On June 5, 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sent a supplemental notice to the Federal Register that provides the public with its interpretation of high-level radioactive waste, informed by more than 5,000 public comments. For decades, DOE has managed nearly all reprocessing waste streams as high-level radioactive waste regardless of radioactivity. According to…
On June 5, 2019, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) vetoed a widely supported domestic violence bill due to the inclusion of a late amendment related to radioactive waste disposal. Abbott called the measure, Senate Bill (SB) 1804, a “laudable effort” that lost his support when “someone slipped in an ill-considered giveaway to a radioactive waste disposal facility.”…
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Gilbertson Reassigned According to local news reports, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management (EM) Anne White has submitted her resignation. White’s resignation, which is reportedly detailed in a department announcement signed off with the names of Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and the Deputy Secretary of…
On April 25, 2019, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) announced the release of NCRP Report No. 182 titled, Radiation Safety of Sealed Radioactive Sources. NCRP Report No. 182 is intended to serve as “cradle to grave” guidance for sealed radioactive sources. Interested stakeholders may purchase NCRP Report No. 182 at https://ncrponline.org/shop/reports/report-no-182-radiation-safety-of-sealed-radioactive-sources-2019/….
In April 2019, it was announced that all five members of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted unanimously to terminate a decade-long, multimillion dollar program to update federal regulations on material control and accounting (MC&A) of special nuclear materials. “The Commission has disapproved the draft final rule,” stated NRC Commission Secretary Annette Vietti-Cook in…
The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Forum (LLW Forum) is an independent, non-profit organization that was established to facilitate state and compact implementation of the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act of 1980 and its 1985 Amendments and to promote the objectives of low-level radioactive waste regional compacts. The LLW Forum provides an opportunity for state and compact officials to share information with each other and to exchange views with officials of federal agencies and other interested stakeholders.