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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High-Level & Tank Waste
WRPS hires Richland biz to build new surface barrier at tank farm
The Amentum-led tank management contractor at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has inked a $8.9 million subcontract with Richland-based Fowler General Construction to build an interim surface barrier over the U Tank Farm. Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), which has Atkins as minority partner, announced the award Tuesday in a press […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
WRPS hires Richland biz to build new surface barrier at tank farm
The Amentum-led tank management contractor at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has inked a $8.9 million subcontract with Richland-based Fowler General Construction to build an interim surface barrier over the U Tank Farm. Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), which has Atkins as minority partner, announced the award Tuesday in a press […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ninth Circuit arguments set in May for COVID vax case by 300-plus Hanford workers
A legal challenge to COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state will be heard in early May by a panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, according to a notice posted online last week. Oral arguments in David Donovan versus Brian Vance are […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: West Valley intertwined with Cold War; N3B pipe digging to resume; Hanford employee douses small fire
The origins of what became the West Valley Demonstration Project in Western New York can be traced back to 1949 when the then-Soviet Union held its first successful nuclear weapons test, Craig Rieman, a Department of Energy deputy manager at the site told a Waste Management Symposia panel Thursday in Phoenix. “That was a big […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Liquid-waste roundup: Hanford glass unlikely in 2023; Small IWTU leak; Salt waste behind pace
PHOENIX —The chances of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state making its first glass from radioactive tank waste by Dec. 31, 2023 is “very low” but reaching that milestone during 2024 is doable, site manager Brian Vance said at a Waste Management Symposia session Tuesday morning. Vance’s assessment was in response to […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Close cooperation between DOE, contractors helped Hanford ride out wind storm
PHOENIX— Planning by the Department of Energy and its contractors allowed the Hanford Site in Washington state to withstand the impact of recent wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour, the boss of the landlord services provider said here Wednesday. “The massive windstorm” on Feb. 20 knocked out of service about 13 miles […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Close cooperation between DOE, vit-plant contractors helped Hanford ride out wind storm
PHOENIX— Planning by the Department of Energy and its contractors allowed the Hanford Site in Washington state to withstand the impact of recent wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour, the boss of the landlord services provider said here Wednesday. “The massive windstorm” a few weeks ago knocked out of service about 13 […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Liquid-waste roundup: Hanford glass unlikely in 2023; Small IWTU leak; Salt waste behind pace
PHOENIX —The chances of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state making its first glass from radioactive tank waste by Dec. 31, 2023 is “very low” but reaching that milestone during 2024 is doable, site manager Brian Vance said at a Waste Management Symposia session Tuesday morning. Vance’s assessment was in response to […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford employee douses small fire in evaporator office
A worker at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state used a fire extinguisher to snuff out a small blaze within an administrative office at 242-A Evaporator facility, a federal safety board reported Feb. 3. An initial investigation identified the cause as “a lit candle that ignited combustible material while briefly left unattended,” […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Energy Communities urges DOE to use revamped high-level waste policy to speed disposal
The Department of Energy needs to “prioritize” a 2019 policy change that said much high-level radioactive waste is not hazardous enough to require deep underground disposal, a Washington-based group said in a report Thursday. “DOE should re-energize its use of the HLW [high-level waste] interpretation, including pursuing a pilot implementation at Hanford for a single-specific […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Final Hanford medical RFP hits the street; new deal would cover vit plant workers
The Department of Energy on Thursday solicited bids for an Occupational Medical Services provider for the 10,000-plus federal and contract workers at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Questions on the final request for proposals should be sent to the DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center by 11:59 p.m. on March 2. Bid packages are […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Small blazes not unusual at weapons complex sites, DOE review finds
Over a year’s time, it is common for Department of Energy weapons complex sites to experience multiple fires that are recorded with the agency’s Occurrence Reporting and Processing System, according to a report from the agency’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. “The number of reportable fires per year [over a seven-year-period] ranged from 4 to 10, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Leidos enjoys strong quarter; CEO plans for government shutdown, just in case
Earnings rose at Leidos, Reston, Va., in the fourth quarter, which the federal contractor and services provider attributed to its diverse portfolio, although CEO Roger Krone said plans are underway for a government shutdown — just in case. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30 were $180 million or $1.28 a share, up […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Parsons earnings nearly flat in Q4 but rise for 2022
Earnings dipped slightly at Parsons Corp., Centreville, Va., in the fourth quarter but were up for 2022 as a whole, which the government defense and infrastructure contractor attributed during a Wednesday conference call to organic growth. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 were $28 million, or $0.25 a share, down slightly from […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE gets until February 2028 to fix vapor threat at Hanford
A Seattle-based advocacy group and a labor union at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state have agreed to revise a legal settlement and give the feds more time to implement engineering controls to protect workers from harmful vapors at the former plutonium production facility. The controls, initially expected in 2021, should now […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Leidos enjoys strong quarter; CEO plans for government shutdown, just in case
Earnings rose at Leidos, Reston, Va., in the fourth quarter, which the federal contractor and services provider attributed to its diverse portfolio, although CEO Roger Krone said plans are underway for a government shutdown — just in case. Net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 30 were $180 million or $1.28 a share, up […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE gets until February 2028 to fix vapor threat at Hanford
A Seattle-based advocacy group and a labor union at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state have agreed to revise a legal settlement and give the feds more time to implement engineering controls to protect workers from harmful vapors at the former plutonium production facility. The controls, initially expected in 2021, should now […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Hanford employee medical RFP should be posted before April
The Department of Energy now expects the full Occupational Medical Contract solicitation for the Hanford Site in Washington state to hit the streets by late next month, according to a procurement notice last week. In a notice dated Feb. 2, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in Cincinnati said to expect the request for […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Perma-Fix eager to play wider role at Hanford cleanup following DOE decision
Atlanta-based Perma-Fix Environmental Services anticipates playing a larger role in tank waste cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state, thanks to a decision last week by the Department of Energy. DOE’s amendment of a 2013 environmental decision clears the way for the agency to treat and dispose of certain secondary wastes from the agency’s […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Perma-Fix eager to play wider role at Hanford cleanup following DOE decision
Atlanta-based Perma-Fix Environmental Services anticipates playing a larger role in tank waste cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state, thanks to a decision last week by the Department of Energy. DOE’s amendment of a 2013 environmental decision clears the way for the agency to treat and dispose of certain secondary wastes from the agency’s […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Hanford employee medical RFP should be posted before April
The Department of Energy now expects the full Occupational Medical Contract solicitation for the Hanford Site in Washington state to hit the streets by late next month, according to a procurement notice last week. In a notice dated Feb. 2, the DOE Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in Cincinnati said to expect the request for […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Feds find much glass from Hanford vit plant can be managed as low-level waste
In a Federal Register notice Tuesday, the Department of Energy said that glass logs produced from low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state can be treated as low-level waste. DOE published that conclusion after consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tribes and other local stakeholders in the final “Waste Incidental to […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Grout is best for low-level waste that direct-feed plant can’t treat, Savannah River lab says
In a draft report presented this week to a National Academies panel, a Department of Energy research team said grout represents the safest bet for treating half of the low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “Only alternatives employing grout technology appear to be technically viable, low-to-moderate risk, and flexible enough to […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
WRPS seeks sub for solidified waste containers
The tank management prime at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is shopping for a subcontractor to provide containers for immobilized low-activity radioactive waste produced by the new vitrification plant. Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) posted a request for proposals (RFP) notice Wednesday on the federal procurement website SAM.gov. A pre-proposal […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Grout is best for low-level waste that direct-feed plant can’t treat, Savannah River lab says
In a draft report presented this week to a National Academies panel, a Department of Energy research team said grout represents the safest bet for treating half of the low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “Only alternatives employing grout technology appear to be technically viable, low-to-moderate risk, and flexible enough to […]
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Vitrification & Grout
Feds find much glass from Hanford vit plant can be managed as low-level waste
In a Federal Register notice Tuesday, the Department of Energy said that glass logs produced from low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state can be treated as low-level waste. DOE published that conclusion after consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tribes and other local stakeholders in the final “Waste Incidental to […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Veolia team wins landfill management subcontract at Hanford
A joint venture led by a Veolia affiliate has been tapped by Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. to run two landfills at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state under a deal potentially worth $124 million over six years, Veolia said Wednesday. The Hanford cleanup prime has picked the joint venture between Veolia […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
9th Circuit could hear Hanford employees’ COVID vax case this summer
A federal appeals court could hear oral arguments this May in Seattle in a legal challenge brought over COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday informed attorneys for the Justice Department and the Silent Majority Foundation, representing more […]
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Contracts & Procurement
DOE rolls out video, subcontractor list prior to Hanford medical RFP
With a Department of Energy solicitation for a new Occupational Services contract expected as soon as February for the Hanford Site in Washington state, the agency last week released various details about the work, including a video tour of two existing worker health facilities. DOE’s Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center published both a list […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford contractor seeking tiny ‘pit vyper’ robots
Amentum-led Department of Energy contractor Washington River Protection Solutions asked for expressions of interest from makers of robots that could provide a better view of the pits that lead to underground radioactive waste tanks at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “The robotic solution will be referred to as the Pit Vyper in this document,” […]






