The Commission, led by Lee Hamilton and Brent Scowcroft, will provide recommendations on managing used fuel and nuclear waste
Washington, D.C. – As part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to restarting America’s nuclear industry, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future to provide recommendations for developing a safe, long-term solution to managing the Nation’s used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The Commission is being co-chaired by former Congressman Lee Hamilton and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft.
In light of the Administration’s decision not to proceed with the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, President Obama has directed Secretary Chu to establish the Commission to conduct a comprehensive review of policies for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The Commission will provide advice and make recommendations on issues including alternatives for the storage, processing, and disposal of civilian and defense spent nuclear fuel and nuclear waste.
“Nuclear energy provides clean, safe, reliable power and has an important role to play as we build a low-carbon future. The Administration is committed to promoting nuclear power in the United States and developing a safe, long-term solution for the management of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The work of the Blue Ribbon Commission will be invaluable to this process. I want to thank Congressman Hamilton and General Scowcroft for leading the Commission and I look forward to receiving their recommendations,” said Secretary Chu.
“As the world moves to tackle climate change and diversify our national energy portfolio, nuclear energy will play a vital role,” said Carol Browner, Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change. “Today, the Obama Administration has taken an important step. With the creation of the Blue Ribbon Commission, we are bringing together leading experts from around the country to ensure a safe and sustainable nuclear energy future.”
"Finding an acceptable long-term solution to our used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste storage needs is vital to the economic, environmental and security interests of the United States," said Congressman Hamilton. "This will be a thorough, comprehensive review based on the best available science. I'm looking forward to working with the many distinguished experts on this panel to achieve a consensus on the best path forward."
“As the United States responds to climate change and moves forward with a long overdue expansion of nuclear energy, we also need to work together to find a responsible, long-term strategy to deal with the leftover fuel and nuclear waste," said General Scowcroft. "I'm pleased to be part of that effort along with Congressman Hamilton and such an impressive group of scientific and industry experts."
The Commission is made up of 15 members who have a range of expertise and experience in nuclear issues, including scientists, industry representatives, and respected former elected officials. The Commission’s co-chairs have a record of tackling tough challenges in a thoughtful, comprehensive manner and building consensus among an array of interests.
The Commission will produce an interim report within 18 months and a final report within 24 months.
The members of the Blue Ribbon Commission are:
Lee Hamilton, Co-Chair
Lee Hamilton represented Indiana's 9th congressional district from January 1965-January 1999. During his time in Congress, Hamilton served as the ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and chaired the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He is currently president and director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and director of The Center on Congress at Indiana University.
He is a member of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board and the President's Homeland Security Advisory Council. Previously, Hamilton served as Vice Chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (the 9/11 Commission).
Brent Scowcroft, Co-Chair
Brent Scowcroft is President of The Scowcroft Group, an international business advisory firm. He has served as the National Security Advisor to both Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush. From 1982 to 1989, he was Vice Chairman of Kissinger Associates, Inc., an international consulting firm.
Scowcroft served in the military for 29 years, and concluded at the rank of Lieutenant General following service as the Deputy National Security Advisor. Out of uniform, he continued in a public policy capacity by serving on the President's Advisory Committee on Arms Control, the Commission on Strategic Forces, and the President's Special Review Board, also known as the Tower Commission.
Mark Ayers, President, Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
Vicky Bailey, Former Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; Former IN PUC Commissioner; Former Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs
Albert Carnesale, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor, UCLA
Pete V. Domenici, Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center; former U.S. Senator (R-NM)
Susan Eisenhower, President, Eisenhower Group
Chuck Hagel, Former U.S. Senator (R-NE)
Jonathan Lash, President, World Resources Institute
Allison Macfarlane, Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University
Dick Meserve, Former Chairman, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Ernie Moniz, Professor of Physics and Cecil & Ida Green Distinguished Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Per Peterson, Professor and Chair, Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California - Berkeley
John Rowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Exelon Corporation
Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.
CRESP Newstories and Links related to risk-based cleanup of the nation’s nuclear weapons production facility waste sites and cost-effective, risk-based management of potential future nuclear sites and wastes. CRESP seeks to improve the scientific and technical basis for environmental management decisions by the Department of Energy (DOE) and by fostering public participation in that search.
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Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
NUCLEAR: Chu says new commission will probe wide range of nuclear waste recycling options (Monday, January 18, 2010)
NUCLEAR: Chu says new commission will probe wide range of nuclear waste recycling options (Monday, January 18, 2010)/ Peter Behr, E&E reporter
Obama administration's proposed blue-ribbon commission on nuclear waste, once appointed, will be given a very long-range mandate, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told reporters last week. It will be asked to look at options for handling spent reactor fuel that may require two decades of research.
"This is a commission that is asked to step back, look at where we are scientifically, technologically, where we think we can be, say, to begin to deploy something in 50 years. That leaves a couple of decades in R&D time," Chu said.
The commission, whose appointment has been expected for months, is supposed to be named soon, but Chu offered no predictions as to when that might be. "It's moving ahead," he said. "This is, remember, a White House charge."
Chu noted, as he has in the past, that current U.S. light water reactors use about 1 percent net of the energy content of their enriched uranium fuel assemblies. "So we are going to be looking at a wide swath of things, from making a once-through cycle that can maybe use 10 percent of the energy," he said. "If it's economically feasible, you've just reduced the amount of waste by a factor of 10, without even recycling."
Experts have stressed the daunting challenges in handling growing volumes of spent nuclear fuel with current reactor designs if nuclear power expands dramatically to help reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation. The recycling of spent fuel for reuse, or the deployment of "fast" reactors that would consume more of the nuclear fuel's energy -- reducing waste volumes -- is on the research agenda.
We're going to have to look at what are the possibilities of recycling in a proliferation-resistant way that's also economically viable. We want this blue-ribbon panel to look at all of those things," Chu said.
But future of Yucca Mountain 'is off the table'
"They have to understand what might occur and form a strategy on what to do. The good news is, we have at least a half-century of safe storage on [existing reactor] sites. That allows us to go forward and still build nuclear power plants, because I think these are solvable problems and we have at least for half a century a way to store the waste safely."
The administration has no choice but to continue storing spent fuel units on existing reactor properties because it has cut off support for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear fuel repository in Nevada. Using current technology that requires disposal of most of the spent fuel, the Yucca Mountain site's current storage capacity would have been filled in this decade, had it become operational.
Chu said the new commission would not go back into the debate over the Nevada site. "The administration has been very clear. Yucca Mountain is off the table. This is not going to a commission that sites" fuel repositories, he said.
Chu was asked how it was that he changed from supporting the licensing of the Yucca Mountain facility in 2008 to opposing it once he joined the Cabinet of President Obama, who came out against it during the 2008 presidential campaign in Nevada. Chu laughed with what appeared to be some embarrassment and said, "I think I had to work with the reality I found myself in. But let me also go on and say that the more I looked at what we could do, going forward, there are better solutions. I really, truly, scientifically believe there are better solutions than what was started 25 years ago, and that is part of what the blue-ribbon panel is supposed to be doing."
Forcing a 'technological leap' could be good for U.S. business
nother issue, Chu said that passing climate legislation that requires a steady reduction in carbon emissions would push U.S. industry toward leadership in a post-carbon economy. He offered as evidence a conversation with an executive of Cummins Inc., the U.S. diesel engine manufacturer, in Columbus, Ohio, last week. Critics of climate policies say U.S. companies that can't afford higher energy prices caused by carbon penalties won't be around to compete for post-carbon supremacy.
Chu had gone to Cummins' Columbus Technical Center to award the company nearly $54 million from the Energy Department for research on fuel efficiency improvements for light- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Chu said that Cummins' president and chief operating officer, Tom Linebarger, recounted how Cummins had opposed federal environmental regulation in the 1990s that required costly improvements to reduce exhaust pollution its diesel engines. "They didn't like it at all. They didn't think it was giving value to customers, because they were concentrating on making higher-efficiency, higher-performance, longer-lasting engines," Chu said. Suddenly, the government was telling the company to engineer emission reductions. "But they had to do it, so they did," Chu added.
Chu said Linebarger told him that if it hadn't been for the federal mandate, Cummins might not have become a world leader in clean diesel technology and might not have been able to continue as an independent company.
Chu said he asked Linebarger how he viewed a cap on carbon emissions. "He said, 'In the end, it would be better for the United States if we did it now and became a leader in that, because although companies might not like it, it will force them to take that technological leap, because in the end, the world is going to be in that place.'"
Obama administration's proposed blue-ribbon commission on nuclear waste, once appointed, will be given a very long-range mandate, Energy Secretary Steven Chu told reporters last week. It will be asked to look at options for handling spent reactor fuel that may require two decades of research.
"This is a commission that is asked to step back, look at where we are scientifically, technologically, where we think we can be, say, to begin to deploy something in 50 years. That leaves a couple of decades in R&D time," Chu said.
The commission, whose appointment has been expected for months, is supposed to be named soon, but Chu offered no predictions as to when that might be. "It's moving ahead," he said. "This is, remember, a White House charge."
Chu noted, as he has in the past, that current U.S. light water reactors use about 1 percent net of the energy content of their enriched uranium fuel assemblies. "So we are going to be looking at a wide swath of things, from making a once-through cycle that can maybe use 10 percent of the energy," he said. "If it's economically feasible, you've just reduced the amount of waste by a factor of 10, without even recycling."
Experts have stressed the daunting challenges in handling growing volumes of spent nuclear fuel with current reactor designs if nuclear power expands dramatically to help reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation. The recycling of spent fuel for reuse, or the deployment of "fast" reactors that would consume more of the nuclear fuel's energy -- reducing waste volumes -- is on the research agenda.
We're going to have to look at what are the possibilities of recycling in a proliferation-resistant way that's also economically viable. We want this blue-ribbon panel to look at all of those things," Chu said.
But future of Yucca Mountain 'is off the table'
"They have to understand what might occur and form a strategy on what to do. The good news is, we have at least a half-century of safe storage on [existing reactor] sites. That allows us to go forward and still build nuclear power plants, because I think these are solvable problems and we have at least for half a century a way to store the waste safely."
The administration has no choice but to continue storing spent fuel units on existing reactor properties because it has cut off support for the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear fuel repository in Nevada. Using current technology that requires disposal of most of the spent fuel, the Yucca Mountain site's current storage capacity would have been filled in this decade, had it become operational.
Chu said the new commission would not go back into the debate over the Nevada site. "The administration has been very clear. Yucca Mountain is off the table. This is not going to a commission that sites" fuel repositories, he said.
Chu was asked how it was that he changed from supporting the licensing of the Yucca Mountain facility in 2008 to opposing it once he joined the Cabinet of President Obama, who came out against it during the 2008 presidential campaign in Nevada. Chu laughed with what appeared to be some embarrassment and said, "I think I had to work with the reality I found myself in. But let me also go on and say that the more I looked at what we could do, going forward, there are better solutions. I really, truly, scientifically believe there are better solutions than what was started 25 years ago, and that is part of what the blue-ribbon panel is supposed to be doing."
Forcing a 'technological leap' could be good for U.S. business
nother issue, Chu said that passing climate legislation that requires a steady reduction in carbon emissions would push U.S. industry toward leadership in a post-carbon economy. He offered as evidence a conversation with an executive of Cummins Inc., the U.S. diesel engine manufacturer, in Columbus, Ohio, last week. Critics of climate policies say U.S. companies that can't afford higher energy prices caused by carbon penalties won't be around to compete for post-carbon supremacy.
Chu had gone to Cummins' Columbus Technical Center to award the company nearly $54 million from the Energy Department for research on fuel efficiency improvements for light- and heavy-duty vehicles.
Chu said that Cummins' president and chief operating officer, Tom Linebarger, recounted how Cummins had opposed federal environmental regulation in the 1990s that required costly improvements to reduce exhaust pollution its diesel engines. "They didn't like it at all. They didn't think it was giving value to customers, because they were concentrating on making higher-efficiency, higher-performance, longer-lasting engines," Chu said. Suddenly, the government was telling the company to engineer emission reductions. "But they had to do it, so they did," Chu added.
Chu said Linebarger told him that if it hadn't been for the federal mandate, Cummins might not have become a world leader in clean diesel technology and might not have been able to continue as an independent company.
Chu said he asked Linebarger how he viewed a cap on carbon emissions. "He said, 'In the end, it would be better for the United States if we did it now and became a leader in that, because although companies might not like it, it will force them to take that technological leap, because in the end, the world is going to be in that place.'"
Monday, January 4, 2010
Special Inquiry on "Review of Allegations Involving Potential Misconduct by a Senior Office of Environmental Management Official
MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY
FROM: Gregory H. Friedman Inspector General
SUBJECT: INFORMATION: Special Inquiry on "Review of Allegations Involving Potential Misconduct by a Senior Office of Environmental Management Official" (OIG No. S09IS024)
INTRODUCTION
In September 2009, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received multiple allegations concerning improprieties by a senior official with the Office of Environmental Management. The allegations involved potential violations of political activity restrictions, lack of impartiality in performing official duties, misuse of position, and other related misconduct. Specific allegations concerned:
1. Orchestrating a $9 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) payment to certain Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in return for something of value on behalf of a Member of Congress;
2. Asking Federal officials at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (Department) Savannah River Site (Savannah River) in South Carolina to arrange meetings with contractor employee union representatives in violation of the National Labor Relations Act;
3. Ordering Savannah River Federal and contractor officials to access subcontractor personnel files for data mining of demographic information in violation of the procedures for protecting personally identifiable information;
4. Directing Savannah River contractor officials to conduct Recovery Act-related job fairs in those counties represented by a Member of Congress in violation of the Hatch Act and Standards of Ethical Conduct; and,
5. Directing Savannah River contractor personnel to hire three specific individuals contrary to contract law principles.
The OIG initiated a fact-finding inquiry into these matters. Toward this end, we interviewed over 80 current and former Department Federal and contractor employees in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. We analyzed large volumes of documents, including over 150,000 emails, and we identified and reviewed applicable Federal and Department regulations. During the review, a number of additional complaints came to our attention. Several were incorporated into this inquiry, while others will undergo additional review and action will be taken, as appropriate.
FROM: Gregory H. Friedman Inspector General
SUBJECT: INFORMATION: Special Inquiry on "Review of Allegations Involving Potential Misconduct by a Senior Office of Environmental Management Official" (OIG No. S09IS024)
INTRODUCTION
In September 2009, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) received multiple allegations concerning improprieties by a senior official with the Office of Environmental Management. The allegations involved potential violations of political activity restrictions, lack of impartiality in performing official duties, misuse of position, and other related misconduct. Specific allegations concerned:
1. Orchestrating a $9 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) payment to certain Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in return for something of value on behalf of a Member of Congress;
2. Asking Federal officials at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (Department) Savannah River Site (Savannah River) in South Carolina to arrange meetings with contractor employee union representatives in violation of the National Labor Relations Act;
3. Ordering Savannah River Federal and contractor officials to access subcontractor personnel files for data mining of demographic information in violation of the procedures for protecting personally identifiable information;
4. Directing Savannah River contractor officials to conduct Recovery Act-related job fairs in those counties represented by a Member of Congress in violation of the Hatch Act and Standards of Ethical Conduct; and,
5. Directing Savannah River contractor personnel to hire three specific individuals contrary to contract law principles.
The OIG initiated a fact-finding inquiry into these matters. Toward this end, we interviewed over 80 current and former Department Federal and contractor employees in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. We analyzed large volumes of documents, including over 150,000 emails, and we identified and reviewed applicable Federal and Department regulations. During the review, a number of additional complaints came to our attention. Several were incorporated into this inquiry, while others will undergo additional review and action will be taken, as appropriate.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Hanford workers new cancer package OK’d,
TriCity Herald (WA), 12/17/09
WASHINGTON — The federal secretary of Health and Human Services has agreed to expand automatic compensation of $150,000 to more Hanford workers who may have developed cancer because of exposure to radiation.
If Congress does not object, the decision by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius takes effect Jan. 10. The action was recommended in October by a federal advisory board.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, will review 340 pending claims of former Hanford workers, some filed by their survivors. The claims are for workers who had cancers covered under the automatic compensation program and who worked at Hanford during the years the new expanded rules would cover.
Those pending claims are in addition to hundreds of past claims that have been denied but would be reviewed by the Department of Labor to see if they now qualify for compensation under the eased rules. The new rules also could help some middle-aged Hanford workers and recent retirees who yet may develop cancer.
WASHINGTON — The federal secretary of Health and Human Services has agreed to expand automatic compensation of $150,000 to more Hanford workers who may have developed cancer because of exposure to radiation.
If Congress does not object, the decision by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius takes effect Jan. 10. The action was recommended in October by a federal advisory board.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, will review 340 pending claims of former Hanford workers, some filed by their survivors. The claims are for workers who had cancers covered under the automatic compensation program and who worked at Hanford during the years the new expanded rules would cover.
Those pending claims are in addition to hundreds of past claims that have been denied but would be reviewed by the Department of Labor to see if they now qualify for compensation under the eased rules. The new rules also could help some middle-aged Hanford workers and recent retirees who yet may develop cancer.
Department of Energy Office of Inspector General
Department of Energy Office of Inspector General
Recent reports:
• 2009-12-11- Audit Special Report MIG-0832*
Audit Special Report "Management Challenges at the Department of Energy" http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/IG-0832.pdf
• 2009-12-07- Audit Special Report OAS-RA-10-03*
Audit Special Report "Selected Department of Energy Program Efforts to Implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act"
http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/OAS-RA-10-03.pdf
•Semiannual Report to Congress*
for the Period of April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009.
http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/Semiannual_Report_to_Congress_4-09_to_9-09.pdf
Recent reports:
• 2009-12-11- Audit Special Report MIG-0832*
Audit Special Report "Management Challenges at the Department of Energy" http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/IG-0832.pdf
• 2009-12-07- Audit Special Report OAS-RA-10-03*
Audit Special Report "Selected Department of Energy Program Efforts to Implement the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act"
http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/OAS-RA-10-03.pdf
•Semiannual Report to Congress*
for the Period of April 1, 2009 through September 30, 2009.
http://www.ig.energy.gov/documents/Semiannual_Report_to_Congress_4-09_to_9-09.pdf
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Nuclear Site Finds Money Can Bring Headaches
By MICHAEL COOPER; Matthew L. Wald contributed reporting. /1340 words/13 December 2009/The New York Times/NYTF/Late Edition - Final/30/English/Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.
AIKEN, S.C. -- There is a phenomenon known as the lottery winner's curse, where those who suddenly strike it rich do not live happily ever after. If the experience at the Savannah River Site here is any guide, something like it may threaten the winners of stimulus bonanzas.
Earlier this year, the nuclear site won one of the biggest pots of stimulus money, $1.6 billion, to accelerate its cleanup of radioactive waste left behind after decades of producing materials for the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. But the pressure to spend the money quickly and effectively has led to a series of bitter disputes among officials that burst into public view this fall after the tensions reached critical mass.
At the heart of the dispute is the question of whether officials in Washington or at the site can do a better job managing the cleanup. The tensions have spurred a wide-ranging investigation by the Department of Energy's inspector general and a host of bitter accusations, including one that led to an inquiry into whether one stimulus official had really threatened another by saying she wanted to shoot him.
They have also raised questions not only about one of the biggest stimulus projects, but also about the oversight and operations at one of the country's biggest nuclear sites as it grapples with the complex question of the cleanup.
AIKEN, S.C. -- There is a phenomenon known as the lottery winner's curse, where those who suddenly strike it rich do not live happily ever after. If the experience at the Savannah River Site here is any guide, something like it may threaten the winners of stimulus bonanzas.
Earlier this year, the nuclear site won one of the biggest pots of stimulus money, $1.6 billion, to accelerate its cleanup of radioactive waste left behind after decades of producing materials for the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. But the pressure to spend the money quickly and effectively has led to a series of bitter disputes among officials that burst into public view this fall after the tensions reached critical mass.
At the heart of the dispute is the question of whether officials in Washington or at the site can do a better job managing the cleanup. The tensions have spurred a wide-ranging investigation by the Department of Energy's inspector general and a host of bitter accusations, including one that led to an inquiry into whether one stimulus official had really threatened another by saying she wanted to shoot him.
They have also raised questions not only about one of the biggest stimulus projects, but also about the oversight and operations at one of the country's biggest nuclear sites as it grapples with the complex question of the cleanup.
Nevada Officials See DOE Yucca Application Withdrawal By Late 2010
502 words\16 December 2009Energy Washington WeekIEPAVol. 6, No. 50EnglishCopyright © 2009, Inside Washington Publishers. All rights reserved. Also available in print and online as part of www.EnergyWashington.com.
Nevada officials closely tracking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review of the DOE Yucca Mountain application review anticipate the department will extend the process well into 2010 but will withdraw the license some time after depositions begin in early February on the 225 contentions Nevada has brought against the Yucca waste site but before the late-2010 or early 2011 hearings start.
Since a DOE memo was leaked last month industry and Nevada officials have been anticipating DOE's withdrawal of its application to build a permanent waste facility in Nevada. The memo said that in December DOE would be ending all actions to defend Yucca Mountain against criticisms, prompting nuclear energy industry sources to expect that DOE would by now have announced its application withdrawal because it is getting late for any federal action, according to industry sources. The sources say the DOE memo leak and a lack of overall response by DOE on Yucca Mountain has created confusion among industry observers who hope that the department will provide clarification of its intended waste management strategy once the Yucca license is yanked.
Industry sources are also baffled by DOE and administration foot dragging on the formation of a blue-ribbon commission, which is seen as the federal government's process for defining a new nuclear waste strategy now that the administration has said Yucca Mountain is no longer an option.
Nevada officials closely tracking the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's review of the DOE Yucca Mountain application review anticipate the department will extend the process well into 2010 but will withdraw the license some time after depositions begin in early February on the 225 contentions Nevada has brought against the Yucca waste site but before the late-2010 or early 2011 hearings start.
Since a DOE memo was leaked last month industry and Nevada officials have been anticipating DOE's withdrawal of its application to build a permanent waste facility in Nevada. The memo said that in December DOE would be ending all actions to defend Yucca Mountain against criticisms, prompting nuclear energy industry sources to expect that DOE would by now have announced its application withdrawal because it is getting late for any federal action, according to industry sources. The sources say the DOE memo leak and a lack of overall response by DOE on Yucca Mountain has created confusion among industry observers who hope that the department will provide clarification of its intended waste management strategy once the Yucca license is yanked.
Industry sources are also baffled by DOE and administration foot dragging on the formation of a blue-ribbon commission, which is seen as the federal government's process for defining a new nuclear waste strategy now that the administration has said Yucca Mountain is no longer an option.
NRC Will Likely Reject NEI Request To Redirect Yucca Review Funds
908 words/16 December 2009/Energy Washington Week/IEPA/Vol. 6, No. 50/English/
Copyright © 2009, Inside Washington Publishers. All rights reserved. Also available in print and online as part of www.EnergyWashington.com.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is likely to reject a nuclear industry request for the commission to use its limited fiscal year 2010 budget to expedite the NRC technical review for a permanent waste repository rather than spending money to fight Nevada's "contentions" against the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, according to Nevada state and congressional representatives. The request -- in a letter from Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President Marvin Fertel to commission Chairman Greg Jaczko -- has provoked the ire of Nevada state officials and its legal counsel, who call the request unlawful, the sources say.
While NRC is still determining how it will respond to the letter, the commission is expected to respond soon and is likely to say "no," says a commission source. The almost certain negative response to the NEI proposal is expected because Nevada legal counsel believe Fertel's request to the commission is highly questionable, according to sources.
Commission sources say the NRC has received a detailed legal analysis of the request from Nevada's lawyers and are seriously considering the state's recommendations.
Copyright © 2009, Inside Washington Publishers. All rights reserved. Also available in print and online as part of www.EnergyWashington.com.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is likely to reject a nuclear industry request for the commission to use its limited fiscal year 2010 budget to expedite the NRC technical review for a permanent waste repository rather than spending money to fight Nevada's "contentions" against the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, according to Nevada state and congressional representatives. The request -- in a letter from Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President Marvin Fertel to commission Chairman Greg Jaczko -- has provoked the ire of Nevada state officials and its legal counsel, who call the request unlawful, the sources say.
While NRC is still determining how it will respond to the letter, the commission is expected to respond soon and is likely to say "no," says a commission source. The almost certain negative response to the NEI proposal is expected because Nevada legal counsel believe Fertel's request to the commission is highly questionable, according to sources.
Commission sources say the NRC has received a detailed legal analysis of the request from Nevada's lawyers and are seriously considering the state's recommendations.
NUCLEAR WASTE; Tensions at nuclear site after increased stimulus oversight
267 words14 December 2009GreenwireGRWREnglish© 2009 E&E Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Pressure to see one of the country's largest single stimulus awards -- $1.6 billion given to the cleanup of the Savannah River nuclear site in South Carolina -- spent quickly and effectively have lead to a series of disputes between the project and its overseers at the Department of Energy.
During the cold war, Savannah River produced 40 percent of the plutonium in the nation's atomic stockpile. Today the site is part of DOE's long-term efforts to repair land damaged by the country's nuclear weapon complex, an effort that has lasted decades.
The lead contractor at Savannah has added more than 1,600 new jobs thanks to the stimulus award, but DOE officials warned that some of the site's stimulus proposals were vague, and instead redirected $200 million to a secondary contractor at Savannah that had an already active liquid-waste removal project. Local overseers at the site bristled against the interference.
The federal government took steps to make sure the program was on track to finish its work by the end of 2011, said Inés R. Triay, DOE's assistant secretary for environmental management.
"Every time that headquarters strengthens its oversight role, there's a tension that gets created between headquarters and the field site," Triay said. "That's a natural tension. It brings out the passion and commitment of all involved to get the job done."
DOE's inspector general is investigating what the stimulus funding has engendered at the site (Michael Cooper, New York Times, Dec. 13). -- PV
Pressure to see one of the country's largest single stimulus awards -- $1.6 billion given to the cleanup of the Savannah River nuclear site in South Carolina -- spent quickly and effectively have lead to a series of disputes between the project and its overseers at the Department of Energy.
During the cold war, Savannah River produced 40 percent of the plutonium in the nation's atomic stockpile. Today the site is part of DOE's long-term efforts to repair land damaged by the country's nuclear weapon complex, an effort that has lasted decades.
The lead contractor at Savannah has added more than 1,600 new jobs thanks to the stimulus award, but DOE officials warned that some of the site's stimulus proposals were vague, and instead redirected $200 million to a secondary contractor at Savannah that had an already active liquid-waste removal project. Local overseers at the site bristled against the interference.
The federal government took steps to make sure the program was on track to finish its work by the end of 2011, said Inés R. Triay, DOE's assistant secretary for environmental management.
"Every time that headquarters strengthens its oversight role, there's a tension that gets created between headquarters and the field site," Triay said. "That's a natural tension. It brings out the passion and commitment of all involved to get the job done."
DOE's inspector general is investigating what the stimulus funding has engendered at the site (Michael Cooper, New York Times, Dec. 13). -- PV
Nuclear’s next generation
2563 words/12 December 2009/The Economist/EC/ECN/English/(c) The Economist Newspaper Limited, London 2009. All rights reserved
Inside story: A group of six new blueprints for nuclear power-stations promise advances in safety and efficiency. How do they differ from existing designs?
DWIGHT EISENHOWER observed in his “Atoms for Peace” speech in 1953 that nuclear technology originally developed for military purposes could also be put to peaceful uses, namely generating electricity. His speech led to the dissemination of nuclear technology for civilian purposes, and the establishment of the first nuclear power-stations. Many of these early reactors, built during the cold war, made a virtue of the “dual use” nature of nuclear technology. Designs were favoured that could create weapons-grade material as well as electricity.
Today those priorities have been reversed. America and Russia are taking steps to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and the international community is trying to prevent their acquisition by new states. Under America’s “Megatons to Megawatts” programme, weapons-grade material from retired warheads is being broken down to provide fuel for civilian nuclear power-stations. With 53 new reactors under construction around the world and dozens more planned, the main difficulties facing nuclear scientists now are to reduce the threat of proliferation, improve efficiency and do something about the growing stock of nuclear waste in indefinite temporary storage.
These new priorities favour new sorts of reactor. Taking the lead in the development of the next generation of reactors is an international programme called the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a collaboration between the governments of America, Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Switzerland, plus Euratom, the EU’s nuclear body. Established in 2001, the GIF has drawn up a shortlist of six of the most promising designs, which range from updated versions of existing reactors to radically different approaches.
Inside story: A group of six new blueprints for nuclear power-stations promise advances in safety and efficiency. How do they differ from existing designs?
DWIGHT EISENHOWER observed in his “Atoms for Peace” speech in 1953 that nuclear technology originally developed for military purposes could also be put to peaceful uses, namely generating electricity. His speech led to the dissemination of nuclear technology for civilian purposes, and the establishment of the first nuclear power-stations. Many of these early reactors, built during the cold war, made a virtue of the “dual use” nature of nuclear technology. Designs were favoured that could create weapons-grade material as well as electricity.
Today those priorities have been reversed. America and Russia are taking steps to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and the international community is trying to prevent their acquisition by new states. Under America’s “Megatons to Megawatts” programme, weapons-grade material from retired warheads is being broken down to provide fuel for civilian nuclear power-stations. With 53 new reactors under construction around the world and dozens more planned, the main difficulties facing nuclear scientists now are to reduce the threat of proliferation, improve efficiency and do something about the growing stock of nuclear waste in indefinite temporary storage.
These new priorities favour new sorts of reactor. Taking the lead in the development of the next generation of reactors is an international programme called the Generation IV International Forum (GIF), a collaboration between the governments of America, Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Japan, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Switzerland, plus Euratom, the EU’s nuclear body. Established in 2001, the GIF has drawn up a shortlist of six of the most promising designs, which range from updated versions of existing reactors to radically different approaches.
Keep Hanford land options open, Doc says
Annette Cary;Herald staff writer /Cary Annette/483 words/11 December 2009/Tri-City Herald/TRIC/D1/English/(c) 2009 The Tri-City Herald. All Rights Reserved.
The federal government needs to keep all options open and prevent land from being locked up as cleanup is completed on parts of the Hanford nuclear reservation, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said Thursday.
He discussed the future and funding issues for Hanford and other Department of Energy sites in Washington, D.C., as the keynote speaker at the semi-annual meeting of the Energy Facilities Contractor Group.
DOE expects to have most of the cleanup along the Columbia River at Hanford completed by 2015, shrinking the contaminated portion of the nuclear reservation from 586 square miles to about 75 square miles at its center. In addition, much of $1.96 billion in federal economic stimulus money is being used to speed up cleanup and free up areas for other uses, such as a clean energy park to research and produce energy.
A top priority should be ensuring that local communities have a meaningful leadership role in determining their future with these lands, he said.
“It is critical that we remember the unique features of each site and each community,” he said.
Earlier this year he worked to get Hanford deleted from a bill that would have designated Hanford as a National Environmental Research Park, believing a designation that covered the entire site could have unintended consequences and reduce flexibility in making long-range land use plans.
Plans also are being made at Hanford’s historic B Reactor, where supporters have worked for years to have it preserved as a museum.
The federal government needs to keep all options open and prevent land from being locked up as cleanup is completed on parts of the Hanford nuclear reservation, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., said Thursday.
He discussed the future and funding issues for Hanford and other Department of Energy sites in Washington, D.C., as the keynote speaker at the semi-annual meeting of the Energy Facilities Contractor Group.
DOE expects to have most of the cleanup along the Columbia River at Hanford completed by 2015, shrinking the contaminated portion of the nuclear reservation from 586 square miles to about 75 square miles at its center. In addition, much of $1.96 billion in federal economic stimulus money is being used to speed up cleanup and free up areas for other uses, such as a clean energy park to research and produce energy.
A top priority should be ensuring that local communities have a meaningful leadership role in determining their future with these lands, he said.
“It is critical that we remember the unique features of each site and each community,” he said.
Earlier this year he worked to get Hanford deleted from a bill that would have designated Hanford as a National Environmental Research Park, believing a designation that covered the entire site could have unintended consequences and reduce flexibility in making long-range land use plans.
Plans also are being made at Hanford’s historic B Reactor, where supporters have worked for years to have it preserved as a museum.
Hanford contract award for lab protested
Annette Cary;Herald staff writer /Cary Annette/390 words/10 December 2009/Tri-City Herald/TRIC/B6/
English/(c) 2009 The Tri-City Herald. All Rights Reserved.
A protest has been lodged in the Department of Energy’s $48.6 million award to Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International to operate Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory.
The Department of Energy will have 35 days to address the protest, which was filed with the agency’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center rather than the Government Accountability Office. The protest was filed Nov. 27.
Four bids were received for the small business contract, which DOE awarded Nov. 20. DOE declined to say who bid on the project or which bidder filed the protest.
English/(c) 2009 The Tri-City Herald. All Rights Reserved.
A protest has been lodged in the Department of Energy’s $48.6 million award to Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International to operate Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory.
The Department of Energy will have 35 days to address the protest, which was filed with the agency’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center rather than the Government Accountability Office. The protest was filed Nov. 27.
Four bids were received for the small business contract, which DOE awarded Nov. 20. DOE declined to say who bid on the project or which bidder filed the protest.
Former Oak Ridge lab leader nominated to TVA board
BILL THEOBALD /264 words/10 December 2009/Gannett News Service/GNS/English/© 2009 Gannett News Service. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All Rights Reserved. /By BILL THEOBALD/Gannett Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Marilyn A. Brown, who formerly managed the energy efficiency research and development program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was part of a committee that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, was nominated to the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Thursday by President Barack Obama.
Brown's nomination is the fourth Obama has made to the TVA board this year. The nominees would fill out the nine-member board that oversees the nation's largest public utility.
Brown is a professor of energy policy at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, where she joined the faculty in 2006. She was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore.
In 2006, Brown helped launch the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. She serves on the board of the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the National Commission on Energy Policy.
Brown remains a distinguished visiting scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She earned a Ph.D. in geography from Ohio State University, a master's in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts, and a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University.
Brown donated several times to Republican Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga while she worked at Oak Ridge, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Her nomination must be approved by the Senate.
WASHINGTON - Marilyn A. Brown, who formerly managed the energy efficiency research and development program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and was part of a committee that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, was nominated to the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Thursday by President Barack Obama.
Brown's nomination is the fourth Obama has made to the TVA board this year. The nominees would fill out the nine-member board that oversees the nation's largest public utility.
Brown is a professor of energy policy at the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, where she joined the faculty in 2006. She was a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize along with former Vice President Al Gore.
In 2006, Brown helped launch the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance. She serves on the board of the Alliance to Save Energy, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the National Commission on Energy Policy.
Brown remains a distinguished visiting scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She earned a Ph.D. in geography from Ohio State University, a master's in regional planning from the University of Massachusetts, and a bachelor's degree from Rutgers University.
Brown donated several times to Republican Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga while she worked at Oak Ridge, according to Federal Election Commission records.
Her nomination must be approved by the Senate.
Debate over nuclear legal challenge heats up
1002 words/10 December 2009/European Daily Electricity Markets/EURODE/English/(c)2009 Heren Energy Ltd
A top energy lawyer has dismissed the possibility of a legal challenge against UK nuclear industry “subsidies”.
The anti-nuclear lobby in the UK has repeatedly raised the possibility of a legal challenge, with supporters including Liberal Democrats shadow energy secretary Simon Hughes, on the grounds that alleged financial assistance may be an infringement of EU competition laws (see EDEM 20 October 2009).
The seven areas of subsidy were identified in the report Nuclear Subsidies, published last month by the influential pressure group Energy Fair. These were:
limitations on liabilities
underwriting commercial risks
protection against terrorist attack
the cap on short- to medium-term costs of disposing of nuclear waste
a cap on long-term costs of disposing of nuclear waste
the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants being ring-fenced
institutional support for the nuclear industry.
A top energy lawyer has dismissed the possibility of a legal challenge against UK nuclear industry “subsidies”.
The anti-nuclear lobby in the UK has repeatedly raised the possibility of a legal challenge, with supporters including Liberal Democrats shadow energy secretary Simon Hughes, on the grounds that alleged financial assistance may be an infringement of EU competition laws (see EDEM 20 October 2009).
The seven areas of subsidy were identified in the report Nuclear Subsidies, published last month by the influential pressure group Energy Fair. These were:
limitations on liabilities
underwriting commercial risks
protection against terrorist attack
the cap on short- to medium-term costs of disposing of nuclear waste
a cap on long-term costs of disposing of nuclear waste
the cost of decommissioning nuclear plants being ring-fenced
institutional support for the nuclear industry.
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