RW Monitor
1/9/2015
IN CONGRESS
Sen. Barbra Boxer (D-Calif.) announced this week that she will not seek re-election in 2016. In a video posted by Boxer to her PAC for a Change website, she gave little explanation for her decision, save for a desire to “come home to this state that I love so much, California.” Boxer was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and served as chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee from 2007 to 2014. She currently serves as ranking member of the panel. During her time as Chair, Boxer had a contentious relationship with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission over its efforts to implement lessons-learned from the Fukushima Daii-chi accident in Japan, as well as the Commission’s policy over sensitive documents related to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in her home state. Boxer also pushed against exemptions at San Onofre that would decrease the emergency preparedness and security requirements for the decommissioning plant.
IN THE WHITE HOUSE
The Obama Administration will release its Fiscal Year 2016 budget request on time on Feb. 2, the Associated Press reported this week. The first Monday in February is the deadline for the annual budget release, a date the Obama Administration has missed frequently in the past.
IN THE INDUSTRY
EnergySolutions’ Erwin, Tenn. processing facility resumed full operations this week, company spokesman Mark Walker said. Following a worker death in October, EnergySolutions suspended operations so it could conduct an internal investigation into the cause of the death. The company concluded, along with Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration, that it could safely restart the facility and resume limited operations in December under EnergySolutions management, led by Licensing, Processing, and Disposal President John Christian. “The facility is in full operation,” Walker said. “The investigations are complete and the results of the investigation will be made public in February.”
Perma-Fix Environmental Services announced this week that it officially received a U.S. patent for its resin production technology used in the separation of technetium-99 from molybdenum-99. Perma-Fix announced in August that the U.S. Patent Office had granted the company a notice of allowance for all claims in the patent application. “We have crossed an important threshold with the issuance of this patent that not only protects our intellectual property, but enables us to move forward unencumbered with our mission of solving the global supply chain issues related to Tc-99m,” Perma-Fix CEO Lou Centofanti said in a statement this week. “Our process enables production of this essential medical isotope for diagnostic imaging procedures in a way that is cost-effective and does not require the use of uranium.” According to a company release, the patent includes the processes used to manufacture the resins, including: Selective separation of Tc-99m pertechnetate from Mo-99; enhanced sorption of Mo with a holding capacity in excess of 60 percent of the dry weight of the sorbent; sorbent and generator resistant to degradation by gamma and beta radiation and acid environments; sorption of selective isotopes from radioactive waste streams; and removal of heavy metals, such as mercury and arsenic, from waste water streams.
SHINE Medical Technologies announced this week a long-term development and supply agreement with Phoenix Nuclear Labs to provide further funding for PNL to refine its neutron generator technology for the production of molybdenum-99. SHINE is one of several companies trying to get through the regulatory hurdles to begin the production of the medical isotope used in millions of medical procedures annually. The agreement calls for an exclusive supply of PNL’s neutron generators required for the the company’s planned isotope production facility in Janesville, Wis. “We’ve developed a strong partnership with PNL over the last several years, and they have demonstrated time and time again their ability to deliver key milestones on this important technology,” SHINE CEO Greg Piefer said in a statement. “They have a world class team that is way out in front of all other technologies for neutron generation at this scale. I have every confidence that they will be an excellent supplier, helping to support SHINE for many years into the future.”
Perma-Fix Environmental Services announced this week the addition of two new industry officials to the company’s team. Jeff Bowers, who previously operated his own small business consulting on decommissioning sites in Canada, will serve as Vice President of Nuclear Services Performance Assurance & Business Development; and Tony Mason, formerly a principal health physicist with Cabrera Services, will fill the positon of Corporate Radiation Safety Officer and Certified Health Physicist. “We are pleased to welcome Jeff and Tony to the Perma-Fix team,” Perma-Fix CEO Lou Centofanti said in a statement. “The depth and breadth of their industry experience will play an important role in securing new business and servicing our growing client base on both the government and commercial sides of our business. The turnaround at Perma-Fix in the third quarter of 2014 and our visibility going forward have necessitated our hiring of highly qualified individuals with unique technical capabilities in the area of radiation safety.”
