High-Level & Tank Waste

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, offline since September, should start heating up next month and resume treating sodium-bearing radioactive waste in March, an agency spokesperson said Tuesday. The extended outage at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), held in part to replace carbon beds used to remove […]

With maintenance almost complete, the Department of Energy expects to restart operations of an Idaho National Laboratory treatment facility for radioactive sodium-bearing waste early in 2024. Workers for DOE ‘s Jacobs-led environmental cleanup contractor have replaced mercury-laden beds of granular activated carbon in two vessels of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), which has been […]

With maintenance almost complete, the Department of Energy expects to restart operations of an Idaho National Laboratory treatment facility for radioactive sodium-bearing waste early in 2024. Workers for DOE ‘s Jacobs-led environmental cleanup contractor have replaced mercury-laden beds of granular activated carbon in two vessels of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU), which has been […]

HANFORD SITE, WASH. — Workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site filled its first canister with melted non-radioactive glass last week, the site’s leaders announced Monday. “It was not obvious to everyone except this team that we’d be here today,” said the Department of Energy’s Hanford Manager Brian Vance at a Monday ceremony at […]

Personnel at the Hanford site in Washington state have prepared nearly 800,000 gallons of liquid radioactive waste for conversion into glass form in 2025, the site’s federal manager said Tuesday. Contractor Washington River Protection Solutions has started its fifth batch run at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) project, Department of Energy site manager Brian […]

Personnel at the Hanford site in Washington state have prepared nearly 800,000 gallons of liquid radioactive waste for conversion into glass form in 2025, the site’s federal manager said Tuesday. Contractor Washington River Protection Solutions has started its fifth batch run at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) project, Department of Energy site manager Brian […]

HANFORD SITE, WASH. — Workers at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site filled its first canister with melted non-radioactive glass last week, the site’s leaders announced Monday. “It was not obvious to everyone except this team that we’d be here today,” said the Department of Energy’s Hanford Manager Brian Vance at a Monday ceremony at […]

Bosses at some weapons complex contractors expect the proposed merger of Amentum and the government contracting wing of Jacobs Solutions will hurt competition on federal nuclear cleanup jobs — and cite a $45-billion liquid waste contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site as an example. Exchange Monitor discussed the announced merger by phone Monday […]

Bosses at some weapons complex contractors expect the proposed merger of Amentum and the government contracting wing of Jacobs Solutions will hurt competition on federal nuclear cleanup jobs — and cite a $45-billion liquid waste contract at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site as an example. Exchange Monitor discussed the announced merger by phone Monday […]

A Department of Energy contractor has removed cesium from about 698,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, a DOE spokesperson said Tuesday. The fourth batch run at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) project was completed Oct. 27, the DOE spokesperson said in an email response to an Exchange […]

A Department of Energy contractor has removed cesium from about 698,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, a DOE spokesperson said Tuesday. The fourth batch run at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) project was completed Oct. 27, the DOE spokesperson said in an email response to an Exchange […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants improvement in emergency response preparation at tank waste pretreatment facility at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions went through a simulated tornado drill last month at the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board’s onsite […]

Trials on the slate for this winter will follow-up successful tests, announced last week by the Department of Energy, of the first melter at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. Conducted on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, the tests consisted of melting glass beads together to be poured into a cylindrical canister. The […]

Trials on the slate for this winter will follow-up successful tests, announced last week by the Department of Energy, of the first melter at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. Conducted on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, the tests consisted of melting glass beads together to be poured into a cylindrical canister. The […]

Having been skipped the first time around, the Government Accountability Office was asked to consider a challenge by an Atkins-led team over a $45-billion Department of Energy contract for liquid waste management. The bid protest, dated Friday, arrived after DOE called upon losing bidder Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance and the winning bidder, BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank […]

Bechtel National this week pushed back against a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report that questioned the reliability of the contractor’s cost estimates for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We believe that the report overlooks relevant factual data that is essential for consideration prior […]

Bechtel National Wednesday pushed back against a Department of Energy Office of Inspector General audit report that questioned the reliability of the contractor’s cost estimates for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “We believe that the report overlooks relevant factual data that is essential for consideration prior to […]

Having been skipped the first time around, the Government Accountability Office was asked to consider a challenge by an Atkins-led team over a $45-billion Department of Energy contract for liquid waste management. The bid protest, dated Friday, arrived after DOE called upon losing bidder Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance and the winning bidder, BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank […]

Three years after Bechtel and a fellow contractor at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state paid about $58 million to settle fraud claims, DOE’s Office of Inspector General still lacks confidence in Bechtel’s cost estimates, according to a new report. In an audit report out last week, DOE’s  Office of Inspector General […]

Two teams fighting over the prized $45-billion Integrated Tank Contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state, filed updated proposals with the Department of Energy during the past week, according to legal filings Thursday. BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure as well as AtkinsRéalis Nuclear-led Hanford Tank Disposition Alliance filed their revised contract proposals […]

A storage tank spoiled a batch of liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site that was thought to be clean enough for disposal, according to a contractor memo seen by the Exchange Monitor. The waste from Hanford’s tank farm, part of a less-radioactive tranche that is supposed to be solidified starting in 2025 by the […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will not lump together litigation over a Department of Energy liquid waste contract potentially worth $45 billion with a separate government procurement case. In a brief order, the appeals circuit rejected a joint motion by BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure and […]

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said Wednesday it will not lump together litigation over a Department of Energy liquid waste contract potentially worth $45 billion with a separate government procurement case. In a brief order, the appeals circuit rejected a joint motion by BWX-Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure and […]

A flub with its corporate registration should not void one of the largest awards in the history of nuclear-weapons cleanup, the joint venture that won the contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state said this week in a court filing. BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure filed a 120-page-plus brief, which […]

In a follow-up to prior reports, the Government Accountability Office said again Friday that using concrete-like grout would be a cheaper way to solidify the less-radioactive tank waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has treated 4 million gallons of its radioactive salt waste […]

In a follow-up to prior reports, the Government Accountability Office said again Friday that using concrete-like grout would be a cheaper way to solidify the less-radioactive tank waste at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The Savannah River Site in South Carolina has treated 4 million gallons of its radioactive salt waste […]

The Department of Energy and Bechtel National should make several upgrades to the chemical safety program for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to DOE’s enforcement wing. While Bechtel and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Co. have a “generally adequate” chemical safety program, until key improvements are made, […]

The BWX Technologies-led nuclear remediation contractor for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management have inked an eight-year task order for the next stages of cleanup, the site’s Citizens Advisory Board heard Tuesday. Michael Budney, DOE’s operations manager for the Savannah River nuclear cleanup, said the […]

The Department of Justice and a pair of contractor teams are still waiting for the Department of Energy to take definitive action on a potential $45-billion deal for Hanford Site radioactive waste management in Washington state, according to a new court filing. That’s the gist of a three-page status report filed Thursday by the Department […]

The Department of Energy and Bechtel National should make several upgrades to the chemical safety program for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, according to DOE’s enforcement wing. While Bechtel and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Co. have a “generally adequate” chemical safety program, until key improvements are made, […]