The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has awarded the Southwest Research Institute a contract worth as much as $52 million over five years to continue operating the Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses.
The San Antonio-based research and development organization has managed the center since its inception 31 years ago. Its original mission was to provide assistance in NRC licensing and regulatory monitoring of the Department of Energy’s planned repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.
The center’s work over the decades has expanded to encompass technical support for storage, transportation, disposal and other operations involving the waste types. Services include environmental analyses, fire protection engineering, and hazard evaluations, among others.
The center, operating from San Antonio and Rockville, Md., also provides research and peer-review services to governments and regulatory entities in other nations.
The new NRC contract, which went into effect Monday, has a one-year base and four single-year options.
