ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy was a recent guest on the Titans of Nuclear podcast, hosted by Bret Kugelmass. The podcasts feature interviews with experts throughout the nuclear community, covering advanced technology, economics, policy, industry, and more.

The wide-ranging discussion with Piercy tackled diverse subjects—from his Washington, D.C., policymaking background, to ANS’s role in addressing challenging nuclear issues, to waste management and climate change.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced on June 17 that the state has agreed to withdraw its petitions with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission against the transfer of Pilgrim’s license to Holtec International for decommissioning. The settlement agreement, signed between Massachusetts and Holtec subsidiaries Holtec Pilgrim and Holtec Decommissioning International (HDI), also resolves two lawsuits the state filed to challenge the NRC’s approval of the license transfer application as well as several administrative challenges Holtec filed to contest conditions in the January 2020 state water permit for the plant.

In return, Holtec has agreed to provide additional decommissioning trust fund obligations along with stricter radiological cleanup limits and additional site monitoring and oversight.

ANS is celebrating the success of its first Virtual Annual Meeting, which drew a record 2,346 registered attendees.

On the heels of that success, ANS has announced that the Utility Working Conference (UWC) will also be converted to a virtual event in 2020. The one-day UWC Virtual Summit, titled, “It’s Go Time: Creating Momentum Toward Transformational Change,” will be held August 11.

The American Nuclear Society and the Nuclear Energy Institute have organized a workshop for industry partners to discuss standards needs to support advanced reactors. The workshop will be conducted virtually through the Zoom platform

The workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 23, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EDT).

For more than 50 years, the ANS Honors and Awards Program has recognized outstanding achievements and meritorious service in the various fields served by our Society.

The recipients of the national awards listed below will be honored on November 16 during the opening plenary of the ANS Winter Meeting. Honorees will be notified of their selection by October.

While there has been some good news recently regarding the historically troubled nuclear new-build project at the Vogtle site in Waynesboro, Ga. (see here and here), the latest news on the subject does not fall into that category.

Snouffer

Patrick Snouffer, a senior nuclear engineer at Bechtel National who has worked on Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant and on initial design work for the Versatile Test Reactor, will take on a new type of assignment in January 2021.

The Utilities Service Alliance’s organizational banners.

The Utilities Service Alliance (USA) was founded in 1996. Current membership stretches from coast-to-coast and includes eight utilities and nine nuclear stations: Energy Northwest, Columbia; Luminant, Comanche Peak; Indiana Michigan Power Company, Cook; Nebraska Public Power District, Cooper; DTE Energy, Fermi; Xcel Energy, Monticello and Prairie Island; STP Nuclear Operating Company, South Texas Project; and Talen Energy, Susquehanna. These plants represent 14 reactors (six boiling water reactors and eight pressurized water reactors) and more than 15,000 MWe of generation.

The USA Material Cost Reduction (MCR) project kicked off in January 2017. The Nuclear Energy Institute’s Delivering the Nuclear Promise initiative was in full swing as the utilities’ chief nuclear officers created multiple focus areas for cost reductions at the plants.

Artist’s conception of Oklo’s Aurora. (Image: Gensler)

Oklo's 1.5-MWe fast spectrum design known as Aurora is the first advanced non–light-water reactor to be accepted for a licensing review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Both the reactor’s design and the anticipated licensing process mark a major departure from large light-water reactor design and licensing.

The United Kingdom’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) issued an improvement notice to EDF Energy Nuclear Generation Ltd. earlier this month for a problem involving the pressure systems safety regulations (PSSR) at the two-unit Heysham 1 nuclear power station. The notice was served following an inspection of the Unit 1 pressure vessel at the Lancashire site.

Citing reports that China has recently threatened to pull its support for new nuclear build in the United Kingdom, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 9 offered assistance from the United States and vehement criticism of Beijing.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a webinar on June 23 to discuss Holtec International’s license application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel and greater-than-Class C waste in southeastern New Mexico.

Seven newly elected officers of the ANS Board of Directors began their terms on June 11 following the Board meeting during the 2020 ANS Virtual Annual Meeting. Continue reading to learn more about the new officers.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has published its annual report to Congress on “abnormal occurrences” for the previous fiscal year, identifying a total of nine incidents in FY 2019.

An abnormal occurrence is defined by the NRC as an unscheduled incident or event that it determines to be significant from a public health or safety standpoint. The NRC uses specific criteria, updated in October 2017, for determining which events qualify.

Framatome’s digital instrumentation and control (I&C) systems at the Doel nuclear power plant in Belgium have passed the final site acceptance test, the company announced on June 11. The news marks the completion of the project to modernize the control and emergency systems of Units 1 and 2, both of which entered commercial operation in 1975.

Fig. 1. Geographical spread of U.K. organizations engaged in the U.K. AFCP, including a number of the world leading U.K. universities. Image: NNL

Called “the first significant public investment in a generation,” the U.K. Advanced Fuel Cycle Program (AFCP) is driving innovation to underpin future nuclear deployment in the United Kingdom. Led jointly by the U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL), the program involves more than 40 U.K. organizations, including a number of world-­leading U.K. universities (Fig. 1), and is working with international organizations across more than 10 countries, leveraging U.K. investment into more than £100 million in international programs.

The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has initiated a 30-day public notice and comment period on a proposed change to the agency’s Environmental and Social Policy and Procedures that would allow it to consider support for nuclear power projects, according to a June 10 press release. Currently, DFC is specifically prohibited from offering support for such projects.

ANS Executive Director/CEO Craig Piercy has joined Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy (GCNP), making a commitment, along with over 50 other leaders in the GCNP network, to break down gender barriers in the field of nuclear policy.

Newswire is presenting coverage of sessions throughout the American Nuclear Society’s 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting. Here are links to articles from the meeting:

• General Chair’s Special Session: Advanced reactors in uncertain times (June 10)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Wednesday recap (June 10)

• Annual Meeting: YMG hosts technical sessions (June 10)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Tuesday recap (June 9)

• President’s Session: U.S global leadership in nuclear energy and national security (June 9)

• ANS congratulates award recipients during President’s Special Session (June 9)

• Kray signs MOU on future collaboration with NAYGN, NEI, and WIN (June 9)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Opening day recap (June 8)

• ANS Virtual Annual Meeting: Hydrogen is on the table (June 8)

• ANS congratulates award recipients during 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting (June 8)

• Nine new ANS Fellows named (June 8)

Thursday, June 11, recap

Dunzik-Gougar

Mary Lou Dunzik-Gougar is the 66th president of the American Nuclear Society. On June 11, during a meeting of the Board of Directors that—like the rest of the 2020 ANS Annual Meeting—was held virtually, the duties of president were officially transferred from Marilyn Kray to Dunzik-Gougar, who will serve a one-year term as president. Kray will remain on the Board of Directors for one year as immediate past president.