High-Level & Tank Waste

The first of a four-part, deep-dive progress report on the Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) under construction at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and features a panel of senior government officials and industry executives. The panel, titled “DOE Hanford – Direct Feed Low Activity Waste (DFLAW) Update – Part 1 […]

A former employee of Energy Department contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) alleged the company bilked the federal government out of $20 million by covering up a leak in the double-shelled liquid-waste Tank AY-102 at the Hanford Site near Richland, Wash., according to a recently unsealed court documents. In a whistleblower complaint filed under seal in 2013 in […]

The Department of Energy and its tank farm contractor met their deadline to start emptying waste from double-shell Tank AY-102 with several thousand gallons of liquid removed by Thursday afternoon. “The state is pleased with the efforts of DOE and Washington River Protection Solutions to meet the terms of the settlement agreement, even starting waste […]

The Department of Energy has issued a request for information as an early step toward plans for a Hanford Office of River Protection tank farm contract or contracts for post-fiscal 2018. It described the request as market research, emphasizing that no proposals are being sought yet. In October DOE issued a similar request for information […]

The Energy Department said last week it is about halfway through a major cleanup step for a 750,000-gallon waste tank at the Savannah River Site, which federal law requires the agency to fill with cement-like grout by May 31. Tank 12, one of the last to be taken out of service at the Aiken, S.C., […]

An article in the Feb. 12 edition of Weapons Complex Monitor, “Hanford Liquid Cleanup OK in Budget, but Big Cuts for Other Areas Proposed,” should have said: The total cost of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, including Bechtel’s $11.4 billion prime contract to build the facility, is $12.3 billion. The White House for 2017 requested […]

Action Plan Developed Following Grouting of SRS Storage Tank An interim action plan that has been developed for Tank 16 at the Savannah River Site highlights what will happen from now until a final remedial action is determined for all of the tanks in the H-Area Tank Farm Operable Unit. Tank 16 is one of […]

An interim action plan that has been developed for Tank 16 at the Savannah River Site highlights what will happen from now until a final remedial action is determined for all of the tanks in the H-Area Tank Farm Operable Unit. Tank 16 is one of 29 storage tanks in the SRS H Tank Farm. […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 2/5/2016 The corrective action program at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant needs further improvements, despite past work on the program, according to an audit report released Thursday by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General. Bechtel National implemented initiatives in August 2014 to address issues with the vitrification plant […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 2/5/2016 The Department of Energy Office of River Protection (ORP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state has developed a list of 529 vulnerabilities in the design of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, all of which it says can be addressed. The list was developed after ORP commissioned […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 2/5/2016 The Savannah River Site’s salt waste contractor announced Wednesday that it laid off 123 workers as construction of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) nears 95 percent completion. In a brief statement, Frank Sheppard, Parsons vice president and SWPF program manager, said construction will be completed in the spring, so […]

The Savannah River Site’s salt waste contractor announced Wednesday that it laid 123 workers as construction of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) nears 95 percent completion. In a brief statement, Frank Sheppard, Parsons vice president and SWPF program manager, said construction will be completed in the spring, so the company made planned changes to […]

A technical review from the Energy Department released Friday found more than 500 design vulnerabilities at a Waste Treatment Plant facility now under construction at the agency’s Hanford Site, according to a pair of newspapers.   The Tri-City Herald and Los Angeles Times reported on the problems, along with a list of 10 corrective actions […]

Bechtel National drew kudos from the Department of Energy for saving $3.4 million in subcontracts and procurements in the last budget year in construction of the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.   DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) said the Hanford plant exceeded its fiscal 2015 savings goal of $2.3 million by 46.7 […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 1/22/2016 Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford Site tank farm contractor, has received 88 percent of the award fee available for fiscal 2015, or just over $13.7 million out of $15.6 million. The fee is in addition to an award of 100 percent of the $14.4 million available as performance-based incentives […]

A three-month process has begun to grout and close Tank 12 at the Savannah River Site, continuing a longstanding effort to rid South Carolina of more than 30 million gallons of radioactive liquid waste. SRS announced Tuesday that its liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Remediation (SRR), began pouring a cement mixture into Tank 12, which […]

Washington River Protection Solutions, the Hanford Site tank farm contractor, has received 88 percent of the award fee available for fiscal 2015, or just over $13.7 million out of $15.6 million. The fee is in addition to an award of 100 percent of the $14.4 million available as performance-based incentives for completing or making progress […]

The Energy Department said Monday it wants industry input on optimizing the design and construction of concrete containers for storing low-level waste in saltstone form at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.   Design ideas about the concrete containers known as Saltstone Disposal Units (SDU) are due on Feb. 19, DOE said in a request […]

WC Monitor 1/8/2016 Progress Reported at SRS Defense Waste Processing Facility The Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is quickly approaching the halfway mark in its lifetime of producing canisters filled with radioactive glass, according to SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation. Last week, the DWPF poured its 4,000th canister two months […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 1/8/2016 Another Hanford C Farm radioactive waste storage tank has been declared empty to regulatory standards, with work to continue on two additional C Farm tanks. The 2010 consent decree between Washington state and the Department of Energy required the last of the 16 Hanford C Farm tanks to be emptied […]

The Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is quickly approaching the halfway mark in its lifetime of producing canisters filled with radioactive glass, according to SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation. Last week, the DWPF poured its 4,000th canister two months before the facility celebrates its 20th anniversary. Highly radioactive liquid waste […]

Another Hanford C Farm radioactive waste storage tank has been declared empty to regulatory standards, with work to continue on two additional C Farm tanks. The 2010 consent decree between Washington state and the Department of Energy required the last of the 16 Hanford C Farm tanks to be emptied 15 months ago. The most […]

The Savannah River Site’s liquid waste work received a slight increase in funding for fiscal 2016 in the federal omnibus budget passed last week. Liquid tank waste stabilization and disposition received nearly $555 million in appropriations, compared to the $547 million appropriated in the last fiscal year. The figure accounts for the largest single appropriation […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 12/18/2015 The Department of Energy is working aggressively to start emptying the Hanford Site’s double-shell Tank AY-102 by the state deadline of March 4, according to the technical program manager for the project. The tank, the oldest of Hanford’s 28 double-shell waste storage tanks, was discovered to be leaking waste from […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 12/18/2015 The construction quality at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant was satisfactory for the areas reviewed in an on-site visit in September, but some concerns remain, the Department of Energy Office of Enterprise Assessments said last week. The office reviews construction quality at the vitrification plant each quarter, varying the […]

The construction quality at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant was satisfactory for the areas reviewed in an on-site visit in September, but some concerns remain, the Department of Energy Office of Enterprise Assessments said last week. The office reviews construction quality at the vitrification plant each quarter, varying the focus of each assessment. The […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 12/11/2015 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) is looking to expedite the Savannah River Site’s environmental cleanup mission through the development of a public-private partnership. The partnership would team SRNS and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with a public partner. Together, the collaborative would bring a 70,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center to […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 12/11/2015 Bechtel National has reached at least the 80 percent mark for design, procurement, and construction of the buildings at the Hanford Site Waste Treatment Plant that will not deal with high-level radioactive waste, according to an update from the Department of Energy.  DOE and Washington state would like the Low-Activity […]

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) is looking to expedite the Savannah River Site’s liquid waste cleanup and tank grouting missions through the development of a public-private partnership. The partnership would team SRNS and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) with a public partner. Together, the collaborative would bring a 70,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing center to the […]

Bechtel National has reached at least the 80 percent mark for design, procurement, and construction of the buildings at the Hanford Site Waste Treatment Plant that will not deal with high-level radioactive waste, according to an update from the Department of Energy.  DOE and Washington state would like the Low-Activity Waste Facility at the vitrification […]