The U.S. Energy Department on Tuesday issued a sources sought/request for information for remediation of the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and the Kesselring Site, both in New York state.
The agency wants to gauge small business interest in a potential contract that includes tearing down and removing contaminated facilities, along with waste management services, at the two naval nuclear propulsion sites.
The Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center in Cincinnati is in early planning stages for the procurement at the two sites located about 20 miles apart in upstate New York. The cleanup must cause minimal impact to the ongoing research and naval training at the facilities.
The RFI was posted on the FedBizOpps website.
Established in 1946 near Schenectady, N.Y., the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory was originally tasked with providing the government technical support in the chemical separation of plutonium and uranium from irradiated fuel. Today it provides research, design, and other services for U.S. nuclear-powered submarines.
Knolls’ sister location, the Kenneth A. Kesselring Site in West Milton, N.Y., began operating in 1955 as a potential location for testing of liquid-metal cooled power breeder reactors, although none were ever built there. Today its mission is primarily training nuclear officers and enlisted personnel to operate the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.
The anticipated contract would include tasks such as decommissioning about 60 wells to state requirements. The project would also include remediation of soil contaminated with volatile organic compounds. The soil is situated between the sites of the H2 and G2 buildings, now torn down, at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) within the Knolls property.
Responses are due by 4 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 30. Responses should be sent to contract specialist Nicholas Jay Voiles, at [email protected].
Separately, the Energy Department said Tuesday that cleanup and site restoration at SPRU is now complete. The environmental work overseen by DOE began in 2007.
The Separations Process Research Unit was used in the 1940s and 1950s by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission for research on chemical separation of plutonium and uranium.
