A public meeting has been set for Tuesday Dec. 9 for federal officials to discuss data from the depressurization of four flanged tritium waste containers at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will conduct the meeting set for 5:30 p.m. local time at the Sala Event Center, 2551 Central Avenue, Los Alamos, N.M. Instructions on how to check out the meeting online can be found here.
NNSA and Los Alamos recently shipped the fourth and final flanged tritium waste container offsite on Nov. 14 for permanent storage.
The Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management is expected to act on Friday Dec. 19 on an application by EnergySolutions to accept radioactive waste from Ontario, Canada for disposal at the company’s Clive, Utah disposal site.
The Northwest group did not vote on the matter at its Nov. 25 meeting, an EnergySolutions spokesperson said Thursday.
A group that includes Deep Atomic and Parker Tide said this week it has submitted a proposal to the Department of Energy for a fully integrated nuclear-powered artificial intelligence (AI) data center at its Idaho National Laboratory (INL).
Deep Atomic, the Austin-Texas-based small modular reactor (SMR) startup, proposes to initially start data center operations using a combination of INL’s existing grid power, geothermal and solar power, according to its Nov. 30 press release. Starting with non-nuclear sources will enable data center operations to begin within 24 – 36 months, Deep Atomic said.
The phased approach will enable Deep Atomic’s MK60 SMR to proceed through design certification, fabrication and commissioning, the company added. The MK60 SMR is a light water reactor with an output of 60 megawatts of electricity and 60 megawatts of integrated cooling capacity.
The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy recently published its draft voluntary agreement for its Nuclear Fuel Cycle Defense Production Act Consortium in the Federal Register.
The proposed agreement published Nov. 17 sets out a framework for coordination, strategic planning and collaboration between DOE and nuclear companies.
The consortium is meant to help fill gaps in the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle and reduce reliance on foreign nuclear supply, DOE said.
Emily Burdick, a former Congressional staffer who also held jobs at the Department of Energy during the first Donald Trump administration, has become the new chief of staff to the acting undersecretary of energy, Alex Fitzsimmons.
Burdick said this past week on her LinkedIn page that she accepted the new post in October. She worked in a similar capacity since July for DOE’s Office of Cyber Security, Energy Security and Emergency Response.
In 2024, Burdick headed government relations for the Edison Electric Institute. She has held various Congressional staff jobs, including working for former Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), according to her bio. During the first Trump administration, Burdick held various staff positions in DOE’s Office of Electricity.
An AtkinsRéalis-led Department of Energy contractor has donated $1.5-million to help renovate the Advanced Manufacturing Center at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio.
Shawnee State is designated as an “opportunity college” by the Carnegie Foundation and is Ohio’s only open-access public university, according to the school’s website. Shawnee State is located near DOE’s Portsmouth Site in Piketon, Ohio. The donation was announced in a Nov. 21 press release by Mission Conversion Services Alliance, a joint venture led by AtkinsRéalis with partners Westinghouse and Amentum.
Mission Conversion has the Operations and Site Services Support Contract for the Portsmouth and Paducah Sites in Ohio and Kentucky. The contract, which started in June, runs through September 2030 and is valued at more than $2.3 billion.