The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced Monday that contractors have broken ground on what will be a new 22,000-square-foot office center at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

NNSA and construction contractor Hensel Phelps broke ground Nov. 4 on the Savannah River Office Complex located in the Site’s H Area, NNSA said. The new building will replace a bunch of old modular office trailers, according to the NNSA news release. NNSA told Exchange Monitor Thursday the project is expected to be completed in early fiscal 2028, a year after construction begins, and while specific budget figures have not been disclosed the project falls under the “minor construction” threshold.

The new complex will house staff for the Savannah River Tritium Enterprise, DOE’s Environmental Management operations, and other workers. The new office complex will employ a new standard design, DOE’s Fluor-led operations contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions said in the release.

The National Nuclear Security Administration has removed a high-risk cesium-137 source from a hospital in Manaus, Brazil, in a U.S.-led operation aimed at reducing radiological security risks.

NNSA’s Y-12 National Security Complex worked with Brazilian officials in September to safely disassemble, package and transport the source, which had been used in a blood irradiator at the Amazonas Hematology and Hemotherapy Hospital Foundation. 

Earlier this year, NNSA provided the hospital with an X-ray blood irradiator as a replacement, allowing it to continue treating blood products without relying on radioactive material. The Brazil operation marks NNSA’s eighth international radioactive-source removal in the past three years.

The House of Representatives passed several nuclear energy-related bills Monday evening that address varying facets of the nuclear fuel cycle in an effort to streamline licensing and construct more nuclear capacity.

On the first day back following the midterm election, six nuclear energy bills hit the House floor after advancing out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in September.  The legislation will move to the Senate for committee review. The Nuclear REFUEL (Recycling Efficient Fuels Utilizing Expedited Licensing) Act, which would make it easier to license certain spent fuel reprocessing facilities, passed out of the House in a resounding 397 – 2 vote. The American Enrichment Deployment Act, that seeks to accelerate licensing for uranium enrichment facilities, also sailed through a 394  – 3 vote.

Other bills passed by voice votes are The NRC Staff Pay Alignment Act and The Nuclear Advisory Committee Reform Act. Votes for the Department of Energy Nuclear Transparency Act, a bill that deals with seeking more transparency from DOE on its work relating to nuclear facilities, and the Efficient Nuclear Licensing Hearings Act, a bill that would codify Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s ability to forgo a hearing when a license application is uncontested, were postponed.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) urged industry members at a Tuesday event to engage with Congress following the midterm elections to continue domestic nuclear power’s current momentum.

Fleischmann told the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council’s New Nuclear Capital event in New York City that nuclear power has gained bipartisan support in Congress over time and can continue to grow through engagement with newly-elected legislators. 

Fleischmann, who is participating in the current lame duck session in Washington, D.C., addressed the event virtually. The new Congressional session including the new members elected last week, is scheduled to begin on Jan. 3 2027.