Archive

Transuranic Waste

Reporting on the characterization, transport, and disposal of defense transuranic waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

  • NMED wants firm closure date for WIPP; public comment open on mine’s new draft permit

    The New Mexico Environment Department on Tuesday kicked off a 60-day comment period on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, with the state fighting the federal government’s attempt to keep the mine’s closure date open-ended. The DOE has said it needs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to […]

  • NMED wants firm closure date for WIPP; public comment open on mine’s new draft permit

    The New Mexico Environment Department on Tuesday kicked off a 60-day comment period on a 10-year permit renewal for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, with the state fighting the federal government’s attempt to keep the mine’s closure date open-ended. The DOE has said it needs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to […]

  • Nuclear Waste Partnership earns two-thirds of WIPP subjective fee

    The outgoing prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., earned 66% of its subjective fee and about 72% of its total potential fee for its work during fiscal 2022, according to a fee scorecard released Tuesday. In a Dec. 20 letter to Nuclear Waste Partnership’s president and project […]

  • Bechtel group promises stability for incumbent WIPP workforce

    The incoming Bechtel National prime for the Departments of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expects to get most of its hiring done by mid-January, according to the new contractor website. “We are working diligently to complete the majority of the hiring activities by mid-January and declare readiness to perform operations by late […]

  • WIPP receives 16 November shipments of TRU waste

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received 16 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during November, according to DOE. There were 14 shipments recorded on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) public website as of Tuesday Dec. 13. The website runs about two weeks behind active shipments and a site spokesperson said two more […]

  • WIPP receives 16 November shipments of TRU waste

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received 16 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during November, according to DOE. There were 14 shipments recorded on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) public website as of Tuesday Dec. 13. The website runs about two weeks behind active shipments and a site spokesperson said two more […]

  • Bechtel group promises stability for incumbent WIPP workforce

    The incoming Bechtel National prime for the Departments of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expects to get most of its hiring done by mid-January, according to the new contractor website. “We are working diligently to complete the majority of the hiring activities by mid-January and declare readiness to perform operations by late […]

  • New Mexico could pull plug on WIPP decades sooner than DOE wants

    In draft permit materials rolled out Thursday, the state of New Mexico said it could potentially seek closure of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad a half-century before the feds might like. The New Mexico Environment Department wants to ensure in-state transuranic waste shipments from DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory are […]

  • WIPP off the table heading into holidays; other EM awards remain

    Barring some legal reversal, a Bechtel affiliate and subcontractor Los Alamos Technical Associates should take the reins at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico around Feb. 9.  Also, as of the day before Thanksgiving, three major opportunities for new business remained across the old weapons complex and three contractors awaited […]

  • Bechtel link to 2014 WIPP accident irrelevant in competition to manage mine, GAO tells losing bidder

    The Government Accountability Office did not buy a losing bidder’s argument that the winner of a 10-year contract to manage the Department of Energy’s main deep-underground nuclear waste repository should have been penalized in competitive bidding because of the winner’s link to a 2014 radiation release at the site. Made public Thursday by the office […]

  • WIPP prime gets $890K fee deduction after workplace accident results in amputation

    The Department of Energy has deducted about $890,000 in fee award from the prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. after a worker lost part of two fingers in a 2021 accident. The agency’s Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement issued a preliminary notice of violation of worker health and safety standards […]

  • WIPP receives 29 shipments during October, big jump year-to-year

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received at least 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to a public website for the facility. As of Thursday morning, the website, which typically trails actual shipments by about two weeks, listed the last shipment during the month occurring on Oct. […]

  • WIPP receives 29 shipments during October, big jump year-to-year

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received at least 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to a public website for the facility. As of Thursday morning, the website, which typically trails actual shipments by about two weeks, listed the last shipment during the month occurring on Oct. […]

  • WIPP prime gets $890K fee deduction after workplace accident results in amputation

    The Department of Energy has deducted about $890,000 in fee award from the prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. after a worker lost part of two fingers in a 2021 accident. The agency’s Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement issued a preliminary notice of violation of worker health and safety standards […]

  • Bechtel group’s WIPP proposal underbid Huntington rival

    A Bechtel affiliate underbid a rival, the Huntington Ingalls Industries-led National TRU Solutions, by about $14 million for 15 months of work as prime contractor of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., according to a decision made public Tuesday. Bechtel’s Tularosa Basin Range Services doing business as Salado Isolation Mining […]

  • Bechtel-led Salado starts WIPP transition, reveals management team

    With both bid protests now rejected by the Government Accountability Office, a Bechtel affiliate said Friday it is starting its 90-day transition to take over operation of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. Tularosa Basin Range Services doing business as Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, and headed by Ken Harrawood, said […]

  • Waste disposal starts in WIPP Panel 8

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., started disposing of transuranic waste in the new Panel 8 this week, an agency spokesperson confirmed Thursday.  In recent weeks, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) emplaced its final shipment of defense-related transuranic waste in Panel 7, according to DOE. Panel 7 was contaminated […]

  • Second bid protest of WIPP contract rejected by GAO

    The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a Westinghouse-led group to the Department of Energy’s July award of a potentially $3 billion management contract to manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In a statement, the Government Accountability Office said it has denied the bid protest filed by Carlsbad Operations […]

  • Second bid protest of WIPP contract rejected by GAO

    The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday rejected a challenge by a Westinghouse-led group to the Department of Energy’s July award of a potentially $3 billion management contract to manage the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In a statement, the Government Accountability Office said it has denied the bid protest filed by Carlsbad Operations […]

  • Waste disposal to start soon in WIPP Panel 8

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., should start disposing of transuranic waste in the new Panel 8 this week, possibly as early as Tuesday, an agency spokesperson said Monday. In recent weeks, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) emplaced its final shipment of defense-related transuranic waste in Panel 7, according […]

  • Draft WIPP permit from New Mexico should be out by Christmas

    The New Mexico Environment Department could issue a 10-year draft permit for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., before Christmas, a state spokesperson said recently. The draft permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be released for public comment by late November or early December, Matthew Maez of […]

  • GAO rejects protest of WIPP contract by Huntington-led group

    The Government Accountability Office on Thursday denied a challenge by a Huntington Ingalls Industries-led group to Bechtel’s potential $3 billion management contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, which the Department of Energy awarded in July. Huntington-led National TRU Solutions of Newport News, Va. challenged the 10-year contract award to Bechtel’s Tularosa […]

  • North Wind turns over Oak Ridge TRU work to UCOR

    As expected, the prime cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee has taken over transuranic waste responsibilities from North Wind, the agency said Tuesday. As of last week, Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) took over the Transuranic Waste Processing Center from North Wind Solutions, DOE said in a Tuesday […]

  • Draft WIPP permit from New Mexico should be out by Christmas

    The New Mexico Environment Department could issue a 10-year draft permit for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., before Christmas, a state spokesperson said recently. The draft permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be released for public comment by late November or early December, Matthew Maez of […]

  • WIPP’s Panel 7 full, next one certified by state

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., last week emplaced its last shipment of defense-related transuranic waste into Panel 7, the underground work area left contaminated by a radiation leak in February 2014. “Last week, last Thursday to be specific, the last waste was placed in panel 7,” said Sean Dunagan, […]

  • WIPP’s Panel 7 full, next one certified by state

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., last week emplaced its last shipment of defense-related transuranic waste into Panel 7, the underground work area left contaminated by a radiation leak in February 2014. “Last week, last Thursday to be specific, the last waste was placed in panel 7,” said Sean Dunagan, […]

  • Idaho, WIPP’s biggest shipper, doesn’t stay blocked for long

    The Department of Energy is again sending transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., from the Idaho National Laboratory after New Mexico regulators lifted a hold on the shipments.   Idaho resumed sending waste canisters to WIPP on Oct. 6, a New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) spokesperson said in a Thursday email […]

  • Clock ticking on GAO investigation of WIPP contract protests

    In a matter of weeks, the Government Accountability Office could rule on two protests against the Department of Energy’s decision to let a Bechtel National-led group run the agency’s only underground repository for defense-related transuranic waste. There are two appeals pending against the potentially 10-year, $3-billion management and operations contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot […]

  • WIPP takes in 22 shipments of TRU during September

    The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 22 shipments of transuranic waste during September, an agency spokesperson said this week. The monthly tally is slightly less than the August total of 25. The figure far exceeds the September 2021 total of only three shipments, according to the DOE’s public website […]

  • Clock ticking on GAO investigation of WIPP contract protests

    In a matter of weeks, the Government Accountability Office could rule on two protests against the Department of Energy’s decision to let a Bechtel National-led group run the agency’s only underground repository for defense-related transuranic waste. There are two appeals pending against the potentially 10-year, $3-billion management and operations contract for the Waste Isolation Pilot […]