Nuclear Regulatory Commission

The California Coastal Commission is expected in September to decide whether to issue a permit that is necessary for major decommissioning to begin on two retired reactors at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The commission had been scheduled in June to take up Southern California Edison’s application for a coastal development permit, but […]

Nuclear services firm EnergySolutions on Tuesday announced its first foray into the burgeoning business for acquiring retired nuclear power plants for decommissioning. The Salt Lake City-based company said it had inked a term sheet with a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. for the asset transfer of reactor Unit 2 at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating […]

Wyoming legislative leaders voted earlier this month to explore whether the state should host a consolidated interim storage site for used nuclear reactor fuel — similar to projects underway in New Mexico and Texas. The 7-6 email vote on July 8 by the state Legislature’s Management Council paved the way for establishment of the seven-member […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday opened the public comment period on a new finding that most Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via near-surface facilities. Stakeholders have until Sept. 20 to submit comments on the draft regulatory basis issued last week by NRC staff, according to a filing in […]

Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Thursday that negotiators from the White House, Senate, and House are close to “sealing a deal” to avoid triggering automatic spending cuts in fiscal 2020. “We hear that tremendous progress has been made and they have agreed basically in principle,” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. However, […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. This is another step, if a small one, toward the federal government potentially sending thousands of cubic meters of the waste to a disposal facility in West […]

A barrel of radioactively contaminated material at a Westinghouse Electric facility in Columbia, S.C., briefly ignited early on July 12 after becoming pressurized and popping off its lid, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported. The drum had just been placed into storage after being loaded with mop heads, filters, and rags designated as “wet recoverable […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. This is another step, if a small one, toward the federal government potentially sending thousands of cubic meters of the waste to a disposal facility in West […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans a July 23 public meeting in Harrisburg, Pa., to discuss the shutdown plan for the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power reactor. The meeting is intended to specifically address the post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) for the Dauphin County facility, with an opportunity for public feedback. It follows […]

Sonal Patel POWER Magazine In a bid to enhance the reactor oversight process (ROP), staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has recommended the commission change qualitative descriptions for some color labels that signify risk, scale back on the time and scope of some annual inspections at the nation’s nuclear power fleet, as well as […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that the vast majority of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste could be disposed of via a near-surface facility. The waste, under existing federal regulations, must be interred in a geologic repository unless the federal commission approves a request for another means of disposal. The United States […]

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) joined with the state’s full congressional delegation on Wednesday to demand the Department of Energy further study the potential earthquake risk to the location of the planned nuclear waste disposal facility under Yucca Mountain. The letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry followed two earthquakes on July 4 and 5 in […]

A barrel of radioactively contaminated material at a Westinghouse Electric facility in Columbia, S.C., briefly ignited early Friday after becoming pressurized and popping off its lid, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported. The drum held mop heads, filters, and rags designated as “wet recoverable material,” along with laboratory waste, according to an NRC event notification […]

Southern California Edison (SCE) on Monday resumed transferring used reactor fuel at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) into dry storage. The restart follows a nearly yearlong recovery from a high-profile mishap in moving one spent-fuel canister. On Aug. 3, 2018, the container of fuel assemblies became lodged on the shield ring of its […]

AECOM on Monday named a senior executive with the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to lead the international arm of the company’s Management Services nuclear and strategic environment branch. David Batters will join AECOM on Sept. 1 as senior vice president and international sector lead for the Management Services nuclear and environment unit. The […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a July 23 meeting in Harrisburg, Pa., to discuss Exelon’s approach for decommissioning the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear power reactor. The Chicago-based power company is scheduled by Sept. 30 to retire the pressurized-water reactor near the state capital. In a post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) submitted […]

U.S. Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) said he used a meeting last week with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Kristine Svinicki to renew his call for increased federal oversight at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). “As I told the chair, it is imperative that the NRC, Southern California Edison, and Holtec International take concrete […]

Centrus Energy Corp. has started work on a next-generation uranium enrichment cascade that could give the company a leg up in the competition to build the next domestic enrichment facility for national defense, according to a document published Wednesday by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In a June 27 letter to the federal regulator, the […]

By John Stang For the second time this year, opponents of temporary, centralized storage of the nation’s spent nuclear power reactor fuel took a crack at such a project before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The opponents presented their cases to the three-person board Wednesday and Thursday that […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Wednesday it is considering canceling a nearly 12-year-old rulemaking proceeding on security requirements for the dry storage pads used to hold used fuel from nuclear power reactors. The rulemaking, formally initiated in 2007 and on hold since 2015, is intended to further strengthen protections against the intentional release of […]

Diverting some money within the decommissioning trust fund for the retired Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts would not undermine the intended function of the account, according to staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Agency staff on July 1 issued an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact (FONSI) for Entergy’s application for […]

By John Stang U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) is working on a legislative measure to require state and local consent before the federal government can proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in her state. This legislation would be an amendment to the Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2019, said Robert Halstead, executive director […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Institute said this week that Southern California Edison (SCE) has taken significant steps to address the failures that led to a mishap last year in the transfer of used fuel at its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). However, the agency said a follow-up inspection identified five additional minor violations of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said this week that Southern California Edison (SCE) has taken significant steps to address the failures that led to a mishap last year in the transfer of used fuel at its San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). However, the agency also cited the utility for five minor violations of safety […]

Developmental nuclear power reactors do not provide an easy solution to management of the radioactive waste generated by the technology, according to a onetime head of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “Plans to revitalize US nuclear power, which is in dire economic straits, depend on the potential for new, ‘advanced’ reactors to reduce and recycle […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission might not move ahead with a potential rulemaking on security requirements for independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSI). The agency’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards has scheduled a meeting for Wednesday to consider the status and “potential discontinuation” of the rulemaking, according to a meeting announcement. The 12-year-old […]

Holtec International said Monday it has completed the acquisition of the retired Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station in New Jersey for decommissioning. The announcement was no surprise, after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month approved the transfer of the Lacey Township site’s reactor and spent-fuel storage licenses from then-owner Exelon to the New Jersey energy […]

Duke Energy has asked the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to rule by the end of this year on its application to transfer licenses for its shuttered Crystal River nuclear power plant to another company for decommissioning. Duke filed the license transfer application on June 14, about two weeks after it announced it had hired Accelerated […]

The California State Lands Commission on June 28 voted unanimously to approve a resolution to support two pieces of federal legislation that would prioritize removing used reactor fuel from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). None of the three commissioners commented on the resolution. The bills are the Nuclear Waste Policy Amendments Act of […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans through fall to hold a series of public meetings in communities near nuclear power plants that have closed or are nearing the end of the service life. The purpose of the meetings is to discuss best practices for community boards that would provide advice on decommissioning of the facilities, […]