Hanford Site

A dozen current and former fire captains or platoon sergeants at the Hanford site in Washington state are seeking overtime back pay and damages in a federal lawsuit filed against site-wide services contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA). The plaintiffs say MSA owes them overtime pay, equal to one-and-a-half times their normal hourly wage, for time […]

The Department of Energy delayed the release of a draft request for proposals for further cleanup of the Hanford Site’s central plateau until sometime between now and Sept. 30, the agency announced this week. The draft solicitation won’t be issued until after the department discusses the planned procurement in August with prospective vendors. “The Central […]

To prevent it from collapsing, the Department of Energy wants to start filling a second PUREX plant waste storage tunnel at the Hanford site with concrete-like grout in August — before the end of a scheduled public comment period about the effort. The Washington State Department of Ecology, lead state regulator at Hanford, plans a […]

The Department of Energy is limiting options for future use of Hanford land with the cleanup decisions it is making now, according to a new Columbia Riverkeeper report. The Oregon-based group, which works to protect and restore the water quality of the Columbia River, released “Competing Visions for the Future of Hanford” on Tuesday. DOE […]

The Department of Energy delayed the release of a draft request for proposals for further cleanup of the Hanford Site’s central plateau until some time between now and Sept. 30, the agency announced Tuesday. “The Central Plateau Cleanup Contract (CPCC) Draft Request For Proposal is now anticipated to be released by the end of the […]

To prevent it from collapsing, the Department of Energy wants to start filling a second PUREX plant waste storage tunnel at the Hanford site with concrete-like grout in August — before the end of a scheduled public comment period about the effort. The Washington State Department of Ecology, lead state regulator at Hanford, plans a 45-day […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology will kick off a 45-day public comment period in mid-August to take input on proposed changes by the Energy Department and CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation to the PUREX Storage Tunnels at the Hanford Site. There are two public hearings slated, one Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m., at the Richland, […]

A dozen current and former fire captains or platoon sergeants at the Hanford site in Washington state are seeking overtime back pay and damages in a federal lawsuit filed against site-wide services contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA). The plaintiffs say MSA owes them overtime pay, equal to one-and-a-half times their normal hourly wage, for time […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology has issued an operations permit for the analytical laboratory for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. This permit, issued in the spring, is the state agency’s first operations approval for the plant being built by Bechtel to turn Hanford’s radioactive tank […]

The parties to the Tri-Party Agreement on environmental remediation of the Hanford Site in Washington state have verified that the challenging cleanup of the 618-10 Burial Ground has been completed. That meets the deadline under the agreement for completion of the project by the end of this fiscal year, according to the Department of Energy. […]

The House and Senate are a step closer to resolving their differences on a three-bill appropriations package that includes the Department of Energy fiscal 2019 budget, after the upper chamber on Wednesday voted to begin final negotiations on the measure. In a procedural move that cleared the way for lawmakers from each chamber to negotiate […]

The Washington state Department of Ecology has issued an operating permit for the analytical laboratory at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site. This permit, issued in the spring, is the state agency’s first operating approval for the plant, being built by Bechtel to turn Hanford’s radioactive tank […]

The Energy Department’s Office of River Protection could issue a sole-source contract for Rutgers University in New Jersey to study factors connected with vitrifying tank wastes at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Although DOE is not aware of other sources capable of doing the work, interested small businesses meeting certain size standards can submit […]

Three more double-shell tanks at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site contain waste with chemistry that puts them them at heightened risk of corrosion, according to a new report from tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions. The report evaluated the waste chemistry of Hanford’s oldest double-shell tank, AY-102, which developed a leak from its […]

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the Energy Department’s waste tank farm contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, has awarded a subcontract to AVANTech to design and build a pretreatment facility for tank wastes at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The tank-side cesium removal demonstration project is meant to remove both cesium […]

The Idaho Cleanup Project Citizens Advisory Board recently voted 7-4 to urge the Energy Department to extend the lifespan of the Idaho National Laboratory’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) by allowing the facility to process radioactive waste from out of state. The letter, posted June 27 on the panel’s website, urges DOE to continue […]

Three more double-shell tanks at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site contain waste with chemistry that puts them them at heightened risk of corrosion, according to a new report from tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions. The report evaluated the waste chemistry of Hanford’s oldest double-shell tank, AY-102, which developed a leak from its […]

The Energy Department’s Office of River Protection could issue a sole-source contract for Rutgers University in New Jersey to study factors connected with vitrifying tank wastes at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Although DOE is not aware of other sources capable of doing the work, interested small businesses meeting certain size standards can submit […]

The House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce environment subcommittee voted Wednesday to recommend the Government Accountability Office (GAO) prepare a report on the types of radioactive waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state, but stopped short of saying the material should be deemed defense-related. The panel approved, by voice vote, an […]

With both chambers of Congress having now given their blessing to fiscal 2019 spending packages that provide in the neighborhood of $7 billion for Department of Energy nuclear cleanup operations, it is now up to a House-Senate conference committee to decide the exact amount. The conference committee had not been scheduled to start its work […]

Teri Donaldson, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Department of Energy inspector general, drew hardly any attention in her initial confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Donaldson, a former corporate environmental lawyer and federal prosecutor now working as general counsel for Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), has “impressive credentials,” committee Chairwoman Lisa […]

The first of up to two dozen containers of highly radioactive sludge was trucked Monday morning to storage in the center of the Hanford Site in Washington state. Workers have for nine years been preparing for the sludge transfer from underwater containers in the K West Reactor Basin, which is just 400 yards from the […]

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management would continue to enjoy a hefty budget under the “minibus” appropriation package for fiscal 2019 passed by the Senate on Monday evening. Voting senators approved the proposal 86-5. The Senate bill, which covers funding for energy and water development programs, among others, would provide $7.2 billion in total […]

The first of up to two dozen containers of highly radioactive sludge was trucked Monday morning to storage in the center of the Hanford Site in Washington state. Workers have for nine years been preparing for the sludge transfer from underwater containers in the K West Reactor Basin, which is just 400 yards from the […]

The Department of Energy said Thursday it plans to extend the Hanford Site Plateau Remediation Contract held by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.  The proposed contract extension is for up to an additional year through Sept. 30, 2019. CH2M’s current 10-year contract is set to expire in just over three months at the end of […]

Four workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state received medical evaluations for potential exposure to chemical vapors over the last week, according to waste tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions. In the most recent incident, three workers reported suspicious odors Thursday morning outside the AW Tank Farm, where supplied-air respirators […]

In an introductory letter to new Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) highlighted a number of safety concerns across the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup complex. The independent safety watchdog is tracking several issues at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Hanford Site […]

Respiratory protection requirements have again been eased at a Hanford Site double-shell tank farm, with directives in some additional radioactive waste storage tank farms expected to be reduced later this summer, according to contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS). Workers now are allowed to use full-face air-purifying respirators equipped with filter cartridges as protection from […]

An amendment to a federal spending package, to reverse existing Energy Department policy and treat waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project in western New York state as defense-related, evidently won’t be coming up for a vote. The Senate adjourned without considering the amendment by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Lawmakers would have only two hours to […]

In an introductory letter to new Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) highlighted a number of safety concerns across the Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup complex. The independent safety watchdog is tracking several issues at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Hanford Site […]