Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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 […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, NEV.—The re-opening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will take state precedence over a possible consolidated interim storage facility in New Mexico, NM’s Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn said this week at the 2015 RadWaste Summit. While Flynn remains supportive of the local communities effort to license and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, Nev.–The Army Corps of Engineers anticipates issuing the Request for Proposal for the cleanup of the Shallow Land Disposal Area (SLDA) site in Armstrong County, Pa. sometime in early 2016, National FUSRAP Program Manager Nicki Fatherly said this week at the 2015 RadWaste Summit.  The Corps had previously […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/11/2015 Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster (R) released late last week a series of reports from independent contractors that indicate that the smoldering fire and contamination surrounding the West Lake Landfill are more wide-spread than previously thought. According to the reports, contamination in groundwater outside the landfill perimeter has been […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, NEV — EnergySolutions remains on track for an October submittal date for its responses to Utah’s questions concerning its depleted uranium performance assessment, EnergySolutions’ Senior Vice President Jason Williams said this week at the 2015 RadWaste Summit. “We are in the process of addressing those concerns, and are […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/4/2015 The reopening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant should be the Department of Energy’s main nuclear waste cleanup concern, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.)said recently. The transuranic waste repository has been closed to new shipments since a fire and subsequent radiation release in February 2014. DOE announced last month that […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/4/2015 Names of personnel responsible for the Department of Energy’s consent-based siting initiative for a consolidated interim storage facility of spent nuclear fuel emerged this week, almost six months after Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz announced DOE would take a more active role in finding a host community. Andrew Griffith, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/4/2015 EnergySolutions has prohibited the use of its type-A casks for use in shipping waste to Waste Control Specialists, WCS President and CEO Rod Baltzer said this week. The cessation of WCS cask shipments caused delivery delays for the West Texas waste treatment and storage company in the second quarter, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/4/2015 Following a request for an extension from the state of Nevada and other stakeholders, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week added a month to the public comment period for the draft supplemental environmental impact statement on groundwater effects from the Yucca Mountain project. Nevada had requested an additional 60 […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 09/4/2015 Perma-Fix Medical S.A. said on Monday it has achieved a six curies radiation level for its technetium-99m production. Earlier this year, Perma-Fix said it needed to reconfigure its production process after realizing that market demand for the medical isotope used in millions of procedures annually called for a larger […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/28/2015 A South Carolina state court earlier this month reaffirmed its 2014 ruling that asserted the Barnwell low-level waste disposal facility’s disposal practices were not in compliance with safety regulations, but in a change of opinion, the court remanded the remedy to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/28/2015 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s readiness to conduct a timely review of Northwest Medical Isotopes’ construction permit application for its molybdenum-99 facility remains “the critical pathway” to commercializing the company’s business plan, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Carolyn Haass told RW Monitor in an Aug. 12 interview. As of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/28/2015 Waste Control Specialists CEO William Lindquist is stepping down, and current President Rod Baltzer will take over as the company’s president and CEO, WCS confirmed this week. Lindquist resigned “for health reasons and a resulting desire to transition to his eventual retirement,” according to a Securities and Exchange Commission […]