Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — The final version of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s updated rule for decommissioning nuclear power plants should be ready in a little under two years, the agency said this week. NRC staff plan to send the updated decommissioning rule to the commissioners for approval in October 2023, teeing up final publication in the […]

Spent fuel reprocessing operations will cease next month and work will shift totally to cleanup at the Sellafield Magnox plant in northern England, according to a recent press release from the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield Ltd. Since 1964, the plant has reprocessed about 55,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel from the […]

Continuing its support for a long-awaited spent fuel storage solution, the federal government’s independent nuclear waste experts recommended that the Department of Energy open its aperture to new approaches for including the public in its quest to site a federal interim storage facility, according to a letter sent to the agency’s nuclear power chief this […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — Although its Nuclear Regulatory Commission license has been delayed four times now, Holtec International’s proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel could be up in running in New Mexico, at least partially, by 2025, an executive said here. NRC’s May announcement that it would hold off on licensing the proposed Holtec […]

In a hearing this week, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said two would-be commissioners should stake out clearer positions on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s proposed decommissioning rule for nuclear power plants. Markey spoke at the tail end of a nomination hearing Wednesday in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission again urged a federal appeals court this week to scrap a lawsuit filed by a coalition of anti-nuclear groups aimed at blocking a proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, court documents show. Despite arguments to the contrary from the coalition, which includes environmental group Beyond Nuclear and Texas-based minerals […]

A New England conservation group last week added its voice to the growing chorus of opposition to Holtec International’s strategy for dealing with irradiated wastewater from a shuttered Massachusetts nuclear power plant. The Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) urged Holtec “to abandon all plans” to release water from Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station into the nearby […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering allowing the company that owns Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station’s Unit 1 reactor to dip into plant funds set aside for decommissioning to cover costs incurred after the plant has been fully dismantled, the agency said Monday. In a finding of no significant impact (FONSI) notice published on […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — One of the biggest challenges facing researchers looking into the advanced nuclear fuel cycle at Idaho National Laboratory is bringing down spent fuel management costs, a lab official said here this week. “It is strategically very important to us to show that, on the advanced reactors program, we are able to close […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV.  — A protracted challenge to its recent purchase of a Wisconsin nuclear power plant hasn’t altered EnergySolutions’ strategy for future transactions, a company executive said here this week. EnergySolutions COO Jeff Richardson told RadWaste Monitor Monday that the company was “happy with the way we approached” its purchase of Kewaunee Power Station from […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — There are no plans to keep Diablo Canyon Power Plant operating beyond 2024 or 2025, even as the governor of California presses the federal government to open up its multi-billion dollar nuclear plant bailout program to the plant, a Pacific Gas & Electric executive said here this week. “The bottom line is, […]

In early fall, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff will recommend whether the civilian nuclear energy regulator should overhaul federal rules about securing special nuclear material, an agency official said during a public meeting on Wednesday. Staff were due to turn in their notation vote paper to the commission by September, said Marshall Kohen, a technical assistant […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. With a long weekend behind us and a regular old weekend ahead, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Next week in Vegas: Exchange Monitor’s Decommissioning Strategy Forum Mark your calendars — Monday, June 6 is the start of the […]

A federal judge this week gave New Mexico’s attorney general another seven days to fine-tune his next argument in a lawsuit challenging a proposed consolidated interim storage facility in neighboring Texas, court filings show. June 16 is now the deadline for state attorney general Hector Balderas to make his next move in New Mexico’s ongoing […]

The Department of Energy is considering the California governor’s request to alter the agency’s multibillion-dollar nuclear power bailout to allow a plant in the Golden State to apply for a payout, a spokesperson said this week. DOE is “currently reviewing” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) May 23 letter to the agency asking it to loosen restrictions […]

A university report published this week that raised concerns about waste streams from advanced reactors distracts from the larger issues facing nuclear waste management across the globe, a nuclear power expert told RadWaste Monitor this week. “The technical content of the study obfuscates from the fact that waste is predominantly a political rather than a […]

Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff is optimistic about her opportunity to contribute to the federal government’s 30-year quest to solve the nuclear waste storage problem.  “It’s really exciting,” Huff, silhouetted against a virtual background depicting a hot nuclear reactor emblazoned with the Office of Nuclear Energy seal, told RadWaste Monitor during […]

The new head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy said Thursday she still plans to hire nuclear activist and advocate Sam Brinton.  Newly-sworn-in Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff confirmed her intentions during an interview with RadWaste Monitor.  Brinton, who identifies variously as male and female and uses the […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before you unplug for this Memorial Day weekend, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Nuke credits, waste on the agenda for Granholm’s visit to CT power plant Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm last week visited Connecticut’s only operating nuclear […]

Holtec International’s plan to dispose of a Massachusetts nuclear power plant’s irradiated wastewater meets regulatory requirements, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission told the head of a local town council in a recent letter. Holtec’s license with NRC allowing it to decommission Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station requires the company “to ensure that the releases of gaseous and […]

Keeping California’s last nuclear power plant online would be “an outrage and a betrayal,” a coalition of anti-nuclear groups told the state governor in a letter last week, as the Golden State pondered whether to press for a federal bailout for the facility. Keeping Diablo Canyon Power Plant online past its scheduled 2025 shutdown date […]

A prominent nuclear-professional organization this week rallied behind a proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission rulemaking aimed at streamlining decommissioning of nuclear power plants. The American Nuclear Society (ANS) said in a statement Tuesday that it was “pleased” with NRC’s proposed changes to decommissioning regulations.  “This rulemaking has been under development for many years, and changes to […]

The state of California this week asked the Department of Energy to alter requirements for its recently-unveiled nuclear bailout to ensure the Golden State’s last operating nuclear power plant is eligible for an award during the agency’s first funding cycle. DOE’s April guidelines for its roughly $6 billion civil nuclear credits program present “overly broad” […]

The company aiming to purchase a Michigan nuclear power plant won’t expedite the process even though the site went offline earlier than expected, a spokesperson said this week. Although Palisades Nuclear Generating Station shut down Friday, around 11 days earlier than its scheduled May 31 closure date, Holtec International has “no plans” to finalize the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week dashed Holtec International’s hopes of getting a federal license for its proposed interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel sometime in the near future, as the agency pushed its timeline for a final safety review to early next year. NRC staff determined that Holtec still has not provided enough […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was not required to interview affected workers or record a March 1 public meeting about an incident last year that exposed 22 workers to radiation at a reactor near Richland, Wash., the regulator told one such worker’s lawyer on May 13. The decision not to talk to any of the workers […]

Happy Friday, nuke-watchers. Before we head into the weekend, here are some other stories from across the civilian nuclear power space that RadWaste Monitor was tracking this week. Pilgrim community votes to oppose Holtec wastewater discharge Communities surrounding a Massachusetts nuclear power plant under decommissioning voiced their displeasure during local elections this week with Holtec […]