Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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 […]

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 […]