Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Fifteen Democratic members of Congress from states with retired or soon-to-close nuclear power plants this week urged leading House appropriators to provide $25 million to help establish interim storage of radioactive waste. Two private corporate teams are seeking Nuclear Regulatory Commission licenses for sites that could hold used fuel commercial power plants until the Department […]

By John Stang Two Democratic senators this week pressed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to explain its reasoning for leaving out certain requirements in a final rule intended to safeguard nuclear power plants from flooding and earthquakes. The commission in January voted 3-2 in favor of the rule on mitigation of beyond-design-basis events. The proceeding had been […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services said this week its fourth-quarter revenue slid from $12.6 million in 2017 to $11.7 million in 2018, largely due to the unexpected temporary shutdown of a radioactive waste processing facility in Richland, Wash. The roughly two-week outage at Perma-Fix Northwest in December generated an $800,000 hit to revenue, President and CEO Mark […]

By John Stang Holtec International and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled next week to discuss scratches on canisters used in the company’s HI-STORM UMAX spent nuclear fuel storage system. The public meeting is scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday at NRC headquarters in North Bethesda, Md. During the two-hour session, Holtec will “present technical details […]

The Department of Energy this week offered details on how it would divide and use $116 million proposed for nuclear waste storage and disposal operations in fiscal 2020. In rolling out its latest budget plan in March, the agency said only the money would support regulatory activities for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in […]

Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday affirmed his belief that the planned site for a nuclear waste repository under Nevada’s Yucca Mountain is safe, even given its proximity to an Air Force munitions test range. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) pressed Perry on the issue during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on […]

A senior U.S. Army official on Wednesday struggled to explain the reasoning for the Trump administration’s plan to return management of a nuclear cleanup program from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy. “I really think that DOE wanted that program back, and I can’t answer why on that,” R.D. James, assistant […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week said it should within a couple weeks issue a formal procurement notice for environmental remediation at multiple locations in its St. Louis, Mo., District under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army Corps intends to issue a cost-plus-fixed-fee award for cleanup of hazardous, toxic, […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes that Pacific Gas & Electric’s bankruptcy proceeding will not affect the utility’s plan to begin decommissioning its two Diablo Canyon nuclear power reactors in 2024 and 2025. On March 16, the NRC responded in writing to PG&E’s Feb. 26 request for the federal agency’s opinion on […]

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators suggested Wednesday it is gearing up for another legislative campaign to authorize interim storage of the nation’s growing stockpile of nuclear waste. Senate Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he hopes to meet within two weeks with panel Ranking Member Dianne Feinstei (D-Calif.), the […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it intends to fine Southern California Edison $116,000 for an August 2018 mishap in handling of used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). While it has 30 days to contest the decision, the California utility said it would pay the penalty. […]

The operator of a rural South Carolina disposal facility for low-level radioactive waste has not been practicing sufficient safety protocols to prevent contamination from leaking into groundwater, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. South Carolina’s highest court also found that Chem-Nuclear Systems LLC – the EnergySolutions-owned firm that operates the Barnwell Disposal Facility for the […]

Legislation introduced Wednesday in the Senate to promote development of new U.S. nuclear power systems also aims to address the problem of radioactive waste produced by that technology. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined 14 colleagues from both parties to reintroduce the Nuclear Energy Leadership Act. The bill was first submitted in September, but did not […]

The Trump administration is proposing to shift management of cleanup of more than 20 radioactively contaminated former nuclear sites from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers back to the Department of Energy. The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) would be placed into the portfolio of DOE’s Office of Legacy Management, accounting for nearly all […]

The Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects would get a small raise in the next two budget years to sustain the fight against federal plans to build a nuclear waste repository in the state The agency is funded at slightly over $1.8 million in the state’s current budget year, from July 1, 2018, to June 30, […]

The decommissioning and dismantlement of the STURGIS barge, free of radioactive contamination and a former nuclear power reactor, was effectively completed last week, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. International Shipbreaking Ltd. has been sectioning the vessel at its Brownsville, Texas, facility since January. As work has proceeded, more of the STURGIS has […]

The owner and prospective buyer of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts said this week that the state and a local advocacy group should not be allowed to intervene in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission license transfer review needed for the sale to proceed. In separate filings Monday with the NRC, power company Entergy and […]

International Isotopes said Tuesday said a 40 percent increase in revenue last year helped drive down its annual net loss by nearly $3 million, to $844,576. The Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine producer said it boosted revenue in 2018 for three of its four business segments: cobalt products, nuclear medicine standards, and radiological services. In […]

By John Stang Utah Gov. Gary Herbert (R) said Monday he allowed a bill to become law without his signature that would ease the path for acceptance and storage of depleted uranium in the state. The law becomes effective March 28. “I have had reservations about how this legislation came forward. Nonetheless, I recognize the […]

By John Stang Pacific Gas & Electric plans to issue a request for proposals around September for accelerated transfer and storage of spent nuclear fuel at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant near San Luis Obispo, Calif. Representatives from the utility briefed its Diablo Canyon Decommissioning Engagement Panel on this plan during a March 13 […]

By John Stang With little discussion, the California State Lands Commission on Thursday unanimously approved the final environmental impact report on decommissioning the two standing reactors at the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The three-member panel also signed off on a lease application authorizing decommissioning of offshore components of the plant. The commission’s […]

By John Stang and Wayne Barber While it faces a potential 10-year ban on contracts with the Canadian government, SNC-Lavalin’s legal woes north of the border do not appear to automatically translate to similar troubles in the United States. The Montreal-based engineering and construction multinational is the parent company to Department of Energy contractor Atkins […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to update its generic environmental impact statement (GEIS) for decommissioning of nuclear power reactors, which was last revised 17 years ago. The document, as the name indicates, assesses possible environmental impacts from decommissioning of NRC-licensed nuclear power facilities. The agency determined the 2002 version of the GEIS needed to […]

A Senate Appropriations Committee staffer and former Department of Energy nuclear fuel cycle specialist confirmed this week he is being considered for nomination to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An informed source said Christopher Hanson is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) preferred candidate to fill the vacancy that will open when Commissioner Stephen Burns retires […]

An article in the March 8 edition of RadWaste Monitor cited an incorrect figure for the estimated cost of a proposed deep geologic repository for low- and intermediate-level waste in Ontario, Canada. Ontario Power Generation’s projected life-cycle cost for the facility is $2.4 billion (CAN).

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) said this week she will block the Senate from quickly confirming nominees for senior Department of Energy jobs until the agency sets a date to remove a half-ton of plutonium from Nevada. “Until I get commitment from [Secretary of Energy Rick Perry] that [DOE] will set a date for the […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]