Transuranic Waste

The Government Accountability Office wants congress to clarify regulatory authority over a certain type of commercial low-level nuclear waste from shuttered reactors and old medical and industrial equipment, according to a report released Thursday. The Department of Energy has been studying disposal options of what is known as greater-than Class C (GTCC) waste and GTCC-like […]

The head of the Department of Energy field office overseeing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., expects the facility to finish fiscal 2022 with 225 shipments of transuranic waste, short of its target of 299. As of Aug. 29, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has received 217 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste […]

The head of the Department of Energy field office overseeing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., expects the facility to finish fiscal 2022 with 225 shipments of transuranic waste, short of its target of 299. As of Aug. 29, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has received 217 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 25 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during August, according to the public website. That’s far more than the seven received at the underground salt mine during August 2021. The increased number of shipments during the past month means the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant […]

Cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) last week began excavating corrugated metal pipes containing radioactive waste buried at the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory, a spokesperson confirmed Tuesday. Retrieval of the corrugated metal pipes began Sept. 8 as part of a project that could last into March 2024, the spokesperson said […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received at least 23 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during August, according to the public website. That’s far more than the seven received at the underground salt mine during August 2021. The increased number of shipments during the past month means the Waste Isolation […]

The Department of Energy granted a request by Los Alamos National Laboratory’ cleanup contractor in New Mexico to resume “drilling and draining” containers with free liquids to prepare them for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an agency spokesperson said Sept. 2. DOE has also endorsed plans by Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) […]

Discovery of radioactive contamination on a transuranic waste transportation container in August prompted the Department of Energy to pause certain work at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., a spokesperson said Sept. 2. During maintenance on Aug. 24, a staffer spotted an “unexpected substance” near the bottom of the shipping container, a Waste […]

The Department of Energy now expects to replace an aging electrical substation on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant grounds near Carlsbad, N.M., in 2023, a spokesperson said this week. The substation replacement project is now planned for “the spring time frame,” a spokesperson for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) said in a Tuesday email […]

The Department of Energy now expects to replace an aging electrical substation on the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant grounds near Carlsbad, N.M., in 2023, a spokesperson said Tuesday. The substation replacement project is now planned for “the spring time frame,” a spokesperson for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) said in an email reply to […]

Discovery of radioactive contamination on a transuranic waste transportation container in August prompted the Department of Energy to pause certain work at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., a spokesperson said Friday. During maintenance on Aug. 24, a staffer spotted an “unexpected substance” near the bottom of the shipping container, a Waste Isolation […]

The Department of Energy granted a request by Los Alamos National Laboratory’ cleanup contractor in New Mexico to resume “drilling and draining” containers with free liquids to prepare them for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an agency spokesperson said Friday. DOE has also endorsed plans by Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) to […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board wants the Department of Energy and its legacy cleanup contractor to prioritize a new safety analysis for the waste handling area of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico that is currently in limited operations. Since January 2020, contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) has declared 24 […]

The prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is investigating two separate incidents where technical safety requirement violations occurred at the disposal facility for defense-related transuranic waste, a spokesperson said late Wednesday. The incidents that led to the violations occurred Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, said the spokesperson […]

The prime contractor for the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is investigating two separate incidents where technical safety requirement violations occurred at the disposal facility for defense-related transuranic waste, a spokesperson said late Wednesday. The incidents that led to the violations occurred Aug. 15 and Aug. 16, said the spokesperson […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 37 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the month of July, according to data from the agency’s public website. The site received 26 shipments from the Idaho National Laboratory, eight from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, one from the Oak […]

A New Mexico citizens group that is a frequent critic of the Department of Energy wants a firm end date for closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant  near Carlsbad, N.M., and greater transparency surrounding the federal transuranic waste program. In addition, Don Hancock, nuclear waste program director at Southwest Research and Information Center, told […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is still “considering potential enforcement action” against the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch for failure to move stranded drums of transuranic waste out of Waste Control Specialists’ facility in Andrews County, a commission spokesperson said last week. The DOE Office of Environmental Management wrote the state July 11 […]

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is still “considering potential enforcement action” against the Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch for failure to move stranded drums of transuranic waste out of Waste Control Specialists’ facility in Andrews County, a commission spokesperson said last week. The DOE Office of Environmental Management wrote the state July 11 […]

A New Mexico citizens group that is a frequent critic of the Department of Energy wants a firm end date for closure of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant  near Carlsbad, N.M., and greater transparency surrounding the federal transuranic waste program. In addition, Don Hancock, nuclear waste program director at Southwest Research and Information Center, told […]

The new Amentum-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee will be taking over transuranic waste operations at the property from North Wind Group later this year, an agency spokesperson confirmed this week.  Transition to United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) from North Wind was to begin at the end of […]

A venture called Carlsbad Operations Alliance LLC has filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office challenging the Department of Energy’s selection of a Bechtel-led entity to serve as the next prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant A notice of the contract challenge dated Monday was filed online with the Government Accountability […]

A venture called Carlsbad Operations Alliance LLC has filed a bid protest with the Government Accountability Office challenging the Department of Energy’s selection of a Bechtel-led entity to serve as the next prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant A notice of the contract challenge dated Monday was filed online with the Government Accountability […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., this week saw its community rate for COVID-19 drop to “medium” from “high,” according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As a result, it appears the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) might be the only DOE nuclear cleanup site approved […]

The inventory of defense-related transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico amounts to more than 3,300 containers, but most are not “ready to ship” to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office manager said last week. While the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) has 2,273 […]

The inventory of defense-related transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico amounts to more than 3,300 containers, but most are not “ready to ship” to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office manager said last week. In Technical Area 55, Triad National Security, the National Nuclear […]

National TRU Solutions, a joint venture led by Huntington Ingalls Industries, filed a bid protest Tuesday challenging the Department of Energy’s selection of a Bechtel entity for a contract worth up to $3 billion to operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. A notice of the TRU Solutions bid protest is posted on […]

National TRU Solutions, a joint venture evidently led by Huntington Ingalls Industries, filed a bid protest Tuesday challenging the Department of Energy’s selection of a Bechtel entity for a contract worth up to $3 billion to operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. A notice of the TRU Solutions bid protest is posted […]

The inventory of defense-related transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico amounts to more than 3,300 containers, but most are not “ready to ship” to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office manager said last week. While the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) has 2,273 […]

Joel Duling will resign as president of BWT Technology’s mainstay Nuclear Operations Group effective July 29, the company wrote in a regulatory filing dated Monday. Duling informed the company of his decision on July 12, according to the 8-K filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.  “Joel Duling is retiring from BWXT to pursue other […]