Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

By John Stang Perma-Fix Environmental Services has borrowed $2.5 million from one of its shareholders to be used for general working capital. The Atlanta-based nuclear services provider recorded the April 1 transaction in a May 9 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The unsecured loan is from shareholder Robert Ferguson, who is […]

A bipartisan duo on Tuesday reintroduced legislation in the House of Representatives intended to help the federal government finally build a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. The Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019 is a slightly updated version of legislation introduced in 2017 by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.). That bill advanced out […]

WASHINGTON — Plans for consolidated interim storage of spent fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors leave questions about the ultimate disposition of that radioactive material once a facility’s federal license expires, former Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko said Monday. Speaking at a Capitol Hill event on nuclear decommissioning, Jaczko posited a scenario in which […]

By John Stang The proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada could conceivably end up receiving 150,000 metric tons of radioactive waste by the second half of this century, according to a Nevada state government analysis of a proposed U.S. Senate bill intended to advance the disposal project. The April 29 memo from […]

Exelon said Wednesday that efforts in the Pennsylvania legislature to provide financial support to the state’s nuclear power sites would not arrive in time to save its reactor at the Three Mile Island Generating Plant near Harrisburg. “With only three legislative days remaining in May and no action taken to advance House Bill 11 or […]

The House of Representatives’ fiscal 2020 Energy and Water appropriations bill that contains the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission budgets will include about 4% more funding than the enacted 2019 bill did, according to spending limits published Tuesday by the House Appropriations Committee. The total allocation for the 2020 Energy and Water Development […]

The California Coastal Commission is tentatively scheduled in June to consider a permit that would allow major decommissioning to begin at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. “Commission staff is presently planning on the item being heard at the Commission’s June meeting, but this schedule is not final and could be subject […]

A panel of administrative judges at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday rejected all petitions for an evidentiary hearing to contest Holtec International’s license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in southeastern New Mexico. The three-member Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) ruled that only three of six petitioning groups proved they […]

The Department of Energy and two companies have agreed to carry out “remedial design” for the cleanup approach selected by the Environmental Protection Agency for the radioactively contaminated area of the West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton, Mo. The Energy Department, Bridgeton Landfill LLC, and Cotter Corp. are the potentially responsible parties for the EPA Superfund […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Wednesday voiced support for his agency’s potential reinterpretation of the definition of high-level radioactive waste. The Department of Energy proposed the reinterpretation in October and is now reviewing public comments submitted through Jan. 9 on the matter. Ultimately, DOE could determine that the definition should emphasize the radiological threat waste […]

The federal government must be allowed to resume the long-delayed licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada, Energy Secretary Rick Perry said Thursday. In testimony on Capitol Hill, Perry suggested he is not committed solely to one disposal location, but rather to finally ending a decades-long impasse on finding a permanent […]

SHINE Medical Technologies on Thursday broke ground on a production plant for the medical isotope molybdendum-99. The 43,000-square-foot plant in Janesville, Wis., will ultimately house eight accelerator-based manufacturing systems that could meet more than one-third of worldwide need for the isotope, SHINE said in a press release. The company has said it hopes to reach […]

By John Stang Perma-Fix Environmental Services said Thursday that revenue in the first quarter of 2019 dropped by $1 million from the prior year, as the company’s services branch hit a lull in business. The Atlanta-based nuclear services provider said revenue fell from $12.7 million in first-quarter 2018 to $11.7 million in its latest earnings […]

The San Diego advocacy group Public Watchdogs is suing a California state agency to prevent decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) until a new environmental review of the project is conducted. At issue is the California State Lands Commission’s approval on March 21 of an agency staff environmental impact report (EIR) on […]

Texas must have a say in approval of disposal of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste in the state, Gov. Greg Abbott said in an April 26 letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki. Proceedings underway at both federal agencies could ultimately open the door for disposal of […]

Entergy on Wednesday reported growth in earnings on both an as-reported and adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2019 as it further winds down its merchant nuclear power business. As-reported earnings came in at $255 million, or $1.32 per share, up from $133 million, or $0.73 per share, in the same quarter of 2018. […]

The Omaha, Neb., Public Power District (OPPD) on Monday announced it had hired nuclear services firm EnergySolutions to support decommissioning of the retired Fort Calhoun Station power plant. EnergySolutions will provide “technical and specialized project expertise,” while OPPD personnel will manage the overall decommissioning, according to a press release from the utility. “ES brings a […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has begun the process of streamlining the environmental reviews it conducts in ruling on license applications. The industry regulator discussed the outlines of its plan in a recent solicitation for a consultant who will support the improvement proceeding. “The main objective of this contract is to obtain technical assistance in […]

The state of South Carolina is implementing stricter environmental safety guidelines for the operator of a rural radioactive waste disposal facility, but has not released details while the license review continues. The move comes after the state Supreme Court in March strongly suggested changes be made at the facility. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control […]

The Energy Department should prepare comprehensive assessments of Cold War nuclear sites now storing high-level radioactive waste to determine how much of it could safely be handled as low-level or transuranic waste, the Energy Communities Alliance said Monday. That is one of a set of recommendations in an ECA report, which aims to build on […]

By John Stang Officials from Nevada sent mixed signals this week to the U.S. Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee regarding upcoming legislation intended to kick-start the stalled nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain. On Tuesday, nine of Nevada’s 17 counties indicated support for the legislation in a letter to committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wy.), […]

By John Stang As has been the case in previous quarterly earnings reports, California’s wildfires dominated the first-quarter financial picture for Edison International’s and subsidiary Southern California Edison. Executives made no mention of the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in Tuesday’s quarterly earnings announcement and accompanying teleconference call with analysts. Edison’s latest filing […]

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) this week confirmed a 2018 finding that exposure to contaminants from former radioactive waste storage near St. Louis, Mo., could have heightened the risk for various cancers among residents of the area. The ATSDR on Tuesday issued its final report on cancer risks near Coldwater […]

A trio of U.S. senators on Tuesday took a third swing at legislation that would remove management of the federal nuclear waste program from the Department of Energy in hopes of finally driving it forward. The 2019 version of the Nuclear Waste Administration Act appears identical to the iterations of the bill introduced in 2013 […]

Vermont on April 10 formally applied to become the 39th agreement state to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. If the application is approved, per the terms of the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, Vermont would assume authority from the federal agency for licensing and regulation of radioactive byproduct materials, source materials, and limited amounts of special […]

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) is reviving legislation aimed at moving the federal government closer to resolving the decades-long impasse over disposal of the nation’s nuclear waste. Barrasso on Wednesday unveiled the discussion draft of the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2019, which is largely identical to the same-named bill introduced in 2017 by Rep. […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) plans in early May to hire a consultant to help develop a strategic plan for off-site relocation of spent reactor fuel now stored at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The anticipated hiring is one element in the utility’s effort to meet its commitments under a 2017 settlement over construction […]