Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/04/2014 The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board this week closed a 2005 recommendation that called for stricter nuclear material packaging requirements, but the Board is asking for an updated schedule for the Department of Energy’s improvements. The original recommendation called for technical criteria for nuclear material packaging and prioritization of packaging […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 4/04/2014 Unsuccessful bidders are considering challenging the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s award of the new Magnox contract to the Cavendish Fluor partnership, including the Bechtel-EnergySolutions team and a team led by Amec. The NDA announced early this week the award of a new contract for management of the 10 Magnox reactor sites […]

WORK RESUMING IN WAKE OF TANK VAPOR INCIDENTS WC Monitor 4/04/2014 Work will resume in the group of Hanford tank farms where three of the recent chemical vapor incidents have occurred, but workers will wear respirators. The respirators are a temporary measure while Hanford officials work on solutions to protect workers from vapors vented from […]

EPA FINES CONTRACTORS OVER ASBESTOS WC Monitor 4/04/2014 Two Hanford contractors will pay more than $175,000 in fines after an Environmental Protection Agency investigation found alleged violations of federal asbestos handling regulations, the EPA announced this week. CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. will pay $131,594 and Washington Closure Hanford will pay $44,000 in settlement agreements […]

CWI ADDRESSING RESULTS OF DOE ASSESSMENT AT IWTU WC Monitor 4/04/2014 CH2M-WG Idaho is ready to move to the next stage of preparing the Idaho Integrated Waste Treatment Unit to begin full operations after addressing some of the pre-start findings the Department of Energy identified during a recent readiness assessment. The DOE assessment, performed in […]

NEW WATCHDOG GROUP FORMED WC Monitor 4/04/2014 Savannah River Site Watch, a new South Carolina-based watchdog group for nuclear issues, was launched this week. The group plans to focus on nuclear cleanup activities at the Savannah River Site, as well as other projects including the H-Canyon facility, the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility and nuclear […]

WC Monitor 4/04/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Randy Garver, the head of the protective force at the Savannah River Site, is retiring next month and will be replaced by Mark Bolton. Garver, who joined protective force contractor WSI-SRS in 2004, has served as the company’s senior vice president and general manager since September of 2008. He […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Major changes are in the works for B&W’s Technical Services Group, with President George Dudich leaving the company, WC Monitor has learned. B&W is also moving to combine its Technical Services Group with the company’s Nuclear Operations Group to create a new Government Operations division that will be headed by […]

DOE: Maintenance Issues Contractor’s Responsibility Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 With last month’s truck fire at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant raising concerns over the state of maintenance activities at the facility, the Department of Energy said this week that any maintenance issues were the responsibility of the site’s managing contractor while state and local […]

Recent Firing of Nuke Safety Manager Prompts New Concerns, Investigations Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Despite a new wave of concerns over whether workers at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant can raise issues without retaliation, David Huizenga, the Department of Energy’s cleanup chief, told WC Monitor late this week that he believes the safety culture at […]

WC Monitor 3/28/2014 James Schlesinger, who served as the first Secretary of Energy, passed away this week at the age of 85. According to reports, Schlesinger died due to complications of pneumonia. Schlesinger was named in 1971 to chair the Atomic Energy Commission, and was tapped by President Jimmy Carter to serve as the first […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 A set of self-assessments of safety conscious work environment (SCWE) performed by Department of Energy sites and contractors suffered from several weaknesses that may reduce their overall usefulness, according to a report released last week. The DOE Office of Health, Safety and Security performed an evaluation of the self-assessments and […]

DOE Gearing Up to Return Workers to Mine Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 As the Department of Energy prepares to re-enter the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant six weeks after a radiation release, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said this week that a poor initial response to the event led to unnecessary worker contamination. DOE […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Plans to send a significant amount of plutonium and highly enriched uranium from Japan to the United States are raising questions for officials near the material’s likely home at the Savannah River Site. Citing concerns over plutonium already in the state, South Carolina this month filed suit against the Obama […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/28/2014 As lawmakers begin considering the Department of Energy’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, DOE cleanup chief David Huizenga stressed this week the need for technology development funds to aid the Office of Environmental Management in developing new cleanup technologies that can reduce costs. “With the large to-go costs [remaining], we’re […]

DOE Says There Are ‘Risks’ Associated With Pumping Tank ‘At This Time’ Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The state of Washington has ordered the Department of Energy to start emptying liquid waste by Sept. 1 from Tank AY-102, Hanford’s double-shell tank with an interior leak. The new deadline is at least 18 months sooner than DOE […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Shifting focus to groundwater contamination for its next cleanup campaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory is seeking $31 million to begin a Chromium Pump and Treat Remedy Project that will be launched in Fiscal Year 2015. Los Alamos is taking a campaign approach to cleanup work at the lab, and is […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Contractors at the Savannah River Site are undertaking corrective actions after a damaging freeze shut down the site’s steam lines, and a review released this week showed poor communication following the event and an over-dependence on steam at facilities. The Jan. 7 freeze shut down the site’s biomass plant and […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Planned shipments of liquid highly enriched uranium from Canada to the Savannah River Site for processing have been delayed again, and now appear to be slated for September 2015. Officials said in late 2012 that the proces-sing of the material could start in 2013 and end in 2016, but officials […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority plans to announce the award of the new contract to manage the 10 Magnox nuclear reactor sites and two research reactor sites in a March 31 conference call with bidders, WC Monitor has learned. Four teams submitted bids last fall in the competition: Reactor Site Solutions, […]

NEW CONCERNS OVER TANK VAPORS WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Hanford officials have identified two potential sources of chemical vapor emissions after workers reported symptoms at the tank farms over four days this week and last week. At least 18 workers have reported symptoms linked to possible chemical vapors from tank waste, with the latest case on […]

DOE WANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CLEANED LAND WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Department of Energy wants to provide additional access to Hanford land as it is cleaned up, said David Huizenga of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management at a House Cleanup Caucus briefing this week. “The overall thrust is to try to turn some of […]

ITG SEEKS TO RECOVER WITHHELD FEE WC Monitor 3/28/2014 The Department of Energy is considering a request from Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, the managing contractor for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, to recover $150,000 in fee withheld for safety concerns. ITG requested the fee in a letter sent in late February to DOE outlining […]

K-31 DEMOLITION TO GET UNDERWAY WC Monitor 3/28/2014 Cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) has received approval to proceed with demolition of the K-31 building at the East Tennessee Technology Park. The move is designed to keep the workforce that was assembled for the massive K-25 D&D project largely intact until the Department of Energy […]

WC Monitor 3/28/2014 IN CONGRESS The Congressional appropriations process may go faster this year than in previous years, according to House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho). The Appropriations Committee is making an effort to hasten the pace of its effort to try and complete spending bills by the beginning of Fiscal […]

Martin Schneider Chief Executive Officer ExchangeMonitor Publications & Forums 3/21/2014 In the wake of the recent incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Secretary of Energy should immediately order a comprehensive, Department-wide review of maintenance needs across the DOE complex, particularly work that has been deferred or underfunded in recent years. While details of […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/21/2014 Following an investigation that concluded that last month’s fire at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was “preventable,” URS is bringing in another addition to WIPP’s management team to focus on the facility’s recovery, WC Monitor has learned. URS has hired Perma-Fix Environmental Services Chief Operating Officer Jim Blankenhorn to fill […]

Contractor Hits New Low in Fee Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/21/2014 Bechtel National is moving forward with a management reorganization at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that the contractor said late this week is intended to help make “needed performance improvements” and “clarify roles, responsibilities and interfaces” between Bechtel National and its major subcontractor on […]