ECA Update: July 23, 2014
Published: Wed, 07/23/14
Madelyn Creedon Confirmed as Principal Deputy Administor For The National Nuclear Security Administration
Einnews.com LINKJuly 23, 2014 WASHINGTON - Madelyn Creedon was confirmed by the Senate on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, as the Department of Energy's (DOE) Principal Deputy Administrator for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). "Madelyn Creedon's confirmation comes at a critical point for the National Nuclear Security Administration," said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. "She is well-prepared for her new role at the Department as it follows a long career of public service in national security, including at the Department of Defense, with the Senate Armed Services Committee, and, previously, at the Department of Energy. NNSA Administrator Klotz and I thank the Senate for their attention to Madelyn's nomination, and look forward to working with her." As NNSA's Principal Deputy Administrator, Ms. Creedon will support NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz in the management and operation of the NNSA, as well as policy matters across the DOE and NNSA enterprise in support of President Obama's nuclear security agenda. Prior to her Senate confirmation, Ms. Creedon served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs at the Department of Defense (DoD), overseeing policy development and execution in the areas of countering Weapons of Mass Destruction, U.S. nuclear forces and missile defense, and DoD cybersecurity and space issues. She was confirmed to serve in this position by the Senate in August 2011. Previously, Ms. Creedon was counsel for the Democratic staff on the Senate Committee on Armed Services and was the staff lead for the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear nonproliferation issues. In 2000, she left the Armed Services Committee to become the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the NNSA, and returned to the Committee in January 2001. Prior to joining the Armed Services Committee staff in March 1997, she was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy for National Security Programs at the DOE, beginning in October 1995. Creedon is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Law. Her undergraduate degree is in political science from the University of Evansville, Evansville, Indiana. Only nuclear power will help cut emissions
Albuquerque Journal
July 13, 2014 The sure-fire effect of state mandates requiring the use of renewable energy sources in electricity production hasn't received the attention it deserves and, for proof, look no further than New Mexico's renewable portfolio standard.
New Mexico's standard - which was adopted in 2007 - requires that 20 percent of all electricity sold by investor-owned utilities and 10 percent by cooperatives come from renewable energy sources by 2020. New Mexico utilities are barreling ahead to meet the standard, but the effort might push up electricity prices and crimp supplies. More to the point, it distracts our attention from the more important target set forth in a United Nations accord in 2009, when President Obama pledged that the United States would cut its greenhouse emissions 83 percent from 2005 levels by 2050. In the long run, the effort to reduce carbon pollution will be workable only if New Mexico and other states with renewable portfolio standards modify their rules to include nuclear power. Of the 30 states with standards, none include nuclear power among the energy sources eligible for guaranteed electricity production. In fact, New Mexico's standard actually states that nuclear power is not eligible. Yet, nuclear power currently accounts for roughly 20 percent of the nation's electricity generation - and nearly two-thirds of the carbon-free power. That's more than wind, solar, hydro and other renewable energy sources combined. Today, wind and solar provide less than 4 percent of the nation's electricity. Without nuclear power, there is no way America can meet its target for greenhouse-gas reduction. That realization has motivated several atmospheric scientists, including James Hansen, longtime head of NASA's Goddard Space Institute, and environmental activists like Stewart Brand, Carol Browner and Michael Shellenberger to warn that the United States needs to obtain much more of its energy from nuclear power. If we refuse to take strong action against climate change, America can't expect other countries like China, India and Brazil to reduce emissions. Here in the U.S., where the wholesale price of electricity is set by auction, states and regional grid operators need to ensure there is a level playing field for nuclear power. Right now, nuclear power is being whipsawed between low prices for natural gas and the renewable energy mandates. As a result, two safe and efficient nuclear plants - Kewaunee in Wisconsin and Vermont Yankee - are slated to close at the end of this year and as many as 30 more nuclear plants are at risk, according to the Department of Energy. Unless states act soon, a third of the U.S. fleet of 100 nuclear plants may shut down prematurely - at a loss of hundreds of billions of dollars. And carbon pollution will increase significantly since fossil fuels are likely to provide most of the replacement generating capacity. A more sensible course is for people to urge their state representatives to modify renewable energy requirements to include zero-carbon nuclear power. That would help protect operating nuclear plants and spur construction of a new generation of advanced power plants, both large conventional reactors and small modular reactors like the 25-megawatt system of Hyperion, a New Mexico-based company that is using a uranium-nitride design from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. At the very least, New Mexico should invest in a diverse mix of carbon-free energy sources, but especially nuclear power, that would give our state and nation a fighting chance to reduce greenhouse emissions to safe and acceptable levels by mid-century. House bill has funds to reopen WIPP WASHINGTON - The U.S. House late Thursday approved a $34 billion spending bill that would provide money to help reopen the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, but it would rely at least in part on excess money in the National Nuclear Security Administration's pension fund. The bill, which also includes money for Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories, as well as Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers projects, passed 253-170. All three of New Mexico's U.S. House members voted in favor. The bill contains $236 million for WIPP operations in fiscal year 2015, plus a possible addition of $120 million to repair damage that has kept the nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad closed since mid-February. The extra $120 million would be taken from excess pension payments at the NNSA, but the measure also contains language to ensure WIPP spending would not affect existing pension payments. Still, members of New Mexico's congressional delegation are wary of tapping the pension fund at all, even its excess payments. "I am concerned about language in the bill that will weaken pension plans for NNSA employees," said Rep. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., in a statement to the Journal. "We need to provide funding to restore operations at WIPP - as well as clean up waste at LANL - while fulfilling the obligation to NNSA employees. We should not provide for one priority at the expense of the other." Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, persuaded the Senate energy and water subcommittee last month to approve spending $323 million on WIPP's fiscal 2015 budget, an amount that is about $102 million above President Barack Obama's request. But the money in the Senate bill would be appropriated outright and is not contingent on the availability of excess NNSA pension funds, which are not guaranteed to materialize. That bill has not passed the full Senate. "Tom believes it's a very good sign that the House has identified funding for WIPP in its appropriations bill, though it would be ideal to have a solid funding amount in the House bill as well as the Senate's," Udall spokeswoman Jen Talhelm said. "As the process moves forward, he will continue to educate members of the Senate and the House about the importance of fully funding WIPP for our national security and New Mexico's economy." WIPP has been closed to shipments of weapons-related nuclear waste from sites around the country since early February. A set of drums containing waste from Los Alamos is the focus of the investigation. Some of those drums leaked radioactive waste. Group: Contract for Paducah plant being reviewed
The Pacucah Sun
July 15, 2014
PADUCAH, Ky. -- The head of a group monitoring a move to revitalize and reuse the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant says a contract with the federal government remains under review by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization Executive Director Charlie martin says the Energy Department has yet to decide between two contractors, Fluor Corporation and AECOM, who want to work on the plant. Martin says either contractor is expected to hire many former United States Enrichment Corp. workers for the cleanup. "We've encouraged them (DOE) any way we can to issue the contract," Martin said, of his organization's efforts. "That's the vehicle that will create jobs." Martin told The Paducah Sun (http://bit.ly/1n21Myk ) PACRO is in regular contact with the Energy Department and the state's congressional delegation to stay abreast of any developments. Congress approved approximately $271 million for the site cleanup in fiscal year 2014. The Obama administration has proposed a cleanup budget of $207 million for Paducah in fiscal 2015, Martin said. Last November, the DOE announced it was dealing exclusively with Global Laser Enrichment to utilize the plant's assets for future operations. PACRO is hopeful that arrangement will be finalized soon, too. "We try to follow it," Martin said of the negotiations. "We keep being told by DOE and GLE that it is moving forward. There's not anything we or the community can do to speed that up." Savannah River Site oversight board calls for Broader scope in German waste assessment The Augusta Chronicle
July 14, 2104
A federally appointed Savannah River Site oversight panel is challenging the environmental assessment being prepared for proposed shipments of German nuclear waste.
The assessment does not go far enough into analyzing potential delays to existing missions at the South Carolina site, the risks of terrorist attacks or the impact of long-term nuclear waste storage on citizens of Aiken and surrounding communities, according to the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board....
Japan Gives green light to restart pair of nuclear reactors
The Washington Post
July 10, 2014
LINK RICHLAND, Wash. --About 12,000 air samples taken on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation this year after more than three dozen workers reported being sickened by chemical vapors have failed to find a cause for the problem, Hanford officials said Wednesday. But Hanford officials said that doesn't mean workers aren't getting sick.
"Our workers are not exposed to vapors, but they are having symptoms," said Tom Fletcher of the U.S. Department of Energy, which manages Hanford. "The question is: 'Why?'"
"This isn't something we are taking lightly," Fletcher said.
None of the 12,000 air samples taken this year showed chemical levels above occupational-exposure limits, Fletcher said. In fact, more than 50,000 air samples dating back to 2007 found no chemical exposure above the allowable limits, he said.
Hanford officials are hoping an investigation being conducted by the Savannah River National Laboratory might shed light on what is causing the illnesses. A draft of that report is due by October.
Hanford for more than four decades made plutonium for nuclear weapons, and it now contains the nation's greatest volume of nuclear waste. Much of the waste is stored in 177 giant underground storage tanks. It is workers at those tanks who are reporting smelling chemical vapors and then falling ill.
This year, 38 workers have sought treatment after reporting exposure to chemical vapors. Some of the workers reported irritation in their eyes, nose or throat, or a metallic taste in their mouth, Hanford officials said during a media briefing on Wednesday.
But all 38 workers were checked by doctors and cleared to return to work, Hanford officials said.
Fletcher demonstrated safety precautions taken by Hanford tank workers, and he showed reporters machines that can detect chemicals in the air.
Bob Wilkinson, an environmental safety manager for contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, said the lack of evidence doesn't mean that workers are not genuinely becoming sick.
"There may be something out there we are not aware of," Wilkinson said. "I do not believe any folks have done false reporting or are psychosomatic. I feel they are real."
The 177 tanks contain a toxic stew of chemical and radioactive wastes, with no two tanks storing the exact same contents. Hanford workers are busy transferring the contents of leaking, older single-walled tanks into newer double-walled tanks.
Irritation of the throat is the most commonly reported symptom, Wilkinson said.
Hanford covers 586 square miles near Richland, Washington, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle. It was created during the Manhattan Project in World War II to make plutonium for nuclear weapons. That work ended in the 1980s, and the site is now engaged in a $2 billion-a-year cleanup of the resulting wastes.
Hanford covers 586 square miles near Richland, Washington, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle. It was created during the Manhattan Project in World War II to make plutonium for nuclear weapons. That work ended in the 1980s, and the site is now engaged in a $2 billion-a-year cleanup of the resulting wastes.
Statement of Administration Policy
H.R. - Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015 (Rep. Rogers, R- Kentucky)
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