Biden taps Janet McCabe to serve as deputy at EPAANS Nuclear CafeJanuary 15, 2021, 12:17PM|ANS Nuclear CafeMcCabeThe incoming Biden administration plans to appoint Janet McCabe to serve as deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, The Hill reported early Friday.McCabe previously served as the acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the EPA for much of the Obama administration.Background: While leading the EPA’s air office, McCabe helped develop the Clean Power Plan, one of President Obama’s signature efforts to reduce emissions from power plants that has since been tied up in court. McCabe currently works as director of the Environmental Resilience Institute at Indiana University and is a professor at the university's law school.Nuclear’s role: The Clean Power Plan takes aim at combating global warming by reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation by 32 percent by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. One way to provide the amount of energy needed is to keep current nuclear power plants operating and to invest in advanced and small modular reactors now, according to a plan fact sheet on opportunities for nuclear power. The fact sheet states that “zero-carbon nuclear power will continue to play a prominent role in America’s energy mix” as part of the plan’s all-of-the-above energy strategy.Tags:biden administrationclean power planepajanet mccabenuclear powerShare:LinkedInTwitterFacebook
The New Yorker profiles environmentalists in favor of nuclearAn article published by The New Yorker profiles how Heather Hoff and Kristin Zaitz went from environmentalists who were skeptical, and even distrusting, of nuclear power to advocates for the much-maligned power source.Go to Article
EPA awards $220 million in uranium mine cleanup contractsThe Environmental Protection Agency has awarded three contracts for cleanup efforts at more than 50 abandoned uranium mine sites in and around the Navajo Nation in the southwestern United States. The Navaho Area Abandoned Mine Remedial Construction and Services Contracts, worth up to $220 million over the next five years, were awarded to the Red Rock Remediation Joint Venture, Environmental Quality Management, and Arrowhead Contracting, the agency announced on February 11.According to the EPA, the cleanup work is slated to begin later this year, following the completion of assessments in coordination with the Navajo Nation EPA, the tribe’s environmental agency. The sites are in New Mexico’s Grants Mining District and 10 Navajo Nation chapters. The companies selected have experience working on hazardous waste sites across the country, including cleaning up other abandoned mine sites in the Southwest, the EPA said.Go to Article
NASA names ANS member Bhavya Lal as acting chief of staffLalNASA has appointed ANS member Bhavya Lal as the space agency's acting chief of staff. She served as a member of the Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the agency, NASA said.ANS contribution: Lal cofounded and is cochair of the policy track of the ANS annual conference on Nuclear and Emerging Technologies in Space (NETS). She has contributed as an author and guest editor for the upcoming NETS 2020 special issue of ANS technical journal Nuclear Technology.In addition, she helps organize a seminar series on space history and policy with the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.Go to Article
Renewable technologies can’t escape the issue of waste managementA recent article from Deseret News looks at the stark reality of hazardous waste piling up from the green energy revolution. The lengthy article, "The dark side of ‘green energy’ and its threat to the nation’s environment," was written by News reporter Amy Joi O’Donoghue and is based on an Environmental Protection Agency briefing from the Trump administration. The briefing, issued in January, outlines the difficulties the United States will face in recycling and safely disposing of the materials used for green energy technologies.Green energy’s looming waste problem: While the current fervor around the globe is to decarbonize as quickly as possible using wind and solar, the energy industry has yet to fully tackle the long-term waste stream for these systems. Many supporters think that renewable energy equals no waste, when in reality all energy-producing technologies produce waste that should be managed responsibly. That includes solar panels and wind turbines, which have their own environmental hazards such as toxic metals, oil, fiberglass, and other materials. Andrew Wheeler, EPA administrator at the time, said, “Without a strategy for their end-of-life management, so-called green technologies like solar panels, electric vehicle batteries, and windmills will ultimately place [an] unintended burden on our planet and economy.”Go to Article
EU Taxonomy to Include Nuclear Energy as Sustainable Energy Source ANS PositionA PDF version of the letter can be downloaded here. I write on behalf of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) to recommend the EU’s inclusion of nuclear energy as a sustainable energy source securing Europe’s prosperous future. ANS and the 10,000 nuclear technology professionals it represents are committed to advancing, fostering, and promoting the development and application of nuclear sciences and technologies to benefit humanity.Go to Article
Statement from ANS President Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar on Barakah Nuclear Energy PlantANS congratulates the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. on bringing the first Barakah reactor to full operational capacity.Go to Article
EPA issues permits for Dewey Burdock projectThe Dewey Burdock project area, near Edgemont, S.D., in 2014. Photo: Azarga UraniumThe Environmental Protection Agency has issued its final permits for Canada-based Azarga Uranium’s underground injection control (UIC) activities at the Dewey Burdock in situ recovery (ISR) uranium project in South Dakota, the company announced recently.The EPA’s action includes two permits: a UIC Class III Area Permit for the ISR of uranium and a UIC Class V Area Permit for deep injection wells that will be used to dispose of ISR-process waste fluids after they have been treated to meet radioactive waste and hazardous waste standards.The EPA is also finalizing an aquifer exemption approval in connection with the Class III permit to allow for resource recovery in the uranium-bearing portions of the Inyan Kara group of aquifers.Go to Article
Uranium mining settlement could fund new cleanup industryThe Santa Fe New Mexican, in its October 24 edition, reported on a study by the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research that found that the state could use money from a nearly $1- billion federal mining settlement to create a new industry around the cleanup of abandoned uranium mines in the Southwest. Go to Article
Report highlights socioeconomic impact of power plant closuresCommunities that host nuclear power plants face “swift and severe” economic and social impacts following a plant’s closure, according to a report by the Nuclear Decommissioning Collaborative that was released on October 12. The free, 61-page report, Socioeconomic Impacts from Nuclear Power Plant Closure and Decommissioning, examines the effects of nuclear power plant closures on surrounding host communities, along with the barriers to planning and mitigation, and offers recommendations to nuclear closure communities across the nation.According to the report, a typical nuclear power plant may operate in a relatively rural area and contribute upward of $400 million annually to the local and regional economics. That loss of revenue can have a severe impact on local public services such as schools and emergency responders. In addition to the economic benefits of operating nuclear power plants, the report points out that plant employees and their families strengthen host communities through their participation in local cultural, civic, and volunteer opportunities.Go to Article
Statement from ANS Executive Director / CEO Craig Piercy on UAMPS’ Carbon Free Power ProjectAs the voice of American nuclear engineers and scientists, ANS congratulates NuScale Power for receiving the first-ever final safety evaluation report for a small modular reactor issued by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.Go to Article