High-Level & Tank Waste

Saltstone Operations Shut Down After Elevated Mercury Levels Found WC Monitor 5/29/2015 Operations at Savannah River’s Saltstone facilities remain shut down after the site’s liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Remediation, found elevated mercury levels in tank waste salt streams. Saltstone receives lower activity waste from Savannah River’s tank farms, mixing it with grout and disposing […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/29/2015 To help provide better oversight at one of the Department of Energy’s largest and most complex projects, the Senate Armed Services Committee is looking to have DOE bring in an “owner’s agent” for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. The Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, […]

The Department of Energy is discussing an alternative approach with regulators for Savannah River Site tank closure that would involve emptying an entire tank farm before grouting begins, DOE Savannah River Operations Office Manager David Moody said yesterday in an exit interview with WC Monitor. The current agreement with regulators has milestone dates for closing […]

‘Critical’ to Resolve ‘Bark’ Issue Before Waste Processing Can Begin Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/22/2015 While several technical issues remain to be fully resolved, at least one of which has been dubbed “critical,” the Department of Energy is now looking to begin waste processing at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit this fall, according to […]

GAO Questions DOE’s Planning for New Hanford Vit Plant Facilities Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/8/2015 The price tag for key portions of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant long seen as being less difficult to accomplish may be set to significantly increase, with contractor Bechtel National having estimated that the work could cost up to almost […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The ongoing suspension of work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s Pretreatment Facility appears to be taking a toll on the project’s various suppliers of components and materials, which pose “significant risks” to the entire project, according to an internal report by WTP contractor Bechtel National made public this week. […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 After months in the dispute resolution process, South Carolina, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have reached an agreement extending by eight months the closure date for a Savannah River Site high-level waste tank. Under the agreement, the parties agreed to prepare Tank 12H for grouting […]

The Department of Energy has awarded liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation a $797 million two-year extension from this July 1 through June 30, 2017, the full option period under its contract, DOE announced yesterday. The extension comes as SRR makes progress on its mission to empty, close and grout high-level waste tanks at the […]

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is calling for the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office to launch an investigation into what he has alleged are “questionable procurement practices” at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. Yesterday, Wyden publicly released a report prepared by WTP contractor Bechtel National warning of the potential cost impacts of the 56 active […]

Bechtel National Earns ‘Good’ Ratings for WTP Work in Second Half of 2014 WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Bechtel National received ratings of “good” for its work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in the second half of 2014, according to an award fee scorecard the Department of Energy issued late last week. The scorecard provides a more […]

House appropriators are not supporting the Department of Energy’s request for funding next year for modifications at the Hanford tank farms to accelerate an effort to begin waste processing at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s Low Activity Waste (LAW) Facility ahead of other portions of the plant. The House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 […]

Bechtel National received ratings of “good” for its work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in the second half of 2014, according to an award fee scorecard the Department of Energy issued late last week. The scorecard provides a more detailed look at how DOE assessed BNI’s work during the second half of last year, for […]

Board Vice Chair Roberson, Though, Says Judgement May be ‘Premature’ Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/17/2015 Members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board appear to be divided over whether or not the Department of Energy is making improvements in improving the safety culture at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant and across the DOE complex. In […]

H Canyon Spent Fuel Campaign Moves Into Next Phase WC Monitor 4/17/2015 A long-term spent fuel downblending campaign at H-Canyon has moved into the next phase, resuming processing operations in portions of the canyon that had lain dormant for years, the Savannah River Site announced this week. In September, the site’s managing contractor, Savannah River […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/10/2015 With construction of Savannah River’s Salt Waste Processing Facility currently on track to be completed months ahead of schedule in May 2016, efforts are also focusing on integrating the plant into the site’s existing liquid waste system. The SWPF is designed to significantly increase processing rates of liquid waste in […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/10/2015 With Savannah River’s HB-Line in a “safety pause” since an incident in January, processing is expected to resume in the early summer after a recovery plan and corrective actions are put in place, Jim Giusti, a spokesman for the DOE Savannah River Operations Office, said this week. The incident occurred […]

WTP Pulse Jet Mixing Tests Going Well, Officials Say WC Monitor 4/10/2015 Hanford officials have seen encouraging results in half-scale tests of a system to keep high-level radioactive waste well mixed within certain tanks in the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, according to Bechtel National. “We’ve had a few surprises when we’ve been doing this testing,” […]

With Savannah River’s HB-Line in a “safety pause” since an incident in January, processing is expected to resume in the early summer after a recovery plan and corrective actions are put in place, DOE Savannah River spokesman Jim Giusti said yesterday. The incident occurred in early January when an outage cut off power to the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/3/2015 While the Department of Energy announced last week that it plans to work to establish a defense-only high-level waste repository, hundreds of canisters of vitrified waste at the West Valley Demonstration Project may be left out. DOE plans to “de-comingle” defense and commercial high-level waste and create separate repositories for […]

Three New Tank Farm Workers Report Vapor Exposure Symptoms WC Monitor 4/3/2015 Three more Hanford workers reported symptoms late this week consistent with those caused by exposure to chemical vapors. Few incidents have been reported since workers have been required to wear supplied air respirators for much of the work at the Hanford tank farms […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 2/27/2015 President Barack Obama this week authorized the separation of defense high-level nuclear waste from commercial high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel, otherwise known as “de-comingling,” paving the way for a defense waste-only repository. De-comingling would be the best solution for nuclear waste issues due due to the differences in […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/27/2015 In ongoing dispute resolution discussions over the closure date of a high-level waste tank at the Savannah River Site, the state of South Carolina, the Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been unable to resolve the issue, elevating it to a “senior executive committee.” Citing technical […]

Bechtel Making Progress at Melters of WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility WC Monitor 3/27/2015 Bechtel National workers have finished placing refractory in the two 300-ton melters at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s Low Activity Waste Facility. Refractory is the fire- and heat-resistant brick that lines the inside of the melters, which will heat liquid radioactive waste […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 2/27/2015 President Barack Obama this week authorized the separation of defense high-level nuclear waste from commercial high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel, otherwise known as “de-comingling,” paving the way for a defense waste-only repository. De-comingling would be the best solution for nuclear waste issues due due to the differences in […]

President Barrack Obama yesterday authorized the “de-comingling” of defense high-level nuclear waste from commercial high-level waste and spent nuclear fuel, paving the way for a defense waste-only repository. The Department of Energy had produced a report late last year that endorsed the safety and political case for dividing the two waste streams, mainly to engender […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/13/2015 Bechtel National received a slight uptick in fee for its work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant in the second half of 2014, according to information the Department of Energy released late this week. Bechtel National earned 65 percent of the award fee available for the six-month period, or $4.095 […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/6/2015 The Department of Energy has reached a settlement with Idaho environmental regulators to resolve violations issued against DOE for delays in emptying waste tanks at the Idaho site of liquid radioactive waste. The settlement, announced late this week, includes a civil penalty of $648,000, for which DOE can perform supplemental […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/6/2015 The Department of Energy issued a Request for Proposals this week for low-level and mixed-low level waste treatment services for its Office of Environmental Management cleanup program. The current set of Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity-type contracts for waste treatment services ends in June 2015. The RFP could result in the […]

Appeals Court Declines to Review Jury Trial Decision in Tamosaitis Case WC Monitor 3/6/2015 The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals declined this week to review a November ruling in favor of Hanford whistleblower Walt Tamosaitis. In November, a three-judge panel of the appeals court found that Tamosaitis’ case was wrongly dismissed from federal court […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 3/6/2015 The Department of Energy issued a Request for Proposals this week for low-level and mixed-low level waste treatment services for its Office of Environmental Management cleanup program. The current set of Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity-type contracts for waste treatment services ends in June 2015. The RFP could result in the […]