Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

Robert (Bob) Wilkinson started his new job this week as president and project manager of the Amentum-led solid-waste prime at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. Wilkinson, previously president of Leidos-led Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, is succeeding John Eschenberg atop Amentum-led Central Plateau Cleanup Company, which also includes Fluor and Atkins. Wilkinson’s […]

Editor’s note: the election digest tracks lawmakers whose constituencies include Department of Energy nuclear sites or civilian nuclear reactors that are being decommissioned. Most lawmakers with big nuclear constituencies look, as usual, safe to win reelection this November. However, a few are retiring and some are in tight races. The Exchange Monitor’s election digest is […]

Virginia-based Amentum recently hired Nathan Rutledge for its newly-created position of senior vice president and head of investor relations. Rutledge will lead investor relations activity connected with Amentum’s announced merger with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses, according to a July 2  press release. The new blended company will be publicly traded. […]

A half-dozen Department of Energy nuclear sites are being honored by the Global Electronics Council for 2023 purchases that resulted in carbon dioxide emission reductions equal to removing 121,000 cars off the road for a year, according to a DOE press release. The Hanford Site in Washington state, the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action […]

Jennifer Macy took over as the leader of Merrick & Co.’s nuclear services and technology division on April 1, the company announced this week. Macy has 30 years of experience at various Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration sites, Merrick said in a press release. She replaced Scott Gustafson, who had led the […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site near Richland, Wash., is having a second straight week of daytime highs in the triple digits as several weapons complex sites are enduring extreme weather this week. The Hanford high Wednesday was expected to hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit and site highs could stay at 100 degrees or above through […]

The Township of Ignace last week formally told the Canadian Nuclear Waste Management Organization that it is a willing host community for a nuclear waste repository for which the agency planned to select a site this year. The township in Ontario, the province where Canada is considering building the repository, announced the decision in a […]

The United States should get ready to again test nuclear weapons at the Nevada National Security Site if former President Donald Trump (R) wins reelection in November, according to conservative policy document released last week. In a list of “needed reforms,” Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, a conservative policy blueprint written by former Trump administration […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 64 shipments of transuranic waste during June, according to DOE’s public website. The Idaho National Laboratory was as usual the top generator, sending 50 shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Meanwhile eight shipments of defense-related transuranic waste came to WIPP from […]

Two members of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on Monday praised Senate confirmation of a third, putting the board back at a quorum but two members short of a full roster. “We look forward to her arrival,” Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Chair Joyce Connery and vice chair Thomas Summers said in a […]

Should former President Donald Trump win a second term, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management could speed cleanup through expanded use of both commercial nuclear waste disposal sites and a high-level waste reinterpretation, according to a conservative Republican policy document. The GOP convened its national convention in Milwaukee Monday. Along with Saturday’s unsuccessful […]

An amendment that would prohibit defunding high explosive production at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, would be considered next week by the House Rules Committee as part of the 2025 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), whose district includes the Pantex Plant that services all U.S. nuclear […]

Prime contractor Northrop Grumman will continue its work on the Air Force’s nuclear-tipped, silo-based LGM-35A Sentinel missile as the service and Pentagon acquisition chief William LaPlante consider how to restructure the program, an Air Force official said Monday. “Work can still continue under the contract that exists today,” Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, the Air Force’s […]

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) wants to amend the House Appropriations Committee’s 2025 energy and water bill to strip out a GOP provision to zero-fund the Department of Energy’s Justice40 Initiative. Stansbury, whose district includes Albuquerque, filed an amendment with the House Rules Commitment to strike part of the bill that prohibits funds from being used […]

A federal judge in Washington won’t expedite a collective bargain action brought by the Hanford Guards Union until Department of Energy contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions has a chance to answer the union’s complaint. Chief U.S. District Judge Stanley Bastian on July 11 ruled against the Hanford Guards Union Local 21 request to expedite the […]

Congress need not authorize every interim storage site for nuclear waste and an appeals court’s decision that it must destroyed long-held expectations, a nuclear-industry trade group said in a Friday filing with the U.S. Supreme Court. A 2023 ruling by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that outlawed commercial interim storage licensed by the […]

As is often the case, the Senate Armed Service Committee is using a must-pass defense policy bill to have a congressional watchdog delve into issues facing the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons cleanup complex. Based on the bill report, here is a summary of what Senate Armed Services wants the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to […]

Several members of the New Mexico congressional delegation used an opinion column in a state newspaper to continue calling for extending and expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. A bill to do exactly that has passed the Senate but awaits action in the House of Representatives. “The version of [the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act] RECA […]

Here are some events related to civilian nuclear matters that Exchange Monitor staff are tracking this week. 17: Public meeting, comment gathering, Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff: to clarify or supplement the March 4, 2024, 10 CFR 2.206 petition regarding a seismically initiated severe accident at Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant. 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Members […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission planned Thursday evening to hold a public meeting in Benton Harbor, Mich., to discuss its pending environmental review of Holtec International’s plan to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant.  The hybrid meeting will be webcast from Lake Michigan College’s Mendel Center beginning at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time, according to NRC’s website. […]

The Amentum-Atkins partnership in charge of radioactive tank waste operations at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is shopping for a small business to assist with regulatory documents and closure plans for single-shell tank farms. Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) issued a request for proposals in an online notice Tuesday for a […]

Department of Energy contractors should consider requiring “diversity training” when developing diversity plans, according to the latest version of its acquisition guide, published this week. That’s despite recent pushback by Republican House appropriators. Diversity plans were already required by DOE’s acquisition regulation. The changes published this week, dated June 2024, ratchet up requirements to monitor […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the Government Accountability Office to examine the culture and workings of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, according to a bill report the committee published this week. “Recent assessments from the National Academy of Public Administration and from the Office of the Inspector General for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission […]

The Senate Armed Services Committee wants the secretaries of energy and defense to brief Congress if either plans an alternative to the W80-4 warhead for a nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missile, according to a draft National Defense Authorization Act released Monday. The briefing would have to detail the benefits and cost expectations of any alternative, according […]