Bechtel

Strengthened whistleblower protections approved by Congress are now written into most but not all major contracts at the Energy Department, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report dated Nov. 4. The office reviewed 30 of DOE’s largest contracts, together worth about $386 billion – or 94% of the agency’s $411 billion in current […]

A group of current and former contractors at the U.S. Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio say a federal lawsuit accusing them of failure to contain radioactive contamination should be dismissed. Centrus Energy and the other companies say Ursula McGlone and other residents who live within 7 miles of the former gaseous diffusion plant failed […]

Washington River Protection Solutions is looking for a subcontractor to fabricate, test, and deliver a replacement melter for low-activity radioactive waste at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The AECOM-led contractor, which manages storage of 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste in 117 […]

Washington River Protection Solutions is looking for a subcontractor to fabricate, test, and deliver a replacement melter for low-activity radioactive waste at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The AECOM-led contractor, which manages storage of 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste in 117 underground […]

A National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel will hold a day-long data gathering session Thursday in Richland, Wash., on alternatives to vitrifying all low-activity radioactive waste at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The nearly-complete Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) being built by Bechtel National lacks capacity to convert all 56 million […]

Atkins Nuclear Secured Holdings has won a 13-month extension to its ongoing research contract for the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The SNC-Lavalin Group subsidiary said Monday it is providing technology support testing for the Hanford Office of River Protection in preparation for vitrification of low-activity radioactive waste at the Waste Treatment […]

A number of companies with broad experience in nuclear and environmental remediation operations sent representatives to a Sept. 16 site visit for the decommissioning procurement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ retired SM-1 reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. Among the participants were Westinghouse, AECOM, Bechtel, APTIM, Atkins, EnergySolutions, Jacobs, and BWX Technologies, according to […]

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology on Wednesday kicked off talks they hope will result in a mutually agreeable future plan to address key issues in management of radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site. While scant details were available at deadline, a DOE spokesperson confirmed the talks were […]

A number of companies with broad experience in nuclear and environmental remediation operations sent representatives to a Sept. 16 site visit for the decommissioning procurement for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ retired SM-1 reactor at Fort Belvoir, Va. Among the participants were Westinghouse, AECOM, Bechtel, APTIM, Atkins, EnergySolutions, and BWX Technologies, according to the […]

It could be 2020 before the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) incorporates the latest federal earthquake data into the agency’s environmental review of a planned next-generation uranium hub, a spokesperson this week. As part of a lawsuit brought by environmental and nuclear watchdogs, a federal judge in late September ordered the semiautonomous Department of Energy branch […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Some large infrastructure projects in the U.S. Energy Department’s nationwide nuclear cleanup complex should be completed in the next couple years, an agency official said Wednesday. That should include startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Barring unforeseen circumstances, the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management expects soon to award the potential 10-year, $6 billion support services contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state, an agency procurement official said Wednesday. The Energy Department apparently recently informed Congress the contract was being awarded, only to reverse course […]

The U.S. Department of Energy on Sept. 27 officially issued up to one-year contract extensions for waste tank and Central Plateau cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state, as federal procurement officials work on long-term awards for those and other major projects. The previously announced extensions will be worth $665 million for AECOM-led Washington […]

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Energy Department’s top official at the Hanford Site in Washington state has a full plate these days. That includes preparing for potential turnover of four top contractors and gearing up for operation of the $17 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) by 2023, Brian Vance, who manages both the […]

Key components of the $17 billion Waste Treatment Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state might miss the current deadline to begin operation, the U.S. Energy Department acknowledged this week. The Energy Department “cannot project with certainty” when the High-Level Waste Vitrification Facility and the Pretreatment Facility will be completed, Brian Vance, manager for […]

While there are alternatives to vitrifying all low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the U.S. Energy Department should do more vetting before committing to one or more of those options, according to a new assessment from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel. The fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization […]

Bechtel National has settled litigation brought by a former worker at the Waste Treatment Plant the company is building at the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “The parties have arrived at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the case,” Bechtel spokeswoman Staci West said by email on Aug. 25. She declined to say […]

Bechtel National has settled litigation brought by a former worker at the Waste Treatment Plant the company is building at the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “The parties have arrived at a mutually satisfactory resolution of the case,” Bechtel spokeswoman Staci West said by email Sunday. She declined to release any further […]

While there could be cheaper alternatives to vitrifying all low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Energy Department should do more vetting before committing to one or more of those options, according to a new assessment from a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine panel. The fiscal 2017 National Defense […]

The U.S. Energy Department and contractor Bechtel National reached a key milestone this week toward operation of the $17 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The company and DOE’s Office of River Protection held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to mark the start of testing on equipment within an […]

The U.S. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) has officially closed an 8-year-old recommendation that identified significant failings in the safety culture for the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) being built at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “The Board has concluded that the Department of Energy has adequately addressed the underlying causes […]

The prime contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex is tightening its criticality safety program and increasing oversight and monitoring of that regime to prevent an accidental nuclear chain reaction, following a recent federal report that deemed the existing program at the main U.S. uranium processing site “inadequate.” The Oak Ridge, Tenn., site houses National […]

The prime contractor for the Y-12 National Security Complex is tightening its criticality safety program and increasing oversight and monitoring of that regime to prevent an accidental nuclear chain reaction, following a recent federal report that deemed the existing program at the main U.S. uranium processing site “inadequate.” After a month-long inspection last year of […]

The AECOM-led contractor in charge of liquid waste management at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site earned $28.57 million of a potential $30.28 million for its latest fee period. That represents better than 94% of the possible fee, according to the DOE performance scorecard. During the period from June 1, 2018, through March 31 […]

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology are taking public comments through Sept. 16 on a proposed change to the dangerous waste permit for the Hanford Site. If approved, the state permit modification would allow DOE to connect a backup waste transfer line from the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s […]

A federal appeals court ruled this week Bechtel National is not due reimbursement from the U.S. government for $500,000 in legal fees the company incurred prior to settling discrimination litigation brought by two former employees at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. In an opinion issued Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the U.S. […]

The U.S. Department of Energy wants negotiations to start soon with Washington state and the Environmental Protection Agency over updated plans for radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state. At the same time, the Energy Department said in a July 11 letter to Washington state Department of Ecology […]

A federal appeals court ruled this week that Bechtel National is not due reimbursement from the U.S. government for $500,000 in legal fees the company incurred prior to settling discrimination litigation brought by two former employees at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. In an opinion issued Tuesday, a three-judge panel for the […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology is trying to force the U.S. Department of Energy to put a plan in place by fall 2023 for tranfserring radioactive and chemical waste from 149 single-shell tanks to double-shell tanks at the Hanford Site. In a document dated June 27, the state agency indicated it will not extend […]

Two class-action lawsuits have now been filed against companies doing work at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio since a nearby middle school was closed due to the potential spread of radioactive contamination. On June 28, two individuals who have long lived within 2 miles of the former gaseous diffusion plant filed suit against […]