RW Monitor
10/2/2015
IN DOE
Researchers at the Savannah River National Laboratory have undertaken a joint project with scientists in Japan to help find ways to remediate environmental areas contaminated by the Fukushima disaster, the laboratory announced late last week. The three-year effort will focus primarily on the movement of plutonium and radioiodine, as well as learning more about how radionuclides migrate through the environment. “The Fukushima area provides a rare real-life glimpse of how radionuclides move through the environment,” SRNL Senior Fellow Daniel Kaplan said in a statement. “We intend to learn as much as possible from this tragic accident so that the U.S. and the international community are better prepared to deal with such accidents. This research will help predict the risk associated with accidental radionuclide releases and will provide direction for long-term remediation or stewardship of contaminated environments.” The U.S. team is led by Kaplan and Peter Santschi from Texas A&M University and is funded through the Department of Energy’s Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program, SRNL said.
IN CONGRESS
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power, will not seek re-election at the end of his current term, the congressman’s office announced this week. Whitfield, is serving his 11th term, which will end in January 2017. “While many Americans are frustrated with the institution of Congress, I still believe that politics is a worthy vocation and I know many men and women of character will always be willing to serve,” Whitfield said in a press release announcing his decision.
IN NRC
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this week announced changes to key senior management positons. According to an NRC release, the highest-level changes will involve: Deputy Executive Director for Material, Waste, Research, State, Tribal, and Compliance Programs Mike Weber becoming director of the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research; Deputy Director for Engineering in the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation Jennifer Uhle becoming director of the Office of New Reactors; and Director of Nuclear Materials Safety and Safeguards Catherine Haney becoming the Region II administrator in January. “Our agency faces the challenge of reducing our size, becoming more efficient and delivering more value for the money,” NRC Chairman Stephen Burns said in a statement. “The steps announced today will put in place a management structure well suited to ensuring we accomplish our mission of protecting people and the environment even as we reduce our size and budget.” The changes will occur in November pending commission approval, while “future announcements will focus on additional steps to fill vacancies created by personnel movements and enhance succession planning,” the NRC said.
