The manager of the Department of Energy’s largest and most expensive nuclear cleanup property announced Wednesday he is leaving the department.
“After much consideration, I have made the very difficult decision to resign as Hanford Field Office manager, effective on April 24, 2025,” said Brian Vance, Hanford Site manager in a Wednesday memo to site staff. “It has been my honor to have worked with all of you these past seven years, and I will remember my time at Hanford as the most rewarding of my professional career. “
The memo was viewed by Exchange Monitor.
Vance added during his tenure there have been many Environmental Management office milestones including the Waste Immobilization and Treatment Plant being built and expected to start turning some of Hanford’s less radioactive tank waste into glass form this August. Decades of plutonium production at Hanford left the site with 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste stored in underground tanks.
“Vance is responsible for an overall annual budget of nearly $3 billion, and oversight of the contractors and more than 13,000 employees involved in cleanup of the 580-square-mile Hanford Site,” according to his DOE online bio.
Before coming to Hanford, Vance worked in supervisory roles for Westinghouse Electric and Areva. He also spent 25 years in the U.S. Navy where he was a submarine officer.
Meanwhile, Brian Stickney, deputy manager at Hanford, worked his last day with the property on Wednesday.
