Hanford Site

Here are some events related to defense and civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. October 25: Meeting: The Idaho Cleanup Project’s Citizens Advisory Board holds a hybrid meeting starting from 9 a.m. Mountain Time from Sun Valley Resort  at 1 Sun Valley Road, Sun Valley, ID 83353.  To participate virtually, […]

The Department of Energy has chosen a Virginia-based small business for a new occupational healthcare contract, worth up to $208 million over seven years, at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Hampton, Va.-based Inomedic Health Applications, a disadvantaged and woman-owned business, will provide round-the-clock healthcare service at the Hanford cleanup site. Inomedic Health, chosen from […]

A storage tank spoiled a batch of liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site that was thought to be clean enough for disposal, according to a contractor memo seen by the Exchange Monitor. The waste from Hanford’s tank farm, part of a less-radioactive tranche that is supposed to be solidified starting in 2025 by the […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will not lump together litigation over a Department of Energy liquid waste contract potentially worth $45 billion with a separate government procurement case. In a brief order, the appeals circuit rejected a joint motion by BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure and […]

A documentary film about Richland, Wash., and the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, which debuted during June at the famous Tribeca Film Festival in New York, is about to get screen time in Washington state. Richland is “a town that produced weapons-grade plutonium for decades, and its citizens have pridefully embraced their identity,” according to […]

The Department of Energy is taking public comment between now and Nov. 10 on environmental remediation plans for the Hanford Site in Washington state over five years, between fiscal 2024 and 2028, according to a Tuesday news release. A hybrid public meeting to gather more public feedback is slated for Oct. 24 at 5:30 p.m. […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will not lump together litigation over a Department of Energy liquid waste contract potentially worth $45 billion with a separate government procurement case. In a brief order, the appeals circuit rejected a joint motion by BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure and […]

A documentary film about Richland, Wash., and the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, which debuted during June at the famous Tribeca Film Festival in New York, is about to get screen time in Washington state. Richland is “a town that produced weapons-grade plutonium for decades, and its citizens have pridefully embraced their identity,” according to […]

About 30 companies, many better known for electric generation than work around the weapons complex, took part in the Department of Energy’s Cleanup to Clean Energy day at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to data posted after the Sept. 22 gathering. Some of the big names include Shell, Next Era Energy, which describes […]

A flub with its corporate registration should not void one of the largest awards in the history of nuclear-weapons cleanup, the joint venture that won the contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state said this week in a court filing. BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure filed a 120-page-plus brief, which […]

In a follow-up to prior reports, the Government Accountability Office said again Friday that using concrete-like grout would be a cheaper way to solidify the less-radioactive tank waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has treated 4 million gallons of its radioactive salt waste […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear remediation office should draft clearer guidance to differentiate contractor work that directly advances cleanup from other chores, the Government Accountability Office said in a report published Monday. Until it does, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) lacks a clear understanding of how much of its multi-billion-dollar budget directly hastens cleanup, […]

About 30 companies, many better known for electric generation than work around the weapons complex, took part in the Department of Energy’s Cleanup to Clean Energy day at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to data posted after the Sept. 22 gathering. Some of the big names include Shell, Next Era Energy, which describes […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear remediation office should draft clearer guidance to differentiate contractor work that directly advances cleanup from other chores, the Government Accountability Office said in a report published Monday. Until it does, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) lacks a clear understanding of how much of its multi-billion-dollar budget directly hastens cleanup, […]

In a follow-up to prior reports, the Government Accountability Office said again Friday that using concrete-like grout would be a cheaper way to solidify the less-radioactive tank waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has treated 4 million gallons of its radioactive salt waste […]

The Department of Energy and Bechtel National should make several upgrades to the chemical safety program for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to DOE’s enforcement wing. While Bechtel and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Co. have a “generally adequate” chemical safety program, until key improvements are made, […]

The Department of Justice and a pair of contractor teams are still waiting for the Department of Energy to take definitive action on a potential $45-billion deal for Hanford Site radioactive waste management in Washington state, according to a new court filing. That’s the gist of a three-page status report filed Thursday by the Department […]

The Department of Energy and Bechtel National should make several upgrades to the chemical safety program for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to DOE’s enforcement wing. While Bechtel and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Co. have a “generally adequate” chemical safety program, until key improvements are made, […]

The Department of Energy wants to convert 30 square miles of southeastern Hanford into a clean technology park. Led by Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk, DOE officials talked about the concept, called Cleanup to Clean, on Friday with about 75 people, including developers, in Richland, Wash., near Hanford. The agency wants to combine its […]

A Hanford contractor is trying to avoid a repeat of a July incident where overdue inspections for equipment resulted in a stop-work order at the site’s fire department, a federal safety board said. Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, the site’s Leidos-led landlord contractor that oversees firefighting and other services at the shuttered DOE nuclear-weapons site, restored […]

Deputy EnergySec among headline speakers for Hanford clean industry day Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk is among the federal bigwigs on the agenda for Friday’s  ‘Cleanup to Clean Energy’ informational meeting for the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to the Department of Energy. In addition to Turk, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management senior […]

A Hanford contractor is trying to avoid a repeat of a July incident where overdue inspections for equipment resulted in a stop-work order at the site’s fire department, a federal safety board said. Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, the site’s Leidos-led landlord contractor that oversees firefighting and other services at the shuttered DOE nuclear-weapons site, restored […]

Waste Control Specialists has filed a permit renewal application with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, company president David Carlson told Exchange Monitor this week at the National Cleanup Workshop in Arlington, Va. The renewal paperwork includes the original application and subsequent amendments, with Texas recently. The current application does not expire until September 2024, […]

ARLINGTON, VA. — While many senior people are contemplating retirement at the Department of Energy’s $8-billion Office of Environmental Management, William “Ike” White apparently is not among them. “No. I do not have a retirement date circled on my calendar at this time,” White told Exchange Monitor on the sidelines of the National Cleanup Workshop […]

ARLINGTON, VA — A planned test to solidify 2,000 gallons of low-level radioactive tank waste from the Hanford Site into a concrete-like grout could pave the way for a second method of treating waste at the former plutonium production complex near Richland, Wash., the Department of Energy’s top nuclear-cleanup official said here Tuesday. During the […]

ARLINGTON, VA —Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) Tuesday prodded hundreds of people here for the National Cleanup Workshop to urge their congressional representatives to avoid a federal government shutdown but stopped short of predicting a stopgap agreement before fiscal 2023 ends Sept. 30. “Reach out to your member of congress,” said Fleischmann, who chairs the House […]

Washington state will regain access to certain Department of Energy data about the Hanford Site in settlement of a $1-million penalty the state issued against DOE in 2020, the parties announced Thursday. As part of the settlement, DOE will create a system for the Washington state Department of Ecology to access documents that the state […]

ARLINGTON, VA — A planned test to solidify 2,000 gallons of low-level radioactive tank waste from the Hanford Site into a concrete-like grout could pave the way for a second method of treating waste at the former plutonium production complex near Richland, Wash., the Department of Energy’s top nuclear-cleanup official said here Tuesday. During the […]

An unsealed status report filed with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims by the Department of Justice says the Department of Energy might seek updated proposals for the legally embattled liquid waste contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state, potentially worth $45-billion. This time around, a DOE contract officer would have discretion to treat […]

Months after a deal was announced, the Department of Energy and the Washington state Department of Ecology are still not ready to share details from recently-completed closed-door talks on future cleanup of the Hanford Site, though the feds are preparing to publish a new five-year plan for the former plutonium production property. Back in May, […]