place obviates the need for the Hardened, Extended-Life, Local, Monitored Surface Storage (HELMS) approach […]

Legislation introduced Wednesday in the New Mexico Senate would update the responsibilities of the state Radioactive Waste Consultation Task Force to include oversight of commercial spent nuclear fuel storage. The task force was established in the 1978 state Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Act, largely to act as the New Mexico government’s negotiator for siting, licensing, […]

The logistics branch of nuclear company Orano at the end of 2019 wrapped up the transfer to dry storage of spent fuel canisters with the highest heat load to date at U.S. power plants, according to a Jan. 15 press release. At the customer’s request, Orano is not identifying the nuclear power plant where the […]

The Louisiana branch of power company Entergy last week filed another lawsuit seeking to recoup ongoing expenses for management of spent reactor fuel that the federal government is legally obligated to remove from the River Bend Station nuclear power plant. This is the third such lawsuit filed by Entergy Louisiana and its predecessor, Entergy Gulf […]

The Trump administration is less than a month away from releasing its latest annual budget request, but so far no one is saying officially whether it will feature another attempt to revive the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The White House’s fiscal 2021 spending proposal is due on Feb. 10, a senior administration official confirmed […]

By John Stang One senator expressed concern Wednesday about the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s consideration of cutting back on inspections of spent fuel storage facilities at the nation’s nuclear power plants. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) raised the issue during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee featuring testimony from two senior NRC […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled the first in a planned series of workshops for next week to consider a set of recommendations from the nuclear industry to increase efficiency in licensing of dry storage systems for radioactive spent fuel at power plants. The meeting is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. […]

One senator on Wednesday questioned the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s consideration of cutting back on inspections of spent fuel storage facilities at the nation’s nuclear power plants. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) raised the issue during a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee featuring testimony from two senior NRC officials. “When we have […]

The Louisiana branch of power company Entergy this week filed another lawsuit seeking to recoup ongoing expenses incurred due to the federal government’s breach of its legal mandate to remove spent fuel from the River Bend Station nuclear power plant. This is the third such lawsuit filed by Entergy Louisiana and its predecessor, Entergy Gulf […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in November continued to spend just a few hundred dollars per month of its remaining balance from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund. Spending of $238 for unspecified program planning and support left the agency with an unspent, unobligated balance of $405,977, according to the latest update to Congress regarding the […]

The U.S. Department of Energy expects in June 2022 to complete its program for designing and certifying railcars intended to be used to transport spent fuel from nuclear power plants, but has not determined what it will do with the designs at that point. The agency does not anticipate transport of the radioactive material in […]

By John Stang Deep Isolation, a nuclear waste disposal startup wants to raise $10 million to $15 million in venture capital investment, the company said this week. The company is developing a borehole disposal concept, in which fuel assemblies containing spent fuel rods are placed in a canister and buried some 2,000 feet below the […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a significant reduction in the number of hours dedicated annually to inspection of loading operations for used fuel into dry-cask storage at the nation’s nuclear power plants. At least one member, Commissioner Jeff Baran, expressed concerns about the potential change during a public briefing last […]

Deep Isolation, a nuclear waste disposal startup, said Tuesday it wants to raise $10 million to $15 million in venture capital investment The company is developing a borehole disposal concept, in which fuel assemblies containing spent fuel rods are placed in a canister and buried some 2,000 feet below the surface in a very narrow, […]

An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected a clean-energy advocacy organization’s petition to submit a late argument against licensing a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. The Austin-based Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition said it should be allowed to file the late contention […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published on Friday, Dec. 27, in observance of the Christmas holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Jan. 3, 2020.

Congress again provided no direct funding for nuclear waste storage or disposal in a massive fiscal 2020 appropriations bill that was waiting on President Donald Trump’s signature Friday afternoon. While the House and Senate had left little doubt they would reject the administration’s latest request for money for the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, they […]

An Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has rejected an advocacy organization’s petition to submit a late argument against licensing a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. The Austin-based Sustainable Energy and Economic Development (SEED) Coalition said it should be allowed to file the late contention based […]

Congress plans to provide no funding for nuclear waste storage or disposal in a massive fiscal 2020 appropriations bill rolled out Monday evening. House and Senate appropriators released two packages encompassing 12 separate spending bills for the budget year that began on Oct. 1. H.R. 1865, the domestic and international assistance appropriations minibus, features a […]

Four members of Michigan’s delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 6 urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to ensure his nation does not build a radioactive waste disposal site near the Great Lakes. The lawmakers said they were concerned by reports that the Canadian government is approaching a decision on the location […]

Just before becoming the 15th U.S. secretary of energy this month, Dan Brouillette skirted a Nevada senator’s questions regarding his position on requiring consent from states and local and tribal communities in selecting the site for disposal of nuclear waste. The issue of consent is of keen interest to Nevada’s state leadership and congressional delegation, […]

By John Stang U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff expect next spring to issue draft environmental impact statements (EIS) for two planned consolidated interim storage sites for used fuel from nuclear power plants. The environmental documents are central to the agency’s decision on whether to issue licenses for construction and operation of the facilities. The draft […]

New Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette skirted a Nevada senator’s questions regarding his position on requiring consent from impacted state, local, and tribal communities in selecting the site for storage of nuclear waste. The issue of consent is of keen importance to Nevada’s state leadership and congressional delegation, which for decades have been fighting the […]

The Nevada Board of Examiners on Tuesday approved a $5.1 million, two-year renewal to the state contract with a law firm for counsel in its fight against the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. The contract amendment keeps Egan, Fitzpatrick, Malsch, & Lawrence on the job through Feb. 28, 2022, with a maximum payment of […]