ECA Update: September 28, 2011
Published: Wed, 09/28/11
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The Senate passed a resolution (S. Res. 275) on September 26, designating October 30 as a national day of remembrance for nuclear weapons program workers. ECA and its community members applaud the resolution.
Richland City Council Member Bob Thompson (ECA Chair)
In Richland, the Tri-cities, and communities like ours throughout the country -- families and workers made sacrifices to ensure the safety of our country during World War II and the Cold War. The Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) appreciates and supports the Senate's action honoring those who have served our country and those who continue to defend our nation.
Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan (ECA Vice Chair)
As the Mayor of Oak Ridge, I appreciate the sacrifices these "Cold War Patriots" have made on behalf of our nation. I applaud the Senate for taking this action to recognize October 30 as a "Day of Remembrance" for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have served to make our nation more secure.
CARLSBAD-- In the wake of recent layoffs at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall are appealing to Senate appropriators to increase funding levels for operations at the nuclear waste repository site southeast of Carlsbad.
In a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy and Water, Bingaman and Udall acknowledged current budgetary restraints while emphasizing the need to consider the importance of the "two high-priority environmental initiatives" in New Mexico: WIPP and the cleanup of transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, in the Fiscal Year 2012 budget.
The Department of Energy is looking for ways to streamline the process of transferring unneeded land for new uses at Hanford and other sites that have environmentally clean property.
It is moving its Asset Revitalization Initiative into Phase II with new leadership and a plan that includes promoting public-private partnerships and commercial opportunities. It also calls for engaging local communities as decisions are made about land as environmental cleanup is completed.
Radiological safety being improved at plutonium plant at Hanford
Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald
September 25, 2011
Improvements are being made to increase radiological safety at Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant since a critical report from the Department of Energy in July.
"The concern, and the number and significance of deficiencies identified in the report represents a significant adverse condition with respect to regulatory and contractual requirement compliance," DOE said in a letter to contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. in July.
OAK RIDGE-- During the last half of the Cold War, the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant maintained a little facility known as "Just In Case."
The name conjures up all sorts of end-of-world-type images that might be the basis for a James Bond movie, a desperation scenario where everything hangs in the balance. In reality, Just In Case was a 1 acre outdoor storage yard, where the plant's contractors kept old tools and equipment "just in case" they might be needed again for weapons work.
Garry Flowers looking ahead to SRS future
Anna Dolianitis, Aiken Standard
September 26, 2011
Anna Dolianitis, Aiken Standard
September 26, 2011
After a tenure that lasted just more than two years, the head of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions will leave his position at the end of the week.
During a visit to the Aiken Standard on Monday, outgoing SRNS President and CEO Garry Flowers took some time to reflect on the past two years and look ahead to the future for the site before he returns to Texas to be part of the executive team for SRNS' parent company, Fluor.
Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois, a leading U.S. House advocate of reviving the Yucca Mountain Project, unveiled a new strategy today.
In a House speech, Shimkus, a Republican, called out individual senators from the Pacific Northwest and urged them to "step up to the plate" to pressure Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., on the shut-down nuclear waste site.
Without the once-planned Nevada repository, 53 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste accumulated through Cold War weapons production will continue to be stored at the Hanford reservation in Washington state, near the Columbia River and the Oregon border, he said.
San Luis Obispo is one of three locations nationwide where the issue of long-term storage of used nuclear fuel will be discussed in coming weeks.
The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have a public meeting Oct. 6 to discuss spent-fuel storage and transportation. Other meetings are scheduled for the NRC headquarters in Rockville, Md., and Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.
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BRC Public Meetings for Input on Draft Report
Boston, MA
October 12, 2011
Atlanta, GA
October 18, 2011
Washington, DC
October 20, 2011
Minneapolis, MN
October 28, 2011
The First Annual National Nuclear Fuel Cycle Summit
Carlsbad, NM
April 2-5, 2012
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