Publications: Nuclear Energy & Radwaste Monitor

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 […]

AECOM on Tuesday reported a 5% drop in overall revenue for the third quarter of its 2020 fiscal year, while income figures mostly rose. Revenue fell from nearly $3.4 billion in third-quarter 2019 to just shy of $3.2 billion for the three-month reporting period through June 30. However, net service revenue (which excludes subcontractor expenses) […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week preliminarily cited NextEra Energy with violating federal regulations in mischaracterizing a shipment of radioactive waste from its Point Beach Nuclear Plant in Wisconsin. The incident would constitute a “White” breach, representing low-to-moderate increased safety significance, according to an Aug. 3 letter to Michael Strope, site director for NextEra Energy […]

Pending legislation from Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) would require the Department of Energy to each year account for continuing and anticipated costs for management of the nation’s growing inventory of radioactive waste. The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 contains a series of measures intended to sustain the United States’ existing nuclear power fleet and […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission aims by the end of August to decide on enforcement measures for apparent license and regulatory violations by International Isotopes that contributed to the release of cesium-137 last year at a hospital facility in Seattle. An NRC official noted the schedule at the end of a teleconference Tuesday that gave the […]

The ExchangeMonitor is heading into its annual August recess, and RadWaste Monitor will not be published during the second and third full weeks of the month. We’ll still be working, so keep the news tips coming, and look for the next weekly newsletter in your inbox on Friday, Aug. 28.

The Senate overwhelmingly approved Mark Menezes as deputy secretary of energy on Tuesday, despite opposition from some nuke-wary Democrats. The 79-16 vote elevated Menezes to the No. 2 position at the nuclear weapons, waste, and energy agency. Menezes was sworn in to his new job Thursday, after nearly three years as undersecretary of energy. All but […]

By John Stang Two potential class action lawsuits were filed this week in federal court this week against FirstEnergy Corp. for its suspected role in a $60 million bribery and money laundering scheme to prop up a pair of financially troubled nuclear power plants in Ohio. On Wednesday, FirstEnergy stockholder Diane Owens sued in U.S. District […]

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

International Isotopes has agreed to a pre-decisional enforcement conference with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over apparent breaches of federal regulations and its license in connection with the May 2019 spill of cesium-137 at a hospital research building in Seattle. The teleconference is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon Central time on Tuesday, Aug. 4. The […]

A deal could be approaching to resolve Pennsylvania’s concerns about the planned sale and decommissioning of the long-retired reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. In a motion filed Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to wait at least until Aug. 11 to rule […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is preparing to release another tranche of funding for companies working to produce the medical isotope molybdenum-99 without use of weapon-grade uranium. The semiautonomous branch of the Department of Energy said it received $35 million from Congress for this work in the current 2020 federal budget year. The agency […]

Edison International and subsidiary Southern California Edison on Tuesday reported a significant drop in earnings for the second quarter of 2020, even as the parent company remained firmly in the black. Sales of fuel from the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) helped offset the non-core loss per share at Southern California Edison (SCE), […]

The Senate has lined up a vote next week to confirm Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes to the No. 2 position at the Department of Energy. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Thursday filed cloture on Menezes’ nomination as deputy secretary of energy. An initial procedural vote is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, Politico […]

The House of Representatives on Friday approved a massive appropriations package that provides nothing to resume licensing the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada, despite pleas late in the week from four Republican lawmakers. In a nearly party-line vote, the Democrat-led chamber passed a roughly $1.3 trillion, six-bill spending “minibus” for the fiscal 2021 budget […]

By John Stang A New Jersey state judge on July 17 signed a consent order authorizing Holtec International to continue decommissioning of the retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station. The order nominally resolves a brief dispute between the energy technology company and leaders in largely rural Lacey Township in south New Jersey, home to the […]

An article in the July 17 edition of RadWaste Monitor cited an incorrect number of spent-fuel storage casks covered by a new inspection plan at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California.

A Kentucky man in 2015 illegally managed transport and disposal of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material (TENORM) waste, a federal grand jury charged on July 16. Cory David Hoskins, of West Liberty, Ky., faces a total of 27 criminal counts: five for fraud and 22 for violation of hazardous materials law and regulations – […]

Low-level radioactive waste that was being carried in a railcar that caught fire in June near Chicago is now being transported by truck to Tennessee, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA). Transport of 42 intermodal containers started last week and is expected to wrap up this week, IEMA spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said by […]

Texas’ provider of low-level radioactive waste disposal, plus its state regulator and other stakeholders, have firmly opposed a potential interpretation of federal rules that could make it easier to ship so-called “very low-level waste” to landfills around the nation. That puts Waste Control Specialists in line with most comments submitted in recent months, in writing […]