NRC to issue proposed rule for advanced reactor licensing

March 8, 2024, 7:00AMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to publish a proposed rule and draft guidance surrounding licenses for advanced reactors—the first regulatory framework developed uniquely for advanced technologies and designs.

NRC staff has been instructed to establish a licensing process for commercial nuclear power plants that is risk-informed, performance-based, and technology-inclusive.

NRC seeks public comment on Diablo Canyon license renewal application

January 25, 2024, 12:01PMNuclear News
Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. (Photo: Doc Searls)

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled two meetings in February to discuss the environmental evaluation and review process for the license renewal application of the two-unit Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in Avila Beach, Calif.

Hearing opportunity opens for Hermes 2 construction permit application

November 27, 2023, 3:09PMNuclear News
Kairos Power’s Hermes 2 demonstration plant (blue-topped building on the left) is planned to be built next to the Hermes demonstration reactor. (Image: Kairos Power)

A notice of opportunity from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was published in the November 22 Federal Register to intervene in an adjudicatory hearing on Kairos Power’s application for a construction permit to build the Hermes 2 test reactor facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

NNSA establishes Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security

April 11, 2023, 7:04AMNuclear News

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has announced the establishment of the Advisory Committee for Nuclear Security (ACNS). Formerly known as the Defense Programs Advisory Committee, the newly formed ACNS is enlisting experts with knowledge of NNSA missions to provide independent advice and recommendations to the agency’s leadership.

NRC proposes GEIS revision for renewing reactor licenses

January 24, 2023, 12:01PMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced on January 24 that it has directed staff to publish a proposed rule that includes an update to the license renewal generic environmental impact statement (GEIS), which is used by the agency when considering applications to renew operating reactor licenses.

The proposed rule, to appear in the Federal Register in the near future, is a response to an NRC order that concluded the license renewal GEIS did not analyze the environmental impacts of a subsequent license renewal term (from 60 to 80 years of operation).

DOE issues Record of Decision for Versatile Test Reactor’s final EIS

July 27, 2022, 12:00PMNuclear News
An artistic rendering of the Versatile Test Reactor. (Image: DOE)

The Department of Energy today issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Versatile Test Reactor Environmental Impact Statement (final VTR EIS; DOE/EIS-0542). The VTR will be a sodium-cooled, fast-neutron-spectrum test reactor that will enhance and accelerate research, development, and demonstration of innovative nuclear energy technologies critical to tackling the climate crisis, according to the DOE.

The VTR ROD and final VTR EIS are available for viewing or download here.

NRC seeks public input on Level 3 PRA project

April 28, 2022, 12:00PMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is seeking input from the public regarding the first set of results from its multiyear Level 3 Probabilistic Risk Assessment Project to analyze risk at a reference two-reactor nuclear power plant site.

The project, which began in 2012, updates risk insights obtained from work done more than 30 years ago, according to the NRC. The project examines a reference site with two large pressurized water reactors and associated spent fuel. It builds on Level 1 (possible reactor core damage scenarios) and Level 2 (possible radioactive material release scenarios) analyses to estimate potential health effects and economic impacts.

NRC policy revised to enhance participation in public meetings

March 22, 2021, 7:01AMNuclear News

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has revised its policy regarding how it conducts staff-sponsored public meetings with outside parties.

The revised policy was effective with its publication in the March 19 Federal Register. The NRC’s public meeting schedule will reflect the new policy in the near future.

The year in review 2020: Waste Management

January 8, 2021, 2:50PMRadwaste Solutions

Here is a look back at the top stories of 2020 from our Waste Management section in Newswire and Nuclear News magazine. Remember to check back to Newswire soon for more top stories from 2020.

Waste Management section

  • First-ever cleanup of uranium enrichment plant celebrated at Oak Ridge: The completion of the decades-long effort to clean up the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant was celebrated on October 13, with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette joining U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and other state and community leaders at the East Tennessee Technology Park, where the uranium enrichment complex once stood. Read more.