Transuranic Waste

The March 2016 re-open date for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is no longer viable after a variety of unanticipated issues have caused delays in resuming waste emplacement operations, the Department of Energy announced late last week. DOE will re-examine the revised cost and schedule estimates taking into account the delays, and it plans to […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 7/31/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) proposition to credit pipe overpack containers (POC) with a damage ratio of zero at the Area G nuclear waste disposal site was found “inappropriate” and “not technically defensible” by personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) proposition to credit pipe overpack containers (POC) with a damage ratio of zero at the Area G nuclear waste disposal site was found “inappropriate” and “not technically defensible” by personnel from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Environmental Management, and LANL, according to a Defense […]

Los Alamos National Laboratory will consider new information relative to the safety basis for continued safe storage of the remediated nitrate salts contained in the DOE Accident Investigation Board and the Technical Assistance Team reports on the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site report […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The operator of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico is increasing the number of workers allowed in the underground section at any one time to support efforts to bring the transuranic waste storage facility back online following the fire and radiation release that occurred separately in February […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 7/17/2015 Last month’s award of a new contract to manage the Department of Energy’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge has been challenged by three of the unsuccessful bidders. DOE earlier said seven proposals were submitted for the $123.9 million contract, which was awarded to North Wind Solutions LLC. According […]

The number of workers allowed underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant rose from 75 to 98 last week because a new fire-free zone has been built there, the Carlsbad (N.M.) Current-Argus reported on July 11. Jim Blankenhorn, Nuclear Waste Partnership Recovery manager, said at Thursday’s town hall meeting in Carlsbad that the compustible-free zone […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 7/10/2015 Dana Bryson will take over as Acting Manager for the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), DOE announced yesterday. Bryson will replace Joe Franco, who moved to DOE’s Richland Operations Office earlier this year. Bryson has served as deputy manager at the CBFO since late 2013. “Dana has […]

Dana Bryson will take over as Acting Manager for the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), DOE announced yesterday. Bryson will replace Joe Franco, who moved to DOE’s Richland Operations Office earlier this year. Bryson has served as deputy manager at the CBFO since late 2013. “Dana has been an integral part of the […]

The management contractor for the Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC) at Oak Ridge has completed “corrective actions” and is ready to start the planned Independent Verification Review (IVR) at the site after an internal team  “found a significant number of issues that were rolled up into eight findings,” according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety […]

From Staff Reports WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy this week selected North Wind Solutions LLC from among seven bidders to manage and operate the agency’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge. The contract has a potential value up to $123.9 million if all options are chosen. The performance period has a three-year […]

Hearing First in Congress Since WIPP Events Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/19/2015 Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations called for Department of Energy oversight reform late last week after issues came to light following the February 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The hearing marks the […]

House lawmakers grilled Department of Energy officials Friday on oversight issues related to the February 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant at a hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. “WIPP has been shut down and the Department has embarked on remediation, training, and rebuilding that will […]

Alissa Tabirian NS&D Monitor 6/12/2015 The new Transuranic Waste Facility under construction at Los Alamos National Laboratory is on track to be completed ahead of schedule and on cost, a Department of Energy review has found. The new facility is intended to process newly generated transuranic waste at Los Alamos. A DOE Construction Project Review […]

A House Energy and Commerce panel Friday will hold a hearing titled “Oversight Failures Behind the Radiological Incident at [the Department of Energy’s] Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.” It stands to be the first hearing in Congress specifically focused on WIPP since the February 2014 radiological release and truck fire that shut down the transuranic waste […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/5/2015 As the Department of Energy continues to evaluate bids for the follow-on contract to operate Oak Ridge’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center, DOE this week again extended by six months the current contract held by incumbent Wastren Advantage. The contractor received its first extension in January that ran through mid-July, and […]

WIPP Panels Containing Nitrate-Bearing Waste Closed WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Two previously open panels in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground that had contained nitrate salt-bearing waste linked to last year’s radiological release have now been closed and sealed, officials announced this week. The actions come after the New Mexico Environment Department issued an Administrative Order […]

Two previously open panels in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground that had contained nitrate salt bearing waste linked to the 2014 radiological release have now been closed and sealed, the Department of Energy announced yesterday. The WIPP release was linked to a container containing nitrate salts in WIPP’s Panel 7, Room 7, which WIPP […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/8/2015 The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office is having a tough time filling 22 new full-time positions, many of them in safety and oversight, that were created in response to last year’s incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, DOE officials said last week. “I have the highest incentive authority […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 The Department of Energy and the New Mexico Environment Department this week reached a $73 million settlement in lieu of fines related to violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The settlement funds will go to a number of community and environmental projects near WIPP […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 CARLSBAD, N.M.—In an effort to increase Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board oversight following the 2014 incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Board approved a proposal here this week that would increase DNFSB staff reviews at several Department of Energy sites. The Board does not have on-site representatives at […]

Schedule Recovery Expected Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/1/2015 While remote-handled transuranic waste processing at the Department of Energy’s Idaho site ran into  delays late last year, including a worker contamination incident and a system blockage, site officials still hope to complete processing of the waste on schedule by the end of 2015. The contamination incident […]

In an effort to increase Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board oversight following the 2014 incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, yesterday in Carlsbad, N.M., the Board approved a proposal that would increase DNFSB staff reviews at several Department of Energy sites. The Board does not have on-site representatives at the WIPP, Idaho, Nevada, Lawrence […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board will hold a hearing April 29 in Carlsbad, N.M., on last year’s incidents at WIPP. Operations at WIPP have been shut down since a Feb. 5, 2014, truck fire and the Feb. 14 radiological release, impacting waste programs across the Department of Energy complex. In the all-day meeting, the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Local officials in Carlsbad, N.M., are backing the choice of Phil Breidenbach as the next head of Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor for the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, but have also raised concern about the recent spate of management  turnover at WIPP. Breidenbach will take over in the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Most Department of Energy cleanup sites, including Portsmouth and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, would see funding increases in the Fiscal Year 2016 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill when compared to DOE’s budget request, according to legislation that cleared the full committee this week. In order to support recovery […]

Most Department of Energy cleanup sites including Richland, Portsmouth and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant would see funding increases in the Fiscal Year 2016 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill when compared to DOE’s budget request, according to report language the House Appropriations Committee released yesterday. At Richland, DOE had proposed a $93 million cut […]

Details Failures by WIPP and Los Alamos Contractors and DOE Oversight Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/17/2015 After nearly a year of focusing on the root causes of the 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy’s Accident Investigation Board released a report this week declaring the release “preventable” and detailing […]

Rep. Pearce Has ‘Deep Concerns’ With Breidenbach’s Link to 2011 Incident Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/17/2015 The choice of Idaho National Laboratory’s Phil Breidenbach as the next head of Nuclear Waste Partnership , the managing contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, is being met with questions this week given his link to a previous […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/17/2015 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant M&O contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership earned only 7 percent of its available fee in Fiscal Year 2014 after incidents shut down the repository, for a total of $561,266 out of $8.2 million in maximum fee available, according to recently released fee information. WIPP was shut down […]