Hanford Site

Two Democrats from Washington state’s congressional delegation, Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Patty Murray, are proposing legislation to make it easier for certain workers at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site and other nuclear cleanup jobs to qualify for federal benefits. The Seattle Times reported Wednesday the two lawmakers were proposing companion bills in the House […]

The Energy Department plans to take “corrective action” on concerns regarding its May award of a $13-billion long-term Tank Closure Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state to the BWX Technologies-led Hanford Works Restoration. “Following our investigation and addressing other issues as appropriate, DOE will make a new award determination,” James Jurich, an attorney […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Thursday dismissed the two challenges to the potential $13-billion Tank Closure Contract at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state, but it is unclear if this spells victory for the BWX Technologies-led team that won the award. Three sources said Monday the congressional auditor dismissed the challenges filed […]

The number of coronavirus infections among employees who work for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state continues to grow. Eight employees reported to management Monday they have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the DOE Hanford website that provides regular updates on the virus at the former plutonium production site. No additional information, […]

A recent audit by the Energy Department’s Office of Inspector General found that a major vendor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, Mission Support Alliance (MSA), is not meeting its agreed-upon small business contracting commitments. The Leidos-led vendor, which provides landlord services at the former plutonium production complex that range from road maintenance to […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina disclosed late Friday that it now has recorded 183 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its workforce, up by 52 from July 17. In the first update in a week on novel coronavirus 2019, the SRS website said 102 of the federal and contractor employees have […]

The number of active cases of COVID-19 among Energy Department nuclear cleanup personnel rose substantially this week, and some industry sources suspect this is slowing a return to normal operations at former Cold War and Manhattan Project sites. There were 94 active cases as of Thursday within the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) complex, […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management plans to beef up its procurement staff to evaluate contract proposals. The nuclear cleanup office said in a July 16 press release it is launching an “acquisition corps” to increase its talent pool of procurement specialists at field sites and the Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC). […]

The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 86-14 to pass its $740.5-billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2021, which now faces a conference committee to iron out differences between it and the House version of the defense policy bill passed earlier this week. The NDAA crafted by the Senate Armed Services Committee would put a […]

The congressman representing the district surrounding the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state is facing off with five challengers in an Aug. 4 primary for which voting by mail has already started. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has represented the 4th Congressional District in central Washington since January 2015. As a member of House Appropriations […]

Huntington Ingalls Industries said Tuesday its operations for the Department of Energy would not be affected by the newly announced merging of two business groups. The corporate parent of Newport News Shipbuilding is combining two business lines within its Technical Solutions division: The previous Fleet Support and Mission Driven Innovative Solutions (MDIS) groups are becoming […]

The Energy Department plans to extend a sole-source contract with Atkins for research on vitrification at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The DOE Office of River Protection at Hanford said in July 14 procurement notice it intends to keep using the SNC-Lavalin Group subsidiary for testing of […]

The congressman representing the district surrounding the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state is facing off with five challengers in an Aug. 4 primary for which voting by mail has already started. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has represented the 4th Congressional District in central Washington since January 2015. As a member of House Appropriations […]

The Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state confirmed three additional novel coronavirus 2019 infections over the weekend, with the latest reported Sunday. The new cases were disclosed on DOE’s website for Hanford. They bring the total COVID-19 cases at the former plutonium production complex to 31, based on an informal count. The Hanford Site […]

A small plane crashed Sunday afternoon at the base of Rattlesnake Mountain on property owned by the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. There were no injuries. The plane’s two occupants said they were flying to view the elk herd in the area, according to a Facebook post from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. […]

The Energy Department is taking public comment through Aug. 14 on options for management of deteriorating structures at the B Plant complex at the Hanford Site in Washington state. B Plant is located in the 200 East Area of the 580-square-mile Hanford Site. From the 1940s until 1952, the complex was used for the chemical […]

Contractor Fluor-BWXT has promoted J.D. Dowell to become the new project director for remediation operations at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Dowell, who has worked in nuclear management jobs for the military, DOE, and industry, has been at Portsmouth since 2018 as Fluor-BWXT’s deputy site director. In the new role, he will lead […]

There are 66 cases of active coronavirus infection among personnel for nuclear cleanup operations overseen by the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management, an agency representative said Thursday. That is more than double the 31 active cases of COVID-19 disclosed a week ago for the Environmental Management complex. The agency did not offer any theory […]

The House Appropriations Committee on Monday approved its fiscal 2021 energy and water development bill, clearing the way for a vote by the full House later this month on the spending plan that would provide at least $7.5 billion for Energy Department nuclear cleanup. The Democrat-majority panel approved the spending package in a 31-20 vote […]

Two workers at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state informed management Tuesday they have tested positive for COVID-19. The latest infections were cited on an Energy Department website for the nuclear cleanup facility. Anecdotal information suggests there have now been 27 cases at Hanford since the pandemic began. Four of those have been […]

The Energy Department is taking public comment through Aug. 14 on options for management of deteriorating structures at the B Plant complex at the Hanford Site in Washington state. B Plant is located in the 200 East Area of the 580-square-mile Hanford Site. From the 1940s until 1952, the complex was used for the chemical […]

Two more employees at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state have tested positive for COVID-19 since Friday. The most recent positive test for the coronavirus was reported Monday on a DOE Hanford website. The notice said the employee was last at their normal Hanford worksite on June 5. The same website posted notice […]

Remediation of the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina would be funded at about $1.5 billion for fiscal 2021 under legislation passed out of the House Appropriations Committee on a 30-21 vote Monday. That amount would be about $83 million more than the $1.46 billion enacted by Congress for fiscal 2020, which ends […]

A small plane crashed Sunday afternoon at the base of Rattlesnake Mountain on property owned by the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state. There were no injuries. The plane’s two occupants said they were flying to view the elk herd in the area, according to a Facebook post from the Benton County Sheriff’s Office. […]

A trio of major Energy Department nuclear cleanup sites targeted for fiscal 2021 funding cuts by the White House would be restored at least to current levels in the House of Representatives, according to newly released details of a committee spending package. The House Appropriations Committee on Sunday released the detailed legislative report for its […]

The House Appropriations energy and water development subcommittee needed just 30 minutes Tuesday to advance its latest funding bill for consideration by the full committee. The proposal would provide Energy Department nuclear cleanup with $7.46 billion for fiscal 2021, roughly equal to the amount appropriated for fiscal 2020, which ends Sept. 30, and an increase […]

The Energy Department last week said it plans up to yearlong extensions to existing contracts at the Hanford Site in Washington state for management of underground tank waste and laboratory testing services. Washington River Protection Solutions’ (WRPS) long-term contract, now valued at about $7.8 billion, could be extended to Sept. 30, 2021, according to a […]

Three nuclear cleanup sites have received approval from the Energy Department to bring back more staff who have been at home for months during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Energy Department announced the status change for the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the Paducah Site in Kentucky, and the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York in […]

The Senate last week adopted language that would scale back, but not eliminate, some of the new oversight and influence the chamber’s Armed Services Committee proposed to give the Pentagon over civilian nuclear weapons budgets via the fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). On July 2, the Senate unanimously adopted an amendment from Sens. […]

The Savannah River Site in South Carolina as of Wednesday had confirmed 70 cases of COVID-19 among its workforce, the most known within the facilities of the Department of Energy nuclear complex. The Energy Department this week recorded the first COVID-19-related death among the site’s 11,000-person workers. Officials said Monday that an employee of operations […]