Vol. 12, No. 20 
Democrat-Controlled House Turns Against Yucca Mountain Funding
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Yucca Mountain Bill Reintroduced in House
A bipartisan duo on Tuesday reintroduced legislation in the House of Representatives intended to help the federal government finally build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 is a slightly updated version of legislation introduced in 2017 by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). That bill advanced out […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
House Bill Nixes FUSRAP Transfer to Energy Dept.
The House Appropriations Committee appears ready to reject the Trump administration’s request to transfer a nuclear cleanup program from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy. In its spending legislation for fiscal 2020, released Tuesday, the panel’s energy and water development subcommittee proposed $155 million for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial […]
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Commercial Low-Level Waste
Energy Dept. Waits for Congressional Action on GTCC Waste Disposal
The Department of Energy is still waiting on action from Congress that would be necessary to carry out its legal requirement to dispose of the nation’s Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste, a senior official said last week. The agency has largely been in a holding pattern since issuing a November 2017 report to Congress […]
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Non-Proliferation
International Isotopes Files Insurance Claim After Contamination Incident at University
International Isotopes on Wednesday confirmed its role in an accident two weeks ago that contaminated more than a dozen people with cesium-137 during the Department of Energy-funded removal of a blood-irradiation machine from a research facility at the University of Washington in Seattle. “[O]ur radiological services team was involved in a contamination event at an […]
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Decommissioning
Holtec International CEO Lashes Out at SONGS Community Panel
By John Stang Holtec International’s founder and top executive lashed out earlier this month at a California citizens advisory panel that criticized its work at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). President and CEO Kris Singh was responding to an April 8 memo by the three top members of the SONGS Community Engagement […]
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Budget & Policy
NRC Chair Defends Updated Nuclear Safety Rules
By John Stang The majority of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes its updated nuclear power plant safety rules contain measure determined necessary to protect the public. Agency Chairman Kristine Svinicki offered the message in a May 3 letter to Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). She was responding to concerns the lawmakers raised in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Perma-Fix Borrows $2.5M From Consultant Shareholder
By John Stang Perma-Fix Environmental Services has borrowed $2.5 million from one of its shareholders to be used for general working capital. The Atlanta-based nuclear services provider recorded the April 1 transaction in a May 9 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The unsecured loan is from shareholder Robert Ferguson, who is […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Wrap Up: Interim Storage Raises Questions on Final Disposition of Used Fuel, Former NRC Chair Says
WASHINGTON — Plans for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors leave questions about the ultimate disposition of that radioactive material once a facility’s federal license expires, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said Monday. Speaking at a Capitol Hill event on nuclear decommissioning, Jaczko posited a scenario in which […]