High-Level & Tank Waste

New Approach Would Use Increased Number of Smaller Plant Vessels Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/04/2014 In a new effort to finally resolve the long-standing technical concerns that have significantly delayed the completion of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s Pretreatment Facility, the Department of Energy is considering a simplified design approach that would employ smaller-sized plant vessels […]

State Calls for More Milestones Tied to WTP; Creation of New Double-Shell Tank Capacity Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/04/2014 With the schedule for completion of the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant still unclear, how should the cleanup of Hanford’s underground waste tanks be governed going forward? It’s a question to which the Department of Energy and Washington […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/04/2014 While Parsons submitted a “best and final offer” in late March for an agreement on commissioning and startup of the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility, the Department of Energy is preparing to counter the offer, WC Monitor has learned. It is unclear whether Parsons will consider the counteroffer, […]

WORK RESUMING IN WAKE OF TANK VAPOR INCIDENTS WC Monitor 4/04/2014 Work will resume in the group of Hanford tank farms where three of the recent chemical vapor incidents have occurred, but workers will wear respirators. The respirators are a temporary measure while Hanford officials work on solutions to protect workers from vapors vented from […]

Recent Firing of Nuke Safety Manager Prompts New Concerns, Investigations Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Despite a new wave of concerns over whether workers at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant can raise issues without retaliation, David Huizenga, the Department of Energy’s cleanup chief, told WC Monitor late this week that he believes the safety culture at […]

DOE Says There Are ‘Risks’ Associated With Pumping Tank ‘At This Time’ Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The state of Washington has ordered the Department of Energy to start emptying liquid waste by Sept. 1 from Tank AY-102, Hanford’s double-shell tank with an interior leak. The new deadline is at least 18 months sooner than DOE […]

NEW CONCERNS OVER TANK VAPORS WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Hanford officials have identified two potential sources of chemical vapor emissions after workers reported symptoms at the tank farms over four days this week and last week. At least 18 workers have reported symptoms linked to possible chemical vapors from tank waste, with the latest case on […]

Contractor Hits New Low in Fee Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/21/2014 Bechtel National is moving forward with a management reorganization at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that the contractor said late this week is intended to help make “needed performance improvements” and “clarify roles, responsibilities and interfaces” between Bechtel National and its major subcontractor on […]

Project Receives a Boost in FY’15 Budget Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/21/2014 After protracted talks on a path forward for commissioning and startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility, contractor Parsons has submitted to the Department of Energy a cost-share proposal that is believed to be the company’s ‘best and final offer’ for the startup […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/21/2014 Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz failed to bring a detailed plan for meeting obligations to clean up tank waste at Hanford to a visit with the Washington state governor this week, according to the state. A draft cleanup plan shared by Moniz lacked the comprehensiveness and level of detail the state […]

DOE ASKS STATE IF TANK HAS BEEN EMPTIED ENOUGH WC Monitor 3/21/2014 The Department of Energy is asking the state of Washington to consider whether a single-shell tank that must be emptied by this fall to meet a consent decree milestone is empty enough. DOE also has stopped work to empty a second single-shell tank […]

DOE IG Opens Investigation into Busche Termination Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/14/2014 Lawmakers expressed skepticism this week that the Department of Energy is adequately ensuring workers at one of its largest projects—the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant—are free to raise concerns without fear of retaliation. The dismissal in recent months of two contractor managers who have […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/14/2014 Bechtel National is soon set to begin moving forward with additional work at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s High-Level Waste Facility. In late February, the Department of Energy authorized Bechtel National to begin performing “limited production engineering” activities at the facility, and DOE and Bechtel National are working to a […]

STATE UNHAPPY WITH NEW DOE PUMPING PLAN WC Monitor 3/14/2014 A Department of Energy plan to wait at least two years to pump waste from a damaged double-shell tank at Hanford is unacceptable, according to the state of Washington. DOE’s plan “demonstrates the federal government’s lack of commitment to set a firm, near-term schedule for […]

Unclear if Current Goal to Have All Waste Treated This Year Can be Met Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/6/2014 As the Department of Energy and contractor CH2M-WG Idaho move forward this week with the next step in getting the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit in full operation, it is unclear whether DOE will be able to […]

New System Plan Prompts Concerns  Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/6/2014      South Carolina’s regulator is again threatening penalties after the Department of Energy’s newest Savannah River tank closure plan pushes out deadlines to 10 years beyond regulatory commitments with the state. The Department last week released the latest revision of the site’s liquid waste […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/07/2014 The state of Hanford’s aging double-shell tanks, which are intended to store waste for the foreseeable future until it can be processed for disposition, came under new scrutiny this week, after the Department of Energy announced that more waste has been found to be leaking between the shells of the […]

Half of Bechtel National’s Fee Tied To Self-Identifying Issues Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—A new approach to how Bechtel National can earn fee at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that seeks to encourage the contractor to do more to identify issues and concerns is paying dividends, Department of Energy and contractor officials said here […]

Department Expects Facility to Begin Full Operations In May Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—With the Idaho Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Facility now operating at its normal temperature and pressure, the Department of Energy is “cautiously optimistic” that the start of actual waste processing can get underway this spring as currently planned, a senior DOE Office […]

Is ‘War on Whistleblowers’ Underway at Hanford? Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/21/2014 In a move that’s prompted new calls for investigations into how the Department of Energy protects whistleblowers, URS this week terminated a key nuclear safety manager at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant who has alleged she has faced harassment and retaliation for raising […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/21/2014 CH2M-WG Idaho (CWI) appears to have a hit a new set of challenges in its efforts to get the Idaho Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Facility in operation, and it remains to be seen when the facility will actually begin processing waste. The facility has been projected to begin waste processing this […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Senior management at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant has not established a culture “in which quality is a core value,” an internal review has found. The results of a “common cause analysis” into the long-stand quality assurance issues at the WTP, chartered by project contractor Bechtel National, were outlined in […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Bechtel National is looking to conduct a significant reorganization of its management at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that reportedly could see a key safety manager who has alleged she has faced retaliation for raising safety concerns moved out of her position, WC Monitor has learned. Many details of BNI’s […]

Board Warns Unresolved Safety Issues Still Exist Mike Nartker WC Monitor 1/31/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board this week officially closed a formal recommendation from 2010 concerning the pulse jet mixing systems to be used at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, but also warned that there are still related safety issues that need to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/17/2014 CH2M-WG Idaho, the cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s Idaho site, is beginning the hot startup process for the Idaho Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Facility, and hopes to begin full operations this spring after DOE completes a readiness assessment. CWI has finished a “management self assessment” launched last fall to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/17/2014 The Department of Energy and Parsons began formal negotiations on commissioning and startup of the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility just before the holidays, but it is uncertain when they may wrap up talks, a DOE official said this week. While DOE and Parsons reached an agreement-in-principle last […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/17/2014 After the recent discovery of a new crack in one of the Savannah River Site’s high-level waste tanks, officials are pointing to the potential leak site as another reason more funding is needed at the site. The crack is well above the waste level in the tank and is not […]

Preliminary Conclusions Highlight Design Concerns With Various Facility Systems Mike Nartker WC Monitor 1/10/2014 As the Department of Energy gears up to begin resuming some long-paused activities at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant’s High-Level Waste Facility, a new review is highlighting design concerns with various facility systems that could impact how much work comes back online. […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Closure of old-style high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site is now set to be pushed out 10 years beyond regulatory commitments due to reduced funding and delays in getting the site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility in operation, according to the latest Department of Energy liquid waste cleanup plan, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 As talks on a new commissioning agreement for the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility stretch past eight months, a DOE official this week emphasized that a new startup deal is not necessary to begin operations. DOE and SWPF construction contractor Parsons are in talks to improve upon an […]