Waste Control Specialists

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last week it could not answer a list of questions and concerns raised by three members of Massachusetts’ delegation to Congress regarding the license transfer application for the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station. “Because the application is the subject of a current adjudication, the Commission must remain impartial during the […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next couple months should issue a draft regulatory basis for a potential rulemaking on disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste, a senior official said Monday. “That’s probably our No. 1 priority right now,” given stakeholder interest on the matter, according to John Tappert, director […]

PHOENIX, Ariz. — The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the next couple months should issue a draft regulatory basis for a potential rulemaking on disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste, a senior official said Monday. “That’s probably our No. 1 priority right now,” according to John Tappert, director of the NRC’s Division of Decommissioning, […]

While the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) hopes the Department of Energy will readjust its classification of high-level radioactive waste, it has not forgotten the federal agency still owes Congress a report on the issue. The ECA asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees on Tuesday to “attempt to require” compliance with a provision of the […]

Legislation filed on Feb. 22 in the Texas Legislature aims to give Dallas-based Waste Control Specialists a competitive edge in the national market for disposal of low-level radioactive waste (LLRW). Members of the state House and Senate introduced identical bills that would lower certain charges and reserve LLRW disposal capacity for Texas and Vermont at the […]

Legislation filed Friday in the Texas House of Representatives would reserve capacity for low-level radioactive waste from the state and Vermont in the facility managed under their shared disposal agreement. Texas and Vermont are the sole members of the Texas Low Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact. Privately operated Waste Control Specialists manages the compact disposal […]

The state of New York plans to accept public input later this year on a draft permit for the U.S. Department of Energy to keep transuranic waste up to 10 years at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) cleanup site in Schenectady County. After the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) last year decided the […]

The Department of Energy has issued Waste Control Specialists (WCS) a “request for task proposal” for long-term storage and management of elemental mercury. In a Jan. 17 notice, DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center said the Dallas-based operator of a waste disposal complex in West Texas is the only vendor capable of providing the required, […]

The U.S. Energy Department has not selected Waste Control Specialists in Texas to provide long-term storage of elemental mercury, as indicated in a Wednesday article in Weapons Complex Morning Briefing. While DOE has identified WCS as the sole capable source, no selection will be made until a record of decision is issued.

The Department of Energy has issued Waste Control Specialists (WCS) a “request for task proposal” for long-term storage and management of elemental mercury. In a Jan. 17 notice, DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center said the Dallas-based operator of a waste disposal complex in West Texas is the only vendor capable of providing the required, […]

A three-member Atomic Licensing and Safety Board at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to decide which organizations can intervene in the agency review of the license application for a spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The board has scheduled oral arguments on the intervention and hearing petitions for Wednesday and […]

Two advocacy groups in New Mexico filed a legal appeal Thursday seeking to undo a New Mexico Environment Department order that allows the Energy Department to change the way it records underground transuranic waste volume at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad. The Southwest Research and Information Center (SRIC) and Nuclear Watch New […]

The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., received 311 shipments of defense transuranic waste during 2018. May was the busiest month of the year, with 37 shipments. January, with two federal holidays and a two-week maintenance outage, was the slowest month in 2018 with only 14 shipments, according to a monthly […]

A three-member Atomic Licensing and Safety Board at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expects in March to decide which organizations can intervene in the agency review of the license application for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in New Mexico. The board has scheduled oral arguments on the intervention petitions for Jan. 23 and […]

The U.S. Energy Department is seeking comments on options for disposal of material generated from conversion of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Dec. 28 Federal Register notice it has issued a draft supplemental environmental impact statement on disposal […]

Staff at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission expect in late spring to issue a draft regulatory basis for disposal of Greater-Than-Class C low-level radioactive waste. The finalized version of the document would evaluate whether there is justification to conduct a rulemaking to update federal regulations for disposal of the material. The draft regulatory basis would […]

Fluor Idaho said Thursday it is offering a “targeted voluntary separation program” for up to 50 employees at the Idaho National Laboratory cleanup project. Workers who exercise this option by Jan. 14 would leave the company on Feb. 18. The Department of Energy contractor said personnel at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) “are […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting for Jan. 15 to discuss the post-shutdown decommissioning activities report (PSDAR) and decommissioning cost estimate for the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts. Owner Entergy plans to shut down the single-reactor facility on Cape Cod by June 1 of this year. In the PSDAR submitted to […]

Private equity firm J.F. Lehman & Co. has announced the promotions of two directors who have been involved in management of its nuclear cleanup and waste businesses. Glenn Shor is being elevated to partner and David Thomas to principal, according to a Dec. 20 press release from the New York City-based company. Shor has been […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved leaving problem waste from the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) disposal facility in Texas for up to two more years, and Texas regulators are expected to follow suit. The head of NRC’s Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Marc […]

Leaving problem waste from the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) at the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) site in Texas for two more years should not cause any significant environmental risks, according to Nuclear Regulatory Commission. With the current extension to a 2014 order set to expire in days, the NRC is publishing an […]

A panel of three administrative judges at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday rejected a motion that it be disqualified from adjudicating the license application for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel site in West Texas. The matter now goes to the full commission for a final ruling, according to the memorandum and order from […]

Staff at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have recommended rejection of a motion to dismiss a board of administrative judges that will adjudicate the license application for a spent nuclear reactor fuel site in West Texas. The central concern from the Sierra Club, Don’t Waste Michigan, and a number of other advocacy organizations and one individual […]

Fluor Idaho has presented Energy Department officials with its corrective action plan for preventing another radioactive-waste drum breach at an Idaho National Laboratory facility. Details of the cleanup contractor’s approach have not been made public. Energy Department officials in Idaho are expected to finish their adequacy review of the plan by Dec. 21. At dates […]

The federal government has paid $7.4 billion to resolve dozens of lawsuits from nuclear utilities over the Department of Energy’s failure to meet its legal obligation to dispose of spent nuclear fuel from commercial power reactors, the DOE Inspector General’s Office said in a new report. The Energy Department estimates its ultimate liability could exceed […]

Three administrative judges of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel have been selected to rule on requests for intervention in the agency’s review of a license application for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in Texas. However, a number of environmental organizations quickly petitioned that the judges be disqualified […]

Three administrative judges of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel have been selected to rule on requests for intervention in the agency’s review of a license application for a planned spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in Texas. Interim Storage Partners, a joint venture of Orano and Waste Control Specialists, wants […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management did not wait until Black Friday to start shopping for ideas on the next round of nuclear cleanup at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Idaho National Laboratory. The office on Wednesday issued separate requests for information (RFI)/sources sought notices for upcoming solicitations at the two sites […]

Reduced charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas officially took effect on Nov. 8. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in October approved the updated charges as part of a broader rulemaking covering the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility, which Waste Control Specialists operates […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Nov. 6 issued its first request for additional information for Interim Storage Partners’ license application for a temporary spent nuclear reactor fuel storage facility in West Texas. The request covers 28 distinct questions regarding physical security at the planned installation on Waste Control Specialists’ waste disposal property in Andrews […]