Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

WC Monitor 8/7/2015 Saltstone Operations Resume The Savannah River Site’s Saltstone facilities resumed operation in June after a suspension forced when elevated levels of mercury were detected in tank waste salt streams, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board report released this week. “Following DOE’s approval of the Evaluation of the Safety of the […]

WC Monitor 8/7/2015 DOE Extending BWXT Uranium Conversion Contract The Department of Energy on Wednesday said it would extend by nine months BWXT Conversion Services’ contract to operate depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion plants in Paducah, Ky., and Portsmouth, Ohio. “The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Portsmouth/Portsmouth Project Office (PPPO), intends to issue a noncompetitive […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 8/07/2015 A senior fuel facility inspector from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is expected this weekend to complete a weeklong assessment of the uranium hexafluoride (UF6) leak that occurred during maintenance activities at the Honeywell Metropolis Works facility in Illinois last Saturday. The amount of UF6 that leaked from a valve […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 8/7/2015 The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup chief responded to the state of Tennessee’s concerns about reduced funding for Oak Ridge Reservation environmental projects and said they shared common interests, but he didn’t make any promises about future budgets or address the state’s specific concerns about funding trends. Mark Whitney, DOE’s […]

Chris Schneidmiller and Lance Moore WC Monitor 8/7/2015 The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Monica Regalbuto as the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for environmental management. The DOE veteran will lead the office tasked with managing the cleanup of U.S. nuclear arms operations and government-supported atomic energy activities. She most recently served as associate principal deputy […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 8/7/2015 The Department of Energy said this week that faulty equipment and other challenges had forced it to delay the resumption of nuclear waste intake at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. The underground storage facility has not accepted shipments of transuranic nuclear waste since a Feb. 5, 2014, […]

Brian Bradley  WC Monitor  8/7/2015 The Energy Department has extended its deadline for the red team reviewing options for disposal of tons of U.S. plutonium to report its findings to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz from Aug. 10 to Aug. 17, an NNSA official told WC Monitor yesterday. “[I]t was done to ensure that the red team […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 7/31/2015 The Department of Energy on Thursday said it had reached agreement with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) on a plan for demolition of the process buildings and other structures at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site (PORTS). The buildings will be destroyed as part of the decontamination and […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 07/31/2015 The Department of Energy has carried out nearly all commitments made in 2011 to strengthen the “nuclear safety culture” for the still-unfinished Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Washington state and the broader DOE defense nuclear enterprise, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 7/31/2015 The state of Tennessee has raised concerns about the Department of Energy’s future cleanup funding for the Oak Ridge Reservation and says if things don’t change it may be forced to take actions – such as installing more legally enforceable milestones – to get the cleanup done in a timely […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 07/31/2015 The Department of Energy and state of Washington have reached agreement on proposed new Tri-Party Agreement milestones for solid waste stored at the Hanford Site. The Tri-Party Agreement agencies will consider adopting the changes after a public meeting and public comment period. Following revisions five years ago, DOE has asked […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 7/31/2015 The Energy Department’s Los Alamos Field Office in New Mexico has finished removal of mercury-tainted soil from the side of a canyon located on DOE land, the department’s Office of Environmental Management said on Tuesday. “We are committed to reducing the Laboratory’s historical footprint and intend to continue to make […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 7/31/2015 Bechtel National in June agreed to pay $800,000 and take additional steps rather than face possible enforcement action by the Department of Energy over quality-assurance problems and other shortcomings in the contractor’s construction of the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). The consent order between DOE and Bechtel […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 7/31/2015 Completion of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site is well ahead of schedule, according to Parsons Corp., the Department of Energy contractor tasked with making the SWPF fully operational. The company expects to finish work ahead of the mandated deadline of Dec. 31, 2016. The […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 07/31/2015 The Washington state Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of Bartlett Services and ELR Consulting in a case that alleged negligence in a worker’s 50-foot fall from a catwalk in the Hanford Site’s 300 Area in 2009. The case hinged on the practice of staff augmentation subcontracting and who […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The Department of Energy late last week announced a six-month extension of the infrastructure support services contract at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio. Current contractor Wastren-EnergX Mission Support will continue to work the contact that had originally been set to expire on July 25. The extension is […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 7/24/2015 A Department of Energy office incorrectly allowed the managing contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to reallocate funds from one cleanup project to three others in violation of federal directives, according to a DOE Inspector General’s Office report released on Wednesday. The report also found that contractor […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The selection of Douglas E. Hintze as the permanent manager of the new Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) Los Alamos Field Office has paved the way for a more fluid transition of responsibilities for the remaining legacy cleanup at the facility from the DOE’s National Nuclear Security […]

Lance Moore WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The Senate has put an indefinite hold on the confirmations of former Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) Vice Chair Jessie Roberson to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and two other nominations for the DNFSB . These delays mean both the NRC and the DNFSB must await Senate action on […]

Chris Schneidmiller WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The operator of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico is increasing the number of workers allowed in the underground section at any one time to support efforts to bring the transuranic waste storage facility back online following the fire and radiation release that occurred separately in February […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The Energy Department’s Office of Enterprise Assessments’ Office of Enforcement announced this week that it would launch an investigation into an incident in which two workers were exposed to a potassium hydroxide spill at the Portsmouth DUF6 Conversion Plant earlier this year. According to a letter to operating contractor […]

WC Monitor 7/24/2015 Bidding Opens for Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Management Contract The Department of Energy on Wednesday released its request for proposals for the management contract at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) in Tennessee. The new management contract will be a cost-plus-award-fee deal. It will have a […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 7/24/2015 The federal judge hearing the Hanford consent decree case will appoint an expert panel to help her sort through technical issues on the legal battle pitting the state of Washington against the Department of Energy. After hearing arguments Thursday in Eastern Washington District U.S. Court, Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson said […]

WC Monitor 7/24/2015 IN THE STATES The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection last week issued a request for public comment on the draft permit for the U.S. Department of Energy’s waste disposal facilities at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS). The permit would cover four hazardous waste management units owned by the Department of Energy. […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 7/17/2015 Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is seeking subcontractors to aid in decontamination efforts that result in reducing the waste classification of certain components, according to a sources sought notice issued this week on FedBizOpps. The aim of the contract is to reduce transuranic contaminated material down to a low-level […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 7/17/2015 Last month’s award of a new contract to manage the Department of Energy’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge has been challenged by three of the unsuccessful bidders. DOE earlier said seven proposals were submitted for the $123.9 million contract, which was awarded to North Wind Solutions LLC. According […]