Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Oklo has bought Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based manufacturing and engineering company ARMEC to expand its own internal reactor and fuel manufacturing capabilities, the company said on Monday. California-based Oklo said in a press release that the acquisition, closed on June 4, highlights the company’s broader strategy of “integrating critical execution capabilities closer to its reactor, fuel […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Legislation to accelerate licensing for domestic uranium enrichment is critical in building nuclear reactors at scale, panelists told the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee Tuesday. During the House subcommittee hearing, the panelists discussed and reviewed six proposed pieces of nuclear energy-related legislation that subcommittee members said are aimed to further […]

President Donald Trump’s special envoys for Iran, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, reportedly consulted nuclear experts at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn. to prepare for a nuclear deal with Iran, according to Axios. The article also said the White House is trying to reach a memorandum of understanding with Iran to end […]

Tuesday in Arlington, Va., the U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) heard from various nations developing repository sites for spent nuclear fuel. During its spring board meeting, the NWTRB listened to presentations featuring technical lessons gleaned from the siting and development of geologic repositories in other countries. This includes speakers from countries such as […]

Secretary of Energy Chris Wright will testify before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee to discuss the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget request on Wednesday morning. The hearing will be held at 10 a.m. Eastern Time in Room 2318 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. In President Donald Trump’s White […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee and Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will hold hearings this week on defense policy and the defense budget, potentially touching on nuclear matters. On Monday, the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee was scheduled to mark up its portions of the fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a defense policy bill […]

The state of Tennessee plans to roll out its own regulatory framework for nuclear fusion technologies this week, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) recently said. According to a June 1 press release, TDEC said that Tennessee will be the first state to move forward with a technology-neutral approach for fusion machines and […]

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi urged Iran to cooperate with the agency, warning inspectors remain unable to verify the status of Tehran’s enriched uranium stockpiles a year after U.S.-Israeli military strikes damaged key nuclear facilities. Addressing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, Grossi called on Iran to engage once more […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public input on a draft environmental assessment and draft finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the former Three Mile Island reactor restart. NRC published a notice in the Federal Register on Monday and requested that comments be submitted by July 8. NRC is currently evaluating the foreseeable environmental […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will host a hybrid observation meeting on June 15 to give the public an opportunity to see the agency is performing its regulatory function and to discuss regulatory issues. NRC said in its meeting memo that the meeting will be an all day meeting, starting at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time and […]

In less than a year, Doug Weaver was officially sworn in as a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member for a new five-year term on June 5. Weaver was confirmed alongside nearly 50 of President Donald Trump’s other nominees in the en bloc package, Senate Resolution 690, spearheaded by the Republicans. The nominees’ confirmation passed by a […]

The Idaho Cleanup Project recently completed two shipments of gloveboxes from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to disposal facilities. According to North Wind Group’s May 27 press release, crews from the Idaho Environment Coalition, led by Amentum and North Wind Portage, dismantled the gloveboxes. A glovebox is a sealed unit designed to protect personnel from […]

The House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) rejected an amendment to the fiscal 2027 defense authorization bill to cut funding for the new Trump-class battleship but did agree to a report on how the Navy will manage another nuclear-powered vessel. During the full committee markup last week, ranking member Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) offered an amendment […]

The defense ministers of the three AUKUS partners last week announced Australia will now exclusively buy used American Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs). According to a joint statement released by the U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the British and Australian defense ministers John Healey and Richard Marles, respectively, the three welcomed a proposed approach […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  June 09: Meeting; : The U.S. Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will host a public meeting starting at 8 a.m. Eastern Time at the AUSA Conference & Event Center  2425 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201.  10: Meeting: The Oak Ridge Site-Specific Advisory […]

Several officials from environmental organizations held a meeting in Washington, D.C. Tuesday warning against reworking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and streamlining nuclear deployment amid the push of powering artificial intelligence (AI).  Over the past year, various environmental groups have opposed the United States’ renewed interest in nuclear power, spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s administration. Trump’s […]

Stevan Pearce, a former Republican congressman who represented the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), was confirmed by the Senate last month to be director of the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Pearce was among a large bloc of GOP nominees narrowly confirmed by the Senate 46-to-43 on […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is starting work on a new facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) that the agency says will strengthen U.S. capabilities to monitor foreign uranium enrichment activities and support nuclear nonproliferation missions. The Advanced Testbed and Operations Learning Laboratory, or ATOLL, will be a 21,000-square-foot facility designed to develop […]

The Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology will hold a public meeting June 17 on a proposed modular system at the Hanford Site’s 200 West Area to remove cesium from tank waste prior to grouting. The hybrid meeting is set for June 17 at 5:30 p.m. PT in the Gallery Room […]

The Y-12 National Security Complex has completed its fiscal 2026 uranium casting production for the Naval Reactors program ahead of schedule and, according to a Wednesday announcement from the site. Y-12 produced 175 uranium castings during the fiscal year, which provided enriched uranium feedstock used in the fuel supply chain for the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Energy subcommittee will host a hearing to examine several pieces of nuclear legislation on June 9 in Room 2123 in Rayburn House Office Building at 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time. The subcommittee panel will look at three bills that have already been introduced during this Congressional session. It will examine […]

Fluor Marine Propulsion has been awarded a $1.03 billion contract modification to continue work supporting the Navy’s nuclear propulsion enterprise at the Naval Nuclear Laboratory, according to a Defense Department contract announcement Tuesday. The cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, awarded under an existing naval propulsion contract, provides funding for naval nuclear propulsion work performed through the Naval Nuclear […]

The Department of Energy is reviewing roughly 80 internal orders under an initiative called “Project Velocity” aimed at accelerating work across the nuclear weapons enterprise, Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Director for Mission Operations Mark Davis said last month. Speaking before the Los Alamos County Council, Davis said the effort is intended to streamline operations […]

The Department of Energy’s liquid waste contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is inviting expressions of interest (EOI) for vendors interested in the West Area Tank Farms Risk Management (WARM) construction services work. “WARM is being constructed to supply material for off-site treatment and disposal, supporting compliance with regulatory milestones,” according to the […]

Years after an agreement apparently resolved a federal safety watchdog’s access to staff and records at Department of Energy nuclear sites, the dispute appears to be back. In an April 29 letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s (DNFSB) lone member said DOE is not complying with its Atomic […]

A multi-billion-dollar expansion is coming to Urenco USA’s National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M., enlarging the capacity by nearly 50%, the company said Tuesday. Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European Urenco Group, said in a press release it will install 2.1 million separative work units (SWU) of new enrichment capacity of low-enriched uranium at […]