Publications: Morning Briefing

Paul Murray, who has spent decades working on nuclear-related issues in the government and private sectors, could retire soon from the Department of Energy, according to industry sources. Currently a senior adviser for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Murray has informed department brass about his plans to retire within days, according to an industry source. […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report publicly issued last week it recommends the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) take steps to improve a system used to monitor contractor performance. A provision in the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act calls for GAO to “examine EM’s oversight of contractors’ assurance systems,” […]

Atlanta-based Perma-Fix Environmental Services reported a fall in revenue for the second quarter, which the company attributed to a decrease in revenue in its treatment segment. The revenue for the second quarter, which ended June 30, was nearly $12.9 million, down from nearly $14.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Factoring in the company’s operating expenses […]

The House Science Subcommittee on Energy will discuss the current state of the advanced nuclear reactor sector of the industry in a Wednesday morning hearing with a nuclear official and several industry representatives. The subcommittee hearing will be held in Room 2318 in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C. at 10 a.m. Eastern […]

The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant could face a station blackout within roughly 10 days if external power is not restored or additional diesel fuel is delivered, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. The plant has been without off-site power since Aug. 20, when military activity damaged its connection to the 330-kilovolt Ferosplavna-1 line, its […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  September: 9: Meeting (hybrid): Nevada Site-Specific Advisory Board meets starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time at the Molasky Corporate Center, 15th Floor Conference Room, 100 North City Parkway, Las Vegas, NV 89106.  15-16: Conference: The Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop hosted […]

Following an earlier glitch, the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management has set a Sept. 10 deadline for interested parties to respond to a Request for Information (RFI) on transporting transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE “has identified a technical issue affecting the WIPPTransportation@cbfo.doe.gov email inbox that […]

Fuel loading is underway at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, marking one of the key final steps toward restarting the reactor that shut down in 2022, Holtec International announced Sunday. “We are thrilled to announce that Palisades began the process for loading nuclear fuel into the plant’s reactor vessel this morning, marking a historic […]

Borehole drilling is underway at Finland’s deep geological repository as Finnish nuclear waste management company Posiva Oy said last week it has begun drilling the first underground deposition hole. Posiva said in its Aug. 27 company update that the operation started the afternoon of Aug. 26, when the drill head of the Deposition Hole Boring […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration and Defense Threat Reduction Agency removed a disused cobalt-60 source from Guatemala, transporting the material to secured storage in the United States. The operation, which started in May, involved the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory and Guatemalan officials from the National Centre of Radioactive Wastes and Ministry of […]

Parsons has secured two task orders from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)  to design and deploy counter-nuclear smuggling systems across the Middle East and Africa. The Middle East Region 3 and Africa Region 2 task orders cover counter-nuclear smuggling initiatives in 25 countries, according to an Aug. 27 company announcement. NNSA is a semiautonomous […]

Idaho-based North Wind Group recently announced the death of its President and CEO Richard Driggs followed by the appointment of an interim CEO, John Bukowski. “It is with profound sadness that North Wind Group shares the passing of our President and CEO, Rich Driggs,” North Wind Group announced online Aug. 18. “Rich was a valued […]

Almost a year after the Janus program was announced in October 2025, the United States Army selected five nuclear companies and awarded a collective of $2.2 billion to them to build over 20 microreactors across several military installations. According to the Army’s Wednesday press release, the five companies are Antares Nuclear, BWX Technologies, General Atomics, […]

WASHINGTON – The United States’ civil nuclear cooperation agreement, or 123 agreement, with Saudi Arabia has been sent to Congress for review, Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed Wednesday to reporters at a press conference. Wright spoke with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi at IAEA’s Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea, […]

The Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) selected 13 new reactor projects this week to participate in DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative. According to a Monday DOE Idaho National Laboratory (INL) press release, NRIC, which is located at INL, announced these 12 reactor companies as the following participants to complete 13 projects: […]

Sandia National Laboratories has completed the second and final full-scale crash test of a next-generation transporter designed to carry U.S. nuclear weapons and other sensitive materials. The Mobile Guardian Transporter (MGT), being developed for the Department of Energy’s Office of Secure Transportation, was propelled by rocket motors down Sandia’s sled track before being slammed into […]

WASHINGTON – The next potential nuclear growth sector is moving commercial ships across the ocean, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the head of an international organization said here Wednesday.  Kicking off the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS) initiative, Wright, along with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, said […]

Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), who is serving out the unexpired term of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), will run for a full term this November after winning a special GOP runoff Tuesday over a member of the House of Representatives. According to preliminary results from the state of South Carolina, Graham defeated Rep. […]

The Department of Energy and a handful of its contractors are gearing up to receive a high burnup research cask shipment at the Idaho National Laboratory in the coming year. The high burnup research cask will be shipped out of Dominion Energy’s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va. DOE said last June it will […]

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs a key House Appropriations subcommittee and is a vocal advocate for the Oak Ridge Site and the Department of Energy, took to X Tuesday afternoon to cite the death of country music superstar and entrepreneur Dolly Parton at age 80. “Tennessee has lost a true icon with the passing […]

Fremont, Calif.-based Pacific Fusion broke ground in Albuquerque, N.M. for its $1 billion fusion research and manufacturing campus Tuesday morning. The fusion company plans to build a fusion facility at the campus that will contain its demonstration fusion system, which is hoped to achieve net facility gain by 2030, according to Pacific Fusion’s Tuesday press […]

The Department of Energy and the environmental cleanup contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have started certifying containers of transuranic waste in preparation for eventual shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday announcement that it is working with Amentum-led contractor […]

Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) “generally met” Department of Energy requirements for site access and security badging, but an audit identified a gap involving substance abuse testing. The DOE Office of Inspector General found that SRNS, which is the prime that manages and operates the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, generally complied with […]

The Navy said Aug. 17 it completed shakedown trials on the USS Massachusetts (SSN-798) and the submarine is ready for fleet tasking after the service waived the boat’s post-shakedown availability due to its “superb material condition and combat readiness.”  The Navy said waiving the period was made possible due to the operational quality of the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding an uncontested hearing on Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Central Time in Port Lavaca, Texas for X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) project in Seadrift, Texas. The uncontested hearing, or mandatory hearing, will give public members an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about X-energy’s construction permit application, according […]

While the Department of Energy is doing an adequate job of detecting improper payments or overpayments to contractors, there is still need for improvement, DOE’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said recently. During fiscal 2025, DOE’s vetting turned up $53.6 million “of improper payments and unknown payments, which resulted in an improper payment rate of […]