Transuranic Waste

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment late last week launched an investigation into safety concerns with the remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which have been linked to the radiological release that occurred early this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The move, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/21/2014 As Congress looks at funding for the remainder of the fiscal year after the end of the current Continuing Resolution next month, New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich (D) and Tom Udall (D) are asking Senate appropriators to provide an additional $113 million for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant above current […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 11/21/2014 In order to meet a commitment to the state of Idaho, the Department of Energy this week sent 35 transuranic waste containers from the Department’s Idaho site to the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas for interim storage. The waste was sent last November from Los […]

Kenneth Fletcher and Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 11/21/2014 In order to meet a commitment to the state of Idaho, the Department of Energy this week sent 35 transuranic waste containers from the Department’s Idaho site to the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas for interim storage. The waste was sent last November from Los […]

In order to meet a commitment to Idaho, the Department of Energy this week sent 35 transuranic waste containers from the Idaho National Laboratory to the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas for interim storage. The waste was sent last November to Idaho’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project for treatment, but was required to leave […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessment is conducting an investigation into remediation of transuranic waste drums at Los Alamos National Laboratory that have been linked to the release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The Office of Enforcement’s investigation will center on “the facts and circumstances associated with the remediation of selected transuranic […]

As Congress looks at funding after the end of the current Continuing Resolution, New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich (D) and Tom Udall (D) are asking Senate appropriators to provide an additional $113 million for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant above current funding levels. The CR funding the government expires on Dec. 11, but WIPP will […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 11/7/2014 Wastren Advantage Inc. received 68.5 percent of the maximum fee for the six-month performance period that ended July 31 in its latest performance review from the Department of Energy for managing the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. In an Oct. 28 letter to WAI, Sue Cange, DOE’s acting environmental […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 11/7/2014 During the restart of a ventilation fan last month at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a very minor amount of radioactive contamination was detected outside of the mine. The release was not unexpected, and the amount detected is not believed to impact human health or the environment. On Oct. 21, […]

Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 10/31/2014 Waste Control Specialists received approval late last week from the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality to store the transuranic waste containers it currently is hosting from Los Alamos National Laboratory in its Federal Waste Facility, according to a posting in the Texas Register. WCS had already moved the containers […]

Martin Schneider WC Monitor 10/24/2014 AMELIA ISLAND, Fla.—The Department of Energy this week sought to clarify the steps it will be taking to mitigate the impact of the current shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on sites across the complex, reiterating that DOE will not reclassify transuranic waste as a means to seek alternate […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/17/14 The Department of Energy this week released a final Request for Proposals for the follow-on contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The new contract is being set aside for small businesses that meet $38.5 million size standard, and is expected to be worth $100 million to […]

The Department of Energy yesterday released its final Request for Proposals for support services at Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center. The procurement is being set aside for small businesses meeting a $38.5 million size standard. DOE is anticipating a 1.5 month transition period for the five-year contract starting on May 16 that will be […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 10/10/2014 While contractors have made management changes in connection with the current shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the federal government doesn’t appear likely to follow suit anytime soon. Both WIPP’s managing contractor and the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where waste processing issues are suspected of being a factor in […]

While contractors have made management changes in connection with the current shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the federal government doesn’t plan to follow suit, according to acting Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Mark Whitney. In response to a truck fire and radiological release at WIPP earlier this year, URS moved the former […]

DOE Looking At Initial Restart in 2016 for $242 Million Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 10/3/2014 The resumption of full-scale operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant may not occur until 2019 and could cost up to $551 million, though a Department of Energy WIPP Recovery Plan released this week calls for initial operations to resume […]

Resumption of full scale operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant may not occur until 2019 and could cost up to $551 million, though initial operations are slated for resumption in early 2016 at a cost of about $242 million, according to Department of Energy officials. Yesterday DOE released its recovery plan for WIPP, which […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/19/2014 Limited storage capacity is a major hurdle for Oak Ridge’s transuranic waste program during the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s current shutdown, and though the site is taking steps to continue progress, it is at risk of missing regulatory milestones. With storage nearing its limit at the site’s TRU Waste Processing […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/19/2014 A second transuranic waste drum in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground contains a “unique combination” of materials, including a discarded glove, that is believed to have contributed to a reaction and radiation release at WIPP, a Los Alamos National Laboratory official said this week. Only two remediated drums have […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/12/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—Though the shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant shook the national transuranic waste program, the Department of Energy, state regulators and industry are seeking ways to still make progress toward milestones, officials said here last week. The sole disposal site for transuranic waste, WIPP was shut down by […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 09/11/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—Though operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant remain shut down for the foreseeable future, recovery work by contactor Nuclear Waste Partnership has picked up significantly in recent weeks, NWP WIPP Recovery Manager Jim Blankenhorn said at the RadWaste Summit last week. WIPP has been closed since a February […]

Carlsbad Field Office Undergoes Reorganization WC Monitor 9/12/2014 The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office is undergoing a reorganization that will include a focus on contractor oversight and will significantly increase the number of federal employees at the site. The reorganization became effective in July, and CBFO is in the process of hiring for vacancies […]

The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a short-term Continuing Resolution yesterday that includes funding anomalies to prevent hundreds of layoffs at Portsmouth and to aid in recovery activities from a truck fire and radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The CR will fund most Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration programs at […]

As Canada examines the implications of recent incidents at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant on its own repository planning efforts, DOE’s multiple roles at WIPP can be “potentially problematic,” Canadian regulators said at a meeting yesterday of the panel reviewing plans for a repository in Ontario. The Joint Review Panel is holding a […]

The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office is undergoing a reorganization that will include a focus on contractor oversight, a DOE official said Friday at the RadWaste Summit. The Carlsbad office will be split into two major areas: oversight and program management, according to DOE CBFO’s J.R. Stroble, director of the national TRU program. “The […]

State Wants to See NNSA Out of Los Alamos Cleanup Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn this week outlined several conditions the state of New Mexico wants the Department of Energy to meet before moving forward with the restart of operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, ranging from […]

Compliance Actions Could Come Within 60 Days Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 9/5/2014 SUMMERLIN, Nev.—Warning of “significant penalties” coming to the Department of Energy in the wake of the incidents that occurred earlier this year that have closed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, New Mexico regulators are also looking to go after DOE for cleanup-related concerns […]

AMWTP Contractor Will Now Focus on Mixed Low-Level Waste Disposition Mike Nartker WC Monitor 9/5/2014 In response to the ongoing shutdown at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the contractor in charge of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site will now focus on disposition of mixed low-level waste, rather […]

As the closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nears the seven month mark, New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn listed a range of steps the state needs the Department of Energy to take before it can reopen the facility. If those steps are followed and the recovery is expedited, limited operations could resume […]

Roger Snodgrass For WC Monitor 8/22/2014 CARLSBAD, N.M.—While officials here are pleased with the attention garnered by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz’s recent visit to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a host of questions remain unanswered about the radiological release at the facility in February. The Department of Energy may never know every detail of the […]