Transuranic Waste

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/6/2015 The “Project Reach” campaign at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, intended to help determine the exact cause of a radiological release that occurred last year at the facility, wrapped up late last week and officials say they have not discovered anything unexpected. The completion of the effort is expected to […]

WIPP Recovery to Continue on Schedule Despite Proposed Funding Cut Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/2/2015 Within the next two months, the Department of Energy plans to release the Accident Investigation Board report into the root cause of last year’s radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz said today. The […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/30/2015 The Department of Energy is analyzing alternatives to constructing a new exhaust shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an upgrade called for in the plan for bringing the plant back to full operations. The WIPP recovery plan released last October calls for two capital asset project line items for […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/23/2015 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board plans to hold a meeting this spring in Carlsbad, N.M., on last year’s incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that resulted in the ongoing shutdown of the facility. Operations at WIPP have been shut down since a Feb. 5, 2014, truck fire and […]

DOE Evaluating Bids for Follow-Up Contract Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/23/2015 As the Department of Energy evaluates bids for a new contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center, DOE late last week extended by six months the current contract held by incumbent Wastren Advantage. WAI’s contract to run the TWPC had been […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/23/2015 In another development in the investigation into the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, waste processing workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have identified a procedural change related to potentially volatile drums. The Lab’s waste processing methods have fallen under scrutiny since a LANL drum was found breached […]

Large Chunk of WIPP Ceiling Falls WC Monitor 1/23/2015 A large chunk of the ceiling in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground fell last week in a restricted access area in the Panel 3 access drift, according to the Department of Energy. No workers were present when the Jan. 15 fall occurred, which was estimated […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/16/2015 The Department of Energy is pushing back against a total of $54.3 million in fines New Mexico has levied for violations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, denying many of the alleged violations and calling the penalties “grossly disproportionate” in official responses filed late […]

Mine Recovery Continues Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/16/2014 The investigation into last year’s radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that has shut down the facility took a step forward last week with the inauguration of Project Reach, the specialized camera system designed to take photos and video of underground waste drums that haven’t […]

The Department of Energy is fighting back against $54.3 million in fines from New Mexico for violations at Los Alamos and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, filing official responses Friday denying many of the alleged violations and calling the penalties “grossly disproportionate.” The New Mexico Environment Department assessed the fines early last month for violations […]

Final Determination Pending Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/9/2015 Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, has so far only been paid $21,576 out of about $8.2 million in total available fee for Fiscal Year 2014, according to contractor fee information recently posted by the Department of Energy. The fee chart […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/9/2015 The recovery plan in place for the resumption of operations at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant “is not fully sufficient to ensure safe conditions underground,” with chief concerns involving ventilation rates for workers while diesel equipment is being operated, according to a recently released Department of Energy review. DOE’s Office of […]

New TRU Milestones In The Works WC Monitor 1/9/2015 The state of Tennessee is on the verge of approving a set of extended milestones for processing and disposing of the Department of Energy’s transuranic waste in Oak Ridge because of the inability to ship the material to the troubled Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New […]

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership has so far been paid $21,576 out of about $8.2 million in total available fee for Fiscal Year 2014, according to contractor fee information recently posted by the Department of Energy. The scorecard notes that the final fee determination is still pending. The WIPP M&O contractor is […]

A malfunctioning continuous air monitor set off a false radiological alarm in the WIPP underground yesterday, according to the Department of Energy. “Technicians wearing appropriate personnel protective equipment, entered the underground, performed radiological surveys, collected additional air monitoring data and examined the CAM before declaring it a false alarm,” states a DOE release. “As a […]

The Department of Energy yesterday released a draft request for proposal for a small business contract for technical assistance services at the Carlsbad Field Office. The total contract value is expected to be between $30 million and $35 million with a one-year period of performance and four one-year options. The contract is expected to support […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 12/19/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has uncovered “significant flaws” in the hazard and accident analyses at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s facility for loading transuranic waste, according to a Dec. 9 DNFSB staff report. LANL’s Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing Shipping Facility is used to load the waste for shipment, and […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety board has uncovered “significant flaws” in the hazard and accident analyses at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s facility for loading transuranic waste. LANL’s Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing Shipping Facility is used to load the waste for shipment, and in 2013 contractor Los Alamos National Security submitted a Documented Safety Analysis to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 12/12/2014 After New Mexico levied $54.3 million in fines for violations this year at Los Alamos and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and warned of potentially even larger fines down the road, the Department of Energy is examining its path forward. The New Mexico Environment Department levied a $17.7 million fine […]

AMWTP Contractor Earns $3.3 Million in Fee for FY 2014 WC Monitor 12/12/2014 Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, which is responsible for the Idaho Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, earned $3.3 million out of an available $5.3 million in Fiscal Year 2014, according to information the Department of Energy released this week. ITG’s fee was based […]

The Department of Energy is emphasizing that it self-reported many of the violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant after New Mexico announced over the weekend $54 million in fines linked to the noncompliances. When asked to comment about the massive fines levied by the New Mexico Environment Department, a […]

After New Mexico Saturday levied more than $54 million in fines against the Department of Energy for violations at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, members of the state’s Congressional delegation have announced support for the fine. The New Mexico Environment Department levied a $17.7 million fine for 13 violations at […]

Fines Connected to Both WIPP Incident and Los Alamos Cleanup Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 12/5/2014 The New Mexico Environment Department is planning in the next 10 days to take enforcement actions against the Department of Energy that could include about $35 million in fines related to cleanup issues at Los Alamos National Laboratory, with a […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 12/5/2014 In apparent response to requests from potential bidders, the Department of Energy late this week pushed back the deadline for bids for the new contract to operate the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center, for a second time, to Dec. 23, from Dec. 11. The new extension was contained in […]

DOE Names New WIPP Recovery Manager WC Monitor 12/5/2014 The Department of Energy has appointed Sean Dunagan from Sandia National Laboratories as the Carlsbad Field Office’s Senior WIPP Recovery Manager, replacing Tom Teynor. Dunagan, who takes over on Dec. 8, is currently a research and development manager at Sandia. He will lead the WIPP Recovery […]

A second extension may be in the works for the deadline to submit bids on the new contract to manage the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center. While DOE has already provided one extension, moving the deadline to Dec. 11, several potential bidders have asked the Department for approximately another two weeks […]

The Department of Energy yesterday officially extended the proposal due date for the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center procurement from Dec. 1 to Dec. 11. DOE posted an amendment to the procurement yesterday that also formally incorporated into the Request for Proposals its responses to industry Q&As. The TWPC is used to prepare contact- […]

The Department of Energy is planning to support an independent review of the incidents earlier this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, a condition previously called for by New Mexico for restart of the facility. In order to regain confidence in the facility, the state needs a firm answer on the cause of the […]

Bidders for operations of the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing facility will likely get a Thanksgiving reprieve, as the Department of Energy says it plans to extend the proposal due date from Dec. 1 to “at least” Dec. 11, according to a DOE notice. The Department plans to issue a formal amendment extending the proposal […]

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, […]