Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has launched a restricted data environment with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in what the agency says is the first “cloud” platform authorized across the enterprise to process classified nuclear weapons information. The cloud environment – a virtual space where resources are hosted by a third party and access over […]

Urenco USA started operations of its fifth cascade of new uranium enrichment capacity at its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M., the company said Monday. The fifth cascade officially began to operate on June 22, which was ahead of schedule, Urenco USA said in a Monday press release. The company has already installed new cascades […]

Exchange Monitor Publications parent company Access Intelligence will be closed on Friday July 3 in observance of the Independence Day holiday, which falls on Saturday, July 4. As a result our weekly publications will post before close of business on Thursday July 3 and there will be no Weapons Complex Morning Briefing posted that day. […]

The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill As of Monday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration finished a key project to shrink the area inside the fence at the Y-12 National Security Complex at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. NNSA said Friday that the West End Protected Area Reduction (WEPAR) Project is expected to save $300 to $500 million through a reduction […]

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that would regulate data centers, and prohibit Duke Energy from retiring coal- or gas-fired power plants until it obtains a permit to build a nuclear plant. The legislation, Senate Bill 730, now named the Ratepayer Protection Act, was amended and passed in the House in a […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology Monday officially launched its 120-day public comment period on Revision 9A to the Department of Energy’s sitewide permit for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. In an online notice, the state regulator said the sitewide permit is one of its key tools for monitoring the “treatment, storage, and disposal […]

The Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) and United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority have agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on fusion technology. The MOU builds on the King Charles III address to the joint meeting of Congress in Washington, D.C. in April, according to the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority’s […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  JULY  02: Webinar: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) holds session starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss it Integrated Resources Plan options. 15: Meeting: House Cleanup Caucus event begins at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Rooms 2043 and 2044 of the Rayburn […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued proposed rules late last week that would make several changes designed to ease management and disposal of greater-than-class-c (GTCC) radioactive waste.  NRC said in a June 25 press release the proposed rule “would modernize the NRC’s framework for land disposal of low-level radioactive waste by allowing disposal facilities to use […]

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is seeking public input on what it calls its “preliminary final” 2026 Integrated Resource Plan and its associated environmental impact statement (EIS). TVA’s Integrated Resource Plan is a long-term planning document that analyzes its seven-state region’s growing energy needs over the next 20-plus years. The strategy provides insight on how […]

The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]

Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel-led joint venture that runs the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said Friday that Todd Ailes will become its new president and CEO effective July 1. Ailes will succeed Rich Tighe who is leaving CNS after about four years to become project […]

The Department of Energy is targeting late July for resumption of transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. In a Wednesday email to Exchange Monitor, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said it intends to start disposing of waste again by the end of July. Although the schedule could […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) unveiled a new artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled flight test vehicle the agency says demonstrates the ability to accelerate the development of national security technologies. NNSA said in a June 24 press release its proof-of-concept vehicle, dubbed Aires Tide, was developed using AI, high-performance computing and additive manufacturing techniques to move […]

The Department of Energy has revealed its third round of selections for its Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear’s (GAIN) nuclear energy voucher program in fiscal 2026. According to DOE GAIN’s Wednesday press release, the recipients are: Aalo Atomics, based in Austin, Texas. OrganiCore Nuclear, based in New York, N.Y. Raven-Flint Nuclear Corp., based in […]

Now over six months into Ho Nieh’s tenure, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair said Wednesday the agency is becoming a regulator that enables and accelerates nuclear technology deployment through its new rulemakings and approaches. “One of the big changes that was driven by the executive orders was again that call for immediate action to focus […]

Montreal, Canada-based AtkinsRéalis submitted a notice of intent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Wednesday, starting the licensing process for the Canada Deuterium Uranium (CANDU) reactor in the United States. This submission initiates the formal pre-application engagement with NRC and is part of AtkinsRéalis’ strategy to expand into the U.S. market with large-scale reactor technology that […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday crews from an Amentum-led contractor have finished important work to mitigate risk at the highly-contaminated 324 Building at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. Crews from Central Plateau Cleanup have finished stabilizing four hot cells at the the 324 Building, DOE said in a Tuesday […]

Two branches of the Department of Energy have, together with international partners, finished removing all leftover highly enriched uranium from Venezuela’s old RV-1 research reactor. DOE’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Office of Environmental Management (EM) and the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina participated in the U.S. effort, according to a […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing has issued a conditional loan commitment program of $17.5 billion to finance the purchase of long-lead time components for nuclear reactors. DOE said in a Tuesday press release that the nuclear supply chain loans will finance five eligible projects sponsored by utilities and companies across the […]

The longtime head of the U.S. Space Force’s rapid acquisition office is leaving to take a senior leadership role at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, according to a June 18 press release. Kelly Hammett, director of the Space Rapid Capabilities Office since its creation, will depart the organization this summer after helping establish it […]

Fusion supply chain spending has increased in 2025, but a large majority of suppliers cite a lack of long-term visibility of fusion needs, making investment hard to come by, the Fusion Industry Association (FIA) reported. In FIA’s Fusion Industry Supply Chain 2026 report, published Tuesday, supply chain spending in the fusion industry increased by 24% […]

A Department of Energy-funded initiative involving Y-12 National Security Complex, Nevada National Security Site and Kansas City National Security Campus aims to create a new pathway for transferring niche technologies to smaller businesses that can support national security missions. The two-year project, known as Bolstering Underutilized Industry by Leveraging Technology Transfer, or BUILTT, is funded […]

Kaveh Farzad, President Trump’s pick to be assistant secretary of energy for International Affairs, told the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee Tuesday he would use the Department of Energy’s national labs to help the U.S. win the artificial intelligence (AI) race. Farzad said in his testimony, AI will help advance the Trump administration’s “energy […]