Cleanup & Remediation

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 7/18/2014 As some cleanup work at the Savannah River Site is winding down, the site’s managing contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, is looking to emphasize the role SRS facilities can play in future national security and nonproliferation missions, new SRNS President Carol Johnson told WC Monitor in a recent interview. A […]

New Task Force To Look at Ways to Improve EM Tech. Development Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/18/2014 Efforts to develop new cleanup-related technologies could be aided through the creation of a program similar to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Savannah River National Laboratory Director Terry Michalske said this week. Michalske outlined what he […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/18/2014 URS appears set to seek reimbursement for more than $650,000 in costs for having one of its executives testify before Congress on whistleblowers at Hanford, according to information the Department of Energy sent a Senate subcommittee last week. The question of whether or not URS would seek reimbursement for the […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/18/2014 The Department of Energy and Washington state agreed this week to a new round of talks on how to modify a 2010 Consent Decree that governs the cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste. The two sides will now continue negotiations until Sept. 5, after two previous deadlines in June for coming […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 7/18/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has closed a 2004 recommendation that called on the Department of Energy to strengthen active confinement ventilation systems at National Nuclear Security Administration and Office of Environmental Management sites. When it first drafted the recommendation, the Board was concerned that DOE was relying on […]

Sellafield Making Headway on Sludge Plants Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 7/18/2014 After decades of having radioactive sludge sitting in unlined open air ponds at Sellafield, the site is commissioning two new plants aimed at removing and processing the material.  Site license company Sellafield Ltd. recently completed construction of the £240 million ($412 million) Sludge Packaging […]

PNNL Director Kluse to Retire Next Spring WC Monitor 7/18/2014 Mike Kluse, the director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, has announced plans to retire March 31, 2015, after leading the lab since being named interim director in January 2007 and permanent director in May 2008. Battelle will begin a national search for a new director […]

Maintenance Backlog Concerns Persist at Site WC Monitor 7/18/2014 As the Department of Energy places an increased emphasis on maintenance activities following the incidents earlier this year that have shut down the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, corrective maintenance backlogs continue to be an issue of concern at the Savannah River Site. Layoffs, furloughs and funding […]

WC Monitor 7/18/2014 IN DOE Dennis Deziel is stepping down as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget in the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, effective at the end of this month, an EM spokeswoman said this week. Deziel is reportedly leaving DOE to take a position with Dow Chemical. “Dennis Deziel […]

WC Monitor 7/18/2014 An editorial in the July 11 issue of Weapons Complex Monitor incorrectly stated that when asked who in the Department of Energy is in charge of recovery activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn named DOE Office of Environmental Management Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste […]

RW Monitor 7/18/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Alan Solow will be leaving his role as CEO of Cabrera Services later this year in order to assume the role of President and CEO of Weston Solutions, Inc. Lorenzo Cabrera will assume the CEO position at Cabrera following a transition period this summer and Alan will remain on […]

The Department of Energy and Washington state have reached a new agreement to continue talks on modifications to the Consent Decree that helps govern the cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste. The two sides have agreed to continue negotiations until Sept. 5, officials said yesterday. Two previous deadlines—June 2 and June 27—have come and gone without […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management needs to do a better job in making the case for additional funds to develop improved cleanup technologies, a senior EM official said yesterday. “I think we have not done a very good job explaining what is it exactly we need technology development dollars for,” Monica Regalbuto, […]

The Department of Energy has extended the due date for proposals in the Hanford 222-S Laboratory Analysis and Testing Services procurement from July 17 to Aug. 7, according to an amendment posted yesterday. The new 222-S lab contract, which is being set-aside for small businesses, is set to run for up to five years, consisting […]

Alan Solow will be leaving his role as CEO of Cabrera Services later this year in order to assume the role of President and CEO of Weston Solutions, Inc. Lorenzo Cabrera will assume the CEO position at Cabrera following a transition period this summer and Alan will remain on the Company’s Board of Directors. This […]

Department ‘Not Satisfied’ With Performance of URS Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/11/2014 Unhappy with the current performance of URS at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) D&D project, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management acknowledged this week that it may not be able to meet its latest goal of completing work at SPRU […]

Efforts Continue to Startup Idaho Facility Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/11/2014 As the Department of Energy continues to work to get the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit up and operating to address liquid waste at the Idaho site, the Department also appears to be already considering future uses for the facility, which could include the […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/11/2014 Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, the D&D contractor at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and two of its subcontractors won’t face fines from the Department of Energy for a set of safety incidents that occurred in 2012. This week, the DOE Office of Enforcement issued FBP a preliminary notice of violation, citing […]

Wash. Closure Completes Demolition of Last Reactor Support Facility WC Monitor 7/11/2014 Washington Closure Hanford has demolished the last obsolete reactor support facility around the seven reactors under its contract as it works to finish most Columbia River Corridor cleanup in 2015. It recently completed demolition of the final facility, the 183-B Clearwell, one of […]

DOE to Seek to Renegotiate TRU Waste Milestones WC Monitor 7/11/2014 Sue Cange, the Department of Energy’s acting environmental manager in Oak Ridge, confirmed this week that DOE plans to enter into formal discussions with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in hopes of changing milestones associated with the deliveries of transuranic waste to the […]

SRR Seeking Interested Companies for Glass Waste Storage, Operations Support WC Monitor 7/11/2014 Liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation is seeking companies able to propose improvements or alternatives for plans involving future storage of vitrified waste, and in a separate effort is looking for support in other areas of work. Savannah River’s Defense Waste Processing […]

WC Monitor 7/11/2014 IN DOE Moses Madera has been named manager of diversity programs and employee concerns at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge office. Before coming to Oak Ridge, Madera was deputy equal employment opportunity officer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. He holds a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical […]

David Huizenga is returning to the National Nuclear Security Administration today after having headed the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management for approximately three years. Huizenga was tapped to lead DOE’s cleanup efforts after the last Senate-confirmed Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management, Ines Triay, stepped down in early July 2011. Huizenga served as […]

Liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation is seeking companies able to help plan and execute outage and non-outage scopes of work, according to an expression of interest posted yesterday. “Subcontractor must have an organization that is capable and largely self-sufficient, with the SRR focus on managing the interface between subcontractor activities, ongoing operations, and overall […]

Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, won’t face a fine from the Department of Energy for an incident that occurred in 2012 involving a 60-ton crane that tipped over at the Portsmouth D&D project. The DOE Office of Enforcement issued FBP a preliminary notice of violation over the incident yesterday, citing the contractor for violations of the Department’s […]

Firms Have Received More Than $3M in Reimbursed Legal Costs Over Hanford Whistleblowers Mike Nartker and staff reports WC Monitor 7/3/2014 URS appears to be considering seeking reimbursement from the Department of Energy of more than half-a-million dollars for having one of its executives testify before Congress on whistleblowers at Hanford, according to a letter […]

Should Only Small Businesses Have Fixed-Price Work? Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/3/2014 Some industry officials are questioning the Department of Energy’s recently announced plans to compete new contracts at the Idaho site, including the decision to set aside only fixed-price scope for small businesses. DOE’s new acquisition plan for post-Fiscal Year 2015 cleanup work at […]

Industry Day Scheduled For July 15 Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 7/3/2014 The Department of Energy this week released a draft Request for Proposals for the new Portsmouth infrastructure support services contract, which has an estimated value of more than $100 million. The new contract, which is being set aside for small businesses, is set to […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 7/3/2014 A second deadline came and went late last week without resolution for the Department of Energy and the state of Washington on how to modify a court-enforced consent decree that helps govern the cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste. The two sides have proposed differing approaches for modifying the consent decree […]

Move Comes After Lab Misses ‘3,706 Campaign’ Deadline Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 7/3/2014 The New Mexico Environment Department is denying requests to extend 21 legally enforceable cleanup deadlines at Los Alamos National Laboratory after the Department of Energy failed to meet a high-profile transuranic waste disposition target. “NMED has granted extensions based on the Permittees’ […]