Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

By John Stang Entergy Corp. on Monday completed the sale of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts to Holtec International for an undisclosed amount of money. The move came quickly on the heels of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s approval on Aug. 22 of the transfer of Pilgrim’s federal operational and spent fuel storage […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Aug. 23 began the official procurement process for decommissioning of its long-retired SM-1 reactor on the ground of Fort Belvoir, Va. Prospective vendors have until 11 a.m. Nov. 4 Eastern time to submit bids, according to the procurement notice. The Army Corps expects to select its contractor in […]

RadWaste Monitor took a break over the past two weeks for Congress’ annual summer recess. Our affiliate publication, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, kept up on the latest news around the nuclear security enterprise and its industry partners. Here’s a recap of what happened while we were out.   NRC Schedules Meetings on Decommissioning Advisory Boards […]

By John Stang Workers at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California have successfully moved the first two canisters of used reactor fuel to dry storage since restarting transfers on July 18. A third canister is on deck to begin movement this week. Officials with plant majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) on Aug. […]

By John Stang The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is still reviewing a US Ecology report on the cause of a fatal explosion at its Grand View waste treatment and disposal facility. It is unknown when that review will be finished, said Albert Crawshaw, DEQ waste and remediation manager. Submitted in midsummer, the report blames […]

The Sierra Club will be allowed to argue one environmental contention against U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing of a facility in West Texas for temporary storage of spent reactor fuel from nuclear power plants. An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ruled on Aug. 23 that the environmental organization had proved standing for intervention […]

International Isotopes on Aug. 14 reported a net loss of nearly $1.2 million for the second quarter of 2019, primarily due to expenses for ongoing remediation of a May radioactive contamination incident in Seattle. The $1.16 million net loss was close to four times the $332,279 loss reported in the same period of 2018, the […]

Jacobs Engineering announced on Aug. 20 it would pay £250 million ($304.5 million) to acquire the nuclear business of the Scotland-based John Wood Group. The deal is expected to be sealed in the first quarter of 2020, pending regulatory approval in the United Kingdom, according to the companies. The acquisition will bring proprietary technology and […]

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission on Aug. 22 approved reserving a set amount of disposal capacity at the compact facility for certain “small quantity” generators. The addition to the Texas Administrative Code passed unanimously without discussion by the commissioners present at a meeting in Austin, alongside an amendment redefining small-quantity generator. Texas and […]

The ExchangeMonitor is heading into its annual August recess, and RadWaste Monitor will not be published during the second and third full weeks of the month. We’ll still be in the office, so keep the news tips coming, and look for the next weekly newsletter in your inbox on Friday, Aug. 30.

Waste Control Specialists has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to confirm that certain prior directions on requirements for disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) do not apply to its operation in West Texas. The federal agency’s 2016 regulatory issue summary on VLLW disposal (RIS 2016-11), along with its communication last year with the […]

The top brass at AECOM said this week it has received plenty of positive feedback since announcing June 17 that it would spin off the business segment that manages its federal government and nuclear decommissioning contracts. “We are moving ahead of schedule” toward separating the Management Services line into its own publicly traded company, Chairman […]

U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) joined three of his House colleagues on a trip to Yucca Mountain last week to argue his case against building a nuclear waste repository on the federal property in his state. “I visited Yucca Mountain today to ensure the information shared by the Department of Energy was as accurate as […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) said Tuesday it has delayed by about three weeks releasing a request for proposals for decommissioning its SM-1 nuclear power reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. The procurement notice, previously expected around July 29, is now scheduled to be issued during the week of Aug. 19, according to Brenda […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Thursday reported a 30.2% spike in its second-quarter revenue, from $13.2 million in 2018 to $17.1 million in 2019. That encompassed a 75.4% sales boost in the Atlanta-based waste management specialist’s business, from $4 million last year to $7 million in the latest reporting period, along with a more modest 10.4% […]

By John Stang Federal and internal investigators believe the fatal November 2018 explosion at a US Ecology waste facility in Idaho was the result of an unintended chemical reaction, though they don’t necessarily agree on all details of the event. US Ecology recently submitted its report identifying the cause of the explosion to the Idaho […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should disregard the commonwealth of Massachusetts’ request for a 90-day stay on its review of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, the plant’s owner and prospective buyer said Monday. Entergy and Holtec International argued that the delay is not needed even as they […]

Separate bills introduced in the House of Representatives would put the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) branch on the job of helping resolve the long impasse over disposition of the nation’s radioactive waste. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) submitted his “ARPA-E Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2019” on July 23, followed a week […]

North Dakota’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is reviewing initial applications for disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) waste at existing landfills near the city of Williston. WISCO Inc. and Secure Energy Services are both going through the regulatory process, while IHD Solids Management has already withdrawn its radioactive material license application. […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts on Thursday asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to place a 90-day stay on its consideration of the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The hold is needed to allow officials from Massachusetts and the plant’s owner and prospective buyer to reach a potential settlement addressing concerns the […]

NorthStar Group Services has requested approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to switch the means of transport to disposal of 200,000 gallons of contaminated wastewater from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The company plans to move the wastewater primarily by rail to a disposal site in Idaho, rather than by truck as previously […]

Sonal Patel POWER Magazine An innovative nuclear wastewater treatment approach that could provide a cost-effective alternative to fixed-column ion-exchange plants is poised to enter the nuclear market. Atkins, a company that multinational engineering and construction firm SNC-Lavalin acquired in 2017, announced in June that it would team with Swedish technology firm SpinChem AB in a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) last week began inspecting two recent incidents at Westinghouse Electric’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The event involved the May 12 discovery of leakage from a waste-transport carrier at the plant and a July 12 incident in which a drum of radioactively contaminated material pressurized and ignited. […]

Entergy on Wednesday said it took a revenue hit from the closure of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts during the second quarter of 2019. Even so, the New Orleans-based power company’s Entergy Wholesale Commodities (EWC) business slimmed its losses in the latest earning period. Entergy Wholesale Commodities reported a $26 million loss, or […]

Legislation introduced Wednesday in the U.S. Senate would authorize $200 million in annual spending by the Department of Energy for nuclear fuel cycle research and development focused on storage and disposal of the nation’s radioactive waste. The Nuclear Energy Renewal Act of 2019, from Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), primarily includes measures […]

Longtime Department of Energy manager Ed McGinnis has left the agency’s Office of Nuclear Energy to take a position at the White House, a source said Monday. McGinnis had served as principal deputy assistant secretary for nuclear energy from May 2017, leading the office until Rita Baranwal was sworn in as assistant secretary for nuclear […]

The White House is expected to submit two nominations in tandem for positions on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an informed source said this week. Senate Appropriations Committee staffer Christopher Hanson would be nominated to succeed Stephen Burns, who retired from the commission in April ahead of the end of his term on June 30. […]