Cleanup & Remediation

Cartridge filters performed within an acceptable range in testing of their potential use to protect workers against chemical vapors from radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to a preliminary evaluation of the trial. However, Stoneturn Consultants, which wrote the preliminary report, said more testing is needed. Workers now are required to […]

AECOM’s contract to demolish an Energy Department experimental plutonium facility that operated in the 1950s was set to expire Wednesday, with demolition of the site’s two main buildings expected to stretch into next summer. The Energy Department was expected to extend AECOM’s deactivation, demolition, and removal of facilities contract at the Separations Research Process Unit (SPRU) […]

The site tour and pre-soliciation conference for the Department of Energy’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) technical assistance contract last week drew at least 42 attendees representing more than 30 organizations. The department on Dec. 1 issued a draft request for proposals for the contract, which would cover services for the Utah cleanup site including records […]

A new $3 billion modification for the Hanford Site Waste Treatment Plant project makes clear the Energy Department and contractor Bechtel National intend to meet their 2022 schedule for beginning liquid-waste treatment, without closing the door on a legally authorized delay into 2023. For years, Bechtel and DOE have said the facility the company is building […]

Veolia Nuclear Solutions has completed a technology demonstration for disposal of radioactive contaminated reactive metal waste. The company demonstrated the GeoMelt In-Container Vitrification process under contract to the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), according to a Veolia press release. The company carried out the demonstration melts in August and September of this year at a test […]

The Energy Department is still looking to restrict airborne drones from flying above the Savannah River Site and other “sensitive” facilities, but has not yet filed a request with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). From June 19 to July 22, SRS employees reported 12 drone sightings over key areas of the site. These included: the Mixed […]

The U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) last week transferred the first batch of radioactive sludge from the Pile Fuel Storage Pond at the Sellafield site as part of a £100 million ($123.8 million) sludge removal effort.  In its announcement Wednesday, NDA said the sludge was transferred in a 500-liter drum to an encapsulation plant, where it will […]

AECOM’s contract to demolish an Energy Department experimental plutonium facility that operated in the 1950s was set to expire Wednesday, with demolition of the site’s two main buildings expected to stretch into next summer. The Energy Department was expected to extend AECOM’s deactivation, demolition, and removal of facilities contract at the Separations Research Process Unit (SPRU) […]

The Savannah River Site’s security contractor earned $5.66 million out of a possible $5.92 million, or 95.5 percent, of its performance award fee for fiscal 2016. The Department of Energy highlighted Centerra-Savannah River Site’s efforts in keeping employees safe and cutting costs in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. Contractors earn award fees each year by […]

The site tour and pre-soliciation conference for the Department of Energy’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) technical assistance contract last week drew at least 42 attendees representing more than 30 organizations. The department on Dec. 1 issued a draft request for proposals for the contract, which would cover services for the Utah cleanup site including records […]

South Carolina on Monday was granted a 17-day extension to defend its position that a federal judge has jurisdiction to rule on the $100 million the state is seeking in its lawsuit over plutonium disposition at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site. The extension pushes the response deadline from Dec. 27, 2016, to Jan. 13, 2017. […]

Veolia Nuclear Solutions on Friday said it completed a technology demonstration for solidifying liquid radioactive waste bearing reactive metals. The company demonstrated the GeoMelt In-Container Vitrification process under contract to the Energy Department’s Idaho National Laboratory, home to 1 million or so gallons of sodium-bearing waste. The company carried out the test at a test site […]

A news brief in the Dec. 9 issue of Weapons Complex Monitor (“At Hanford: Hanford ORP Names New Deputy Manager”) should have said Washington Closure Hanford was previously the Energy Department’s prime contractor for river-corridor cleanup at the Hanford Site near Richland, Wash.

  Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) received $39.2 million, or 87 percent, of its annual award fee for fiscal 2016 from the Department of Energy – a total amount earned for both its Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions. The Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor could have earned up […]

A federal judge has partially dismissed claims that the Savannah River Site’s primary contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and one of its parent companies, Fluor Federal Services (FFS), unjustly benefited from their contract with the Department of Energy. On March 18, the U.S. Department of Justice sued SRNS, the management and operations contractor for […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team this week drew a snarl from one of the Senate’s top nuclear policymakers, who vowed to keep a close eye on the incoming administration’s demand that the Energy Department provide target budget and staffing levels its national nuclear cleanup programs. “I intend to closely follow the transition process at the […]

The Hanford Advisory Board is asking the Department of Energy to increase its budget to allow more meetings, including sessions around the Pacific Northwest. The federally chartered 32-seat board is tasked with offering advice on key Hanford Site cleanup issues to DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington state Ecology Department. It includes […]

BWXT Conversion Services fared well and Restoration Services Inc. fared better, but Fluor Federal Services hit a skid and netted only half of its latest possible award fee, according to a raft of contract scorecards released recently by the Energy Department’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. Restoration Services earned 96 percent of a possible $397,054 award fee […]

French waste management group Veolia announced Wednesday that it’s consolidating its nuclear cleanup businesses into a single entity called Nuclear Solutions. Nuclear Solutions will be made up of Veolia’s Kurion, Alaron, and Asteralis businesses, which offer services in facility restoration, decommissioning, and the treatment of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The entity will focus on site […]

A federal judge has partially dismissed claims that the Savannah River Site’s primary contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and one of its parent companies, Fluor Federal Services (FFS), unjustly benefited from their contract with the Department of Energy. On March 18, the U.S. Department of Justice sued SRNS, the management and operations contractor for […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) received $39.2 million, or 87 percent, of its annual award fee for fiscal 2016 from the Department of Energy – a total amount earned for both its Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions. The Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor could have earned up to […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) received $39.2 million, or 87 percent, of its annual award fee for fiscal 2016 from the Department of Energy – a total amount earned for both its Environmental Management (EM) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) missions. The Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor could have earned up to […]

French waste management group Veolia announced Wednesday that it’s consolidating its nuclear cleanup businesses into a single entity called Nuclear Solutions. Nuclear Solutions will be made up of Veolia’s Kurion, Alaron, and Asteralis businesses, which offer services in facility restoration, decommissioning, and the treatment of low-and intermediate-level radioactive waste. The entity will focus on site […]

The Hanford Advisory Board is asking the Department of Energy to increase its budget to allow more meetings, including sessions around the Pacific Northwest. The federally chartered 32-seat board is tasked with offering advice on key Hanford Site cleanup issues to DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington state Ecology Department. It includes […]

A public meeting to discuss the planned Effluent Management Facility at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant has been rescheduled to 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at the Richland, Wash., Public Library. The previously scheduled meeting Wednesday was canceled because of predictions for heavy snowfall. Hanford workers were sent home in stages to avoid traffic congestion […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team this week drew a snarl from one of the Senate’s top nuclear policymakers, who vowed to keep a close eye on the incoming administration’s demand that the Energy Department provide target budget and staffing levels for its national nuclear cleanup programs. “I intend to closely follow the transition process at […]

A federal judge has dismissed part of a Justice Department claim that the Savannah River Site’s primary contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and one of its parent companies, Fluor Federal Services (FFS), unjustly benefited from their contract with the Department of Energy. On March 18, the Justice Department sued SRNS, the management and operations contractor […]

The Department of Energy will hold a public meeting today (Dec. 14) on revising a state permit to allow for starting construction of the Effluent Management Facility at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant. The new facility is planned to treat secondary liquid effluent generated by the vitrification plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility. The Effluent Management […]

President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team wants to know how much money the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management needs for its national nuclear cleanup program, and what the office’s staffing priorities are in the coming year. “What is the right level of funding for EM to make meaningful progress across the complex and meet milestone […]

An article in the Dec. 2 edition of Weapons Complex Monitor  (“SRS Advisory Board Wants DOE to Expedite Aluminum-Clad Spent Fuel Processing,” Vol. 27, No. 46) should have said 80 high-flux isotope reactor cores that could be processed at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site are stored at the Savannah River Site.