Hanford Site

Managers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state learned Tuesday that three more workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a post on the property’s emergency operations website. That brings the unofficial total of COVID-19 cases at Hanford to 195 so far in 2020. That is based on a public […]

The director of the Washington state Department of Ecology Laura Watson hopes to have a new person in charge of nuclear waste cleanup by the end of the year. After spending five-and-a-half years in charge of Washington’s nuclear cleanup, much of which involves regulating the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site remediation, Alex Smith left the […]

There are currently 109 active cases of COVID-19 within the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management cleanup complex, which is 10 more than a week ago, a spokesperson said Thursday. There appears to be a steady rise in coronavirus infections at the 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project cleanup sites overseen by the Environmental […]

A venture led by Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Navarro Research and Engineering is assured of becoming the new operator of 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state, now that the window for protesting DOE’s contract award to the team lapsed. The period for contesting the award to the Government Accountability Office ended Monday, two […]

The Department of Energy extended to January the transition periods for the support services and solid-waste cleanup contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Transition periods for both the Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions team and the Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. are being extended until Jan. 24, the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office […]

The Department of Energy has yet to decide what exactly it will do about a contested $13-billion tank management contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state that was placed on hold in July. There are issues “that the department is still working our way through,” Hanford’s DOE site manager, Brian Vance, told an online […]

The Department of Energy extended to January the transition periods for the support services and solid-waste cleanup contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Transition periods for both the Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions team and the Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. are being extended until Jan. 24, the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office […]

A venture led by Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Navarro Research and Engineering is assured of becoming the new operator of 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state, now that the window for protesting DOE’s contract award to the team lapsed. The period for contesting the award to the Government Accountability Office ended Monday, two […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state seems to be experiencing a surge in coronavirus infections in recent days with five more workers testing positive. That makes 11 new cases of COVID-19 among Hanford’s 11,000-member workforce since Friday. The DOE emergency operations website at Hanford posted a notice late Monday saying five employees […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the ExchangeMonitor staff is tracking this week. Monday: The Citizens Advisory Board for the Savannah River Site will meet virtually today starting at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. The session is viewable on the advisory board’s youtube page. Wednesday: The West Valley Citizens Task […]

Six more employees at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state tested positive for COVID-19, according to weekend posts on the emergency operations website. Two workers informed management on Saturday that they have tested positive, followed by another four on Sunday. No further details were provided on the website which is updated daily […]

As of this morning, the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina has confirmed a total of 609 cases of COVID-19 among its roughly 11,000-member workforce. The numbers, posted online by the Aiken, S.C., site, represent a rise of 18 cases from the prior week’s total of 591. Also, 568 of those employees […]

The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina already has about 65% of staff back working inside the fence, the top manager there said Friday. Mike Budney, manager of DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) operations at Savannah River made the comments during his presentation to the South Carolina Nuclear Advisory Council. “That’s […]

Tank waste operations, particularly a project at the Idaho National Laboratory, are hard hit by workplace restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the No. 2 official at the Department of Energy cleanup office said Monday. A year ago, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) expected the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at Idaho […]

The Department of Energy is seeking to hold contractors accountable for high ethical standards and professional practices, executives at the Office of Environmental Management said publicly this week and last.  Hanford Site in Washington state can use education along with the specter of financial loss in pushing ethical standards for contractors, the site’s federal manager, […]

Two members of the security detail for Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday, a spokeswoman for the agency chief said. “Although Secretary Brouillette tested negative and is not exhibiting symptoms, out of an abundance of caution, the Secretary and traveling staff will be returning by vehicle to Washing and following” guidance […]

While some work at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, contract procurement has hardly missed a beat, officials told an online industry conference this week. Thus far in 2020 there have been “almost no drop offs [and] ironically enough, almost some acceleration” in contract solicitations and […]

Nuclear cleanup contractors for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management received $426-million during fiscal 2020 to help cushion the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic for employees not able to report to work. That’s according to a spokesperson for the agency’s Office of Environmental Management (EM). The figure represents reimbursements EM paid to […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state can use education along with the specter of financial loss in pushing ethical standards for contractors, the site’s local fed said recently.  The DOE has mandated ethics programs for major contractors and this effort is “very similar to a safety program” in that it’s designed to […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received six new positive COVID-19 tests for its workers between Oct. 1 and Oct. 7, bringing the site total to 45 so far in the pandemic. In addition, another worker at the DOE Hanford Site in Washington state has tested positive, bringing the total […]

As of mid-week, there had been a total of 175 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance said Wednesday during a webcast advisory board meeting. Vance, the Hanford site manager, provided the number in response to a question from a member of the […]

Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. kicked off its 60-day transition period this week to become the new major remediation contractor at the Central Plateau area of Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, under a potential 10-year, $10-billion agreement. On Dec. 4 the joint venture comprising Amentum, Fluor and Atkins will take over from […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state needs to be better prepared to cope with additional failure of single-shell tanks holding radioactive wastes, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General. That is a key takeaway from a report, dated Sept. 30 and posted this week. If many existing underground tanks fail there […]

Joe Franco, the Department of Energy’s deputy manager at the Hanford Site’s Richland Operations Office in Washington state, is leaving the agency to become a special adviser to the prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Amentum-led Nuclear Waste Partnership said in a Thursday press release that Franco will become special adviser to the […]

Joe Franco, the Department of Energy’s deputy manager at the Hanford Site’s Richland Operations Office in Washington state, is leaving the agency to take another job. Tuesday was the “farewell” day at Richland for Franco, Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance said during his update Wednesday to the Hanford Advisory Committee. Franco has been a DOE […]

As of this week there have been a total of 175 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance said Wednesday during a webcast advisory board meeting. Vance, the Hanford site manager, provided the number in response to a question from a member of […]

Two more people at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to late-Monday post on an official Hanford website. In addition, 12 more workers at the Hanford Site are undergoing testing for COVID-19, according to a notice posted on a Hanford website that provides daily updates […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state needs to be better prepared to cope with additional failure of single-shell tanks holding radioactive wastes, according to the agency’s Office of Inspector General. That is a key takeaway from a report, dated Sept. 30 and recently posted online. If many existing underground tanks fail there […]

Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. kicks off its 60-day transition period today to become the new major remediation contractor at the Central Plateau area of Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, under a potential 10-year, $10-billion agreement. On Dec. 4 the joint venture comprising Amentum, Fluor and Atkins will take over from Jacobs […]

A Department of Energy advisory board is drafting a report to help the Office of Environmental Management develop a complex-wide priorities list for nuclear cleanup complex. The DOE Environmental Management Advisory Board could vote later this fall on a subcommittee report into how to make remediation of 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project sites more […]