Reactor Licensing & Regulation

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The utility company in charge of a California nuclear power plant is preparing to roll out its plan to decommission the site, a representative said here Monday at the annual Decommissioning Strategy Forum. “We’ll have several major announcements in the next 90 days about how the work is going to get done” […]

The interested public has until the end of the week to submit its comments on a proposed cleanup plan for a former New Mexico uranium mine currently under Nuclear Regulatory Commission jurisdiction. Sunday is the deadline for public input on a proposed license amendment for the United Nuclear Corporation’s (UNC) Church Rock site, according to […]

A federal court case challenging one of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel remained on hold Wednesday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked through its licensing review, the agency said in a status report filed this week. NRC told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that Holtec International’s application to build […]

A federal court case challenging one of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel remained on hold Wednesday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked through its licensing review, the agency said in a status report Tuesday. NRC told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that Holtec International’s application to build an interim […]

The interested public has until the end of the week to submit its comments on a proposed cleanup plan for a former New Mexico uranium mine currently under Nuclear Regulatory Commission jurisdiction. Sunday is the deadline for public input on a proposed license amendment for the United Nuclear Corporation’s (UNC) Church Rock site, according to […]

The former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now part of a utility company’s board of directors, according to a press release this week. Kristine Svinicki, who was the top regulator at NRC from 2017 to January, was elected to Southern Company’s board effective Sunday, the company said in a press release dated Monday. […]

The company in charge of a recently-licensed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Texas is getting involved in the state’s federal suit against the proposed site, according to recent court filings. A judge in the U.S. fifth circuit court of appeals allowed Interim Storage Partners (ISP) to intervene in Texas attorney general Ken […]

There “has been some uncertainty” about developing guidelines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to request religious or medical exemptions from the Joe Biden administration’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, an NRC official said at a virtual all-hands meeting this week.  “I think we’re very close on the guidelines for the medical exemption,”  the agency’s newly appointed […]

There “has been some uncertainty” in developing guidelines for Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to request religious or medical exemptions from the Joe Biden administration’s federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate, an NRC official said at a virtual all-hands meeting Tuesday morning.  “I think we’re very close on the guidelines for the medical exemption,”  the agency’s newly appointed […]

The former chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is now part of a utility company’s board of directors, according to a press release Monday. Kristine Svinicki, who was the top regulator at NRC from 2017 to January, was elected to Southern Company’s board effective Sunday, the company said in a press release dated Monday. Svinicki […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission team conducting an environmental justice review of agency practices will give members of the public an update on their progress next week, the agency announced recently. The review team, spearheaded by Gregory Suber, the head of the agency’s operating reactor licensing division, will host its second virtual public comment session Oct. […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission team conducting an environmental justice review of agency practices will give members of the public an update on their progress next week, the agency announced recently. The review team, spearheaded by Gregory Suber, the head of the agency’s operating reactor licensing division, will host its second virtual public comment session Oct. […]

Cleanup efforts at the site of one of the U.S.’s worst radiological releases is proceeding without issue, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said after a recent site inspection. A Sep. 16 inspection of the former United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) Church Rock uranium mine concluded that the General Electric team tasked with dismantling the site is “conducting […]

An updated version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s guidance for preventing workplace sabotage and other insider threats at nuclear power plants should come out this month, the agency said this week. NRC staff are “in the final steps” of revising the commission’s Insider Mitigation Program (IMP), an agency spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Monday. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission promoted Daniel Dorman to director of operations, the agency announced this week in a press release. Dorman is assuming his new post as NRC’s highest-ranking career official effective Oct. 10, the  Tuesday press release said. The former deputy executive director of the commission’s reactor and preparedness programs is stepping up to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a top electric power research group are renewing an unfunded five-year research agreement aimed at addressing nuclear plant aging and other challenges facing the aging fleet, according to a memo published this week. In the memorandum of understanding signed last week by both parties, NRC and the Electric Power Research […]

Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected to say that Exelon owns and operates 12 nuclear power plants. In a leadership shuffle last week Exelon Corp., Chicago, appointed leadership for a new offshoot company that would separate its power generation business — including nuclear — from its electric and gas sales and distribution businesses, the […]

A majority of staff at the nation’s top regulator for civilian nuclear power are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, an agency spokesperson said this week. Roughly 65%, or around 1,859, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2,860 employees have “certified that they are fully vaccinated,” a spokesperson told RadWaste Monitor via email Tuesday.  Despite that statistic, NRC […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and a top electric power research group are renewing an unfunded five-year research agreement aimed at addressing nuclear plant aging and other challenges facing the aging fleet, according to a memo published Wednesday. In the memorandum of understanding signed last week by both parties, NRC and the Electric Power Research Institute […]

In a leadership shuffle last week Exelon Corp., Chicago, appointed leadership for a new offshoot company that would separate its power generation business — including nuclear — from its electric and gas sales and distribution businesses, the company said in a press release. Joseph Dominguez, who currently serves as CEO of Exelon subsidiary Commonwealth Edison, […]

A majority of staff at the nation’s top regulator for civilian nuclear power are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. Roughly 65%, or around 1,859, of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 2,860 employees have “certified that they are fully vaccinated,” a spokesperson told Weapons Complex Morning Briefing via email Tuesday.  Despite that statistic, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission promoted Daniel Dorman to director of operations, the agency wrote Tuesday in a press release. Dorman is assuming his new post effective Oct. 10, NRC said. The former deputy executive director of the commission’s reactor and preparedness programs is stepping up to replace Margaret Doane, who is leaving NRC Friday for […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental justice review needs to prioritize actionable outcomes, stakeholders and members of the public said during an agency conference call Monday. “[I]t’s not enough for NRC just to review its policies,” said Leona Morgan, co-founder of New Mexico community organizer Nuclear Issues Study Group. “What we need to see is change, […]

Although the looming threat of a shutdown appeared to have dissipated at deadline Thursday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it was prepared to keep the lights on for a bit if federal funds dried up because Congress and the White House could not agree on a budget for the 2022 fiscal year that starts after […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s environmental justice review needs to prioritize actionable outcomes, stakeholders and members of the public said during an agency conference call Monday. “[I]t’s not enough for NRC just to review its policies,” said Leona Morgan, co-founder of New Mexico community organizer Nuclear Issues Study Group. “What we need to see is change, […]

A possible government shutdown loomed closer at deadline, as Senate Republicans threatened to filibuster a stopgap budget to keep federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, funded when the 2022 fiscal year begins on Oct. 1. The continuing resolution, which passed the House Tuesday on a 220-211 party-line vote, will keep federal agencies at their […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission again extended the deadline on the license transfer agreement for an Illinois nuclear power plant under decommissioning to give agency staff more time to clear the site for unrestricted use, according to a recent notice. The transfer of Zion Nuclear Power Station back to Exelon from EnergySolutions won’t need to be […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reactor regulation department is building a team to assess some key takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a draft mission statement. NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) will designate a working group to investigate “lessons learned and best practices on the oversight of power reactors during the COVID-19 pandemic […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reactor regulation department is building a team to assess some key takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a draft mission statement. NRC’s Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation (NRR) will designate a working group to investigate “lessons learned and best practices on the oversight of power reactors during the COVID-19 pandemic […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s highest-ranking career executive is leaving the agency next month, according to a press release this week. Margaret Doane, who currently serves as NRC’s executive director of operations, will leave her post effective Oct. 8, the agency said in a statement Monday. Doane is headed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) […]