Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Senate Republicans are gearing up to vote on another mass package of White House nominees awaiting confirmation, and the group includes Tim Walsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Walsh is one of many nominees identified in Senate Resolution 412 who could be voted upon in one […]

WASHINGTON – For technical reasons there is no current need for the United States to conduct above-ground or underground nuclear weapons’ tests, David Beck, President Donald Trump’s nominee for deputy administrator of defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), told a Senate hearing Tuesday.  Beck was responding to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), whose […]

The public has until Dec. 1 to request a hearing before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board on a license amendment authorizing Tri-structural Isotope (TRISO) fuel fabrication at Framatome’s plant in Richland, Wash. Among other things, the Framatome Fuel Fabrication Facility in Richland produces uranium dioxide (UO2) powder, pellets, fuel rods and […]

The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments concerning litigation brought by two sisters who claim their cancer is connected to radioactive contamination in the St. Louis area dating back to the Manhattan Project.  In a notice made public Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court “invited” the U.S. Solicitor General to file written arguments […]

For the time being at least, the Department of Energy plans to hold a virtual meeting of the chairs for its Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Boards later this month. The online meeting is currently scheduled from  10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Oct. 28. That is according to a Sept. 25 Federal Register notice. […]

The state of Arkansas has contacted EXCEL Services Corporation (EXCEL) to conduct a feasibility study for a new nuclear energy plant within the state. The contract between the Rockville, Md.-based nuclear engineering and licensing service provider and Arkansas was executed on Sept. 26, according to EXCEL’s Monday press release. The study will involve an evaluation […]

President Donald Trump last week signed an order extending the lifespan of 19 federal advisory committees, including one devoted to the study of radiation and worker health, by two years. According to the order, signed Sept. 29 and published in the Monday Federal Register, the advisory committees will continue to operate until at least Sept. […]

The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a nomination hearing for Nuclear Regulatory Commission nominee Ho Nieh Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern Time at the Senate Dirksen Office Building. Nieh, nominated in July by President Donald Trump to serve as a NRC commissioner, will testify alongside Environmental Protection Agency assistant administrator for […]

Matthew Napoli, President Donald Trump’s pick for Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN) at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), was sworn in Oct. 3 by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. Napoli announced the swearing in on his LinkedIn page Sunday.  “A special thank you to the incredible NNSA leadership team of Brandon Williams […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will move into “emergency shutdown procedures” this week if the government does not reopen, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said last week on Fox News. “We have about eight more days of funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration [NNSA],” Wright said in an Oct. 2 interview with Fox News’s […]

As the Air Force restructures the program for the future intercontinental ballistic missile, it wants to solidify requirements for the missile silos and launch centers before possibly recertifying the program for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) in 2027. In an interview, run by Exchange Monitor affiliate Defense Daily in September at the Air and Space […]

U.S. Air Force Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, is to retire after the White House recently withdrew his nomination as service vice chief of staff. In a LinkedIn post last Wednesday, Bussiere said he and his wife “made the difficult decision to request retirement from the United States Air […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has postponed its Commission meeting that was scheduled on Tuesday Oct. 7 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time at Rockville, Md. due to the ongoing government shutdown. No makeup date has been scheduled, according to NRC’s website. The Organization of Agreement States and Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors were slated to […]

Deconstruction of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant is nearing its completion, according to NorthStar Group Services, in a September decommissioning  update. The Vermont Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel met on Sept. 22, where NorthStar senior project manager Corey Daniels reported an update on the Vermont nuclear plant’s decommissioning activities. Daniels said most of the […]

  The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said last week it has taken down a major 1960s era contaminated facility at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). After three years of labor intensive work, crews directed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have dismantled Test Cell C at the Nevada site’s Area 25, […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: October 06 (Cancelled): Hearing: An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments on Long Mott’s construction permit application starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.  20: Conference: Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association 2025 conference starts at 8 a.m. at […]

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cited the potential impact on in-state military installations as well as the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site as her reason for supporting a Republican-led continuing resolution Tuesday night. “A government shutdown would force tens of thousands of Nevada military personnel, union members, law enforcement agents and military nurses […]

If the government’s lapse in appropriations lasts five days or less, “there would be no disruption” to Department of Energy operations, according to DOE’s shutdown contingency plan. “DOE has historically had sufficient previously appropriated funds that remain available to support operations during a short term lapse,” according to the plan made public Wednesday Oct. 1. […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has laid out its plans for traversing the government shutdown which began on Wednesday. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent out an approved lapse plan for the independent agency on Tuesday.  Under the plan, when carryover funds at the NRC are all exhausted, activities, including licensing, inspections […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has not used effective strategies to manage cost growth notifications for its construction projects, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO squeezed this report on NNSA and one more Sept. 30 before the government shut down at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday. “Over the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has appointed Andrea Kock to lead its Office of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), effective Monday, Sept. 29. Kock served as Region I administrator in King of Prussia, Penn. and most recently has been leading the NMSS as its acting head. She initially joined the NRC in 1996 as a […]

AtkinsRéalis-led Mission Conversion Services Alliance is now handling landlord work at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth and Paducah Sites, a company executive said Wednesday. Meanwhile, an Amentum-led team, Southern Ohio Cleanup, has taken over remediation at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. Southern Ohio’s contract is worth nearly $5.9 billion over 15 years. As for […]

The federal government was set to shut down just past midnight Wednesday after the Senate failed to reach 60 votes on a stopgap bill to keep agencies open and funding flowing through Nov. 21. The upper chamber voted 55-45 on a Republican-led bill that needed a three-fifths majority to pass. Two Democrats, Sens. John Fetterman […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has *awarded a BWX Technologies (BWXT) subsidiary with a contract for licensing, design and operation of High Purity Depleted Uranium production in Tennessee. BWXT Ordnance Tennessee, the subsidiary awarded the capability, will produce this form of uranium in Jonesborough, Tenn. at a manufacturing plant it establishes at its own […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Tuesday published a request seeking proposals from contractors looking to build and power artificial intelligence (AI) data centers at Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C. The notice calls for “entities interested in entering a long-term lease” located at Savannah River Site. Interested parties would be involved […]

The final 1 million tons of uranium mill tailings from a pile near the Colorado River at Moab, Utah has been removed, the Department of Energy said this week. In a Tuesday announcement, DOE said work crews for contractor North Wind Portage have successfully removed all 16 million tons of tailings and other contaminated material […]