Cleanup & Remediation

WC Monitor 9/5/2014 IN DOE The chairs of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Boards are scheduled to hold a meeting later this month in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Topics to be discussed at the Sept. 17-18 meeting are set to include “News and Views” from DOE headquarters and updates on EM acquisition and procurement and waste disposition […]

The chairs of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Boards are scheduled to hold a meeting later this month in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Topics to be discussed at the Sept. 17-18 meeting are set to include “News and Views” from DOE headquarters and updates on EM acquisition and procurement and waste disposition strategies, as well as accomplishments […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Department of Energy appears to be on track to meet a goal to have a final cost and schedule baseline for D&D efforts at the Separations Process Research Unit completed by the end of September, a DOE official told WC Monitor this week. The new baseline could help finally […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/29/2014 After a two-and-a-half-month summer vacation, former acting National Nuclear Security Administration chief Bruce Held returned this week to the Department of Energy. Held’s title will apparently remain the same—associate deputy secretary—but his duties have not been fully defined. “Governance issues have long been my central concern so I hope to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Department of Energy expects budget constraints to restrict the amount of high-level waste that can be transferred from Savannah River’s H-Canyon to the site’s tank farms, potentially impacting future missions for the facility. DOE informed M&O contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions that it will be limited to transferring 50,000 […]

Assault Charge Dropped Against Co-Owner of Occupational Med. Contractor WC Monitor 8/29/2014 An assault charge against Grover Cleveland “Cleve” Mooers, a co-owner of HPM Corp., has been dismissed in Franklin County District Court in Washington state. Mooers was charged with assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation, a gross misdemeanor, after a woman accused […]

IG Notes Idaho’s Improvements in Integrated Safety Management WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The Idaho National Laboratory is making progress in addressing weaknesses identified in its Integrated Safety Management system, according to a Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office report released late last week. In half of the 59 safety incidents analyzed by the report that occurred […]

State Names New DOE Oversight Chief WC Monitor 8/29/2014 The state of Tennessee is changing the leadership of its Department of Energy Oversight Office in Oak Ridge, with Chris Thompson succeeding long-time manager John Owsley in the top position. Kelly Brockman, spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, confirmed this week that Thompson […]

Savannah River Remediation VP Heading to Los Alamos WC Monitor 8/29/2014 Bechtel executive Kim Cassara is joining Los Alamos National Laboratory as its associate director for Project Management starting Oct. 1, LANL Director Charlie McMillan said in a message to employees earlier this month. Cassara most recently served as the vice president for Projects, Design, […]

WC Monitor 8/29/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a business opportunity forum Sept 4 at DOE headquarters in Washington. The outreach event, led by EM’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management, will focus on discussing upcoming EM business opportunities. “Topics will include discussion on how DOE is improving […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/29/2014 The Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City Office issued a pre- solicitation notice this week for an unrestricted Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Multiple Award Task Order Contract for remediation services. The Corps anticipates issuing up to 10 contracts with a maximum shared capacity of $185 million. The contract […]

The Department of Energy has missed giving several important updates to the Savannah River Site Citizen’s Advisory Board on time, and that may be hampering the CAB and public trust in the Department, the Board says. The CAB found out about several noteworthy issues through media reports, according to a draft recommendation released this week. […]

Wyatt Clark, the Chief Operating Officer for Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, is planning on leaving the company at the end of the month. WRPS did not comment on Clark’s future plans. “We appreciate his leadership over the past two and a half years here and wish him the very best in […]

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Kansas City Office issued a pre-solicitation notice yesterday for up to 10 Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity remediation contracts with a maximum shared capacity of $185 million. The contract will support work across the Corps projects such as remediation work for the Northwestern Division, Southwestern Division, and South Pacific Division, for hazardous, […]

The Department of Energy expects budget constraints to restrict the amount of high-level waste that can be transferred from Savannah River’s H-Canyon to the site’s tank farms, potentially impacting future missions for the facility. DOE requested $260 million for Fiscal Year 2015 for nuclear material stabilization and disposition at Savannah River, compared to $272 million […]

Idaho National Laboratory has made progress in Integrated Safety Management and is taking necessary actions to continue the improvement, according to a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report released Friday. In half of the 59 safety incidents analyzed by the report that occurred between Fiscal Year 2011 and 2013 hazards were not appropriately […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a business opportunity forum Sept 4 at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C. The outreach event, led by EM’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management, will focus on discussing upcoming EM business opportunities. “Topics will include discussion on how DOE is improving its acquisition and contract […]

Modifications Completed Faster than Expected Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/22/2014 After a months-long unexpected pause in operations at the Savannah River Site’s H-Canyon facility to make numerous upgrades, the facility is poised to start several new missions. That includes production of plutonium oxide and downblending of used fuel at the site’s L Basin, as well […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 8/22/2014 In response to a whistleblower complaint, the U.S. Labor Department has ordered Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to reinstate former employee Shelly Doss and provide back pay and compensatory damages. Doss filed the complaint after she was laid off in October 2011, claiming that her dismissal was […]

Timecard Trial to Start Next Month WC Monitor 8/22/2014 Federal Judge Edward Shea plans to start the first trial for defendants accused of Hanford timecard fraud next month, but which of the defendants will be tried first remains unknown. Shea said in Eastern Washington District U.S. Court that he would decide after a hearing Sept. […]

Groundwater Treatment Goals Met Early WC Monitor 8/22/2014 Pump and treat systems at Hanford have removed more than 680 pounds  of hexavalent chromium from groundwater near the Columbia River so far this fiscal year. The Department of Energy’s goal was to remove about 550 pounds by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, […]

CH2M-WG Idaho Completes Work on Radioactive Waste Exhumation Area WC Monitor 8/22/2014 Department of Energy Idaho Site cleanup contractor CH2M-WG Idaho has wrapped up work cleaning out a seventh radioactive and hazardous waste exhumation area, the contractor said earlier this month. CWI said it is currently exhuming and removing targeted buried waste in an eighth […]

DOE Looking At Ways to Expand On Site Landfill WC Monitor 8/22/2014 With space running out at the Department of Energy’s on-site landfill and plans for a follow-on landfill still in the early, early stages, DOE’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management office is looking at ways to expand the existing capability and give additional time before […]

New H-Canyon Missions Starting Up After Pause for Upgrades NS&D Monitor 8/22/2014   After a months-long unexpected pause in operations at the Savannah River Site’s H-Canyon facility to make numerous upgrades, the facility is poised to start several new missions. That includes production of plutonium oxide and downblending of used fuel at the site’s L […]

Staff Reports RW Monitor 8/22/2014 With space running out at the Department of Energy’s on-site landfill and plans for a follow-on landfill still in the early, early stages, DOE’s Oak Ridge Environmental Management office is looking at ways to expand the existing capability and give additional time before constructing a new landfill. The Oak Ridge […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 8/22/2014 Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster called on the Environmental Protection Agency last week to move forward the construction of an isolation barrier at the West Lake Landfill near St. Louis in a timelier manner. Koster, along with members of Missouri’s congressional delegation, has been critical of the EPA’s unclear […]

RW Monitor 8/22/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY U.S. Ecology appointed Katina Dorton to its Board of Directors, the company announced this week. Dorton has 20 years of investment banking experience, and she currently serves as a partner at Corise Co., a merchant and banking advisory firm. “We are pleased to have Katina join our Board,” U.S. […]

In response to a whistleblower complaint, the U.S. Labor Department has ordered Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions to reinstate former employee Shelly Doss and provide back pay and compensatory damages. Doss filed the complaint after she was laid off in October 2011, claiming that her dismissal was in retaliation to her reporting […]

The NRC Staff recommended yesterday that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission move forward with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Defense to clarify the Commission’s role in regulating the DOD’s radium remediation efforts. Back in 2011, the Staff prepared a guidance document to settle regulatory problems with the DOD’s use of radium, but the […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has wrapped up work to upgrade the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility three months ahead of schedule, the contractor said late last week. SRNS said it completed 16 facility modifications that included sealing off abandoned piping, upgrading High Efficiency Particulate Air filters in the central exhaust system, and replacing doors […]