Department of Energy

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 61 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste during September, marking its highest monthly total for the 2025 fiscal year and the calendar year thus far. Last month’s total is six more than the 55 shipments of TRU waste sent in August, and the […]

Twenty-five years after the Department of Energy contracted Bechtel National to build a plant to vitrify radioactive sludge into a glass form, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) began operation this week at the Hanford Site at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said Wednesday Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Facility (DFLAW) at WTP […]

The Department of Energy is holding a virtual industry day Wednesday on the potential for data center development at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The session, scheduled between 1 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time, will include details about a request for proposal (RFP) process for artificial intelligence-related data centers at the federal complex. […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll announced a new nuclear reactor program Tuesday to deploy microreactors in the military. Called the Janus program, Wright and Driscoll announced the effort at the 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) conference in Washington.  The announcement heavily referred […]

A public information meeting on work at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is scheduled for Thursday Nov. 6 at Southeast New Mexico College in Carlsbad. The meeting will start at 4 p.m. Mountain Time. The session will be available online and will be jointly conducted by DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office and […]

Karen Thompson has been selected as the Planning and Execution Division director at the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management (EM) field office at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. “Karen has served in this role in an acting capacity since March, and we’re excited to have her experience, perspective, and drive as a member of […]

The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington is expected to start operations this week with only one melter in operation, an Oregon panel heard last week. The plant, designed to vitrify radioactive liquid tank waste into a glass-like solid, will start up this week operating only […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking:  (With the federal shutdown still in effect at press time it is advisable to double-check with sponsors to see if government-related speakers/events are still scheduled. ) October 29-30: Conference: Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association 2025 business opportunities conference program starts at […]

Holtec International has canceled plans to build an interim nuclear waste storage facility in New Mexico, months after an U.S. Supreme Court ruling that made way for such projects in New Mexico and Texas. “After discussions with our longtime partner in the HI-STORE project, the Eddy-Lea Energy Alliance [ELEA], and due to the untenable path […]

With a new wave of advanced reactors on the way, the United States needs a strategy to utilize nuclear fuel recycling, former Department of Energy assistant secretary of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff said in an opinion piece. “As a former assistant secretary for nuclear energy, I recently watched my successor, Ted Garrish, confirmed by the […]

The current government shutdown should not affect startup and early operation of a new multi-billion-dollar plant to convert radioactive tank waste into glass at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site at Richland, Wash., an Oregon panel heard Tuesday. Separately, the Tri-City Herald newspaper reported Thursday that the Hanford tank waste contractor, BWXT-led Hanford Tank Waste […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration will move into “emergency shutdown procedures” Friday if the government does not reopen, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said last week on Fox News. “We have about eight more days of funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration [NNSA],” Wright said in an Oct. 2 interview with […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said last week it has taken down a major 1960s era contaminated facility at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). After three years of labor intensive work, crews directed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have dismantled Test Cell C at the Nevada site’s Area 25, according […]

Tim Walsh, a combat veteran and Colorado real estate developer, was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate Tuesday to head the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management. Walsh was confirmed 51-to-47 by the Senate Tuesday as part of a bloc of dozens of nominees from President Donald Trump who have been awaiting a […]

For the time being at least, the Department of Energy plans to hold a virtual meeting of the chairs for its Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Boards later this month. The online meeting is currently scheduled from  10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Oct. 28. That is according to a Sept. 25 Federal Register notice. […]

Thomas Summers, the acting chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), is scheduled to see his tenure on the safety watchdog for Department of Energy defense nuclear sites come to an end later this month. Summers, a retired Air Force colonel who has also served as a senior adviser in the Office of […]

Veolia said this week it has selected Nadège Petit as CEO of the North America Zone, effective Dec. 1. Petit will join the group’s executive committee in a move to support Veolia’s expansion efforts in the United States. Petit is a prominent international executive with much experience in energy, new technologies and business development, Veolia […]

The Department of Energy acknowledged Thursday morning that the first liquid radioactive and chemical sludge from underground tanks at the Hanford Site is being transferred into the new Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) in Richland, Wash. “With radioactive tank waste now being transferred to Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant, the Low Activity Waste Facility hot […]

Last week, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Emergency Relief for Federal Contractors Act to allow federal contractors working without pay to withdraw pay from their retirement savings without penalty. Cortez Masto’s district includes the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Nevada National Security Site. It is the largest NNSA site that […]

Veolia said this week it has selected Nadège Petit as CEO of the North America Zone, effective Dec. 1. Petit will join the group’s executive committee in a move to support Veolia’s expansion efforts in the United States. Petit is a prominent international executive with much experience in energy, new technologies and business development, Veolia […]

Tim Walsh, a combat veteran and Colorado real estate developer, was confirmed by the full U.S. Senate Tuesday to head the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management. Walsh was confirmed 51-to-47 by the Senate Tuesday as part of a bloc of dozens of nominees from President Donald Trump who have been awaiting a […]

Thomas Summers, the acting chair of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB), is scheduled to see his tenure on the safety watchdog for Department of Energy defense nuclear sites come to an end later this month. Summers, a retired Air Force colonel who has also served as a senior adviser in the Office of […]

Senate Republicans are gearing up to vote on another mass package of White House nominees awaiting confirmation, and the group includes Tim Walsh, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management. Walsh is one of many nominees identified in Senate Resolution 412 who could be voted upon in one […]

For the time being at least, the Department of Energy plans to hold a virtual meeting of the chairs for its Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Boards later this month. The online meeting is currently scheduled from  10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, Oct. 28. That is according to a Sept. 25 Federal Register notice. […]

President Donald Trump last week signed an order extending the lifespan of 19 federal advisory committees, including one devoted to the study of radiation and worker health, by two years. According to the order, signed Sept. 29 and published in the Monday Federal Register, the advisory committees will continue to operate until at least Sept. […]

  The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said last week it has taken down a major 1960s era contaminated facility at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). After three years of labor intensive work, crews directed by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have dismantled Test Cell C at the Nevada site’s Area 25, […]

Here are events related to nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking: October 06 (Cancelled): Hearing: An NRC Atomic Safety and Licensing Board will hear oral arguments on Long Mott’s construction permit application starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.  20: Conference: Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association 2025 conference starts at 8 a.m. at […]

Dae Chung, a longtime senior federal manager who retired from the Department of Energy earlier this year, has accepted a post as executive vice president at HukariAscendent. According to its website, HukariAscendent is a technical consulting and engineering company that works with DOE as well as the nuclear industry and power generation business. Chung announced […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is weighing a new strategy for moving transuranic waste stuck for years at Waste Control Specialists (WCS) in Texas, a federal manager said Thursday Sept. 25.  The prior plan declared several acres inside the WCS property in Andrews, Texas a temporary […]

Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) announced creation of a state task force on advancing nuclear energy Sept. 22 at a Western Governors’ Association’s workshop at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The task force will explore workforce initiatives to grow the nuclear industry, private-public partnership opportunities for commercialization and research, and evaluate the […]