Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 MIAMI—As a majority of the recently shutdown reactor plants enter the beginning stages of SAFESTOR, the overseers of the decommissioning plans of the various sites emphasized the importance of spending conservatively on the front end to ensure the decommissioning trust fund will have enough money to cover the total […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 As Southern California Edison determines the best way to manage the decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, at least seven teams have responded to the utility’s Request for Information about managing the estimated $4.4 billion cleanup project, RW Monitor has learned. According to an industry executive, pre-qualifications […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 10/3/2014 As USEC became Centrus Energy Corp. this week after completing Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, in its first major action longtime President and Chief Executive Officer John Welch announced his plans to step down. Welch, who has served as head of the uranium enrichment firm since October 2005, plans to leave […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 A collection of environmental groups this week threatened the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with litigation if it did not vacate its Continued of Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel rulemaking. The group, made up of 17 environmental activist groups, claims the NRC’s final rulemaking fails to properly address the repository issue […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 Assessing contaminated sites within the Navajo Nation and focusing on the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and Tuba City Dump topped the priority list for the Environmental Protection Agency and four other federal agencies in their second five year plan to address the uranium contamination within […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/3/2014 The United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority elaborated late last week on how Radioactive Waste Management Limited (RWM), the responsible organization for the construction of a repository for the nation’s high level waste, will conduct the initial geologic screening to determine potential host sites for a disposal facility. In a […]

RW Monitor 10/3/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy this week issued a draft solicitation for up to $12.6 billion in loan guarantees for advanced nuclear energy projects. The four key areas of interest include advanced nuclear reactors, small modular reactors, upgrades at existing facilities, and $2 billion for front-end nuclear projects such as uranium […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 In the latest in a series of recent management moves, Kurion announced this week that Stephen Wright will serve as the company’s new Chief Financial Officer. Wright previously served as CFO and senior vice president at AeroVironment Inc., where he helped the company undergo an initial public offering, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Austin Master Services (AMS), a radiological engineering and services firm, received approval from the state of Ohio last week for the capablity to use its trans-load facility in Martins Ferry to receive, ship, and analyze containerized Technologically-Enhanced Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Materials (TENORM). With large quantities of TENORM arising in states […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 The Texas Radiation Advisory Board supports Texas’ role in hosting a potential pilot interim storage facility for commercial spent nuclear fuel, according to an advisory statement the Board approved late last week. Texas, with companies likes Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County and Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiatives in Loving […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 A smoldering fire at the West Lake landfill may not be moving toward the radioactively contaminated portion of the site, contrary to previous studies, says a new report released last week by Bridgeton Landfill, the operator of the site. Earlier this month, Todd Thalhamer, a consultant for the state […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chair Allison Macfarlane and former NRC Commissioner William Magwood called on countries to make better progress at building geologic repositories for the spent nuclear fuel from nuclear reactors in remarks during the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference, held this week in Vienna. Both Macfarlane and […]

RW Monitor 9/26/2014 IN THE NRC The Nuclear Regulatory Commission posted its final ruling on the Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel, formerly known as Waste Confidence, in the Federal Register last week, beginning a 30-day countdown until the rule becomes official. The NRC’s proposed waste confidence ruling, released last year, found that spent fuel […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Southern California Edison this week officially submitted its decommissioning documents for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for review. SCE had completed a draft Post-Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR), cost estimate and used fuel management plan at the end of July, but it wanted […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 The Department of Energy still has not delivered to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission its updated technical report needed for the Yucca Mountain supplemental environment impact statement. DOE had said earlier this year it would not complete the supplemental EIS, but it would complete an update to its 2009 technical […]

Staff Reports RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Perma-Fix Northwest is proposing adding an evaporation system to its suite of systems used to treat and package waste at its Richland plant near Hanford. The new system would be used to treat water contaminated with mixed low-level radioactive waste, which could include metals and organics. “It could come from […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 The lack of movement on the Department of Energy’s spent fuel management program is creating a backlog of spent nuclear fuel stored at reactor sites, making the logistics to consolidated storage more difficult with each passing year, according to members of a panel appearing before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 A group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution this week against a proposed Canadian radioactive waste repository in Ontario. Among the senators sponsoring the resolution is Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), who along with a host of Michigan state lawmakers, have been vocal about their opposition to […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 9/19/2014 USEC plans to complete on Sept. 30 its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring and emerge from the process under the new name Centrus Energy Corp., the company said this week. The company’s new common stock shares will also then begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 Kurion has recently moved to conduct a broad shakeup of its corporate management. The changes include Kurion’s former Board chairman, Steve Piccolo, returning to the company to serve as Executive Vice President, reporting to CEO Bill Gallo. “Steve will apply his considerable skills and experience, garnered through executive positions […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 EnergySolutions is shaking up its corporate management of the Zion nuclear power plant decommissioning project, RW Monitor has learned, though the exact reason for the change remains unclear. Alan Parker, Chief Operating Officer of EnergySolutions’ Division of Projects and Products, will no longer have responsibility for the Zion project. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 The Senate this week confirmed two new members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, bringing the NRC back to its full five-member contingent. Steven Burns previously worked for the NRC, rising to General Counsel under then-Chairman Gregory Jaczko, but left in 2012 for a position with the Nuclear Energy Agency. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 A Michigan state senator introduced legislation last week that would prevent the disposal of any radioactive waste resulting from fracking activities in the state’s landfills. In the past decade, increased activity in oil and gas exploration, especially in the Marcellus Shale and Bakkan Shale formations, has increased volumes of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 While water contamination continues to plague the cleanup of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant, the Tokyo Electric Power Company appears to be making headway on the problem. TEPCO announced this week that it has successfully installed and has begun testing an enhanced ALPS water treatment system at the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/19/2014 Congress wrapped up work this week on a stop-gap measure intended to fund the government at the start of Fiscal Year 2015 that did not include an ‘anomaly’ sought by the Department of Energy to implement upgrades at the Fort St. Vrain fuel storage facility in Colorado. DOE had […]

States Call for More Flexibility Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 NRC Chair Allison Macfarlane shot down any notion this week that the Commission would reduce the compatibility category assign to the current 10.CFR.61 rulemaking during a webinar held by the American Nuclear Society. With a Compatibility ‘B’ distinction, the rulemaking would require that the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 The two nominations to fill the vacancies on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission moved out of committee this week, and now await full Senate approval after a quick turnaround from hearing to vote. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted 11-7 and 11-6 to move Jeffery Baran and Stephen […]