Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 13 GEORGE DUDICH OUT AT B&W, CHANGES FOR TECHNICAL SERVICES GROUP
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Transuranic Waste
NEW MEXICO: WIPP UNDERFUNDED, ‘FIGHTING OVER TABLE SCRAPS’
DOE: Maintenance Issues Contractor’s Responsibility Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 With last month’s truck fire at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant raising concerns over the state of maintenance activities at the facility, the Department of Energy said this week that any maintenance issues were the responsibility of the site’s managing contractor while state and local […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
HANFORD VIT PLANT SAFETY CULTURE IMPROVING, DOE CLEANUP CHIEF SAYS
Recent Firing of Nuke Safety Manager Prompts New Concerns, Investigations Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Despite a new wave of concerns over whether workers at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant can raise issues without retaliation, David Huizenga, the Department of Energy’s cleanup chief, told WC Monitor late this week that he believes the safety culture at […]
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Budget & Policy
FIRST SECRETARY OF ENERGY JAMES SCHLESINGER PASSES AWAY AT 85
WC Monitor 3/28/2014 James Schlesinger, who served as the first Secretary of Energy, passed away this week at the age of 85. According to reports, Schlesinger died due to complications of pneumonia. Schlesinger was named in 1971 to chair the Atomic Energy Commission, and was tapped by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the first […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE REVIEW FINDS CONCERNS OVER SELF-ASSESSMENTS OF SAFETY CULTURE
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 A set of self-assessments of safety conscious work environment (SCWE) performed by Department of Energy sites and contractors suffered from several weaknesses that may reduce their overall usefulness, according to a report released last week. The DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security performed an evaluation of the self-assessments and […]
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Transuranic Waste
DNFSB: POOR WIPP RESPONSE LED TO UNNECESSARY WORKER CONTAMINATION
DOE Gearing Up to Return Workers to Mine Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 As the Department of Energy prepares to re-enter the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant six weeks after a radiation release, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said this week that a poor initial response to the event led to unnecessary worker contamination. DOE […]
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Non-Proliferation
PLANS TO SHIP MORE Pu TO U.S. RAISES CONCERNS IN SOUTH CAROLINA
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Plans to send a significant amount of plutonium and highly enriched uranium from Japan to the United States are raising questions for officials near the material’s likely home at the Savannah River Site. Citing concerns over plutonium already in the state, South Carolina this month filed suit against the Obama […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE CLEANUP CHIEF STRESSES NEED FOR TECH. DEVELOPMENT FUNDS
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 As lawmakers begin considering the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, DOE cleanup chief David Huizenga stressed this week the need for technology development funds to aid the Office of Environmental Management in developing new cleanup technologies that can reduce costs. “With the large to-go costs [remaining], we’re […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
WASH. STATE ORDERS DOE TO START PUMPING DAMAGED TANK BY SEPT. 1
DOE Says There Are ‘Risks’ Associated With Pumping Tank ‘At This Time’ Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The state of Washington has ordered the Department of Energy to start emptying liquid waste by Sept. 1 from Tank AY-102, Hanford’s double-shell tank with an interior leak. The new deadline is at least 18 months sooner than DOE […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
LANL SEEKS $31 MILLION TO BUILD CHROMIUM TREATMENT FACILITY
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Shifting focus to groundwater contamination for its next cleanup campaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking $31 million to begin a Chromium Pump and Treat Remedy Project that will be launched in Fiscal Year 2015. Los Alamos is taking a campaign approach to cleanup work at the lab, and is […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY AFTER FREEZE SHUT OFF SRS STEAM SUPPLY
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Contractors at the Savannah River Site are undertaking corrective actions after a damaging freeze shut down the site’s steam lines, and a review released this week showed poor communication following the event and an over-dependence on steam at facilities. The Jan. 7 freeze shut down the site’s biomass plant and […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
FURTHER DELAYS FOR CANADIAN LIQUID HEU SHIPMENTS TO SAVANNAH RIVER
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Planned shipments of liquid highly enriched uranium from Canada to the Savannah River Site for processing have been delayed again, and now appear to be slated for September 2015. Officials said in late 2012 that the proces-sing of the material could start in 2013 and end in 2016, but officials […]
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International
NDA TO ANNOUNCE MAGNOX WINNER ON MARCH 31
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plans to announce the award of the new contract to manage the 10 Magnox nuclear reactor sites and two research reactor sites in a March 31 conference call with bidders, WC Monitor has learned. Four teams submitted bids last fall in the competition: Reactor Site Solutions, […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
AT RIVER PROTECTION
NEW CONCERNS OVER TANK VAPORS WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Hanford officials have identified two potential sources of chemical vapor emissions after workers reported symptoms at the tank farms over four days this week and last week. At least 18 workers have reported symptoms linked to possible chemical vapors from tank waste, with the latest case on […]
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Reindustrialization & Redevelopment
AT RICHLAND
DOE WANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CLEANED LAND WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Department of Energy wants to provide additional access to Hanford land as it is cleaned up, said David Huizenga of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management at a House Cleanup Caucus briefing this week. “The overall thrust is to try to turn some of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
AT IDAHO
ITG SEEKS TO RECOVER WITHHELD FEE WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Department of Energy is considering a request from Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, the managing contractor for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, to recover $150,000 in fee withheld for safety concerns. ITG requested the fee in a letter sent in late February to DOE outlining […]
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Decommissioning
AT OAK RIDGE
K-31 DEMOLITION TO GET UNDERWAY WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) has received approval to proceed with demolition of the K-31 building at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The move is designed to keep the workforce that was assembled for the massive K-25 D&D project largely intact until the Department of Energy […]
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Budget & Policy
WRAP UP: IN CONGRESS, IN DOE, IN THE INDUSTRY
WC Monitor 3/28/2014 IN CONGRESS The Congressional appropriations process may go faster this year than in previous years, according to House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). The Appropriations Committee is making an effort to hasten the pace of its effort to try and complete spending bills by the beginning of Fiscal […]