Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

The following interview with San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) Community Engagement Panel Chair David Victor was conducted by RadWaste Monitor reporter Jeremy L. Dillon on the sidelines of last week’s 8th Annual RadWaste Summit in Summerlin, Nev. RW Monitor 9/12/2014 How has the identity of the Community Engagement Panel evolved over time? How does […]

Jeremy L. Dillon and Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 9/12/2014 The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission voiced its support this week for Ontario Power Generation’s proposed radioactive waste inventory verification plan for its proposed deep geologic repository for low and intermediate radioactive waste during a public hearing on OPG’s license request. Earlier this year, a former employee […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 Nuclear Safety Associates announced the company has officially been acquired this week by Atkins, one of Europe’s leading design, engineering and project management firms. The acquisition for Atkins moves the company closer into the U.S. cleanup market, especially for Department of Energy contracts. Atkins cited NSA’s expertise in the […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 09/12/2014 Moving ahead in its procurement for a follow-on contract for receipt, handling and treatment of low-level and mixed low-level waste, the Department of Energy plans to release a request for proposals within 30 to 60 days. The current set of Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contracts for waste treatment services ends in […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 The Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City District last week issued a solicitation notice for up to five Architect-Engineer (A-E) Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste (HTRW)/Environmental Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDC) in its Northwestern Region. The Corps intends to award five unrestricted contracts with a total value of $90 million, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 The smoldering fire near the West Lake Landfill may be spreading closer to the radioactively contaminated section of the site, according to a report by a landfill consultant for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. This news follows on the heels of a recent Army Corps of Engineers’ analyses […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 Enresa, the public company charged with dealing with Spain’s high level nuclear waste, put out a tender late last week for construction of its Centralized Temporary Storage of Villar de Cañas (Cuenca). The procurement calls for a maximum bidding amount of approximately $218 million euro ($282 million U.S. dollars) […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/12/2014 Japan’s International Research Institute for Nuclear Decommissioning (IRID) issued a Request for Proposals late last week for a feasibility study on technology capable of investigating the reactor pressure vessel at the Fukushima Daii-chi Power Station. The RPV was badly damage in the accident, and innovative approaches are needed to […]

***This article was updated on 9/10/2014 to clarify the Corps role at the site. USACE is not participating in the construction of the barrier. Rather, their role is assist the EPA by providing technical review and oversight of the site owner’s cleanup plans/activities.   Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 Construction of a planned isolation barrier […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—The Mitsubishi Research Institute, one of the leaders of the Fukushima cleanup, has chosen Kurion, along with two other firms, to move forward in its tritium removal technology procurement to aid in the treatment of the contaminated water problem at the site. The other teams include bids from […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—EnergySolutions received a two-month extension in the state of Utah’s review of the company’s performance assessment for the disposal of depleted uranium at its Clive, Utah, disposal site. Utah’s Division of Radiation Control originally planned to release on Sept. 8 the Safety Evaluation Report for its evaluation of […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—The San Onofre Generating Station’s decommissioning Community Engagement Panel Chairman David Victor warned against federal regulations encroaching on community concerns in the decommissioning process in remarks during this year’s RadWaste Summit, held here this week. Victor recommended that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission not require a Community Engagement Panel, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing next week to consider the two pending nominations for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Obama Administration in July nominated Stephen Burns and Jeff Baran to fill open spots on the NRC. Burns previously worked for the NRC, rising […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/5/2014 A pair of environmental activist groups in North Dakota are demanding the release of the state’s draft study on Naturally-Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) disposal in local landfills. The Dakota Resource Council and the North Dakota Energy Industry Waste Coalition have concerns that the oil and gas industry will have […]

RW Monitor 9/5/2014 IN THE NRC Now-former Nuclear Regulatory Commission member William Magwood officially took over as Director-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in Paris this week. Magwood departs the Commission after casting a controversial vote in the NRC’s Waste Confidence rulemaking following the call for his […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 While the fracking boom has haunted the nuclear industry for the last 10 years with cheap natural gas, it appears to have also brought a new, high volume waste stream for those involved in the radioactive waste disposal business. The increased activity in oil and gas exploration, especially in […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission unanimously approved this week the final rule for the “Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel,” formerly known as the Waste Confidence rulemaking, and General Environmental Impact Statement in a vote that paved the way for the resumption of nuclear plant licensing and re-licensing decisions. The […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 Utah’s Division of Radiation Control is set to release on Sept. 8 the Safety Evaluation Report for its evaluation of EnergySolutions’ performance assessment for the disposal of depleted uranium (DU) at its Clive disposal facility, according to Division of Radiation Control Director Rusty Lundberg. Utah’s release of the DU […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 The Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City Office issued a pre- solicitation notice this week for an unrestricted Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Task Order Contract for remediation services. The Corps anticipates issuing up to 10 contracts with a maximum shared capacity of $185 million. The contract […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission unanimously voted this week to approve the Staff’s proposal to enable a speedier and more efficient review of SHINE Medical Industries’ low-energy neutron source design for the production of molybdenum-99 under NRC’s 10.CFR.50 regulations. SHINE is one of several companies trying to get through the […]

RW Monitor 8/29/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Perma-Fix Environmental Services announced this week that it has received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for its Technetium-99 production technology. The Patent Office issued an allowance that granted Perma-Fix all the claims it made in its application for preparation of its Microporous Composite Material and its derivatives. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 Problems with cybersecurity and the disposal of sealed sources remain the biggest obstacles to the security of radioactive sources, according to the 2014 Radiation Source Protection and Security Task Force report, released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week. The Task Force was established in 2005 to evaluate and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 Nevada’s Interim Finance Committee approved this week a $1.4 million funding request from the state’s Attorney General Office and Agency for Nuclear Projects for their efforts to combat Yucca Mountain. With the Nuclear Regulatory Commission moving forward with the completion of the Yucca Safety Evaluation Reports, the state expects […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) this week announced plans to introduce a resolution before the House next month that would express U.S.  opposition to the construction of Ontario Power Generation’s proposed deep geological repository for low and intermediary waste. “As Michiganders, we know that our Great Lakes are an invaluable […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/22/2014 The Texas Commission of Environmental Quality unanimously approved this week the license amendment requests proposed by Waste Control Specialists that would expand the types of waste and size of the facility. The license amendments approximately triple the size of the facility by upping the amount of waste the facility […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/22/2014 Bechtel Government Services Canada has joined with Hatch Ltd. and Golder Associates Ltd. to bid on the new contract to manage Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.’s Chalk River laboratories under the team name Canadian Nuclear Revitalization Partners, the team announced this week. The Canadian government’s procurement for a contract […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/22/2014 The Nuclear Regulatory Commission tentatively plans to vote on the final rulemaking for the Waste Confidence update on Aug. 26, according to the Commission’s online meeting schedule. The NRC Staff released the draft final rulemaking at the end of July, which would make this affirmation vote a quick turn-around […]