U.S.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has agreed to implement five Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations for improving high-impact system controls, according to documents released Tuesday.
High-impact systems are characterized as federal security systems that hold sensitive information, which if lost could cause “catastrophic harm” to individuals, the government, or the country, according to the documents. A GAO report from May, which surveyed 24 federal agencies, offered five recommendations to NRC. They were:
- “Update security plans for selected systems to ensure that all controls specific to high-impact systems are addressed.”
- “Provide and track specialized training for all individuals who have significant security responsibilities.”
- “Re-evaluate security control assessments to ensure that they comprehensively test technical controls.”
- “Update remedial action plans for selected systems, to include responsible organization, estimated funding, funding source, and scheduled completion dates.”
- “Update the standard that addresses continuous monitoring to include metrics and ongoing status monitoring.”
NRC Executive Director for Operations Victor McCree sent a letter to the GAO in April, before the report was released, saying the agency agrees with all five recommendations and has taken steps to ensure implementation. According to McCree, NRC actions include the validation of staff lists and required training, along with implementation of a new vulnerability/configuration scanning tool that enhances NRC’s ability to perform comprehensive system technical control assessments.
While its installation resulted in about $16.8 million in cost increases and a 12-month project timeline extension for the STURGIS barge decommissioning, a 440-ton crane that is key to the job is operating properly, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Monday.
The Corps, which is leading decommissioning of the onetime nuclear-reactor-equipped World War II Liberty Ship that powered military and civilian operations in the Panama Canal during the 1960s, announced that it recently used the crane to lift and remove a 35-ton decommissioned storage tank from the vessel. The storage tank was then transported to Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County, Texas, for disposal.
The barge, which contains low-level radioactive waste, arrived at the Port of Galveston, Texas, in April 2015, after being towed about 1,700 miles from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia. The Corps suspended decommissioning work in February when it discovered compatibility issues with the crane and the surrounding dock. Work resumed in May, when the Corps announced the $16.8 million cost increase for the now-$51.5 million decommissioning.
The Corps said crews will next focus on dismantling of the barge’s reactor containment vessel canopy, which will require segmentation and recycling over the next several months. The canopy contains a considerable amount of lead, according to the Corps.
The agency noted that all waste shipments from the barge have been successful and without incident. Additionally, the Corps has found no evidence of radioactive material or increased radiation exposure from the STURGIS outside the reactor containment area.
UniTech Services Group, a Massachusetts-based provider of protective clothing and tool and metal decontamination services, announced Thursday that it has purchased Babcock Services Inc.’s Oak Ridge, Tenn., service center waste processing operations and its industrial cleaning and remediation operation, IceSolve LLC.
Acquisition of the Oak Ridge facility adds the last crucial component – a final disposition location for contaminated tools, equipment, and other material — to UniTech’s processing and waste management system, according to a company press release.
“Cleaning and recycling of tools and equipment are more important than ever, as nuclear facilities seek every possible cost reduction and also work to achieve top-quartile regulatory ratings,” UniTech Vice President George Bakevich said in a statement. “By combining UniTech’s monitoring and decontamination with cost-efficient licensed radioactive waste disposal, we will address a critical need in our industry. With the unrelenting cost pressures facing nuclear facilities, UniTech is committed to assuring that this new acquisition provides significant savings and regulatory compliance advantages for our customers.”
UniTech representatives did not respond to requests for details on terms of the deal.
INTERNATIONAL
Lithuania has successfully completed cold trials at its new interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility for power units 1 and 2 at the shuttered Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, State Enterprise Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant announced Monday.
Completion of cold testing clears the way for conducting hot trials at the facility, using spent nuclear fuel, and moves the operator one step closer to transferring fuel from the site’s power units to the storage facility. Hot trials are expected to start at the end of September 2016 and wrap up in summer 2017. The storage facility would then begin operating in fall 2017.
Built to power Lithuanian grids and a system in the former Soviet Union, Ignalina operated from 1982 until 2009. The site’s decommissioning is estimated to cost $3.37 billion. Total storage capacity for the interim spent nuclear fuel storage facility is about 17,000 fuel assemblies, or 190 casks, according to enterprise materials. There are about 22,000 fuel assemblies at the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) on Wednesday issued a decommissioning license to Hydro-Québec for its Gentilly-2 nuclear reactor, which operated in Quebec from 1983 to 2012.
The license, which allows Hydro-Québec to begin the estimated CAN $1.8 billion decommissioning project, is valid from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2026. According to an announcement Wednesday, CNSC considered input from the company, five intervenors, and CNSC staff in issuing the decision. The commission will now submit annual regulatory oversight reports concerning performance of the facility and decommissioning status updates during public meetings.
The decommissioning schedule shows Gentilly-2 remaining in a dormant state through 2055, with removal of the spent fuel starting in 2050, when the company anticipates a repository being available in Canada. A five-year period of preparation and dismantling is scheduled through 2060, followed by two years of site restoration. The Gentilly-1 reactor, which operated between 1972 and 1978, is also located on site and is undergoing decommissioning.
Finnish nuclear waste management company Posiva will provide Finnish nuclear power company Fennovoima with services for preparing final disposal of spent nuclear fuel at the Hanhikivi Nuclear Power Plant, according to a 10-year agreement announced Wednesday.
Fennovoima plans to build the plant in Pyhäjoki on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Northern Finland, where it’s expected to begin producing electricity in 2024. According to Wednesday’s announcement, Posiva’s new subsidiary, Posiva Solutions Oy, will provide technical services related to final spent fuel disposal site selection. After the 10-year time frame, Fennovoima will have the option to implement Posiva’s recommendations.
“In Finland, each nuclear power company is responsible for the final disposal of its spent nuclear fuel and related costs,” Posiva Solutions Managing Director Mika Pohjonen said in the statement. “It is our aim that with Posiva Solutions and its partners our customers will be able to develop their own safe final disposal solution in a faster and more cost-efficient way, meeting the high responsibility and safety standards of nuclear industry.”
