Cleanup & Remediation

After 4 p.m. Pacific Time Monday, managers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state were informed that six more employees have tested positive for the coronavirus. News of the latest surge of COVID-19 cases at Hanford was posted on the DOE emergency operations website for the former plutonium production complex. This pushes […]

Late Friday there was word of seven additional employees at the Department of Energy headquarters at Washington, D.C., testing positive for the coronavirus and four more positive cases across the country at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette talked about the spate of COVID-19 cases at the Forrestal Building in […]

The director of the Washington state Department of Ecology Laura Watson hopes to have a new person in charge of nuclear waste cleanup by the end of the year. The agency had not settled on a replacement as of Thursday, spokesman Randy Bradbury said in an email.  After spending five-and-a-half years in charge of Washington’s […]

Twelve people representing 11 companies showed up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site Oct. 21 to take a physical tour and learn more about a potential $21-billion, long-term contract for liquid waste cleanup. In addition to Amentum, the lead partner for incumbent Savannah River Remediation, other firms who turned out are Aecon-Wachs, Akima, […]

Despite lower year-over-year earnings, Perma-Fix Environmental Services this week reported higher third-quarter revenue, and the Atlanta-based company’s services segment drove profits that bested analyst expectations. The nuclear waste services and treatment company reported third-quarter net earnings of $1.4 million, or $0.12 per share, compared with $1.8 million, or $0.15 per share for the same period […]

Across the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management complex, there are currently 141 active cases of COVID-19, a spokesperson for the office said Thursday. That is 32 more than the active case count for the Environmental Management (EM) office last week, and more than double the 61 acknowledged a month ago. The EM office […]

The Department of Energy said Thursday it has reached a modified agreement with California officials to dismantle its final eight buildings at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County, Calif. The DOE Office of Environmental Management finished taking down the 10th and final building covered by a May consent order at the former Radioactive […]

Twelve people representing 11 companies showed up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site Oct. 21 to take a physical tour and learn more about a potential $21-billion, long-term contract for liquid waste cleanup. In addition to Amentum, the lead partner for incumbent Savannah River Remediation, other firms who turned out are Aecon-Wachs, Akima, […]

Managers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state learned Tuesday that three more workers have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a post on the property’s emergency operations website. That brings the unofficial total of COVID-19 cases at Hanford to 195 so far in 2020. That is based on a public […]

The director of the Washington state Department of Ecology Laura Watson hopes to have a new person in charge of nuclear waste cleanup by the end of the year. After spending five-and-a-half years in charge of Washington’s nuclear cleanup, much of which involves regulating the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site remediation, Alex Smith left the […]

An article that appeared in the Oct. 19 Weapons Complex Morning Briefing [“Cesium Removal From Tanks Continues at Savannah River Site”] should have said that the Tank-Closure Cesium Removal unit is a demonstration project to provide an additional means of speeding tank closure. The story also should have said that cesium-rich resin removed from Tank […]

Here are some public events related to defense- and civilian-nuclear matters that the ExchangeMonitor staff is tracking this week. Monday: Financial results are out today from BWX Technologies for the quarter ended Sept. 30. U.S. Strategic Command kicks off its annual Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium — it’s virtual. Tuesday: This is election day as U.S. […]

An article that appeared in the Oct. 23 Weapons Complex Monitor [“Cesium Removal Unit Returns to Service at SRS”] should have said that the Tank-Closure Cesium Removal unit is a demonstration project to provide an additional means of speeding tank closure. The story also should have said that cesium-rich resin removed from Tank 10 by […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General said there is not enough vetting of respirator maintenance for environmental cleanup workers at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, which increases the chance of employees being exposed to radioactive contamination. Decontamination and decommissioning contractor Fluor-BWXT has over 1,300 employees who rely on respirators as part of the […]

There are currently 109 active cases of COVID-19 within the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management cleanup complex, which is 10 more than a week ago, a spokesperson said Thursday. There appears to be a steady rise in coronavirus infections at the 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project cleanup sites overseen by the Environmental […]

A venture led by Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Navarro Research and Engineering is assured of becoming the new operator of 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state, now that the window for protesting DOE’s contract award to the team lapsed. The period for contesting the award to the Government Accountability Office ended Monday, two […]

Idaho has now imposed about $9.16 million in fines against the Department of Energy for failing to treat sodium-bearing liquid radioactive waste at the Idaho National Laboratory with the long-delayed Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, a state official said this week. Depending on how COVID-19 plays out, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) could start radioactive […]

The Department of Energy extended to January the transition periods for the support services and solid-waste cleanup contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Transition periods for both the Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions team and the Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. are being extended until Jan. 24, the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office […]

The Department of Energy extended to January the transition periods for the support services and solid-waste cleanup contractors at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Transition periods for both the Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions team and the Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Co. are being extended until Jan. 24, the DOE Hanford Richland Operations Office […]

A venture led by Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Navarro Research and Engineering is assured of becoming the new operator of 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state, now that the window for protesting DOE’s contract award to the team lapsed. The period for contesting the award to the Government Accountability Office ended Monday, two […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General said there is not enough vetting of respirator maintenance for environmental cleanup workers at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, which increases the chance of employees being exposed to radioactive contamination. Decontamination and decommissioning contractor Fluor-BWXT has over 1,300 employees who rely on respirators as part of the […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state seems to be experiencing a surge in coronavirus infections in recent days with five more workers testing positive. That makes 11 new cases of COVID-19 among Hanford’s 11,000-member workforce since Friday. The DOE emergency operations website at Hanford posted a notice late Monday saying five employees […]

Six more employees at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state tested positive for COVID-19, according to weekend posts on the emergency operations website. Two workers informed management on Saturday that they have tested positive, followed by another four on Sunday. No further details were provided on the website which is updated daily […]

Texas-based Fluor, a major Department of Energy contractor, lost $171 million or $1.22 per share for its first quarter that ended March 31, according to results released Thursday. Since late 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice have been investigating problems with Fluor quarterly data filed during 2019, which prevented the […]

South Carolina State University President James Clark said Oct. 16 his institution is part of a team of colleges vying to run the Energy Department’s Savannah River National Laboratory. The historically black public university in Orangeburg, S.C., is a member of a team with Clemson, the University of South Carolina, Georgia Tech and the University […]

The top executive for regulatory and policy at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is calling it a career soon. Elizabeth “Betsy” Connell, the associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and policy affairs, will retire at the end of the month following a career of more than 30 years around the DOE […]

Soon after withdrawing its designation of Texas-based Waste Control Specialists as its long-term storage site for elemental mercury, the Department of Energy is seeking information about other potentially suitable sites. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 4 to DOE’s request for information (RFI) for a leased facility and services related to […]

Later this year, the National Nuclear Security Administration will begin a formal review of its program to dispose of the 34 metric tons of plutonium once slated to be recycled into commercial reactor fuel, an agency official said. It was unclear whether the agency would heed the advice of the National Academies of Sciences and […]

Dennis Foreman, a frequent critic of Department of Energy decisions at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio is not being appointed to a new term on the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board, he said Tuesday. Foreman, a schoolteacher and member of Piketon Village Council, became a member of the advisory board four years ago and learned […]

Comments are due Nov. 2 on a draft solicitation for a new, potentially decade-spanning contract for more than $600 million worth of work at the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Moab, Utah, the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management said this week. The draft request for proposals (RFP) comes after the agency […]