Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

An August incident in which a spent fuel canister nearly took a 20-foot free fall at a retired nuclear power plant in California will be the subject of a Nov. 29 meeting of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel (CEP). The meeting will include two public comment periods in addition to a presentation on spent […]

More than 2,000 people submitted comments and signed petitions urging the Department of Energy to withdraw a proposal to reclassify the remaining radioactive waste in the Hanford Site’s C Tank Farm as low-level waste. The reclassification would be a step toward allowing DOE to fill the 16 tanks in the tank farm with concrete-like grout […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management did not wait until Black Friday to start shopping for ideas on the next round of nuclear cleanup at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Idaho National Laboratory. The office on Wednesday issued separate requests for information (RFI)/sources sought notices for upcoming solicitations at the two sites […]

Reduced charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas officially took effect on Nov. 8. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in October approved the updated charges as part of a broader rulemaking covering the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility, which Waste Control Specialists operates […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published next week in observance of the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Please look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Nov. 30.

A board of three administrative judges with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in January to hear arguments from groups that want to intervene in the review of the license application for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in southeastern New Mexico. Most, but not all, of the 18 entities that have petitioned oppose […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Nov. 6 issued its first request for additional information for Interim Storage Partners’ license application for a temporary spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in West Texas. The request covers 28 distinct questions regarding physical security at the planned installation on Waste Control Specialists’ waste disposal property in Andrews […]

The nominee to lead the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Nuclear Energy on Thursday pledged to follow the law when it comes to disposal of nuclear waste – which for now means supporting the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. Rita Baranwal was among three nominees to different federal agencies who came before the Senate Energy […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management on Wednesday issued a request for information/sources sought notice for completion of nuclear cleanup at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. This is part of the office’s market research for a potential solicitation for decontamination and decommissioning at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon. Incumbent Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth in […]

The manager of the United Kingdom’s Sellafield site on Wednesday announced the formal closure of one of the world’s two remaining spent fuel reprocessing facilities. The Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant, better known as Thorp, recycled 9,331 metric tons of used fuel from 30 clients in nine nations over 24 years, according to a press release […]

More than 2,000 people submitted comments and signed petitions urging the Department of Energy to withdraw a proposal to reclassify the remaining radioactive waste in the Hanford Site’s C Tank Farm as low-level waste. The reclassification would be a step toward allowing DOE to fill the 16 tanks in the tank farm with concrete-like grout […]

Reduced charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas officially took effect on Nov. 8. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in October approved the updated charges as part of a broader rulemaking covering the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility, which Waste Control Specialists operates […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Nov. 6 issued its first request for additional information for Interim Storage Partners’ license application for a temporary spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in West Texas. The request covers 28 distinct questions regarding physical security at the planned installation on Waste Control Specialists’ property in Andrews County. The […]

International infrastructure company AECOM expects to be in the running for perhaps a half-dozen contracts from the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management in the next couple years. AECOM Chief Financial Officer Troy Rudd made the observation Monday during the company’s quarterly earnings call. The company expects to bid on five DOE cleanup contracts in […]

A board of three administrative judges with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in January to hear arguments from groups that want to intervene in the review of the license application for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in southeastern New Mexico. Most, but not all, of the 18 entities that have petitioned for a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory in September spent $11,645 of its remaining balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund on federal court litigation, according to the latest expense report to Congress. The September expenses, totaling $12,564, leave the nuclear industry regulator with access to $430,746 in unobligated money from the federal fund intended to pay for licensing, […]

The electoral defeat this week of Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) could remove one major political obstacle to funding and other legislative measures that would advance the long-awaited Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) took slightly more than 50 percent of the statewide vote to beat Heller and three independent-party candidates […]

The defeat of Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) could remove one major political obstacle to funding and other legislative measures that would advance the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) took slightly more than 50 percent of the statewide vote to unseat Heller in Tuesday’s midterm elections. The first-term congresswoman, who […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory in September spent $11,645 of its remaining balance from the Nuclear Waste Fund on federal court litigation, according to the latest expense report to Congress. The September expenses, totaling $12,564, leave the nuclear industry regulator with access to $430,746 in unobligated money from the federal fund intended to pay for licensing, […]

Democratic Party lawmakers from Nevada are urging President Donald Trump to follow through on his apparent pledge to re-evaluate plans for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, after Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the administration continues to support the project. “These contradictory remarks from Secretary Perry underline why the White House must follow through on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday denied two groups’ petitions for dismissal of license applications for interim spent fuel storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico. “The NRC’s regulations allow interested persons to file petitions to intervene and requests for hearing in which they can raise concerns regarding a particular license application. These regulations do […]

Nevada and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission through Thursday continued to wrangle over against a state request that a federal judge block Commissioner David Wright from participating in adjudicating the license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Lawyers for both sides in recent days filed counter-claims and counter-counter-claims in the U.S. Court of Appeals […]

The Energy Department contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, N.Y., recently finished shipping the last of the site’s legacy low-level radioactive waste for disposal. Contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) finished the shipments on Sept. 6, seven months ahead of the April 2019 deadline, a spokesman said by email. The waste, […]

By John Stang The always controversial Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository could play a role in determining whether Republicans or Democrats control the U.S. Senate after the midterm elections on Tuesday. Incumbent Nevada senior Sen. Dean Heller (R) is campaigning to retain his seat against a challenge from Rep. Jacky Rosen (D). He has been seen […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday denied two groups’ petitions for dismissal of license applications for interim spent fuel storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico. “The NRC’s regulations allow interested persons to file petitions to intervene and requests for hearing in which they can raise concerns regarding a particular license application. These regulations do […]

Democratic Party lawmakers from Nevada are urging President Donald Trump to follow through on his apparent pledge to re-evaluate plans for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, after Energy Secretary Rick Perry said the administration continues to support the project. “These contradictory remarks from Secretary Perry underline why the White House must follow through on […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday gave interested parties just over two additional weeks to file requests for hearings and intervention on a license application for temporary storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in West Texas. The deadline has been pushed back from Monday to Tuesday, Nov. 13, according to an order from Annette Vietti-Cook, […]

Nevada last week rebuffed the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s assertion that it is covered by the federal government’s sovereign immunity against a state request that a federal judge block Commissioner David Wright from participating in adjudicating the license application for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository. Sovereign immunity was one aspect of the federal agency’s […]

Nearly a week after President Donald Trump suggested his administration could rethink its efforts to license a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada, there were no details on what such an approach might look like. Any new plan would run counter to the Trump White House’s efforts in its first two budget requests […]

Two Democratic lawmakers from Nevada said Wednesday they directly called on President Donald Trump to follow through on his seeming pledge to reconsider federal efforts to send tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste to their state. In its first two budget proposals, the Trump administration has unsuccessfully sought congressional appropriations to resume licensing […]