Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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. […]

The Trump administration is now 0-2 in its efforts to persuade Congress to fund the long-proposed, still-unrealized nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The Senate on Wednesday voted 92-5 in favor of the fiscal 2019 “minibus” appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other agencies. The House followed on […]

By John Stang EnergySolutions is seeking an exemption to Utah state regulations so the Salt Lake City-based nuclear services company can dispose of depleted uranium from disassembled bullets at its Clive waste facility. The Utah Waste Management and Radiation Control Board is scheduled to be briefed on the request Thursday. Meanwhile, a 30-day public comment […]

Seventy percent of all retired reactors around the world were undergoing decommissioning as of July, according to the latest World Nuclear Industry Status Report. That figure covers 115 of 173 permanently shuttered reactor units, the report issued Tuesday says. Nineteen reactors have been fully decommissioned, which the report defines as defueled, deconstructed, and dismantled. Thirteen […]

Less than one year before its scheduled closure, the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts remains in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s lowest safety ranking allowed for an atomic energy plant to continue operations. The NRC made the determination in its latest quarterly performance evaluation for the single-reactor facility in Plymouth, made public on Aug. 30. […]

By John Stang Residents near the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant in California made clear last week they want to keep the property largely undeveloped, with a sprinkling of trails, after the property is cleaned up. The Diablo Canyon Community Engagement Panel listened on Aug. 29 in San Luis Obispo to 26 members of the public […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July spent another $5,861 from its Nuclear Waste Fund balance, according to its latest report to Congress. The spending was similar in both amount and type to costs listed in agency reports filed in recent months. That was topped by $4,315 for a February meeting of the Licensing Support […]

HENDERSON, Nev. — While it was never formally canceled, there is little doubt the Obama administration’s initiative for consent-based siting of the nation’s nuclear waste has no future while its successor is in office, a senior Department of Energy official said Wednesday. The agency still has a web page for consent-based siting, but since early 2017 […]

HENDERSON, Nev. — There is little chance the appropriations bill covering the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission will provide any funding in fiscal 2019 for licensing the long-planned Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, issue observers said Wednesday. Politics are at the heart of the matter, specifically safeguarding Sen. Dean Heller’s (R-Nev.) chances […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week officially resumed its technical review of a license application for a facility in West Texas that would store up to 40,000 metric tons of used nuclear reactor fuel. A partnership of Waste Control Specialists and Orano in June filed an updated license application for the planned consolidated interim […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is accepting public input on an application for a 40-year license renewal for operation of the independent spent fuel storage installation at the decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear power plant in Herald, Calif. Like other nuclear power operators around the country, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is waiting for the […]

The state of Nevada on Wednesday asked a federal appeals court to block Nuclear Regulatory Commission member David Wright from participating in any licensing decision for the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in the state. The filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit comes nearly two months after […]

An article in the Aug. 24 edition of RadWaste Monitor, “Perma-Fix Expects Geo-Melt System to go Online Late This Year,” should have specified that the unit is scheduled to be installed and tested at Perma-Fix’s Richland, Wash., facility for hot startup in September, followed by treatability studies. The company then intends to seek a permit […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is carrying through with a pledge made earlier this year to provide $40 million more to support development of domestic commercial production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99. The aim of the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency is to promote means of manufacturing that do not require reactors powered […]

Los Angeles-based engineering giant AECOM on Monday announced that it has promoted former Department of Energy official Mark Whitney to lead its nuclear and environment business unit, filling the slot vacated by Todd Wright. Wright recently retired as executive vice president and general manager of the AECOM branch, but is staying on at the company […]

By John Stang The California Coastal Commission has decided not to review a watchdog organization’s request for an extensive probe of an Aug. 3 mishap in the transfer of spent reactor fuel to dry storage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “Based on the information we have we believe this is a nuclear […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Petition Review Board recently agreed to review a request to determine whether FirstEnergy Solutions should be found in breach of its federal requirement to ensure it can fund decommissioning of three nuclear power plants scheduled for closure in coming years. The NRC sent a memo to that effect […]

The August doldrums in Washington weren’t quite as quiet as in past years, and there was plenty of news during the ExchangeMonitor’s annual publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories we’ve been following. Parties Aim for Regulatory OK For Vermont Yankee Sale by Oct. 31 Parties to the […]

A key committee of the New Mexico Legislature appears split on whether to support plans by Holtec International to build a large-scale storage facility in the state to hold used fuel from U.S. nuclear reactors. Seven of the 12 voting members of the legislature’s interim bicameral Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee in recent weeks signed […]