Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

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 […]

Carlsbad and Eddy County, N.M., the area where the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located, is facing a week of high temperatures at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. The high Monday was expected to reach 106 degrees with a heat advisory in effect, according to […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration is planning roughly $140 billion in uranium enrichment efforts through 2105, but has not provided Congress with required cost information, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. NNSA’s current inventory of low-enriched uranium and highly enriched uranium is expected to meet national security requirements into the 2040s, GAO […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has promoted Mindy Toothman to be deputy manager at the Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. In the new role, Toothman will assist DOE Carlsbad Manager Mark Bollinger in overseeing operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which is the nation’s only deep disposal site for […]

The White House’s new science and technology strategy elevates nuclear energy to a critical technology for national security, while also emphasizing the need for a survivable and credible nuclear deterrent. The August 2026 National Security Science and Technology Strategy identifies nuclear energy as one of 12 “key enabling technologies” that the White House says agencies […]

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas agreed to partner up to explore small modular reactors (SMRs) for maritime purposes. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) from the House Appropriations’ Energy and Water subcommittee were all in attendance for the signing […]

Bechtel will oversee development of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, according to a press release this month from  Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ), the Polish company behind the project  PEJ said in an Aug. 6 press release it handed over the leading role to Bechtel, its general contractor, as construction for the site begins. In this […]

Lynchburg, Va., -based BWX Technologies (BWXT) has tapped industry executive Suzanne Maddux as its senior vice president for operations, reporting directly to CEO Rex Geveden, the company said last week. In this role, Maddux “will support the company’s continued growth in nuclear national security and commercial nuclear power markets,” BWXT said in an Aug. 20 […]

The Australian government’s naval shipbuilding infrastructure manager selected an Amentum-Laing O’Rourke joint venture to deliver a new nuclear-powered submarine construction shipyard in Australia, Amentum announced last week. Amentum said in a press release that under this long-term contract as a “Capability Partner,” it and Laing O’Rourke will “play a central role in developing the new […]

The first Trump-class battleship (BBG(X)) could cost more than $23 billion, with the 15-ship class totaling $275 billion, according to a Congressional Budget Office report published this month. The most recent 30-year shipbuilding plan released in May said the Navy plans for the BBG(X) to reach a 15-ship class by 2056 and showed the Navy […]

Indianapolis-based First American Nuclear Company (FANCO) has submitted what it calls a “regulatory engagement plan” with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility. FANCO said in its Aug. 17 press release that it plans to make its own fuel, using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), for its 240-megawatt EAGL-1 lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled fast […]

El Segundo, Calif.-based microreactor developer Radiant Nuclear has signed a long-term nuclear fuel agreement with Standard Nuclear, the company said Aug. 20. Under the deal Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear will  fabricate and supply tristructural isotropic – or TRISO fuel for Radiant’s Kaleidos microreactors through the early 2030s, according to Radiant’s press release. The agreement […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  August: 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 […]

The Department of Energy surprised the Hanford Advisory Board (HAB) in Richland, Wash., this month when it unveiled plans to shrink the number of board members and shift appointment authority to the federal government. In an Aug 12 press release, DOE announced plans to “strengthen” and “modernize” the HAB, partly by cutting the federal advisory […]

Earnings rose at Amentum, Chantilly, Va., in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 although its near-term revenue dipped from contract protest delays and other factors. That is according to Amentum’s Aug. 10 earnings release. Net earnings for the quarter ended July 3 were $66 million, or $0.27 a share, up from $10 million, or $0.04 […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 17 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in July, after shipments were paused in May due to issues with the plant’s underground hoists.  For comparison, WIPP received 48 TRU waste shipments in July 2025. The facility received 23 shipments in May 2026, before the […]

Two environmental organizations filed appeals to two U.S. Courts of Appeals in pursuit of continuing its challenge to Holtec International’s Palisade Nuclear Generating Station restart in Michigan. The coalition of environmental organizations Don’t Waste Michigan and Michigan Safe Energy Future filed its first appeal to the Sixth Circuit U.S.  Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio […]

Urenco USA held a groundbreaking ceremony, attended by Energy Secretary Chris Wright, for the planned expansion of its National Enrichment Facility in Eunice, N.M. Tuesday. The company announced multi-billion-dollar plans in June to expand its New Mexico enrichment facility by almost 50% to meet growing domestic enrichment needs. Urenco USA, an affiliate of the European […]

A bipartisan House bill introduced this week would substantially expand the federal government’s radiation compensation program, adding communities and workers exposed to nuclear testing and extending the program for another 15 years. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026 – introduced by Guam Delegate James Moylan (R) and co-led by Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández […]

Leonardo DRS on Aug. 4 said it signed an agreement to build a new facility in Brookfield, Conn., to expand and consolidate operations for its Naval Power Systems businesses and  ultimately help increase throughput.  The new site will provide 141,087 square feet of space and combine operations currently spread across three locations in Danbury and […]

The Navy said this month it will reclassify 19 planned Virginia-class attack submarines equipped with the Virginia Payload Module (VPM) as guided missile submarines (SSGNs).  The Virginia-class submarine is expected to deploy the nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile and include a variant of the W80-4 warhead, something the National Nuclear Security Administration is already working on. […]

Thomas Mooney, a manager experienced in the public and private sectors, joined Amentum in August as a vice president for business development, according to his LinkedIn profile. Mooney comes to Amentum from Parsons Corp., where he was a business development director since January 2023. Before that he was a strategic account manager for Leidos. Prior […]

The five-state shortlist for nuclear hubs was driven by the Department of Energy’s search for host sites  focused on managing waste, DOE’s Marla Morales said in a webinar Monday. In a webinar hosted by the American Nuclear Society, Morales, DOE’s acting deputy assistant for spent fuel and high-level waste disposition, said that the Nuclear Lifecycle […]