Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

Used nuclear fuel management specialist NAC International could face civil penalties for failing to adhere to federal regulations in updating the design for one of its storage casks, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal agency cited two apparent violations on Sept. 3 in submitting the findings of a February 2020 routine inspection of […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in July continued to keep a tight rein on spending down its balance from the federal fund intended to pay for a nuclear waste disposal facility. The agency used just $335 for unspecified program planning and support, according to its latest monthly spending report to Congress. That left it with an […]

By John Stang The Ohio government’s utility residential customers’ watchdog has requested that the state Public Utilities Commission investigate whether any ratepayers’ money was channeled to an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to preserve two nuclear power plants. “The scope of that audit and investigation should include FirstEnergy’s corporate governance, its corporate relationships including its […]

The main segment of decommissioning the United Kingdom’s Magnox reactors is estimated to cost as much as £8.7 billion, up from £3.8 billion six years ago, according to a report Friday from the government’s National Audit Office. The auditor’s report covers the last two years of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s (NDA) early wind-down of the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission should consider additional safety measures for its proposed update to rules for disposal of “very-low-level” radioactive waste, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The federal regulator currently on a case-by-case basis allows land burial of this waste type in municipal and hazardous waste landfills that are not licensed for disposal […]

Stakeholders must finally accept that the long-planned, still-unrealized nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev., is dead and needs to be replaced with a new approach, according to a former senior official with the Department of Energy. “The sooner everyone agrees to pull the plug on Yucca Mountain, the sooner the United States can move […]

By Darrell Proctor POWER magazine Debate continues about nuclear power’s role in electricity production, particularly as it revolves around climate change. As a zero-emissions source of power, nuclear is seen by many as a complement to renewable energy in the transition away from coal-fired generation. Nuclear power, though, has detractors, who point to nuclear accidents […]

North Wind Site Services has won an $11.8 million contract to remove the largest building at the radioactively contaminated Luckey Site in Ohio, under the Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). In a press release Friday, the Army Corps said the Production Building must be taken out to allow for […]

By John Stang The members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are scheduled to be briefed later this month on the agency’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Eastern time on Sept. 15. It will be webcast. The agenda has not been set yet, but the meeting will include […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a webinar for next week to offer details on its plan to ship some material currently classified as high-level radioactive waste from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to a facility in West Texas licensed for low-level waste. The online session is set for 11 […]

By John Stang The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week formally rejected an advocacy organization’s latest petition to halt decommissioning of the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. (SONGS) in California. On Feb. 5, San Diego-based Public Watchdogs submitted a 2.206 petition to the NRC that provided a long list of reasons that decommissioning at SONGS […]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, New Mexico’s members of the U.S. Senate are urging the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to suspend its review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in their state. From Aug. 20 through Wednesday, the federal regulator conducted four webinars on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec […]

International Isotopes recorded nearly $230,000 in net income for the second quarter of 2020, even as it wrestled with the continued ramifications of a May 2019 cesium-137 release in Seattle. Revenue for the three-month period ended June 30 came in at nearly $2.16 million for the Idaho Falls, Idaho, nuclear medicine company. That was up […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on Friday announced the selection of an APTIM-AECOM contracting team to decommission the retired SM-1 power reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. The contract with APTIM AECOM Decommissioning LLC, headquartered in nearby Alexandria Va., is worth $67.98 million, according to an Army Corps press release. It covers what is […]

RadWaste Monitor took its annual summer recess in mid-August, but we kept track of the nuke news during the publishing holiday and have compiled it here for you. DOE Assistant Secretary Warns of California Nuclear Shutdown Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal on Aug. 18 warned of the potential risks of closing the […]

Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) on Aug. 18 provided the last regulatory approval needed for expedited decommissioning of the retired Crystal River nuclear power plant. Following a 14-month review by the PSC, the five-member panel discussed the matter for less than six minutes during a meeting. It then unanimously approved the staff recommendation in favor […]

Aaron Larson POWER magazine The Duane Arnold Energy Center – a 615-megawatt nuclear power plant located in Palo, Iowa – will reportedly not restart after high winds caused extensive damage to the station’s cooling towers. The plant owner, NextEra Energy Resources, had planned to retire the unit on Oct. 30, but after assessing damage caused […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has begun procurement for a contractor to help prepare for a major cleanup job at the Niagara Falls Storage Site in New York state under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army branch ultimately intends to hire an architectural and engineering services provider for the […]

A U.S. nuclear industry group on Aug. 17 highlighted the sector’s track record of safety in pushing back against New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s (D) recent criticism of plans for temporary storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel in her state and neighboring Texas. The Nuclear Industry Council responded to Lujan Grisham’s July 28 letter […]

The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to interim storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

Exelon Generation Co. on Thursday said it would retire two nuclear power plants in Illinois over the next 15 months, years or even decades ahead of the expiration of their federal licenses. The Byron Generating Station in Ogle County will shut down in September 2021, followed by the Dresden Generating Station in Grundy County in […]

Decommissioning contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) are readying for removal of large components from the plant’s two reactors, according to a recent update. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) laid out its decommissioning schedule during an Aug. 20 meeting of the site’s Community Engagement Panel (CEP). Right now, SCE and […]

By John Stang FirstEnergy Corp. faces at least eight class action lawsuits from stockholders and ratepayers, as well as possible legal action from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, regarding an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to keep two of the power company’s nuclear plants operating, according to an Aug. 17 filing with the U.S. Securities […]

COVID-19 took a big bite out of BWX Technologies’ commercial segment in the second quarter of 2020, but that was more than offset by strength in the company’s bread-and-butter nuclear Navy business, the Lynchburg, Va.-based nuclear operator and manufacturer said this week. Part of the drag for the Nuclear Power Group, where profit nearly vanished and […]

The Department of Energy this week formalized its plan to eventually ship up to 10,000 gallons of wastewater from the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina to a commercial facility in Texas for disposal, under the classification of low-level radioactive waste. The department said it will begin within 12 months by shipping no more […]

US Ecology grew its second-quarter revenue by 37% this year, to $213.9 million, but nonetheless reported a $5.2 million net loss in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. That represented a loss of $0.17 per diluted share, or $0.08 on an adjusted basis, the Boise, Idaho-based waste management company said Thursday in its latest earnings […]

Jacobs Engineering on Monday reported a slight bump in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $3.3 billion this year. Net revenue took a similarly modest step up for the three-month period ending June 26, from $2.6 billion to $2.7. billion on a year-over-year basis. The Department of Energy contractor […]