Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

With the public comment period ending for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) radiation standards rulemaking, NRC Chair Ho Nieh is making the case for moving away from “as low as reasonably achievable,” or ALARA in an opinion column for Exchange Monitor. The rulemaking, part of a series of changes mandated by Executive Order 14300, would […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued two-low level violations against Holtec’s Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan for not complying with NRC requirements for radiation protection. In NRC’s inspection report published Monday, NRC said it found Palisades’ failed to manage the radioactive contamination parts of the plant and did not properly analyze the possible internal radiation […]

The House of Representatives voted 370-48 Tuesday to pass a conferenced, short-term continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through Dec. 11, but the House Appropriations chair still criticized the Senate for not working on its individual appropriations bills. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law Wednesday to prevent a government shutdown. The resolution […]

Borehole drilling is underway at Finland’s deep geological repository as Finnish nuclear waste management company Posiva Oy said last week it has begun drilling the first underground deposition hole. Posiva said in its Aug. 27 company update that the operation started the afternoon of Aug. 26, when the drill head of the Deposition Hole Boring […]

Atlanta-based Perma-Fix Environmental Services reported a fall in revenue for the second quarter, which the company attributed to a decrease in revenue in its treatment segment. The revenue for the second quarter, which ended June 30, was nearly $12.9 million, down from nearly $14.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Factoring in the company’s operating expenses […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is reviewing an application that would indirectly transfer four Dominion Energy nuclear plant licenses to a NextEra Energy subsidiary as part of the companies’ proposed merger. The public may request for a hearing about the indirect transfer of the licenses by Sept. 16. Comments about the transfer application are due […]

Bellevue, Wash.-based TerraPower awarded 12 supplier contracts Monday to further beef up its supply chain for its Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyo. According to TerraPower’s press release, the companies selected are: Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Merrick & Company was awarded two contracts: pin removal cell design and sodium cover gas monitoring skids design. Atlanta-based Mirion Technologies: […]

The state of Tennessee Monday issued a fusion-specific byproduct material license forType One Energy to build a commercial fusion plant at the Bull Run site in Clinton, Tenn. This marks the first-ever fusion license to be issued by a state, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said in a press release. This decision also […]

WASHINGTON – The scalability of advanced reactor technologies is the next milestone for the nuclear industry, multiple industry representatives and officials told a House Science subcommittee on Energy Wednesday. Joe Hoagland, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory associate director for fission and fusion science, said during the hearing that the DOE’s reactor pilot […]

Fuel loading is underway at the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, marking one of the key final steps toward restarting the reactor that shut down in 2022, Holtec International announced Sunday. “We are thrilled to announce that Palisades began the process for loading nuclear fuel into the plant’s reactor vessel this morning, marking a historic […]

Multiple blue state attorneys this week announced their opposition to various Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemakings called for in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14300 in May 2025.  A coalition of attorneys general made up of California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington submitted comments Monday on the rulemakings affecting radiation […]

The House Energy and Commerce Committee advanced six nuclear energy-related bills out of committee to the full House after a three-hour markup hearing Wednesday. The nuclear bills made up six of the 10 pieces of legislation approved during the markup. All nuclear bills were passed with bipartisan support with none receiving any no-votes. This comes […]

Paul Murray, who has spent decades working on nuclear-related issues in the government and private sectors, could retire soon from the Department of Energy, according to industry sources. Currently a senior adviser for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, Murray has informed department brass about his plans to retire within days, according to an industry source. […]

By Ho K. Nieh, Chairman, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission  Nuclear energy is entering a new era. Across the United States and around the world, countries are looking to nuclear power to provide reliable electricity, strengthen energy security, and support economic growth. Advanced reactors and other innovative technologies are creating opportunities that would have been difficult […]

Ur-Energy completed its first shipment of uranium from its Shirley Basin uranium mine to its Lost Creek processing facility in Wyoming, the company said in an Aug. 20 press release. Casper, Wyo.-based Ur-Energy previously announced plans to begin mining uranium at its Shirley Basin site in April and received authorization from the Wyoming Department of […]

WASHINGTON – The United States’ civil nuclear cooperation agreement, or 123 agreement, with Saudi Arabia has been sent to Congress for review, Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed Wednesday to reporters at a press conference. Wright spoke with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi at IAEA’s Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea, […]

Indianapolis-based First American Nuclear Company (FANCO) has submitted what it calls a “regulatory engagement plan” with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for an advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility. FANCO said in its Aug. 17 press release it plans to make its own fuel, using high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU), for its 240-megawatt EAGL-1 lead-bismuth eutectic-cooled fast small […]

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Port of Corpus Christi in Texas agreed to partner up to explore small modular reactors (SMRs) for maritime purposes. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, Maritime Administrator Stephen Carmel and Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) from the House Appropriations’ Energy and Water subcommittee were all in attendance for the signing […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is holding an uncontested hearing on Sept. 22 at 5:30 p.m. Central Time in Port Lavaca, Texas on X-energy’s Xe-100 small modular reactor (SMR) project in Seadrift, Texas. The uncontested hearing, or mandatory hearing, will give public members an opportunity to discuss and ask questions about X-energy’s construction permit application, according […]

Fremont, Calif.-based Pacific Fusion broke ground in Albuquerque, N.M. for its $1 billion fusion research and manufacturing campus Tuesday morning. The fusion company plans to build a fusion facility at the campus that will contain its demonstration fusion system, which is hoped to achieve net facility gain by 2030, according to Pacific Fusion’s Tuesday press […]

The Department of Energy and a handful of its contractors are gearing up to receive a high burnup research cask shipment at the Idaho National Laboratory in the coming year. The high burnup research cask will be shipped out of Dominion Energy’s North Anna Power Station in Mineral, Va. DOE said last June it will […]

WASHINGTON – The next potential nuclear growth sector is moving commercial ships across the ocean, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and the head of an international organization said here Wednesday.  Kicking off the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Atomic Technologies Licensed for Applications at Sea (ATLAS) initiative, Wright, along with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, said […]

The Department of Energy’s National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) selected 13 new reactor projects this week to participate in DOE’s Nuclear Energy Launch Pad initiative. According to a Monday DOE Idaho National Laboratory (INL) press release, NRIC, which is located at INL, announced these 12 reactor companies as the following participants to complete 13 projects: […]

Almost a year after the Janus program was announced in October 2025, the United States Army selected five nuclear companies and awarded a collective of $2.2 billion to them to build over 20 microreactors across several military installations. According to the Army’s Wednesday press release, the five companies are Antares Nuclear, BWX Technologies, General Atomics, […]

The Department of Energy’s reactor pilot program succeeded in moving the U.S. nuclear industry forward, but is only the first step in building reactors faster and more economically, Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Director John Wagner told Exchange Monitor. During the Aug. 6 interview, Wagner also said streamlining of federal environmental rules by the Donald Trump […]

Holtec’s HI-TEST facility, located at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), is preparing for key components to be fabricated and installed at the facility, the company said this week. The HI-TEST facility will serve as a one-third representation of its SMR-300 small modular reactor (SMR) plant and to calculate performance margins in the […]

Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Standard Nuclear has recently signed long-term nuclear fuel agreements with El Segundo, Calif.-based microreactor developer Radiant Nuclear and Torrance, Calif.-based Antares Nuclear. Standard Nuclear announced a deal with Radiant that goes through the early 2030s on Aug. 20 and the Antares’ deal announced on Thursday is scheduled to go through 2035. Under […]

Westinghouse’s eVinci microreactor system successfully reached zero-power criticality at a testing facility at the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) this week, the company said. Westinghouse said in a Tuesday press release that the milestone was achieved at 10:39 p.m.  Pacific Time on Monday at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) facility, the […]