Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The Government Accountability Office would like federal agencies to increase their collaboration on research into low-dose radiation, and it has recommended the Energy Department lead such an effort. But DOE hasn’t been eager to assume such a role, the GAO said in a Nov. 1 report. People who work at nuclear power plants, defense waste […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has requested additional data from power provider Entergy regarding the application to transfer the operations and spent fuel storage licenses for its Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to planned facility buyer NorthStar Group Services. Entergy closed Vermont Yankee in 2014, and in February joined the New York City-based nuclear decommissioning specialist […]

An administrative law judge for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on Wednesday recommended approval of Pacific Gas & Electric’s application to close the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant by 2025. The utility last year announced a joint proposal reached with labor and environmental organizations to shut down Diablo Canyon reactor Unit 1 in 2024 […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Kristine Svinicki and an agency staffer in August 2016 used a chartered flight to reach an isolated area of Saskatchewan, Canada, the NRC told senior members of the House of Representatives. Eugene Dacus, director of the NRC’s Office of Congressional Affairs, responded on Oct. 25 to an Oct. 17 query from […]

Thomas Gardiner The state of Montana has delayed into 2018 a decision on new rules for management of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) waste, officials said Monday. The deadline for public comment on the proposed regulations was originally set for mid-October, but has been pushed back to 5 p.m. Nov. 17. Montana’s Department […]

Waste Control Specialists increased both sales and operating income for the third quarter of 2017, its parent company reported Thursday. The Dallas-based waste disposal provider’s year-to-date earnings numbers were also up through Sept. 30, but were dragged down by a $170.6 million long-lived asset impairment charge linked to its foiled buyout by rival EnergySolutions. There […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Thursday played down any danger of placing nuclear waste in a planned geologic repository under Yucca Mountain in Nevada. “I’m sure that Yucca Mountain is the most studied piece of land in the world. I’m think it’s a safe location. Scientists tell us that it’s a safe location, but […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans by the middle of this month to release the final regulatory basis for its nuclear power reactor decommissioning rulemaking, a senior official said this week. That milestone would be followed by two years of work on the rule itself, with the commission voting on the final document in fall […]

Thomas Gardiner Southern California Edison, primary owner and operator of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), this week announced $30 million net income growth in the third quarter of 2017 compared to the same period of last year. The boost was announced in the latest earnings filing from SCE’s parent company, Edison International. The […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency anticipates issuing its final remedy plan for cleanup of radiologically contaminated material at the West Lake Landfill in Missouri within a period of months, according to an agency spokesman. The EPA was responding to a query from RadWaste Monitor regarding language added to Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Yucca Mountain legislation […]

Entergy has slightly narrowed its new timeline for closure of the Palisades Power Plant in Michigan, according to a recent letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The power provider had planned to close the nuclear facility next October, but in September pushed that back to spring 2022 following the dissolution of a deal for […]

Thomas Gardiner The transfer of spent fuel at the shuttered Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is proceeding as planned, a manager for owner Entergy said last week during a meeting of the state’s Nuclear Decommissioning Citizens Advisory Panel. “We are transferring an average of one canister per week,” according to Joseph Lynch, the power company’s senior […]

A closed nuclear power plant is an economic challenge to its host community that that could linger for decades while it is torn down and its radioactive waste waits to be removed at some undetermined point in time. This requires a response that is equally focused on the present and the future, according to Rep. […]

While US Ecology’s revenue rose in the third quarter of the year, two hurricanes and other challenges dragged down the company’s net income, according to its latest earnings report Thursday. Accordingly, the Boise, Idaho-based waste disposal and environmental services provider reduced its full-year earnings outlook. US Ecology reported $134.1 million in revenue for the quarter […]

Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee reiterated their support for a major nuclear-waste policy bill Tuesday, despite misgivings that the measure might delay the day spent reactor fuel is moved away from the power plants that generated it. If the the 45-page Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of 2017 became law, it would […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is in the final stages of revising its draft guidance on reviews of requests for alternative disposal of very low-level radioactive waste. As part of the process, the document is available for public comment through Dec. 18. Very low-level waste, or low-activity waste, is not an official designation, but rather refers […]

Thomas Gardiner The last of three Trump administration nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is headed for a Senate floor vote following approval Wednesday by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The panel backed Commissioner Jeff Baran’s reappointment on a voice vote alongside two nominees for assistant administrator spots at the Environmental Protection Agency […]

Congressman John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) legislation aimed at advancing development of the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository also sets a deadline for the Environmental Protection Agency to prepare a final remedy for cleanup of radioactive material at the West Lake Landfill in Missouri. “Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, […]

Power company Entergy on Tuesday reported higher earnings on both an as-reported and operational basis for the third quarter of the year. After-tax as-reported earnings rose from $388.2 million ($2.16 per share) in third-quarter 2016 to $398.2 million ($2.21 per share) in the latest earnings period. Operational earnings, on a non-generally accepted accounting principles basis, […]

The House of Representatives is now considering two pieces of legislation that would provide $15 per kilogram payments to communities stuck with spent reactor fuel at nuclear power plants. Rep. Joe Courtney’s (D-Conn.) “Stranded Nuclear Waste Accountability Act of 2017” and Rep. Brad Schneider’s (D-Ill.) “STRANDED Act of 2017” were both introduced in the first […]

The government of the United Kingdom this week largely kept mum regarding reports that it might directly take over decommissioning of its shuttered Magnox nuclear sites. Industry sources told the Financial Times it appeared probable that the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) would establish a subsidiary to manage cleanup of the 10 Magnox nuclear power […]

Thomas Gardiner Former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz on Wednesday endorsed consolidated-interim and consent-based storage for U.S. nuclear waste while the federal government pursues a permanent repository. “I think we’ve got to reach point where questions of moving fuel away to consolidated storage can’t be held hostage to a lack of progress getting a geological […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission member Jeff Baran told senators recently he has not determined his position on licensing of the planned Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. “I have not formed an opinion on the merits of the Yucca Mountain geologic repository application. As a Commissioner, I have a responsibility to be open-minded and unbiased […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking input on the draft regulatory analysis that will lay out updated cost and benefit figures for its revised Part 61 rule on low-level radioactive waste storage. The draft analysis was issued in September 2016 alongside NRC staff’s proposed final rule package. The commission itself last month directed a […]

A House bill that would make it easier for the federal government to build a permanent nuclear-waste repository at Nevada’s Yucca Mountain took a big step toward a floor vote this week, though none was scheduled as of Friday. On Thursday, House leadership at last placed H.R. 3053, the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of […]