Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Government and commercial imagery could help fill a void in on-site nuclear inspections, given the upcoming lapse in the New Strategic Arms Reduction (New START) Treaty protocol next February, a new report by the Federation of American Scientists said. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS), a nonproliferation-focused nonprofit founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists, […]

The House voted 222-209 Wednesday to approve a stopgap spending bill that will fund the government until Jan. 30 with a loose promise from the GOP that Congress will negotiate on healthcare once the government reopens. The continuing resolution (CR), alongside a three-bill spending package, would head to President Donald Trump’s desk at 9:45p.m. Eastern […]

The future of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California is uncertain after a state agency denied a key approval necessary for its continued operation until 2030. At the California Coastal Commission Nov. 6 meeting, the agency denied Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) request for a coastal development permit as the agency said it needed […]

An EnergySolutions proposal to take low-level radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada at its Clive, Utah disposal site will be the focus of an upcoming special meeting of the Northwest Interstate Compact On Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management. According to a public notice, the Nov. 25 public meeting will consider a draft for “possibly accepting LLRW  waste […]

Ernest Moniz, former energy secretary and head of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said in an interview with Christiane Amanpour returning to explosive nuclear testing would have a “quite terrible” impact “on multiple dimensions.” When asked about President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would return to nuclear testing “on an equal basis” with other countries, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Energy’s report on a national waste management plan is coming together, DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory senior policy advisor Bradley Williams said this week at the American Nuclear Society (ANS) conference. Driven by President Donald Trump’s executive order “Reinvigorating the Nuclear Industrial Base”, DOE, in conjunction with other agencies, is […]

BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., has appointed Toby Smith as its new senior vice president and general counsel, replacing Ronald (Chip) Whitford, the company said last week. BWXT expects that Whitford will stay on in an advisory role through early 2026, the company said in a Nov. 6 press release. BWXT said Smith has logged more […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With sweeping changes coming to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), culture change might be the most crucial piece in NRC reform, panelists said Tuesday at the American Nuclear Society conference. President Donald Trump ordered an overhaul of NRC as part of his May 23 nuclear-related executive orders. The president called for streamlining […]

The Australian government early this month announced a strategic contract setting up an industry partnership that will potentially see Australian battery technology used in the SSN-AUKUS submarine design.  The Australian-based PMB Defense is partnering with the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems in contracts worth over $34 million to enable potential integration of its advanced nickel zinc […]

President Donald Trump’s White House statements during Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s recent visit confirmed Trump supports advancing AUKUS, regardless of an ongoing Department of Defense review, a DoD nominee said last week.  Austin Dahmer, nominee to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Plans, and Capabilities, made these comments during his testimony to the […]

Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), the Department of Energy’s operations contractor for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is on the lookout for potential office space around Idaho Falls, according to an online procurement notice. As it kicks off its market research, the prime contractor is asking for expressions of interest (EOI) from providers capable of leasing […]

While the federal government might reopen soon, a regular meeting of the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS) Citizens Advisory Board in South Carolina scheduled for next week has been called off. The SRS Citizens Advisory Board was to meet next Tuesday, Nov. 18 at the new Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative center at the University […]

The full Senate is expected to vote on the nomination of Ho Nieh to be a commissioner at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on Nov. 18. The Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, according to the Senate Cloakroom’s Monday post on X. If confirmed, Nieh […]

The Senate late Monday voted 60-40 to open the government with a spending package that would fund the government until Jan. 30 sans the extension of health care subsidies Democrats were fighting for. As early as 4 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday, the House will vote on the same spending package, according to a notice by […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – To meet rising energy demands, the United States needs to prioritize building large nuclear reactors, several federal officials said during the American Nuclear Society conference Monday. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair David Wright and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) said during various panel discussions that small modular reactors will […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  (With the federal shutdown still in effect at press time it is advisable to double-check with sponsors to see if government-related speakers/events are still scheduled. ) November  09 – 12 – American Nuclear Society (ANS) 2025 Winter Conference and Expo in Washington […]

Beyond Nuclear has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate a Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license that could allow Holtec International to develop a waste storage site in New Mexico, although Holtec says it no longer plans to do so. Beyond Nuclear has filed what is known as a writ of certiorari and asked the […]

Rather than a test silo, the Air Force will use a launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., for the first flight test of an unarmed LGM-35A Sentinel missile by Northrop Grumman. “The first flight test was moved to a pad launch to allow for a more incremental approach to flight testing,” the Air […]

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who has Nevada National Security Site in her state, joined six other Democrats and one Independent Sunday in advancing a continuing resolution to fund the government until Jan. 30, 2026.  “For the last 40 days, I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to hold President [Donald] Trump and my Republican colleagues accountable […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One or two advanced reactor pilot projects should reach criticality by next July Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said here Monday at the American Nuclear Society conference. In June, the Department of Energy, sparked by President Donald Trump’s May 23 executive orders, created an advanced nuclear reactor pilot program. Under the program, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Republican chairs of Senate and House Appropriations subcommittees for Energy and Water expect to hold a conference meeting in late January to blend their two versions of a fiscal 2026 spending plan, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.), said  Monday. Fleischmann, the chair of the House Appropriations Energy and Water subcommittee, said he and […]

Tim Walsh, the new head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management, made his first visit to DOE’s largest nuclear cleanup site last week, a Washington state newspaper reported. With little fanfare, Walsh, assistant secretary for Environmental Management (EM), visited the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash., according to a Nov. 5 article […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published a supplemental environmental impact statement on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)’s proposed reactor project adjacent to the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. NRC, together with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, seek public comment on a draft supplemental environmental impact statement, or supplemental EIS, on […]

Due to the Veterans Day holiday next week, the next edition of Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will be Tuesday Nov. 11.   

Due to the ongoing government shutdown, the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) is postponing its Nov. 13 public meeting scheduled for Arlington, Va. A new date is yet to be determined but it will be after January 2026, a spokesperson for NWTRB said via email Wednesday afternoon.  When the new date and venue are […]

Brendan Rogers, nominated to be assistant secretary of the Navy for energy, installations and environment, promoted small modular reactors (SMRs) as a viable option to power military installations at a Senate nomination hearing last week. Rogers, among other Department of Defense nominees, Marc Berkowitz, James Caggy and Joseph Jewell, testified before the Senate Armed Services […]