Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Employee Committee Calls for Ombudsman Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/21/2014 In another sign of apparent management turmoil within the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a group of Board employees tasked with examining morale concerns has found what appears to be a significant divide between staff and senior management. “Overall, the staff feels they no longer […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/21/2014 Unusually cold weather slowed down shipments at the Moab uranium mill tailings remediation project in Utah this winter, the first in which work continued all season since last year’s winter work curtailment. Cleanup contractor Portage last year undertook a three-month outage during the winter due to budget constraints, but a […]

DOE CONSIDERING UNDERGROUND PRETREAT SYSTEM WC Monitor 2/21/2014 The Department of Energy is considering building an underground interim pretreatment system that would use the same technologies as the planned Pretreatment Facility at Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant, but on a smaller scale. The possible interim pretreatment system is one of the solutions discussed in what DOE […]

REMAINING HANFORD CLEANUP COST NOW $113.6B WC Monitor 2/21/2014 An estimated $113.6 billion is the new price tag for completing the remaining Hanford cleanup, plus post-cleanup long term stewardship through fiscal 2090.The new estimate was included in the 2014 Hanford Lifecycle Scope, Schedule and Cost Report released this week. It’s the fourth such report released […]

ITG PROVISIONALLY LOSES $150,000 IN FEE WC Monitor 2/21/2014 Idaho Treatment Group, LLC, the managing contractor for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, has provisionally lost $150,000 in fee for safety issues, though the contractor may be able to earn back a portion, a Department of Energy spokeswoman said late this week. The fee reduction, […]

USEC RAMPING DOWN SITE SECURITY WC Monitor 2/21/2014 In changes to its security approach at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, USEC this week laid off security guards and de-manned a security checkpoint on an access road. USEC has been in the process of winding down its role at Paducah after it decided to end enrichment […]

WC Monitor 2/21/2014 IN THE INDUSTRY Former Nevada Site Office Manager Stephen Mellington has joined Longenecker & Associates as a senior associate. Mellington retired from a 35-year federal career in 2012, serving the last four years as the top federal official at the Nevada National Security Site. Mellington previously served as the site office’s Assistant […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Senior management at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant has not established a culture “in which quality is a core value,” an internal review has found. The results of a “common cause analysis” into the long-stand quality assurance issues at the WTP, chartered by project contractor Bechtel National, were outlined in […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/14/2014 There appears to be ongoing discord between senior officials at the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and Savannah River Site leaders over efforts to promote the “Enterprise SRS” vision for attracting more work to the site, WC Monitor has learned. Enterprise SRS, an effort to bring future business […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 The long-running search for a new support services contractor for the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management is now set to continue to stretch on, with the team of Wastren Advantage and S.M. Stoller filing a new challenge this week to DOE’s decision to award the contract to Portage. […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 The Department of Energy is dissolving its Office of Health, Safety and Security in a new reorganization officially announced this week that DOE says is intended to better enhance its safety and security functions. As Weapons Complex Morning Briefing first reported, the reorganization will entail the creation of a new […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Bechtel National is looking to conduct a significant reorganization of its management at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant that reportedly could see a key safety manager who has alleged she has faced retaliation for raising safety concerns moved out of her position, WC Monitor has learned. Many details of BNI’s […]

Congressman Staunch Supporter of DOE’s Cleanup Efforts Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.), one of the strongest supporters of the Department of Energy’s cleanup program in Congress, announced late this week that he will not seek re-election this fall. Hastings, whose district includes the Hanford site, was first elected to Congress in […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Bill Lingard abruptly resigned from his position as URS President and Chief Operating Officer this week. URS announced Lingard’s resignation along with the release of the company’s preliminary Fiscal Year 2013 financial results, which came in below expectations. The company said its expected 2013 earnings would be $3.20-$3.30 per share, […]

Admin. Set to Submit Proposal to Modify 2010 Consent Decree By End of Month Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Washington state officials are calling on the Obama Administration to submit a new plan for addressing Hanford’s tank waste that is “aggressive but realistic” when it submits a proposal to amend a 2010 consent decree that helps […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 2/14/2014 LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky, LLC, the cleanup contractor for the Paducah site, earned approximately 90 percent of its available Fiscal Year 2013 fee, according to information the Department of Energy released this week. In total, LATA Kentucky earned $3.02 million out of an available $3.37 million, including $1.80 million […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/14/2014 In an step towards starting D&D work at the Energy Technology Engineering Center in California, the Department of Energy last week released an amendment to its notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for cleanup work at the site. DOE said it expects to issue a draft EIS […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/14/2014 The White House Office of Management and Budget has blocked funding from being used at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for thermal testing of disposal of high-level waste in salt, officials said this week. The Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus spending bill enacted last month included $18 million in funding for […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 2/14/2014 Questioning the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s decision last fall to extend for five years URS-led Nuclear Management Partners’ contract at Sellafield, the British Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee released a report this week calling for termination of the contract if NMP does not improve performance. The PAC was highly critical of […]

DOE GETS MORE TIME FOR TANK AY-102 PLAN WC Monitor 2/14/2014 The Washington State Department of Ecology has extended its deadline for the Department of Energy to provide a plan to empty Hanford’s Tank AY-102. The tank, which is Hanford’s oldest double-shell tank, is leaking waste between its inner and outer shell. The state demanded […]

WORK UNDERWAY TO REMOVE MASSIVE VAULT WC Monitor 2/14/2014 The Hanford 340 Vault, weighing about 1,100 tons, is expected to be rolled out of the ground in the 300 Area at the end of this week, weather permitting. It’s one of just two complex radioactive facilities that still need to be demolished or removed at […]

SRR CLEANS UP FREEZE-RELATED SALTSTONE SPILL WC Monitor 2/14/2014 After a spill of contaminated flush water at the Savannah River Site’s Saltstone Facilities during last month’s freeze, liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation has remediated soil and implemented controls. The event occurred on Jan. 9 during a spell of unusually cold weather that shut down […]

WC Monitor 2/14/2014 IN CONGRESS Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) was formally approved late this week as the new Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Landrieu replaces Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) who has moved to head up the Senate Finance Committee following the confirmation of Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mon.) to serve as the new U.S. […]

Todd Jacobson and Mike Nartker WC Monitor  1/31/2014 Tensions are running high at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board amidst personnel changes in a set of key management positions and a sharp drop in employee satisfaction over the last year, as well as a more recent Inspector General’s investigation in response to a complaint about […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/31/2014 With the recent approval of nearly $100 million in contract modifications, site officials say West Valley Demonstration Project cleanup contractor CH2M Hill B&W West Valley, LLC, is on the right track. After experiencing numerous struggles in its first year after taking over the contract in August 2011, last year the […]

Jeremy L. Dillon WC Monitor 1/31/2014 Kurion has acquired Vista Engineering Services, tripling the size of the company. Vista Engineering Services, based in Richland, Wash., offers a variety of engineering services including environmental remediation capabilities, and its base work at the Department of Energy’s Hanford site offers Kurion a larger influence within the DOE cleanup […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 1/31/2014 Portage this week once again won the Department of Energy’s new $250 million contract to provide support services for the Office of Legacy Management, though it remains to be seen whether the lengthy procurement will now finally come to an end or if unsuccessful bidders will continue to challenge. Portage […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 1/31/2014 The National Nuclear Security Administration this week released its final request for proposals for the follow-on environmental characterization and remediation contract for the Nevada National Security Site. The final RFP includes few major changes from the latest draft version, though unlike earlier versions it makes transition costs a firm-fixed price […]