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A project to complete the second reactor at the Watts Bar nuclear plant received a critical environmental approval Friday. In a supplement to the unit's environmental impact statement, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it found no environmental reasons that would prevent it from issuing...

The Shearon Harris nuclear plant in North Carolina is preparing to restart following repairs related to a reactor pressure vessel head flaw. Analysis of earlier ultrasonic testing revealed a quarter-inch-long weakness in a nozzle. It did not penetrate the RPV or cause a leak. Nonetheless, the Duke Energy...

Regulators have cited the Tennessee Valley Authority for several violations related to the federal utility's Tennessee River flood preparations. They all involve extreme flooding scenarios that have never occurred before and have since been factored into the emergency planning at the Watts Bar and...

Federal regulators on Wednesday announced tightened rules surrounding radioactive materials used by manufacturers. Specifically, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will now require a license for more manufactures and importers of products that contain small amounts of unenriched uranium and thorium, such...

Regulators have ordered a special inspection of Duke Energy's Harris nuclear plant after ultrasound testing showed a small weakness in its reactor pressure vessel head. The testing was conducted during an earlier refueling outage. Further analysis revealed the quarter-inch flaw, and the plant shut...

A panel of experts within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has ruled plans that could allow a reactor at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station to run under reduced power amount to a license amendment requiring a potentially lengthy hearing process that could delay the restart planned for this summer...

Southern Co. and federal regulators have reached an agreement to resolve allegations that an employee helped other workers cheat on exams at the Farley nuclear plant in Alabama. Through a form of third-party mediation known as the alternative dispute resolution process, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission...

The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan shut down early Sunday morning when water leaking from a tank passed a threshold set earlier by federal regulators. The leak from the safety injection refueling water tank had increased to 90 gallons per day before the manual shutdown, according to an event report...

The staff of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has determined that foreign ownership could keep Nuclear Innovation North America from pursuing a license for new reactors at the South Texas Project. "On reviewing your application and all other relevant material, including the changes to Part 1 included...

Two companies recently announced large orders for spent fuel monitoring equipment following new requirements implemented by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in response to the Fukushima Daiichi accidents. On Friday, Richland, Wash.-based MOHR announced an agreement with the Utilities Service Alliance...

An armed man in Tennessee remained at large Monday evening after exchanging gunfire with a guard at the Watts Bar nuclear plant this weekend. An officer patrolling outside the plant's protected area encountered the man at about 2 a.m., Sunday, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The officer...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday that the firing of a quality assurance supervisor and other actions by the Shaw Group could result in a $36,400 fine. A notice issued Thursday alleged two violations of the NRC's employee protection requirements. One relates to the supervisor fired...

The former chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has again provoked the indignation of the industry he used to regulate by asserting that fundamental safety flaws make U.S. power reactors unfit for relicensing. At the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference Monday, Gregory Jaczko made...

Federal regulators have ordered an investigation at Arkansas Nuclear One, where a falling generator stator caused a fatal accident last week. On Monday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced it will soon send an augmented inspection team to the Entergy plant near Russellville. The inspectors will...

Southern California Edison is moving quickly in its effort to modify a license at its San Onofre nuclear plant and restart unit 2 at reduced power before the high-demand summer season. On Monday, Edison announced it had filed a draft license amendment request with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission after...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has come down on the Tennessee Valley Authority for its program to document the quality of commercial parts ordered for its Watts Bar 2 completion project and other nuclear plants. In an inspection report dated Tuesday, the regulator outlined three apparent violations...

Progress Energy's application to build two new reactors near Gainesville, Fla., will continue to move forward after a regulatory body dismissed an appeal by environmental groups. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service and the Ecology Party of Florida had challenged the final environmental impact...

Unit 1 at the Prairie Island nuclear plant in Minnesota faces tougher regulatory scrutiny after inspectors found it had left a radiation detector inoperable for 10 months. On Tuesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued the plant a notice of violation related to the 1R-50 shield building high-range...

As she finishes the final year of her predecessor's unfinished term, Allison Macfarlane has been nominated to serve an additional five years as chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Obama administration announced the appointment on Thursday. The Senate confirmed her original appointment...

Aiming to restart unit 2 at its San Onofre nuclear plant this summer, Southern California Edison has floated the idea of amending its license to operate at 70 percent power while a lengthy review of restarting at full power runs its course. Prematurely thinning steam generator tubes have kept both reactors...

While leaving room to negotiate some of the specifics, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reaffirmed a requirement that 31 General Electric boiling water reactors with Mark I and Mark II containment enhance their venting systems. The decision stems from rule changes made in the aftermath of the Fukushima...

Federal regulators are poised to cite two Tennessee Valley Authority nuclear plants for having inadequate procedures to deal with certain flood conditions prior to the modification of upstream dams in 2009. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission reassessed flood predictions on the Tennessee River in 2008...

Among the challenges confronting the nuclear power industry following the Fukushima Daiichi crisis, plant owners began looking for ways to monitor spent fuel pools in the extreme conditions possible during a beyond-design-basis accident. In response, Areva has begun to market a system that can measure...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has planned an informational meeting for Tuesday on pressurized thermal shock – a potential threat to pressurized water reactors that the agency has indicated could force an early retirement for the Palisades nuclear plant. Neutron radiation, thermal aging and...

Areva announced Wednesday that regulators have approved the use of its Arcadia core simulator system in the U.S. The code system helps designers and researchers evaluate core designs and conduct safety analyses. According to an Areva release, the system has access to a worldwide validation database and...