Sen. Udall Questions Perry On Safety And Future Of Plutonium Mission At LANL The Los Alamos Daily Post June 22, 2017 WASHINGTON, D.C. — During a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), U.S. Sen. Tom Udall questioned Energy Secretary Rick Perry about steps Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have taken to ensure safety and the future of the plutonium mission at the lab.
In response to Udall's questions, Perry acknowledged that the lab has
made serious mistakes, but he said that he is confident that NNSA and DOE have taken appropriate steps to hold the lab and its contractor accountable and ensure the lab's workers and plutonium mission are safe and on track.
>>Continue reading Opinion: Plutonium pit switcharoo? Shifting pit production to SRS is no easy task Aiken Standard June 21, 2017 A recent nuclear symposium yielded several tidbits concerning an intriguing, albeit far from final, suggestion that plutonium pit production might shift to the Savannah River Site in Aiken
County.
It's an intriguing topic because not only would plutonium pits potentially open new
economic opportunities at SRS, it also delves into the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility, or MOX, debate.
Plutonium pits are metal spheres contained within the primary cores of nuclear weapons. Detonation of conventional explosives in the warhead causes the plutonium pit to implode, releasing X-rays that cause a secondary core to detonate. In a nutshell, they're essential parts of nuclear warheads.
>>Continue
readingSen. Alexander Urges Administration to Support Private Nuclear Waste Storage Morning Consult June 21, 2017 A key senator on Wednesday urged the Energy Department to support private interim facilities for the nation’s nuclear waste, amid a growing stalemate over how to store the radioactive
material.
Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate
Appropriations Energy and Water Development subcommittee, brought up the issue during a hearing with Energy Secretary Rick Perry that focused on his agency’s budget, which veered into a debate about solutions to store nuclear fuel that has been piling up in 39 states across the country, despite the federal government’s promises since the 1980s to find a permanent site.
>>Continue readingSenators grill Perry on Yucca nuclear storage plans The Hill June 21, 2017 Energy Secretary Rick Perry was in the hot seat Wednesday as senators grilled him over his push to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in
Nevada.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the fight over making Yucca the sole location for the nation's nuclear waste has slowed progress on the issue and questioned Perry on interim
sites.
"There's no place for the waste to go," she said at the Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the Energy Department's fiscal 2018 budget request. "Yucca holds everything hostage."
>>Continue readingPerry says no decision made on interim nuclear waste storage in Nevada Daily Energy Insider June 21, 2017 WASHINGTON — Energy Secretary Rick Perry clarified a previous statement on interim nuclear waste storage, telling a Senate subcommittee Wednesday that no decisions have been made on temporary
sites for spent fuel in Texas, New Mexico or Nevada.
Private companies in New Mexico and Texas have submitted applications to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to store nuclear waste on an interim
basis.
Perry created a firestorm Tuesday when he suggested to the House Appropriations subcommittee on energy that the Nevada National Security Site could store waste temporarily.
>>Continue readingSen. Alexander on Trump's DOE cuts: National labs are country's 'secret weapon' Knoxville News Sentinel June 22, 2017 Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, called the Department of Energy's 17 national laboratories the "nation's secret weapon," at a hearing Wednesday on proposed cuts to the Energy Department's
budget.
President Donald Trump requested a $1.6 billion cut to the department in his proposed 2018 budget. The proposed cut would take about $900 million from the
Office of Science, which stewards 10 national laboratories, including the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The President's budget request also reduces the
budget for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by $1.45 billion, the Office of Electricity by $110 million and the Office of Nuclear Energy by $310 million. It would also also terminate Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) programs.
>>Continue
readingDOE Announces $116 Million for Small Business Research & Development Grants DOE June 20, 2017 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry announced that the Department of Energy will award 263 grants totaling $116 million to 184 small businesses in 40 states. Funded through DOE’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, today’s selections are for both Phase I and II research and development.
There are 174 Phase I grants, which will allow small
businesses to research technical feasibility of new innovations that advance the Department’s mission. Phase I grants are 6-12 months in duration with a median award amount of $150,000. In addition, 89 Phase II grants will go to prior Phase I grantees to allow them to develop novel prototypes or processes to validate their Phase I research findings. Up to two years in duration, Phase II grants have a median award amount of $1 million.
>>Continue
readingJudge Prohibits the Acquisition of Waste Control Specialists by EnergySolutions Global Newswire June 21, 2017 SALT LAKE CITY, June 21, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnergySolutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Capital Partners, LLC (ECP), today announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued a
decision prohibiting the sale of Waste Control Specialists (WCS) to EnergySolutions.
“We believe this acquisition was in the best interest of the long-term waste disposal needs for the nuclear industry, so we are disappointed with today’s decision that prevents EnergySolutions from acquiring Waste Control Specialists,” said David Lockwood, President and CEO of
EnergySolutions.
The judge’s decision follows a two-week trial that resulted from the U.S. Department of Justice filing a lawsuit to prevent the acquisition. >>Continue reading |
|
| August 2017 | | 8-9 | Intermountain Energy Summitt |
|
| August
2017 | | 16-17 | INVITATION ONLY ECA Peer Exchange: Implementation of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park Richland, WA |
|
| September 2017 | | 5-7 | Radwaste Summitt 2017 Summerlin, NV |
|
| September 2017 | | 12-14 | 2017 National Cleanup
Workshop Alexandria,
VA |
|
| September 2017 | | 13 | House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
Event Washington,
DC
|
|
Find the most recent ECA Bulletin here |
|
