NRC seeks input on DRP contamination guidance

September 30, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

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 According to the NRC, the draft guidance is intended to avoid any inconsistencies in how the agency approaches DRP contamination.

UMich introductory engineering course aims to revolutionize nuclear energy through community engagement

September 27, 2024, 3:15PMNuclear NewsSara Norman
A student demonstrates VR models of fission and fusion energy systems. (Photo: University of Michigan)

A new course at the University of Michigan offered by the Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences (NERS) Department seeks to address the lack of community engagement in the design of energy technologies by pioneering a socially engaged approach.

Public hearing on Palisades restart being held October 1

September 27, 2024, 1:00PMNuclear News
Palisades nuclear power plant in Covert, Mich. (Photo: Entergy)

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is holding a virtual public hearing on Tuesday, October 1, to provide information and take comments on the proposed reissuance of a surface water permit for Palisades nuclear plant in Covert, Mich.

NSUF awards 19 Rapid Turnaround Experiments

September 27, 2024, 10:07AMNuclear News

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has awarded 19 experimental proposals access to Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) under the 2024 “third call” for Rapid Turnaround Experiment (RTE) projects. In total, the awards are valued at about $1 million and were granted to 19 principal investigators from 11 institutions, including universities and industry researchers.

NRC to hold public meetings on ADVANCE Act implementation

September 27, 2024, 8:22AMNuclear News

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.

From the pages of Nuclear News: Industry update September 2024

September 26, 2024, 6:36PMNuclear News

Here is a recap of industry happenings from the recent past:

ADVANCED REACTOR MARKETPLACE

BWXT advanced nuclear reactor agreement signed

Burns & McDonnell, a family of construction and design companies, has entered into an agreement with BWX Technologies to further advance the design and development of the BWXT BANR microreactor, which has a “passively safe design” for powering remote facilities while providing a carbon-free source of heat and electricity. The two companies completed the first phase of their collaboration in early 2024 and intend to complete the second phase by the third quarter of 2025. Burns & McDonnell is helping BWXT develop the balance-of-plant systems for the BANR, generate the power plant layout, and perform preconstruction planning. Its scope of work also includes developing power cycle architecture, identifying critical components, integrating site design, and supporting steam and power distribution infrastructure and reactor building structures. The Wyoming Energy Authority is currently evaluating the feasibility of using the BANR in a state nuclear market for baseload heat and power deployed for remote industrial users, such as mining operations.

Bipartisan nuclear waste bill introduced in U.S. House

September 26, 2024, 11:39AMRadwaste Solutions

U.S. Reps. Mike Levin (D., Calif.) and August Pfluger (R., Texas) have introduced the bipartisan Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2024, which would establish an independent agency to manage the country’s nuclear waste.

In addition to establishing a new, single-purpose administration to manage the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle, the bill would direct a consent-based siting process for nuclear waste facilities and ensure reliable funding for managing nuclear waste by providing access to the Nuclear Waste Fund. According to Pfluger and Levin, the bill’s provisions are in line with recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.

Project Pele is breaking ground in Idaho. What’s involved?

September 26, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News
Jeff Waksman (left), Project Pele program manager for DOD-SCO, and John Wagner, INL director, at the planned testing site. (Photo: DOD)

The Department of Defense announced September 24 that it has broken ground on the site at Idaho National Laboratory’s Critical Infrastructure Test Range Complex (CITRC) where Project Pele, a transportable 1–5 MWe microreactor, will be tested. The DOD’s Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO) is in charge, on a mission to prove that a mobile microreactor can help meet the DOD’s increasing demand for resilient carbon-free energy for mission-critical operations in remote and austere environments.

Sens. Cruz, Heinrich introduce bipartisan bill supporting fuel recycling

September 26, 2024, 7:01AMRadwaste Solutions

Heinrich

Cruz

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.) introduced a bill that would require the Department of Energy and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to create an independent committee of experts to study new technologies and opportunities for recycling the country’s inventory of spent nuclear fuel.

Introduced on September 24, the Advancing Research in Nuclear Fuel Recycling Act calls for a DOE-commissioned study evaluating the costs, benefits, and risks—including proliferation—of recycling U.S. spent nuclear fuel into usable fuels for commercial and advanced reactors, as well as for other nonreactor applications, including medical, space, industrial, and advanced battery applications.

NRC signs off on volcanic risk report for TerraPower’s Natrium project

September 25, 2024, 3:00PMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has notified TerraPower that the company has delivered enough information on volcanic risk activity around its proposed small modular reactor project in Kemmemer, Wyo., to satisfy the federal review process.

Latest GAIN vouchers support data center and advanced reactor development

September 25, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear News

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy announced on September 24 four new GAIN vouchers. GAIN—the Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear—selected four companies to receive vouchers to advance microreactor technologies, identify potential sites capable of hosting a nuclear-powered data center, and prevent corrosion in molten salt reactors.

Oak Ridge’s Mercury Treatment Facility receives new tanks

September 25, 2024, 9:29AMRadwaste Solutions
Workers prepare to remove from a specialized transportation trailer the first of three sludge-settling tanks for Oak Ridge’s Mercury Treatment Facility. (Photo: DOE)

Workers with the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractor UCOR have finished installing the first of three large sludge-settling tanks for the Mercury Treatment Facility at the site’s Y-12 National Security Complex. The tanks, each of which will be 38 feet tall and 15 feet wide with a capacity of 36,000 gallons, provide a visible sign of ongoing progress on the facility where much of the construction has so far been below ground.

Senators probe global competition in fusion energy deployment

September 25, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News
A still shot from the Senate ENR Hearing to Examine Fusion Energy Technology Development.

Hours before the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) opened a scheduled September 19 hearing on fusion energy technology development, CNN published an article titled “The US led on nuclear fusion for decades. Now China is in a position to win the race.” The article was entered into the hearing record, but senators had already gotten the message.

Membership opportunities on ACRS—A chance to contribute to reactor safety

September 24, 2024, 12:57PMNuclear NewsWalt Kirchner

Walt Kirchner

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) is seeking qualified candidates for two open positions. The ACRS is the world’s oldest organization devoted to reactor safety and is statutorily mandated by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended. Today, the ACRS reports directly to the NRC’s commission and provides an independent expert technical review of and advice on matters related to the safety of existing and proposed nuclear facilities and on the adequacy of proposed reactor safety standards. The ACRS also advises the commission on health physics, radiation protection, and nuclear waste disposal facility issues.

The ACRS is a part-time advisory group consisting of a maximum of 15 members who are well-recognized experts in technical areas that are key to nuclear safety and whose membership represents a diverse breadth of experience in all aspects of the nuclear enterprise: industry, universities, national laboratories, and government.

Chernobyl-area land deemed safe for new agriculture

September 24, 2024, 10:44AMANS Nuclear Cafe

Kasparov

More than 80 percent of the territory that has been surveyed around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant “can be returned to agricultural production,” said Valery Kashparov, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology (UIAR) of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine.

Kashparov’s team of researchers reported in a recent article in New Scientist the results of its radiation surveys of areas around the site of the 1986 nuclear power plant accident. The group concluded that radiation measurements on much of the land are now below levels regarded as unsafe by Ukrainian regulators.

Decades of research: Kashparov, who has been with the UIAR since 1998, has spent the past 37 years conducting research related to Chernobyl, focusing on the physical-chemical and nuclear-physical properties of radioactive fallout in the area.

NNSA and Romania celebrate radiological security partnership

September 24, 2024, 7:22AMNuclear News
From left, NNSA administrator Jill Hruby; state secretary Ana Tinca of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; CNCAN president Cantemir Ciurea-Ercau; ORS director Kristin Hirsch; and U.S. ambassador Kathleen Kavalec.(Photo: NNSA)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration and Romania’s National Commission for Nuclear Activities Control (CNCAN) recently celebrated 15 years of collaboration in advancing radiological security.

ECA: Harris or Trump, DOE-EM needs “comprehensive review”

September 23, 2024, 3:00PMRadwaste Solutions

Regardless of who is sitting in the Oval Office next year, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management needs to take a close look at itself and “launch a comprehensive review of all aspects of the EM program,” according to a new report from the Energy Communities Alliance, which represents communities adjacent to or near DOE nuclear cleanup sites.

The 18-page ECA transition paper, Ensuring Long-Term Success: Recommendations for the Next Administration on the U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Mission, calls on the next administration to “take a fundamental look” at DOE-EM’s entire cleanup effort, including both sites that are active and those where work has been completed. How DOE-EM integrates with other DOE programs, including the National Nuclear Security Administration and the offices of Nuclear Energy, Science, and Legacy Management, should also be examined, according to the paper.

Westinghouse completes front-end design for eVinci microreactor test

September 23, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News
Heat pipes transfer heat out of the eVinci microreactor’s core and allow for air cooling without using water or pressurized gas. (Photo: DOE)

Westinghouse Electric Company has completed the front-end engineering and experiment design (FEEED) for a prototype microreactor at Idaho National Laboratory, the Department of Energy recently announced. The one-fifth scale version of eVinci, Westinghouse’s 5-MWe sodium-cooled heat pipe design, is one of three reactors that could be tested at the National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC) DOME test bed “as early as 2026,” the DOE said.