Vol. 5, No. 19 More Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 at DOE HQ, Nuke Sites
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Subcontractor at Los Alamos Tests Positive for Virus
A subcontractor for the legacy environmental remediation vendor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has tested positive for COVID-19. The subcontractor for Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) is self-isolating at home and will not return to work until cleared by a medical provider, laboratory Director Thom Mason said in a […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Secretary Authorizes Contractor Indemnity for COVID-19 Testing, Research
Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors, including those in the National Nuclear Security Administration, can be indemnified from damages arising because of testing for COVID-19, under a determination published Tuesday by Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. The order also indemnifies contractors that plan to offer DOE computing facilities to scientists who want to model the […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Nevada, NNSA Formalizing Settlement of Plutonium Lawsuit
The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Nevada have agreed in principle to settle a 2018 state lawsuit contesting the shipment of 500 kilograms of nuclear weapon-usable plutonium to the Nevada National Security Site. “The parties are currently working diligently to finalize the necessary documents and to obtain final government settlement approvals,” attorneys for the state […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
Lawmakers Ask NRC to Delay Collection of Licensee Fees
The top members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Monday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay collecting charges and fees from nuclear licensees for no less than 90 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), asked […]
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Commercial Low-Level Waste
US Ecology to Cut Costs to Counter Economic Uncertainty
Radioactive waste management provider US Ecology said Tuesday it would cut tens of millions of dollars in costs this year to offset the economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Boise, Idaho-based company said in a press release that unspecified “cost control initiatives” should save $15 million to $20 million annually. A 30% cut […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
DNFSB Urges Staff to Delve Deeper Into Nuke Sites
The Defense Nuclear Safety Facilities Board (DNFSB) is urging its inspectors and staff to press their newly bolstered authority to inspect Department of Energy defense-nuclear sites, as codified by Congress last year. Congress, at least in the board’s interpretation, used the National Defense Authorization Act of 2020 to short-circuit DOE Order 140.1, which was written […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
International Isotopes Cutting Out Field Services Work for DOE
International Isotopes said Tuesday it would no longer provide radiological field services for the Department of Energy, after the federal agency put a hold on all existing contracts in the wake of a cesium-137 spill last May during a job in Seattle. “Regardless of the DOE’s future plans for field service contracts, it is unlikely […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
Earthquake Rattles Idaho; No Damage Detected at INL So Far
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake shook Idaho at around 6 p.m. local time Tuesday, with the epicenter about 120 miles from the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Geological Survey confirmed. “While ground shaking was felt, there was no damage to any INL facilities,” INL spokesperson Sarah Neumann said in a Wednesday email. It was […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Holtec Sues New Jersey Over Frozen Tax Credits
Holtec International has sued the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA) in an effort to force the state agency to resume providing $260 million in tax credits promised in 2014. The Camden, N.J., energy technology company on Tuesday announced the lawsuit, filed March 20 in the Superior Court of New Jersey. “In disregard of its […]
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Commercial Low-Level Waste
Texas Agency Considering Reducing Rad-Waste Disposal Charge
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is scheduled next week to consider updating its regulations to reduce a specific fee for disposal of radioactive waste at a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. With approval from the commission, the curie inventory charge would be cut from $0.40 per millicurie (1/1000th of a curie) […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Savannah River Contractor Settles Age Discrimination Lawsuit
An employee who alleged age discrimination by the Energy Department’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has settled his federal lawsuit. In an order dated March 27, U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis said she has learned from the attorneys that Jeffrey Risher’s litigation against Savannah River Remediation has been […]