Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Mike Nartker and Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 6/6/2014 Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) late last week criticized the Department of Energy’s latest determination that its transfers of uranium for cleanup and other purposes are not hurting the domestic uranium industry. Noting that the Department’s latest market analysis shows a 10 percent drop in the spot price […]

Final RFP Out for New 222-S Lab Contract WC Monitor 6/6/2014 The Department of Energy this week issued a final Request for Proposal for the new contract to provide analytical and testing services at Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory. The final RFP, which is being set-aside for small businesses, contains few changes from a draft version issued […]

WC Monitor 6/6/2014 IN DOE The Department of Energy  later this month plans to hold an industry day event for the new Paducah infrastructure services contract. During the week of June 23, DOE plans to hold “a pre-solicitation conference, site tour, and one-on-one sessions with interested parties,” according to a recently posted notice. A draft […]

More Details on Plans for German HEU Processing WC Monitor 6/6/2014 The Department of Energy has released more details on plans to process highly enriched uranium from Germany at the Savannah River Site. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes in the form of graphite spheres from the pebble bed AVR gas-cooled research […]

David Huizenga to Return to NNSA Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 After more than two-and-a-half years, the Obama Administration is moving to officially fill the position of Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management, late this week nominating Monica Regalbuto from DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy. WC Monitor first reported in November that Regalbuto was the […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/07/2014 CARLSBAD, N.M.—After criticism from state and local officials over a lack of communication following recent incidents at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Department of Energy cleanup chief Dave Huizenga apologized at a town hall meeting held here late this week and promised improvements. This week, New Mexico Environment Department Secretary […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—As the Department of Energy examines alternatives for its transuranic waste program, it has pledged to the state of New Mexico to complete on time a high-profile Los Alamos disposition campaign despite the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant shutdown, officials said here this week. The clock is ticking on the […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—The Department of Energy is going forward with two separate procurements to recompete the infrastructure support services contracts for the Paducah and Portsmouth sites, DOE officials said here this week at the 2014 Waste Management Symposia. While DOE had previously considered combining the two contracts for the recompete, there […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/07/2014 The state of Hanford’s aging double-shell tanks, which are intended to store waste for the foreseeable future until it can be processed for disposition, came under new scrutiny this week, after the Department of Energy announced that more waste has been found to be leaking between the shells of the […]

Half of Bechtel National’s Fee Tied To Self-Identifying Issues Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—A new approach to how Bechtel National can earn fee at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that seeks to encourage the contractor to do more to identify issues and concerns is paying dividends, Department of Energy and contractor officials said here […]

Department Expects Facility to Begin Full Operations In May Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—With the Idaho Sodium-Bearing Waste Treatment Facility now operating at its normal temperature and pressure, the Department of Energy is “cautiously optimistic” that the start of actual waste processing can get underway this spring as currently planned, a senior DOE Office […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 3/07/2014 PHOENIX, Ariz.—While the Department of Energy works on implementing a new rule counting some subcontracts awarded by M&O contractors toward DOE’s small business goals, officials said here this week that DOE will continue focusing on prime small business contracting opportunities. The FY 2014 appropriations bill passed in January allows DOE […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 3/07/2014 Spending at Department of Energy cleanup sites is proposed to be cut under the Obama Administration’s Fiscal Year 2015 budget request in part because some work is being completed, the director of the Office of Management and Budget said at a Senate Budget Committee hearing held this week. But Committee […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/07/2014 The Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight is set to hold a hearing early next week on the safety culture at Hanford and whether workers there can raise safety concerns without fear of retaliation. The hearing appears to have been prompted by the recent decision of URS, a major […]

DOE ISSUES DRAFT RFP FOR NEW 222-S LAB CONTRACT WC Monitor 3/07/2014 The Department of Energy has released a draft Request for Proposals for a new small business set-aside contract to provide analytical services and testing work for five years at the Hanford 222-S Laboratory and operate the lab. DOE is proposing that the type […]

URS TO STUDY BENEFITS OF SMR FOR HANFORD WC Monitor 3/07/2014 URS Corp. has been picked by the Tri-City Development Council to study the possible benefits of building a small modular nuclear reactor system on leased land at Hanford to possibly produce power for the site. The study is expected to be completed in five […]

UCOR REASSIGNS SOME TOPS WORKERS WC Monitor 3/07/2014 Oak Ridge cleanup contractor URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, has reassigned to other subcontractors about 25 workers of Transportation, Operations and Professional Services, Inc., (TOPS) a protégé firm to UCOR. “TOPS, in addition to providing waste hauling services to UCOR, also provides professional services to UCOR,” UCOR spokesman […]

Hanford Targeted For Significant Funding Cut Mike Nartker WC Monitor 3/04/2014 The Department of Energy is seeking a total of approximately $5.6 billion for the Office of Environmental Management in its Fiscal Year 2015 budget request, the initial details of which were released today. DOE’s FY15 request for EM is largely in line with what […]

13 Workers Contaminated Following Leak Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/28/2014 With news getting worse at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant amidst test results this week that showed 13 workers experienced internal contamination following a radiation leak at the plant, several options have emerged for progressing with the Department of Energy’s transuranic waste campaign at Los […]

Senate Could Vote on State Department Arms Control Nominee, Rose Gottemoeller, Next Week Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 2/28/2014 An attempt to get two top Department of Energy nominees confirmed hit a roadblock this week when an anonymous hold was placed on the pair. Senate Republicans attempted to “hotline” the nominations of Frank Klotz, the Administration’s pick […]

Jeremy Dillon and Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/28/2014 It appears the specter of Yucca Mountain has entered the negotiations on a batch of uranium-233 the Department of Energy hopes to dispose of at the Nevada National Security Site as DOE undertakes a Congressionally-mandated examination of disposal alternatives, WC Monitor has learned. DOE received indications before, […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/28/2014 A senior Department of Energy official late this week confirmed DOE has been examining the possible creation of a new organization that would be responsible for major line-item construction projects, but stressed that the idea was one among many under consideration to help improve how DOE manages projects. “There are […]

Report Describes Apparent Tensions Between Technical Director, Staff Mike Nartker WC Monitor 6/28/2014 There appear to be significant tensions between the technical staff at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and the Board’s Office of the Technical Director (OTD), according to a report WC Monitor obtained this week. The report provides the full, unredacted version of […]

Mike Nartker and Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 2/28/2014 Labor union officials are so far taking a wait-and-see stance toward the Department of Energy’s recently announced plans for reorganizing its health, safety and security functions, though the anticipated role going forward of DOE’s current Chief Health, Safety and Security Officer, Glenn Podonsky, is giving organized labor […]

Staff Reports WC Monitor 2/28/2014 The Department of Energy has proposed a promising approach to treating Hanford’s low activity tank waste, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee (D) said during a press conference late this week. But he remains concerned about how DOE plans to treat the high-level radioactive tank waste, he said. He may know […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/28/2014 Hanford cleanup contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Co. is still holding fast to its 2016 milestone for the Plutonium Finishing Plant D&D project and is gaining more certainty in its schedule since a technical study last fall gave it a 50 percent probability for meeting that date. “PFP is continuing […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/28/2014 The Department of Energy has launched a new public search for candidates to fill on a permanent basis the long-vacant position of Site Lead for the Paducah site. Earlier this month, DOE posted the position for a second time on the USAJobs.gov website, and is accepting applications through March 4. […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/28/2014 The Department of Energy has made “significant progress” on commitments for improving work planning and control in response to concerns from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, DOE told the DNFSB this month. In August 2012 the DNFSB sent a letter to DOE detailing issues with the implementation of work […]