Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced its intention to nominate a veteran of the nuclear industry as the new assistant secretary to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy. Rita Baranwal’s new job, upon confirmation, would put her in charge of the department’s work on nuclear reactors and nuclear waste – including the […]

Expediting decommissioning of the newly retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey could shave hundreds of millions of dollars from the price tag for the project, according to prospective buyer Holtec International. The New Jersey energy technology company wants to buy the power plant, which ended operations on Sept. 17, and then assume […]

By John Stang The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has settled on a plan for cleanup of radiologically contaminated areas of the West Lake Landfill in Missouri, which it says will save a year of work and cost $30 million less than the previously anticipated approach. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler on Thursday signed the amended […]

By John Stang All used nuclear fuel has been removed from the newly retired reactor at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey, according to a Sept. 25 letter from plant owner Exelon to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The short message, submitted by Exelon Vice President for Licensing and Decommissioning Michael Gallagher, […]

By John Stang Staffers for two U.S. lawmakers and others on Tuesday raised concerns about whether there is enough money available for decommissioning the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts. The issue came up during a Nuclear Regulatory Commission meeting ahead of the anticipated application next month to transfer the plant’s operational license from owner […]

The final voyage of the formerly nuclear reactor-equipped barge STURGIS ended Thursday in Brownsville, Texas, where the vessel will be dismantled after being decommissioned at the Port of Galveston. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on Sept. 14 that it had completed the nearly $66.5 million decommissioning of the world’s first floating atomic energy facility […]

President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 signed the first congressionally approved “minibus” appropriations bill for fiscal 2019, which cuts out all proposed funding at the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission for licensing a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The White House made no mention of the matter in statements on […]

Southern California Edison is expected in November to apply for a California state coastal development permit necessary to begin major decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. The timeline for the California Coastal Commission’s review and a decision on the application is unclear, dependent in part on a separate but related proceeding at the […]

After a delay of more than a year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Tuesday gave Jacobs Field Services North America the green light to begin cleanup at the Shallow Land Disposal Area near Pittsburgh. The Army Corps awarded the $350 million radiological remediation contract to the Houston-based Jacobs subsidiary in April 2017, […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is recommending rejection of two separate motions calling for dismissal of license applications for facilities to store spent nuclear reactor fuel in Texas and New Mexico. The motion from the advocacy group Beyond Nuclear and a joint filing from energy firm Fasken Land and Minerals and the Permian Basin […]

Following the completion of decommissioning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ STURGIS barge is scheduled next week to be towed for shipbreaking. All parts of the STURGIS’ retired MH-1A nuclear reactor and other radioactive waste on the vessel have been removed at the Port of Galveston, Texas, and shipped to Waste Control Specialists’ disposal facility […]

By John Stang California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) announced Wednesday he had signed legislation intended to offset potentially harmful economic impacts from the pending closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Senate Bill 1090 was among several dozen bills signed by the governor, according to a statement from his office. Owner Pacific Gas & […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has submitted the first of what is likely to be several requests for additional information on Holtec International’s license application to build and operate a facility for storage of used fuel from commercial nuclear power reactors. The agency’s Sept. 13 letter to Holtec encompasses more than 90 distinct requests, primarily […]

Decommissioning of the nearly retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts could be largely complete in less than a decade if it can be sold, according to its owner and prospective buyer. Otherwise, the process could stretch on for decades, power company Entergy and energy technology firm Holtec International will tell the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

While not much has appeared to happen for the majority of the past year, there is still reason for optimism that the federal government will find a way forward to establish a means for permanent disposal of the most radioactive form of low-level waste, an industry executive said. Congress did not address the issue of […]

Duke Energy has terminated the low-level emergency notice at its Brunswick nuclear power plant in North Carolina, and is reportedly returning toward normal operations. The utility took the facility, which stands about 4 miles inland from the Atlantic Coast, offline as Hurricane Florence approached the state on Sept. 14. Brunswick sustained no flooding or storm […]

By John Stang Southern California Edison apparently became confused on how soon it should alert the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to an Aug. 3 mishap in transferring spent fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. Contractor Holtec International has been moving the spent fuel at the retired nuclear power plant in San Diego […]

Two very different groups have called on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to dismiss separate license applications for storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel in Texas and New Mexico, arguing the proceedings constitute a violation of federal law. This is the most aggressive action yet to block the projects in their early stages, but a larger […]

By John Stang Exelon at noon Monday officially retired its Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey ahead of what is anticipated to be an accelerated decommissioning. The boiling water reactor in Lacey Township became operational in December 1969, on the same day as the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating Station near Oswego, N.Y. […]

A research team at the University of Texas at Arlington has received a $567,831 grant from the Department of Energy to study the rock materials that best prevent the escape of radiation from nuclear waste disposal facilities. The researchers led by earth and environmental sciences associate professor Qinhong Hu will examine the movement of fluids […]

The Port Hope Area Initiative has completed transport of radioactively contaminated soil from the Center Pier in Port Hope, Ontario, to a nearby long-term holding facility. The Canadian Nuclear Laboratories-managed cleanup program last week tweeted before and after photos of the pier – the first showing the tarp that previously covered the soil and the […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week conducted its on-site inspection of an August mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The agency declined to discuss details of the special inspection beyond those laid out in an Aug. […]

ICE Service Group on Monday denied patent infringement claims made in a lawsuit from a competitor, instead accusing the company of “brazen industrial espionage.” Clinton, La.-based PacTec, which makes industrial containment bags used at government and commercial radioactive waste cleanup sites, filed its lawsuit in June in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuclear utilities said they took steps this week to ensure that power plants in the Carolinas and Virginia were ready for possible impact by Hurricane Florence, which made landfall Friday morning on the Atlantic Coast. Duke Energy by Thursday afternoon had already begun shutting down its Brunswick nuclear power […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it remains on track to rule by the end of this month whether to approve the license transfer for the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. An agency spokesman did not give a more specific schedule for the decision, which the NRC has said only would occur in the […]

By John Stang A new approach to decommissioning the nearly retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey could save $200 million, according to owner Exelon and prospective buyer Holtec International. The plant’s single boiling-water reactor is scheduled to shut down on Monday. The two companies’ license transfer application was filed with the Nuclear […]

The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) is considering cutting decades off the time it planned to complete decommissioning of the shuttered Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. Expediting the process could save more than $200 million and nearly 40 years of work, according to an analysis presented to the OPPD Board of Directors this week. […]