Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/25/2015 The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is striving to fit the right type of contract onto the right remediation projects, but that does not necessarily mean fixed-price agreements that are seen as a way of saving taxpayer money, senior DOE officiald said recently. “Fixed price is not […]

Brian Bradley NS&D Monitor 9/25/2015 Former Energy Secretary and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson this week said he plans to ask political leaders from Idaho and Washington state to join him in pushing construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina. The MOX plant is to be used to process 34 metric […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 9/25/2015 The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management has awarded Los Alamos National Laboratory contractor Los Alamos National Security a one-year cost-plus-award fee “bridge” contract with a maximum value of $309.8 million and two six-month options for legacy cleanup activities at the New Mexico facility. Oversight of LANL legacy waste cleanup […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/25/2015 The Department of Energy expects to have a new contractor operating the Hanford Site’s 222-S Laboratory by Nov. 21 after starting a 60-day transition period this week. The Government Accountability Office this week denied a protest against the May award of the $44.6 million contract to Wastren Advantage of Piketon, […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/25/2015 The Hanford Advisory Board has sent a letter of congratulations to the Department of Energy on progress toward tearing down the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant. The project remains at risk of missing a Tri-Party Agreement milestone to reduce the plant to slab on grade by the end of fiscal 2016. But the state […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/25/2015 A new epidemiological study has concluded that Hanford Site workers with the greatest exposure to the metal beryllium were most likely among personnel there to develop chronic beryllium disease. Those with the disease also were more likely to have worked at Hanford earlier, concluded the study, which was conducted by […]

WC Monitor 9/25/2015 DOE Issues Request for Information for SRS Liquid Waste Contract The Department of Energy on Tuesday released a request for information/sources sought for companies interested in taking over the contract to dispose of liquid waste stored at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Savannah River Remediation’s contract for the work is […]

WC Monitor 9/25/2015 The Energy Department on Monday said it has named three new members to serve on its Oak Ridge Environmental Management advisory board for two-year terms. The new members of the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board (ORSSAB) are Martha Deaderick, a retired teacher from Kingston, Tenn., who worked for the Oak Ridge […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/18/2015 Two more workers on remediation of the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) underwent decontamination last month after coming into contact with radiological particles, according to the latest Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report. Both events occurred during the continuing effort to reduce the size of the HC-9B […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The Department of Energy will no longer provide funding for Centrus’ American Centrifuge project operations at its Piketon, Ohio facility, the company confirmed late last week. The announcement also noted a one-year extension funding for the American Centrifuge project’s research and development contract with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The Department of Energy and state of Washington’s proposed new Tri-Party Agreement milestones for cleanup of solid waste at the Hanford Site may not be realistic, say critics of the proposal. The state of Oregon has sent a letter to DOE and Washington saying deferring much of the work to […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/18/2015 A renewed emphasis is being placed on technology development for Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management projects, Monica Regalbuto said during her first visit to Hanford after being confirmed as the new assistant DOE secretary for environmental management. The projects have reaped benefits from significant past investments in technology […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The contract operator of the Savannah River Site (SRS) has instituted a company-wide suspension of nonessential nuclear and non-nuclear operations following a breach of safety protocols in management of plutonium used in the facility’s HB Line. The HB Line is a unique chemical processing system that works with plutonium in […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Field Office at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is staffing up and taking other steps to ultimately assume full oversight of legacy waste cleanup operations at the New Mexico Facility, a senior DOE official said last week. The EM office was established last […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is taking steps to address materials-at-risk (MAR) concerns to resume transuranic (TRU) waste receipts at its Area G nuclear waste disposal site, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) site representative report released last week. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management officials […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 9/18/2015 The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board announced this week that it will more closely examine the technical and scientific issues associated with the Department of Energy’s planned use of deep boreholes to dispose of some radioactive wastes. The NWTRB will hold a workshop on Oct. 20 and 21 that […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/18/2015 Switzerland has sent 2.2 kilograms of weapon-grade uranium reactor fuel to the United States for storage, the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration said on Wednesday. The shipment makes Switzerland the 27th country, plus Taiwan, to divest itself of all highly enriched uranium, according to an NNSA press release. […]

WC Monitor 9/18/2015 DOE Extends Paducah Site Support Services Contract  The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) on Tuesday announced a 2.5-month extension of Swift & Staley’s (SSI) contract for infrastructure support services at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky. The contract had previously been due to lapse on Sept. 15. "Today’s contract […]

WC Monitor 9/18/2015 WRPS President Announces Retirement Dave Olson, the president of Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), announced his retirement Thursday and will be replaced by the Hanford Site contractor’s chief operating officer. Mark Lindholm will take over leadership Oct. 1, after having worked at WRPS, Hanford’s tank farm contractor, since January. As chief operating […]

WC Monitor 9/18/2015 IN THE INDUSTRY The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has scheduled its next business opportunity forum for 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Oct. 1., at the Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Ave. SW in Washington, D.C. “Topics will include a discussion on status of ongoing and upcoming procurement opportunities” with the […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/11/2015 External events and natural phenomena, including severe earthquakes, fires, and extended loss of power, pose some of the greatest risk at the Hanford Site, according to an interim report on a risk review project for the site. The interim report, prepared by the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, NV.  – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) can be completed by the target date of 2025. The UPF is part of broader plans for the modernization of the Y-12, and is intended to replace the existing […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/11/2015 SUMMERLIN, NV – As it strives to reopen the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy is also taking steps to prevent nuclear waste containers from causing another incident like the one that has shut down the underground storage facility, a senior DOE official said on Thursday. “Not only […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 9/12/2015 The Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has voluntarily acknowledged that it had breached the terms of its hazardous waste permit with the state of New Mexico. Laboratory Director Charles McMillan and National Nuclear Security Administration Los Alamos Field Office Manager Kimberly Davis Lebak noted multiple “instances of […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 9/11/2015 In the past year, the Energy Department’s Office of Science and Stanford University have completed the research phases of two contrasting pilot programs aimed at revamping the national laboratory contracting structure, and two sites will soon conduct real-life tests of the final concepts, DOE officials said this week. SLAC National […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 9/11/2015 The Department of Energy’s (DOE) mismanagement of email records, which has “remained largely unresolved” since a 2010 review first identified recordkeeping problems, "could significantly impact [DOE’s] ability to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests, ongoing litigation, or law enforcement efforts,” the DOE Inspector General (IG) said in a report […]

Washington to Remove Section of Hanford Site From Hazardous Sites List A section of the Hanford Site will be removed from the state of Washington’s Hazardous Sites List for the first time, pending completion of a public comment period.  “This will basically take it off the books,” said Jane Hedges, manager of the state Department […]

WC Monitor 9/11/2015  IN INDUSTRY Centrus Energy has notified about 380 American Centrifuge workers that layoffs could be coming in a couple months. The company, which heads the uranium enrichment project, emphasized that the notices don’t necessarily mean layoffs are sure to happen but are necessary to comply with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification […]