“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
MAY 30, 2024
While construction has begun at the site of TerraPower’s Natrium nuclear facility near Kemmerer, Wyoming, testing of the technology that will be used in the reactor continues at the company’s testing facility in Everett, Washington. (TerraPower)
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Wednesday, (05/29/2024)
Being that Wyoming is the state I was born and raised, played, and worked in the intrepid (then) nuclear fuel and uranium mining business for several years, and that I am now as anti-nuclear as anyone on planet Earth can be,
I am sad to see this irresponsible act by the Wyoming legislature to throw open the beautiful land of the Wyoming country to uranium and rare earths mining, milling, and the construction of safety-questionable small nuclear reactor power plants (SMRs) to what should have remained a deplorable and dead issue, not only in Wyoming, but globally. But here we are, jumping right back into the middle of pioneering yet another trail along the road to the highway of self-extinction. ~llaw
Wyoming To Expand Critical Minerals Permitting To Include Uranium, Rare Earths
With Wyoming positioning to become ground zero for a new U.S. nuclear power revolution, the state is finalizing rules to expand its energy regulatory authority to include uranium and rare earths mining, aka “nuclear source material.”
May 28, 2024 5 min read
With Wyoming positioning to become ground zero for a new U.S. nuclear power revolution, the Cowboy State is finalizing rules to expand its energy regulatory authority to include uranium and rare earths mining, aka “nuclear source material.”
While the permitting process for nuclear plants and oversight of the fuel cycle rests with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Wyoming’s potential new rules are important because there’s a nuclear reactor coming to southwestern Wyoming in the next few years — the first in a long time.
Future Wyoming power plants may not necessarily find permitting easier, but subtle changes are coming at the state level that could deliver a competitive edge for radioactive minerals found in the Cowboy State. These so-called nuclear source materials will effectively streamline the nuclear fuel cycle by helping out with a domestic supply of the ingredients needed to make the fuel — which will continue to be regulated by the NRC.
TerraPower LLC’s nuclear fuel cycle for the reactor it’s building in Kemmerer, Wyoming, will remain under the responsibility of the NRC, which regulates all things nuclear, as will other power plants on the drawing board.
The subtle changes coming at the state level will touch on some of the critical minerals that may go into the fuel cycle or have a radioactive edge for other things being built in the military world or elsewhere.
The state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is planning a final presentation on new draft rules that expand a self-regulating program on “nuclear source material” with the NRC — nothing to do with nuclear fuel that’ll get processed for TerraPower’s Natrium reactor.
A groundbreaking ceremony for that project is scheduled for June 10.
Change Began In 2023
There are 39 “agreement states” with programs that meet the NRC’s requirements for regulating nuclear material uses other than nuclear power. This can include the recovery of uranium and thorium, according to NRC spokesman Scott Burnell.
“Wyoming has been an agreement state since 2018 with regards to uranium recovery,” Burnell told Cowboy State Daily in an email seeking answers to questions about proposed changes in Wyoming’s agreement state status.
“Wyoming is seeking to amend its agreement to cover the incidental recovery of uranium and thorium during rare earth mining,” Burnell said.
The changes in Wyoming’s nuclear source material program are the result of a 2023 state law signed by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon that lay out the Cowboy State’s guidelines for permitting and regulating parts of the rare earth and critical minerals industries.
There are several rare earth minerals companies operating in Wyoming, and which are in various stages of launching major mining operations for critical elements and magnets in coming years.
The rare earth minerals bonanza is the result of consumers starved for magnet metals integral to the green transition to electric vehicles, wind turbines, consumer goods, robots and military drones, missiles and chips needed for sophisticated computing power.
The state’s growing uranium industry is seeing a surge in demand and has lined up in the state’s Red Desert and northeastern Wyoming to mine the strategic radioactive element from underground.
Spot prices on the commodity exchange for trading uranium have soared following intense demand for a domestic, homegrown supply of the mineral following efforts to cut off the gravy train for Russia, once America’s major supplier of enriched uranium.
Thorium, which is used to make ceramics, welding rods, heat resistant paint and metals used in the aerospace industry, as well as in nuclear reactions, is a naturally occurring radioactive metal found at trace levels in soil, rocks, water, plants and animals.
Radioactive Changes
In Wyoming last year, state lawmakers gave authority to the DEQ to promulgate regulations to become an agreement state with the NRC for the regulation of “source material.”
In a February 2023 letter sent by Gordon to NRC Chairman Christopher Hanson, the Republican governor wrote that Wyoming planned to expand its agreement with the NRC for licensing uranium mining and milling and the associated by-product material.
Comments on the DEQ’s finalized draft rules must be received by the state agency’s Land Quality Division by June 19, with an advisory board meeting taking up the topic on June 20. That’s when the advisory board will review a draft of all nine chapters of the proposed rules on the new source material program.
Some of the chapter topics will cover radiation protection standards, inspections, enforcement and penalties, licensing requirements for source material, and transportation of radioactive material.
“The public notice was for the rules for the new source material program, which will be an amendment to the existing agreement state program to include licensing of incidental recovery of source material from mining or milling operations,” said Brandi O’Brien, the DEQ’s uranium recovery program manager, in a statement to Cowboy State Daily.
“The NRC does not rescind authority to regulate nuclear power plants, so Wyoming cannot be granted regulatory authority over licensing for TerraPower,” she emphasized.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
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TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Wednesday, (05/29/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Wyoming To Expand Critical Minerals Permitting To Include Uranium, Rare Earths
Cowboy State Daily
… all things nuclear, as will other power plants on the drawing board. The subtle changes coming at the state level will touch on some of the …
South Korea says the North has flown balloons carrying trash over the border – NHPR
NHPR
All NHPR Newsletters · The Rundown Newsletter · The … All Things Considered. Next Up: 6:30 PM … nuclear-capable missiles. “The acquisition of …
On Nuclear Disbelief | Commonweal Magazine
Commonweal Magazine
You might have said all those things about the great armies of Europe in 1914. Indeed, people did say them. Reasons for not using nuclear weapons are …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
Exclusive: White House to support new nuclear power plants in the U.S. | Reuters
Reuters
… nuclear power plants, a large potential source of carbon-free electricity the government says is needed to combat climate change.
Exclusive-White House to support new nuclear power plants in the U.S.
1330 & 101.5 WHBL
Nuclear proponents say the technology is critical to providing large, uninterrupted supplies of emissions-free power to serve soaring electricity …
Hungary and Belarus sign roadmap for nuclear energy cooperation
World Nuclear News
Belarusian Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto have held talks and agreed on the next steps in …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
Enhanced Safety of Advanced Reactors – Department of Energy
Department of Energy
Nuclear power plants maintain the highest standard for operational safety, security, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness. Nuclear Power Plant …
Coolant leak causes Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Lake County to shut down, NRC says
WKYC
The repair work has been completed, and the unit is now operating at full power. As the online NRC report notes, this was a non-emergency event and …
China and Central Asian Countries to Jointly Respond to Emergencies
The Times Of Central Asia
Energy Russia Security Strategy Industry Nuclear power · Uzbekistan to Build a Nuclear Power Plant. 2 days ago. Industry Employment Solar Energy Green …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Modeling the threat of nuclear war | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT News
… nuclear war? Eli Sanchez, who recently completed his doctoral studies at MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE), explored these …
NATO prepares direct intervention into Russia-Ukraine war – World Socialist Web Site
WSWS
This raises the danger that NATO could decide to use nuclear weapons in a war to counterbalance this relative weakness. NATO war plans against Russia …
Think tank close to Kremlin says Russia should consider a ‘demonstrative’ nuclear explosion
Swissinfo
… wars between the great powers since 1945 and that they have now largely lost – fear of nuclear war.” Suslov is the latest Russian security expert …
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
U.S. must improve nuclear weapons or face threats from China, Russia – Washington Times
Washington Times
U.S. must improve nuclear weapons or face threats from China, Russia. We failed to understand our enemies in Beijing and Moscow.
Quieting the nuclear rattle: Responding to Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons exercises
European Leadership Network
The universal and consolidated backlash against nuclear threats was one of the main factors that helped quiet the nuclear rhetoric surrounding the war …
Are NATO Nations training for a Nuclear Strike on Russia? Big Claim by Russia Official | Oneindia
The Daily Gazette
… these escalating threats.#NuclearWar #Russia #NATO #RussiavsNATO #RussiaUkraineWar #UkraineRussiaConflict #Moscow #VladimirKulishov #VladimirPutin …
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
30 Of North America’s Most Breathtaking Volcanoes – MSN
MSN
Yellowstone Caldera, Wyoming … Rather than being a towering mountain which can be seen for miles, Yellowstone Caldera is a 30-by-45-mile supervolcano …