Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has signed off on the transfer of the license for the retired Crystal River nuclear power plant in Florida, a key step toward its planned decommissioning within seven years. The reactor license now passes from property owner Duke Energy to decommissioning contractor ADP CR3 – a subsidiary of Accelerated Decommissioning Partners […]

The top members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Monday asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to delay collecting charges and fees from nuclear licensees for no less than 90 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), along with Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), asked […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission was urged Monday to extend consideration of updating its rules on disposal of very low-level radioactive waste (VLLW) in landfills until the COVID-19 crisis has passed, or to just end the proceeding altogether. Extending the comment period on the proposal for up to six months past the end of the pandemic […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is allowing nuclear power plants to request exemptions from some staffing requirements to help ensure continuity of operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. “A sudden and potentially long-term reduction in available facility staffing, such as that which may result due to the COVID-19 (public health emergency), was not considered during the rulemaking […]

The Waste Management Symposia on Tuesday said both attendees at this year’s event who showed signs of possible COVID-19 infection had tested negative. Test results for “Attendee #1” were received Tuesday, one day after the results for “Attendee #2,” according to a statement from James Gallagher, chairman of the board for the annual nuclear cleanup […]

The Department of Energy on Thursday expressed confidence in the strength of the nation’s nuclear power fleet, even as a leading industry group has asked the Trump administration to provide economic relief in the face of potential damage from the spreading COVID-19 pandemic. “Rest assured that our fleet of operating reactors and the nuclear energy […]

The Waste Management Symposia on Tuesday said both attendees at this year’s event who showed signs of possible COVID-19 infection had tested negative. Test results for “Attendee #1” were received Tuesday, one day after the results for “Attendee #2,” according to a statement from James Gallagher, chairman of the board for the annual nuclear cleanup […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a March 30 “virtual meeting” to discuss the results of its latest performance assessment for URENCO USA’s uranium enrichment plant in Eunice, N.M. The assessment period covered the entirety of 2018 and 2019. Agency staff determined URENCO did not need to make improvements in five operational spheres: safety operations, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Thursday it is considering a request from New Mexico’s congressional delegation for more time to submit comments on a key document in licensing a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state. The NRC, like agencies at all levels of government, is wrestling with managing its regular operations while […]

Southern California Edison said Wednesday it is preparing to temporarily ramp down some decommissioning operations at the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in response to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. The utility expects in the next few days to determine which deconstruction activities will be temporarily frozen and what work can continue at the […]

The Senate voted 96-0 Wednesday night to approve a $2 trillion relief package to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The House of Representatives will vote Friday on the measure, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) President Donald Trump is expected to sign the measure soon afterward. This would mark Congress’ third legislative […]

Negotiators agreed to language on a $2 trillion economic stimulus bill to help the nation combat the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, CNN and other national news outlets reported. The specific language of the bill had not been released at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. At press time it […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a March 30 “virtual meeting” to discuss the results of its latest performance assessment for URENCO USA’s commercial uranium enrichment plant in Eunice, N.M. The assessment period covered the entirety of 2018 and 2019. Agency staff determined URENCO did not need to make improvements in five operational areas: safety […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Monday it expects shortly to decide on a request from New Mexico’s congressional delegation for more time to submit comments on a key document for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the state. “An announcement should come soon,” agency spokesman David McIntyre said by email. In a draft […]

The organizer of a major nuclear cleanup and waste industry conference held earlier this month said Monday one participant has tested negative for COVID-19 after a potential exposure. Results from testing of one other participant are pending, possibly by today, according to Waste Management Symposia. “We hope to receive the results of the first attendee […]

Decommissioning and spent-fuel offloading will continue at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), but with added safety measures to prevent any transmission of COVID-19, according to majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE). “We’re monitoring the situation very closely, on a day-to-day basis, with plans in place to ensure the appropriate levels of safety and […]

The U.S. Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC) on Thursday said interim President and CEO Bud Albright would remain in the position on an ongoing basis. Albright has been chairman of the business group’s Executive Board since 2018, and stepped into the leadership role in January following the unexpected death of President and CEO David Blee. Albright […]

By John Stang Coming off a strong 2019, Perma-Fix Environmental Services anticipates taking a significant revenue hit in the second quarter of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Atlanta-based radioactive waste management specialist expects the novel coronavirus 2019 to affect its customers, slowing their on-site work and shipments to Perma-Fix’s waste processing plants In […]

By John Stang Telecommuting and social distancing are in play across the nation’s radioactive waste industry as the novel coronavirus 2019 sweeps the United States. The limited number of companies that responded to inquiries this week reported no COVID-19 cases among their workforce and no cutbacks in operations, though they did not rule out slowdowns […]

A California regulator has authorized Southern California Edison to withdraw $405.5 million this year from the trusts that will pay for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The March 6 decision from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) rejects a challenge from a state watchdog organization, even though Southern California Edison acknowledged […]

PHOENIX – Two Nevada officials with distinctly different opinions on the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository last week offered distinctly different views on what the Trump administration’s latest budget might mean for the future of the always-embattled project. In February, the White House issued a fiscal 2021 spending plan that included nothing to resume licensing […]

Energy Harbor Corp. on March 13 said it had reversed its decision to retire the two reactors at its Beaver Valley Power Station in Pennsylvania. The announcement came just weeks after the former FirstEnergy Solutions emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new name and no longer owned by FirstEnergy Corp. Management at the Akron, […]

A nuclear industry organization this week gave the Nuclear Regulatory Commission higher marks for transparency in making the case for its fees for the current 2020 federal fiscal year. In the proposed fee schedule issued in February, the NRC said it would require $728.5 million in fees for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. That […]

Organizers of a nuclear waste and cleanup industry event held last week in Phoenix said Monday that one participant has subsequently been tested for coronavirus infection and another is self-isolating for 14 days after developing flu-like symptoms. There was no word at deadline for Weapons Complex Morning Briefing on whether one or both of the […]

An office building used by one of the main contractors for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has been disinfected after an employee was tested for the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to a weekend posting on a Hanford website. The office building at 3170 George Washington Way “has been disinfected […]

Energy Harbor Corp. on Friday said it had reversed its decision to retire the two reactors at its Beaver Valley Power Station in Pennsylvania. The announcement came just weeks after the former FirstEnergy Solutions emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new name and no longer owned by FirstEnergy Corp. Management notified regional power transmission […]

A “small number” of Nuclear Regulatory Commission employees are in self-imposed isolation after attending an event in which other participants subsquently tested positive for infection by the 2019 novel coronavirus, the agency said Friday. “To our knowledge, all of those employees are asymptomatic; however, out of an abundance of caution these employees have elected to […]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) latest legislative push to establish a pilot program for interim storage of radioactive waste got stuck in Senate gridlock this week when the big, bipartisan energy bill stalled out amid a fight about climate change. Feinstein’s proposal was one of many amendments being balled up into a legislative package known as […]

PHOENIX – The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering merging two long-running efforts to update federal regulations on disposal of radioactive waste, a senior official said here Monday. Agency staff is currently determining the paths forward for both a potential rulemaking on Greater-Than-Class C Waste and the continuing Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Rulemaking, according to Patricia […]

By John Stang Incumbent David Wright and newcomer Christopher Hanson sailed through a Senate committee hearing Wednesday on their way toward confirmation as members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In a nomination hearing, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee quizzed Hanson, Wright, and Douglas Benevento, the Trump administration’s candidate for deputy administrator at the Environmental […]