Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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 […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed set of rules for nuclear power reactors in decommissioning could leave taxpayers on the hook for millions of dollars in costs in the event of a major accident, according to four U.S. senators. Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) aired a number […]

By John Stang Exelon and Holtec International aim by the end of this month to submit their application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to transfer the operating license for the soon-to-close Oyster Creek Generating Station in New Jersey. The two companies had initially hoped to submit the transfer application by Aug. 17. However, at an Aug. 15 […]

A recent meeting between senior U.S. and South Korean officials ended with a pledge to cooperate on dealing with used nuclear reactor fuel and other atomic operations, according to the Department of Energy. Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette and South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun on Friday led the second plenary of the High […]

President Donald Trump on Aug. 13 signed the $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal 2019, accepting its prohibition on funding for disposal of defense nuclear waste. The final bill is another setback to the Trump administration’s efforts to revive plans for a radioactive waste repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. However, state […]

William Cooper, the Trump administration’s nominee to become Energy Department general counsel, was passed out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a voice vote Thursday afternoon. The vote came after the panel’s business meeting was postponed Thursday morning, a committee staffer said. The nominee will now await action by the full Senate. […]

By John Stang Perma-Fix expects its GeoMelt radioactive waste treatment system to go into fuller production in late 2018 at its Washington state location, according to President and CEO Mark Duff. Early this year, the Atlanta-based waste management company entered into a contract with Veolia Nuclear Solutions to install its patented vitrification technology in Perma-Fix’s […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it is opening a special inspection of a recent mishap in loading used reactor fuel into a storage pad at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in California. The announcement comes as watchdog groups in California are demanding action, with one reportedly planning a lawsuit, in […]

The Senate on Wednesday voted 87-10 in favor of advancing the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides no support for shipping radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs to the always-controversial planned repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. This is the latest hit to the Trump administration’s efforts to resume licensing for the underground […]