Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

After about four years of talks and 185 public comments, two federal agencies and Washington state have blessed an amended 15-year plan for treating radioactive waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. In a press release, the agencies reiterated they are sticking with the August 2025 deadline for starting to solidify some of the […]

Unionized guards at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state were preparing to vote Thursday on a proposed new contract with the Leidos-led landlord contractor. After talks continued this week between Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) and Hanford Guards Union (HGU) Local 21, “We are pleased to share that we have a […]

Matthew Marzano, President Joe Biden’s (D) third and final Democratic appointee to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was sworn in Tuesday, the agency said. The civilian regulator for nuclear power and nuclear waste announced the ceremony in a press release. Marzano was narrowly confirmed by the 118th Congress’ Democratic Senate majority. He survived an intense pressure […]

Herman Potter, president of United Steelworkers Local 689 at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio, is retiring from both his job with the government’s landlord contractor and his leadership post with the union. “I plan to retire from North Wind Dynamics” on Feb. 2, Potter said in a Jan. 2 letter distributed to […]

Officials in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Tuesday unanimously opposed construction of an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel anywhere near the city. The seven members of the board all voted in favor of a resolution that the city “opposes the establishment of a facility for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel materials within […]

A Texas senator this week introduced a bill that could lower costs for certain out-of-state users of the Lone Star’s sole disposal site for low-level radioactive waste.  The bill by Texas Sen. Kevin Sparks (R-Texas 31), an oil and gas businessman representing the Midland, Texas, area, would lower to 15% from 20% a disposal surcharge […]

A Tennessee congressman will lead the subcommittee with oversight of U.S. nuclear forces in the 119th Congress, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) chair of the House Armed Services Committee in the new Congress, announced the new appointments in a press release. Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.) […]

After getting a couple of snow days, employees for Fluor-BWXT, the Department of Energy cleanup contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, were urged to be cautious in returning to work Wednesday, according to a Facebook post. In the Tuesday post, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth said the DOE site was providing help to move employees from the […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration completed the last production unit of the B61-12 life extension program in December, the agency said Tuesday. With production complete for the B61-12 life extension program, the press release said, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will now transition to producing the B61-13 gravity bomb, a new, higher-yield variant of […]

The 118th Congress ended Friday Jan. 3 without the Senate voting to confirm President Joe Biden’s nomination of William (Ike) White, to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. So the nomination of White, a longtime fed and former acting head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch, was returned to the president that day […]

Responding to a 2024 article about the weapons potential of fuel used by some advanced reactors, the head of the National Nuclear Security Administration last week said the agency aims to evaluate risks of high-assay low enriched uranium. “It is important that U.S. [advanced and small modular reactor (A/SMR)] designs compete favorably in the global […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration will by March issue a final request for proposals for managing the Savannah River Site, according to a Dec. 31 notice. The presolicitation synopsis was posted on the government contracting databases sam.gov and FedConnect just before the New Year.  Jill Hruby, outgoing administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration, told […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environment has awarded a three-year contract worth up to $4.5 million to a small Idaho- based consulting company for emergency preparedness training connected to radioactive material shipments. Technical Resources Group, based in Idaho Falls, will provide Environmental Management’s Office of Packaging and Transportation with training to “prepare for a […]

The Department of Energy sees “many challenges” to identifying and developing a second deep-underground disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste, not the least of which is Congressional authorization, according to a report to New Mexico officials. Before Congress agrees to funding, it will likely want assurance a second transuranic waste repository is needed, and that’s […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine seeks submissions for experts to serve on its Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board, the body said Monday. The deadline to submit a nomination is Feb. 2, according to a press release. The Board is seeking four new members with expertise in nuclear engineering and fuel cycle, nuclear […]

While the lockout of union security guards at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state might end this week with imposition of a new agreement by DOE’s Leidos-led landlord contractor, Hanford Guards Union representatives say many labor concerns remain unaddressed. As of Monday, the contractor had not yet issued a date for union […]

The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup contractor at the Portsmouth Site carried out only essential operations Monday due to a snow emergency in Pike County, Ohio, according to a Facebook post. “Due to Pike County declaring a level three snow emergency Fluor-BWXT at the Department of Energy Portsmouth site is entering limited operations,” according to […]

BWX Technologies last week completed its $100 million acquisition of a specialty materials business of L3Harris Technologies that is the sole provider of depleted uranium to the U.S. government, the companies said on Monday. The deal for the L3Harris Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee (AOT) business was announced November. The AOT business also provides tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, […]

Senate Democrats on Thursday announced their rosters for the Armed Services Committee with newly-elected Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) joining the panel. Slotkin, a former U.S. representative and Pentagon official, is taking the Armed Services spot held last Congress by Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), who did not run for reelection. The panel writes the annual National […]

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin last week said he appointed a Dominion Power executive to a commission overseeing disposal of low-level waste by a multistate regional compact. Youngkin appointed David Wilson, site vice president of Dominion’s Surry Power Station in Surry, Va., to the Southeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact Commission, according to a Friday […]

Wyoming lawmakers will return to Cheyenne, Wyo., on Jan. 14 to consider, among other proposals, legislation to allow for the interim storage of spent nuclear fuel in the state. The bill, written by Wyoming Rep. Donald Burkhart (R), would not mandate an interim storage site. In October, after the previous session of the Wyoming legislature […]

A new report calls continued pump-and-treat operations, better technology and more cooperation between feds and New Mexico officials to combat a chromium plume at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory. That is from the executive summary of the 980-page Independent Review by a panel of 15 experts into the DOE Interim Measures used […]

The Department of Energy’s landlord contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, said late Friday it plans to implement its Dec. 5 “best and final offer” after the Hanford Guards Union Local 21 voted down a contract proposal hours earlier. Also Friday, U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian in Eastern Washington refused the union’s request […]

President Joe Biden’s (D) national security advisor said president-elect Donald Trump will like the “burden sharing” of the AUKUS deal and maintain it in his presidency. Jake Sullivan, head of the National Security Council, sat down for an interview with Australian think tank the Lowy Institute in December. When Lowy mentioned “a bit of concern […]

The University of Texas at San Antonio has won a $3.1 million competitive grant from the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office to assist programs serving minority students, the department announced before Christmas. The three-year grant runs from Jan. 1, 2025, through Dec. 31, 2027, and is meant to help DOE’s Office of Environmental Management […]