Vol. 29, No. 9 
DOE issues return to office schedule for most employees
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
SASC chair ‘encouraged’ by plan for White House shipbuilding office
The chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee said Wednesday he’s “encouraged” by President Donald Trump’s plan to establish a new office in the White House dedicated to bolstering domestic shipbuilding. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who chairs the panel, said he had not heard of the plan to set up an Office of Shipbuilding before […]
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Budget & Policy
Trump endorses stopgap spending measure, allegedly clean for DOE
As Congress faces a March 14 shutdown deadline, President Donald Trump has endorsed taking up a “clean” stopgap funding measure that would keep the government open through the end of September. “The Budget from last YEAR is still not done,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Thursday night.”We are working very hard with […]
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Naval Nuclear Propulsion
US sends sub to Western Australia as part of AUKUS
The Virginia-class submarine USS Minnesota arrived at HMAS Stirling, Australia on Feb. 25 for the first of several SSN routine port visits to Australia set to occur this year. This visit is also the first of two planned U.S. submarine (SSN) visits to that base in 2025. The visits are part of increasing experience and […]
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Non-Proliferation
Los Alamos completes 100th shipment of recovered radioactive material
Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Mobile Loading Source Recovery Team and Off-site Source Recovery Program completed their 100th shipment of recovered radioactive material in January, the lab announced last week. The two teams travel nationwide to recover potentially harmful radioactive material from devices found at hospitals, universities, and research facilities. The shipment of such material in […]
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Reactor Licensing & Regulation
Lawmaker introduces bill to tighten NRC radioactive material safeguards
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill last week with the aim of safeguarding and securing radioactive materials, and reducing the risk of bad actors developing a so-called “dirty bomb.” The Securing our Radioactive Materials Act, would mandate the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to implement recommendations on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report from September, […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
Last Energy says it plans micro-reactors to power Texas data centers
A company called Last Energy announced Friday it hopes to build up to 30 micro-reactors on a 200-acre site in Northern Texas to help power data centers. The company, which bills itself as a technology developer for 20-megawatt reactors, said in a press release it has already applied to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
Tennessee non-profit starts first phase of transforming former Oak Ridge plant
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET), a nonprofit organization dedicated to repurposing older Department of Energy facilities at the Oak Ridge Site, has begun the first phase of turning a uranium enrichment area into a private park. The organization will conduct road improvement projects, lighting and landscaping as part of a closure plan […]
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Transuranic Waste
Senator says EnergySec Wright will preserve WIPP, Carlsbad facilities
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) says Energy Secretary Chris Wright has promised the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant facilities in New Mexico will stay open. “I’m pleased to announce that on my call with Secretary Wright, he promised they will stay open,” Heinrich said in a Thursday post on the […]
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Transuranic Waste
Commissioning of new WIPP ventilation system is done, DOE says
The Department of Energy said Tuesday it has finished commissioning the long-anticipated new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. The roughly $500-million Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) is designed to more than triple underground airflow to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), to 540-,000 cubic feet per minute, […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO 2025 high-risk update cites progress for DOE nuclear cleanup
Outlays at the Department of Energy as well as the Department of Defense are two areas that remain among the federal government’s “high-risk areas needing significant attention,” Comptroller General Gene Dodaro said last week in testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. DOE Acquisition and Program Management at EM and the National Nuclear […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Jeff Kendall appointed president of AtkinsRéalis US nuclear business
AtkinsRéalis has appointed Jeff Kendall as president of the company’s US nuclear business, the engineering services and nuclear company announced Wednesday. According to the company’s press release, Kendall had been with AtkinsRéalis for seven years, with his most recent position being interim president for the US business. In the seven years he also served as […]
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International
Wrap-up: IAEA talks Ukraine and Iran at Board of Governors; DOE official takes buyout; DOE exec Chung becomes EM chief; more
At the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors meeting Monday, Director General Rafael Grossi briefed the board on the situations in Ukraine and Iran. Grossi visited Ukraine in February, and said there was “no room for complacency” in his opening statement. He also said that he had visited Iran since the last Board session, […]