Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 17 At River Protection
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Decommissioning
House Bill Supports New D&D Project at SEFOR in Arkansas
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 A new pilot project to decommission the Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) in Arkansas would be launched in Fiscal Year 2016 under the House Appropriations Committee’s version of the FY 2016 Energy and Water spending bill, according to report language released this week. The bill would provide $9.5 million […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Would Move Forward on Mercury Storage Site Under House Bill
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Review and design work for a long-term storage facility for elemental mercury would move ahead with $1.3 million in funding included in the House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water spending bill that cleared the Appropriations Committee this week. In September 2013, DOE released a final Environmental […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Operations Remain Down at Portsmouth DUF6 Plant in Wake of Accident
Two Workers ‘Splashed’ With Dangerous Chemical Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Operations at the Portsmouth depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plant remain suspended in the wake of an accident that occurred at the plant late last month, and it remains unclear when work will resume. The accident involved two workers being exposed to potassium hydroxide […]
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Transuranic Waste
Local Officials Express Support for New Head of WIPP Contractor NWP
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Local officials in Carlsbad, N.M., are backing the choice of Phil Breidenbach as the next head of Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor for the nearby Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, but have also raised concern about the recent spate of management turnover at WIPP. Breidenbach will take over in the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
House FY16 Spending Bill Could Impact DOE’s Plan to Begin Hanford Waste Treatment in 2022
Bill Proposes Less Funding for ORP, But Would Boost Richland Funding Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/24/2015 House appropriators may be putting at risk the Department of Energy’s current goal to begin processing liquid radioactive waste at Hanford by the end of 2022 with their version of the Fiscal Year 2016 Energy and Water Appropriations bill, […]
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Transuranic Waste
House Bill Would Boost Funding at Most Cleanup Sites, Makes WIPP Recovery a Priority
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Most Department of Energy cleanup sites, including Portsmouth and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, would see funding increases in the Fiscal Year 2016 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill when compared to DOE’s budget request, according to legislation that cleared the full committee this week. In order to support recovery […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Lawmakers Want Plan for Transferring Excess NNSA Facilities to DOE Cleanup Program
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 House lawmakers are asking the Department of Energy for a plan to transfer excess facilities held by the National Nuclear Security Administration to the Office of Environmental Management for cleanup. Both House authorizers and appropriators have asked for reports from DOE for moving NNSA buildings to the cleanup program. The […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
House Lawmakers Want Greater Role for DNFSB Members in Approving Senior Staff
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 4/24/2015 House lawmakers are pushing for all of the members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board to have a greater say in senior staffing decisions. Language in the House version of the Fiscal Year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, reported out of subcommittee this week, would require the DNFSB Chairman […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Lawmakers May Hold Hearing on Poneman’s Appointment to Centrus
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 A Congressional hearing could be on tap on former Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman’s new position as CEO of uranium enrichment firm Centrus Energy Corp., House Oversight and Government Reform Interior Subcommittee Chair Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said this week. The House panel launched a probe in late March questioning whether […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
If DOE Doesn’t Limit Uranium Transfers, Congress May Take Up Legislation
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Legislation could be on the table to cap the Department of Energy’s transfers of excess uranium if DOE does not limit the transfers on its own, Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said this week at a House Oversight Interior Subcommittee hearing on DOE’s uranium management program. DOE uses the transfers to […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
NMED Hopes to Soon Reach Agreement with DOE on Fines
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 Discussions have been “productive” between the New Mexico Environment Department and the Department of Energy on state compliance orders, NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said last week, adding that he hopes to soon reach a resolution. In December, NMED levied compliance orders that included a total of $54 million in fines […]
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International
U.K. Cleanup Focus
Sellafield Workers Vote to Back Strike Action Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/24/2015 More than 1,000 Sellafield workers may strike after workers represented by the Unite union late last week voted to back industrial action. At issue is the Sellafield Contractor Group’s “refusal to allow a full time union shop steward and a more proactive […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Richland
Pencil Tanks Gone from PFP WC Monitor 4/24/2015 CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. workers have removed all the highly contaminated pencil tanks from the Plutonium Finishing Plant, a key step toward having the plant torn down to slab on grade in 2016. “This was really a significant achievement,” said Mike Swartz, vice president in charge […]
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Decommissioning
At Oak Ridge
UCOR Moving Forward K-31, K-27 Demolition Efforts WC Monitor 4/24/2015 URS-CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) has made significant progress in demolishing the K-31 Building and expects to complete the job – including the removal of the big building’s concrete pad – by November, several months ahead of schedule. More and more of the Department of Energy […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
At Idaho
Schedule Unclear for Resuming IWTU Startup Tests WC Monitor 4/24/2015 As new details have been made public on the latest set of technical issues experienced during startup efforts at the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, the Department of Energy is staying quiet on whether additional time may be needed before testing efforts can resume. The […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up
WC Monitor 4/24/2015 IN DOE The Department of Energy has extended by one week the deadline for bids for the new contract to manage Nuclear Regulatory Commission-licensed facilities at the Department’s Idaho site and in Colorado. Bids are now due by May 8, instead of April 30, under an amendment to the final Request for […]