Idaho National Laboratory

Former Idaho Gov. Phil Batt (R) died March 4 at age 96. During Batt’s tenure, Idaho inked a 1995 settlement the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy governing cleanup and removal of nuclear spent fuel from the Idaho National Laboratory. Gov. Brad Little (R) immediately ordered the lowering of Idaho and American flags in Batt’s […]

Butte County, Idaho sued Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in federal court this week over continued spent nuclear fuel storage at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The county says DOE should bear the “social” and “economic” costs of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) serving as a “default repository” for nuclear waste from entities […]

A small leak of simulant, detected last week, has been cleaned up at a waste treatment facility undergoing commissioning at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The “final preparations for the start of radiological operations” within the coming weeks, are continuing by DOE and its Jacobs-led contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, […]

A small leak of simulant, detected last week, has been cleaned up at a waste treatment facility undergoing commissioning at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, a spokesperson said Wednesday. The “final preparations for the start of radiological operations” within the coming weeks, are continuing by DOE and its Jacobs-led contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, […]

Butte County, Idaho sued Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in federal court this week over continued spent nuclear fuel storage at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory. The county says DOE should bear the “social” and “economic” costs of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) serving as a “default repository” for nuclear waste from entities […]

PHOENIX — The Department of Energy anticipates the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory to treat its first batch of radioactive waste by early April, the agency’s top nuclear cleanup officials said here this week.  Environmental Management Senior Adviser William (Ike) White reiterated his message, on the project nearing the finish line, […]

PHOENIX —The chances of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state making its first glass from radioactive tank waste by Dec. 31, 2023 is “very low” but reaching that milestone during 2024 is doable, site manager Brian Vance said at a Waste Management Symposia session Tuesday morning. Vance’s assessment was in response to […]

PHOENIX —The chances of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state making its first glass from radioactive tank waste by Dec. 31, 2023 is “very low” but reaching that milestone during 2024 is doable, site manager Brian Vance said at a Waste Management Symposia session Tuesday morning. Vance’s assessment was in response to […]

The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory started operating the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit Monday with simulant, an agency official told a local citizens group on Thursday. After completing plant warm up over the weekend, “we are processing simulant as we speak,” DOE’s deputy manager of the Idaho Cleanup […]

The Department of Energy and its environmental contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory could start operating the Integrated Waste Treatment United any time now, a state spokesperson said Monday. “They are planning to start simulant feed today,” a spokesperson with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, said Monday in response to an email inquiry from […]

The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory are making “minor instrument repairs” this week at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, which is still “heating up to begin simulant treatment followed by radiological operations,” a DOE spokesperson said Monday. The spokesperson did not offer a projected date for startup of […]

A long-term cleanup contract at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory helped lift revenue for Jacobs in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, an executive with the Dallas-based company said this week in an earnings call. Critical Mission Solutions, the segment where Jacobs coordinates much of its government contracting work, took in roughly $1.08 […]

The impact of the Department of Energy’s long-term cleanup contract at the Idaho National Laboratory helped lift revenue for Jacobs in the first quarter of fiscal 2023, an executive with the Dallas-based company said during a Tuesday earnings call. Critical Mission Solutions, the segment where Jacobs coordinates much of its government contracting work, took in […]

The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory are making “minor instrument repairs” this week at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, which is still “heating up to begin simulant treatment followed by radiological operations,” a DOE spokesperson said Monday. The spokesperson did not offer a projected date for startup of […]

The Jacobs-led contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory was poised to start simulated operations of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, according to an Idaho Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson. “They are estimating radiological waste will start being added mid-February,” the state Environmental Quality Department spokesperson said Wednesday in an email to Exchange […]

In a draft report presented this week to  a National Academies panel, a Department of Energy research team said grout represents the safest bet for treating half of the low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “Only alternatives employing grout technology appear to be technically viable, low-to-moderate risk, and flexible enough to […]

A federal safety watchdog reports there were two mishaps in radioactive waste storage areas last month at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including one where a container of radioactive waste fell four feet. Both incidents, one on Dec. 10, and another Dec. 20, occurred at Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, according to […]

A federal safety watchdog reports there were two mishaps in radioactive waste storage areas last month at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including one where a container of radioactive waste fell four feet. Both incidents, one on Dec. 10, and another Dec. 20, occurred at Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, according to […]

The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory this week resumed warming up a major facility to treat sodium-bearing radioactive waste, an agency spokesperson said. “Warmup resumed earlier this week,” the DOE spokesperson said in response to an Exchange Monitor inquiry. The agency has said previously the heat-up should take […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management last month suspended heat up of a long-anticipated waste treatment facility at the Idaho National Laboratory after a small leak of “non-radioactive, non-hazardous solids,” was discovered, DOE said Tuesday. The suspension came Dec. 29, 10 days after beginning warmup to prepare for radiological operations at the Integrated […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management last month suspended heat up of a long-anticipated waste treatment facility at the Idaho National Laboratory after a small leak of “non-radioactive, non-hazardous solids,” was discovered, DOE said Tuesday. The suspension came Dec. 29, 10 days after beginning warmup to prepare for radiological operations at the Integrated […]

Idaho Environmental Coalition won 86% of its subjective fee and 94% of its total potential fee for five months of cleanup work in 2022 at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, including preparing a nuclear waste treatment plant for startup. Idaho Environmental Coalition, which took over from Fluor Idaho on the Idaho Cleanup Project […]

A Veolia affiliate has started operating its new GeoMelt vitrification facility in Andrews County, Texas that will be used to convert certain low-level radioactive wastes into a solid glass form, according to a Tuesday press release. In June, Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal Service formally dedicated the GeoMelt facility at the Waste Control Specialists site in […]

A Veolia affiliate has started operating its new GeoMelt vitrification facility in Andrews County, Texas that will be used to convert certain low-level radioactive wastes into a solid glass form, according to a Tuesday press release. In June, Veolia Nuclear Solutions Federal Service formally dedicated the GeoMelt facility at the Waste Control Specialists site in […]

Although a drone used to probe the innards of a highly-radioactive calcine storage facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory got stuck inside last month, it poses no threat to successful removal of the calcine, federal officials said recently. “On the third flight, in which the drone attempted to collect radiological data, a […]

Sam Brinton, hired over the summer to lead the Department of Energy’s efforts to find a disposal solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, was fired from the agency following multiple accusations of felony theft, according to reports. Brinton was removed from their post as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, […]

The acting head of the Department of Energy’s $7.8-billion nuclear cleanup program says flexibility is key to solving tough-to-eradicate problems such as radioactive liquid waste disposal and groundwater contamination at Cold War and Manhattan Project sites. “At this point in time we are about 80 years removed from the Manhattan Project,” William (Ike) White told […]

The long-delayed Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory should start heating up before New Year’s and begin its cleanup mission in January, state and federal agencies said Wednesday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), designed to convert 900,000 gallons of high-level sodium bearing radioactive waste into a granular form, […]

The long-delayed Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory should start heating up before New Year’s and begin its cleanup mission in January, state and federal agencies said Wednesday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), designed to convert 900,000 gallons of high-level sodium bearing radioactive waste into a granular form, […]

Jeff Avery, a longtime manager with the Office of Naval Reactors, has been selected as the new second-in-command at the Department of Energy’s $7.8-billion Office of Environmental Management. Avery, current director of regulatory and security affairs with the Office of Naval Reactors, officially becomes principal deputy assistant secretary for Environmental Management, or EM-2, effective in […]