Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 22 Newly Uncovered Changes in LANL Processes Examined in WIPP Probe
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High-Level & Tank Waste
SRS Liquid Waste Plan Delays Tank Closures 10 Years Past Milestones
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Closure of old-style high-level waste tanks at the Savannah River Site is now set to be pushed out 10 years beyond regulatory commitments due to reduced funding and delays in getting the site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility in operation, according to the latest Department of Energy liquid waste cleanup plan, […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Ports. D&D Contractor Halts NDA Program over Quality Questions
Move Could Have Impact on Waste Shipments Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Quality concerns could soon impact the ability of Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, the D&D contractor for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, to ship some waste off-site for disposal. Late last week, FBP halted its Non-Destructive Assay program after a “routine assessment” found “potential quality […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE DUF6 Project Director to Serve as Next Idaho Cleanup Chief
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Jack Zimmerman, federal project director for the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants, has been selected as DOE’s next cleanup chief for the Idaho site. Zimmerman is set to begin his new role as the DOE Idaho Operations Office’s Deputy Manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Demolition of West Valley Main Plant to Be Delayed
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Demolition of the West Valley Main Plant Process Building won’t be done by the current end of CH2M Hill B&W West Valley’s contract in 2019 as originally expected, and the contractor is working with the Department of Energy on an extension, CHBWV President Dan Coyne told WC Monitor this week. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DNFSB Raises New Questions over Startup of Idaho Waste Facility
Additional Assessment Needed Before Actual Waste is Introduced, Board Says Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/30/2014 As the Department of Energy works to get the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit fully operational, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is calling on DOE to consider performing additional assessments prior to the introduction of actual radioactive waste due […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
DOE Fills Paducah Site Lead Position
Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Jennifer Woodard has been tapped to serve as the Department of Energy’s new Paducah Site Lead, responsible for overseeing all day-to-day activities at the site, effective June 15. Woodard has been a DOE employee at Paducah for the last six years, during which she has held roles such as Federal […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DNFSB Member Stresses ‘Leadership’ in Ensuring Strong Safety Culture
Board Hears from Experts on How To Assess and Address Culture Issues Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/30/2014 As the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board begins gearing up to take a new look at whether workers across the Department of Energy complex feel safe to raise concerns, one Board member warned this week that there is […]
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International
DOE to Launch Assessment for Processing German HEU at H-Canyon
Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/30/2014 The Department of Energy said this week that it plans to prepare an environmental assessment for accepting German experimental spent fuel for processing at the Savannah River Site’s H-Canyon facility. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes in the form of graphite spheres from the pebble bed AVR […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE’s Podonsky, Moury on New Safety/Security Approach
The following interview with Glenn Podonsky, Director of the Department of Energy’s new Office of Independent Enterprise Assessments; and Matthew Moury, acting Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security, was conducted by ExchangeMonitor Publications Editor-in-Chief Mike Nartker. WC Monitor 5/30/2014 To start things off, what was the thinking behind the creation of this […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At River Protection
More Workers Report Vapor Exposure Symptoms WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Five Hanford workers experienced symptoms consistent with exposure to chemical vapors from waste tanks late this week, and one was taken to the hospital in Richland, Wash. A sixth worker who did not have symptoms also requested an evaluation at the hospital. That brings the number […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Richland
State Puts Together Priority List WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Washington state has compiled a list of the Hanford cleanup priorities it believes are urgent as Hanford officials lay out a plan for far more work than is likely to be funded. Department of Energy officials at Hanford have released a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016 […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Oak Ridge
DOE Questions How TOPS Subcontract Was Transferred WC Monitor 5/30/2014 The Department of Energy appears to have some concerns over the recent transfer of a waste-hauling subcontract from Transportation, Operations and Professional Services (TOPS), which was raided by federal law enforcement agents earlier this year, to Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based TFE Inc. When asked if DOE […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
At Portsmouth
FBP Names New Director of Planning WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, the D&D contractor for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, has named Arnie Whipple to serve as Director of Planning & Site Wide Integration, effective May 30. Whipple will replace Dennis Nixon, who is taking “early retirement,” according to a message sent to employees […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: In The Industry
WC Monitor 5/30/2014 In the Industry The American Nuclear Society has honored the five-year, billion-dollar demolition of the World War II-era K-25 uranium-enrichment facility in Oak Ridge. According to information from the Department of Energy, the project has been selected for the Project Excellence Award from the society’s Decommissioning and Environmental Services Division. The award […]