Reactor Licensing & Regulation

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 […]

The White House on Jan. 6 nominated Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright to a full five-year term, through June 30, 2025. The move came as no surprise – the Trump administration had stated in November it intended to reappoint Wright. Wright’s nomination was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As of […]

The White House on Jan. 6 nominated Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright to a full five-year term, through June 30, 2025. The move came as no surprise – the Trump administration had stated in November it intended to reappoint Wright. Wright’s nomination was referred to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. As of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week cited a Westinghouse fuel facility in South Carolina with two violations of federal nuclear rules, but details were scarce this week. The two Severity Level IV violations were identified in an inspection of the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) from Nov. 18-21, 2019, according to a Jan. 10 […]

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 U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week cited a Westinghouse fuel facility in South Carolina with two violations of federal nuclear rules, but details were scarce this week. The two Severity Level IV violations were identified in an inspection of the Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) from Nov. 18-21, 2019, according to a Jan. 10 […]

Stakeholders have until March 10 to file a petition with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a hearing to raise concerns about SHINE Medical Technologies’ license application to operate a medical isotope production plant in Janesville, Wis. The federal agency in October began its full technical review of the company’s July 2019 application, according to […]

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 […]

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 […]

The members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday rejected requests for an immediate freeze of agency staff’s approval of the license transfer for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The staff order in August covering the reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses allowed owner Entergy to sell the retired plant to Holtec International […]

The U.S. Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee on Tuesday recommended confirmation of Department of Justice attorney Robert Feitel as the new inspector general for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Feitel would succeed Hubert Bell, who retired last December after more than 22 years as NRC inspector general. The NRC inspector general manages an office, […]

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 […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission from July to October conducted 10 unannounced inspections of spent fuel transfer operations at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The inspections are part of the agency’s response to several problems in the project, notably an August 2018 incident in which a canister was put at risk […]

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 […]

By John Stang A legal tug-of-war is underway between a San Diego law firm and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the release of paperwork related to federal oversight of used-fuel management at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. In March and June of this year, attorney Michael Aguirre submitted three […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has signed off on transferring the reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses for the Zion nuclear power plant in Illinois from decommissioning contractor EnergySolutions to site owner Exelon. The order from agency staff took effect on Nov. 26, according to a Dec. 6 notice in the Federal Register. It is good […]

A legal tug-of-war is underway between a San Diego law firm and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission over the release of paperwork related to federal oversight of used-fuel management at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. In March and June of this year, San Diego attorney Michael Aguirre filed three complaints […]

The draft environmental impact statements (EIS) for two planned consolidated interim storage sites for used fuel from nuclear power plants are due next spring, officials said last week during a meeting of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The environmental documents are central to the agency’s decision on whether to issue licenses for construction and operation […]

The Nuclear Energy Institute is asking a federal appeals court to undo the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s determination that it has full authority to regulate disposal of very low-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, even in states that have taken on much of the agency’s oversight of radioactive materials. At issue is Regulatory Issue […]

Workers at Westinghouse Electric’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in South Carolina violated federal safety codes in September when they shipped contaminated barrels of uranium hexafluoride to Washington state, adding to the growing list of safety issues that have plagued the plant in recent years. The incident resulted in a Level IV violation from the […]

Workers at Westinghouse Electric’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in South Carolina violated federal safety codes in September when they shipped contaminated barrels of uranium hexafluoride to Washington state, adding to the growing list of safety issues that have plagued the plant in recent years. The incident resulted in a Level IV violation from the […]

Radioactive waste transport and management provider Orano TN has a new president, its parent company announced this week. Longtime General Electric executive Amir Vexler started at Orano TN this month, according to his LinkedIn profile. “Amir’s energy and expertise are the right mix for our TN business,” Orano USA CEO Sam Shakir said in a […]

The U.S. Department of Energy is studying whether to sign off on an extension of the legal deadline to end exports of weapon-grade uranium for foreign production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The agency’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is accepting comments from the public through Dec. 27 ahead of the secretarial certification […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October spent $485 of its remaining balance from the federal Nuclear Waste Fund, leaving it with $405,992 absent further appropriations from Congress. As has been the case for most of the year, the agency spent just a few hundred dollars on unspecified program planning and support, according to the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting comments from the public through Jan. 13 on the scope of an add-on to its environmental impact statement (EIS) for SHINE Medical Technologies’ isotope production plant in Janesville, Wis. The agency issued the original document in October 2015 for SHINE’s application for a construction permit for its facility, […]

The federal fund intended to pay for the nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., held $40.9 billion in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of fiscal 2019 on Sept. 30, according to the latest audit from the Department of Energy. That rose from $39.2 billion in the Nuclear Waste Fund at the close of […]

Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) said Tuesday it had narrowed to three the number of communities being considered to host a deep geologic repository for spent fuel from nuclear power plants. In a site-selection process that began in 2010 with 22 candidate sites, the remaining locations are the township of Ignace in northwest Ontario […]

Nuclear power plant operator FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) said Monday it will be renamed Energy Harbor when it comes of out Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring as a stand-alone company. The company will continue to be headquartered in Akron, Ohio. It will employ roughly 2,800 people, according to a press release. The bankruptcy proceeding is expected to […]