Publications: ExchangeMonitor Morning Briefing

The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management plans to hold virtual meetings next month on the draft solicitation for the new cleanup contract at the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. In a notice Monday, the agency said it has scheduled a pre-solicitation conference and individual sessions with potential vendors for Sept. 8 to 10, along […]

If the New START nuclear arms-limitation treaty expires in February, and the United States decides to boost its deployed nuclear weapons, the Department of Energy could face billions of dollars in one-time and recurring costs, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday. While the study, “The Potential Costs of Expanding U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces If the […]

Thirteen nuclear power reactors were permanently retired in 2019, including two in the United States, according to an industry performance report issued Tuesday by the World Nuclear Association. “This is the joint second highest number of reactors shut down in a single year,” the report says. “However, for the majority of these reactors, 2019 was […]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has begun procurement for a contractor to help prepare for a major cleanup job at the Niagara Falls Storage Site in New York state under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). The Army branch ultimately intends to hire an architectural and engineering services provider for the […]

The Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., is set to reopen its Innovation Parkway Office Center on Tuesday, following a deep cleaning necessitated by a COVID-19 case on-site. After announcing confirmation Friday that an individual working in the building had caught the viral disease caused by the novel coronavirus, Sandia diverted anyone needing badging to […]

The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management is beginning market research for a new cleanup contract for its portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The nuclear environmental office on Thursday issued its request for information/sources sought notice for remediation of the Energy Technology Engineering Center. The current ETEC contract, held by North […]

Although the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to replace Consolidated Nuclear Security as the manager of the Y-12 National Security Site in Tennessee and the Pantex Plant in Texas, the incumbent will stay on at Y-12 to continue building the new factory for nuclear-weapon secondary stages. “The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) project will continue […]

Attorneys for the former Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist due to be sentenced this week for lying to federal authorities about his connection to a Chinese talent-recruiting program asked for only fines and probation for their client, according to a long-awaited sentencing memo. Turab Lookman, indicted in May 2019 on three counts of lying to […]

Fluor has sold its construction equipment rental business in the Caribbean for $22 million. The assets of AMECO Caribbean are now almost fully owned by to Stewart’s Automotive Group, Fluor said in an Aug. 17 press release. The remaining assets of the AMECO equipment rental in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle […]

The head of the nuclear and environment business unit for Maryland-based Amentum has been deemed a public sector “leader to watch” in the during 2020, by a website for executives. Mark Whitney, executive vice president and general manager for Amentum’s Nuclear & Environment Strategic Business Unit, was featured in an Aug. 19 article by WashingtonExec.com. […]

Idaho National Laboratory Director Mark Peters is preparing to leave his current post after nearly five years to become executive vice president for laboratory operations at Battelle. Battelle Energy Alliance is the management and operations contractor for INL. In his new job, Peters will work with all DOE national laboratories in Battelle’s portfolio – which […]

The Energy Department’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina as of Friday confirmed a total of 406 cases of COVID-19 among its workforce. Of those, 308 workers have recovered and been cleared to return to work, according to the weekly online update from DOE’s operations office at Savannah River. The total confirmed cases at SRS […]

Recoveries handily outpaced new cases of COVID-19 at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) last week, as the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency confirmed 107 active cases of the viral disease among its civil servant and contractor employees. That was 53 fewer active cases than the week before, an agency spokesperson told Weapons Complex […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will name its under-construction Albuquerque headquarters building after the late John Gordon, the former agency administrator who died early this year. Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the current administrator of the semiautonomous Department of Energy nuclear weapons agency, announced the decision Friday. The building’s official name will be the John A. Gordon […]

Stakeholders in the United Kingdom have another 11 weeks to provide input on the latest version of the strategic plan for cleanup of nuclear sites managed by the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). The agency on Aug. 17 issued the fourth iteration of its draft strategy, starting the clock on a 12-week comment period. The […]

A report from the University of New Mexico concludes the Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in recent years was worth more than $3.1 billion to the state, although the economic benefit is concentrated in a few counties. A summary of the report was presented Friday to the Regional Coalition of LANL Communities (RCLC) by […]

Decommissioning contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) are readying for removal of large components from the plant’s two reactors, according to an update last week. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) laid out its decommissioning schedule during a meeting Thursday of the site’s Community Engagement Panel. Right now, SCE and its […]

Over 70 former Republican national security officials have endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden for president, calling Donald Trump “dangerously unfit to serve another term.” The group includes several former members of the Trump administration, such as Miles Taylor, who served as the Department of Homeland Security chief of staff, and Elizabeth Neumann, who was DHS […]

The Energy Department has given its blessing for operations to start at the long-awaited Salt Waste Processing Facility (SPFF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. In a press release Tuesday, the DOE Office of Environmental Management announced issuance of critical decision 4 (CD-4) and authorization to operate. The CD-4 basically means a project […]

Nobody is planning to put a hypersonic glide vehicle on the next U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile, but that doesn’t mean it could never happen, according to careful statements Wednesday by the Air Force general who advises the service’s leadership about nuclear weapons. The Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), silo-based missiles slated to replace the Minuteman III […]

FirstEnergy Corp. faces at least eight class action lawsuits from stockholders and ratepayers, as well as possible legal action from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, regarding an alleged $60 million bribery scheme to keep two of the power company’s nuclear plants operating, according to a filing Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All […]

Assistant Energy Secretary for Nuclear Energy Rita Baranwal on Tuesday warned of the potential risks of closing the sole remaining operational nuclear power plant in California, in light of the state’s blackouts during a current heat wave. “Keeping SONGS on line could have prevented some of California’s current blackouts,” Baranwal tweeted, referring to the retired […]

The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 23 shipments of transuranic waste in July, bringing the total to 109 for the first seven months of 2020. That is down significantly from 194 recorded during the first seven months of 2019. Nuclear Waste Partnership, the Amentum-led prime contractor for the underground […]

A Washington state law that makes it easier for workers at the Energy Department’s Hanford Site to qualify for certain compensation benefits has been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced in a press release Wednesday that a three-judge panel for the Ninth Circuit unanimously […]

Florida’s Public Service Commission on Tuesday provided the last regulatory approval needed for expedited decommissioning of the retired Crystal River nuclear power plant. Following a 14-month review, the five-member panel signed off on the decommissioning plan. Facility owner Duke Energy aims in October to seal a contract with Accelerated Decommissioning Partners to complete the cleanup […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it will dispatch a radiation-sniffing helicopter to the skies of Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the 2020 Republican National Convention scheduled there next week. A twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter, rigged with passive radiation-sensing instruments, “will conduct low-altitude helicopter flights over downtown Charlotte and areas in and around Yorkmount […]

Comments are due Sept. 17 on the draft request for proposals (RFP) for a new remediation contract potentially worth $8.3 billion for the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The DOE Office of Environmental Management on Tuesday issued the draft RFP for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a 10-year ordering period. The Energy Department […]