Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS) Community Engagement Panel will be briefed on canister inspection results Thursday during a hybrid session to discuss on-site storage of spent nuclear fuel at the plant. The seminar  is scheduled for Thursday Oct.16 at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time at the Casino San Clemente 140 Avenida Pico, San Clemente, […]

Twenty-five years after the Department of Energy contracted Bechtel National to build a plant to vitrify radioactive sludge into a glass form, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) began operation this week at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Wednesday Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Facility (DFLAW) at WTP […]

The Department of Energy is holding a virtual industry day Wednesday on the potential for data center development at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The session, scheduled between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, will include details about a request for proposal (RFP) process for artificial intelligence-related data centers at the federal complex. […]

The United States nuclear sector’s domestic uranium purchasing was up sharply in 2024, according to a recent annual report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In EIA’s Uranium Marketing Annual Report, released Sept. 30, U.S. owners and operators of commercial nuclear power reactors purchased a total of 55.9 million pounds of U3O8e deliveries from U.S. […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced a new nuclear reactor program Tuesday to deploy microreactors in the military. Called the Janus program, Wright and Driscoll announced the effort at the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington.  The announcement heavily referred […]

Several state governors have teamed up on a coordinated approach to speeding development of advanced nuclear  projects. Working through the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), 11 states have issued a request for information (RFI) to create a scalable and rapid approach to deploying new nuclear reactors. The deadline for responding to the Advanced […]

A public information meeting on work at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is scheduled for Thursday Nov. 6 at Southeast New Mexico College in Carlsbad. The meeting will start at 4 p.m. Mountain Time. The session will be available online and will be jointly conducted by DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office and […]

Karen Thompson has been selected as the Planning and Execution Division director at the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management (EM) field office at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. “Karen has served in this role in an acting capacity since March, and we’re excited to have her experience, perspective, and drive as a member of […]

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington is expected to start operations this week with only one melter in operation, an Oregon panel heard last week. The plant, designed to vitrify radioactive liquid tank waste into a glass-like solid, will start up this week operating only […]

“House of Dynamite,” a major motion picture about a potential nuclear strike on a major U.S. city, has opened in theatres and streams on Netflix Oct. 24. The thriller film, directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, known for movies “The Hurt Locker” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” centers around the U.S. Strategic Command, the White House Situation […]

Sizewell C, a nuclear power plant in England, said Sunday it has signed multi-year fuel supply contracts with Urenco and Framatome. Urenco was awarded a six-year fuel supply contract to provide enriched uranium services for the first six years of the nuclear generation station, according to Sizewell C’s press release. Sizewell C said Urenco’s supply […]

Brandon Williams, administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), warned House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last week that a prolonged shutdown would force temporary suspension of nuclear security programs. Williams told Johnson this in a private meeting, Politico reported. Williams, who oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and nonproliferation programs, said such programs and […]

Fluor completed the sale of 15 million shares of its Class A common stock of NuScale Power on Oct. 9 which resulted in net proceeds of $605 million. The completed sale of the stock was converted in August and reflects a gain of over 300% since NuScale, the small modular reactor company, went public in […]

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. ) October 29-30: Conference: Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association 2025 business opportunities conference program starts at […]

The Senate last Thursday evening voted 77 to 20 to pass its version of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a $32.1 billion boost to the defense topline.  Lawmakers struck a deal earlier in the day on amendments after progress on the bill had stalled, with the upper chamber agreeing to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has scheduled a public meeting Oct. 15 to take comments on Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corporation’s proposal to release a tract of land at its plant site in Burlington, Kansas. Wolf Creek seeks approval to donate 4.46 acres of land under its NRC reactor license to a privately-owned cemetery, the […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said last week it has appointed Matt Rasmussen as its new chief nuclear officer. Rasmussen assumed the chief nuclear officer role in August as a part of a leadership transition, with Tim Rausch, TVA’s previous head of nuclear, retiring effective Sept. 30, according to TVA’s Oct. 1 press release. According to […]

Weapons Complex Morning Briefing will not be published on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in observance of the U.S. Columbus Day holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025.

Last week, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Emergency Relief for Federal Contractors Act to allow federal contractors working without pay to withdraw pay from their retirement savings without penalty. Cortez Masto’s district includes the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Nevada National Security Site, the largest NNSA site that conducts underground, subcritical experiments to […]

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) told a Senate panel Wednesday if confirmed, he will work to ensure the agency is independent and prioritizes safety. In a statement to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Ho Nieh, a former NRC staffer of 23 years, said his desire to […]

There are things the U.S. and Australia can do to make the AUKUS security agreement stronger and more sustainable, a Defense Department official said Tuesday. During a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), John Noh, nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, also confirmed a review of the […]

Veolia said this week it has selected Nadège Petit as CEO of the North America Zone, effective Dec. 1. Petit will join the group’s executive committee in a move to support Veolia’s expansion efforts in the United States. Petit is a prominent international executive with much experience in energy, new technologies and business development, Veolia […]

Tim Walsh, a combat veteran and Colorado real estate developer, was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate Tuesday to head the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management. Walsh was confirmed 51-to-47 by the Senate Tuesday as part of a bloc of dozens of nominees from President Donald Trump who have been awaiting a […]

With a new wave of advanced reactors on the way, the United States needs a strategy to utilize nuclear fuel recycling, former Department of Energy assistant secretary of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff said in an opinion piece. “As a former assistant secretary for nuclear energy, I recently watched my successor, Ted Garrish, confirmed by the […]

Management for a Y-12 building found its emergency notification system in “degrading condition” due to its volume levels lowering, according to a September nuclear watchdog report. The buildings in question are Building 9204-2E and Building 9204-2, which are conjoined by a section of a wall. While work orders have been placed to repair the emergency […]

Thomas Summers, the acting chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), is scheduled to see his tenure on the safety watchdog for Department of Energy defense nuclear sites come to an end later this month. Summers, a retired Air Force colonel who has also served as a senior adviser in the Office of […]