Cleanup & Remediation

Los Alamos National Laboratory is addressing recommendations the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office raised in a report that found weaknesses in LANL’s waste remediation and packaging techniques that could be linked to the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The IG report noted that LANL did not fully consider reactivity issues between […]

S.M. Stoller (now a wholly owned subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries) has received another extension to its current contract to provide support services for the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management. Stoller’s latest extension is set to run for up to three months, through Dec. 31, and has an estimated value of $18.1 million, […]

S.M. Stoller appears set to continue to serve as the support services contractor for the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management as DOE’s long-running search for a follow-on contractor continues to drag on with no end in sight, but for how long is unclear. Stoller’s most recent contract extension came to an end yesterday, […]

URS has created a new position intended to aid in the development of a plan to integrate the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant with the site’s tank farms. Terri Marts has been named to fill the new position of Vice President of High Level Waste Mission Integration within URS’ Global Management and Operations Services group, according […]

Dyan Foss officially took over as the new Global Managing Director for CH2M Hill’s Nuclear Sector late last week. Foss replaces Denny Ferrera, who is set to retire from CH2M Hill later this year after 39 years with the company. Among her previous positions, Foss served as Deputy Managing Director for the Dounreay Nuclear Decommissioning […]

Assessing contaminated sites within the Navajo Nation and focusing on the cleanup of the Northeast Church Rock Mine Site and Tuba City Dump topped the priority list for the Environmental Protection Agency and four other federal agencies in their second five year plan to address the uranium contamination within the Navajo Nation, released yesterday. Government […]

The Department of Energy has agreed to remove waste from Hanford’s damaged double-shell tank under a settlement with the Washington State Department of Ecology announced yesterday. Washington state had ordered DOE to begin pumping waste from Tank AY-102, which has been found to be leaking material from its inner shell, by Sept. 1, but the […]

Parsons has promoted Rich MacFarland to senior vice president of government relations. MacFarland joined Parsons in 2010 and previously served as vice president of government relations for the company’s government services business unit. “We congratulate Rich on his well-deserved promotion. He has made a tremendous impact on the corporation since joining us in 2010, building […]

Sellafield Limited yesterday announced the award of a contract framework worth up to £336 million ($546 million) to a team of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty for the Box Encapsulation Project. The project aims to treat waste from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and prepare it for long-term storage, as well as process waste from […]

Sellafield Limited yesterday announced the award of a contract framework worth up to £336 million ($546 million) to a team of Jacobs, AMEC and Balfour Beatty for the Box Encapsulation Project. The project aims to treat waste from the Magnox Swarf Storage Silo and prepare it for long-term storage, as well as process waste from […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory Deputy Associate Director Enrique Torres is serving as acting lead for LANL environmental programs after several Los Alamos cleanup managers were relieved of their duties last week in connection with the breached drum at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, LANL Director Charlie McMillan said Friday in a message to staff obtained […]

The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s Consolidated Business Center late last week announced the award of two support service contracts to small business Ardent Technologies. The first is an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a maximum value of $4 million over four years. Services include information technology operations support at CBC and “various […]

The Department of Energy won’t meet a Sept. 30 commitment to begin operations at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, a DOE spokesman said late last week. The milestone was included in DOE’s Site Treatment Plan for the Idaho site. “Start-up and testing activities at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, to verify that the facility […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 As the Department of Energy moves to shift responsibility for cleanup work at Los Alamos National Laboratory to the DOE Office of Environmental Management, four LANL cleanup managers late this week were relieved of their duties in a major management change following issues with the site’s transuranic waste program. The […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 As the Department of Energy moves to shift responsibility for cleanup work at Los Alamos National Laboratory to the DOE Office of Environmental Management, four LANL cleanup managers late this week were relieved of their duties in a major management change following issues with the site’s transuranic waste program. The […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 After numerous issues led to a three-year delay and increased costs at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, the Department of Energy is taking steps to increase oversight of CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company’s contract. D&D work at the former plutonium processing facility was originally expected to be complete by September 2013 […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 After South Carolina and the Environmental Protection Agency denied a request from the Department of Energy to extend a Savannah River high-level waste tank closure milestone, DOE late last week invoked dispute resolution on the matter. Citing technical and funding issues, DOE in August requested an extension of the closure […]

Former WRPS Worker Says She Was Terminated for Raising Concerns Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/26/2014 Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has long been an advocate for whistleblowers at Hanford, is not happy with how the site’s tank farms contractor is handling its challenge to a preliminary order from the Department of Labor to reinstate a […]

New Dounreay Funding Profile Expected at End of the Year Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/26/2014 Completion of a new funding profile for the Dounreay site is now not expected to occur until the end of this year, though officials had originally hoped to complete the process this month. “It’s such a big thing, they don’t […]

Perma-Fix Looks to Add Evaporator System That Could Aid Hanford Cleanup WC Monitor 9/26/2014 Perma-Fix Northwest is proposing adding an evaporation system to its suite of systems used to treat and package waste at its Richland, Wash., plant near Hanford. The new system would be used to treat water contaminated with mixed low-level radioactive waste, […]

DOE Completes Final EA on Demo of Central Facilities Area Structures WC Monitor 9/26/2014 The Department of Energy has completed a Final Environmental Assessment on the proposed demolition of five structures at the Idaho National Laboratory’s Central Facilities Area, finding that the action will not have a significant impact on the environment. The facilities, which […]

Potential Detonation Threat Comes From Pu Containers From SRS WC Monitor 9/26/2014 The Department of Energy this week confirmed that a detonation threat under review at an Oak Ridge waste storage site involves containers of plutonium that were brought to Oak Ridge from Savannah River more than 30 years ago. Mike Koentop, executive officer at […]

SRS CAB: Lack of DOE Communication Could ‘Erode Public Trust’ WC Monitor 9/26/2014 The Savannah River Citizens Advisory Board is citing poor communication from the Department of Energy as threatening to “erode public trust,” and passed two recommendations this week that aim to improve lines of information from DOE. Instead of DOE sharing information with […]

WC Monitor 9/26/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy plans to hold a pre-proposal conference briefing and site tour the week of Oct. 13 for the new Paducah infrastructure support services contract. DOE also said in a notice published late this week that it plans to issue a final Request for Proposals for the new […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/26/2014 A smoldering fire at the West Lake landfill may not be moving toward the radioactively contaminated portion of the site, contrary to previous studies, says a new report released last week by Bridgeton Landfill, the operator of the site. Earlier this month, Todd Thalhamer, a consultant for the state […]

Staff Reports RW Monitor 9/26/2014 Perma-Fix Northwest is proposing adding an evaporation system to its suite of systems used to treat and package waste at its Richland plant near Hanford. The new system would be used to treat water contaminated with mixed low-level radioactive waste, which could include metals and organics. “It could come from […]

The Savannah River Citizens Advisory Board says poor communication from the Department of Energy is threatening to “erode public trust,” and passed two recommendations this week that aim to improve the lines of information from DOE. Instead of sharing information with the CAB at bimonthly meetings or when it became available, several important developments did […]

After numerous issues led to a three-year delay and increased costs at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant, additional steps should be taken to improve performance and oversight at the project, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General report released yesterday. D&D work at the former plutonium processing facility was originally expected to be complete by […]

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has long been an advocate for whistleblowers at Hanford, is not happy with how the site’s tank farms contractor is handling its challenge to a preliminary order from the Department of Labor to reinstate a former employee who has charged she was terminated for raising concerns. Late last week, Washington […]

After South Carolina and the Environmental Protection Agency denied a request to extend a Savannah River high level waste tank closure milestone, the Department of Energy late last week invoked dispute resolution on the matter. Citing technical and funding issues, DOE in August requested an extension of the closure dates for Tanks 12H and 16H […]