High-Level & Tank Waste

The Department of Energy does not expect a delay to a crucial cesium-removal demonstration at the Hanford Site’s tank farms, despite the discovery last month that parts of the system might be prone to leaks, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. The “leak-tightness” issue, as the Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board (DNFSB) called it in a […]

Under current projections, the Department of Energy could process nearly all of the salt waste inventory from 43 high-level radioactive waste tanks at the Savannah River Site by 2033, the top official for the agency’s Office of Environmental Management there said recently. The 2033 date cited by Michael Budney, manager of the Savannah River Operations […]

Though it has posted a loss for the year so far overall, Fluor, Irving, Texas, ratcheted up its earnings guidance for continuing operations in 2021 after boosting the bottom line and booking a big contract extension from DOE, the company reported this week. Also, in an earnings presentation Friday, Fluor — whose team at the […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV — When it comes to getting spent nuclear fuel away from former power plant sites, the industry is “doing the wrong thing” to pressure the federal government to take action, a utility executive said here Tuesday. “[W]e really need to engage our governors and host communities more effectively to urge the federal government […]

A federal court case challenging one of two proposed commercial interim storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel remained on hold Wednesday as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission worked through its licensing review, the agency said in a status report filed this week. NRC told the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that Holtec International’s application to build […]

While not flat-out opposed to future use of grout for radioactive tank waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site, state officials in Washington and Oregon said Thursday feds for now should not become distracted from the more immediate task of converting low-activity waste into a stabler glass form. Direct-feed low-activity waste (DFLAW) treatment at […]

The Department of Energy now expects the Salt Waste Processing Facility built by Parsons at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will treat roughly four million gallons, rather than six million gallons,  during its first full year of operation, an agency official told the state Nuclear Advisory Council Monday. Parsons finished hot commissioning of […]

A solicitation for a massive contract worth up to $45 billion over 10 years for overseeing radioactive tank waste and running the vitrification plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state was released Thursday by the agency’s Office of Environmental Management. The deal far exceeds the maximum value of any agreement on […]

A federal nuclear waste agency will take a look at some the Department of Energy’s recent research into long-term geologic storage of radioactive waste in November, according to a press release this week. During two days of public meetings starting Nov. 3, representatives from DOE’s national labs will present to the Nuclear Waste Technical Review […]

The Department of Energy now expects the Salt Waste Processing Facility built by Parsons at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will treat roughly four million gallons, rather than six million gallons,  during its first full year of operation, an agency official told the state Nuclear Advisory Council Monday. Parsons finished hot commissioning of […]

A pump-and-treat system that captures groundwater contamination near radioactive waste tanks inside the Hanford Site in Washington would be expanded under a joint interim record of decision announced Wednesday by state and federal agencies.  The interim decision for groundwater operable units in Hanford’s 200 East Area — 200-BP-5 and 200-PO-1 — was issued jointly by […]

Personnel at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site recently tested a drainage system that will funnel byproducts of liquid waste cleanup to an outbuilding from the Low Activity Waste Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said this week. The system includes large tanks and miles of pipes inside the Low-Activity Waste Facility […]

Personnel at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site recently tested a drainage system that will funnel byproducts of liquid waste cleanup to an outbuilding from the Low Activity Waste Facility, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said Tuesday. The system includes large tanks and miles of pipes inside the Low-Activity Waste Facility — […]

Two industry sources said Thursday the Department of Energy has asked teams bidding on the Savannah River Site’s multibillion-dollar liquid waste contract to keep their offers open until early November — a sign that DOE could make the long-awaited decision before the winter holidays. The request for proposals went out on Oct. 1, 2020, and […]

By John Stang For want of a quorum, the Hanford Advisory Board this week could not officially recommend that the Department of Energy do something about a radioactive waste tank leak reported in April and plan for future leaks the board feels are sure to follow.  DOE recently told the board that the terms of […]

By John Stang The first melter at Hanford’s first vitrification facility is scheduled to start up in December, site officials told the Hanford Advisory Board this week, teeing up the long-awaited solidification of liquified Cold War plutonium-byproducts by 2023. After the startup, it should take two months to increase the melter’s temperature to 2,100 degrees […]

Oregon state officials are “cautiously” behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to “prove out” technology to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in neighboring Washington and dispose of it outside of the Pacific Northwest. “Oregon has not previously issued public statements regarding the Test Bed Initiative,” Maxwell […]

Oregon state officials are “cautiously” behind the U.S. Department of Energy’s effort to “prove out” technology to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in neighboring Washington and dispose of it outside of the Pacific Northwest. “Oregon has not previously issued public statements regarding the Test Bed Initiative,” Maxwell […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it plans a 90-day comment period concerning a proposal to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and transport it out of state for final disposal. In an initial 14-day comment period on the Test Best Initiative that ended last Friday, […]

The Department of Energy said Tuesday it plans a 90-day comment period concerning a proposal to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and transport it out of state for final disposal. In an initial 14-day comment period on the Test Best Initiative that ended last Friday, […]

An advocacy group wants the Department of Energy to provide at least 60 days, rather than 14, for public comment on a draft environmental assessment of a federal plan to grout up to 2,000 gallons of low-activity tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington and ship the material out of state.  The current 14-day […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state lifted a take cover order about four hours after workers detected strange odors Wednesday morning in the 200 West Area of the cleanup complex. Crews investigating reports of odors near the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) plant found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the […]

The sponsors of a proposed bill banning the storage of high level nuclear waste in Texas, which passed the state Senate Wednesday, are using a parliamentary gambit to get the law on the books before the federal government can license a planned interim storage facility in the Lone Star State. After unanimously passing the Texas […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state lifted a take cover order about four hours after workers detected strange odors Wednesday morning in the 200 West Area of the cleanup complex. Crews investigating reports of odors near the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) plant found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the […]

Veolia earned about 89% of its potential fee from the Department of Energy during its last seven months of analytic work at the Department of Energy’s 222 S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Washington state. That is according to a fee scorecard published by DOE earlier this month. A Veolia unit took home $148,707 […]

A bill proposing to ban high-level nuclear waste storage in Texas, which previously died in the state legislature, is getting a second wind during a special session, with some minor alterations. State Rep. Brooks Landgraf’s (R) reintroduced measure, which passed the Texas House’s environmental regulation committee on a 6-2 vote Monday, aims to prevent high-level […]

On Monday, the Central Plateau Cleanup Company awarded a $9.5 million subcontract to DGR Grant Construction Inc. of Richland to build a steel enclosure over the Hanford Site’s K East Reactor.  The work is to be finished by 2023. The Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCC) is the prime Department of Energy contractor for solid […]

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is taking comments between now and Sept. 1 on its conditional approval of a Department of Energy request to push the startup of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit to September 2022. In March, an executive with contractor Fluor Idaho told the Waste Management Symposia that the site might start […]

On Monday, the Central Plateau Cleanup Company awarded a $9.5 million subcontract to DGR Grant Construction Inc. of Richland to build a steel enclosure over the site’s K East Reactor.  The work is to be finished by 2023. The Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCC) is the prime contractor for solid waste cleanup in the […]

The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is taking comments between now and Sept. 1 on its conditional approval of a Department of Energy request to push the startup of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit to September 2022. In March, an executive with contractor Fluor Idaho told the Waste Management Symposia that the site might start […]