Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Nuclear services firm EnergySolutions on Tuesday announced its first foray into the burgeoning business for buying retired nuclear power plants for decommissioning. The Salt Lake City-based company said it had inked a term sheet with a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. for the asset transfer of reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating […]

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) joined with the state’s full congressional delegation on Wednesday to demand the Department of Energy further study the potential earthquake risk to the location of the planned nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain. The letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry followed two earthquakes on July 4 and 5 in […]

A barrel of radioactively contaminated material at a Westinghouse Electric facility in Columbia, S.C., briefly ignited early on July 12 after becoming pressurized and popping off its lid, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported. The drum had just been placed into storage after being loaded with mop heads, filters, and rags designated as “wet recoverable […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. This is another step, if a small one, toward the federal government potentially sending thousands of cubic meters of the waste to a disposal facility in West […]

Southern California Edison on Monday resumed transferring used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) into dry storage. The 30th of 77 storage canisters was this week placed in the expanded independent spent fuel storage installation (ISFSI) at the retired San Diego County nuclear power plant. The project in total is expected to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans a July 23 public meeting in Harrisburg, Pa., to discuss the shutdown plan for the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power reactor. The meeting is intended to specifically address the post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) for the Dauphin County facility, with an opportunity for public feedback. It follows […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions (FES) on Wednesday came closer to securing passage of a sought-after bailout bill for two struggling nuclear power plants in Ohio. But potential full approval of the state legislation is not expected until Aug. 1, which would be two weeks after the company’s Wednesday deadline. The Ohio legislature adjourned for […]

NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes said this week it has finished building a facility for processing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The 20,000-square-foot plant in the company’s home city of Beloit, Wis., will eventually be used to dissolve irradiated molybdenum-99 targets to fill NorthStar’s Mo-99 source vessels. It is expected to more than double NorthStar’s current output […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – New Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal said Tuesday she hopes to consider whether reviving long-dormant U.S. recycling of spent nuclear fuel could provide a feasible alternative to the federal government’s current plan to bury it underground forever. “I don’t think we have a waste issue. We have a treasure […]

Sonal Patel POWER Magazine In a bid to enhance the reactor oversight process (ROP), staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recommended the commission change qualitative descriptions for some color labels that signify risk, scale back on the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation’s nuclear power fleet, as well as […]

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved an amendment to the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act that would prevent the Department of Energy from applying any “reclassification” of high-level radioactive waste to material held in Washington state. The measure from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) was approved by voice vote as part of a package […]

By John Stang For the second time this year, opponents of temporary, centralized storage of the nation’s spent nuclear power reactor fuel took a crack at such a project before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The opponents presented their cases to the three-person board Wednesday and Thursday that […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it is considering canceling a nearly 12-year-old rulemaking proceeding on security requirements for the dry storage pads used to hold used fuel from nuclear power reactors. The rulemaking, formally initiated in 2007 and on hold since 2015, is intended to further strengthen protections against the intentional release of […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) expects around July 29 to issue the request for proposals for decommissioning of the SM-1 nuclear reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. The contract will feature both firm-fixed-price and cost-plus-incentives components, according to a presolicitation notice issued Monday. It will have a five-year term. The Army Corps is scheduled […]

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Diverting some money within the decommissioning trust fund for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts would not undermine the intended function of the account, according to staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Agency staff on July 1 issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Entergy’s application for […]

By John Stang U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is working on a legislative measure to require state and local consent before the federal government can proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in her state. This legislation would be an amendment to the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019, said Robert Halstead, executive director […]

A proposed change to Texas regulations would reserve a small amount of disposal capacity in the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility for “small quantity” waste generators from states that are not direct members to the agreement. The change would be made through an amendment and addition to the Texas Administrative Code, according to […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Institute said this week that Southern California Edison (SCE) has taken significant steps to address the failures that led to a mishap last year in the transfer of used fuel at its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). However, the agency said a follow-up inspection identified five additional minor violations of […]

Rita Baranwal was formally sworn in Thursday as assistant secretary for nuclear energy at the Department of Energy. The materials engineer and nuclear industry veteran had already started work, including receiving internal briefings, prior to her ceremonial swearing-in by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, according to an industry source. “I am excited and privileged to continue […]

Holtec International said Monday it has completed the acquisition of the retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey for decommissioning. The announcement was no surprise, after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month approved the transfer of the Lacey Township site’s reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses from then-owner Exelon to the New Jersey energy […]

Duke Energy has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rule by the end of this year on its application to transfer licenses for its shuttered Crystal River nuclear power plant to another company for decommissioning. Duke filed the license transfer application on June 14, about two weeks after it announced it had hired Accelerated […]

The California State Lands Commission on June 28 voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support two pieces of federal legislation that would prioritize removing used reactor fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). None of the three commissioners commented on the resolution. The bills are the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans through fall to hold a series of public meetings in communities near nuclear power plants that have closed or are nearing the end of the service life. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss best practices for community boards that would provide advice on decommissioning of the facilities, […]

By John Stang The U.S. Regulatory Commission this week pushed back its schedule for completing reviews of license applications for two planned used nuclear fuel storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico. The agency by letter notified the corporate teams behind the projects: Holtec International, which wants to build a site with maximum capacity exceeding […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions said Monday it would reconsider plans to close two nuclear power plants if the Ohio legislature by July 17 passes a bill that that would create a state subsidy for the bankrupt corporation. The bill is controversial because all of the state’s ratepayers —regardless of whether they are served by […]

Nuclear waste management startup Deep Isolation intends to seal its first contract before the end of 2019, executives said recently. The deal is likely to be significantly more limited in scope than the Berkeley, Calif.-based company’s ultimate goal of drilling deep holes for storage or disposal of radioactive waste, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Elizabeth […]