Archive

Cleanup & Remediation

Coverage of DOE-EM’s multi-billion-dollar effort to address Cold War and Manhattan Project nuclear legacy waste, including tank waste treatment, site remediation, and decommissioning at Hanford, Savannah River, Oak Ridge, and other major sites.

  • Details available on upcoming Hanford lab procurement sessions

    July 7 marked the deadline for parties interested in learning more about the draft request for proposals (RFP) for the 222-S Laboratory management contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., to sign up for a site tour and information sessions later this month. The department will hold a Hanford Site tour […]

  • DOE plans for wider-scale cesium removal at Hanford

    The Department of Energy briefed residents in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state last month on its plans to expand upon its Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) technology at the Hanford Site. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management provided a public briefing June 17 at the Richland, Wash., public library on plans to “bring existing modular cesium […]

  • EM agrees with GAO on need of more review of high-dollar projects

    The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch agrees with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that DOE should not rush into costly infrastructure projects before doing more research up front. By the end of 2026, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) will look to implement two GAO recommendations in a recently-released report, the head of […]

  • Hanford shipments to WIPP could start in a year

    The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state continues to prepare to ship transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico and could start sending drums there within a year, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) update. In a DNFSB resident inspector report for the week ended […]

  • EM-1 Walsh wants greater “urgency” on state grout permit for Hanford

    The head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, Tim Walsh, wrote the director of Washington state’s Department of Ecology to stress “the urgency” DOE places on state approval of grouting some of Hanford Site’s less-radioactive waste. DOE appreciates Washington state’s “willingness to consider our proposed ‘glass-plus-grout’ strategy” for the 200 East Area […]

  • Aleut to provide biz support at Oak Ridge

    Aleut Government Services has been awarded a $6.2-million contract by the Department of Energy Office of Science for administrative and business support services at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The award notice was posted online July 6. Aleut Government Services business address is listed as Colorado Springs, Colo., according to the notice. Aleut Government […]

  • EM agrees with GAO on need of more review of high-dollar projects

    The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch agrees with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that DOE should not rush into costly infrastructure projects before doing more research up front. By the end of 2026, the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) will look to implement two GAO recommendations in a recently-released report, the head of […]

  • DOE plans for wider-scale cesium removal at Hanford

    The Department of Energy briefed residents in the Tri-Cities area of Washington state last month on its plans to expand upon its Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) technology at the Hanford Site. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management provided a public briefing June 17 at the Richland, Wash., public library on plans to “bring existing modular cesium […]

  • Details available on upcoming Hanford lab procurement sessions

    Parties interested in learning more about the draft request for proposals (RFP) for the 222-S Laboratory management contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., should sign up by Tuesday July 7 for a site tour and information sessions later this month. The department will hold a Hanford Site tour on Tuesday […]

  • Wrap Up: GAO says EM should rush into costly projects; Hanford Site permit comment period starts; Centrus, DOE ink $900M contract; more

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management should not rush to embrace costly nuclear cleanup options without first checking with independent experts on less-expensive alternatives, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Thursday July 2. In the just-released report, GAO said the DOE cleanup branch needs to do more research before advocating megadollar solutions.  DOE […]

  • S.C. governor’s race now set with Wilson’s GOP runoff win

    The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]

  • New Mexico, DOE differ on combating Los Alamos chromium plume

    SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]

  • Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill

    As of Monday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last week. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Energy & […]

  • Pike County wants Congress to include Portsmouth in RECA program

    The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

  • West Valley workers take down ventilation structure

    Crews at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York have torn down a ventilation system building and will prepare to dismantle the Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said last week. The recently-demolished Replacement Ventilation Unit was only built in the mid-2010s after crews deactivated the shuttered […]

  • IWTU solidifies about 400K gallons of sodium-bearing waste at Idaho lab

    The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory has solidified about 400,000 gallons of radioactive sodium-bearing waste, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. During the current processing run, crews have used the IWTU to treat 130,000 gallons of the liquid waste held at Idaho National Laboratory, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) […]

  • Pike County wants Congress to include Portsmouth in RECA program

    The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

  • New Mexico, DOE differ on combating Los Alamos chromium plume

    SANTA FE, N.M — State regulators and Department of Energy managers last week presented competing views on how to remedy a decades-old hexavalent chromium plume beneath and beyond the Los Alamos National Laboratory during a New Mexico Environment Department public meeting on ongoing efforts. The plume, linked to old power plant operations at Los Alamos […]

  • IWTU solidifies about 400K gallons of sodium-bearing waste at Idaho

    The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory has solidified about 400,000 gallons of radioactive sodium-bearing waste, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. During the current processing run, crews have used the IWTU to treat 130,000 gallons of the liquid waste held at Idaho National Laboratory, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) […]

  • West Valley workers take down ventilation structure

    Crews at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York have torn down a ventilation system building and will prepare to dismantle the Fuel Receiving and Storage Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said last week. The recently-demolished Replacement Ventilation Unit was only built in the mid-2010s after crews deactivated the shuttered […]

  • Pike County wants Congress to include Portsmouth in RECA program

    The Pike County, Ohio General Health District wants Congress to extend coverage under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to residents in areas around the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site. Localities around DOE’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant complex were not included in the last RECA expansion, which became part of the so-called One Big Beautiful […]

  • Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill

    Plenty of nuclear amendments proposed for House 2027 energy & water bill As of Monday afternoon, it appears no date has been set for the full House of Representatives to take up the House Appropriations Committee version of the fiscal 2027 Energy & Water Development bill, which was considered by the House Rules Committee last […]

  • Comment period gets underway on state sitewide permit for Hanford

    The Washington state Department of Ecology Monday officially launched its 120-day public comment period on Revision 9A to the Department of Energy’s sitewide permit for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. In an online notice, the state regulator said the sitewide permit is one of its key tools for monitoring the “treatment, storage, and disposal […]

  • S.C. governor’s race now set with Wilson’s GOP runoff win

    The November race for governor in the major nuclear state of South Carolina is now set after state Attorney General Alan Wilson defeated Lieutenant Gov. Pamela Evette, who was backed by President Trump, in a GOP primary runoff last week. Wilson, who as attorney general spearheaded litigation over a cancelled project at the Department of […]

  • DOE issues draft RFP for Hanford’s 222-S lab management

    The Department of Energy Thursday released its draft request for proposals (RFP) for management of the 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. The period of performance on the potential small business set-aside contract is expected to be up to seven years. That includes a five-year base period, a transition period from the […]

  • DOE cleanup office continues work on defense waste recycling demo project

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is making headway on its solicitation for a venture that would demonstrate recycling of defense-related spent fuel to extract high-assay-low-enriched-uranium (HALEU) fuel for advanced reactors. DOE announced the request for applications (RFA) in April for the demo project at the Idaho National Laboratory. An Industry Day […]

  • Hanford crews work to curb risk at 324 Building

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday crews from an Amentum-led contractor have finished important work to mitigate risk at the highly-contaminated 324 Building at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. Crews from Central Plateau Cleanup, a partnership that also includes Fluor and AtkinsRéalis,  have finished stabilizing four hot cells at the […]

  • Hanford crews work to curb risk at 324 Building

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday crews from an Amentum-led contractor have finished important work to mitigate risk at the highly-contaminated 324 Building at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash. Crews from Central Plateau Cleanup have finished stabilizing four hot cells at the the 324 Building, DOE said in a Tuesday […]

  • DOE cleanup office continues work on defense waste recycling demo project

    The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is making headway on its solicitation for a venture that would demonstrate recycling of defense-related spent fuel to extract high-assay-low-enriched-uranium (HALEU) fuel for advanced reactors. DOE announced the request for applications (RFA) in April for the demo project at the Idaho National Laboratory. An Industry Day […]

  • Wrap Up: Zeno picks battery-making site; Veolia hires ex-Amentum manager; Navarro enters partnership; much more

    Zeno Power, a Seattle-based maker of nuclear batteries, has selected the Vallecitos Nuclear Center in Sunol, Calif. For a manufacturing facility, the company said Thursday. Additionally, Zeno also partnered with nuclear decommissioning company NorthStar to help restore specialized hot cell infrastructure to produce nuclear batteries purposed for commercial, defense and space uses, according to the […]