Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) said Tuesday it selected Christie Miller and Christian Ortego as two new vice presidents at its Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. Starting April 1, Miller will be vice president of communications, and Ortego will be vice president and NNS chief counsel, the company release said. Miller will succeed Jennifer Dunn, who […]

Uranium production is ramping up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), with plans to produce nearly 23 metric tons of high-level uranium for fuel production,and other purposes for the DOE nuclear complex. That was the message that the SRS Citizens Advisory Board heard Tuesday during the panel’s regular bimonthly meeting at the […]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said this week it is planning several outer space projects, including the use of nuclear power for certain space exploration.  NASA outlined these new initiatives at its Ignition event held in Washington D.C. on Tuesday to discuss missions involving the moon and Mars.  Among other things, NASA seeks […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission published the final environmental impact statement last week for a subsequent license renewal for Duke Energy’s Robinson Nuclear Plant in South Carolina. The subsequent license renewal would extend the reactor’s operation from 60 to 80 years. This license comes after the initial license renewal that extends its potential operating life from […]

Uranium Energy Corp has received approval from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to expand in situ recovery operations at Christensen Ranch in Johnson County, Wyo. In situ recovery is one of the two primary extraction methods used to mine uranium from the underground. The Corpus Christi, Texas-based uranium mining company said in its […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — At least one lawmaker, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), is unenthused about the Department of Energy’s interest in rebranding its Office of Environmental Management (EM) at this time. “What they should be more concerned about is cleaning all the s— [stuff] up that they haven’t cleaned, that’s what they should be spending […]

Thomas Dinanno, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, said he has “not been in any discussions” where U.S. testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere has been under consideration. “We’re still assessing,” Dinanno said in testimony Tuesday to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We’ve made no decision specifically on how or what […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Energy needs to figure out a waste management strategy before pushing for more nuclear power, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) told DOE officials in a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last week. “I can’t stress this enough; this to me is the issue we deal with first: […]

The head of arms control for the State Department told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that continued modernization, including 150 B-21s, will prod China to engage in arms control talks with the United States. “I think the president’s broad view, and he’s been extremely forward leaning on this, is he wants to see fewer […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office is on track for substantial completion of its liquid waste mission at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina by 2037  if sufficient funding is authorized, the local field office boss said Tuesday. On March 5, high-level radioactive tank 14 “achieved preliminary cease waste removal status” on March […]

Knoxville-based Professional Project Services (Pro2Serve) is now a 100% employee-owned company, the Department of Energy contractor said in a Monday news release. In addition to reaching the 100% staff-owned milestone, through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Pro2Serve also announced newly appointed board of directors members.  Every employee can own a stake in Pro2Serve by participating […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking public input on Fermi America’s combined license application for Project Matador based in Carson County, Texas. NRC has opened up a 30-day comment period to gather feedback on the scope of its draft environmental impact statement it is preparing for the application. The period closes on April 20, according […]

Over half of thefts involving nuclear and other radioactive material reported to the Incident and Trafficking Database (ITDB) since 1993 occurred during authorized transport, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) database showed Monday. More often than not, stolen radioactive material is not recovered, IAEA also said.  The ITDB is IAEA’s collection of illicit trafficking incidents, […]

The Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board will hear presentations Tuesday on everything from liquid waste cleanup to use of drones at the Department of Energy Site near Aiken, S.C. The agenda for the advisory board includes the usual updates from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management field office and the South Carolina regulatory agency as […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has published the final environmental impact statement for Florida Power and Light St. Lucie Nuclear Plant’s subsequent license renewal. A subsequent license renewal extends a reactor’s operation from 60 to 80 years and comes after the first license renewal that extends potential operating life from 40 to 60 years. In […]

Hadrian Automation on March 20 announced a $2.4 billion public-private partnership with the Navy that will result in three artificial intelligence (AI)-powered factories, with its first facility focused on producing submarine parts within a year. The facilities are aimed at helping produce parts for the Navy’s maritime industrial base, according to a statement by Hadrian. […]

X-Energy said Friday it has started the process to become a publicly-traded company, announcing it filed a draft registration statement with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). X-Energy, a nuclear company based in Rockville, Md., plans to trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol XE, according to the company’s March 20 […]

An hour-long webcast  is now available online from Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio for the new energy and artificial intelligence data center. The Donald Trump administration officially announced Friday March 20 that the DOE gaseous diffusion plant site in Piketon, Ohio has been selected for a new multi-billion-dollar […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:    March:  24: Hearing: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will meet to examine arms control functions at the State Department, featuring testimony from Thomas DiNanno, undersecretary for arms control and international security at the State Department. The hearing will start at 10:30 a.m. […]

The Navy last week awarded General Dynamics’ (GD) Electric Boat Corp. a $15.38 billion modification in more Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) work related to industrial base development support. This award covers additional Columbia-class submarine design, lead yard support and sustainment, “integrated enterprise plan initiatives for the class, and submarine industrial base supplier development […]

After a joint U.S.-Israel strike on Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility early Friday, Iran retaliated with a strike on a town near Israel’s secret nuclear facility, Negev, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency and major news outlets. Afterward, an international nuclear monitor said it has not identified any increase in offsite radiation following the exchange.  […]

X-Energy and Talen Energy have signed a letter of intent to explore development of X-Energy Xe-100 reactors in Pennsylvania to serve the PJM, a regional transmission organization. PJM serves parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. Talen, a Houston-based power company, operates the Susquehanna Nuclear Station in Salem Township, Pa., within the PJM […]

Austin, Texas-based Aalo Atomics unveiled its completed reactor building of its critical test reactor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. Aalo held a March 19 ceremony for the finished reactor building on March 19, according to a company press release. The company said it completed the reactor structure in six months and expects […]

The Donald Trump administration’s secretaries of Energy, Commerce and Interior are scheduled to announce a big redevelopment project Friday at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio as part of a U.S.–Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement. That is according to a media advisory put out this week by DOE. According to rumors circulating […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) produced its first enriched uranium “button” using an “electrorefining” process at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., the agency said in a press release. The electrorefining project was authorized for startup in September, and marks the first time such a process has been used in 15 […]

Citizen groups that are frequent critics of the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex greeted news of a possible name change for the DOE Office of Environmental Management with a shrug. DOE Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix last week that EM could soon be rebranded  as […]