The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking comment on a proposed rule for a generic environmental impact statement for licensing new reactors. According to the NRC, the statement uses a technology-neutral framework and plant/site parameters to identify environmental issues common to new reactors as well as those issues needing project-specific analysis.
A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has not taken the steps needed to address the potential economic and societal radiological risks that could arise from a “dirty bomb.”
Decommissioning begins on the closed Wisconsin power plant
In October 2012, Dominion Energy announced it was closing the Kewaunee nuclear power plant, a two-loop 574-MWe pressurized water reactor located about 27 miles southeast of Green Bay, Wis., on the western shore of Lake Michigan. At the time, Dominion said the plant was running well, but that low wholesale electricity prices in the region made it uneconomical to continue operation of the single-unit merchant power plant.
BWX Technologies subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services Inc. suspended operations last Friday at a Tennessee facility to assess conditions following Hurricane Helene. A company spokesperson said the site remained "in safe and secure condition."
Nuclear stakeholders celebrate “powerful clean energy comeback story”
With a $1.52 billion loan from the Department of Energy and $1.3 billion in grants to rural electric cooperatives near the plant, the ambitious plans to restart Michigan’s Palisades nuclear plant next fall are moving ahead.
Atomic Canyon is developing a generative AI search for the nuclear energy sector and is working with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to get it done. On September 26, Atomic Canyon announced its initial results about six months after the collaboration was first announced in March.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is soliciting public comment on the agency’s guidance for addressing discrete radioactive particle (DRP) contamination resulting from the decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities. According to the NRC, the draft guidance is intended to avoid any inconsistencies in how the agency approaches DRP contamination.
As part of its implementation of the ADVANCE Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on September 26 that it will periodically hold public meetings on the legislation, which was signed into law on July 9.
Information about these meetings can be found on the NRC website at least 10 days before each meeting.
Microreactor developer Aalo Atomics and municipal electric utility Idaho Falls Power have developed a memorandum of understanding that could lead to the siting of seven sodium-cooled microreactors and a power purchase agreement for Idaho Falls.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a construction permit yesterday to Abilene Christian University, giving ACU and its partners the go-ahead to build the Molten Salt Research Reactor (MSRR) facility on its Abilene, Texas, campus. The 1-MWt research reactor is the first molten salt–fueled reactor to get a construction permit from the NRC. After Kairos Power’s Hermes, it is the second non–light water reactor construction permit issued by the NRC.
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission began a special inspection last week at South Texas Project nuclear power plant into two incidents at the site, which led to separate, unplanned shutdowns of both Units 1 and 2.
The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the Chevron doctrine marks a significant shift in the landscape of federal decision-making. For more than 40 years, this doctrine has provided a framework wherein courts deferred to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous laws in recognition of the specialized expertise these agencies bring to policy and regulatory development.
Ian Wall early in his career . . .
I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Imperial College, London, in 1958. Nuclear power was viewed favorably at the time, so I took a 1-year course on the subject. I was then offered fellowships at Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and thought the latter would be more interesting, so I moved to Cambridge, Mass., to study nuclear engineering. After completing my doctorate in 1964, I joined the American Nuclear Society and took a job with General Electric, then in San Jose, Calif.
In 1967, GE assigned me to explore the use of probability in reactor safety. At that time, the prevailing opinion was that the probability of a severe accident was infinitesimally small and the consequences would be catastrophic.
Craig Piercy
cpiercy@ans.org
I recently attended the 2024 Utility Working Conference where, despite the widespread travel disruptions created by Tropical Storm Debby, nearly 600 folks from the U.S. nuclear utility and supplier community had descended on southwest Florida to network, do business, and have a little fun.
The UWC has always been a bit different from other nuclear industry meetings: a little less “happy talk” about the future, a little more “real talk” about the practical challenges facing the industry.
To be sure, the mood on the expo floor was buoyant. Business is good for anyone serving the existing fleet these days. The Inflation Reduction Act’s investment incentives have finally gained traction, which has resulted in utilities taking a more long-term approach to their plant maintenance and uprate projects, which in turn has created bigger opportunities for suppliers.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is amending its regulations governing the licensing of nonpower production or utilization facilities (NPUF) to make license renewal criteria more consistent with the limited risk such facilities pose to public safety.
Kairos Power accomplished another step forward for its Hermes 2 reactor plans as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week published its final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact.
The Department of Energy awarded $17 million on August 30 for 16 experiment and analysis projects expected to yield criticality data that will assist the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in licensing and regulating high-assay low-enriched uranium and the fuel infrastructure—including packaging and transportation containers—required to demonstrate and deploy HALEU-fueled advanced nuclear reactors. Project teams include six national laboratories taking lead roles in partnership with other labs, universities, and multiple industry partners.
In response to a petition filed by environmental groups earlier this year, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will reinvestigate earthquake fault lines and the potential for seismic activity and ensuing damage at California’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant.
N. Prasad Kadambi
We welcome ANS members who have careered in the community to submit their own Nuclear Legacy stories, so that the personal history of nuclear science and technology can be captured. For information on submitting your stories, contact nucnews@ans.org.
I graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, and took up nuclear engineering when I was awarded a scholarship by an organization called His Exalted Highness The Nizam of Hyderabad’s Charitable Trust. That scholarship enabled me to do graduate work at Pennsylvania State University, and I enrolled there in 1966. One of the terms of the scholarship was that I return to India after graduation. Hence, I returned to India in 1972 after receiving my Ph.D. and began working at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai.
The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board of directors approved $150 million in additional funding to continue design work and TVA’s plans for small modular reactors at its Clinch River site near Oak Ridge, Tenn. With that decision late last week and an initial $200 million investment announced in early 2022, TVA has put a total of $350 million toward the development of SMRs at the site.