Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

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 […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 9/4/2015 Two lawsuits were filed this week against the Department of Energy and Hanford tank farm contractor Washington River Protection Solutions seeking better protection for workers from chemical vapors. The state of Washington sued in its role as regulator, and the second lawsuit was filed on behalf of workers by advocacy […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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). […]