INTERIM STORAGE
DOE nuclear chief: Interim waste storage RFP in the works
Politico | 3/3/2020
DOE has drafted a request for proposals for an interim nuclear waste site, Rita Baranwal, the department's assistant secretary for nuclear energy, told congressional appropriators today.
President Donald Trump promised last month that his administration would not fund the permanent waste site at Yucca Mountain, Nev., leaving Congress and the administration to try to develop an interim site to consolidate the waste that is housed at nuclear plants around the country.
"One of the specific actions the department is planning to carry out is issue a request for proposal, which has been drafted," Baranwal told the House Appropriations Energy-Water Subcommittee. "The intent is for the basic design of an interim storage facility. What we are looking forward to in the future is that there are developments in the technology space that have occurred in the past several years and we are
hopeful that those will manifest themselves in responses to the RFP."
Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told the same panel last week that DOE would not begin work on an interim storage site without congressional approval, saying that it was a violation of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act to spend money toward licensing an interim site if construction is not underway at Yucca.
Find the testimony of Dr. Rita Baranwal before the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development HERE.
Find the testimony of Secretary Dan Brouillette before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources HERE.
As a reminder, here is the schedule for hearings today, March 4, 2020.
Wednesday, March 4
| Save the date for the 2020 National Cleanup Workshop!
September 16-18, 2020
Hilton Alexandria
Mark Center
Alexandria, VA
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NUCLEAR SAFETY
Radioactive Materials Close Ohio School for Nearly a Year
neaToday | 3/3/2020
It has been almost a year since Zahn’s Corner Middle School in Piketon, Ohio, abruptly shut its doors last May, soon after environmental tests showed the presence of enriched uranium on desks and other surfaces, and neptunium-237 in the air outside.
Located about four miles downwind of a Cold War-era uranium enrichment plant, the school still sits empty as worried—and frustrated—parents and educators attempt to ensure their community’s safety. State officials haven’t been any help, they say, while federal Department of Energy officials seem eager to simply (and literally) bury their mistakes.
This spring, more environmental testing will be done by a third-party organization, hired by the Department of Energy but supposedly independent.
Parents and community members want the site cleaned up, but few support the Department of Energy’s plans, which include open-air demolition of buildings, plus an onsite, underground waste disposal.
Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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