Vitrification & Grout

Bechtel National has turned to a senior vice president and longtime company manager, Brian Hartman, as it’s next project director for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Bechtel, which has a $15-billion contact that started in 2000 to build the plant to convert radioactive tank […]

Crews at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state are doing electrical testing, setting the stage to again start heating up the first melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, the agency’s acting nuclear cleanup boss said Monday. “At Hanford we resumed our electrical testing for the vitrification plant,” William (Ike) White, […]

A $1.4-billion facility to convert sodium-bearing waste into a solid granular form at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is now running with 100% radioactive waste, the head of the $8-billion nuclear cleanup office said Monday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Lab is now “at 100% waste feed,” William […]

The Department of Energy aims to use an advanced new solvent by the end of fiscal 2025 to improve the numbers at the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, a cleanup contractor boss told a federal advisory board Tuesday. Other glitches at the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) should […]

The Department of Energy aims to use an advanced new solvent by the end of fiscal 2025 to improve the numbers at the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, a cleanup contractor boss told a federal advisory board Tuesday. Other glitches at the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) should […]

State officials signed off last week on a Department of Energy request to delay installation of what’s known as Next Generation Solvent at the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, a federal advisory board heard Monday. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control on May 8 approved […]

The recently-commissioned treatment plant at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is now processing an evenly mixed blend of simulant and liquid sodium-bearing radioactive waste, an agency spokesperson said this week. The $1.4-billion Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory, which began radiological operations April 11, has progressed to a half-and-half […]

The Department of Energy has produced its first 18 canisters of solidified granular waste with the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Laboratory, agency officials told a federal advisory panel Thursday. The $1.4-billion Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) began radiological operations April 11, Mark Brown, deputy manager of DOE’s Idaho nuclear, told […]

Cement-like grout might be a viable cleanup alternative for up to 60% of the liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the acting head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office told Senators this week.  The long-delayed Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant being built by Bechtel to solidify radioactive waste into […]

The $1.4-billion Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, which started up radiological operations last week at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, has turned out seven canisters of “treated, blended” waste so far, the agency said Wednesday. Currently, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) is processing a blend of 90% simulant and 10% sodium-bearing radioactive waste […]

Cement-like grout might be a viable cleanup alternative for up to 60% of the liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the acting head of the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office told Senators Tuesday.  The long-delayed Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant being built by Bechtel to solidify radioactive waste into a […]

The Department of Energy’s “fast-track, design-build approach” at the multibillion-dollar Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state resulted in cost increases and schedule delays, according to an Office of Inspector General probe of whistleblower allegations. The report by DOE Inspector General Teri Donaldson was drafted back in August 2020 but […]

After close to $1.5 billion spent, the long-anticipated Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory is treating radioactive waste, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. Initially, the Integrated Waste Treatment United (IWTU) will treat a mix of 90% simulant and 10% sodium-bearing liquid waste from tanks at the laboratory’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and […]

The long-anticipated startup of radiological operations is underway at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory, the Department of Energy said Tuesday. Initially, the Integrated Waste Treatment United (IWTU) will treat a mix of 90% simulant and 10% sodium-bearing liquid waste from tanks at the laboratory’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, […]

The Department of Energy’s “fast-track, design-build approach” at the multibillion-dollar Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state resulted in cost increases and schedule delays, according to an Office of Inspector General probe of whistleblower allegations. The report by DOE Inspector General Teri Donaldson was drafted back in August 2020 but […]

The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory has resumed running simulant as the contractor awaits final federal approval to start mixing in liquid sodium-bearing radioactive waste, a DOE spokesperson said Wednesday. The federal agency and its cleanup contractor at the site, Jacobs-led Idaho Environmental Coalition, hope to be operating  […]

Valerie McCain, the Bechtel project manager in charge of building the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar waste vitrification plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, died unexpectedly, the company announced this week. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Valerie McCain, project director of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant and […]

Valerie McCain, the Bechtel project manager in charge of building the Department of Energy’s multibillion-dollar waste vitrification plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state, died unexpectedly, the company announced. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Valerie McCain, project director of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant and a Bechtel […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a congressional hearing Thursday, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the Department of Energy thinks the startup of the waste vitrification plant at the Hanford Site in Washington will not slip too much further into the future. “I think we have a handle on it,” Granholm told the Monitor about big […]

Bechtel National earned more than $6.5 million, or 83% of its total potential fee, for Department of Energy work in 2022 on the long-anticipated Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Overall, the company earned $6.53 million out of a potential $7.87 million in fee for the calendar year ended […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After a congressional hearing Thursday, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the Department of Energy thinks the startup of the waste vitrification plant at the Hanford Site in Washington will not slip too much further into the future. “I think we have a handle on it,” Granholm told the Monitor about big […]

Bechtel National earned more than $6.5 million, or 83% of its total potential fee, for Department of Energy work in 2022 on the long-anticipated Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Hanford Site in Washington state. Overall, the company earned $6.53 million out of a potential $7.87 million in fee for the calendar year ended […]

The Department of Energy is “on track” to start solidifying liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state “no later than 2025,” the agency said in its latest budget request this week.  That timeline, less optimistic than the December 2023 goal the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management was targeting until a few months […]

The Department of Energy is “on track” to start solidifying liquid radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state “no later than 2025,” the agency said in its latest budget request this week.  That timeline, less optimistic than the December 2023 goal the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management was targeting until a few months […]

PHOENIX— Planning by the Department of Energy and its contractors allowed the Hanford Site in Washington state to withstand the impact of recent wind gusts in excess of 80 miles per hour, the boss of the landlord services provider said here Wednesday. “The massive windstorm” a few weeks ago knocked out of service about 13 […]

In a Federal Register notice Tuesday, the Department of Energy said that glass logs produced from low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state can be treated as low-level waste. DOE published that conclusion after consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tribes and other local stakeholders in the final “Waste Incidental to […]

In a draft report presented this week to  a National Academies panel, a Department of Energy research team said grout represents the safest bet for treating half of the low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “Only alternatives employing grout technology appear to be technically viable, low-to-moderate risk, and flexible enough to […]

In a draft report presented this week to  a National Academies panel, a Department of Energy research team said grout represents the safest bet for treating half of the low-level radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state. “Only alternatives employing grout technology appear to be technically viable, low-to-moderate risk, and flexible enough to […]

In a Federal Register notice Tuesday, the Department of Energy said that glass logs produced from low-level radioactive tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state can be treated as low-level waste. DOE published that conclusion after consulting with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, tribes and other local stakeholders in the final “Waste Incidental to […]

By John Stang Hanford might not finish solidifying its most radioactive tank wastes until 2062 to 2084, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report released Thursday. Right now, Hanford’s legal deadline is 2052 to solidify the 56 million gallons of waste held in 177 underground tanks at the former plutonium production complex. Between 5 […]