Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Perma-Fix Northwest on Monday applied for a license from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to export up to 10,000 kilograms of radioactive waste back to Italy after it has been treated in the United States. The incoming waste would be comprised of personal protective gear, plastic, paper, and a small amount of glass contaminated by […]

The state of North Dakota has temporarily suspended its review of applications to allow disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) at two landfills in Williams County. The freeze gives time for officials in the northwestern county to decide whether to approve amendments to the conditional use permits for the landfills to begin […]

A total of 181 nuclear power reactors around the world have been retired as of July 1, but only 19 of those have been fully decommissioned, according to the 2019 version of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report. The number of shuttered reactors rose by eight from the 2018 version of report. The United States, […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is still reviewing two petitions for intervention in the license transfer proceeding for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, even though it approved the transfer in August ahead of the sale of the retired plant. The “presidentially appointed Commission that oversees the NRC still has to rule on the […]

Two members of Congress from Missouri are calling on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold an open hearing on a license application for export of weapon-grade uranium to Europe. The Department of Energy on July 31 filed an application for export of nearly 4.8 kilograms of highly enriched uranium to the Institute for Radioelements […]

Vermont on Monday officially became the 39th agreement state to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It now assumes primary responsibility for regulatory oversight of radioactive materials within state borders, though that does not include the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant being decommissioned. The four NRC commissioners in early September voted unanimously in favor of giving […]

By John Stang Southern California Edison and partnering companies have petitioned a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging decommissioning and transfer of spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) — saying the complaint features legal, engineering, and scientific errors. The motion to dismiss focuses on arguments that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory […]

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) last week indicated she is continuing her legislative efforts against a Canadian deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste proposed to be built about a mile from Lake Huron in Ontario. The weapon will be one the lawmaker has used before — an amendment to a separate bill […]

NAC International is asking the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to waive $632,398 in fees from its review of the company’s new transportation package for spent reactor fuel. The costs were an unfair outcome of incorrect thermal modeling of the MAGNATRAN cask by an unidentified contractor for the federal agency, according to the Peachtree, Ga.-based manufacturer […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking capability statements from contractors ahead of an anticipated procurement for remediation services at the Luckey Site in Ohio under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army Corps issued a sources sought notice on Sept. 24. Capability statements are due by 10 a.m. Eastern time […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has suspended work on a study of potential regulatory updates for disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) while it considers other approaches to the matter. As recently as March, the agency said it expected to issue its scoping-study findings before the end of spring. However, staff is now separately […]

The deadline came and went Monday for the Department of Energy and other federal agencies to terminate at least one-third of their federal advisory committees, but it was not clear this week whether the agency had complied with the directive. A DOE spokesperson did not reply to multiple requests for a list of committees cut […]

By John Stang Nonproliferation advocates and medical isotopes companies hope to persuade the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that a Belgian company should not receive additional highly enriched uranium from the United States to make its own isotopes. The regulator has received at least four petitions for intervention in its review of an export application from […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry plans to resign in a matter of weeks, after nearly three years as the Trump administration’s top manager for a range of civilian nuclear operations, Politico reported Thursday. Three informed sources said Perry would make an announcement before the end of November, according to the report. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan […]

The U.S. government has paid at least $7.4 billion to nuclear power plant owners for failing to meet its Jan. 31, 1998, deadline to begin taking their spent reactor fuel for disposal, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS). The U.S. Energy Department projects its total liability could be as high as $35.5 billion. The […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency required significant revisions to four documents submitted for remediation of the radioactively contaminated portion of the West Lake Landfill Superfund Site in Missouri. Contractor Parsons Corp. in July filed draft versions of the emergency response and site management plans for Operable Unit 1 (OU-1) at West Lake, then in August […]

A longtime manager at the Department of Energy has been selected to lead fuel cycle and supply chain activities at the Office of Nuclear Energy. “I am pleased to announce that I have selected Andrew Griffith to be the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fuel Cycle and Supply Chain, NE-4. This reassignment is effective immediately,” according to […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 82-15 to pass a stopgap budget to keep the federal government operating for nearly two months into fiscal 2020 in the absence of a full-year spending plan. The House approved the continuing resolution last week, and President Donald Trump is expected to sign it ahead of the Oct. 1 […]

The U.S. Energy Department should focus on retired nuclear power plants and some of its own facilities as it prepares for the eventual removal and transport of radioactive waste from dozens of sites around the nation, the federal Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB) said this week. That is one of three recommendations in a […]

A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Thursday advanced legislation intended to bring the U.S. government closer to finally removing nuclear waste from dozens of sites around the nation and then ultimately burying it in a geologic repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a unanimous voice vote, the environment and climate change subcommittee sent the […]

By John Stang The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office sued in federal court on Wednesday in an effort to roll back the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recent approval of the license transfer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The commonwealth’s top lawyer wants the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate rulings and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in October plans to reorganize its Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards (NMSS), including combining two divisions. The reorganization will take effect on Oct. 13, officials said during a meeting Wednesday with nuclear fuel cycle industry representatives at NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md. It will be headlined by the […]

Exelon on Friday shut down its reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. Unit 1 powered down for the last time at noon, according to an Exelon press release. Workers will now spend several weeks removing used fuel from the reactor for cooling. The reactor retirement came more than a week earlier […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on Sept. 12 said he would not seek to succeed Lamar Alexander in the Senate. “I’m not going anywhere,” Fleischmann said during a presentation at the U.S. Energy Department’s National Cleanup Workshop. “I’m staying in the House. I’m not running for the Senate.” After Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced […]

A former staffer at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) who worked on radioactive waste issues has returned as a commissioner. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday appointed Bobby Janecka to the third spot on the commission, according to a press release. The other members are Chairman Jon Niermann and Commissioner Emily Lindley. […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week it would not withdraw a 2016 finding re-establishing the scope of its authority to regulate disposal of very low-level radioactive waste from nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade association for the nuclear industry, in February requested the agency rescind Regulatory Issue Summary (RIS) 2016-11. […]

The U.S. Senate is considering a steep cutback in funding for most operations at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the upcoming 2020 federal budget year. The $841.2 million budget recommendation unveiled last week would be just over $66.5 million less than the federal agency requested for salaries and expenses in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. […]