Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/9/2015 After over 25 years of government service,  Larry Camper, director of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery, and Waste Programs, retired last week. Under Camper’s direction the NRC office has undertaken many low-level radioactive waste rulemakings, including an update to the 10.CFR.61 rulemaking, the issuance of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/9/2015 Local officials are preparing for “a catastrophic event” should the smoldering fire at the Bridgeton Landfill reach the radioactive contamination at the adjacent West Lake Landfill near St. Louis, according to an emergency plan released this week. The plan, originally prepared in October 2014, outlines the steps local officials […]

RW Monitor 10/9/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY AREVA TN announced this week that it has signed a contract to provide dry fuel storage management services to Xcel Energy’s Prairie Island and Monticello nuclear generating plants. The multiyear contract calls for the removal of nuclear fuel from the spent fuel pools and its eventual placement in dry […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 Former Idaho Governor Cecil Andrus this week sued the Department of Energy in an effort to obtain “the disclosure and release of agency records improperly withheld” regarding DOE’s planned shipments of research spent nuclear fuel into the state.  Andrus previously tried to obtain information on the project through a […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 Funding for both an interim storage pilot program and the Yucca Mountain licensing process should be included in a possible omnibus spending bill in December, House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said this week at the Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop in Arlington, Va. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 A panel of spent nuclear fuel transportation experts appearing before the House Energy and Commerce Environment and the Economy Subcommittee this week called on the Department of Energy to more effectively engage state and local stakeholders to better prepare the routing for the eventual movement of the radioactive materials […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 A commissioner with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday pondered to whether the body should add transuranic waste to the current 10.CFR.61 rulemaking changes. Commissioner Jeffrey Baran during a NRC hearing on the agency’s low-level radioactive waste business line inquired as to whether the commission would be more prudent […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 The National Nuclear Security Administration said this week it has entered into a new cooperative agreement to help finance General Atomics’ molybdenum-99 production technology. The agreement, including a $9.7 million cost-share contribution, marks the fifth such agreement the NNSA has entered into with companies seeking to produce the medical […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/2/2015 Congress this week passed a continuing resolution that will fund the federal government through Dec. 11 at fiscal 2015 enacted levels and avoids a government shutdown. The CR gives Congress an additional 10 weeks to work toward a budget solution, but with uncertainty in the House following Speaker John […]

RW Monitor 10/2/2015 IN DOE Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory have undertaken a joint project with scientists in Japan to help find ways to remediate environmental areas contaminated by the Fukushima disaster, the laboratory announced late last week. The three-year effort will focus primarily on the movement of plutonium and radioiodine, as well […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/25/2015 The United Kingdom’s Radioactive Waste Management Ltd. has robustly advanced its disposability assessments and letter of compliance process for the packaging of high-level waste, according to a biennial review by the U.K. Environment Agency and Office for Nuclear Regulation. The RWM is responsible for instituting the nation’s high-level waste […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/25/2015 TerraPower and the China National Nuclear Corp. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly complete the traveling wave reactor (TWR) design and commercialize the technology, the company announced this week.  The MOU, according to the Washington-based nuclear reactor design specialist, “will speed technology development, promote clean energy […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/25/2015 A U.S. lawmaker from Texas plans by the end of September to introduce legislation that would enable private companies like Waste Control Specialists to host a consolidated interim nuclear waste storage facility, RW Monitor learned this week. Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, will introduce […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/25/2015 The Department of Energy has rejected a request from members of Missouri’s congressional delegation that DOE authorize changes to the cleanup of a landfill that contains radioactive material. According to a Sept. 10 letter from Office of Legacy Management Director David Geiser, DOE has not obtained any new information […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/25/2015 Should safety upgrades to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Massachusetts prove too expensive, Entergy may opt to prematurely close the plant, an company official said this week.  The Nuclear Regulatory Commission earlier this month downgraded the Pilgrim plant to Repetitive Degraded Cornerstone Column Four, the second to lowest […]

RW Monitor 9/25/2015 IN NRC The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has officially extended the public comment period for the draft supplemental environmental impact statement on groundwater effects from the Yucca Mountain project, according to a notice in the Federal Register late last week. Stakeholders now have until Nov. 20 to submit comments on the report, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 As the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week winds down its public comment period for the proposed 10.CFR.61 rulemaking changes, a looming potential addition could delay the rulemaking by an additional three to four years, a NRC official said last week at the 2015 RadWaste Summit in Summerlin, Nev. With […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 The organization responsible for disposal of the United Kingdom’s high-level nuclear waste announced last week that it is seeking public input on its draft National Geological Screening (NGS) Guidance document, which will drive the nation’s search for a suitable repository location. The 12-week public comment period will enable the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board announced this week that it will more closely examine the technical and scientific issues associated with the Department of Energy’s planned use of deep boreholes to dispose of some radioactive wastes. The NWTRB will hold a workshop on Oct. 20 and 21 that […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 Local officials from the county surrounding the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) demanded this week that the federal government make progress in removing the spent nuclear fuel from the reactor site. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to issue a letter demanding the Department of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 Former Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus blasted the Department of Energy this past weekend for failing to publicly disclose specifics of its planned shipment of spent nuclear fuel for research at the Idaho National Laboratory. Andrus’ op-ed, which appeared in the Idaho Statesman, criticized the department for rejecting his Freedom […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 The Department of Energy will no longer provide funding for Centrus’ American Centrifuge project operations at its Piketon, Ohio facility, the company confirmed late last week. The announcement also noted a one-year extension funding for the American Centrifuge project’s research and development contract with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/18/2015 The Environmental Protection Agency late last week issued a request for information for companies capable of performing assessments and technical support activities related to the Navajo Area Uranium Mines cleanup, according to a notice in FedBizOpps. The draft scope of work says the winner of the Navajo Area Uranium […]

RW Monitor 9/18/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY Holtec International and Westinghouse Electric Co. announced on Wednesday they have joined together to offer dry cask storage capabilities to U.S. nuclear facilities. The 10-year collaboration agreement will combine Westinghouse’s dry storage canister welding experience with Holtec’s experience as the original equipment manufacturer service provider. The companies described the […]

RW Monitor 9/11/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY The U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council has scheduled its first-ever EM Roundtable for Thursday, Sept. 17, providing congressional, private sector, and Department of Energy perspectives on DOE’s environmental management programs. The session will address "DOE’s EM program: The Next Five Years," and will feature Mark Whitney, principal deputy assistant secretary […]

Brian Bradley RW Monitor 9/11/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Wednesday revealed it is evenly split on whether it would support doubling proposed funding for the Yucca Mountain licensing review from the $25 million amount outlined in the House 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations Act to a $50 million request for fiscal year 2017. During […]