Author: Fission Today

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed what may be its most consequential reactor-licensing overhaul in a generation, a 553-page rulemaking that seeks to rewrite core pieces of the regulatory framework governing how commercial nuclear plants are sited, licensed, built, modified, operated, renewed, fueled, and ultimately decommissioned. Issued July 1, the proposed rule, “Modernizing Reactor Licensing, Safety Oversight, and Siting Practices,” (Docket ID NRC-2025-0975 and RIN 3150-AL44) reaches across 10 CFR Parts 2, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 71, and 100. Rather than advancing a single licensing reform, the NRC moved to bundle 17 distinct modernization measures into one package,…

After more than 10 years at the helm of the Laboratory for Nuclear Science (LNS), Boleslaw “Bolek” Wyslouch will step down to continue research in nuclear physics as director of the Bates Research and Engineering Center, a subgroup of LNS.“LNS scientists, including Bolek himself, are world leaders in particle and nuclear physics,” says Nergis Mavalvala, dean of the MIT School of Science and the Curtis and Kathleen Marble Professor of Astrophysics. “Bolek has ensured that LNS has flourished during his time as director, supporting our teams’ critical large-scale, international, collaborative research.”The largest university-based program of its kind in the country,…

Painting by John Trumbull, 1818.The artist’s work hangs in the Capitol Rotunda, Washington, DC.Image source: Architect of the Capitol. About this Image This painting depicts the moment on June 28, 1776, when the first draft of the Declaration of Independence was presented to the Second Continental Congress. The document states the principles for which the Revolutionary War was being fought and which remain fundamental to the nation. Less than a week later, on July 4, 1776, the Declaration was officially adopted, it was later signed by the principals from the June meeting on August 2, 1776. In the central group…

A campaign by Maryland gas utilities to manufacture opposition to a proposal that would lower utility bills by eliminating a key subsidy for new gas hookups appears to have succeeded, at least for now. At its May 8 rulemaking session, the Maryland Public Service Commission returned proposed regulations ending line extension allowances (LEAs) to commission staff for additional analysis, delaying implementation indefinitely. The decision came under newly appointed Chair Kumar Barve, who replaced Frederick Hoover as the Chair in January. An EPI analysis of filings in the rulemaking docket found that eight comments opposing the proposed regulations were authored or…

Three teams comprising 35 students across eight different MIT departments and Wellesley College have been at work since fall 2025, designing critical early infrastructure elements that a moon base would require. This June, their designs were recognized with five awards at NASA’s 2026 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts — Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Forum. Among 75 submissions and 14 finalists, the MIT teams earned first and second place in the competition, as well as three best-in-theme awards. The Exploration-Class Lunar Integrated Power SystEm (ECLIPSE) team won first place overall and first in its theme category, lunar surface power. The communications and navigation constellation…

Nuclear news – NOT from the Military-Industrial-Nuclear-Media complex I’m trying something a bit different this week – picking out a significant website. Also picking out a significant theme for the week –  WEBSITE – of the week – THE ONENESS of HUMANITY THEME – of the week – Nuclear reactors shutting down because of climate change – extreme heat, but governments and the nuclear lobby enthuse over new nuclear reactors! Some bits of good news –     Black Women Farmers Are Reclaiming the Land.  Colombia passed a bill to outlaw Female Genital Mutilation.  The global green economy has passed $10 trillion in value.    How trade bans and local conservation helped save a dazzling…

The steam turbine and generator package for Oklo’s first Aurora powerhouse at Idaho National Laboratory (INL)—a pioneering application of a commercially established industrial turbine platform at the heart of a first-of-a-kind advanced reactor’s conventional island—is in active production at Siemens Energy’s facilities in Görlitz and Erfurt, Germany. In details provided to POWER, both companies confirmed the power conversion system is being manufactured in alignment with Oklo’s targeted 2028 startup, closing out all major long-lead equipment contracts for the 75-MWe sodium-cooled fast reactor and establishing the basis for a repeatable power-conversion configuration beyond the first unit. The milestone follows a binding contract the…

DOE to Offer $17.5 Billion in Supply Chain Loans DOE Continues Push for Surplus Plutonium as Nuclear Fuel Holtec And EDF Submit Proposal to Build SMRs in the UK AtkinsRéalis Tells NRC of Intent to License the CANDU Reactor Canada Issues Strategic Plan for Nuclear Energy and Uranium  Poland’s OSGE Signs Agreement With Wloclawek for 2 SMRs Indian Billionaire Gautam Adani Plans Nuclear Power Project DOE to Offer $17.5 Billion in Supply Chain Loans Financing will help rebuild America’s nuclear supply chain and accelerate deployment of 10 new large-scale reactors. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Dominance…

UN report finds Israel deliberately targets Palestinian children by Stephanie Tran | Jun 23, 2026, A UN Commission of Inquiry has found Israeli forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children, their actions amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Stephanie Tran reports. In a report released today, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel found that Palestinian children had been subjected to targeted killing, starvation, torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and repeated displacement. The Commission found that “much of the harm suffered by Palestinian children was not incidental but “intended to destroy the existence…

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has proposed a materials-licensing rule that would revise several regulatory handoffs outside the reactor license, including pilot fuel lines, spent fuel reprocessing, dry storage cask approvals, advanced-fuel storage definitions, construction timing, and reporting requirements for fuel-cycle and materials facilities. The proposed rule, Modernizing Materials Licensing, released June 18, seeks to amend 10 CFR Parts 30, 37, 40, 51, 70, 72, and 140. The NRC described the package as “deregulatory,” saying it would streamline licensing for existing and certain new applicants, eliminate unnecessary regulations, revise reporting and recordkeeping requirements, and update radioactive-material storage rules to accommodate…