Office of Environmental Management (EM)

The U.S. Energy Department’s industry day for the occupational medical (OccMed) services contract procurement at the Hanford Site in Washington state drew a crowd earlier this month, including incumbent provider HPM Corp. Thirty-seven individuals representing 13 companies, plus the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, were registered for the presolicitation conference, site tour, and individual sessions, according […]

A new contract modification will enable the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office in Oak Ridge, Tenn., to participate in a cancer research arrangement. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) said a third-party medical company – whose name was not disclosed – will “milk” thorium from uranium stores at the Oak Ridge National […]

Longenecker & Associates has hired a new executive to lead its mission assurance team as it increases its workload in that area at two Department of Energy sites. Energy Department and nuclear navy veteran Craig Ferguson is now Longenecker’s group vice president for mission assurance, according to a Jan. 26 press release. The Las Vegas-based […]

The House’s top Department of Energy appropriator signaled Monday he might be interested in running the full Appropriations Committee next year after current Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) retires from Congress. In a Twitter message, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), the blunt-talking, hard-nosed dentist-turned-lawmaker who chairs the House Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, said he has “always” […]

The Department of Energy plans to open a center to help ill current and former Hanford Site workers or their survivors understand the benefits for which they may qualify. The new center, called the Hanford Worker Engagement Center, is one of the steps DOE is taking after hearing worker complaints about difficulty getting help. The […]

An advisory board that monitors environmental management issues at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina wants the Department of Energy to reclassify old liquid waste equipment so it can be shipped off-site for permanent disposal. The SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) voted 22-1 Tuesday to request that DOE investigate whether used liquid waste melters and certain […]

A federal lawsuit accusing the management contractor at the Savannah River Site of forcing a worker to retire due to his sleep apnea should be thrown out, according to a recommendation from a U.S. magistrate judge. Judge Thomas Rogers wrote in his Jan. 19 recommendation that Steven Baxley, a former employee of Savannah River Nuclear […]

Having workers use supplied air respirators with lines that snake across the ground rather than heavy air tanks could be an option for certain tasks at the Hanford Site’s radioactive waste storage tank farms, according to tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions. Workers have been testing use of air lines, including at the HAMMER […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management anticipates it will in July issue a draft request for proposals for the Nevada Environmental Services Program at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). That is according to documents posted on a DOE procurement website for industry meetings held Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas. The Office of […]

AECOM is still awaiting resolution of a $103 million claim filed against the Department of Energy in December 2014 in connection with the changed scope of cleanup at the Separations Process Research Unit in upstate New York. The Los Angeles-based engineering and infrastructure company noted the unresolved claim in its annual report, released on Jan. […]

New data has raised questions about the efficacy of monitoring for the spread of radioactive contamination during demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The Department of Energy on Wednesday released additional results from the analysis of samples collected at DOE and state Department of Health air sampling stations. […]

The Washington state Senate on Thursday voted 35-14 to pass legislation that would ease requirements for ill Hanford Site workers to be approved for state workers’ compensation because of exposure to radiation or toxic chemicals on the job. House Bill 1723, which was first introduced last year by Republican state Rep. Larry Haler, a former […]

Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos said Wednesday it has received notice from the Department of Energy to start the transition into its $1.39 billion contract for cleanup services at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Stoller Newport News Nuclear-BWX Technologies team, which was named as the contract winner in December over two […]

Two informed industry sources said this week that multinational waste management company Veolia has completed its purchase of Piketon, Ohio-based Wastren Advantage for an undisclosed sum. The sources said the deal closed on Jan. 16 following federal approval of the U.S. Department of Energy’s foreign-owned, control, or influence (FOCI) analysis. News of the pending deal […]

The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 133 shipments of transuranic waste from around the DOE complex during 2017, exceeding its own target since resuming waste emplacement. Last March, during a WIPP Town Hall meeting, DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader publicly identified a target of 128 shipments from April […]

French nuclear fuel cycle company New AREVA officially has a new name as of Tuesday: Orano. Orano is the result of a corporate restructuring AREVA initiated in 2016 that late last year resulted in the sale of the company’s nuclear power business to French utility EDF and other entities. What was left was almost entirely […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the nomination of Anne Marie White to be assistant secretary of energy for environmental management. The panel has scheduled a 10 a.m. business meeting to consider four Trump administration nominations, including White and Melissa F. Burnison as assistant secretary of energy for […]

The federal government reopened Tuesday following a three-day shutdown, after Senate Democrats largely dropped their opposition to a stopgap budget bill to keep agencies open through Feb. 8. President Donald Trump signed the bill late Monday evening after it quickly passed through both chambers of Congress. The measure funds the Department of Energy (DOE) at […]

Two top officials at the U.S. Energy Department, including one with responsibility for the Office of Environmental Management (EM), are scheduled to testify Tuesday at a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on DOE management and priorities. Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar and Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes are the only two witnesses listed […]

Setting aside the effect of major spinoffs in 2017, Honeywell, a major player in U.S. nuclear weapons and waste programs, saw sizable sales and earnings boosts last year, while profits rose in the Aerospace segment that houses two of its big Department of Energy contracts. Excluding the effects of the spinoffs, Honeywell’s full-year per-share earnings rose […]

A former subcontractor for URS-CH2M Oak Ridge in Tennessee was sentenced this week to 366 days in prison and ordered to repay the Internal Revenue Service more than $2.3 million for a scheme to defraud the federal government. The Justice Department said in a Tuesday news release that Joseph Anthony Armes, II, 38, of Petros, […]

Two top officials at the U.S. Energy Department, including one with responsibility for the Office of Environmental Management (EM), are scheduled to testify Tuesday at a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on DOE management and priorities. Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar and Undersecretary of Energy Mark Menezes are the only two witnesses listed […]

Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos said Wednesday it has received notice from the Department of Energy to start the transition into its $1.39 billion contract for cleanup services at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The Stoller Newport News Nuclear-BWX Technologies team, which was named as the contract winner in December over two […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management anticipates it will in July issue a draft request for proposals for the Nevada Environmental Services Program at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). That is according to documents posted on a DOE procurement website for industry meetings held Monday and Tuesday in Las Vegas. The Office of […]

An advisory board that monitors environmental management issues at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina wants the Department of Energy to reclassify old liquid waste equipment so it can be shipped off-site for permanent disposal. The SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) voted 22-1 Tuesday to request that DOE investigate whether used liquid waste melters and certain […]

The three responsible parties for cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site in California have asked the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) for two additional months to begin baseline air monitoring. NASA, acting on behalf of Boeing and the Department of Energy, made the request in a Nov. 27 letter to DTSC. […]

AECOM is still awaiting resolution of a $103 million claim filed against the Department of Energy in December 2014 in connection with the changed scope of cleanup at the Separations Process Research Unit in upstate New York. The Los Angeles-based engineering and infrastructure company noted the unresolved claim in its annual report, released on Jan. […]

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is scheduled to vote Tuesday, Jan. 30, on the nomination of Anne Marie White to be assistant secretary of energy for environmental management. The panel has scheduled a 10 a.m. business meeting to consider four Trump administration nominations, including White and Melissa F. Burnison as assistant secretary of […]

Two informed industry sources said Monday that multinational waste management company Veolia has completed its purchase of Piketon, Ohio-based Wastren Advantage for an undisclosed sum. The sources said the deal closed on Jan. 16 following approval of the U.S. Department of Energy’s foreign-owned, control or influence (FOCI) analysis. News of the pending deal was first […]

The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., by taking 133 shipments of transuranic waste from around the DOE complex during 2017, beat its own target for resuming waste emplacement. Last March, during a WIPP Town Hall presentation, DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader publicly identified a target of 128 shipments from […]