Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Hearing First in Congress Since WIPP Events Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/19/2015 Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations called for Department of Energy oversight reform late last week after issues came to light following the February 2014 radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The hearing marks the […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration have agreed to perform a joint review requested by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board on safety issues at DOE nuclear facilities, according to a letter sent to the DNFSB last week by NNSA Administrator Frank Klotz. The DNFSB proposed in […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 6/19/2015 Following the Babcock & Wilcox Company spin-off that will separate the power generation business unit from the rest of the company as of July 1, the newly renamed BWX Technologies shared the procurements and contract extensions it is focusing on in a presentation given during Investor and Analyst Day this […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy this week awarded the contract for infrastructure support services at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to incumbent Swift & Staley. The largely firm-fixed-price contract has a three month base period with a 22-month option period. The follow-on contract was set-aside for small businesses, with a size […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 6/19/2015 Studsvik and AECOM have separated their partnership in the THOR Treatment Technologies joint venture, the company announced this week. The two companies had worked together for 13 years, but Studsvik President Howard Stevens said it believes the technology and the company can stand on its own. “There are several […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy late last week awarded a nearly $4 million firm fixed price contract to CTI and Associates for demolition services at Oak Ridge’s K-732 switchyard in the East Tennessee Technology Park. The contract for the minority owned business falls under the 8(a) program. The contract also includes […]

Hanford ORP Tank Farm Work Slows WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The gear that is protecting Hanford tank farm workers from chemical vapors also is significantly slowing work, according to documents filed in Eastern Washington District Federal Court. A Department of Energy analysis found that the reduction in efficiency ranges from 30 to 70 percent, with an […]

Hanford Advisory Board Concerned About Future Budgets for Richland WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Hanford Advisory Board is concerned that the Department of Energy is planning to significantly underfund Hanford cleanup in budgets currently under development, the Board said in advice to DOE and Hanford regulators. The board acknowledged that after years of budgets that failed […]

Sewage Treatment Plant Cleanup Progressing WC Monitor 6/19/2015 The Department of Energy-funded cleanup of an Oak Ridge sewage treatment plant is continuing, with no immediate end in sight. The Rarity Ridge facility became contaminated early last year – and possibly even earlier – when radioactive technetium seeped from the K-25 demolition project and ultimately infiltrated […]

IN DOE The Department of Energy has named retired Air Force Col. Barton Barnhart as the Office of Environmental Management’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget, effective this week. The position was previously held in an acting capacity by Connie Flohr. “His previous positions included serving as Director of Installations at the U.S. […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The Department of Energy should implement external reviews to help resolve disputes with regulators at the Paducah site to avoid delays and cost increases for cleanup work, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report released this week. Numerous issues have delayed completion of the C-400 groundwater cleanup project, […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is on track to release in the coming weeks its plans for new cleanup procurements at Los Alamos National Laboratory, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Jack Surash said at a Business Opportunity Forum EM held this week. DOE […]

WRPS Reaches Settlement With Whistleblower WC Monitor 6/12/2015 A settlement agreement has been reached between Hanford whistleblower Shelly Doss, a former environmental specialist at the tank farms, and Washington River Protection Solutions. Neither side has revealed the details of the settlement, which was approved by administrative law Judge Scott Morris of the U.S. Department of […]

DOE, Contractor, Expect Work to Fully Resume in ‘Early’ Summer Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/12/2015 Some design-related activities have been suspended at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant after the Department of Energy raised concerns with procedures developed by project contractor Bechtel National. The suspended activities include “work related to nuclear criticality safety design” and “nuclear […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 A fee-related provision that has raised industry concern in the draft Request for Proposals for the new contract to operate the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants has been taken “out of context,” a DOE procurement official said this week. At issue is a clause in […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 Amid pressure from lawmakers and reports regarding the huge amount of excess facilities awaiting transfer to the Department of Energy’s cleanup program, a DOE working group on the issue expects to complete a comprehensive report by the end of the year, officials said this month. The Energy Secretary’s office formed […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 Noting the “unprecedented” amount of Department of Energy procurements scheduled in the next few years, a recent report by the Energy Communities Alliance is urging a discussion with DOE on potential changes to its contracting policies and processes. The report notes that at least 17 major DOE contracts could expire […]

Alissa Tabirian WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The split of Babcock & Wilcox into two separate companies will go into effect July 1, B&W announced this week. The split will result in the creation of BWX Technologies, which will consist of B&W’s nuclear operations, technical services, nuclear energy, and mPower businesses; and Babcock & Wilcox, which will […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 The proposed shipment of a batch of German highly enriched uranium to the Savannah River Site would violate both German and European law, according to a complaint Greenpeace Germany filed this week with the European Commission attempting to stop the plan. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/12/2015 After delays and cost increases at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant were highlighted last fall in a report prepared by the Department of Energy’ Office of Inspector General, cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company aims to implement a host of corrective actions, according to a plan recently released by DOE. […]

WC Monitor 6/12/2015 IN DOE Following the revelation last week that the confidential personal information of millions was breached in a cyber-security event months ago, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has advised that “Department of Energy employee data has potentially been compromised in this incident,” according to a June 4 message to employees. The U.S. Office […]

WC Monitor 6/12/2015 An article in the June 5 edition of WC Monitor incorrectly reported that more than 450 gallons of contaminated liquid was discharged into the soil in central Hanford during plutonium production activities at the site. The correct amount is more than 450 billion gallons. WC Monitor regrets the error. An article in […]

DOE Releases Updated Draft RFP Sections for Industry Comment Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/5/2015 A provision in the draft Request for Proposals for the new contract to operate the Department of Energy’s two depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion plants that would give DOE wide discretion in how fee can be provided is prompting concern among […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 6/5/2015 The Department of Energy this week issued seven Basic Ordering Agreements for the treatment of Low-Level Waste and Mixed Low-Level Waste. Included among the seven BOAs are: Babcock Services, Environmental Dimensions, EnergySolutions, Omega Consultants, Perma-Fix Environmental Services, UniTech Services Group, and Waste Control Specialists. Each BOA covers a five […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/5/2015 The Department of Energy expects to complete within “the next several weeks” an evaluation of options for adding additional oversight capability at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management Mark Whitney said late this week. In the wake of calls for DOE to enlist […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Kurion and AREVA announced this week a joint partnership to provide decommissioning and remediation services for the Department of Energy’s cleanup complex. The companies said that the alliance’s initial emphasis centers on cleanup and closure work at the Hanford site in Washington state, but they indicated that it could […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/5/2015 Portsmouth D&D contractor Fluor B&W Portsmouth, LLC, is placing a renewed focus on deactivation of the X-326 facility after pushing the project’s completion date from March 2016 to June 2017. The contractor this week instituted an organizational change for X-326 work, including a dedicated project team to focus on accelerated […]

Grouting Begins at Tank 16 Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 6/5/2015 The Savannah River Site is seeking an additional high-level waste tank treatment capability as part of a deal struck with regulators, this week releasing a draft request for proposals seeking companies able to remove cesium from tanks. The draft RFP and expression of interest comes […]