Statement from American Nuclear Society President Steven Arndt and Executive Director and CEO Craig Piercy:

“The American Nuclear Society applauds the Senate for restoring the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to five commissioners with the confirmations of Annie Caputo and Bradley Crowell.

SHINE Technologies, the Janesville, Wis.–based producer of medical radioisotopes, announced that it has submitted a drug master file (DMF) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for non-carrier-added (n.c.a.) lutetium-177 chloride, a radiopharmaceutical used for the treatment of cancer.

Statement from American Nuclear Society President Steven Arndt:

"As an organization dedicated to the use of nuclear technology for the societal good, the American Nuclear Society opposes the misuse of nuclear power plants as shields for military operations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on August 2 that it had issued a confirmatory order to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for violating NRC requirements during a February 2021 fuel failure at the 20-MWt NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) research reactor in Gaithersburg, Md. NIST committed to improving its training for fuel handing procedures and related management activities, safety culture program, reactor facility operations staff and management, corrective action program and operational procedures, and emergency response resources and procedures, among other things.

Last Energy, a Washington, D.C.–based small modular reactor startup, has signed a letter of intent with Poland’s Legnica Special Economic Zone (LSSE) and DB Energy for a power plant featuring 10 small modular reactors with 200 MWe of capacity to fuel the region’s industrial activities. (Established in 1997, the LSSE covers 18 subzones located in the central part of southwestern Poland’s Dolnośląskie Province and is home to more than 75 companies providing some 16,000 jobs.)

Lesko

Rep. Debbie Lesko (R., Ariz.) last week introduced legislation to require the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to assess its nuclear power plant oversight and inspection practices and to implement improvements.

According to a press release from Lesko’s office, the bill—the Advancing Nuclear Regulatory Oversight Act—directs the NRC to report to Congress any policies that it revised or suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these changes impacted the agency’s ability to conduct its oversight duties. In addition, the measure requires the NRC to submit a report identifying improvements to its oversight and inspection programs to maximize efficiency without compromising safety.

Just this last April, President Biden officially commissioned the USS Delaware, a new Virginia-­class nuclear attack submarine, the 18th built in that class and the eighth and final Block III Virginia-­class submarine. (The Delaware was administratively commissioned in April 2020, but the COVID-­19 pandemic caused delay of the ceremony for two years.)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued its final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed license renewal of Westinghouse Electric’s Columbia Fuel Fabrication Facility (CFFF) in Hopkins, S.C, on July 29, recommending renewal for a 40-year term.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has directed its staff to issue a final rule certifying NuScale Power’s small modular reactor design for use in the United States, the agency announced last Friday.

Certification of the Portland, Ore.–based SMR developer’s design will become effective 30 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register. The design will be incorporated as Appendix G to 10 CFR Part 52, Licenses, Certifications, and Approvals for Nuclear Power Plants.

Donalds

Duncan

Two Republican congressmen have penned an op-ed for The Hill in which they criticize the Biden administration for offering Americans “a false and misleading choice” between a clean environment or a strong economy, such as with administration policies prioritizing renewable energy sources. Representatives Jeff Duncan (S.C.) and Byron Donalds (Fla.) argue that a greater emphasis on nuclear innovation is needed “to ensure a reliable electricity supply and reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, while fostering our national, economic, and energy security interests.”

The Government Accountability Office is recommending that Congress clarify the Department of Energy’s legal authority to sell depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) left over from uranium enrichment operations at the department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky.

In recent years, the rate of building new nuclear power plants has slowed internationally except in some rapidly developing countries. In Western countries that have considerable experience with nuclear power, completion of new projects on time and on budget has become more difficult. Shipyard-fabricated plants may offer a new direction for meeting international needs and responding to requirements for better cost control and safety. In this article we offer an overview of the floating nuclear power plant concept, including experience with it to date and its key engineering and strategic features, along with related uncertainties and needed conditions for future projects to be successful.

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the radioactive liquid waste contractor at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, is optimizing some equipment maintenance at the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). The facility traditionally uses centrifugal contactors in the solvent extraction process, and its laboratory uses manipulators to handle process samples and equipment within its radioactive cell. The equipment requires periodic maintenance and rebuilding.

In a 243–187 vote, the House of Representatives yesterday passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a $280 billion economic competitiveness package aimed at bolstering U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, as well as scientific research and development, including nuclear energy R&D.

Nuclear energy offers a pairing of high capacity factors and low carbon emissions unrivaled by other power sources, and advanced reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) hold promise to deliver that power with even more efficiency and versatility. Researchers in the public and private sectors, backed by government funding through programs like the Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program and Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E), are bringing that promise closer to fulfillment by engineering solutions to open questions about advanced reactor materials and fuel cycles.

At every national meeting, the ANS Honors and Awards Program recognizes outstanding achievements and meritorious service in the various fields served by our Society. The deadline for submission of nominations for the upcoming Winter Meeting awards is Monday, August 1.

The recipients of this year’s national awards will be honored on November 13 during the opening plenary of the ANS Winter Meeting. Honorees will be notified of their selection by October.

All members are encouraged to review the nomination requirements for these awards and consider nominating a qualified colleague. This is the key step in ensuring that the ANS Honors and Awards program is aware of highly qualified individuals’ achievements so the Society may recognize their contributions. Many ANS awards are open to non-ANS members, and nominating people who are not members is one way to foster new ANS relationships.

The DIII-D National Fusion Facility now boasts a unique automated system that allows for a quick reversal of the direction of its magnetic field, expanding the range of possible fusion experiments while reducing downtime. General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, announced the new Toroidal Field Reversing Switch (TFRS) on July 26.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission recently approved, in a 2–1 vote, a recommendation from its staff that could potentially lead to the siting of advanced reactors in more densely populated areas than is permitted for traditional light water units.

NRC chairman Christopher Hanson and David Wright voted in favor of the recommendation, with Jeffery Baran casting the lone “nay” vote. (There are currently two open seats on the five-member commission.)

The Nuclear Hydrogen Initiative (NHI), an international coalition of more than 40 participants, has launched with the mission of advancing the development of commercial hydrogen fuel generated by nuclear power “as a critical climate solution within a shared vision of a decarbonized global energy system.” The coalition plans to raise awareness among policymakers, businesses, investors, and other stakeholders regarding the promising role of nuclear hydrogen in delivering carbon-free, secure, and affordable energy.

The area near the Hanford Site’s former K reactors is buzzing with activity as several of the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup projects continue near the Columbia River in Washington state.

That’s not the only thing that’s buzzing, however. While preparing some old equipment for removal earlier this spring, workers with Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo), a contractor of the DOE Office of Environmental Management Richland Operations Office, discovered a large colony of native bees.