The United States and the United Kingdom concluded a joint summit Thursday by putting out a memorandum of understanding on “technology prosperity,” including cooperation on issues from nuclear energy to artificial intelligence.
While the deal between the Trans-Atlantic allies seeks to deepen collaboration on all-things-nuclear, it also sets out a goal of shedding dependence on nuclear fuel from Russia.
The parties envision “ensuring a secure and reliable supply chain for advanced nuclear fuels in both countries, and achieving full independence from Russian nuclear fuel by the end of 2028,” according to the document.
The National Nuclear Security Administration just removed the last of the cesium-137 irradiators in Kansas as part of the Cesium Irradiator Replacement Project, the agency announced last week.
The last irradiator was removed from the University of Kansas Medical Center, as these cesium irradiators are used for medical treatments including blood treatment and cancer research. However, the radioactive material inside is at risk for potential adversarial uses if stolen, including a “dirty bomb” or a mix of radioactive material and conventional explosives, the release said. Due to this risk, NNSA is working to replace the irradiators with alternatives.
Currently, Kansas is now one of 11 states and U.S. territories without cesium irradiators, including Iowa and Nevada recently.
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer visited another Navy-related shipyard on Sept. 9, the Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding facility.
This follows a similar visit last month to the public-owned Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine. HII said the visit included a tour of the shipyard and roundtable discussion with community leaders at the Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School focused on workforce development and national security.
The company noted it uses federal programs managed by the Department of Labor to help find and hire skilled tradespeople to build nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers.
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) will actively monitor Los Alamos National Laboratory’s controlled capture of tritium that was scheduled to start Saturday, Sept. 13.
NMED has “strict safeguards and oversight in place to ensure public safety,” the state agency said Sept. 12. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is venting and capturing tritium from four flanged containers, NMED said.
The tritium operation, which falls under the regulatory authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is being monitored by onsite NMED staff at Los Alamos. The venting operation is expected to last only a couple of weeks, although the Department of Energy and NNSA have been granted a 180-day temporary authorization that runs through early March 2026.
The United States will “take no shortcuts on safety” when it comes to accelerated deployment of new U.S. nuclear technology, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Monday at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria.
“We want the world to know that when you engage in civil nuclear cooperation with the United States, you are getting U.S. technology that meets first-class nonproliferation standards and U.S. nuclear safety culture,” Wright said in his prepared statement.
Some Trump critics have questioned the administration’s safety commitment, given its efforts to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the firing of Commissioner Chris Hanson. However, as part of its nuclear energy agenda, the United States has been actively working to develop new peaceful nuclear cooperation deals, or 123 Agreements, Wright said. Wright added the country has also been working on intergovernmental agreements on civil nuclear cooperation.