Innovation & Infrastructure

A newly inked deal has paved the way for Veolia Nuclear Solutions to demonstrate its patented GeoMelt technology to process radioactive waste sent from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under the agreement, announced Sept. 25, INL management and operations contractor Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) will ship some drums with small amounts of radioactive contaminated sodium […]

A newly inked deal has paved the way for Veolia Nuclear Solutions to demonstrate its patented GeoMelt technology to process radioactive waste sent from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under the agreement, announced Sept. 25, INL management and operations contractor Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) will ship some drums with small amounts of radioactive contaminated sodium wastes to […]

A newly inked deal has paved the way for Veolia Nuclear Solutions to demonstrate its patented GeoMelt technology to process radioactive waste sent from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Under the agreement, announced Sept. 25, INL management and operations contractor Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA) will ship some drums with small amounts of radioactive contaminated sodium […]

Two Richland, Wash.-based contractors serving the Energy Department and other federal clients have formed a joint venture to promote a material sorting technology that will be shown off this week. The two small businesses, Federal Engineers & Constructors (FE&C) and ISO-Pacific Remediation Technologies, said Sept. 19 the venture, Innovative Remediation & Integrated Systems LLC (IRIS), […]

Bechtel National will have a new project manager in place next month for the next-generation Uranium Processing Facility the company is building at the Department of Energy’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. However, it is not ready yet to identify the project chief. Bechtel is moving current UPF project manager Valerie McCain across […]

Bechtel National will have a new project manager in place next month for the next-generation Uranium Processing Facility the company is building at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. However, it is not ready yet to identify the project chief. Bechtel is moving current UPF project manager Valerie McCain across the country to […]

Contractor Mission Support Alliance has begun a $7.8 million improvement to the water-system infrastructure in the center of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Workers are installing about 4 miles of 30-inch pipe to connect the separate water grids of the east and west areas of the nuclear cleanup site. Work is […]

Congress approved  the National Nuclear Security Administration’s final 2019 budget this week, including increased funding for maintenance and cleanup of buildings across the nuclear security enterprise, decreased funding for a controversial plutonium-disposal project, and $65 million to make a low-yield, submarine-launched, ballistic-missile warhead. The House approved the bill 377-20 on Thursday. The Senate approved the legislation 92-5 on […]

Contractor Mission Support Alliance has begun a $7.8 million improvement to the water-system infrastructure in the center of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Workers are installing about 4 miles of 30-inch pipe to connect the separate water grids of the east and west areas of the nuclear cleanup site. Work is […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reaffirmed Tuesday that, despite public comments and even a federal lawsuit that say otherwise, it does not need to perform another environmental review of the Uranium Processing Facility being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The semiautonomous Department of Energy agency “has determined, at […]

The Energy Department wants to hear from businesses and universities that could test air ventilation systems for nuclear facilities. The department’s Office of Environmental Management issued a request for information (RFI)/sources sought notice Thursday seeking input from vendors that can evaluate high-efficiency particulate air filters for use in high-hazard DOE facilities. These filters help protect […]

A $50 million project intended to reduce the cost and time of nuclear cleanup at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site is at a standstill due to funding disagreements between the federal government and local stakeholders in South Carolina. The Aiken Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a group spearheaded by a local economic development group, is […]

The head of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Tuesday helped to formally begin construction of a new office building for agency employees in New Mexico. NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty was joined by, among others, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) to break ground on the Albuquerque Complex: office space for nearly 1,000 NNSA headquarters employees. The […]

BWXT Technologies said Wednesday that a subsidiary of Canadian utility Ontario Power Generation (OPG) would provide irradiation services for a new medical isotope production program. In May, the Lynchburg, Va.-based company announced commercial development of generators for technetium-99m, an isotope used each year in more than 30 million medical procedures globally, including medical imaging for […]

Consolidated National Security said last week it has since 2015 awarded some $725 million in purchase orders and subcontracts for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. “Some of the largest awards included structural steel, rebar, specialized equipment and a subcontract for an onsite concrete batch plant,” the project prime […]

Consolidated National Security said Thursday it has since 2015 awarded some $725 million in purchase orders and subcontracts for the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Uranium Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn. “Some of the largest awards included structural steel, rebar, specialized equipment and a subcontract for an onsite concrete batch plant,” the project prime said […]

Road upgrades are due to begin this week around the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a byproduct of a settlement agreement between DOE and the state of New Mexico over a 2014 accident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The Energy Department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday the first of […]

Road upgrades are due to begin this week around the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), a byproduct of a settlement agreement between DOE and the state of New Mexico over a 2014 accident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The Energy Department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration said Monday the first of […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration does not think it needs to conduct additional environmental study of the next-generation Uranium Processing Facility being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. That is the preliminary conclusion of the semiautonomous civilian steward of the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, expressed Monday in a 69-page […]

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration does not think it needs to conduct additional environmental study of the next-generation Uranium Processing Facility being built at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Tennessee. That is the preliminary conclusion of the semiautonomous civilian steward of the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, expressed Monday in a 69-page […]

By John Stang BWX Technologies this week contended it by 2019 will begin operations to produce sufficient amounts of a critical medical isotope to fill all of North America’s needs. “We’d have enough capacity for all the North American supply right off the bat” for molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), BWXT President and CEO Rex Geveden said in […]

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday authorized Northwest Medical Isotopes (NWMI) to build a molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production facility in Missouri. “We find that, with respect to the safety and environmental issues before us, the Staff’s review of NWMI’s construction permit application was sufficient to support issuance of the construction permit. We authorize the Director […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has acceded to a request to halt its review of a license amendment request intended to advance a project for production of the medical isotope molybdenum-99 at the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR). The request from the university was filed on April 5, one day after Canadian health science company […]

Late last week, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) authorized the start of construction on a new office building in New Mexico that will house more than 1,000 employees affiliated with the agency’s headquarters. The semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapon agency announced the milestone in a press release Tuesday. The planned Albuquerque Complex Project will […]

A new list published Tuesday by federal inspectors general called out crumbling Department of Energy nuclear infrastructure as one of the federal government’s top management challenges. “Agencies may be hampered in performing their missions effectively because of breakdowns in essential equipment or hazards posed by unmaintained infrastructure,” the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity […]

BWX Technologies, known primarily as a contractor for the Defense and Energy departments, said Tuesday it plans to acquire a medical isotopes business from a Canadian health company. Pending regulatory approvals in the United States and Canada, BWXT hopes by the end of this year to complete its buyout of Nordion’s medical isotopes operation. Nordion, […]

A new list published Tuesday by federal inspectors general called out crumbling Department of Energy nuclear infrastructure as one of the federal government’s top management challenges. “Agencies may be hampered in performing their missions effectively because of breakdowns in essential equipment or hazards posed by unmaintained infrastructure,” the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity […]

BWX Technologies, known primarily as a contractor for the Defense and Energy departments, said Tuesday it plans to acquire a medical isotopes business from a Canadian health company. Pending regulatory approvals in the United States and Canada, BWXT hopes by the end of this year to complete its buyout of Nordion’s medical isotopes operation. Nordion, […]

International Isotopes’ net loss doubled in 2017, but the company said the spike was driven by three factors that are not expected to repeat. It also has a number of growing business opportunities this year and beyond that should further bolster the bottom line, President and CEO Steve Laflin told RadWaste Monitor. The Idaho Falls, […]

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday formally opened a new building to house a host of administrative and support functions at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas. NNSA Administrator Lisa Gordon-Hagerty and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) attended a ribbon-cutting for the John C. Drummond Center, named for the longest-serving manager for the nuclear-weapon […]