An independent assessment by a branch of the Department of Energy last month issued a couple of findings calling for Bechtel National and its subcontractor to make certain improvements at the Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP).
DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments issued the report last month calling for Bechtel and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Company (WTCC), made up of Bechtel and Amentum, to improve key safety processes and equipment at WTP.
The team of Bechtel and WTCC has a management process that does not fully capture lessons that could be learned by outside reviews, according to the DOE Office of Enterprise Assessments.
The process “does not fully capture all program and performance deficiencies from external assessments, take compensatory corrective actions when needed, or categorize the significance of findings to ensure that problems are evaluated and corrected on a timely basis and that causes are addressed to prevent recurrence,” according to the August report.
In addition, the report said Bechtel and its subcontractor have not provided an “adequate communications system.” Although the problem was identified in 2024, the plant still lacks “clearly audible alarms and public address systems providing intelligible announcements” in certain areas—which could affect both normal and emergency operations.
The DOE assessment was done in April and May of this year. According to the report, the findings should receive a high degree of management attention.
Enterprise Assessments is an independent oversight office within DOE that evaluates the department’s safety, security, and cybersecurity programs.
In a third finding, the Office of Enterprise Assessments faulted DOE’s Hanford Field Office for not ensuring that an order on the department’s independent oversight program was not included in the Bechtel National contract.
While it cited areas of concern, the report also credited Bechtel and WTCC with certain strengths. For example, the contractor team “has two full-time event investigators who, when engaged following unanticipated conditions, provide thorough review of the facts and circumstances of the event.”
In addition, contractor “personnel use data visualization tools to identify trends using available condition reporting data,” according to the DOE report.
Bechtel’s construction and commission contract for WTP, which converts radioactive Hanford tank waste into solid glass form, started in December 2000 and is currently scheduled to run through April 2027. The contract is currently valued at nearly $19 billion, according to an online DOE summary.
Bechtel, which built the WTP, will eventually turn over its operation to BWX Technologies-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C).
The plant, which came online in October 2025, has now vitrified more than 200,000 gallons of liquid waste into glass form, a Bechtel spokesperson said via a Thursday email.
“We received the assessment report and found their input aligned with items we had previously identified and begun addressing through our internal processes,” Bechtel said in an emailed statement sent by the company spokesperson. “Many improvements are complete, and we are closing out remaining items to further strengthen our programs and ensure safe, reliable operations. Our team remains committed to protecting our workforce, supporting the community, and advancing the Hanford mission.”