Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Energy Department expects by mid-August to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for treatment of low-level and mixed-level radioactive wastes, according to procurement documents published June 18. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said an RFP should be issued within 15 to 60 days of publication of the notice. The agency plans to issue […]

Congressman Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said Wednesday he is considering several legislative measures aimed at fixing the federal government’s decades-long failure to find a permanent disposal space for tens of thousands of tons of nuclear waste. One of those steps could involve taking the mission away from the Department of Energy in favor of a Nuclear […]

By John Stang A draft federal environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed used nuclear fuel storage site in southeastern New Mexico focuses on a 40-year licensing period, and does not sufficiently consider that the radioactive material might remain there long past that point, opponents of the project argued Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on June 19 locked in its fee collection levels for the current federal fiscal year. The agency collects 90% of its annual budget through annual and service fees, with the rest appropriated by Congress. Lawmakers set the NRC’s budget at $855.6 million for fiscal 2021, which ends on Sept. 30, according […]

By John Stang A coalition of environmental organizations on Wednesday petitioned a federal appeals court to overturn a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision against several challenges to a proposed consolidated interim used nuclear fuel installation in southeastern New Mexico. This is the second lawsuit from organizations that say the agency has unlawfully prevented them from intervening in […]

A coalition of environmental organizations on Wednesday petitioned a federal appeals court to overturn a Nuclear Regulatory Commission decision against challenges to a proposed consolidated interim used nuclear fuel installation in New Mexico. On April 23, the commission rejected nearly all appeals from several organizations to a 2019 decision by an NRC Atomic Safety and […]

A draft federal environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed used nuclear fuel storage site in New Mexico only looks at the next 40 years, and does not sufficiently consider that the radioactive material might remain there long past that point, opponents of the project argued Tuesday. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held a public meeting […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has formally accepted for review an Energy Department proposal to dispose of vitrified low-activity waste inside the fence at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The Energy Department on April 23 filed its draft Waste Incidental to Reprocessing (WIR) evaluation with the NRC, which in this case is serving as […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Friday locked in its fee collection levels for the current federal fiscal year. The agency collects 90% of its annual budget through annual and service fees, with the rest appropriated by Congress. Lawmakers set the NRC’s budget at $855.6 million for fiscal 2021, which ends on Sept. 30, according to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again pushed back the deadline for the public to comment on its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for Holtec International’s planned spent fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The 60-day extension now allows comments though Sept. 22. The previous deadline was July 22, which was already a 60-day extension from […]

By John Stang Holtec International and Massachusetts signed an agreement Tuesday under which the commonwealth will drop its objections to the already-completed federal license transfer and sale of the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The deal calls for the New Jersey energy technology company to provide additional financial assurances for complete decommissioning of the single-reactor […]

AECOM said Monday that Chief Financial Officer W. Troy Rudd would be elevated to CEO effective Oct. 1. Rudd will succeed Michael Burke, who is retiring after six years as chief executive. Lara Poloni will also move up to president from chief executive of AECOM’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business, according to a […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is continuing to weigh licensees’ requests for temporary exemptions from regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic while its staff begins to return to their offices after months of telework. Ninety-eight percent of the regulator’s nearly 3,000 full-time employees began teleworking in the middle of March, a measure intended to help curb the spread […]

Waste Control Specialists continues to study whether it should accept Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste for disposal from the Department of Energy, according to President and Chief Operating Officer David Carlson. The Energy Department in 2018 identified the WCS disposal complex in Andrews County, Texas, as its likely end location for the national stockpile […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commissioning said Wednesday it will conduct a technical review of an Energy Department proposal to dispose of certain vitrified low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Speaking at an online public meeting, NRC Senior Risk Analyst David Esh said the agency is acting in a consulting role as the […]

A railcar carrying low-level radioactive waste caught fire last week near Chicago, but contaminants do not appear to have escaped, according to an incident notice posted Friday by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The waste encompassed un-irradiated zirconium fuel cladding and additional waste material being shipped from Veolia subsidiary Alaron Nuclear Services in Pennsylvania to the […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will prepare a full environmental impact statement (EIS) on Westinghouse’s application to renew the license for its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The EIS would replace a draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) issued last October by the federal regulator. The agency changed course after […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will next week begin returning to their offices after months of near-total telework due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-eight percent of the federal agency’s nearly 3,000 full-time employees have been working remotely since mid-March to curb the potential spread of the viral disease. That left a small number of […]

Holtec International President and CEO Kris Singh on Wednesday said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should not give the public extra time to comment on a key document in licensing his company’s planned facility in southeastern New Mexico for storage of spent fuel from nuclear power plants. In a draft environmental impact statement issued in March, […]

SHINE Medical Technologies expects in the next five years to locate facilities in Europe and Asia, one staffer said Wednesday. The company is currently more than a year from receiving anticipated federal regulatory approval to open its first production plant, in Janesville, Wis., for the medical isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). “At full capacity, SHINE intends to […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commissioning said Wednesday it will conduct a technical review of an Energy Department proposal to dispose of certain vitrified low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Speaking at an online public meeting, NRC Senior Risk Analyst David Esh said the agency is acting in a consulting role as the Energy […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will next week begin returning to their offices after months of near-total telework due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ninety-eight percent of the federal agency’s nearly 3,000 full-time employees have been working remotely since March to curb the potential spread of the viral disease. As of late May, only three […]

One new and one returning member were sworn in Monday to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Serving Commissioner David Wright now gets a full five-year term, through June 30, 2025. Commissioner Christopher Hanson fills a vacancy left by the April 2019 retirement of Stephen Burns, with his term lasting through June 30, 2024. NRC Chairman Kristine […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday it will prepare a full environmental impact statement (EIS) on Westinghouse’s application to renew the license for its Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The EIS would replace a draft environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact issued last October by the federal regulator. The agency changed […]

By John Stang The activist organization Beyond Nuclear filed an appeal Thursday in federal court in hopes of overturning two orders from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that have kept a proposed spent fuel storage facility on track in New Mexico. Beyond Nuclear’s filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit […]

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is accepting nominations for experts to a new panel that will write reports on the nuclear fuel cycle and waste issues linked to advanced nuclear reactors. Nominations are due by June 11, according to the National Academies. The experts will “evaluate and assess (1) the merits and viability […]

Some of the United States’ radioactive spent fuel could be recycled for use in advanced nuclear power reactors, but the nation still needs a long-term repository for the waste, according to the head of the industry policy organization. Used nuclear fuel retains 95% of its original energy, Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Maria Korsnick […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing an Oregon utility during the COVID-19 pandemic to delay mandatory physical requalifications for security personnel at the spent fuel storage pad for a decommissioned nuclear power plant. Portland General Electric Co. received notice from the regulator on May 28. The document was posted to the NRC website on Tuesday. […]

The commonwealth of Massachusetts is in the late stages of negotiations to lift its objections over the license transfer and sale of the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was scheduled Thursday afternoon to rule on petitions for intervention and hearings in the license transfer application, filed in February 2019 by the […]

Organizations with drastically different views on the value and future of nuclear power are debating whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission should revive a moribund update to regulations for recycling of spent reactor fuel. Staff at the NRC expect early next year to recommend a potential path forward for a limited spent fuel reprocessing rulemaking, which […]