Group items tagged

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission today announced the opportunity to request a hearing on an application to renew the operating license for the Cooper Nuclear Station for an additional 20 years. Cooper is a boiling water reactor located 23 miles south of Nebraska City, Neb. The plant owner, Nebraska Public Power District, submitted the renewal application Sept. 30. The current operating license for Cooper expires Jan. 18, 2014. The NRC staff has determined that the application contains sufficient information for the agency to formally "docket," or file, the application and begin its safety and environmental reviews. Docketing the application does not preclude requesting additional information as the reviews proceed, nor does it indicate whether the Commission will renew the license. A notice of opportunity to request a hearing has been published in the Federal Register, and the deadline for requesting a hearing is March 2, 2009. Petitions may be filed by anyone whose interest may be affected by the license renewal and who wishes to participate as a party in the proceeding. A request for a hearing and a petition for leave to intervene must be filed through the NRC's E-Filing system. Anyone wishing to file should contact the Office of the Secretary by e-mail at HEARINGDOCKET@nrc.gov at least five days before the filing deadline to request a digital ID certificate and allow for the creation of an electronic docket. More information on the hearing process is available on the NRC Web site at: http://www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/adjudicatory/hearing.html.

Record of Decision and Floodplain Statement of Findings--Nevada Rail Alignment for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, NV AGENCY: Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, U.S. Department of Energy. ACTION: Record of Decision. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: In July 2008, the Department of Energy (Department or DOE) issued the ``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High- Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada--Nevada Rail Transportation Corridor'' (DOE/EIS-0250F-S2) (hereafter referred to as the final Nevada Rail Corridor SEIS), the ``Final Environmental Impact Statement for a Rail Alignment for the Construction and Operation of a Railroad in Nevada to a Geologic Repository at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada'' (DOE/EIS-0369) (hereafter referred to as the final Rail Alignment EIS), and the ``Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for a Geologic Repository for the Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste at Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nevada'' (DOE/EIS-0250F-S1) (hereafter referred to as the final Repository SEIS). The final Nevada Rail Corridor SEIS analyzed the potential impacts of constructing and operating a railroad for shipments of spent nuclear fuel, high-level radioactive waste, and other materials in the Mina corridor, and DOE concluded that the Mina corridor warranted further analysis at the alignment level. This further, more detailed analysis is presented in the final Rail Alignment EIS, which analyzed the potential environmental impacts of constructing and operating a railroad along rail alignments in both the Caliente and Mina rail corridors. The final Rail Alignment EIS also analyzed the potential environmental impacts from shipments of general freight (also referred to as common carriage

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has issued its final safety evaluation report (SER) for the proposed renewal of the operating licenses for the Vogtle Electrical Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2. The report concludes that there are no safety concerns that would preclude license renewal because the applicant has effectively demonstrated the capability to manage the effects of plant aging during extended operations and it would not pose an undue risk to the health and safety of workers or the public. Vogtle Units 1 and 2 are pressurized-water reactors located about 26 miles southeast of Augusta, Ga. Vogtle's operator, Southern Nuclear Operating Co., submitted the license renewal application June 29, 2007. The current operating licenses expire Jan. 16, 2027, for Unit 1 and Feb. 9, 2029, for Unit 2. Under NRC regulations, the original operating license for a nuclear power plant has a term of 40 years. The license may be renewed for up to an additional 20 years if NRC requirements are met. Therefore, the operating license would be extended until Jan. 16, 2047, for Unit 1 and Feb. 9, 2049 for Unit 2.

Duke Energy Carolinas is likely to delay construction of its proposed Lee Nuclear Station for up to three years. Duke's latest long-term plan, filed this week with N.C. regulators, says the startup date for generating power at the Gaffney, S.C., plant could be put off to 2021. The delay is particularly likely if Duke can't find a construction partner for the $11 billion plant. The utility is moving its target date as concerns mount regarding the project's cost. Also, demand for power appears to be growing more slowly than in recent years. Duke's updated plans also call for delays in building the utility's proposed Buck Steam Station and Dan River combined-cycle gas plants. Janice Hager, head of Duke's resource planning, says it appears that demand for electricity - not adjusted for the weather - has been flat the last four years. Duke's new projections call for demand growth to return to an average 1.5% per year in the long term. But the company isn't projecting a spurt in demand once the recession ends.

A multinational consortium of energy companies is paying £70m for land adjacent to Sellafield suitable for building a new atomic power station. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez have acquired the 470-acre site, which is the fourth piece of land to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The consortium plans to build an installation with a capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts, starting in 2015. The SSE/Iberdrola/GDF group is the third new entrant to the UK nuclear industry after France's EDF bought British Energy for £12.5bn in January, and a consortium of Germany's RWE Npower and E.ON was successful in earlier NDA land auctions in April. SSE/Iberdrola/GDF was also a bidder in previous auctions for land at Wylfa, Oldbury and Bradwell. But the group pulled out after competition became so fierce it ran for six weeks rather than the expected one, and netted the Government a whopping £387m rather than the expected £100m.

A multinational consortium of energy companies is paying £70m for land adjacent to Sellafield suitable for building a new atomic power station. Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE), Spain's Iberdrola and France's GDF Suez have acquired the 470-acre site, which is the fourth piece of land to be sold by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The consortium plans to build an installation with a capacity of up to 3.6 gigawatts, starting in 2015. The SSE/Iberdrola/GDF group is the third new entrant to the UK nuclear industry after France's EDF bought British Energy for £12.5bn in January, and a consortium of Germany's RWE Npower and E.ON was successful in earlier NDA land auctions in April. SSE/Iberdrola/GDF was also a bidder in previous auctions for land at Wylfa, Oldbury and Bradwell. But the group pulled out after competition became so fierce it ran for six weeks rather than the expected one, and netted the Government a whopping £387m rather than the expected £100m.

Alyaksandr Valchanin, leader of the Union Chernobyl-Belarus, met with Mikhail Rusy, chairperson of the Chernobyl aftermath committee in the House of Representatives, on Monday to discuss the rights of workers involved in the massive cleanup effort after the 1986 nuclear accident. In an interview with BelaPAN, the activist said that he had been pushing for a meeting with the lawmaker for a long time but all of his petitions had been unanswered. The meeting was arranged after Mr. Valchanin petitioned Uladzimir Makey, head of the Presidential Administration, over the matter. The activist described the meeting as "constructive." "Mr. Rusy assured me that we can develop joint projects and representatives of our association would be invited to the committee's meetings. We discussed health resort treatment for Chernobyl cleanup workers, benefits for Chernobyl-affected people," he said. Mr. Valchanin said that the Belarusian authorities were ready to maintain some cooperation with the association. "This is even good that Mr. Rusy is poised for dialogue. I, for my part, offered to use my international contacts for solving the problems of Chernobyl-affected people. It seems to me that the proposal found understanding," he noted. Mr. Valchanin said that the possible registration of the union in Belarus had not been discussed. "But we intend to get registered in our country and will make every effort for this," he said. BelaPAN

Cheap, reliable hydroelectric power once helped make Ontario rich, powering the factories and foundries that created wealth for the province. But it's now 18 aging nuclear reactors that keep the lights on, providing half the power used in Ontario. Most are closer to the end of their working lives than the beginning, and many have a record of costly overruns, inefficiency or both. Despite that history, the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty has enthusiastically backed a nuclear future for Ontario, planning to renew the aging fleet to maintain its half of provincial generation with an ambitious, 20-year, $26-billion plan. But in June, when the bill for replacing just two of those reactors came in so startlingly high -- "several billions" too high in Energy Minister George Smitherman's words -- that he simply pulled the plug on the project, suspending it and leaving open the question once again: Can Ontario keep splitting the atom without breaking the bank?

Cheap, reliable hydroelectric power once helped make Ontario rich, powering the factories and foundries that created wealth for the province. But it's now 18 aging nuclear reactors that keep the lights on, providing half the power used in Ontario. Most are closer to the end of their working lives than the beginning, and many have a record of costly overruns, inefficiency or both. Despite that history, the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty has enthusiastically backed a nuclear future for Ontario, planning to renew the aging fleet to maintain its half of provincial generation with an ambitious, 20-year, $26-billion plan. But in June, when the bill for replacing just two of those reactors came in so startlingly high -- "several billions" too high in Energy Minister George Smitherman's words -- that he simply pulled the plug on the project, suspending it and leaving open the question once again: Can Ontario keep splitting the atom without breaking the bank?

Cheap, reliable hydroelectric power once helped make Ontario rich, powering the factories and foundries that created wealth for the province. But it's now 18 aging nuclear reactors that keep the lights on, providing half the power used in Ontario. Most are closer to the end of their working lives than the beginning, and many have a record of costly overruns, inefficiency or both. Despite that history, the Liberal government of Premier Dalton McGuinty has enthusiastically backed a nuclear future for Ontario, planning to renew the aging fleet to maintain its half of provincial generation with an ambitious, 20-year, $26-billion plan. But in June, when the bill for replacing just two of those reactors came in so startlingly high -- "several billions" too high in Energy Minister George Smitherman's words -- that he simply pulled the plug on the project, suspending it and leaving open the question once again: Can Ontario keep splitting the atom without breaking the bank?

Meltdown is not the word you want to hear in relation to a nuclear power plant. Even the global financial meltdown has potentially dire consequences for public safety over the long term. Even as the industry and Washington quite rightly have moved toward a new generation of nuclear plant construction, an analysis by the Associated Press raises troubling questions about the current generation. Nuclear plant operators are required to set aside enough money, over the course of a plant's life, to pay for its decommissioning and demolition. That process, for most plants, costs hundreds of millions of dollars. The AP analysis found that the meltdown in the financial markets over the last two years has drained much of the money held by plant operators to safely decommission and demolish their plants. According to the analysis, operators of about half of the nuclear plants nationwide are not saving enough money for inevitable demolition projects. At the same time that the estimated costs of demolition has risen by $4.6 billion, the value of investments held by plant operators for that purpose has fallen by $4.4 billion, the AP reported. And, it found, the savings rates for demolition has declined for 80 percent of the nation's reactors. So far plant operators have reacted to the losses in two ways. In 19 cases they have won permission to delay decommissioning for as long as 60 years in order to allow their investments to recover. In more than 50 others, they have won permission to extend plant operations beyond their original permit expiration dates.

"The Environmental Protection Agency has tested the air for contaminants at a 310-acre federal complex in south Kansas City that houses facilities for the General Services Administration and the Department of Energy. Chris Whitley, a spokesman for the EPA's regional office in Kansas City, Kan., would not say what the agency was testing for, but said results were likely in the next day or two. "It's premature for us to talk about that for now," Whitley said Wednesday. Recent air tests conducted for the GSA at the Bannister Federal Complex detected trichloroethylene, or TCE, an industrial solvent and likely carcinogen. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources said the tests did not completely conform with testing protocols and recommended that they be redone. Whitley said the agency's Feb. 4-7 tests at the site in south Kansas City focused on a building housing a day-care center and another with GSA property manageme"

One hurdle down, opponents of Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions' plan to bring foreign radioactive waste to Utah are now bracing for a tough fight in the Senate over a proposed ban on the stuff. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday that would bar low-level radioactive waste from being brought from foreign countries into the United States for disposal. The measure is aimed squarely at EnergySolutions' efforts to bring 20,000 tons of Italian waste to Tennessee for processing, then ship some 1,600 tons of radioactive leftovers to the company's Tooele County site for burial. Bill supporters cheered Wednesday's 309-112 vote. But they know they face a bigger challenge in the Senate, where companion legislation hasn't moved nor attracted a single co-sponsor since it was introduced 11 months ago.

One hurdle down, opponents of Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions' plan to bring foreign radioactive waste to Utah are now bracing for a tough fight in the Senate over a proposed ban on the stuff. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday that would bar low-level radioactive waste from being brought from foreign countries into the United States for disposal. The measure is aimed squarely at EnergySolutions' efforts to bring 20,000 tons of Italian waste to Tennessee for processing, then ship some 1,600 tons of radioactive leftovers to the company's Tooele County site for burial. Bill supporters cheered Wednesday's 309-112 vote. But they know they face a bigger challenge in the Senate, where companion legislation hasn't moved nor attracted a single co-sponsor since it was introduced 11 months ago.

One hurdle down, opponents of Salt Lake City-based EnergySolutions' plan to bring foreign radioactive waste to Utah are now bracing for a tough fight in the Senate over a proposed ban on the stuff. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed legislation Wednesday that would bar low-level radioactive waste from being brought from foreign countries into the United States for disposal. The measure is aimed squarely at EnergySolutions' efforts to bring 20,000 tons of Italian waste to Tennessee for processing, then ship some 1,600 tons of radioactive leftovers to the company's Tooele County site for burial. Bill supporters cheered Wednesday's 309-112 vote. But they know they face a bigger challenge in the Senate, where companion legislation hasn't moved nor attracted a single co-sponsor since it was introduced 11 months ago.

"High-Level Radioactive Waste Shipped from the UK The first shipment of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from the UK arrived in Rokkasho Mutsu-Ogawara Port, Aomori Prefecture on March 9. For the sake of a failed nuclear fuel cycle policy, the world has been forced to endure, and will continue to suffer for at least the next ten years, all the risks associated with transporting the HLW back and forth between Japan and Europe. Prospects for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Units 1 and 5 33% of the 8,212MW seven-unit KK Nuclear Power Station's total capacity has been brought back on line since the July 2007 Chuetsu-oki Earthquake. For the time being deliberations concerning Unit 1 are being prioritized. Unit 5 will not resume operations until deliberations concerning unit 1 are completed. At this stage the prospects for both units are still very unclear. Ryusuke Umeda Lodges Historic Workers' Compensation Claim Thirty years ago Ryusuke Umeda was exposed to radiation while working at the Shimane and Tsuruga nuclear power plants. In September 2008 he applied for workers' compensation for myocardial infarction and in February this year he caught an all night bus to Tokyo from Fukuoka City on the island of Kyushu to present his case directly to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). Public Involvement in Japan's Nuclear Power Licensing System Japan has formal procedures for public involvement and information disclosure in relation to the approval of nuclear power plants. However, public hearings and public comment processes tend to be proforma in nature. If residents have not blocked the project before these procedures begin, the process develops a momentum of its own which is hard to reverse."

"New York's senators on Wednesday urged two federal agencies to reform the compensation process for workers at former nuclear sites, including those at the Linde facility in the Town of Tonawanda. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, or NIOSH, to make it easier for cancer-stricken workers to receive compensation for their illnesses. "Through a simple rule change, justice can finally be delivered to the nuclear workers of Western New York," Schumer said in a statement. "These Cold War heroes became dangerously ill developing the country's nuclear weapons program, and should not have to wait a minute longer for help." Added Gillibrand, "New York's former nuclear workers have been neglected for far too long, and should not have to scale a mountain of red tape or prove the un-provable before receiving the compensation they deserve...Those affected must have an opportunity for their case to be heard.""

Many former atomic energy workers in southeast Iowa practically have to beg for compensation under the federal program specifically designed for them. Advertisement They go months without a response from the Department of Labor that oversees the program, and yet are expected to get their replies sent back in record time. Some letters simply go unanswered by the district offices. Then, they often wait years before finally being denied redress for protecting the country during the Cold War. And the former workers in Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex site would love to have it that easy. "Why can't cumulative information be used to benefit other workers," said Sarah Ray, who is one of three people applying for a special exposure cohort for Pantex. "I don't get the feeling that they are truly creating a usable database. I think they're missing the boat."

Many former atomic energy workers in southeast Iowa practically have to beg for compensation under the federal program specifically designed for them. Advertisement They go months without a response from the Department of Labor that oversees the program, and yet are expected to get their replies sent back in record time. Some letters simply go unanswered by the district offices. Then, they often wait years before finally being denied redress for protecting the country during the Cold War. And the former workers in Amarillo, Texas, at the Pantex site would love to have it that easy. "Why can't cumulative information be used to benefit other workers," said Sarah Ray, who is one of three people applying for a special exposure cohort for Pantex. "I don't get the feeling that they are truly creating a usable database. I think they're missing the boat."

A compensation program for ill nuclear workers won key approval Tuesday to offer automatic $150,000 payments to potentially hundreds more Hanford workers or their survivors. An advisory committee to the federal government meeting in New York voted unanimously to further ease compensation requirements for Hanford workers who may have developed any of a wide range of cancers due to radiation exposure on the job. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, now is expected to recommend the eased rules, called a special exposure cohort, to Congress. If Congress does not object, the special exposure cohort would be formed. Under the special exposure cohort, automatic $150,000 compensation and medical coverage would be extended to any Hanford worker who was employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. That's more inclusive than previous decisions to ease rules only for workers assigned to specific Hanford areas for certain of those years.

A compensation program for ill nuclear workers won key approval Tuesday to offer automatic $150,000 payments to potentially hundreds more Hanford workers or their survivors. An advisory committee to the federal government meeting in New York voted unanimously to further ease compensation requirements for Hanford workers who may have developed any of a wide range of cancers due to radiation exposure on the job. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, now is expected to recommend the eased rules, called a special exposure cohort, to Congress. If Congress does not object, the special exposure cohort would be formed. Under the special exposure cohort, automatic $150,000 compensation and medical coverage would be extended to any Hanford worker who was employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. That's more inclusive than previous decisions to ease rules only for workers assigned to specific Hanford areas for certain of those years.

A meeting of the Department of Energy's Site Specific Advisory Board for clean up and reuse of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Piketon brought forth a tug of war. Much like the Huntington downtown Superblock which lay fallow for nearly 30 years, uses for the contaminated site break down to two camps: Clean up the radioactive waste that still kills former workers versus possibly attracting a so-called new nuclear plant that would allegedly be safe. The latter would bring jobs to an area starving for employment. But, many nearby residents do not trust the statements that a 'new' nuclear plant would not continue the odyssey of cover ups since the former facility opened during the Cold War in the 1950s. However, after an elaborate news conference in the summer of 2009, the project dropped off the radar. Activist and former Piketon employee Vina Colley, referred to past contamination as a reason to avoid nuclear power. "All of their drains and laundry [water] where they washed contaminated clothes and [water from] equipment washed off went into the local creeks, which emptied into the Scioto River, then filtered to the Ohio and down to the Mississippi. We're not the only ones affected. The whole world is affected by what these nuclear facilities are producing and releasing into the environment."

A meeting of the Department of Energy's Site Specific Advisory Board for clean up and reuse of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Piketon brought forth a tug of war. Much like the Huntington downtown Superblock which lay fallow for nearly 30 years, uses for the contaminated site break down to two camps: Clean up the radioactive waste that still kills former workers versus possibly attracting a so-called new nuclear plant that would allegedly be safe. The latter would bring jobs to an area starving for employment. But, many nearby residents do not trust the statements that a 'new' nuclear plant would not continue the odyssey of cover ups since the former facility opened during the Cold War in the 1950s. However, after an elaborate news conference in the summer of 2009, the project dropped off the radar. Activist and former Piketon employee Vina Colley, referred to past contamination as a reason to avoid nuclear power. "All of their drains and laundry [water] where they washed contaminated clothes and [water from] equipment washed off went into the local creeks, which emptied into the Scioto River, then filtered to the Ohio and down to the Mississippi. We're not the only ones affected. The whole world is affected by what these nuclear facilities are producing and releasing into the environment."

A meeting of the Department of Energy's Site Specific Advisory Board for clean up and reuse of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Piketon brought forth a tug of war. Much like the Huntington downtown Superblock which lay fallow for nearly 30 years, uses for the contaminated site break down to two camps: Clean up the radioactive waste that still kills former workers versus possibly attracting a so-called new nuclear plant that would allegedly be safe. The latter would bring jobs to an area starving for employment. But, many nearby residents do not trust the statements that a 'new' nuclear plant would not continue the odyssey of cover ups since the former facility opened during the Cold War in the 1950s. However, after an elaborate news conference in the summer of 2009, the project dropped off the radar. Activist and former Piketon employee Vina Colley, referred to past contamination as a reason to avoid nuclear power. "All of their drains and laundry [water] where they washed contaminated clothes and [water from] equipment washed off went into the local creeks, which emptied into the Scioto River, then filtered to the Ohio and down to the Mississippi. We're not the only ones affected. The whole world is affected by what these nuclear facilities are producing and releasing into the environment."

I'm not surprised about this new turn of events but I am stunned that your staff accepted interim GM Steve Bartley's statement that he didn't know about the omission. How could henot know? Ask Bartley what he'd do to any employee who: 1. told him he didn't know about a major element of their business, or 2. flat out lied to him? He would fire him on the spot. What CPS management did was out and out fraud. They lied to us on their application for a rate hike. Treat them the same way any bank would treat an application for a home loan if the financial information was fraudulent. Turn down the application and call the authorities to investigate. We should do the same. City Council would not tolerate any citizen coming before them and lying to their faces, or are they going to condone lying? Hopefully there are not two sets of rules - one for ordinary citizens and one for big shot citizens/companies.

I'm not surprised about this new turn of events but I am stunned that your staff accepted interim GM Steve Bartley's statement that he didn't know about the omission. How could henot know? Ask Bartley what he'd do to any employee who: 1. told him he didn't know about a major element of their business, or 2. flat out lied to him? He would fire him on the spot. What CPS management did was out and out fraud. They lied to us on their application for a rate hike. Treat them the same way any bank would treat an application for a home loan if the financial information was fraudulent. Turn down the application and call the authorities to investigate. We should do the same. City Council would not tolerate any citizen coming before them and lying to their faces, or are they going to condone lying? Hopefully there are not two sets of rules - one for ordinary citizens and one for big shot citizens/companies.

I'm not surprised about this new turn of events but I am stunned that your staff accepted interim GM Steve Bartley's statement that he didn't know about the omission. How could henot know? Ask Bartley what he'd do to any employee who: 1. told him he didn't know about a major element of their business, or 2. flat out lied to him? He would fire him on the spot. What CPS management did was out and out fraud. They lied to us on their application for a rate hike. Treat them the same way any bank would treat an application for a home loan if the financial information was fraudulent. Turn down the application and call the authorities to investigate. We should do the same. City Council would not tolerate any citizen coming before them and lying to their faces, or are they going to condone lying? Hopefully there are not two sets of rules - one for ordinary citizens and one for big shot citizens/companies.

Title of article now represents the minimum percentage that the radiation found in Hawaii is over EPA standards. New EPA milk samples in Hawaii show radiation in milk at 800% above limits for Cs-134, 633% above limits for Cs-137 and 600% above EPA maximum for I-131 for a total of 2033%, or 20.33 times, above the federal drinking water limits. New readings have also been posted for Phoenix AZ with milk being above the federal limit and Los Angeles with milk being slightly below the limit for Iodine. Montpelier VT milk has tested positive for radioactive CS-137, above about 2/3rds the EPA maximum and Spokane WA milk testing less than half the limit for i-131.

"The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced today that an application for a 20-year renewal of the operating license for Seabrook Station is available for public review. Seabrook Station is a pressurized-water nuclear reactor, located 13 miles south of Portsmouth, N.H., and the plant's current operating license expires on March 15, 2030. The licensee, NextEra Energy Seabrook, submitted the renewal application June 1. The application is available on the NRC Web site at this address: http://www.nrc.gov/reactors/operating/licensing/renewal/applications/seabrook.html. The NRC staff is currently conducting an initial review of the application to determine whether it contains enough information for the required formal review. If the application has sufficient information, the NRC will formally "docket," or file, the application and will announce an opportunity to request a public hearing. For further information, contact Rick Plasse or Jeremy Susco at the Division of License Renewal, Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop O11-F1, Washington, D.C. 20555; telephone (301) 415-1427 for Rick Plasse or (301) 415-2927 for Jeremy Susco."

"Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and GOP Sen. George V. Voinovich are locking arms politically to go after federal cash to help fund the cleanup of the site of a closed uranium-enrichment plant in southern Ohio. Ohio's U.S. senators asked key members of the Senate Appropriations Committee last week to come up with all the money President Barack Obama asked for in his proposed 2011 budget for cleanup and related efforts at the Piketon site: $479million total, including $416million for direct decontamination and cleanup efforts. Voinovich is a member of the appropriations committee. This is separate from ongoing work by USEC, a private company, to try to build a commercial enrichment plant on the site. Commercial uranium-enrichment plants produce fuel for nuclear-power plants. The old Piketon plant produced fuel for nuclear-power plants before it closed in 2001, but in the Cold War, it also made weapons-grade uranium for the country's atomic-weapons program. Congress allocated $303million for the cleanup in the 2010 budget, and the Piketon cleanup got an additional $118 million from the stimulus package."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved a final rule incorporating the Environmental Protection Agency's radiation protection standards for the proposed high-level waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., for the period beyond 10,000 years and up to 1 million years. The rule, to be published soon in the Federal Register, makes NRC's regulations for the repository in 10 CFR Part 63 consistent with the EPA's revised standards, as required by law. The EPA's final standard was issued Sept. 30, 2008. The EPA's revised standards and the NRC's rulemaking were required by the July 9, 2004, ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which overturned EPA's earlier standard that limited the compliance period to 10,000 years. EPA published its proposed revisions Aug. 22, 2005, and NRC published a proposed rule adopting EPA's revisions and requesting public comment on Sept. 8, 2005. The Federal Register notice with NRC's final rule includes the NRC staff's responses to public comments on the proposed rule, as well as a regulatory analysis of the final rule. The final rule retains EPA's standard dose limit for individuals of 15 millirem for the first 10,000 years after disposal and adopts EPA's 100 millirem dose limit for the period after 10,000 years and up to 1 million years. It will be posted on the NRC Web site here: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fedreg/notices/. The rule will become effective 30 days following publication.