Vol. 5, No. 24 Hanford Employee Being Tested for COVID-19; Cases Confirmed at Nuclear Fuel Services
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford Contract Protests Should be Decided Soon
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is expected by May 1 to rule on formal protests of two multibillion-dollar Energy Department contracts for the Hanford Site in Washington state, a source said Tuesday. To date, the COVID-19 pandemic has not forced schedule slippage in adjudication of protests to federal contract awards, and the GAO anticipates deciding […]
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Budget & Policy
Congress to Remain in Recess Through Early May
Both chambers of Congress will remain on recess later than scheduled, returning no earlier than May 4, lawmakers said on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced the upper chamber would add two weeks to its current recess in a Tuesday note to fellow senators, then in a press release. His announcement follows a […]
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National Laboratories
Sandia Maintenance Shop, Warehouse, Closed for Cleaning After COVID-19 Case
The Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico said Monday it had evacuated its Building 954 and might do some deep cleaning there, after confirmed a case of COVID-19 among the workforce. The lab was at deadline determining which employees at Building 954 had been in contact with the infected recently, according to Sandia’s website. The building […]
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Plutonium Pit Production
Plutonium Arguments on for Appeals Court, Despite COVID-19, Settlement Talks
The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped the Department of Energy’s plans to dispose of surplus plutonium, nor arguments in a long-running $200 million lawsuit on the matter with the state of South Carolina. The Department of Energy and South Carolina are actually close to settling the matter. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal […]
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Decommissioning
Pandemic’s Impact on SONGS Decommissioning Unclear
Southern California Edison is unsure how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the cost and schedule for decommissioning of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS). The utility has paused tackling the actual tearing down of buildings and removing heavy equipment from the retired nuclear power plant in San Diego County. However, Edison is continuing with […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Subcontractor Retained to Shore Up 3 Underground Hanford Facilities
The primary cleanup vendor for the Energy Department’s Hanford Site in Washington state has lined up a subcontractor to stabilize three underground structures with grout, according to a Tuesday press release. Jacobs subsidiary CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation is issuing a $3.9 million subcontract to engineering firm White Shield, of Pasco, Wash., to design and apply […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
EPA Reviewing Two West Lake Landfill Cleanup Docs
The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing documents for cleanup of two sections of the West Lake Landfill in Missouri. Both documents were filed in March by the potentially responsible parties for remediation of Operable Unit 1 (OU-1) and Operable Unit 2 (OU-2) of the Superfund property near St. Louis, according to an April update from […]
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Interim Storage & Waste Disposal
Former Employee Sues Holtec for Discrimination, Unfair Leave Policy
A former employee of energy technology firm Holtec International said in a federal lawsuit Monday that she was forced to resign in January in the face of harassment and illegal practices on medical and family leave. Gereka Bracey is seeking reimbursement for lost earnings, punitive damages, damages for emotional distress, and legal costs, according to […]