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FR: NRC: Temporary storage of spent fuel after reactor closure

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:46:07 -0000

Consideration of Environmental Impacts of Temporary Storage of Spent Fuel After Cessation of Reactor Operation

SUMMARY: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is proposing to revise its generic determination on the environmental impacts of storage of spent fuel at, or away from, reactor sites after the expiration of reactor operating licenses. The proposed revision reflects findings that the Commission has reached in the ``Waste Confidence'' decision update published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The Commission now proposes to find that, if necessary, spent fuel generated in any reactor can be stored safely and without significant environmental impacts beyond the licensed life for operation (which may include the term of a revised or renewed license) of that reactor at its spent fuel storage basin or at either onsite or offsite independent spent fuel storage installations (ISFSIs) until a disposal facility can reasonably be expected to be available.

Tags: fuel-cycle n-waste nrc nuke.fr spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

The Associated Press: Dangerous spent fuel returned to US

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 08:40:40 -0000

Germany has returned over 20 pounds of highly enriched uranium fuel to the U.S. for safeguarding from terrorists or potential misuse, the government said Tuesday.

The National Nuclear Security Administration said the spent fuel shipment was transported by ship and rail under secret and secure conditions. Spokeswoman Casey Ruberg said the material was secured at the federal Savannah River site near Aiken, S.C., on Sept. 23.

Overall, nearly 115 pounds of spent fuel, originally provided by the United States for use in research reactors, has been returned to the United States from Argentina, Portugal, Romania and Germany during the past year, the agency said.

Tags: energy europe germany nuclear nuke.news nuke.news.int nw-transport security spent-fuel us

Posted by: theenergynet

Mass. AG appeals Vt. Yankee ruling: Rutland Herald Online

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 08:09:59 -0000

The Massachusetts attorney general is appealing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's rejection of concerns about possible accidents or sabotage involving the spent radioactive fuel pools at the Pilgrim and Vermont Yankee nuclear plants.

The office of Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed the appeal with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston this week.

Tags: energy fuel-cycle ma nuclear nuke.news spent-fuel vermontyankee vt

Posted by: theenergynet

EPA Issues Final Yucca Mountain Radiation Standards

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:31:39 -0000

EPA Issues Final Yucca Mountain Radiation Standards
(9/30/08) EPA has established radiation standards for the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste disposal facility at Yucca Mountain, Nevada.

EPA is required to set standards consistent with the findings and recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and satisfy a July 2004 court decision to extend the standards' duration. The Yucca Mountain standards are in line with approaches used in the international radioactive waste management community. The final standards will:

* Retain the dose limit of 15 millirem per year for the first 10,000 years after disposal;
* Establish a dose limit of 100 millirem annual exposure per year between 10,000 years and 1 million years;
* Require the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider the effects of climate change, earthquakes, volcanoes, and corrosion of the waste packages to safely contain the waste during the 1 million-year period; and
* Be consistent with the recommendations of the NAS by establishing a radiological protection standard for this facility at the time of peak dose up to 1 million years after disposal.

Tags: doe energy epa fuel-cycle n-waste nuclear nuke.news nv radiation spent-fuel standards us yucca-mountain

Posted by: theenergynet

NRC: Background, Status, and Issues Related to the Regulation of Advanced Spent Nuclear Fuel Recycle Facilities (NUREG-1909)

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:25:49 -0000

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Tags: energy nrc nuclear regulations spent-fuel

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Mid Hudson News: Indian Point removes last spent fuel canister from pool

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 08:23:01 -0000

Workers at Indian Point nuclear power plant have loaded the fifth and final canister of spent fuel from the Unit 1 Spent Fuel Pool onto the outdoor storage pad. The canister contains the last of the spent fuel from the Unit 1 pool.

Officials said removal of the fuel from the pool eliminates the source of Strontium-90 and other radioactive contaminants in the pool water and ultimately the groundwater.

Tags: energy indianpt nuclear nuke.news ny reactors spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

Morris Daily Herald: Marseilles: La Salle Station adding dry cask storage facility

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:23:48 -0000

Exelon Nuclear spokes-man Bill Stoermer says dry cask storage of spent nuclear fuel is safe, secure, and reliable.

Stoermer, government affairs manager for the utility, told the Marseilles City Council during the regular bi-monthly meeting Wednesday evening that La Salle Generating Station is constructing a dry cask storage facility at a cost of $30 million to $40 million.

Tags: dry-caste energy exelon il la-salle nuclear nuke.news reactor spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

Used fuel piles up at reactosr| The Greenville News

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 08:24:57 -0000

Old issue of radioactive waste lingers as utilities plan new nuclear plants

Hundreds of spent fuel rods will be removed from Oconee Nuclear Station's Unit 2 when the reactor is shut down for routine maintenance and refueling next month.
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The high-level radioactive waste will be stored in a contained pool, surrounded by water and a series of redundant safety precautions -- but only for a while, because Oconee's pools are full.

Tags: energy n-waste nuclear nuke.news spent-fuel us

Posted by: theenergynet

Law.com - Breach Cases Could Cost U.S. Government Billions

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:53:42 -0000

The federal government recently suffered two potentially multibillion-dollar blows in long-running breach-of-contract litigation involving oil leases and spent nuclear fuel, and it now faces a third area of possible liability for broken Medicare contracts.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a $1 billion damages award by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims for the government's breach of oil and gas leases held by 11 companies -- what court watchers say may be the largest single award by the claims court in its 150-year history.

Tags: doe energy lawsuit nuclear nuke.news spent-fuel us

Posted by: theenergynet

The Washington Times Above the Law column: Yucca Mt. and DOE lawsuits

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:24:25 -0000

The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 1--The federal government lost two lawsuits in August that illustrate the nation's struggle between needing nuclear energy but not really wanting it.

A federal appeals court in Washington ordered the Energy Department to pay two nuclear power plant operators damages that could run close to $200 million.

The Energy Department was required by contract with the plant operators to remove their nuclear waste for permanent storage or reprocessing, beginning Jan. 31, 1998.

Tags: ca doe energy lawsuit n-waste nuclear nuke.news pg&e spent-fuel us yucca-mountain

Posted by: theenergynet

News - Finance/ Labour: Koeberg to reprocess spent fuel overseas

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 03:30:24 -0000

Government plans to send the highly-radioactive spent fuel rods stored at the Koeberg nuclear power station overseas for reprocessing, Parliament's minerals and energy portfolio committee heard on Wednesday.

This was a short-term solution to disposing of it, in terms of policy approved by Cabinet "but not announced yet", minerals and energy department nuclear safety director Schalk de Waal told MPs.

Tags: africa fuel-cycle koeberg nuke.news nuke.news.int reprocessing sa spent-fuel

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FR DOE: ROD Foreign research reactor spent nuclear fuel

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 01:12:00 -0000

Revised Record of Decision for the Environmental Impact Statement on a Proposed Nuclear Weapons Nonproliferation Policy Concerning Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel

Tags: doe nuke.fr spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

ReviewJournal.com - NRC declines to throw out Yucca application

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:28:15 -0000

Government regulators this morning declined to throw out the Department of Energy's license application to build a nuclear waste complex at Yucca Mountain.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission turned back a challenge from the state of Nevada to halt the repository for 77,000 tons of high level radioactive material.

Tags: energy fuel-cycle n-waste nrc nuclear nuke.news spent-fuel yucca-mountain

Posted by: theenergynet

Nuclear waste containers likely to fail, warns 'devastating' report - Green Living, Environment - The Independent

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 18:07:54 -0000

Thousands of containers of lethal nuclear waste are likely to fail before being safely sealed away underground, a devastating official report concludes.

The unpublicised report is by the Environment Agency, which has to approve any proposals for getting rid of the waste that remains deadly for tens of thousands of years.

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Tags: energy europe fuel-cycle nuclear nuke.news nuke.news.int nw-transport safety sellafield spent-fuel uk

Posted by: theenergynet

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | Atomic body backs rail proposal

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:26:45 -0000

A campaign to route a railway line to the far north of Scotland across the Dornoch Firth has won backing from a nuclear organisation.

The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) said the Dornoch Rail Link would boost the local economy.

The link was mentioned in its submission to Scottish Government consultation on new transport projects.

Tags: energy fuel-cycle n-waste nuclear nuke.news nuke.news.int nw-transport scotland spent-fuel uk

Posted by: theenergynet

Nuke-waste repository under review - The Denver Post

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:43:07 -0000

As the presidential candidates tweak their positions on the proposed nuclear-waste repository in Nevada, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is moving ahead with its review, NRC chairman Dale Klein said Tuesday.

Agency staff are reviewing the federal Department of Energy's 8,600-page application for the Yucca Mountain Repository.

Tags: energy n-waste nrc nuclear nuke.news nv policy spent-fuel yucca-mountain

Posted by: theenergynet

Nuclear fuel storage begins - Times-Standard Online

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:19:15 -0000

After decades of debate and more than a year of construction, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. workers placed and sealed the first cask of spent nuclear fuel from the Humboldt Bay nuclear power plant into an underground container Friday.

Over the next few months, PG&E will be moving five more stainless steel casks into the high-density concrete container designed to be unbreakable by a tsunami or a 9.3-magnitude earthquake. The six 80-ton casks will be sealed with 22,000-pound lids and will contain 390 spent fuel rods total, along with other radioactive waste currently stored in a pool of water on site.

Tags: ca energy fuel-cycle humboldt n-waste nuclear nuke.news pgande spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

PG&E begins relocation of spent nuclear fuel rods | The Eureka Reporter

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 08:17:25 -0000

It’s being described as a major step forward in the safe storage of the Humboldt Bay Power Plant’s spent nuclear fuel as the federal government wrestles with where to store the nation’s growing stockpile of radioactive stuff for the long-term.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. announced Friday that the first of five massive containers of nuclear rods has been secured in the underground storage facility the power company began building at its King Salmon site in April.

Tags: ca energy fuel-cycle humboldt nuclear nuke.news pgande reactor spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet

Groups seek AGs' help in spent fuel fight - Brattleboro Reformer

Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:55:46 -0000

A handful of citizen groups and residents of Massachusetts and Vermont are urging the Bay State's attorney general to not give up on forcing the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to change the way it evaluates the risks of spent fuel storage at Pilgrim, Indian Point and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plants.

Earlier this month, the NRC denied a request by attorneys general from Massachusetts and New York that it consider changing its review methods.

Tags: energy indianpt ma nrc nuclear nuke.news ny pilgrim spent-fuel vermontyankee vt

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Nuclear Utilities Win Appeal Over Radioactive-Waste Facility - WSJ.com

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 08:30:09 -0000

In the latest development of a longstanding contract dispute, a federal appeals court reversed and remanded a trio of cases concerning damages owed to nuclear utilities as a result of the government's failure to build a nuclear-waste facility.

The appeals court said the damages awarded weren't calculated properly by the court of Federal Claims. As such it voided $42.8 million in damages awarded to PG&E Corp.'s Pacific Gas & Electric utility, $39.8 million to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and $142.8 million to three former New England nuclear-plant operators.

Tags: ca energy fuel-cycle lawsuit n-waste nuclear nuke.news pg&e spent-fuel

Posted by: theenergynet