Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

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). […]

IN DOE Parsons Government Services will pay $3.8 million to resolve claims that it intentionally charged the Department of Energy for “ineligible or inflated” personnel relocation expenses in its position as the lead builder of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site, the Department of Justice said on Wednesday. Under the […]

WC Monitor 8/28/2015 IN INDUSTRY The Honeywell Metropolis Works facility returned to full operations this week following the investigation into a uranium hexafluoride leak that occurred earlier this month. The investigation revealed that 12.04 pounds of UF6 were released as a result of the leak, which was caused by the over pressurization of a system […]

Congress was out and Washington was empty, but that didn’t stop news from breaking during our annual publication break. As chronicled in the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing, here are a few stories that we’ve been following… AECOM Acknowledges Federal Investigations at Hanford Government contractor AECOM has acknowledged several federal investigations of affiliate companies doing work […]

WC Monitor 8/28/2015 DOE Extends Comment Period for Hanford M-091 Milestone Changes The deadline for submitting comments on proposed changes to the Hanford M-091 milestones of the Tri-Party Agreement has been extended until Sept 25 at the request of stakeholders. Comments may be submitted to Kristen.Skopeck@rl.doe.gov.  The proposed new deadlines were negotiated in response to delays of shipments […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/28/2015 Hanford Site services contractor Mission Support Alliance has been sued by a former senior project manager for alleged retaliation, discrimination, and wrongful termination. The lawsuit, filed by Julie Atwood in Benton County Superior Court late last week, also names Steve Young, the MSA vice president of portfolio management and mayor of Kennewick, and […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 8/28/2015 The Department of Energy said last week it plans to issue the final request for proposals (RFP) for the operation of its depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facilities within the next two weeks. According to the announcement, the department anticipates issuing the RFP in the next 15 to 20 […]

Brian Bradley WC Monitor 8/28/2015 Although Centrus lost $30.5 million during the first six months of 2015, including $15.1 million in the second quarter, the reopening of nuclear power plants in Japan in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster provides hope for future profits. “To be sure, there’s still a long road ahead, but […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/28/2015 The Savannah River Site (SRS) this month ended an extended “safety pause” in operations of a chemical processing system that produces feedstock for the planned Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The suspension of operations began early this year following a Jan. 7 power outage at the facility. While that incident […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/28/2015 The Department of Energy is pressing a contractor to address the recent spread of strontium particles from a burial site for highly radioactive waste at the Hanford Site. A Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site report released this month said the DOE Richland Operations Office “issued a letter to the […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/28/2015 The Department of Energy needs enforceable deadlines and more requirements to hold it accountable for Hanford Site tank waste cleanup covered in the 2010 court-enforced consent decree, a federal judge has ruled. Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson of the U.S. District Court for Eastern Washington has issued her second order since the state of Washington […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/28/2015 URS Energy and Construction has agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant whistleblower Walter Tamosaitis for $4.1 million. “This sends a message to all those out there – especially the young engineers – who have integrity, are honest and have courage to hang in there that justice […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/28/2015 All indications are that safety culture at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, while not perfect, is improving, said Sean Sullivan, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board member who led a DNFSB public hearing on the matter this week.  But board Vice Chair Jessie Roberson was more critical. Numerous actions have […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/28/2015 The Department of Energy failed to meet “essential federal oversight requirements” when it issued an updated version of software used to assist the packaging and transport of radioactive materials, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board Vice Chair Jessie Roberson asserted this month. In an Aug. 10 letter to Deputy Energy Secretary […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/28/15 A team of experts found hundreds of design flaws that together could pose a serious risk to the operation of a key facility within the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site, according to a report leaked this week. “The review teams identified 362 design vulnerabilities that […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/28/2015 Up to 500 Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth employees working on the decontamination and decommissioning of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio are facing layoffs in coming weeks. The company on Wednesday sent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act notices to 1,400 employees. The notices are required 60 calendar days ahead of […]

WC Monitor 8/7/2015 Hanford Workers Test Clean After Possible Radiological Contamination Three workers appear to be in the clear following potential exposure to airborne radiological contaminants in June at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP0, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a report released this week. “Bioassay evaluations directed due to a […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/7/2015 The contractor building the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state has prepared a comprehensive but not complete analysis of possible hazards to one of the plant’s facilities, the Department of Energy’s Office of Enterprise Assessments said in a review made public on Tuesday. […]

As is our annual practice, WC Monitor is taking a summer publication break and will not publish for the next two weeks. The next regular issue will be on your desk Aug. 22. Subscribers to the Weapons Complex Morning Briefing service will receive editions twice-a-week on a Tuesday/Thursday basis during the break. In addition, we will issue a Special […]