Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Monday issued a presolicitation notice for a contractor to provide environmental remediation under its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) and other federal cleanup programs. The pre-placed remedial action contract, with multiple indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders, would be conducted under the Army Corps’ Multiple Environmental Government Acquisition […]

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will participate in the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s development of an environmental impact statement for Holtec International’s application to build and operate a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in the state. The state agency’s role is formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the two organizations, which was […]

A federal court has awarded two southern utilities over $143 million for the U.S. government’s continued failure to meet its legal obligation to remove used reactor fuel from their nuclear power facilities. The June 12 ruling from U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith was made public on July 3. The case consolidates lawsuits […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday opened the public comment period on a new finding that most Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via near-surface facilities. Stakeholders have until Sept. 20 to submit comments on the draft regulatory basis issued last week by NRC staff, according to a filing in […]

The nuclear industry wants to ensure the Department of Energy completes an ongoing research project on dry storage of high-burnup reactor fuel. The Nuclear Energy Institute, the trade association for the industry, on June 25 submitted its sixth update to the Energy Department regarding research and development priorities for the long-term storage and transportation of […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it had issued three cooperative agreements, each worth $15 million in matching funds, to companies aiming to produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The recipients are: Niowave, of Lansing, Mich.; NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, of Beloit, Wis.; and SHINE Medical Technologies, of Janesville, Wis. An agreement with […]

By John Stang Wyoming legislative leaders voted earlier this month to explore whether the state should host a consolidated interim storage site for used nuclear reactor fuel — similar to projects underway in New Mexico and Texas. The unannounced 7-6 email vote on July 8 by the state legislature’s management council paved the way for […]

The California Coastal Commission is expected in September to decide whether to issue a permit that is necessary for major decommissioning to begin on two retired reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The commission had been scheduled in June to take up Southern California Edison’s application for a coastal development permit, but […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Solutions will keep its two Ohio reactors open after the state this week approved a $150 million annual boost to the financially struggling company. After months of debate and revisions to the bill in the Ohio Legislature, it was sent to Gov. Mike DeWine (R) for a quick signature on Tuesday. […]

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 […]