Hanford Site

With about a month to go before the Department of Energy planned return-to-work, about 60% of a 10,000-strong workforce at the Hanford Site in Washington state was on premises each day, site manager Brian Vance told the Hanford Advisory Board Wednesday. While the DOE on Dec. 3 rolled out a plan to get most federal […]

The top federal manager at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site said Wednesday cleanup of the Plutonium Finishing Plant is basically finished, while a nuclear boss with the Washington Department of Ecology indicated there is a general agreement about future remediation needs at the former plutonium production hub. Those were a couple of major takeaways […]

The top fed at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management expects the Tank-Side Cesium Removal project at the Hanford Site in Washington state to begin operating “within weeks.” Office of Environmental Management (EM) senior adviser William (Ike) White made the comment Monday during an online meeting of the chairs of the chairs of […]

Prospective bidders on the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar Hanford Integrated Tank Waste Disposition Contract in Washington state need not submit proposals before Christmas after all, thanks to an extension announced recently. The deadline for submitting bid proposals on the potential $45-billion contract is being extended by 17 days to Jan. 6, 2022, from Dec. 20, […]

For the second time in two months, the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site has dealt with a truck fire, according to a recently-published staff report by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. A truck that workers used to move soil into a radiological buffer area in the West section of Hanford caught fire “and was […]

A federal district judge in Eastern Washington has rejected claims filed against President Joe Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci and various federal agencies connected with a COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors in a lawsuit filed by an individual representing himself. “The Court finds that Plaintiff’s claims against Federal Defendants are properly dismissed for either a […]

Prospective bidders on the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar Hanford Integrated Tank Waste Disposition Contract in Washington state need not submit proposals before Christmas after all, thanks to an extension announced Friday. The deadline for submitting bid proposals on the potential $45-billion contract is being extended by 17 days to Jan. 6, 2022, rather than Dec. […]

The Department of Energy said in a Nov. 18 posting there will be a 120-day transition period for the winner of the potential $45-billion Integrated Tank Disposition Contract, at the Hanford Site in Washington state, to take over from the existing contractors. The final Request for Proposals issued last month included some incorrect references to […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has received 13,000 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste at the underground disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M., since it opened in 1999, the agency said Nov. 23. The shipment arrived at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Nov. 11 from the Idaho National Laboratory, which had produced more […]

With COVID-19 cases declining again in the Department of Energy weapons complex and government officials considering how to deal with an emerging variant of the virus, much of this week’s industry focus is on courtroom battles concerning a small number of employees who refuse to comply with a vaccination mandate for federal contractors. On the […]

The monthly pace of retirement notices among prime contractor employees during 2021 at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is up sharply compared with last year, especially in recent months, according to the two most recent monthly reports by the site’s services contractor. “The Retirement Program has had a significant increase in […]

The monthly pace of retirement notices among prime contractor employees during 2021 at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is up sharply compared with last year, especially in recent months, according to the two most recent monthly reports by the site’s services contractor. “The Retirement Program has had a significant increase in […]

A federal judge in Eastern Washington will hear oral arguments by telephone Dec. 17 on whether to issue a temporary restraining order that would put the brakes on potential firings by Department of Energy contractors of guards and other employees at the Hanford Site who refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination. U.S. District Judge Thomas […]

The Department of Energy said in a Nov. 18 posting there will be a 120-day transition period for the winner of the potential $45-billion Integrated Tank Disposition Contract, at the Hanford Site in Washington state, to take over from the existing contractors. The final Request for Proposals issued last month included some incorrect references to […]

As expected, the Washington state attorney general has filed formal arguments saying there is no need for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit an appeals court ruling that backed a state law boosting workers’ compensation eligibility for Hanford Site employees with certain work-related illnesses. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed his 45-page “brief in opposition” […]

Members of the Hanford Atomic Metals Trade Council at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state have ratified labor agreement extensions for much of the unionized workforces of four of the largest federal contractors at the nuclear cleanup site, according to a recent Facebook post by the council. “All four of the contractor’s […]

The Department of Energy expects to issue a finding by July 2022 on the practicality of solidifying 2,000 gallons of tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington using concrete-like grout, federal officials said during an online public meeting Thursday. But before DOE issues the finding, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) was expected to check […]

Management and contractors at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state were targeted in a lawsuit filed this week by a group of about 290 employees resisting a federal order to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Security guards and various other employees at the site filed suit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of […]

As expected, the Washington state attorney general has filed formal arguments saying there is no need for the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit an appeals court ruling that backed a state law boosting workers’ compensation eligibility for Hanford Site employees with certain work-related illnesses. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed his 45-page “brief in opposition” […]

Members of the Hanford Atomic Metals Trade Council at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state have ratified labor agreement extensions for much of the unionized workforces of four of the largest federal contractors at the nuclear cleanup site, according to a recent Facebook post by the council. “All four of the contractor’s […]

The Department of Energy does not expect a delay to a crucial cesium-removal demonstration at the Hanford Site’s tank farms, despite the discovery last month that parts of the system might be prone to leaks, an agency spokesperson said this week.  The “leak-tightness” issue, as the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) called it in […]

The Department of Energy does not expect a delay to a crucial cesium-removal demonstration at the Hanford Site’s tank farms, despite the discovery last month that parts of the system might be prone to leaks, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. The “leak-tightness” issue, as the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) called it in a […]

The Government Accountability Office says in a recent report the Department of Energy should better evaluate and prioritize research and development needs across the weapons complex, rather than relying so much on individual field offices and national labs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) also said in the report released Thursday that DOE’s assistant secretary for […]

Between now and 2025, the Department of Energy envisions having a single operations office at the Hanford Site in Washington state rather than the current two, according to a procurement-related document. Although they have separate budgets approved by Congress, the Richland Operations Office and the Office of River Protection have reported to the same boss, […]

Talks between Washington state and the Department of Energy over the future of Hanford Site cleanup continued this fall at a very granular level, according to the latest court-mandated status update about these so-called “holistic” negotiations.. “Since filing the last update on July 30, 2021, the Parties have continued to participate in mediation sessions, including […]

There were 99 confirmed active cases of COVID-19 in the Department of Energy nuclear cleanup complex during the past week, a spokesperson with the office of Environmental Management said via Thursday email.  That is 16 less than the prior week. It is also much less than late September when the Environmental Management (EM) weekly case […]

Eleven employees at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state on Monday informed their bosses they have tested positive for COVID-19, according to an online advisory. The Leidos-led contractor, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, which acts as a landlord or city manager for the former plutonium production complex, posted the development Monday evening on […]

Talks between Washington state and the Department of Energy over the future of Hanford Site cleanup continued this fall at a very granular level, according to the latest court-mandated status update about these so-called “holistic” negotiations.. “Since filing the last update on July 30, 2021, the Parties have continued to participate in mediation sessions, including […]

Between now and 2025, the Department of Energy envisions having a single operations office at the Hanford Site in Washington state rather than the current two, according to a procurement-related document. Although they have separate budgets approved by Congress, the Richland Operations Office and the Office of River Protection have reported to the same boss, […]

There was no word by deadline Friday on the fate of a federal preliminary injunction request that seeks to prevent the Department of Energy contractor running the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee from placing a small group of COVID-19 vaccine refusers on unpaid leave. There were no new records on the case posted online […]