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.

  • Isotek Inks $254-Million Deal for Continued U-233 Work at Oak Ridge

    Oak Ridge-Tenn.-based Isotek Systems has inked a $254 million contract modification with the Energy Department to continue disposing of uranium-233 (U-233) through 2024 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Isotek has overseen the inventory of U-233 since October 2003, removing the material from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Building 3019. This contract modification authorizes $254 […]

  • Hanford, SRS Report New COVID-19 Cases; Sites Slowly Get Back to Work

    The Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state has confirmed two more cases of COVID-19 among its workforce since last Friday, which would bring its total to 15. In addition, DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina has confirmed its 36th case as of Thursday. Twenty-three of those workers have recovered and returned to […]

  • Permanent DOE Cleanup Field Office Managers Selected for Carlsbad, Los Alamos

    Reinhard Knerr, a director at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth-Paducah Project Office (PPPO), will in mid-July become the new permanent manager for the agency’s Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. The appointment is part of a flurry of new assignments unveiled this week by the DOE Office of Environmental Management. Knerr is currently federal project director […]

  • Strategic Management Solutions Hires Executive VP

    Department of Energy contractor Strategic Management Solutions Inc. (SMSI) has hired industry veteran Matthew Nuckols for the newly created position of executive vice president. A civil engineer, Nuckols has 25 years of project and program management experience at sites within the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management and semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) complexes, […]

  • California Agencies Prioritize Tearing Down 10 Contaminated Santa Susana Buildings

    Tearing down 10 contaminated Department of Energy buildings must precede further cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County, California state officials said during an online meeting June 11. Representatives of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) expect final state approval next month of […]

  • Two Fluor Managers Receive Separation Payments

    Fluor is paying over $1.1 million in separation agreements to two recently departed executives, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executive Vice President for Systems and Supply Chain Ray Barnard is being paid a lump sump of $620,000, and Executive Vice President, Energy and Chemicals—Business Development and Strategy Jose Bustamante is […]

  • Pandemic Complicates Planning for Hanford’s Fiscal 2022 Budget, Officials Say

    The Energy Department was chided for not providing much hard data during a virtual public meeting Wednesday on fiscal 2022 budget priorities for ongoing cleanup at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The meeting was organized by the three signatories to the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement that governs environmental remediation at the former plutonium production complex: […]

  • Navarro Retains Environmental Business at Nevada Site

    Incumbent Navarro Research and Engineering has won a new contract potentially worth $350 million to continue providing environmental services at the Energy Department’s Nevada National Security Site. The current contract for Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based Navarro, valued at almost $85 million, began in March 2015 and is set to expire July 31. The new indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity […]

  • DOE Report to Congress Steers Clear of DNFSB Battle

    In an official report to Congress about tritium-safety oversight, the Department of Energy again sought to avoid a legal fight about whether its workforce is subject to recommendations from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The independent federal agency feared the Energy Department might have rejected a 2019 recommendation to bolster the Savannah River Site’s […]

  • Wrap Up: CFO Becomes AECOM Chief Executive

    AECOM said Monday that Chief Financial Officer W. Troy Rudd would be elevated to CEO effective Oct. 1. Rudd will succeed Michael Burke, who is retiring after six years as chief executive. Lara Poloni will also move up to president from chief executive of AECOM’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business, according to a […]

  • Two Fluor Execs Receive Separation Payments

    Fluor is paying over $1.1 million in separation agreements to two recently departed executives, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executive Vice President for Systems and Supply Chain Ray Barnard is being paid a lump sump of $620,000, and Executive Vice President, Energy and Chemicals—Business Development and Strategy Jose Bustamante is receiving $525,000, […]

  • GAO Dismisses Protests Against Energy Dept. Legacy Management Contract

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied two protests filed over RSI EnTech’s roughly $191 million contract to provide support services for the Energy Department’s Office of Legacy Management, which the challengers called unrealistically cheap. The Energy Department previously said the indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract could be worth up to $1 billion over five years, depending […]

  • Hanford, Savannah River Report New COVID-19 Cases

    The Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state has confirmed another case of COVID-19 among its workforce, which would be its 14th and the first reported since Friday. In addition, DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina has confirmed its 36th case. Twenty-three of those workers have recovered and returned to work. The notices […]

  • Public Hearing Today on Fiscal 2022 Budget Priorities for Hanford

    A virtual public meeting on fiscal 2022 budget priorities for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state is scheduled for 3 p.m. Pacific time today. The meeting is being organized by the three signatories to the 1989 Tri-Party Agreement that governs environmental remediation at the former plutonium production complex: Washington state, DOE, and the […]

  • Strategic Management Solutions Hires Executive VP

    Department of Energy contractor Strategic Management Solutions Inc. (SMSI) has hired industry veteran Matthew Nuckols for the newly created position of executive vice president. A civil engineer, Nuckols has 25 years of project and program management experience at sites within the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management and semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) complexes, […]

  • Two Fluor Execs Receive Separation Payments

    Fluor is paying over $1.1 million in separation agreements to two recently departed executives, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Executive Vice President for Systems and Supply Chain Ray Barnard is being paid a lump sump of $620,000, and Executive Vice President, Energy and Chemicals—Business Development and Strategy Jose Bustamante is […]

  • GAO Rejects Bid Protests Filed Over $1B DOE Legacy Management Contract

    The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has denied two bid protests filed over RSI EnTech’s potential $1 billion support services contract with the Energy Department’s Office of Legacy Management. In March, the Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based environmental and technical contractor won a five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with Legacy Management. Both incumbent Navarro Research and Engineering and […]

  • Rejection of Tritium Recommendation Was Not About DNFSB Jurisdiction, DOE Says Again

    In an official report to Congress about tritium-safety oversight, the Department of Energy again sought to avoid a legal fight about whether its workforce is subject to recommendations from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The independent federal agency feared DOE might have rejected a 2019 recommendation to bolster the Savannah River Site’s ability […]

  • Savannah River COVID-19 Total Increases to 35; Hanford Workers Tested

    The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina is now confirming 35 cases of COVID-19 among its workforce, up by three since Friday. The updated total was posted on the SRS website Monday. Twenty-three of those infected with novel coronavirus 2019 have recovered and been cleared to return to work, according to the notice. […]

  • AECOM Promoting Chief Financial Officer to CEO

    AECOM said Monday that Chief Financial Officer W. Troy Rudd would be elevated to CEO effective Oct. 1. Rudd will succeed Michael Burke, who is retiring after six years as chief executive. Lara Poloni will also move up to president from chief executive of AECOM’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) business, according to a […]

  • California Agencies Prioritize Tearing Down 10 Contaminated Santa Susana Buildings

    Tearing down 10 contaminated Department of Energy buildings must precede further cleanup at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County , California state officials said during an online meeting Thursday. Representatives of the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control expect final approval next month of the DOE […]

  • SRS Ended Up With Faulty Masks, DNFSB Reports

    The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina had to set aside some N95-style masks last month after testing revealed the face wear could not filter enough particulates to be considered a personal respirator capable of protecting users from COVID-19. The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) disclosed the issue in its […]

  • Senate NDAA Calls for $5.1B in DOE Defense Environmental Cleanup Funds

    The Senate Armed Services Committee’s proposed 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) provides for $5.1 billion in defense environmental cleanup funding. The Senate committee passed the roughly $740 billion NDAA package after its Wednesday markup, by a vote of 25-2. The $5.1 billion for defense environmental cleanup would be the largest bloc of annual funding for […]

  • Savannah River Respirators Among Those That Flunked FDA Filtration Test

    The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina had to set aside some N95-style masks last month after testing revealed the face wear could not filter enough particulates to be considered a personal respirator capable of protecting users from COVID-19. The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) disclosed the issue in its […]

  • As Work Resumes, Energy Dept. Weighs COVID-19 Impact on Cleanup Milestones

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management will cut contractors some slack when it comes to work deadlines missed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a policy that became official last week. The nuclear cleanup office “will continue to evaluate COVID-19 impacts on the ability of contractors to perform required work,” according to the […]

  • ‘Usual Suspects’ Among Likely Bidders for Idaho Cleanup Business

    The two incumbents at the Idaho Cleanup Project, Fluor and Spectra Tech, are virtually certain to be among the contenders for a follow-up environmental award that could be worth $6.4 billion, sources say. Fluor Idaho now holds the five-year environmental remediation contract for the Idaho National Laboratory, valued at nearly $2 billion through May 2021. […]

  • Huntington Ingalls Exec to Lead EFCOG Board Another Year

    The Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) has re-elected Huntington Ingalls Industries nuclear and environmental group President Michael Lempke as chairman of its Board of Directors for another year, according to a Friday statement. Sandra Fairchild, project services and support director of Energy Department Savannah River Site cleanup contractor Savannah River Remediation, was elected vice chair […]

  • Head of DOE Cleanup Office Plans Closer Ties with Waste Board

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management plans to forge a closer working relationship with the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board (NWTRB), according to a recent document. “We look forward to future opportunities for regular interactions and discussions,” DOE Senior Adviser for Environmental Management William (Ike) White said in a May 29 letter to Nuclear […]

  • NRC Outlines Role in Evaluating On-Site Disposal of Certain Hanford Waste

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commissioning said Wednesday it will conduct a technical review of an Energy Department proposal to dispose of certain vitrified low-activity radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Speaking at an online public meeting, NRC Senior Risk Analyst David Esh said the agency is acting in a consulting role as the […]

  • Savannah River Had to Discard Personal Respirators That Flunked Filtration Tests

    The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina had to discard some N95-style masks last month after testing revealed the face wear could not filter enough particulates to be considered a personal respirator capable of protecting users from COVID-19. The independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) disclosed the issue in its most […]