RW Monitor
4/24/2015
IN NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission plans to hold its first public meeting on the proposed 10.CFR.61 rulemaking next week at NRC Headquarters in Rockville, Md., NRC Director of the Division of Decommissioning, Uranium Recovery and Waste Programs Larry Camper said this week at the Low-Level Waste Forum in Alexandria, Va. Next week’s meeting, scheduled for April 28, is part of the NRC’s overall attempt to host public meetings on the proposed rulemaking. The NRC also plans to hold additional meetings in South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Washington in the coming months, Camper said. The NRC released last month its proposed Part 61 rulemaking, including a new three-tiered approach to evaluate performance assessment periods for low-level waste disposal sites. The proposed rule contains all of the Commission’s direction from last year regarding the three-tiered approach, which includes a time of compliance of 1,000 years, a protective assurance analysis from the end of compliance period through 10,000 years and a qualitative analysis stretching beyond 10,000 years to evaluate long-term risks.
IN THE INDUSTRY
Amec Foster Wheeler announced last week that the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority awarded the company a four-year contract to increase its role in decommissioning and waste management services. The value of the contract has not been announced yet, but included in the contract is work related to site characterization, engineering design, and delivery of the UK geological disposal facility. “By combining our clean energy and environmental skills we are able to provide a world-class service to the NDA in their drive to manage the UK’s nuclear clean-up programme,” Andy White, Vice President of Amec Foster Wheeler’s Nuclear Services business, said in a statement. “The award also further reinforces our position as one of the world’s leading nuclear services companies.”
Centrus Energy Corp. Chief Operating Officer Robert Van Namen will step down from his post on May 29, the company announced late last week. Van Namen joined the uranium enrichment firm in 1999, and on Friday noted the increased stability at the firm and that new CEO Dan Poneman is in place. “After 16 years with the Company and with Dan now at the helm, this is a good time for me to consider the next phase of my career,” Van Namen said in a statement. “I have been especially fortunate to have worked with an incredible group of talented and professional people over the years. I leave with the highest confidence in Centrus to continue to provide reliable fuel supplies to the nuclear industry, providing energy security and supporting nonproliferation efforts while advancing our Nation’s low-carbon energy strategy.”
IN USACE
The Army Corps of Engineers last week began to move the STURGIS Barge to Galveston, Texas, where it is expected to be decommissioned, the Corps said in an announcement last week. The journey from the James River Reserve Fleet in Virginia to Galveston is scheduled to take three to four weeks, while the actual decommissioning should take 14-18 months. The original timeline called for the barge to be towed down from Virginia last fall, but that date had been pushed back due to the city’s delay in issuing a permit that would enable the decommissioning to take place in its port. The Corps issued a contract to CB&I Federal Services last year for the dismantlement of the MH-1A nuclear reactor currently installed on the barge after the vessel is towed down to Galveston for decommissioning.
