Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

A 2018 wildfire that burned large sections of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties did not spread large amounts of radiological contaminants beyond the Department of Energy’s portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California, according to a new report. DOE Radiological Assistance Program field teams took environmental samples during and after the Woolsey fire […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has established a consortium to work with U.S. nuclear fuel companies in an effort to increase domestic fuel availability. Under DOE’s new Defense Production Act (DPA) Consortium, voluntary agreements will allow industry collaboration to create plans to secure the U.S. nuclear fuel supply chain capacity throughout the […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: September 10: Hybrid meeting: The DOE Site-Specific Advisory Board for the Nevada National Security Site meets starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time at Molasky Corporate Center, 15th Floor Conference Room, 100 North City Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106. 24: National Cleanup Workshop, […]

The Department of Energy’s former chief of staff during President Joe Biden’s administration last week announced the formation of a new DOE alumni network. The group, which will hire an executive director, is being created following “hundreds of survey responses and many dozens of conversations” with ex-DOE feds, former DOE chief of staff Tarak Shah, […]

A provision in the Senate’s version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could protect employees in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear weapons from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the NDAA included a section that, if included in the eventual conference version with the House […]

BWX Technologies has formed a new subsidiary, BWXT Advanced Fuels, dedicated to the commercialization of advanced nuclear fuel, the company announced Aug. 21. The new subsidiary will pursue partnerships to deliver commercial nuclear fuel for upcoming advanced nuclear reactors, BWXT said in its Aug. 21 press release. BWXT Advanced Fuels will focus on guaranteeing the […]

Three House Democrats have penned a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright requesting information on recent interactions between the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over agency roles in the nuclear sector. Reps. Diane DeGette (D-Colo.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wrote […]

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has entered into a deal to purchase nuclear power from Kairos Power to facilitate energy at Google data centers in Alabama and Tennessee, the utility announced Monday. In a three-way collaboration between TVA, Kairos and Google, the Alameda, Calif.-based advanced nuclear company’s Hermes 2 plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. will deliver […]

Holtec executives advocate to New Jersey lawmakers for a new nuclear and solar hybrid power plant at a decommissioning nuclear site in Lacey Township, N.J. amid a growing energy demand. Holtec CEO Kris Singh and president Kelly Trice testified at a joint session of New Jersey’s Senate Environment and Energy Committee and Assembly Environment, Natural […]

A local Texas gulf coast group is calling for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to oppose Long Mott Energy’s construction permit application for small modular reactors in Seadrift, Texas over safety concerns. Dow and X-Energy submitted their construction permit application, under Dow’s subsidiary Long Mott Energy, to the NRC on March 31.  In an Aug. […]

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin will be at least the fifth top echelon military officer to leave his post involuntarily since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. The others include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chief of Naval Operations […]

At Savannah River Nuclear Solutions’ (SRNS) annual “Signing Day” event, 38 summer interns concluded their 12-week program by signing on to full-service opportunities with the prime contractor at Savannah River Site, according to a press release. The SRNS Internship Program, which caters to students from two-year technical colleges and four-year universities up to a doctoral […]

The international community can abandon fear of nuclear weapons by harnessing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes instead, Charles Oppenheimer wrote in Times magazine Aug. 17. Charles Oppenheimer is the grandson of the first director of Los Alamos National Laboratory during the Manhattan Project and the widely-called “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer.  Charles […]

Bechtel chief operating officer and president Craig Albert recently wrote an opinion piece in The Hill outlining the importance of executing on the current nuclear push in the United States. In light of President Donald Trump’s administration issuing four nuclear-related executive orders, a real push for nuclear energy is on the horizon due to growing […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received another 48 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste in July, bringing its total this calendar year to 222 shipments.  Last month’s total is three more than the 45 WIPP received in July 2024, and the third highest total this year, following the 59 […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: September 10: Hybrid meeting: The DOE Site-Specific Advisory Board for the Nevada National Security Site meets starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time at Molasky Corporate Center, 15th Floor Conference Room, 100 North City Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada 89106. 24: National Cleanup Workshop, […]

The Environmental Protection Agency has approved two new waste disposal panels for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Monday Aug. 18 press release that EPA has approved use of replacement Panels 11 and 12 for the nation’s only underground disposal […]

In a letter to Teresa Robbins, acting administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly said he is ordering a special study to evaluate key leadership and processes on pit production. “I have become increasingly concerned about the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA’s) ability to consistently deliver on nuclear weapons […]

The Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s researchers have begun examining high burnup fuel rods manufactured by a GE Vernova company. The high burnup assemblies delivered by Global Nuclear Fuel, a GE Vernova-led venture with Hitachi, were shipped to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Washington state after spending six years in a commercial […]

The Air Force has scrapped three town halls this month to discuss the planned LGM-35A Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by Northrop Grumman. Two of the town halls were scheduled for Aug. 19 and Aug. 20 in Lewistown and Conrad, Mont., respectively, to discuss Sentinel for the Air Force 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air […]

 Environmental cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge site in Tennessee will likely extend past its current schedule, a DOE site official said Wednesday Aug. 13. During a meeting of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB), Roger Petrie, DOE’s Federal Facilities Agreement projects manager at Oak Ridge, said the current schedule has […]

Kenneth Camplin, formerly president of the BWX Technologies’ Nuclear Services Group in Lynchburg, Va., has been appointed as the new dean of the School of Engineering at nearby school Liberty University. As president of the Nuclear Services Group from 2017 onward, Camplin oversaw commercial nuclear and technical services, as well as operations in business development […]

Amentum has appointed Shaun Jacobson to serve as its vice president of nuclear strategy and growth, the company said Wednesday.  Jacobson has more than 25 years of experience in power generation including nuclear, natural gas, and renewable energy, according to Amentum’s Wednesday press release. Jacobson announced his new role with Amentum Wednesday on LinkedIn. “What […]

Although the Department of Energy missed an August target to start making glass from low-level radioactive waste, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant is on the brink of operation, an advisory panel for the Hanford Site heard Wednesday. “We are so close, so close to starting that thing up,” DOE’s acting manager for the Hanford […]

The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board’s (NWTRB) summer meeting on Aug. 27 in Arlington, Va. has been postponed. A new date has yet to be decided but when the new date and venue are determined it will be made available on NWTRB’s website and the Federal Register, a NWTRB spokesperson said Wednesday.  The meeting will […]

Only days after Denver International Airport announced a feasibility study for a small modular reactor, the process is being put on hold after a city council member questioned the rush.  The delay was urged by Denver City council member Stacie Gilmore who represents District 11 where the airport is located. Gilmore said she was not […]