Cleanup & Remediation

Sewage Treatment Plant Cleanup Progressing WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy-funded cleanup of an Oak Ridge sewage treatment plant is continuing, with no immediate end in sight. The Rarity Ridge facility became contaminated early last year – and possibly even earlier – when radioactive technetium seeped from the K-25 demolition project and ultimately infiltrated […]

IN DOE The Department of Energy has named retired Air Force Col. Barton Barnhart as the Office of Environmental Management’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget, effective this week. The position was previously held in an acting capacity by Connie Flohr. “His previous positions included serving as Director of Installations at the U.S. […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues at DOE nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in […]

The Department of Energy yesterday awarded the contract for infrastructure support services at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to incumbent Swift & Staley. The largely firm-fixed-price contract has a three month base period with a 22-month option period. The procurement received five bids, according to a DOE release. “Infrastructure support services to be provided under […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration has agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues in Department of Energy nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in April a “a joint review of the […]

The Department of Energy has named retired Air Force Col. Barton Barnhart as the Office of Environmental Management’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget, effective this week. The position was previously held in an acting capacity by Connie Flohr. “His previous positions included serving as Director of Installations at the U.S. Air Force […]

Studsvik has separated from its partnership of the THOR Treatment Technologies joint venture with AECOM, the company announced today. The two companies had worked together for 13 years, but according to Studsvik President Howard Stevens, Studsvik believes the technology and the company can stand on its own. “There are several significant opportunities in the DOE […]

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) plans to block a Senate vote on the nomination of Monica Regulbuto to be the next Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Assistant Secretary, he said at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to consider the nomination. Wyden cited both Hanford safety culture concerns and a failure to […]

Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 Amid pressure from lawmakers and reports regarding the huge amount of excess facilities awaiting transfer to the Department of Energy’s cleanup program, a DOE working group on the issue expects to complete a comprehensive report by the end of the year, officials said this month. The Energy Secretary’s office formed […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The Department of Energy should implement external reviews to help resolve disputes with regulators at the Paducah site to avoid delays and cost increases for cleanup work, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report released this week. Numerous issues have delayed completion of the C-400 groundwater cleanup project, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 Amid pressure from lawmakers and reports regarding the huge amount of excess facilities awaiting transfer to the Department of Energy’s cleanup program, a DOE working group on the issue expects to complete a comprehensive report by the end of the year, officials said this month. The Energy Secretary’s office formed […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The proposed shipment of a batch of German highly enriched uranium to the Savannah River Site would violate both German and European law, according to a complaint Greenpeace Germany filed this week with the European Commission attempting to stop the plan. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 After delays and cost increases at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant were highlighted last fall in a report prepared by the Department of Energy’ Office of Inspector General, cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company aims to implement a host of corrective actions, according to a plan recently released by DOE. […]

WC Monitor 6/12/2015 IN DOE Following the revelation last week that the confidential personal information of millions was breached in a cyber-security event months ago, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has advised that “Department of Energy employee data has potentially been compromised in this incident,” according to a June 4 message to employees. The U.S. Office […]

WC Monitor 6/12/2015 An article in the June 5 edition of WC Monitor incorrectly reported that more than 450 gallons of contaminated liquid was discharged into the soil in central Hanford during plutonium production activities at the site. The correct amount is more than 450 billion gallons. WC Monitor regrets the error. An article in […]

The proposed shipment of a batch of German highly enriched uranium to the Savannah River Site would violate both German and European law, according to a complaint Greenpeace Germany filed yesterday with the European Commission attempting to stop the plan. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes in the form of graphite spheres […]

The Department of Energy should implement external reviews to help resolve disputes with regulators at the Paducah site to avoid delays and cost increases for cleanup work, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report released yesterday. Numerous issues have delayed completion of the C-400 groundwater cleanup project, as well as held back finalizing […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Kurion and AREVA announced this week a joint partnership to provide decommissioning and remediation services for the Department of Energy’s cleanup complex. The companies said that the alliance’s initial emphasis centers on cleanup and closure work at the Hanford site in Washington state, but they indicated that it could […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/5/2015 The South Carolina Senate this week confirmed Catherine Heigel as the next director of the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. Heigel, currently the General Counsel for accounting firm Elliot Davis Decosimo, LLC, was formerly the president of Duke Energy South Carolina. She takes over as director of DHEC […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/5/2015 Oak Ridge National Laboratory managing contractor UT-Battelle has reached an agreement with the Department of Energy to pay $112,500 and complete a set of corrective actions following an investigation of radiation exposure among seven workers at a lab facility last August. The DOE Office of Enforcement announced this week that […]

Will Long-Running Procurement Finally Come to an End? Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/5/2015 In a move that could bring the Department of Energy’s multi-year search for a new support contractor for the Office of Legacy Management to an end, the Government Accountability Office late last week denied two protests filed against DOE’s most recent decision […]

First Phase of Breeder Rod Shipments from Dounreay to Sellafield Done  Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Scotland’s Dounreay site recently completed the last shipment of an 11-ton batch of breeder reactor rods to the Sellafield site for storage in an effort to consolidate U.K. used fuel, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority announced this week. While plans […]

Work Underway to Upgrade Pump-and-Treat Plant to Address Uranium WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Equipment is being installed in what’s already the most sophisticated groundwater treatment plant at Hanford to expand its capabilities to address another contaminant. By the end of the calendar year, the new system is scheduled to be tested and starting to remove uranium […]

DOE Reaches Agreement With Regulators on Mercury Treatment Facility WC Monitor 6/5/2015 The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management Office has reached a resolution in the dispute with environmental regulators over the proposed mercury-treatment facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The dispute had reached formal dispute status after DOE filed paperwork regarding a […]

WC Monitor 6/5/2015 IN DOE Bruce Held retired from his position as Senior Advisor at the Department of Energy late last week. Held assumed the position of senior advisor last May, and before then, served as acting Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and acting National Nuclear Security Administration Administrator. “Bruce provided exceptional leadership over a […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 6/5/2015 Kurion and AREVA announced this week a joint partnership to provide decommissioning and remediation services for the Department of Energy’s cleanup complex. The companies said that the alliance’s initial emphasis centers on cleanup and closure work at the Hanford site in Washington state, but they indicated that it could […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 6/5/2015 Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) initiated the final phase of the Maxey Flats Disposal Site cleanup project this week in a symbolic ceremony meant to kick off the construction of a $35.2 million permanent protective cap over the site. Maxey Flats previously served as a disposal site for the […]

North Wind announced yesterday that it has named Brady Bigelow as its new chief business development officer. Bigelow previously managed environmental and construction projects for 17 years at Environmental Chemical Corporation. In his 25 years of experience he has worked with numerous government agencies, including the Air Force Civil Engineering Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, […]

UT-Battelle has reached an agreement with the Department of Energy to pay $112,500 and complete a set of corrective actions following an investigation of radiation exposure among seven workers at an Oak Ridge National Laboratory facility last August. The DOE’s Office of Enforcement announced yesterday that the contractor agreed to a Consent Order issued last […]

The Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus will host a panel discussion today with Department of Energy officials titled “Achieving the Mission – Partnering for Success.” Panelists including DOE Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Mark Whitney, DOE EM Los Alamos Field Office Acting Manager Christine Gelles and DOE Office of Management Director Ingrid Kolb. Also on […]