Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

By John Stang Proposed changes in federal rules for nuclear reactors transitioning into decommissioning this week drew little or no concern from three nuclear power providers. Last week, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission unveiled a set of proposed regulations that would be specific to reactors that are no longer operational, covering areas ranging from physical […]

Months of testing in 2017 provided strong evidence that spent nuclear fuel can be safely transported by sea, road, and rail, according to a researcher with the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories. A team of researchers from the United States, South Korea, and Spain over 54 days from June to October collected 8 terabytes […]

The two newest members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have been sworn into office as of Wednesday. Commissioner Annie Caputo was sworn in Tuesday by NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki, followed by Commissioner David Wright on Wednesday. The Senate last week confirmed the two, nearly a year after President Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate […]

Exelon expects to spend nearly $1.5 billion over more than six decades for decommissioning, spent fuel management, and site restoration of its soon-to-close Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey. The power company’s Exelon Generation subsidiary will close the single-reactor power plant by Oct. 31 of this year – more than a year earlier […]

By John Stang The California state Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would allow Pacific Gas & Electric to charge its ratepayers to retain personnel at its Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. The bill, which passed the Senate by vote of 31-4, is now in the California General Assembly. “This community has borne the risk of having […]

By John Stang The New Mexico Legislature’s Interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee will likely hold more public hearings before recommending how the state should respond to plans to build an interim used nuclear fuel storage site. The panel met on May 17 to hear testimony from representatives of Holtec International and the Eddy-Lea Energy […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission intends to conduct some portion of the potentially resumed proceeding on licensing a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., in the state, NRC Chairman Kristine Svinicki told Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) in a recent letter. Svinicki responded on May 19 to a letter earlier in the month from Nevada’s […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality this week initiated a rulemaking that would reduce a number of charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) at the Waste Control Specialists complex in Andrews County. Without discussion during a meeting Wednesday, the three-member commission approved a hearing and publication of proposed amendments to the Texas Administrative […]

NorthStar Group Services on Monday told the Nuclear Regulatory Commission it will have sufficient funds to both decommission the retired Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant and manage its spent fuel. The New York City company was responding to the agency’s latest request for additional information as it reviews the application to transfer the NRC license […]

International Isotopes grew its sales by nearly $1 million in the first quarter of 2018, driving the company to positive net income after a decade of losses, according to the company’s May 18 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Net income for the Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine provider came in at […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Tuesday unveiled a set of proposed rules for nuclear reactors making the transition from operations to decommissioning. The recommendations developed by NRC staff are intended to reduce the need for nuclear plant operators to request exemptions to federal regulations or license amendments for facilities that pose […]

By John Stang Several New Mexico state legislators wondered last week if a proposed temporary used nuclear fuel storage site east of Carlsbad could become permanent by default. Opponents of Holtec International’s planned consolidated interim spent fuel facility also asked, during a May 18 hearing of the New Mexico Legislature’s Interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee, […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed all three nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, just hours after the chamber’s Appropriations Committee approved a budget proposal that provided no money for the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository in Nevada. While no one would say so on the record, the connection appeared reasonably certain – particularly given […]

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved a fiscal 2019 funding bill that provides nothing for development of the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository, instead again backing consolidated interim storage of spent fuel from U.S. nuclear reactors. The $43.8 billion energy spending measure, covering the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and other agencies, could […]

Canada’s Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is planning a number of additional test boreholes as it continues to winnow down the number of potential sites for construction of a deep geologic repository for disposal of the nation’s spent nuclear reactor fuel. The nongovernmental nonprofit is within five years of identifying a preferred location for the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission would get a sizable budget boost in fiscal 2019, almost entirely from funding for its review of the license application for the Yucca Mountain radioactive waste repository in Nevada, under the energy and water funding bill approved Wednesday by the House Appropriations Committee. The panel’s roughly 90-minute markup ended without any […]

By John Stang Nine states and the District of Columbia have formally called on Energy Secretary Rick Perry not to use the Federal Power Act to bail out FirstEnergy Solutions’ ailing nuclear and coal power plants. A few days later, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) joined their opposition. Just before declaring bankruptcy in late March, Akron, […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday it is gearing up to provide another $40 million in cooperative agreements supporting commercial programs to develop production capabilities for the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). That would be on top of $100 million pledged in recent years to four projects led by three companies: NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes, […]

By John Stang The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not sign off on the sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant until the third quarter of the year, according to the head of prospective buyer NorthStar Group Services. NorthStar CEO Scott State made that observation on May 11 during an evidentiary hearing in the […]

The Omaha, Neb., Public Power District has issued a contract for the final move of spent reactor fuel into dry storage at the retired Fort Calhoun Station nuclear power plant. In a press release Wednesday, nuclear cleanup provider Orano USA (formerly AREVA) said its used fuel management branch Orano TN would move 944 fuel assemblies […]

The House Appropriations Committee again teed up an inter-chamber debate about the future of U.S. nuclear waste disposal this week when it voted along party lines to give the White House $100 million more than it sought in fiscal year 2019 for Yucca Mountain. In a Wednesday markup, the committee also shot down an amendment, […]

The House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee on Monday approved a $44.7-billion energy funding bill for fiscal 2019, including extra money for the planned Yucca Mountain radioactive waste disposal repository in Nevada. A full committee markup is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday. The bill report, which provides a more detailed look at proposed funding for […]

The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday received a proposed package of rules for commercial nuclear power reactors making the transition from operations to decommissioning. “The proposed rule package was signed out by the Office of Executive Director and sent to the Office of the Secretary yesterday, so … the Commission has it,” […]

By John Stang Entergy and NorthStar Group Services are delaying providing extra financial information to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the planned sale of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant by just over two weeks. The NRC has questions about whether Entergy and NorthStar have their finances in order to complete decommissioning of the […]

By John Stang Perma-Fix Environmental Services executives said Wednesday they see the potential for at least $5 million in annual revenue from a specialized radioactive waste vitrification system now being tested. In a conference call to discuss Perma-Fix’s latest quarterly earnings, President and CEO Mark Duff said there is enough contaminated sodium wastes at nuclear […]

By John Stang BWX Technologies this week contended it by 2019 will begin operations to produce sufficient amounts of a critical medical isotope to fill all of North America’s needs. “We’d have enough capacity for all the North American supply right off the bat” for molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said in […]