Reactor Licensing & Regulation

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it is accepting comments through Oct. 17 regarding the proposed transfer of the operating license for the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in New York from power company Entergy to anticipated new owner Exelon. Interested parties also have until Oct. 5 to request a hearing or petition to […]

An article in the Sept. 9 edition of RadWaste Monitor incorrectly stated that Exelon is a potentially responsible party at the West Lake Landfill. The article also incorrectly stated that B&K Construction illegally dumped materials at the site.

In its continued effort to apply lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded a research contract worth up to $2.2 million for two groups to analyze severe disasters at nuclear power plants. At Fukushima, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a 15-meter tsunami, cutting the plant’s power […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking intended to streamline the agency’s decommissioning processes remains on schedule, an NRC official said last week. Reactor Decommissioning Branch Chief Bruce Watson, who appeared at the ExchangeMonitor’s 2016 RadWaste Summit in Las Vegas, said the NRC will look to issue a final rule in 2019. The next milestone is scheduled […]

Entergy failed to restart its Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday, after bringing the reactor to 9 percent power before discovering an issue with the facility’s turbine turning gear, prompting the utility to shut the unit down. The Massachusetts plant was first shut down Sept. 6 after a malfunction in which excessive water levels were […]

In its continued effort to apply lessons learned from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi accident in Japan, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded a research contract worth up to $2.2 million for two groups to analyze severe disasters at nuclear power plants. At Fukushima, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a 15-meter tsunami, cutting the plant’s power and […]

A Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking intended to streamline the agency’s decommissioning processes remains on schedule, an NRC official said last week. Reactor Decommissioning Branch Chief Bruce Watson, who appeared at the ExchangeMonitor’s 2016 RadWaste Summit in Las Vegas, said the NRC will look to issue a final rule in 2019. The next milestone is scheduled for November, when […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is not considering any further corrective measures at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, despite growing calls to shutter the Massachusetts plant following its latest unplanned shutdown. Plant operator Entergy shut the reactor down last week after a malfunction in which excessive water levels were recorded in the plant’s reactor vessel. NRC […]

Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station was still shut down Thursday following a malfunction two days earlier in which excessive water levels were recorded in the plant’s reactor vessel, the latest failure for the Massachusetts facility. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Tuesday the reactor shut down because of a high water level “resulting from […]

Entergy’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station experienced an unplanned shutdown Tuesday morning, resulting from high water levels in the reactor vessel, the latest failure for the Massachusetts plant. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said by email Tuesday the reactor shut down because of a high water level “resulting from an oscillating (fluctuating) feedwater regulating valve.” Water […]

Nearly 70 percent of the 100 Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed nuclear reactors are now in compliance with new emergency response safety equipment standards the agency has implemented through its Fukushima Lessons Learned initiative. That’s according to the latest documents detailing the progress in implementation of the NRC’s “flex” equipment. Flex equipment, which is considered the foundation […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns in a recent letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) defended the agency’s issuing of exemptions for decommissioned nuclear power plants from emergency response and security regulations, a practice Markey and other lawmakers have denounced. Markey, whose state is home to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, which is scheduled to […]

Waste Control Specialists delivered on Wednesday a second round of responses to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s request for supplemental information (RSI) concerning the company’s planned consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. According to the document, WCS has now responded to 83 percent of the 104 items NRC included in its RSI, […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns in a recent letter to Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) defended the agency’s issuing of exemptions for decommissioned nuclear power plants from emergency response and security regulations, a practice Markey and other lawmakers have denounced. Markey, whose state is home to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, which is scheduled to […]

Nearly 70 percent of the 100 Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed nuclear reactors are now in compliance with new emergency response safety equipment standards the agency has implemented through its Fukushima Lessons Learned initiative. That’s according to the latest documents detailing the progress in implementation of the NRC’s “flex” equipment. Flex equipment, which is considered the foundation […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is weighing a $14,000 fine against a Puerto Rican firm the agency said has failed to perform decommissioning activities for its medical radioisotope production operation. The NRC in 2011 requested that International Cyclotron, of Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, provide financial assurance that it could decommission its cyclotron facility, or otherwise cease operation. The […]

Waste Control Specialists plans to deliver on Wednesday a second round of responses to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s request for supplemental information (RSI) ahead of the agency’s review of the company’s license application for its planned consolidated interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. WCS first responded to NRC in July, clarifying capacity details […]

A senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said the agency is not quite ready to decide whether to proceed with an environmental review for Waste Control Specialists’ license application to build and operate an interim nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas. Waste Control Specialists in July requested that the NRC proceed with a notice of […]

Volatile might be the best word to describe the U.S. nuclear power industry in this century. Federal energy legislation has spurred interest in building new facilities, only for the 2011 Fukushima Daichii power plant disaster in Japan to spur second thoughts. Market forces and other challlenges have led to closures and planned shutdowns over facilities […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it has granted Pacific Gas & Electric Co. an exemption from filing annual license renewal updates for the utility’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant in California. PG&E in June announced plans to close Diablo Canyon units 1 and 2 by 2024-25, when their NRC licenses expire. The company said California’s shifting energy […]

A senior Nuclear Regulatory Commission official said the agency is not quite ready to decide whether to proceed with an environmental review for Waste Control Specialists’ license application to build and operate an interim nuclear waste storage facility in West Texas. Waste Control Specialists in July requested that the NRC proceed with a notice of intent to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday announced the appointment of David A. Castelveter as director of its Office of Public Affairs. Castelveter, whose career includes stints with the Transportation Security Administration’s Office of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs and the private sector, replaces Eliot B. Brenner, who retired in July after 12 years with NRC. In […]

Environmentalists are urging California Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to hold off from considering the joint proposal to close the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant by 2025, allowing for public debate on the environmental and economic impacts of the closure. The Aug. 11 letter, delivered by Environmental Progress and signed by […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday said it had selected David J. Nelson, a technology veteran who helped fix the federal health insurance marketplace website Healthcare.gov, as its chief information officer. “David’s lengthy experience with the government’s use of information technology will help the NRC keep pace with today’s interconnected world,” NRC Executive Director for Operations Victor McCree […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it has terminated the license at the Department of Veterans Affairs’ research reactor in Omaha, Neb.,, following decommissioning of the unit. The Alan J. Blotcky Reactor Facility operated from June 1959 to November 2001 for neutron activation of biological samples and training needs for the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Generating Station. NRC staff […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns said Tuesday that from a legal standpoint, his short-handed commission is adequate, but he hopes for a fuller board soon. The commission is now down to three members, with Commissioner William Ostendorff leaving his post in June, after six years with the agency, for a teaching position at his […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week announced the appointment of a new head for the agency’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards. Marc Dapas, who has been with the NRC for 27 years, takes over for Catherine Haney, who in January moved from agency headquarters in Rockville, Md., to take the position of Region II administrator […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns said Tuesday that from a legal standpoint, his short-handed commission is adequate, but he hopes for a fuller board soon. The commission is now down to three members, with Commissioner William Ostendorff leaving his post in June for a teaching position with his alma mater, the United States Naval Academy, […]

U.S. There are no on-site safety threats at the James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Power Plant in upstate New York, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined following last month’s leak from the facility that created an oil sheen in Lake Ontario. NRC spokesman Neil Sheehan said Monday via email that the oil originated from a vent […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should implement stronger controls for all categories of radioactive material for which it grants licenses, including the least dangerous category that currently falls outside of the same level of scrutiny, according to a July 15 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The GAO conducted undercover tests through which it established three […]