Hanford Site
A DOE-EM site in Washington state and the nation’s largest nuclear cleanup project, home to millions of gallons of high-level radioactive tank waste and the Waste Treatment Plant built to vitrify it.
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Vitrification & Grout
State officials conditionally onboard with grouting of Hanford low-level waste
Washington and Oregon officials agreed Tuesday that concrete-like grout could be used instead of glass to solidify a significant portion of Hanford’s radioactive liquid waste, as long as the grouted waste is taken off-site. Suzanne Dahl, tank waste manager for the Washington Ecology Department and Matt Hendrickson, her counterpart at the Oregon Department of Energy, […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Next move up to judge in protest of $45B Hanford tank waste contract
With extensive bid protest arguments now filed by the Department of Justice and the winning and losing teams for a $45 billion Department of Energy tank waste contract, it will be up to a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge to decide the next move. As of Thursday night, Judge Marian Blank Horn had not […]
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Vitrification & Grout
State officials conditionally onboard with grouting of Hanford low-level waste
Washington and Oregon officials agreed Tuesday that concrete-like grout could be used instead of glass to solidify a significant portion of Hanford’s radioactive liquid waste, as long as the grouted waste is taken off-site. Suzanne Dahl, tank waste manager for the Washington Ecology Department and Matt Hendrickson, her counterpart at the Oregon Department of Energy, […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Justice Department asks court to send $45B Hanford contract dispute back to DOE
Citing potentially fatal procedural flaws on both sides, the Department of Justice on Tuesday asked a federal judge to suspend a lawsuit over a recently awarded liquid waste contract and let the Department of Energy try to fix the mess. Hanging in the balance is the $45-billion Department of Energy Hanford Integrated Tanks Contract at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Winner of $45B Hanford prize questions eligibility of contract challenger
The winner of a massive Department of Energy liquid-waste cleanup contractor in Washington state is trying to turn the tables on a rival who has argued in court that the awardee was ineligible for the work. The winner, BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, told the U.S. Court of Claims for the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
In keeping with Ecology deal, DOE seeks better leak detection for Hanford tanks
The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
GAO wants Hanford’s high-level waste analysis vetted by outside experts
It is time for the Department of Energy to arrange an outside review of its potential alternatives for treating the most highly-radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued last week. “DOE has not committed to obtaining an independent review to validate the portions of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
After hearing, Hanford award winner gets until Monday to defend eligibility for $45B contract
A federal judge this week did not throw out on technical grounds a $45-billion liquid waste cleanup contract the Department of Energy issued in April, but the BWX Technologies-led joint venture that won the business still must explain its legal eligibility for the award. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, was given until […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
In keeping with Ecology deal, DOE seeks better leak detection for Hanford tanks
The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
After courtroom faceoff, Hanford award winner to defend eligibility for $45B contract in briefs
A federal judge on Tuesday did not throw out on technical grounds a $45-billion liquid waste cleanup contract the Department of Energy issued in April, but the BWX Technologies-led joint venture that won the business still must explain its legal eligibility for the award. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, wants until June […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
GAO wants Hanford’s high-level waste analysis vetted by outside experts
It is time for the Department of Energy to arrange an outside review of its potential alternatives for treating the most highly-radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Thursday. “DOE has not committed to obtaining an independent review to validate the portions of the […]
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Vitrification & Grout
National Academies sees strong case for grouting waste at Hanford; public session set for June
A long-awaited report released Monday from the National Academies finds a “strong technical case” for using concrete-like grout to augment operation of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lauded a study by DOE’s Savannah […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Hanford WTP melter heat-up could resume within weeks, White says
Crews at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state are doing electrical testing, setting the stage to again start heating up the first melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, the agency’s acting nuclear cleanup boss said this week. “At Hanford we resumed our electrical testing for the vitrification plant,” William (Ike) […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford area fire burns 1,300 acres before being controlled
A Sunday fire near the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has been extinguished but not before it burned 1,300 acres, according to a Hanford announcement on Facebook. “Wind gusts fanned the flames, but the Hanford Fire Department, managed by Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, got it under control within a few hours with […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Bechtel selects 40-year company veteran as new Hanford vitrification plant director
Bechtel National has turned to a senior vice president and longtime company manager, Brian Hartman, as it’s next project director for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Bechtel, which has a $15-billion contact that started in 2000 to build the plant to convert radioactive tank […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Courtroom showdown imminent in protest of $45B Hanford contract
A judge will hear arguments Tuesday on whether a BWX Technologies-led team should be stripped, on a technicality, of perhaps the biggest nuclear-weapons-cleanup contract ever issued by the Department of Energy. Judge Marian Horn on Thursday scheduled a hearing for May 30 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, specifically to deal with […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Hanford WTP melter heat-up could resume within weeks, White says
Crews at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state are doing electrical testing, setting the stage to again start heating up the first melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, the agency’s acting nuclear cleanup boss said Monday. “At Hanford we resumed our electrical testing for the vitrification plant,” William (Ike) White, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Hanford tank winner’s registration lapse ‘not a triviality,’ feds tell court
In the Justice Department’s first significant filing to the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on a challenge to a $45-billion Department of Energy contract award, the agency said the winner’s failure to ensure continuous registration in a procurement tracking system is significant. U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Horn ordered the government and the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford area fire burns 1,300 acres before being controlled
A Sunday fire near the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has been extinguished but not before it burned 1,300 acres, according to a Hanford announcement on Facebook. “Wind gusts fanned the flames, but the Hanford Fire Department, managed by Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, got it under control within a few hours with […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
National Academies sees strong case for grouting waste at Hanford; public session set for June
A long-awaited report released Monday from the National Academies finds a “strong technical case” for using concrete-like grout to augment operation of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lauded a study by DOE’s Savannah […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
$45B Hanford tank contractor winner prepares to answer eligibility issue
The BWX Technologies-led group won a $45-billion liquid-waste cleanup contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state will file court papers early this week defending its eligibility for the award. In an order dated Saturday, May 20, U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Horn gave the winning bidder, Hanford Tank Waste […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE to delay transition to BWXT-led tank team at Hanford pending court protest
The Department of Energy will not begin transition to a new BWX Technologies-led contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state until a legal challenge of the $45-billion liquid-waste contract is resolved in court, according to a May 12 court filing. The Department of Justice confirmed May 8 that DOE would stay performance of the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Pandemic rules over, but Hanford workers lawyers want to keep litigating COVID suit
The White House has ended remaining COVID-19 federal jobsite vaccination rules triggered by two 2021 executive orders but attorneys for 315 workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site say the legal fight should go on. The administration of President Joe Biden (D) and other defendants in David Donovan versus Brian Vance “have not relinquished […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Pandemic rules over, but Hanford workers lawyers want to keep litigating COVID suit
The White House has ended remaining COVID-19 federal jobsite vaccination rules triggered by two 2021 executive orders but attorneys for 315 workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site say the legal fight should go on. The administration of President Joe Biden (D) and other defendants in David Donovan versus Brian Vance “have not relinquished […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE to delay transition to BWXT-led tank team at Hanford pending court protest
The Department of Energy will not begin transition to a new BWX Technologies-led contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state until a legal challenge of the $45-billion liquid-waste contract is resolved in court, according to a Friday court filing. The Department of Justice confirmed May 8 that DOE would stay performance of the potentially […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
In rare move, Atkins-led losing bidder skips GAO, takes DOE to court over $45B Hanford award
An Atkins-led team’s decision to bypass the Government Accountability Office and take a Department of Energy bid protest straight to the Court of Federal Claims is rare but not shocking given that $45 billion hangs in the balance, industry people told Exchange Monitor this week. Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance, which also includes Jacobs and Westinghouse […]
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Contracts & Procurement
BWXT earnings rise behind Hanford tanks, other government deals
Earnings rose at BWX Technologies, Lynchburg, Va., in the first quarter, which the nuclear services and manufacturing company attributed largely to its government operations. Net earnings for the first quarter ended March 31 were $61 million or $0.67 per share up from $59.1 million, or $0.64 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Quarterly revenue was […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Labor Department to discuss benefits for sick nuclear weapons workers at Hanford
The U.S. Department of Labor invited both current and former nuclear-weapons workers to Richland, Wash., near the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, to discuss eligibility for occupational illness benefits. The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act outreach session will be held at 9 a.m. Pacific Time at the Holiday Inn Richland, according to a […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
State, feds, environmental group reach accord on Hanford’s leaking tanks
Washington state, the Department of Energy and the public interest group Heart of America Northwest, have reached a settlement on how the government agencies should respond to leaks of underground radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site. The formal settlement agreement was filed with the Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board Wednesday, the parties announced. This […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
State, feds, environmental group reach accord on Hanford’s leaking tanks
Washington state, the Department of Energy and the public interest group Heart of America Northwest, have reached a settlement on how the government agencies should respond to leaks of underground radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site. The formal settlement agreement was filed with the Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board Wednesday, the parties announced. This […]






