Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is considering a permit modification sought by a U.S. Energy Department contractor preparing to start repackaging radioactive waste at a new location within the Idaho National Laboratory following an April 2018 accident. The waste was generated decades ago at the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado and was […]

The state of Idaho and the U.S. Department of Energy have negotiated a deal that opens to the door to resumption of some spent nuclear fuel shipments to the Idaho National Laboratory. The agreement, announced in a Thursday press release from Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, specifically covers a one-time waiver […]

U.S. Energy Department contractor BWX Technologies on Monday reported a company record for quarterly revenue – $506 million for the three-month period that ended Sept.30, an 18.9% jump from $426 million a year ago. The Lynchburg, Va.-based company reported $74.8 million in net income, or $0.78 per diluted share, compared with $77.9 million, or $0.78 […]

Both AECOM and the investment group planning to buy its government contracting business could call off the deal if it takes too long to complete, according to a recent financial filing. AECOM plans to sell its Management Services business to Maverick Purchaser Sub LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firms American Securities and Lindsay […]

The new method used by the U.S. Energy Department to calculate waste-disposal volumes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is significantly increasing the amount of radioactive material that can be interred, an advocacy group says. Last December, the New Mexico Environment Department approved a modification to DOE’s hazardous waste permit for the […]

Both AECOM and the investment group planning to buy its government contracting business could call off the deal if it takes too long to complete, according to a recent financial filing. AECOM plans to sell its Management Services business to Maverick Purchaser Sub LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firms American Securities and Lindsay […]

The new method used by the U.S. Energy Department to calculate waste-disposal volumes at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., is significantly increasing the amount of radioactive material that can be interred, an advocacy group says. Last December, the New Mexico Environment Department approved a modification to DOE’s hazardous waste permit for the […]

AECOM announced Monday it plans to sell its government contracting business for $2.4 billion to two investment firms rather than advancing a previous plan to spin the branch off into a stand-alone public company. Affiliates of New York City-based American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg are joining to buy AECOM’s Management Services business. In its press […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Some large infrastructure projects in the U.S. Energy Department’s nationwide nuclear cleanup complex should be completed in the next couple years, an agency official said Wednesday. That should include startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at […]

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Some large infrastructure projects in the U.S. Energy Department’s nationwide nuclear cleanup complex should be completed in the next couple years, an agency official said Wednesday. That should include startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at […]

The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), which oversees remediation of 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project nuclear sites, now has a Twitter account (@EMcleanup). The account launched Sept. 9 to mark the 30th anniversary of nuclear cleanup office with a tweet honoring the 20,000-plus Environmental Management workers and contractors. The Office of Environmental […]

The Westerner Governors Association (WGA) said last week it is “disappointed” at not being asked to contribute to the U.S. Department of Energy’s update to the five-year strategic plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. The Energy Department’s Carlsbad Field Office, which oversees the underground site for disposal of defense-related transuranic […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking public comment on the proposed five-year recertification of the Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The Energy Department filed the compliance recertification application with the EPA in March. The WIPP Land Withdrawal Act requires EPA recertification every five years to ensure underground disposal of […]

A local community advisory board wants the U.S. Department of Energy to complete a plutonium downblending mission at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina a decade earlier than the current projection for fiscal 2046. In a 19-0-1 vote Tuesday, the SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) agreed to ask the Energy Department to apply more […]

The pace of transuranic waste shipments to the U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico picked up after a slow start to 2019, although it is still seven shipments behind the 2018 tempo as of the end of August. The underground salt mine site near the city of Carlsbad received 225 shipments […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking public comment on the proposed five-year recertification of the Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico as meeting radiation standards for disposal of defense-related transuranic waste. The Energy Department filed the compliance recertification application with the EPA in March. Under the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act, […]

For the second consecutive year, the Senate appears ready to block any large reorganization of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The Senate Appropriations Committee on Sept. 12 advanced legislation that would prohibit the proposed changes at the nuclear health-and-safety watchdog unless “specifically authorized by law.” The committee’s fiscal 2020 energy and water bill […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) says the design of a planned new ventilation system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., does not do enough to prevent radiation from a possible underground accident from reaching the surface. The board wants the U.S. Energy Department to respond to the concerns in […]

The U.S. Energy Department does not have a clear strategy to combat rising costs and delays for the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Monday. In the report, GAO says the Energy Department has not followed best practices that dictate cost estimates be “comprehensive, accurate, […]

Fluor Idaho, the U.S. Energy Department’s cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory, expects within weeks to largely conclude its work at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP). As of late August, 140 cubic meters of transuranic waste debris remained to be treated at the AMWTP, company spokesman Erik Simpson said by email Tuesday. […]

Washington state and federal officials are ready for negotiations on “a holistic and realistic path forward” on the schedule for disposal of radioactive tank waste stored at the U.S. Energy Department’s Hanford Site, the top official at the facility said in a letter this week. Brian Vance, DOE manager for both the Richland Operations Office and […]

Fluor Idaho, the U.S. Energy Department’s cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory, expects within weeks to largely conclude its work at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP). As of late August, 140 cubic meters of transuranic waste debris remained to be treated at the AMWTP, company spokesman Erik Simpson said by email Tuesday. […]

The U.S. Energy Department has not accounted for all costs associated with fixing the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory, according to a report released Monday by the Government Accountability Office. In the report, GAO said the Energy Department has not followed best practices in that it failed to include both […]

The U.S. Energy Department expects the number of transuranic waste shipments to its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., to increase by more than 50% between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2023. The agency anticipates it will receive about 400 shipments of defense-related TRU waste at the underground disposal site in fiscal 2020, which […]

The U.S. Energy Department expects the number of transuranic waste shipments to its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., to grow by more than 50% between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2023. The agency anticipates it will receive about 400 shipments of defense-related TRU waste at the underground disposal site in fiscal 2020, which […]

Nine containers of transuranic waste stored at Area G of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico did not, as of late July, meet the acceptance criteria for disposal further south at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The situation was cited in a nonconformance report from the U.S. Energy Department’s Carlsbad Field Office, […]

The U.S. Energy Department expects in coming years to speed up the rate of waste emplacement at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico to 14 shipments per week, according to a newly released draft five-year strategic plan for the facility. That would rise from a current rate of less than 10 shipments per […]

The U.S. Energy Department and its prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico on Aug. 21 announced a $75 million award for a subcontractor to build a new underground utility shaft. The contract went to Harrison Western-Shaft Sinkers Joint Venture, the DOE Carlsbad Field Office and AECOM-led Nuclear Waste Partnership said […]

Boston Government Services disclosed Tuesday it is partnering with Cincinnati-based Trinity Engineering Associates in the BTP Services joint venture that on July 31 won a potential $49.5 million technical support services contract from the Energy Department. Oak Ridge-based Boston Government Services previously said it is majority owner of the partnership. Headed by founder and President […]

Weapons Complex Monitor took a break over the past two weeks for Congress’ annual summer recess. Our affiliate publication, Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, kept up on the latest news around the nuclear security enterprise and its industry partners. Here’s a recap of what happened while we were out. WIPP Contractor Gets New Leadership The contractor […]