Defense Low-Level Waste

The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) this week confirmed a 2018 finding that exposure to contaminants from former radioactive waste storage near St. Louis, Mo., could have heightened the risk for various cancers among residents of the area. The ATSDR on Tuesday issued its final report on cancer risks near Coldwater […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Wednesday gave prospective vendors a few days more to bid on the contract for a nuclear cleanup project around St. Louis, Mo. The deadline for proposals for the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) project has been pushed back from May 9 to 2 p.m. Central time […]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this week called for nearly tripling the Trump administration’s fiscal 2020 funding proposal for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The $250 million plus-up advocated by Schumer would bring funding to $400 million for the nuclear cleanup program, compared to $150 million […]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) this week called for a $250 million increase in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The plus-up would bring funding in fiscal 2020 to $400 million for the nuclear cleanup program, compared to $150 million in the current federal budget […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday issued the formal solicitation for nuclear cleanup around St. Louis, Mo., under its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Under a single-award task order the Army Corps hopes to issue in 2019, the selected contractor would provide “any and all remediation work for remedial actions including […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Monday issued the formal solicitation for nuclear cleanup around St. Louis, Mo., under its Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). Under a single-award task order, the selected contractor would provide “any and all remediation work for remedial actions including general conditions, field engineering, radiological/safety support services, remediation […]

A senior U.S. Army official on Wednesday struggled to explain the reasoning for the Trump administration’s plan to return management of a nuclear cleanup program from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy. “I really think that DOE wanted that program back, and I can’t answer why on that,” R.D. James, assistant […]

A senior U.S. Army official on Wednesday struggled to explain the reasoning for the Trump administration’s plan to return management of a nuclear cleanup program from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy. “I really think that DOE wanted that program back, and I can’t answer why on that,” R.D. James, assistant […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week said it should within a couple weeks issue a formal procurement notice for environmental remediation at multiple locations in its St. Louis, Mo., District under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army Corps intends to issue a cost-plus-fixed-fee award for cleanup of hazardous, toxic, […]

A senior U.S. Army official on Wednesday struggled to explain the reasoning for the Trump administration’s plan to return management of a nuclear cleanup program from the Army Corps of Engineers to the Department of Energy. “I really think that DOE wanted that program back, and I can’t answer why on that,” R.D. James, assistant […]

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in recent weeks approved the final design for a new On-Site Disposal Cell at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The Department of Energy received the approval within the past month or so, Joel Bradburne, deputy manager for DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, said Thursday on the sidelines of the Waste Management […]

The mayor of Piketon, Ohio, says February flooding in the area reinforces his point that the Department of Energy should not build the planned On-Site Disposal Cell for waste from ongoing cleanup at the Portsmouth Site. Heavy rains forced the Pike County Board of Commissioners to declare a state of emergency Feb. 11 due to […]

Stakeholders now have through Jan. 9 to weigh in on the proposed new 2.2-million-cubic yard-landfill to eventually replace the existing facility at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. An Energy Department spokesman confirmed by email the public comment deadline has been extended from Dec. 10. This marks the second extension — DOE had […]

Reduced charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas officially took effect on Nov. 8. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in October approved the updated charges as part of a broader rulemaking covering the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility, which Waste Control Specialists operates […]

Reduced charges for disposal of low-level radioactive waste at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas officially took effect on Nov. 8. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in October approved the updated charges as part of a broader rulemaking covering the Texas Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact facility, which Waste Control Specialists operates […]

The Energy Department contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project near Buffalo, N.Y., recently finished shipping the last of the site’s legacy low-level radioactive waste for disposal. Contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) finished the shipments on Sept. 6, a spokesman said by email. Legacy waste in this context means material predating the 2011 […]

The Energy Department must address concerns about potential water contamination before the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) is ready to sign off on a new waste disposal landfill at the Oak Ridge Reservation. “To gain the state’s support, DOE may need to revise the landfill design, because groundwater near the land surface could […]

The Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico last year shipped 5,058,687 kilograms of low-level radioactive waste off-site for disposal at federal and commercial properties. Operations at storied nuclear weapons laboratory generate low-level radioactive waste, transuranic waste, mixed low-level waste, and mixed transuranic waste, according to the 2017 Annual Site Environmental Report […]

The Department of Energy has extended the public comment period by 45 days for the new 2.2-million-cubic yard waste disposal facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Comments are now being accepted through Dec. 10. The department has also postponed a public hearing on the landfill, which had been scheduled for Oct. 18, until […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has decided to move ahead with completing a key document on disposal of Greater-Than-Class-C (GTCC) low-level radioactive waste rather than waiting on an upcoming milestone in another proceeding. The regulator had previously planned to issue a draft regulatory basis for a potential rulemaking on GTCC waste disposal six months after publishing […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it is considering sending the nation’s stock of Greater-Than-Class C (GTCC) and GTCC-like low-level radioactive waste (LLRW) for disposal at the Waste Control Specialists facility in West Texas. The proposal is addressed in a site-specific environmental assessment of shipping and holding the waste at the Federal Waste Facility on […]

The Department of Energy has extended the public comment period by 45 days for the new 2.2-million-cubic yard waste disposal facility at the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. Comments are now being accepted through Dec. 10. The department has also postponed a public hearing on the landfill, which had been scheduled for this past Thursday, […]

The Energy Department believes the central Bear Creek Valley is the best place within the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Tennessee to develop a new 2.2-million-cubic yard waste disposal facility – due in part to its geology and groundwater flow conditions. Because the same valley is home to Oak Ridge’s existing Environmental Management Waste Management […]

The Energy Department believes the Central Bear Creek Valley is the best place within the Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in Tennessee to develop a new 2.2-million-cubic yard waste disposal facility – due in part to its geology and groundwater flow conditions. Because the same valley is home to Oak Ridge’s existing Environmental Management Waste Management […]

The Energy Department has scheduled a public information meeting for 5 p.m. today on the new Environmental Management Disposal Facility planned for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Energy Department is proposing a 2.2 million-cubic-yard landfill site on federal land in Bear Creek Valley, according to a notice for the 90-minute meeting at the […]

While not much has appeared to happen for the majority of the past year, there is still reason for optimism that the federal government will find a way forward to establish a means for permanent disposal of the most radioactive form of low-level waste, an industry executive said. Congress did not address the issue of […]

Leaders in the village of Piketon, Ohio, have asked federal and state agencies to hold a public hearing on the waste that will go into the planned On-Site Disposal Cell at the Energy Department’s nearby Portsmouth Site. The Piketon Village Council on Aug. 20 approved  a resolution asking DOE and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for […]

The Energy Department and contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth expect soil excavation and installation of necessary infrastructure for a planned on-site radioactive waste disposal cell at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio should be completed in fiscal 2019. Recent progress includes setting up trailers for work crews, installing security fencing along the perimeter of the site, including sedimentation […]

While there is no solution yet for permanent disposal of the nation’s most hazardous form of low-level radioactive waste, a small tranche of the material could within a matter of years be moved temporarily to Texas. The license application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for interim storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel at Waste […]

The Energy Department and contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth expect soil excavation and installation of necessary infrastructure for a planned on-site radioactive waste disposal cell at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio should be completed in fiscal 2019. Recent progress includes setting up trailers for work crews, installing security fencing along the perimeter of the site, including sedimentation […]