High-Level & Tank Waste
Coverage of DOE-EM’s efforts to retrieve, treat, and immobilize high-level radioactive tank waste at Hanford, Savannah River, and other sites — including the Waste Treatment Plant and Defense Waste Processing Facility.
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Contracts & Procurement
Energy Department Cancels Savannah River Liquid Waste Procurement
The Department of Energy on Tuesday formally canceled the liquid waste management procurement for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, citing “significant changes” to requirements at the facility and its own acquisition strategy. That is the crux of a one-page letter sent to the three bidders on what could have amounted to a decade-long […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
DOE Audit: Quicker Decision Needed on Savannah River Waste Storage Space
The U.S. Department of Energy will likely need an updated strategy sooner than anticipated for temporary storage of treated radioactive liquid waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to the DOE Inspector General’s Office. The department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) did not properly assess the reliability of its strategy to store […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
ECA Presses Congress to Demand DOE Report on High-Level Waste
While the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) hopes the Department of Energy will readjust its classification of high-level radioactive waste, it has not forgotten the federal agency still owes Congress a report on the issue. The ECA asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees on Tuesday to “attempt to require” compliance with a provision of the […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Savannah River Liquid Waste Manager to Get Contract Extension
The current liquid waste management contractor for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina will be kept on past the expiration of its current contract extension on March 31, the Department of Energy said Wednesday, a day after announcing it had canceled the procurement for a follow-on contract. AECOM-led Savannah River Remediation is working under […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Energy Department Pulls the Plug on SRS Liquid Waste Solicitation
The Department of Energy will not reissue a 10-year, multibillion-dollar contract for liquid waste management at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina initially awarded in October 2017. The department said Tuesday afternoon it was canceling the solicitation and that current contractor Savannah River Remediation will remain on the job. The AECOM-team is currently operating […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
ECA Pursues High-Level Waste Issue With Congress
While the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) hopes the Department of Energy will change what it considers high-level radioactive waste, it has not forgotten the federal agency still owes Congress a report on the issue. The ECA asked the House and Senate Armed Services committees on Tuesday to “attempt to require” compliance with a provision of […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
DOE Audit: Earlier Decision Needed on Savannah River Waste Storage Space
The U.S. Department of Energy will likely need an updated strategy sooner than anticipated for temporary storage of treated radioactive liquid waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, according to the DOE Inspector General’s Office. The department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) did not properly assess the reliability of its strategy to store […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Savannah River Liquid Waste Award Slips Off Procurement Schedule
The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management issued its latest procurement schedule on Wednesday, but it lists no timeline for awarding the long-awaited liquid waste management contract for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The multibillion-dollar re-award is now listed as “TBD,” or to be determined. When the procurement schedule was updated in November, […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
New Safety Standards Coming for Savannah River’s H Canyon Facility
Updated safety documents for a ventilation tunnel at the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility are expected to be approved this summer and implemented in the fall, according to the Department of Energy. The documents should reflect a different approach to how the 310-square-mile site will handle incidents at the facility during an earthquake or […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
New Safety Standards Coming for Savannah River’s H Canyon Facility
Updated safety documents for a ventilation tunnel at the Savannah River Site’s H Canyon facility are expected to be approved this summer and implemented in the fall, according to the Department of Energy. The documents should reflect a different approach to how the 310-square-mile site will handle incidents at the facility during an earthquake or […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Parsons Completes $13M Facility to Aid SRS Waste Treatment
Department of Energy contractor Parsons recently completed construction of a $13 million facility that will expedite treatment of liquid salt waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Parsons announced Monday it has finished building the Next Generation Solvent (NGS) facility and has it in operational standby, awaiting startup of the site’s Salt Waste […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Savannah River Liquid Waste Vendor Hires 378 in 2018
AECOM-led Savannah River Remediation (SRR) hired 378 new workers in 2018, and expects to bring on a similar number of employees this year under its liquid waste management contract at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C. Energy Department cleanup sites such as Savannah River have been pushing hiring programs in recent years […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Parsons Completes $13M Facility to Aid Savannah River Waste Treatment
Department of Energy contractor Parsons recently completed construction of a $13 million facility that will expedite treatment of liquid salt waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Parsons announced Monday it has finished building the Next Generation Solvent (NGS) facility and has it in operational standby, awaiting startup of the site’s Salt Waste […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Savannah River Liquid Waste Contractor Hires 378 in 2018
AECOM-led Savannah River Remediation hired 378 new workers in 2018, and expects to bring on a similar number of employees this year under its liquid waste contract at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Energy Department cleanup sites such as Savannah River have been pushing hiring programs in recent years to offset […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO Urges Energy Dept. to Concentrate on Worst Hanford Tanks First
The Government Accountability Office says there is an opportunity for the Department of Energy to balance the cost and risks posed by 149 single-shell tanks containing radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. A section a Jan. 29 GAO report, on growing liability costs for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, said the agency […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Idaho Penalties Against Energy Department Over IWTU Top $5.3M
The state of Idaho has fined the Energy Department more than $5.3 million for failure to begin operating the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory. The $5.3 million figure represents the total penalties as of Jan. 19, Natalie Creed, hazardous waste unit manager at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Industry Day for Hanford Tank Tour Attracts Big Crowd, Big Names
More than 45 people registered for the Jan. 24 site tour and industry briefing on the Tank Closure Contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, including some major contractors in the weapons complex. Companies represented at the gathering included: AECOM; AVANTech; Bechtel; Booz Allen Hamilton; BWX Technologies; Columbia Energy and Environmental […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
GAO Sees Chance for Energy Dept. to Balance Hanford Tanks Risks, Costs
The Government Accountability Office says there is an opportunity for the Department of Energy to balance the cost and risks posed by 149 single-shell tanks containing radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. A section a Jan. 29 GAO report, on growing liability costs for DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, said the agency […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Idaho Penalties Against Energy Department Over IWTU Top $5.3M
The state of Idaho has fined the Energy Department more than $5.3 million for failure to begin operating the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory. The $5.3 million figure represents the total penalties as of Jan. 19, Natalie Creed, hazardous waste unit manager at the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Industry Day for Tank Tour Draws Big Crowd, Big Names
More than 45 people registered for the Jan. 24 site tour and industry briefing on the Tank Closure Contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state, including some big contractors in the weapons complex. Companies represented at the gathering include: AECOM; AVANTech; Bechtel; Booz Allen Hamilton; BWX Technologies; Columbia Energy and Environmental […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River to Triple Sludge Waste Treatment After SWPF Startup
The Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) should produce 300 canisters of treated sludge waste per year once the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) comes online later in 2019. That would be significantly higher than the 136 canisters produced in fiscal 2016, the 52 in fiscal 2017, and 18 in the last fiscal […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Venture Awarded $4.8M Task Order for Test Bed Processing of Hanford Waste
The Energy Department has awarded a 10-month, $4.8 million task order to Tennessee-based Aerostar Perma-Fix TRU Services for the second phase of the Test Bed Initiative (TBI) on disposal of radioactive waste from the Hanford Site in Washington state. The DOE Office of Environmental Management announced the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River Site Begins New Salt Waste Treatment Method
The Department of Energy has initiated a major addition to the liquid waste mission at the Department of Savannah River Site in South Carolina, starting with a nine-month trial run. Officials at the 310-square-mile facility near Aiken, S.C., said the tank closure cesium removal (TCCR) mission should process hundreds of thousands of gallons of salt […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Venture Awarded $4.8M Task Order for Test Bed Work at Hanford
The Energy Department has awarded a 10-month, $4.8 million task order to Tennessee-based Aerostar Perma-Fix TRU Services for test bed initiative (TBI) work at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The DOE Office of Environmental Management announced the cost-plus-fixed-fee task order under an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract that involves off-site treatment and disposal of […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River Site Begins New Salt Waste Treatment Method
The Department of Energy has initiated a major addition to the liquid waste mission at the Department of Savannah River Site in South Carolina, starting with a nine-month trial run. Officials at the 310-square-mile facility near Aiken, S.C., said the tank closure cesium removal (TCCR) mission should process hundreds of thousands of gallons of salt waste […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River’s Salt Waste Facility Meets DOE Safety Standards
Despite delays in startup, the Savannah River Site’s $2.3 billion Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) is meeting all of its safety and functionality requirements, with no suggested areas of improvement, according to a new review from the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) on Tuesday released five reports on safety […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Dept. Posts Batch of Draft RFP Documents for Hanford Tank Contract
The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management on Jan. 18 released the key sections of a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the next Tank Closure Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state. In particular, the agency is looking for industry feedback on its master indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract option, which it has suggested for […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Savannah River’s Salt Waste Facility Meets DOE Safety Standards
Despite delays in startup, the Savannah River Site’s $2.3 billion Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) is meeting all of its safety and functionality requirements, with no suggested areas of improvement, according to a new review from the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA) on Tuesday released five reports on safety […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Cleanup Office Provides Batch of Draft RFP Documents for Hanford Tank Contract
The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management on Friday released the key sections of a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the next Tank Closure Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state. In particular, the agency is looking for industry feedback on its master indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract option, which it has suggested for the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford Tank Farm Manager Looks at Subcontractor for Secondary Waste Work
Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the tank management contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, is seeking expressions of interest from potential subcontractors willing to manage secondary process waste from the Effluent Treatment Facility. The facility, located in the 200 Area at Hanford, currently treats 28,000 gallons of wastewater each year from processing activities […]



