Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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 […]

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 […]