Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Thomas Gardiner The owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station (PNPS) in Massachusetts and nuclear watchdogs are questioning the effectiveness of state legislation that would force the company to pay the state $25 million annually for each year decommissioning of the facility remains unfinished after a half-decade. The bill was filed in January in the […]

RadWaste Monitor will not be published on Friday, Nov. 24, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Look for the next issue in your inbox on Friday, Dec. 1.

AECOM leadership said Monday it sees great potential in the nuclear plant decommissioning market in the United States, Canada, Japan, and elsewhere. The global engineering and infrastructure company is already muscling into the business. In December 2016, an AECOM-EnergySolutions team landed the roughly $1 billion general contract business for decommissioning the San Onofre Nuclear Generating […]

Thomas Gardiner A citizens’ organization in California is proposing an alternate means for long-term storage of spent fuel that would take the waste away from nuclear power reactors without necessarily relying on the Department of Energy building a permanent repository. Citizens’ Oversight says its proposal would protect key water resources found near many nuclear plants […]

Perma-Fix Environmental Services on Nov. 10 indicated it is moving ahead with testing of technology for treating low-activity radioactive waste from the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, while acknowledging funding challenges facing its medical isotope program. The Atlanta-based based nuclear services and waste management specialist offered the update in a 10-Q filing with the U.S. […]

The Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission has proposed a new rule intended to give it more information about imports of such waste into the state. The update to the Texas Administrative Code would cover most all low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) imported into the state that is not destined for disposal at the “Compact […]

International Isotopes on Tuesday reported that sales grew by nearly $500,000 in the third quarter of 2017, but noted that its net loss also rose by over $1 million. Sales totaled $1.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 35 percent from just over $1.4 million in the same period of 2016, according to […]

The prophesied pre-Thanksgiving vote on Rep. John Shimkus’ (R-Ill.) Yucca Mountain policy overhaul appears unlikely now, with Congress set to break for the holiday and appropriators bristling that the bill infringes on their power of the purse. The House was not in session Friday. Both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in recess […]

A watchdog group in California on Thursday filed a federal lawsuit aimed at preventing storage of spent nuclear fuel at the closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The lawsuit, from La Mesa-based Public Watchdogs, comes just months after a settlement to resolve a prior legal challenge against expansion of the plant’s dry storage pad […]

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, […]