The U.S. Senate’s proposed Department of the Interior funding package provides $250,000 to develop a generic, technology-neutral standard for future high-level nuclear waste disposal facilities.

The goal is for the Environmental Protection Agency to use modern and international practices in creating new plans to store U.S. nuclear waste. This spring, the EPA had requested $635,000 to fund this work—but even the proposed $250,000 would help get the process moving.

So far, funding has been included only in the Senate’s version of the appropriations bill, but supporters hope it makes the final package when Senate and House lawmakers conference on the final fiscal year 2025 appropriations legislation this fall.

For more details, see the original story below from June 28.

Really taking off during the pandemic, ANS’s online event programming remains very strong and continues to be a great resource for the nuclear community. This year alone, ANS has produced 14 different webinars—some of which are only available to members, with most available to the general public.

Cryptocurrency ecosystems are rapidly growing and are here to stay. Cryptocurrencies are regularly among the 10 largest traded volumes in financial markets, more and more businesses are accepting crypto payments, and crypto “ATMs” are starting to appear at gas stations and grocery stores. However, cryptocurrencies face one major impediment to widespread public acceptance: energy consumption. Opponents of cryptocurrency often cite its energy and pollution footprints as major reasons against adoption. Energy issues have been tied to significant losses in valuation for the major cryptocurrencies, contributing to volatility in that sector. Although crypto valuations have been quick to recover, the energy and pollution challenges remain.

The UK SMR consortium last week revealed the latest design and power upgrade—from 440 MW to 470 MW—for its proposed small modular reactor. According to the consortium’s lead company, Rolls-Royce, the “refreshed” design features a faceted roof, an earth embankment surrounding the reactor to integrate with the landscape, and a more compact building footprint.