A legacy radioactive source from a US Department of Energy waste inventory is now being reused more than 40 years after it was put into storage. The collaborative effort to prepare and transport the small neutron-emitting, plutonium-beryllium source from Idaho National Laboratory to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory takes the 'reduce, reuse and recycle' concept to the next level, the Department's Office of Environmental Management said.

A bipartisan infrastructure bill passed by the US Senate this week includes, amongst other things, provisions for investment in advanced nuclear reactor demonstration projects. The bill would also include investment in research hubs for next generation technologies such as carbon capture and clean hydrogen.

Nuclear safety regulators in Canada and the US have completed their first collaborative project on licensing of SMRs. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission have issued a joint report to provide feedback to X-energy on the manufacturing codes it proposes to use in both countries for the reactor pressure vessel of its Xe-100 design.

Four first-of-a-kind 3D-printed fuel assembly channel fasteners have been installed and are now under routine operating conditions at unit 2 of the Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry nuclear power plant in Alabama. The components were produced at the US Department of Energy's Manufacturing Demonstration Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has discontinued work on a rulemaking that would have added a framework for licensing commercial reprocessing facilities to its regulations. In a notice published by the US Federal Register on 29 July, the regulator said its decision was based on the costs of conducting the rulemaking coupled with limited interest from industry.

Federal-level legislation will come too late to save the Byron and Dresden power plants from early retirement this autumn, Exelon CEO Chris Crane has said. The company is still hopeful that aid at the state level will save the plants. A group of Illinois legislators has called for the state's General Assembly to reconvene as soon as possible to vote on the provisions.

US energy retailer Energy Harbor has claimed "strong demand" for its tariffs offering carbon-free electricity from nuclear power plants. Interest in and sales of 100% carbon-free retail electricity products from the company's clean, reliable nuclear fleet have increased significantly this year, it said yesterday.

Romania and the USA have started cooperation work towards the expansion and modernisation of the Cernavoda nuclear power plant. A working meeting last week followed a series of strategic agreements by Romania.

Irradiated lead test rods containing Westinghouse's EnCore advanced fuel technology have arrived at the US Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory where they will undergo a year of testing to support regulatory licensing efforts. The fuel is being developed under the DOE's Accident Tolerant Fuel Program, an industry-led effort looking to commercialise new fuels within the decade.

Talen Energy Corporation has announced a joint venture with US-based bitcoin mining company TeraWulf to develop up to 300 MW of zero-carbon bitcoin mining capacity. The Nautilus Cryptomine will be powered by Talen's Susquehanna nuclear power plant.

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued its final environmental impact statement on Interim Storage Partners, LLC's application to build and operate a consolidated interim storage facility for used nuclear fuel in Texas. The regulator recommends granting a licence for the facility.

Exelon Generation yesterday announced the filing of Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activity Reports for its Byron and Dresden plants, due to shut later this year, with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. PSDARs set out long-term site restoration plans for the stations after they shut down, and their filing is one of the final regulatory steps before plant closure.