Weapons Complex Vol. 26 Issue 33 DOE Faces Two Lawsuits Over Hanford Tank Farm Vapors
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP Reopening Must Be DOE Priority, Rep. Fleischmann Says
Jeremy L. Dillon RW Monitor 9/4/2015 The reopening of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant should be the Department of Energy’s main nuclear waste cleanup concern, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) said recently. The transuranic waste repository has been closed to new shipments since a fire and subsequent radiation release in February 2014. DOE announced last month […]
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Transuranic Waste
New Draft WIPP Restart Plan Expected at DOE
Chris Schneidmiller WCM Monitor 9/4/2015 Department of Energy officials said early this week that the manager of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was expected within a matter of days to submit a new draft schedule and funding requirement to resume storage operations at the New Mexico facility. As of Friday morning, there was no formal […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Governors Blast Report on Environmental Management Risk
Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/4/2015 The governors of Washington and Oregon are asking Congress not to proceed with recommendations in a report on environmental management risk ordered by the last federal omnibus appropriations bill. The recommendations would substantially reduce states’ authority over environmental cleanup projects, including taking away the right to have disputes over missed […]
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Decommissioning
Ohio Officials Push Back Against Portsmouth Layoffs
Chris Schneidmiller WCM Monitor 9/4/2015 Local officials in Ohio and their congressional representatives are campaigning to persuade the Department of Energy to provide the funding needed to prevent hundreds of layoffs at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup site. Fluor-BWXT said last week that a budget shortfall of up to $81 million in fiscal 2016 […]
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Decommissioning
Pace Picks Up on K-27 Building Pre-Demolition Work
Staff Reports WCM Monitor 9/4/2015 URS/CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR), the Department of Energy’s cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, is stepping up the pace of pre-demolition activities at the K-27 building – the last of five gaseous diffusion plants slated for demolition at a former uranium enrichment site. UCOR confirmed that it has begun removing the […]
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National Laboratories
DNFSB Questions INL Earthquake Threat Analysis Planning
Chris Schneidmiller WCM Monitor 9/4/2015 The Idaho National Laboratory needs a more stringent approach to determine whether it must update its assessment of the potential threat posed by earthquakes to the facility, the head of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a letter this week to the Department of Energy. Department rules mandate […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Richland
Contamination Incidents Reported During Hanford Plant Cleanup Void limits for radiological work permits for the ongoing remediation of the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) were breached on two occasions in early August, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this week. One case involved damage to ductwork that led […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Oak Ridge
Worker Exposed to Contamination at Oak Ridge TWPC At least one worker at the Oak Ridge Transuranic Waste Processing Center appeared to be exposed to radiological contamination during an incident in July, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report released this week. The July 31 document said the incident occurred “late […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
At Savannah River
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Selects New COO The management contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site on Tuesday announced the selection of a new chief operations officer and executive vice president. Dave Eyler takes over for Fred Dohse, who earlier this summer announced that he would retire from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up
IN DOE Parsons Government Services will pay $3.8 million to resolve claims that it intentionally charged the Department of Energy for “ineligible or inflated” personnel relocation expenses in its position as the lead builder of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Under the […]