Interim Storage & Waste Disposal

Nevada lawmakers and a Republican congressman have introduced dueling bills concerning federal plans for permanent storage of U.S. nuclear waste. The Obama administration in 2009 canceled the planned Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nevada, pursuing instead a plan for separate storage facilities for commercial and defense waste. The administration in December unveiled a draft plan […]

A former Nuclear Regulatory Commission member said Tuesday the agency is “fully prepared” to handle nearly 300 legal contentions against the development of a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Jeff Merrifield, who served on the board from 1998 to 2007, spoke at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s Spent Fuel Seminar in Washington, […]

A senior Energy Department official said Tuesday it would be “silly” to attempt to resume licensing proceedings for the canceled Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada, given DOE’s insistence that the project is unworkable. Appearing the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management’s Spent Fuel Seminar in Washington, D.C., DOE used nuclear fuel disposition office Director William Boyle was asked about […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) maintains that a location near Lake Huron is the best for the company’s planned deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, after considering alternate options as requested by Canada’s top environmental official. The Ontario government-owned corporation announced Tuesday that it has made its case to Canadian Environment and […]

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) maintains that a location near Lake Huron is the best for the company’s planned deep geologic repository (DGR) for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste, after considering alternate options as requested by Canada’s top environmental official. The Ontario government-owned corporation announced Tuesday that it has made its case to Canadian Environment and […]

Retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who has championed the fight against the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in his state, said in a recent interview he will be happy to step away from the battle and let another carry the torch. “I will be happy to be involved in causes, but I am not […]

By the time the public comment period closes on the Energy Department’s draft plan for a Defense Waste Repository to house nuclear waste from military programs, the Donald Trump administration may already have decided if it wants DOE to pursue the project. While routinely delivered late in a new president’s first year in office, the […]

A request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cancel its review of Waste Control Specialists’ application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas is outside the scope of the current proceedings, according to the NRC. Beyond Nuclear, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Public Citizen, and the Sustainable Energy […]

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts recently completed a safety evaluation ahead of France’s expected licensing decision in 2018 for the Cigéo deep geological repository, which will house the country’s high-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA) is leading the €25 billion ($26.1 billion) program to […]

The Department of Energy announced Monday that it is moving forward with proposals from four companies for Phase 1 of the department’s deep borehole nuclear waste storage field test. California-based AECOM is exploring a site in Pecos County, Texas; Pennsylvania-based TerranearPMC a site in Otero County, N.M.; Georgia-based Enercon is looking at Nara Visa, N.M.; […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute in a recent memo to President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has asked that the Energy Department complete the licensing process for the Yucca Mountain geologic repository in Nevada, and to continue working to establish interim nuclear waste storage locations. NEI, the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm, urged DOE to fulfill its Nuclear […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published next week in observance of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017.

By the time the public comment period closes on the Energy Department’s draft plan for a Defense Waste Repository to house nuclear waste from military programs, the Donald Trump administration may already have decided if it wants DOE to pursue the project. While routinely delivered late in a new president’s first year in office, the […]

A request that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission cancel its review of Waste Control Specialists’ application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for nuclear waste in West Texas is outside the scope of the current proceedings, the NRC stated in a recent letter. Beyond Nuclear, the Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Public Citizen, […]

An advocacy organization for communities that hosts nuclear cleanup sites on Tuesday lauded the “various advantages” of the Energy Department’s proposed repository for defense-related nuclear waste. In an an email, Seth Kirshenberg, executive director of the Energy Communities Alliance, reiterated a position the Washington-based organization staked out years ago: that DOE should “move forward with addressing [high-level […]

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) team of experts recently completed a safety evaluation ahead of France’s expected licensing decision in 2018 for the Cigéo deep geological repository, which will house the country’s high-level and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA) is leading the €25 billion ($26.1 billion) program to build […]

The Department of Energy announced Monday that it is moving forward with proposals from four companies for Phase 1 of the department’s deep borehole nuclear waste storage field test. California-based AECOM is exploring a site in Texas; Pennsylvania-based TerranearPMC a site in Otero County, N.M.; Georgia-based Enercon is looking at Nara Visa, N.M.; and South Dakota-based […]

While the nuclear industry estimates the U.S. Energy Department’s remaining liabilities for nuclear waste disposal at $50 billion, DOE regards that number as “highly inflated,” projecting remaining damages at $24.7 billion. That’s according to the department’s Nuclear Waste Fund audit report for fiscal 2016, which was monitored by the DOE Inspector General’s Office and made […]

The Energy Department has released a draft plan for a deep geological repository to permanently dispose of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste created by the agency’s defense programs. Specifically, DOE’s so-called Defense Waste Repository would be used for “permanent disposal of all or a portion of the [high-level waste] and [spent nuclear fuel] […]

The International Atomic Energy Agency is encouraging member governments to design national plans for the management of radioactive waste, including storage and final disposition. Representatives from more than 60 countries discussed radioactive waste disposal last month in Vienna, Austria, during the IAEA’s International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management. Topics during the five-day […]

Western states must be given a say in any decisions to establish an interim storage facility for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel within their borders, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) said in a new policy resolution this week. “In the event that centralized interim storage, either private or federal, is deemed necessary, no such […]

A group of 21 prominent South Australians is calling on elected officials to continue developing a controversial concept for burying international nuclear waste in the region’s arid environment. Those signing the open letter issued this week include Adelaide Football Club Chairman Rob Chapman, Coopers Brewery chief Tim Cooper, former Gerard Industries Pty Ltd. Chairman Robert Gerard, […]

The U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s total planned expenses are projected to total £3.24 billion ($4 billion) for 2017-18, which is nearly identical to expenses in the prior year, according to the agency’s draft business plan, which was published this week. The government will fund £2.36 billion of those expenses, while income from commercial operators will […]

Western states must be given a say in any decisions to establish an interim storage facility for radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel within their borders, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) said in a new policy resolution this week. “In the event that centralized interim storage, either private or federal, is deemed necessary, no such […]

Canada’s top environmental official has once again extended the timeline for an approval decision on Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) plans to build a deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level waste near Lake Huron. Canadian Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna said her office needs more time to “take into account circumstances that are […]

The Trump transition team is asking the Department of Energy for specifics on the potential for restarting the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site licensing process with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to transition documents obtained by several media outlets. In a questionnaire to the department, the transition team asked if there are any statutory restrictions […]

A group of 21 prominent South Australians are calling on elected officials to continue developing a controversial concept for burying international nuclear waste in the region’s arid environment. Those signing the open letter include Adelaide Football Club Chairman Rob Chapman, Coopers Brewery chief Tim Cooper, former Gerard Industries Pty Ltd. Chairman Robert Gerard, and Cricket […]

South Dakota-based energy and mining company Respec is attempting to secure a site within the state and submit a proposal for the Energy Department’s deep borehole nuclear waste storage field test, joining a handful of other companies preparing bids. Respec is exploring a private site in Haakon County, which is about 100 miles east of […]

While President-elect Donald Trump has yet to offer an official stance on the canceled nuclear waste geologic repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, speculation that the next administration will revive the project persists around Washington, D.C. Sources close with the Trump transition team say his still-developing administration is exploring restarting the project licensing process with the […]

The Energy Department will unveil a draft plan for a new deep-geologic repository for defense nuclear waste in the coming days, an agency official said Tuesday during a presentation to a citizens group in South Carolina. “I’m talking about a deep geological repository,” DOE’s Nancy Buschman, senior adviser for defense waste disposal, told members of the […]