Hanford Site

A small fire ignited but did not last long last month at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to a report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The small blaze occurred at an area associated with heating up melter No. 1 at the Waste Treatment Immobilization Plant built by Bechtel, […]

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 […]

A small fire ignited but did not last long last month at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, according to a report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The small blaze occurred at an area associated with heating up melter No. 1 at the Waste Treatment Immobilization Plant built by Bechtel, […]

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, […]

The Environmental Protection Agency said in a recent letter it has not agreed to change cleanup plans for Building 324 and the contaminated soil under it at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “does not concur on any activities towards placing the 324 Building in a […]

In keeping with a White House-backed program to develop clean energy on Department of Energy weapons complex land, the Hanford Site in Washington state plans to host industry players this month in order to learn more about the property’s potential for carbon-free electricity. DOE on Wednesday issued a request for information to seek out companies […]

Energy Northwest, an electric generator that already has a nuclear plant outside Richland, Wash., plans to be on hand Sept. 22 when the Department of Energy hosts an industry day for enterprises interested in generating carbon-free electricity at the Hanford Site. “We have a long relationship leasing DOE land for clean energy generation projects. For […]

The Department of Energy is more than halfway toward its goal of removing cesium from a million gallons of liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, a prerequisite for solidifying the waste in the coming years, a DOE manager told the Hanford Advisory Board Aug. 23 Cesium removal should resume in September […]

Energy Northwest, an electric generator that already has a nuclear plant outside Richland, Wash., plans to be on hand Sept. 22 when the Department of Energy hosts an industry day for enterprises interested in generating carbon-free electricity at the Hanford Site. “We have a long relationship leasing DOE land for clean energy generation projects. For […]

In keeping with a White House-backed program to develop clean energy on Department of Energy weapons complex land, the Hanford Site in Washington state plans to host industry players this month in order to learn more about the property’s potential for carbon-free electricity. DOE on Wednesday issued a request for information to seek out companies […]

The Environmental Protection Agency said in a recent letter it has not agreed to change cleanup plans for Building 324 and the contaminated soil under it at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “does not concur on any activities towards placing the 324 Building in a […]

The Department of Energy is more than halfway toward its goal of removing cesium from a million gallons of liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, a prerequisite for solidifying the waste in the coming years, a DOE manager told the Hanford Advisory Board Aug. 23 Cesium removal should resume in September […]

The Department of Energy’s solid-waste cleanup contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state now recommends tearing down the above-ground portion of the decaying 324 Building before digging up radioactively-contaminated soil under the structure’s B cell. In an Aug. 23 presentation to the Hanford Advisory Board, Central Plateau Cleanup Co. President John Eschenberg said he […]

Thanks to retirements, the Department of Energy and its Washington state regulator have some new managers at the Hanford Site, the Hanford Advisory Board heard Wednesday. Hanford Advisory Board member Pam Lasen also announced during the start of the two-day board meeting that a former longtime board member from Oregon, Norma Jean Germond, died this […]

The BWX Technologies-led team that won a $45-billion Department of Energy contract at Hanford Site in Washington state, only to see the award blocked by a federal court in June, should brief an appeals court in early October about why the trial court’s ruling was wrong. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, should […]

Workers at the Hanford Site in Washington state last week practiced three early steps of solidifying liquid radioactive waste inside glass, a site contractor said Tuesday in a press release. Personnel poured glass beads called frit into a heated melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, liquifying the glass in a first-ever trial run […]

The winner of a decade-long, $45-billion liquid-waste cleanup contract at the Hanford Site on Tuesday appealed a court order that blocked work on the deal at the behest of a losing bidder. Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure asked the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to overturn a June decision by the Court […]

The winner of a decade-long, $45-billion liquid-waste cleanup contract at the Hanford Site on Tuesday appealed a court order that blocked work on the deal at the behest of a losing bidder. Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure asked the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to overturn a June decision by the Court […]

Workers at the Hanford Site in Washington state last week practiced thee early steps of solidifying liquid radioactive waste inside glass, a site contractor said Tuesday in a press release. Personnel poured glass beads called frit into a heated melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, liquifying the glass in a first-ever trial run […]

Perma-Fix, Atlanta, turned a profit in the second quarter of the year as revenues rose and the company regained what its CEO called pre-pandemic momentum. On a call with investors last week, CEO Mark Duff also said that Perma-Fix is on a team fighting to force the Department of Energy and the court system to […]

Earnings fell at Fluor, Irving, Texas, in the second quarter, which the Department of Energy contractor attributed partly to a $34 million charge cost and schedule issues in its Energy Solutions sector. Net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30 were $61 million, or $0.35 a share, down from $66 million, or $0.38 a […]

After acting as the lone deputy manager for 17 months at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, Brian Stickney is now officially the agency’s sitewide second-in-command, DOE said Monday. In 2019, DOE made Brian Vance the sole site manager for the former plutonium production complex, overseeing both Hanford’s Richland Operations Office and […]

A three-person military bomb squad blew up a segment of an anti-aircraft shell after midnight Tuesday at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, a U.S. Army spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The artillery fuse did appear to pose an explosion risk, but was blown up as a precautionary move in keeping with standard procedures […]

News of a Department of Energy plan to use weapons complex land to host carbon-free electricity projects is being met with a mix of excitement, skepticism and curiosity about how the process might work. A smattering of stakeholders contacted by Exchange Monitor Tuesday said they have many questions about the initiative announced last Friday in […]

While the Department of Energy and the occupational medical services provider for the Hanford Site in Washington state are at odds over how much data should be shared during an audit, DOE’s refusal to mediate the dispute is no sign of bad faith, a federal contracting board ruled. A DOE contracting officer told HPM Corp. […]

The Department of Energy, contractor United Cleanup Oak Ridge and various state and local officials broke ground Wednesday on a new $550-million low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, DOE said in a press release. The new Environmental Management Disposal Facility will provide onsite disposal of debris generated as DOE continues […]

Earnings fell at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the second quarter, and the nuclear services company does not expect a quick resolution to a challenge of a $45-billion joint venture contract to manage the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. “At this point, do not expect a contractor transition at the site until […]

After months of negotiation with four major Department of Energy contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington state, union members with the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council have voted to approve a new five-year contract, the president of the organization said Thursday. Because the new contract replaces one that expired in November 2022, the 2,500 […]

A three-person military bomb squad blew up a segment of an anti-aircraft shell after midnight Tuesday at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, a U.S. Army spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. The artillery fuse did appear to pose an explosion risk, but was blown up as a precautionary move in keeping with standard procedures […]

While the Department of Energy and the occupational medical services provider for the Hanford Site in Washington state are at odds over how much data should be shared during an audit, DOE’s refusal to mediate the dispute is no sign of bad faith, a federal contracting board ruled. A DOE contracting officer told HPM Corp. […]