Happy Friday, and happy fall, nuke-watchers. Before we head off into the weekend, here are some other stories that RadWaste Monitor was tracking from across the civilian nuclear power space this week.
Rep. Levin, spent fuel caucus meet with NRC chair Hanson
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s chief executive met this week with a set of congressional legislators hoping to push the federal government towards a nuclear waste disposal solution, according to social media.
The Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus, led by Reps. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) and Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), sat down Wednesday with NRC chairman Christopher Hanson on Capitol Hill, according to a Tweet. Hanson “discussed NRC’s role in the storage and management of spent nuclear fuel” with the group.
Great meeting with @NRCgov Chairman Chris Hanson during yesterday’s @SpentFuelCaucus meeting!
We discussed NRC’s role in the storage and management of spent nuclear fuel. pic.twitter.com/mXvpM0VPIr
— Spent Fuel Caucus (@SpentFuelCaucus) September 21, 2022
The spent fuel caucus, formed in July, aims to “address the challenges associated with stranded commercial spent fuel across the country,” Levin said at the time. The congressman, who is up for reelection in November’s midterms, represents San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and its 123-cask spent fuel inventory.
Hanson’s appearance comes as the feds are taking initial steps to locate a willing host community for a future Department of Energy-run interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. DOE on Tuesday unveiled around $16 million in funding for prospective hosts to develop programs to engage the public on interim storage.
NuScale unfairly diluted stock, former employees allege in class-action lawsuit
A group of former NuScale employees said in a class action lawsuit filed this week that the advanced nuclear company shorted its workers around $100 million when it went public in May, local media reported.
In the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Oregon, the group of 13 former workers alleged that the Portland-based NuScale used an “unlawful amendment” in their employee agreement to dilute the value of their stock when the company went public May 2, Willamette Week reported Tuesday. The class-action suit, filed on behalf of at least 600 other NuScale employees, demanded $200 million in damages from the company.
A spokesperson for NuScale told the Oregon paper that the employees’ claims are “without merit.”
NuScale, in which Fluor is a leading investor, designs small modular reactors (SMR) and hopes to start manufacturing and selling its reactors. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission in August directed its staff to draw up a final rule approving the company’s SMR design, which it conditionally certified back in 2020.
NuScale is working with a number of partners to deploy its proposed SMR technology. The company in 2021 signed an agreement with Grant County, Wash., to explore advanced reactors. NuScale is also working with a public utility commission in Utah to develop an SMR facility by 2029.
