Cleanup & Remediation

Christopher Leichtweis, the president and CEO of Idaho Falls-based North Wind Group, plans to leave the company by the end of the year, the company announced Tuesday. Leichtweis, who has led the Department of Energy contractor since 2013, will remain on through Dec. 31, “to ensure a smooth and orderly transition,” North Wind said in […]

The Department of Energy’s $45-billion liquid waste contract awarded in April for the Hanford Site in Washington state “was improper and is set aside,” a federal judge said in a public one-page document Tuesday. “Performance of the contract is enjoined,” U.S.  Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Blank Horn said of the Integrated Tanks Contract […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has not been aggressive enough in cleaning up a hexavalent chromium plume within the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the head of the New Mexico Environment Department said last week. DOE and its contractors “have denied New Mexicans and tribal members timely and effective clean-up of hexavalent chromium […]

The five remaining plaintiffs who sued, and then seemingly settled, a lawsuit over the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s COVID-19 vaccination policy decided to stick with suing the lab. “The parties wish to report to the Court that they were unable to resolve this case through mediation,” and will resume active litigation, lawyers for the lab […]

A federal judge on Monday abruptly dismissed a losing bidder’s lawsuit over a $45-billion Department of Energy contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state. According to an online notice, an “order of dismissal” was issued under seal by U.S.  Court of Federal Claims Judge Marian Blank Horn in a bid protest brought by an […]

A panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said last week it need not hear oral arguments in order to make a ruling in a case involving the Department of Energy’s COVID-19 vaccination policy at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “The court is of the unanimous opinion that […]

California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control could start taking public comments as early as this fall on groundwater cleanup for the Department of Energy’s area of the sprawling Santa Susana Field Laboratory, according to a report released Thursday. The California Agency on Thursday issued its long-awaited Final Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR) for the 2,850-acre […]

The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce, which takes an active interest in the Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in McCracken County, Ky., has been awarded a $2-million grant to study future use of the agency’s gaseous diffusion plant. The $2-million financial assistance act, consistent with the fiscal 2023 federal budget, will go toward community studies […]

Editor’s note: The Exchange Monitor hosted its annual RadWaste 2.0 Summit in Summerlin, Nev., this week. The summit brings together managers responsible for the day-to-day operations of sites and businesses that treat, transport, store and dispose of radioactive waste. Two of the Monitor’s reporters attended the show and, in addition to news coverage nearby, returned […]

Editor’s note: The Exchange Monitor hosted its annual RadWaste 2.0 Summit in Summerlin, Nev., this week. The summit brings together managers responsible for the day-to-day operations of sites and businesses that treat, transport, store and dispose of radioactive waste. Two of the Monitor’s reporters attended the show and, in addition to news coverage nearby, returned […]

After being down for a while last week for upkeep on a major component, a $1.4-billion facility to treat sodium-bearing waste at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is back in operation, an agency spokesperson said by email this week. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) “continues to process 100% rad waste,” the DOE […]

Washington and Oregon officials agreed Tuesday that concrete-like grout could be used instead of glass to solidify a significant portion of Hanford’s radioactive liquid waste, as long as the grouted waste is taken off-site. Suzanne Dahl, tank waste manager for the Washington Ecology Department and Matt Hendrickson, her counterpart at the Oregon Department of Energy, […]

The Department of Energy Thursday told employees in areas with bad air quality resulting from Canadian wildfires they could check with their bosses about telecommuting or alternate schedule options. “As much of the country experiences dangerous air quality conditions from the ongoing Canadian wildfires, the department is committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge will break ground this summer on a new low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told Exchange Monitor’s Radwaste Summit here Tuesday. “I’m proud to announce that on Aug. 2 in Oak Ridge we are going to […]

With extensive bid protest arguments now filed by the Department of Justice and the winning and losing teams for a $45 billion Department of Energy tank waste contract, it will be up to a U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge to decide the next move. As of Thursday night, Judge Marian Blank Horn had not […]

Washington and Oregon officials agreed Tuesday that concrete-like grout could be used instead of glass to solidify a significant portion of Hanford’s radioactive liquid waste, as long as the grouted waste is taken off-site. Suzanne Dahl, tank waste manager for the Washington Ecology Department and Matt Hendrickson, her counterpart at the Oregon Department of Energy, […]

Citing potentially fatal procedural flaws on both sides, the Department of Justice on Tuesday asked a federal judge to suspend a lawsuit over a recently awarded liquid waste contract and let the Department of Energy try to fix the mess. Hanging in the balance is the $45-billion Department of Energy Hanford Integrated Tanks Contract at […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge will break ground this summer on a new low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told Exchange Monitor’s Radwaste Summit here Tuesday. “I’m proud to announce that on Aug. 2 in Oak Ridge we are going to […]

The winner of a massive Department of Energy liquid-waste cleanup contractor in Washington state is trying to turn the tables on a rival who has argued in court that the awardee was ineligible for the work. The winner, BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, told the U.S. Court of Claims for the […]

After being down for a while last week for upkeep on a major component, a $1.4-billion facility to treat sodium-bearing waste at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is back in operation, an agency spokesperson said by email Monday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) “continues to process 100% rad waste,” the DOE spokesperson […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV — Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) who chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water subcommittee, will join speakers from industry and the Department of Energy in kicking off Exchange Monitor’s retooled Radwaste Summit 2.0. Fleischmann, who will speak remotely from Washington, D.C., will headline a roundtable discussion of the future of collaboration on […]

Las Vegas-based subcontractor Longenecker & Associates has selected Jason Hatfield, a 20-year manager of Department of Energy contractor Bechtel National, to become its senior vice president for operations. Hatfield was most recently Bechtel’s mission assurance manager at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, Longenecker said in a Thursday June 1 press release. He officially starts […]

The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, along with a subcontractor, are being investigated for a January incident where a worker was exposed to “potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide,” according to DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. The exposure happened Jan. 10 during testing of a gasoline-powered welder generator inside […]

After about two years of bid protests, incumbent Centerra Group recently started its 60-day transition into a new 10-year contract to provide security to the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., an agency spokesperson said Thursday. The Notice to Proceed was issued on May 15 and Centerra should start its new decade-long, […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]

After about two years of bid protests, incumbent Centerra Group recently started its 60-day transition into a new 10-year contract to provide security to the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., an agency spokesperson said Thursday. The Notice to Proceed was issued on May 15 and Centerra should start its new decade-long, […]

It is time for the Department of Energy to arrange an outside review of its potential alternatives for treating the most highly-radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued last week. “DOE has not committed to obtaining an independent review to validate the portions of […]

A federal judge this week did not throw out on technical grounds a $45-billion liquid waste cleanup contract the Department of Energy issued in April, but the BWX Technologies-led joint venture that won the business still must explain its legal eligibility for the award. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, was given until […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]

The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, along with a subcontractor, are being investigated for a January incident where a worker was exposed to “potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide,” according to DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. The exposure happened Jan. 10 during testing of a gasoline-powered welder generator inside […]