Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is looking at using a major facility at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory for treatment of some of NNSA’s future waste streams, according to a safety board report. On Feb. 17, NNSA and members of the Amentum-led environmental cleanup contractor for Idaho National Laboratory met “to discuss […]

The Department of Energy and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory have now solidified a third of the high-level sodium-bearing radioactive waste at the site, DOE said Tuesday. According to a press release from DOE’s Office of Environmental Management  and Amentum-led Idaho Environmental Coalition, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has processed about […]

The first phase of relocating Department of Energy’s headquarters staff to a new location in Washington, D.C., could get started by the end of 2026, although it might not be finished until early 2028, a source said this week. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told a staff town hall-style meeting Wednesday April 1 the department […]

While the United Steel Workers (USW) union supports advanced nuclear projects for its members, it wants to ensure that employee health and safety remain protected at advanced reactor projects That’s the gist of supplemental comments filed with the Department of Energy in March by the union. “USW represents workers across the Department of Energy nuclear […]

The Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., intends to issue a sole source contract to Mercia Advisors, LLC for Highly Specialized Strategic Budgeting and Congressional Liaison Support Services, according to a March 27 procurement notice. DOE’s Hanford Field Office intends to retain the firm’s services for up to one year without going […]

The Department of Energy will relocate its Washington, D.C. headquarters from the James V. Forrestal Building to the Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) building, which currently houses the Department of Education. That is according to a Thursday announcement from DOE and the General Services Administration. The Education Department, which has undergone significant cuts under the Donald […]

The Department of Energy’s Northern New Mexico Site-Specific Advisory Board heard March 19 DOE is facing $16 million in potential civil penalties for multiple violations assessed under a February compliance order from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) that proposes. The fines were assessed by the state under a Feb. 11 administrative compliance order partly […]

The Department of Energy’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) on Wednesday released its final site-wide environmental impact statement and its record of decision to implement an “expanded operations alternative” at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. “Expanded operations” means exactly what it sounds like: all activities at Los Alamos will continue as they […]

Knoxville-based Professional Project Services (Pro2Serve) is now a 100% employee-owned company, the Department of Energy contractor said in a Monday news release. In addition to reaching the 100% staff-owned milestone, through its Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Pro2Serve also announced some newly appointed board members. Every employee can own a stake in Pro2Serve by participating in […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office is on track for substantial completion of its liquid waste mission at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina by 2037  if sufficient funding is authorized, the local field office boss said Tuesday. On March 5, high-level radioactive tank 14 “achieved preliminary cease waste removal status” on March […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — While Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), is unenthused about the Department of Energy’s interest in rebranding its Office of Environmental Management (EM), Rep Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) is fine with the idea. Exchange Monitor asked both DOE weapons complex lawmakers about their thoughts on the issue this week between Congressional hearings.  “What they […]

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Energy, with help from Congress, could save billions of dollars over time by clarifying how high-level radioactive waste (HLW) is defined in statute. While this is a longstanding issue, GAO urged Congress to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission of experts to tackle the matter, in […]

Uranium production is ramping up at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site (SRS), with plans to produce nearly 23 metric tons of high-level uranium for fuel production,and other purposes for the DOE nuclear complex. That was the message that the SRS Citizens Advisory Board heard Tuesday during the panel’s regular bimonthly meeting at the […]

The org chart is in flux at the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos National Laboratory field office where Jessica Kunkle will be rotating out to fill another supervisory role within DOE, the Northern New Mexico Site-Specific Advisory Board heard Thursday evening. Stanley Pyram, previously chief engineer at the Savannah River Site in South […]

PHOENIX – The chair of an industry working group on waste management hopes sponsors of new nuclear projects will soon start sharing details on how they plan to deal with the resulting waste. “We have got SMRs [small modular reactors] … popping up, micro reactors, uranium enrichment, spent fuel recycle, “ said Firewater President and […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States needs to reestablish a robust domestic uranium enrichment program in order to meet future nuclear goals, Department of Energy Assistant Secretary of Nuclear Energy Ted Garrish said here Thursday. “When I first came onboard, I recognized this really is the biggest risk to the nuclear industry,” Garrish said of […]

PHOENIX – The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) will be recouping some of its lost staff positions, developing power plans for its nuclear sites, all while seeking to speed nuclear remediation, Tim Walsh said here last week. At the Waste Management Symposia last week in Phoenix, Walsh, the DOE assistant secretary for […]

Citizen groups that are frequent critics of the Department of Energy nuclear weapons complex greeted news of a possible name change for the DOE Office of Environmental Management with a shrug. DOE Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management Tim Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix last week that EM could soon be rebranded  as […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., has completed an annual maintenance outage that started in January, while managers plan an even longer one next year.  The outage that ran from Jan. 5 through March 13 is finished and the underground disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste is once again […]

The Donald Trump administration made it official Friday morning, announcing the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio has been selected for a multi-billion-dollar data center and power project thanks to a public-private-partnership agreement. In addition to the federal government, the partnership includes SoftBank and AEP Ohio, an American Electric Power company, DOE said in […]

The Department of Energy is inviting teams from national laboratories, domestic industry, and universities to submit proposals as part of a $293-million requisition for application (RFA) being issued as part of the Genesis Mission. DOE said in a Tuesday press release it is inviting submissions for “The Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI […]

The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has released over 700 acres in a land transfer to support economic and energy development.  Oak Ridge said in its Monday press release that this is the office’s largest land transfer to date. The latest transfer includes two parcels from DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation: Self-Sufficiency […]

March 11 marked the 15th anniversary of the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami that caused the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to melt down.  In the aftermath of the Fukushima accident, Japan temporarily shut down all 54 of its commercial reactors. Since then, several of the reactors have been permanently shut down and are […]

 The annual outage at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico could end in the coming week, following significant replacement work and upgrades to infrastructure that a watchdog deemed “substandard or inadequate.”  “The annual winter maintenance outage began on Jan. 5 this year and is scheduled to end in mid-March, […]

PHOENIX — David Brunnert, the new chief operating officer at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, will focus much of his attention on the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Waste Management Symposia heard hear Monday. “He and I served in the first Gulf War together,” the head of Environmental Management (EM) Tim […]

PHOENIX – One year after organizers of the Waste Management Symposia experienced a slew of last minute attendee cancellations sparked by federal layoffs the annual gathering here in Downtown Phoenix seemed to enjoy a comeback. During the Monday keynote session, Fluor executive and Waste Management official Greg Meyer announced this year’s attendance was 2,800. That’s […]

PHOENIX — A Finland nuclear regulatory company official kicked off the 52nd Waste Management Symposia here Monday saying Finland’s reliance on “high-level expertise” is a reason a deep underground repository for spent fuel is expected to open there. Construction of the project in southwestern Finland began more than two decades ago. And the facility should […]