Hanford Site

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright disagreed Tuesday over the severity of reduced funding for the Hanford Site in the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget request. The following day, Cantwell’s Democratic colleague Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would also challenge the adequacy of the DOE request for Hanford.  Wright told Cantwell during […]

The Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) should reach full speed for turning less radioactive waste into solid glass form by October 2028, Department of Energy officials told the Hanford Advisory Board Wednesday in Richland, Wash. By that point, the plant should be  converting about 2 million gallons of low-level tank waste into glass form […]

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright disagreed Tuesday over the severity of reduced funding for the Hanford Site in the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget request. Wright told Cantwell during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing that he considers the proposed Hanford cuts “modest.” Further, Wright said the […]

In a Sunday editorial, the Tri-City Herald newspaper in Richland, Wash., blasted the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 request that would cut by more than $390-million the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup budget for the Hanford Site. While Hanford would still receive around $2.9 billion, more than a third of the budget for the DOE […]

The Department of Energy’s $8.2-billion fiscal 2027 request for its nuclear cleanup branch, which includes a budget cut for the Hanford Site in Washington state, would not affect solidification of less radioactive tank waste, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told a House panel Wednesday. Wright testified on behalf of the White House’s DOE budget request […]

The Department of Energy’s $8.2-billion fiscal 2027 request for its nuclear cleanup branch, which includes a budget cut for the Hanford Site in Washington state, would not affect solidification of less radioactive tank waste, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told a House panel Wednesday. During an exchange with Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), Wright said the […]

In a Sunday editorial, the Tri-City Herald newspaper in Richland, Wash., blasted the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 request that would cut by more than $390-million the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup budget for the Hanford Site. While Hanford would still receive around $2.9 billion, more than a third of the budget for the DOE […]

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)  vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 nuclear cleanup budget for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site is “a slap in the face to the Tri-Cities, threatening the Hanford cleanup mission and the community with this absurd budget request.” “This proposal is completely unacceptable,” […]

The Department of Energy said Wednesday it has deposited its first big batch of glass logs, made from liquid radioactive tank waste, at the Hanford Site’s Integrated Disposal Facility at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup said in a press release that the Integrated Disposal Facility received the first […]

The Department of Energy said Wednesday it has deposited its first big batch of glass logs, made from liquid radioactive tank waste, at the Hanford Site’s Integrated Disposal Facility at Richland, Wash. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management and contractor Central Plateau Cleanup said in a press release that the Integrated Disposal Facility received the first […]

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)  vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the Donald Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 nuclear cleanup budget for the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site is “a slap in the face to the Tri-Cities, threatening the Hanford cleanup mission and the community with this absurd budget request.” “This proposal is completely unacceptable,” […]

The Donald Trump administration rolled out its very high-level budget proposal for fiscal 2027 this Friday, April 3, which includes $8.2-billion for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), which would be a haircut of $386 million. It should be noted that in recent years House and Senate Appropriators have been willing to […]

Department of Energy contractors confirmed Friday morning that a temporary work stoppage occurred Thursday at the Hanford Site’s tank farms in Richland, Wash. The Tri-City Herald newspaper reported Friday April 3 that a labor organization, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council, initiated the work stoppage over emergency response concerns following the on-the-job death of a […]

Jeff Brunell, a longtime energy and defense executive, is now vice president of markets and strategy at Kiewit Nuclear Solutions. Brunell, who announced his new position last week on LinkedIn, was previously with AtkinsRealis as a vice president of business development. He was with Atkins two years working on business deals with the Department of […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., intends to issue a sole source contract to Mercia Advisors, LLC for Highly Specialized Strategic Budgeting and Congressional Liaison Support Services, according to a March 27 procurement notice. DOE’s Hanford Field Office intends to retain the firm’s services for up to one year without going […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., intends to issue a sole source contract to Mercia Advisors, LLC for Highly Specialized Strategic Budgeting and Congressional Liaison Support Services, according to a March 27 procurement notice. DOE’s Hanford Field Office intends to retain the firm’s services for up to one year without going […]

The Department of Energy will relocate its Washington, D.C. headquarters from the James V. Forrestal Building to the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) building, which currently houses the Department of Education. That is according to a Thursday announcement from DOE and the General Services Administration. The Education Department, which has undergone significant cuts under the Donald […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Energy, with help from Congress, could save billions of dollars over time by clarifying how high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is defined in statute. While this is a longstanding issue, GAO urged Congress to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission of experts to tackle the matter, in […]

Citizen groups that are frequent critics of the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex greeted news of a possible name change for the DOE Office of Environmental Management with a shrug. DOE Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix last week that EM could soon be rebranded  as […]

Citizen groups that are frequent critics of the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex greeted news of a possible name change for the DOE Office of Environmental Management with a shrug. DOE Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix last week that EM could soon be rebranded  as […]

PHOENIX — David Brunnert, the new chief operating officer at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, will focus much of his attention on the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Waste Management Symposia heard hear Monday. “He and I served in the first Gulf War together,” the head of Environmental Management (EM) Tim […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is scheduled to start shipping defense-related transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 2028 and could start as early as 2027, a DOE contractor boss said here Wednesday. Michael Douglas, the head of waste projects for Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Company, made […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is scheduled to start shipping defense-related transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 2028 and could start as early as 2027, a DOE contractor boss said here Wednesday. Michael Douglas, the head of waste projects for Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Company, made […]

PHOENIX — David Brunnert, the new chief operating officer at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, will focus much of his attention on the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Waste Management Symposia heard here Monday. “He and I served in the first Gulf War together,” the head of Environmental Management (EM) Tim […]

The Department of Energy’s latest cost estimate for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., is $18.5 billion – excluding the cost of building and commissioning the High-Level Waste Facilities. The High-Level Waste Facilities at the mammoth plant, to vitrify tank waste into glass, could run another $14 […]

The Department of Energy’s projected cost for cleaning up the radioactive waste legacy of the Cold War and Manhattan Project continues to mount, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report made public this week. “As of May 2025, EM [DOE’s Office of Environmental Management] estimated that the remaining cleanup work at all its […]

The landlord contractor for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has agreed to pay roughly $5 million to settle Justice Department litigation alleging the company “fraudulently overcharged” the Department of Energy for hours not actually worked over many years. Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) must pay the feds roughly $3.45 million — including $1.73 […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office has asked Washington state for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) to process up to 20% more tank waste. The feds said in a Wednesday press release they want to use grout to solidify some of the secondary waste generated at […]

A Department of Energy contractor has demolished a 175-foot-tall K West Reactor exhaust stack at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., DOE said Friday Feb. 20. Last week’s implosion of the exhaust stack marks another big step by Amentum-led contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company towards cocooning the last of nine Hanford reactors being placed into […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site has asked the Washington state Department of Ecology for a permit change that could enable the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) to process up to 20 percent more tank waste. The  feds said in a Wednesday press release they have asked to use grout to solidify some of the secondary […]