Hanford Site

Earlier this month a Department of Energy contractor started removing radioactive waste from an underground tank at the AX Farm at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Removal of radioactive and chemical waste from Tank AX-101 started Jan. 13, and should take about 18 months, the Department of Energy said in a Tuesday news release. […]

By John Stang Most viable options for cleaning up highly radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington involve abandoning a partly-built plant that cost billions of dollars, according to a recent Department of Energy analysis. Of 11 viable cleanup options DOE studied in an analysis of alternatives dated Jan. 12, only two include […]

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 […]

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 […]

Earlier this month a Department of Energy contractor started removing radioactive waste from an underground tank at the AX Farm at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Removal of radioactive and chemical waste from Tank AX-101 started Jan. 13, and should take about 18 months, the Department of Energy said in a Tuesday news release. […]

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,” […]

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 […]

By John Stang Hanford might not finish solidifying its most radioactive tank wastes until 2062 to 2084, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report released Thursday. Right now, Hanford’s legal deadline is 2052 to solidify the 56 million gallons of waste held in 177 underground tanks at the former plutonium production complex. Between 5 […]

While Department of Energy contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Co. is doing a good job on hazardous nuclear remediation within Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state, it needs to tackle some safety risks, according to the agency’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. Generally, the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments said in a review published […]

Key parts of a pretreatment system for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant should hold up over decades, Department of Energy bosses and a contractor from the Hanford Site in Washington state told the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last month.  Managers from DOE and Washington River Protection Solutions told the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety […]

Key parts of a pretreatment system for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant should hold up over decades, Department of Energy bosses and a contractor from the Hanford Site in Washington state told the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last month.  Managers from DOE and Washington River Protection Solutions told the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety […]

While Department of Energy contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Co. is doing a good job on hazardous nuclear remediation within Building 324 at the Hanford Site in Washington state, it needs to tackle some safety risks, according to the agency’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. Generally, the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments said in a review published […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board inspectors at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington spotted a questionable safety practice, and a reluctance to talk about it, at one of the tank farms last month, according to a recent report. “A resident inspector observed an event investigation meeting after workers in the SX tank farm […]

The timeline to start converting low-level radioactive waste into glass at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has already been slowed by technical and workforce issues and more challenges could arise, a DOE manager told the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board. The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant is a complex project and […]

The timeline to start converting low-level radioactive waste into glass at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has already been slowed by technical and workforce issues and more challenges could arise, a DOE manager told the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board. The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant is a complex project and […]

Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board inspectors at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington spotted a questionable safety practice, and a reluctance to talk about it, at one of the tank farms last month, according to a recent report. “A resident inspector observed an event investigation meeting after workers in the SX tank farm […]

A federal judge in Eastern Washington, who twice allowed 314 employees at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site to amend their complaint over government COVID-19 vaccination requirements, was justified in dismissing the case, Justice Department attorneys told the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals Dec. 23. Only seven of the plaintiffs in the David Donovan versus […]

By way of disclaimer, Wall Street gurus like to caution that past performance cannot predict future results. Nevertheless, here are a few Exchange Monitor observations — let’s not call them predictions — about where things stand at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) as 2023 begins. Congressional funding for the Office of […]

A federal judge in Eastern Washington, who twice allowed 314 employees at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site to amend their complaint over government COVID-19 vaccination requirements, was justified in dismissing the case, Justice Department attorneys told the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals Dec. 23. Only seven of the plaintiffs in the David Donovan versus […]

Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions claimed 82% of its subjective fee and 87% of its total potential fee for its tank management work at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state for the 2022 fiscal year, the agency reported Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, DOE officials at Hanford issued the latest fee performance documents […]

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) took to Twitter Tuesday to praise an increase in cleanup funding for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in the fiscal 2023 omnibus bill, and remind President Joe Biden’s White House more is expected in the future. “The federal funding bill includes a $141 million funding INCREASE for the Hanford […]

The long-running, closed-door talks between Washington state and federal agencies over future cleanup of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site are continuing, a Washington state Department of Ecology spokesman said Tuesday. “Holistic negotiations are still ongoing,” Ryan Miller, communications manager for Ecology said in a Tuesday email response to an Exchange Monitor inquiry. “The parties […]

Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions claimed 82% of its subjective fee and 87% of its total potential fee for its tank management work at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state for the 2022 fiscal year, the agency reported Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, DOE officials at Hanford issued the latest fee performance documents […]

A contractor readiness review at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has concluded the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility is about ready to start operations as a hazard category 3 nuclear facility, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report. The readiness review that occurred in Novemebr is designed to check to […]

The Department of Energy reiterated this week that solicitations for a new occupational healthcare contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state as well as a national small business contract for nuclear cleanup could both drop as early as February. The DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center provided its latest procurement update on Wednesday.   The […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last week appointed Nichole Huntington a new resident inspector at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Huntington’s first day on the job was Dec. 5, according to a press release from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) acting executive director of operations Christopher Roscetti. Huntington […]

A contractor readiness review at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state has concluded the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility is about ready to start operations as a hazard category 3 nuclear facility, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report. The readiness review that occurred in Novemebr is designed to check to […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board last week appointed Nichole Huntington a new resident inspector at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Huntington’s first day on the job was Dec. 5, according to a press release from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) acting executive director of operations Christopher Roscetti. Huntington […]

A Hanford contractor and the U.S. Department of Labor agreed for the company to pay 151 Hispanic job applicants $157,621 for not complying with federal non-discrimination regulations, Labor announced last week. In a press release and other records, the federal department said Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) discriminated in 2019 against Latino applicants to become […]

Washington River Protection Solutions, tank prime at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, has extended its bid deadline until Thursday for subcontractors to assist with quality assurance on the Tank Side Cesium Removal project.  Responses to the request for proposals were originally due on Monday, Dec. 12. But in a Dec. 8 […]