Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) found multiple problems with how Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has implemented nuclear safety controls, including deficiencies involving transuranic waste containers, and said the laboratory’s process for verifying safety-basis implementation needs improvement. The findings come from a DNFSB staff review of Revision 3 of SRNL’s documented safety analysis […]

The head of the environmental contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site told a South Carolina nuclear advisory board last week production accelerated at the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), a vital cog in cleaning up the site’s radioactive waste tanks. “When we took over the job, SWPF was processing at a rate […]

Holtec has paused fuel loading activity at the Palisades power plant in Michigan following an incident with its fuel assembly, the company said. In a progress report released by Holtec on Sept. 21, the company said one fuel assembly tilted from its upright position after it was placed. The fuel-handling machine grapple was disengaged later. […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) rejected Oklo’s recent request to reinstate its project to PJM’s interconnection study cycle in a Sept. 24 order. FERC denied Oklo’s complaint, which was filed Aug. 27, because Oklo failed to show that PJM violated any of its procedures when dropping the project from its study cycle. PJM is […]

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping have reaffirmed commitment to building the “constructive relationship of strategic stability” pledged in May, but the two countries have yet to establish its meaning for growing nuclear and strategic competition. The leaders agreed during Xi’s Sept. 23-25 visit to Washington to build a strategic-stability relationship based on […]

Vice Adm. Brad Collins took over as Commander of Navy Installations Command (CNIC), succeeding Vice Adm. Scott Gray during a change of command ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard on Sept. 24.  This marked the end of a three-year tour by Gray, who while in the role reorganized the Shore Enterprise and established CNIC as […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact late last week for Constellation Energy’s former Three Mile Island Unit 1 proposed restart. This issuance comes after NRC released its draft environmental assessment (EA) and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for the former Three Mile Island reactor, now referred […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  September: 29: Presentation: BWXT International is holding an Investor Day presentation in New York City starting at 8:30 a.m. E.T. The webcast and materials will be available online.  :  29-30: Conference: The Energy Investment Decision Symposium happens at the Idaho National Laboratory. […]

The Savannah River Plutonium Production Facility (SRPPF) in South Carolina will have 305 gloveboxes, the president of the operations contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) told a state nuclear panel Friday. “The main process building will have over 300 — 305,” said Jeff Griffin, president of Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions […]

Two California lawmakers introduced a bill Sept. 24 that, if enacted, would provide $10 billion in funding to the fusion industry to help spur commercialization of the advanced nuclear technology. Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), members of the House Space Science and Technology Committee, based the bipartisan bill, American Leadership in Fusion […]

X-energy’s nuclear fuel subsidiary, TRISO-X, completed the vertical construction of its first fuel fabrication facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the company said Sept. 24. With the primary building of the 214,000-square-foot structure up, X-energy said in a press release that its subsidiary is going to move forward with the next stage of work that includes […]

V2X has been awarded a position on a $46 million U.S. Air Force delivery order to produce equipment supporting integration of the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile onto the B-52 bomber. The Reston, Va.-based company will provide carriage equipment under the Air Force’s Carriage Equipment Production Effort for the LRSO program, according to a […]

Korte Construction Co. has received a $52.4 million contract to build a nuclear command, control and communications acquisition management facility in Bedford, Mass., according to the Defense Department. The St. Louis, Mo.-based construction company was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract valued at $52,361,853, with a total cumulative face value of $55,415,514, the Pentagon’s Sept. 22 contract […]

The consortium of Bechtel and Westinghouse and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) have agreed on major commercial terms of the engineering procurement and construction contract to use Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor technology at Poland’s first nuclear plant.  PEJ handed over the leading role of the project to Bechtel in August. The companies’ have now set the foundation […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Within weeks the Department of Energy could announce potential winners of a solicitation to set up a nuclear fuel recycling demonstration at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the department’s head of nuclear cleanup said here last week. Tim Walsh, the head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, said Sept. 15 at the […]

WASHINGTON – As the Department of Energy plans to move forward with the Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus program, Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah) looks for clarity in the state’s role in the initiative. During the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Wednesday hearing, the Utah senator stood firm in believing that the country needs to pursue […]

The Pentagon began its energy expo this week, showcasing several advanced energy projects the military is developing. The Energy Sentry – Pentagon: DoD’s Energy Innovation Expo, that spans from Sept. 22 to 24, displays over 100 projects the Pentagon is deploying across the Army, Navy, Air Force and elsewhere. Among the many projects, advanced nuclear […]

Nuclear cleanup crews at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio have taken down a huge chunk of the X-333 Process Building as part of the ongoing demolition of the 33-acre facility. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday press release that workers have torn down the 66,000-square-foot southwest corner of […]

Northrop Grumman has received a potential nine-year, $508.5 million contract from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) to provide flight test and logistics support for remaining intermediate- and intercontinental-range ballistic missile targets. The cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-reimbursable and fixed-price-incentive contract covers flight test support for the remaining intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) targets in MDA’s inventory, as well as […]

North Korea launched what are believed to be two short-range ballistic missiles from its eastern coast Sunday, with state media later describing the test as a demonstration of a new weapons system as Pyongyang continues to expand its missile and nuclear capabilities. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the first missile was launched from […]

After beginning physical decommissioning at the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Station in 2019, NorthStar Group Services has nearly completed its work at the site, a company executive said recently. In a Monday article from local Vermont publication Manchester Journal, Scott State, NorthStar executive chairman and chief nuclear officer, said the 10-year-long project is “99% done.” […]

Uranium recovery at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina will resume next month when the site’s H Canyon facility restarts head end operations, meaning it will begin the initial processing stage.  During an SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) meeting on Tuesday, the site’s DOE Office of Environmental Management executive Edwin Deshong […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup wing recently delayed or paused a couple of contract procurements, participants in the National Cleanup Workshop heard here Sept 15. The Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup solicitation in New Mexico has been delayed, as well as the Paducah Decontamination and Decommissioning Contract in Kentucky, said Aaron Deckard, […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science is shopping for a contractor to support security services at its Oak Ridge Site facilities in Tennessee, according to a Tuesday procurement notice. “The mission of the support service contractor is to provide an array of site-wide security support functions that support Safeguards and Security responsibilities in a […]

An AtkinsRéalis company, in a joint venture with Aecon Group Inc, was awarded a three-year, $1.7 billion contract Monday for a refurbishment project at Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) Pickering nuclear plant. Candu Energy, AtkinsRéalis’ subsidiary company that designs and builds Canada Deuterium Uranium – or CANDU – reactors, will start work on Unit 5 as […]

K & K Industries has won a $13.65 million contract to construct a weapons release system storage facility supporting the Air Force’s B-21 Raider program at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The firm-fixed-price award, announced by the Defense Department Sept. 21, has a total cumulative face value of $14.99 million. Work will be performed in […]