Archive

Cleanup & Remediation

Coverage of DOE-EM’s multi-billion-dollar effort to address Cold War and Manhattan Project nuclear legacy waste, including tank waste treatment, site remediation, and decommissioning at Hanford, Savannah River, Oak Ridge, and other major sites.

  • Wrap Up: Oregon DOE Names New Top Nuclear Safety Chief

    The Oregon Department of Energy has promoted Maxwell Woods to the post of administrator for nuclear safety and emergency preparedness division, succeeding Ken Niles who recently retired. Woods has been with the Oregon DOE for six years, most recently serving as the senior policy advisor and team leader in the Energy Facility Siting Division. He […]

  • Plans for 8-Gallon Pilot of Non-HLW Outlined by Energy Dept.

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management says 8 gallons of recycled wastewater from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina can be hauled to a Texas disposal facility with minimal risk. Shipping the waste from the SRS Defense Waste Processing Facility to the Waste Control Specialists disposal site in West Texas will be the […]

  • Savannah River Emergency Drills Delayed Until 2021

    There will be no emergency management drills at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina until early 2021, according to a recently posted weekly report on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s website. An Aug. 21 report from board inspectors to Christopher Roscetti, the board’s technical director, indicated that leaders of the respective […]

  • Defense Board Back Down to 3 Members After Chair Departs

    With Bruce Hamilton’s Sept. 12 resignation as chairman, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is back down to three members, two of them Democrats. The chairman unexpectedly resigned Aug. 31, apparently for family reasons, a source said, only weeks after he and the three other DNFSB members were confirmed for new terms by the U.S. […]

  • Nuke District Congressman Predicts CR, Wants CARES Reimbursement Extended

    A congressional appropriator predicted this week there will be a short-term continuing resolution passed to keep the Energy Department and other federal agencies running from Oct. 1 into December. “We will not have a budget shutdown,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said during the virtual National Cleanup Workshop hosted by the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) in cooperation […]

  • Nine Structures Down, One to Go in Current ETEC Work, DOE Says

    The Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup office has now taken down nine of the 10 contaminated structures covered by an agreement reached earlier this year on facilities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California, officials said Wednesday. Demolition of the ninth of the buildings in the current tranche at the Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) […]

  • Smoke-filled Air Bedevils Hanford, Keeps Some Workers Home

    As if figuring out how to safely resume operations during a pandemic isn’t tough enough, the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state instructed many workers to stay home this week because of smoky air. Smoke from regional fires prompted management at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state to tell some workers to […]

  • Number of COVID-19 Infections Remain Relatively Flat in Cleanup Complex

    There are currently 83 active cases of coronavirus infections within the nuclear cleanup complex overseen by the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management, an agency source said Thursday. That is one up from the 82 active cases of COVID-19 the prior week. The DOE nuclear cleanup office does not release the number of total cases […]

  • Nuke District Congressman Predicts CR, Wants CARES Contractor Reimbursement Extended

    A congressional appropriator predicted this week there will be a short-term continuing resolution passed to keep the Energy Department and other federal agencies running from Oct. 1 into December. “We will not have a budget shutdown,” Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said during the virtual National Cleanup Workshop hosted by the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) in cooperation […]

  • Projects, Procurement, Pandemic Dominate Cleanup Workshop

    While the coronavirus has delayed some Energy Department nuclear remediation by a few months, completion of key projects is imminent, agency officials said during an online conference Wednesday. “The last time I saw most of you in person was probably in Phoenix” during March for the Waste Management Symposia, DOE Senior Adviser for Environmental Management […]

  • Oak Ridge Contract Briefing Sparks Huge Virtual Turnout

    Documents published this week show more than 150 individuals and 60 organizations registered to take part in online briefings on the planned megabuck remediation deal at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The list of firms posted Monday that turned out to kick the tires and learn more about the potentially 10-year, $8.3 […]

  • Transition to Hanford Central Plateau Contractor Starts Oct. 5

    Starting Oct. 5, a new Amentum-led team will begin a 60-day transition to take over as prime contractor for the mostly solid-waste cleanup of the Hanford Site’s central plateau, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. Central Plateau Cleanup Co., comprising Amentum, Fluor, and Atkins, won the potentially 10-year, $10 billion contract in December. A competing […]

  • Nine Structures Down, One to Go in Current ETEC Santa Susana Project

    The Energy Department’s nuclear cleanup office has now taken down nine of the 10 contaminated structures covered by an agreement reached earlier this year on facilities at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California, officials said Wednesday. Demolition of the ninth of the buildings in the current tranche at the Energy Technology Engineering Center was […]

  • Projects, Procurement, Pandemic Dominate Cleanup Workshop

    While the coronavirus has delayed some Energy Department nuclear remediation by a few months, completion of key projects is imminent, agency officials said during an online conference Wednesday. “The last time I saw most of you in person was probably in Phoenix” during March for the Waste Management Symposia, DOE Senior Adviser for Environmental Management […]

  • Transition to Hanford Central Plateau Contractor Starts Oct. 5

    Starting Oct. 5, a new Amentum-led team will begin a 60-day transition to take over as prime contractor for the mostly solid-waste cleanup of the Hanford Site’s central plateau, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. Central Plateau Cleanup Co., comprised of Amentum, Fluor, and Atkins, won the potentially 10-year, $10 billion contract in December. A […]

  • And Then There Were 3 at DNFSB

    With Bruce Hamilton’s Sept. 12 resignation as chairman, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is back down to three members, two of them Democrats. The chairman unexpectedly resigned Aug. 31, apparently for family reasons, only weeks after he and the three other DNFSB members were confirmed for new terms by the U.S. Senate via voice […]

  • Plans for 8-Gallon Pilot of Non-HLW Outlined by DOE

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management says 8 gallons of recycled wastewater from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina can be hauled to a Texas disposal facility with minimal risk. Shipping the waste from the SRS Defense Waste Processing Facility to the Waste Control Specialists disposal site in West Texas will be the […]

  • Smoke-filled Air Continues to Scramble Hanford Work Schedules

    As if figuring out how to safely resume operations during a pandemic isn’t tough enough, the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state continues to tell many workers to stay home because of smoky air. Poor air quality from fires across Oregon and Washington prompted Hanford management to keep many non-essential employees home again today. […]

  • Savannah River Parties Agree to Hold off on Emergency Drills

    There will be no emergency management drills at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina until early 2021, according to a recently posted weekly report on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s website. An Aug. 21 report from board inspectors to Christopher Roscetti, the board’s technical director, indicated that leaders of the respective […]

  • Oak Ridge Contract Briefing Sparks Huge Virtual Turnout

    Lured by the prize of a megabuck contract, more than 150 individuals and 60 organizations registered to take part in online briefings last week on the planned remediation deal at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The list of firms that turned out to kick the tires and learn more about the potentially […]

  • Oregon DOE Names New Top Nuclear Safety Chief

    The Oregon Department of Energy has promoted Maxwell Woods to the post of administrator for nuclear safety and emergency preparedness division, succeeding Ken Niles who recently retired. Woods has been with the Oregon DOE for six years, most recently serving as the senior policy advisor and team leader in the Energy Facility Siting Division. He […]

  • Hanford Tells Some Workers to Stay Home Due to Smoke-filled Air

    Smoke from regional fires prompted management at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state to tell some workers to stay home. In an overnight notice published on the Hanford DOE website, management said swing and graveyard shifts for Sunday, along with the daytime for Monday morning, were cancelled for nonessential workers north and south […]

  • VIDEO: Opening 2020 Radwaste Summit Keynote: Office of Environmental Management Prioritization Report

    Todd Shrader, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, recently gave the keynote address at the ExchangeMonitor’s annual RadWaste Summit (held virtually this year). Even if you missed the show, you can still watch Todd’s remarks right here.

  • Fluor Reports More Errors in Financial Filings

    Fluor Corp. said Tuesday it has discovered more errors in past financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Texas-based Energy Department contractor reported in an SEC filing that a major creditor and trustee, Wells Fargo Bank National Association, last month asserted a “notice of default” against Fluor for failing to […]

  • Thornberry Says NDAA Conference Likely Delayed Until After Election

    The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) said Tuesday the final, conferenced version of the fiscal year defense authorization likely won’t be completed until after the Nov. 3 election. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), the outgoing HASC ranking member, noted the conference committee will need to particularly work on settling differences between the […]

  • Fluor Reveals Additional Financial Reporting Errors

    Fluor Corp. said Tuesday it has discovered more errors in past financial statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the Texas-based Energy Department contractor reported in an SEC filing that a major creditor and trustee, Wells Fargo Bank National Association, last month asserted a “notice of default” against Fluor for failing to […]

  • DOE Nuclear Cleanup Striking Balance Between On-Site, Remote Work

    The COVID-19 pandemic helped sell the top brass at the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management on the value of telecommuting, the No. 2 official there said Wednesday. When the DOE office was forced to roll back on-site work at nuclear remediation operations starting in mid-March, “a lot of people had their doubts” on the […]

  • Lawsuit Claims Contractors at Portsmouth Sickened Workers, Polluted Ohio Environment

    Another federal lawsuit has been filed against current and former contractors that have performed either uranium enrichment or environmental operations at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Pike County, Ohio. The class action complaint filed Sept. 3 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio seeks almost $10 million in damages for an […]

  • Remediation Focus at Oak Ridge Shifts Away From Enrichment Facilities

    Having lined up a potential two-year extension for environmental remediation at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, an Amentum-Jacobs joint venture is wrapping up work on the grounds of a former uranium enrichment complex, top managers said Thursday. Without offering much detail, leaders at URS/CH2M Hill Oak Ridge (UCOR) affirmed they are also […]

  • DOE Nuclear Cleanup Striking Good Balance Between On-Site, Remote Work, Official Says

    The COVID-19 pandemic helped sell the top brass at the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management on the value of telecommuting, the No. 2 official there said Wednesday. When the DOE office was forced to roll back on-site work at nuclear remediation operations starting in mid-March, “a lot of people had their doubts” on the […]