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.
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Contracts & Procurement
Portsmouth-Paducah DUF6 bidders keep offers open into December
The Department of Energy has successfully gotten bidders on the uranium hexafluoride conversion work and other services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky will keep their offers open through Dec. 20, two industry sources said Monday. Teams vying for the decade-long Portsmouth / Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Operations and […]
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Contracts & Procurement
West Valley final RFP not expected before January
Don’t look for the Department of Energy to issue its final solicitation for a potential $3-billion cleanup project at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state prior to January, DOE said this week. In a special notice dated Tuesday, the DOE Office of Environmental Management said the final request for proposals (RFP) for […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Federal judge clears way for trial in a COVID-19 suit against UCOR
A federal judge in Tennessee refused to throw out a lawsuit by a former employee for the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup contractor at the Oak Ridge Site who was fired after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Plaintiff Yolonda Riggs, a former lead radiation technician for United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), was fired by […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
EPA begins public input process that could clear way for Hanford Test Bed Initiative
EPA begins public input process that could clear way for DOE’s Hanford Test Bed Initiative The Environmental Protection Agency is considering a variance to allow the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington to ship 2,000 gallons of radioactive tank waste to commercial disposal sites for solidification. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Hanford landlord seeks sub for 100 Area electric infrastructure upgrade
Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, the Department of Energy prime that acts as city manager of the Hanford Site in Washington state, is shopping for a subcontractor to overhaul aging power distribution lines and related infrastructure. The work, in the 100 Area near the Columbia River, involves tearing down or refurbishing old infrastructure and installing […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Portsmouth-Paducah DUF6 bidders keep offers open into December
The Department of Energy has successfully gotten bidders on the uranium hexafluoride conversion work and other services at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio and the Paducah Site in Kentucky will keep their offers open through Dec. 20, two industry sources said Monday. Teams vying for the decade-long Portsmouth / Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Operations and […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Post-merger, most megabuck cleanup contracts to be captained by partners with publicly-traded parent
Should the proposed merger announced last week between Amentum and Jacobs Solutions’s government contracting business become reality, most Department of Energy nuclear cleanup contracts will be held by teams where the lead partner has a publicly-traded corporate parent. That is based on a cursory review of contracts, valued at nearly $1 billion or more, which […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Plaintiffs dwindle in Oak Ridge Lab COVID case prior to April 2024 trial
Three more plaintiffs have pulled out of the COVID-19-related lawsuit brought by some employees of the prime contractor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, leaving only two. Plaintiffs Stephanie Bruffey, Gregory Sheets and William Webb have agreed to drop their legal claims against UT-Battelle, the joint venture between the University […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Wrap Up: Poneman exits, Vexler enters Centrus; Orano USA taps new CEO from within; Hanford paper records center closing
Centrus Energy on Monday announced Chief Executive Daniel Poneman will step down from leadership of the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer at the first of the year. He will be succeeded by Orano USA President and Chief Executive Amir Vexler on January 1. Poneman joined Centrus in March 2015 and over eight years returned […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Much work left to do on Oak Ridge Mercury Treatment Facility, DOE says
The Mercury Treatment Facility at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, which is about to become the responsibility of the site’s Amentum-led prime, is 50% complete, a DOE spokesperson said Friday. The DOE Office of Environmental Management spokesperson replied to an Exchange Monitor inquiry on the current status of the project. The […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Steel frame takes shape for SRS research center at South Carolina-Aiken
Contractor North Wind Group has finished putting up the structural steel for a 60,000-square-foot offsite research facility it is building for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site at the University of South Carolina-Aiken, the agency said Monday. “Since construction started about eight months ago, we have been making substantial progress,” on the Advanced Manufacturing […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Most DNFSB staff respect the top bosses; work remotely much of the time
Based on a survey taken mid-year, 72% of the staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have a “high level of respect” for senior leaders, which is the best score on this question in about four years at the independent federal watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites. The figure reached 69% of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Publication Notice
In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Weapons Complex Monitor will publish on Wednesday, Nov. 22. The next issue will be published on Friday, Dec. 1.
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Cleanup & Remediation
Most DNFSB staff respect the top bosses; work remotely much of the time
Based on a survey taken mid-year, 72% of the staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board have a “high level of respect” for senior leaders, which is the best score on this question in about four years at the independent federal watchdog for Department of Energy nuclear weapon sites. The figure reached 69% of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
In sign of electronic times: Hanford paper records center closing
With federal records increasingly available electronically, the Department of Energy is closing a Richland, Wash., repository for Hanford Site paper records, federal and state agencies announced last week. In August 2022, the Tri-Party Agreement agencies that govern cleanup of the former plutonium production complex, DOE, the Washington state Department of Ecology and the U.S. Environmental […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Much work left to do on Oak Ridge Mercury Treatment Facility, DOE says
The Mercury Treatment Facility at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, which is about to become the responsibility of the site’s Amentum-led prime, is 50% complete, a DOE spokesperson said Friday. The DOE Office of Environmental Management spokesperson replied to an Exchange Monitor inquiry on the current status of the project. The […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Hanford disaster drill found lacking; NuSclae has plans for canceled reactors; Pantex bidder vetting underway; Piketon, Ohio mayor Spencer re-elected
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants improvement in emergency response preparation at tank waste pretreatment facility at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions went through a simulated tornado drill last month at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s onsite […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Publication Notice
In observance of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, Weapons Complex Monitor will publish on Wednesday, Nov. 22. The next issue will be published on Friday, Dec. 1.
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ex-Hanford worker, brother sentenced to 12 years in prison for drug trafficking
Two brothers in their twenties, one a former worker at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, were sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for their role in an uncle’s Mexico-based drug trafficking operation. Eduardo Reyes-Santana, 26 of Kennewick, Wash., a commercial driver and union member who worked two years at the […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
Timeline extended by DOE for clean energy information at Savannah River
With the holidays approaching, the Department of Energy’s request for information for potential carbon-free power projects at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has been extended until Jan. 2, the agency said Wednesday. Information on the clean energy potential of the 310-square-mile federal complex is now due by 12 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO planning several nuclear reports, including one with international scope
The Government Accountability Office expects to publish several major reports on Department of Energy nuclear remediation issues over the next several months, according to the congressional watchdog agency. Nathan Anderson, director of the Natural Resources & Environment unit for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said between now and December a report on H Canyon at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
UCOR taking over construction, completion of Oak Ridge mercury facility
The Amentum-led remediation prime at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee will finish construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, DOE announced Friday. Earlier in the week, DOE confirmed to Exchange Monitor the agency will not again extend a contract with a joint venture of APTIM and […]
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Budget & Policy
Latest stopgap funding deal keeps DOE cleanup near fiscal 2023 levels into new year
The Department of Energy’s 2023 budget was extended through Jan. 19 by another short-term spending bill, which Congress passed this week before leaving Washington for their Thanksgiving recess. President Joe Biden (D) signed the House-authored bill on Thursday, the same day the Senate passed it 87-11. The House passed the bill Tuesday 336-95. This is […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Small biz draft RFP could be out soon for for Portsmouth-Paducah tech support
The Department of Energy could roll out a draft solicitation by Dec. 31 for a small business to provide technical support services at the Paducah Site in Kentucky and the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, the agency said Wednesday. The DOE Office of Environmental Management could publish a draft request for proposals (RFP) sometime within 15-to-45 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ex-Hanford worker, brother sentenced to 12 years in prison for drug trafficking
Two brothers in their twenties, one a former worker at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, were sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for their role in an uncle’s Mexico-based drug trafficking operation. Eduardo Reyes-Santana, 26 of Kennewick, Wash., a commercial driver and union member who worked two years at the […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Disaster prep at Hanford pretreatment project needs work, DNFSB finds
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants improvement in emergency response preparation at tank waste pretreatment facility at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions went through a simulated tornado drill last month at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s onsite […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Feds not extending APTIM-led contract to build Oak Ridge mercury facility
The Department of Energy will not again extend a contract with a joint venture of APTIM and North Wind Group to finish building a mercury treatment facility at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, an agency spokesperson confirmed Monday. The contract, which began in December 2018 and is now valued at $128-million, will not be […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Piketon, Ohio mayor Spencer re-elected to new term
The village of Piketon, Ohio, which borders the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site, last week re-elected longtime Mayor Billy Spencer to a new term. Spencer beat out council member David Isaac Dixon 377-to-244 in the Nov. 7 election, according to results from the Ohio Board of Elections. The victory will provide Spencer, who worked for […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO planning several nuclear reports, including one with international scope
The Government Accountability Office expects to publish several major reports on Department of Energy nuclear remediation issues over the next several months, according to the congressional watchdog agency. Nathan Anderson, director of the Natural Resources & Environment unit for the Government Accountability Office (GAO), said between now and December a report on H Canyon at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Manchin out; Arkansas man breaches nuke plant gate; massive hog cull at SRS
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a centrist who often rankled his party by refusing to go along with President Joe Biden’s (D) signature stimulus legislation, announced Thursday he would not seek a third full term in the U.S. Senate. A former West Virginia governor, Manchin was elected to the Senate in 2010 in a special election. […]






