Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/30/2014 The Department of Energy said this week that it plans to prepare an environmental assessment for accepting German experimental spent fuel for processing at the Savannah River Site’s H-Canyon facility. The 900 kilograms of U.S.-origin highly enriched uranium comes in the form of graphite spheres from the pebble bed AVR […]

The following interview with Glenn Podonsky, Director of the Department of Energy’s new Office of Independent Enterprise Assessments; and Matthew Moury, acting Associate Under Secretary for Environment, Health, Safety and Security, was conducted by ExchangeMonitor Publications Editor-in-Chief Mike Nartker.  WC Monitor 5/30/2014 To start things off, what was the thinking behind the creation of this […]

More Workers Report Vapor Exposure Symptoms WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Five Hanford workers experienced symptoms consistent with exposure to chemical vapors from waste tanks late this week, and one was taken to the hospital in Richland, Wash. A sixth worker who did not have symptoms also requested an evaluation at the hospital. That brings the number […]

State Puts Together Priority List WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Washington state has compiled a list of the Hanford cleanup priorities it believes are urgent as Hanford officials lay out a plan for far more work than is likely to be funded. Department of Energy officials at Hanford have released a budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016 […]

DOE Questions How TOPS Subcontract Was Transferred WC Monitor 5/30/2014 The Department of Energy appears to have some concerns over the recent transfer of a waste-hauling subcontract from Transportation, Operations and Professional Services (TOPS), which was raided by federal law enforcement agents earlier this year, to Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based TFE Inc. When asked if DOE […]

FBP Names New Director of Planning WC Monitor 5/30/2014 Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, LLC, the D&D contractor for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, has named Arnie Whipple to serve as Director of Planning & Site Wide Integration, effective May 30. Whipple will replace Dennis Nixon, who is taking “early retirement,” according to a message sent to employees […]

WC Monitor 5/30/2014 In the Industry The American Nuclear Society has honored the five-year, billion-dollar demolition of the World War II-era K-25 uranium-enrichment facility in Oak Ridge. According to information from the Department of Energy, the project has been selected for the Project Excellence Award from the society’s Decommissioning and Environmental Services Division. The award […]

State Working on Possible Consquences for DOE Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Though it is “highly unlikely” that Los Alamos will meet its June 30 deadline for transuranic waste removal, it is too early to tell what the consequences will be in efforts to renegotiate a consent order with the state of New Mexico concerning […]

Decision Opposed by Rep. Pearce Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 After the recent discovery in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground of a damaged waste drum that was cracked open, New Mexico has ordered the Department of Energy to develop plans to secure hundreds of similar drums  at Los Alamos and close open panels at […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 More details emerged this week over URS’ ultimately unsuccessful attempt last summer to be terminated from the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) D&D project. At issue was a contract modification (M035) reached with the Department of Energy in the wake of a set of contamination incidents that disrupted work at […]

Request May be ‘Heavy Lift’ for Lawmakers Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 As Congressional appropriators prepare to mark up funding bills for Fiscal Year 2015, the Department of Energy has told lawmakers that about an extra $140 million may be needed for recovery efforts at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant next year, WC Monitor has learned. The […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Senate appropriators will have a little more breathing room to dole out money for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management in Fiscal Year 2015, according to the subcommittee allocations the Senate Appropriations Committee approved this week. The panel’s Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee will have $34.208 billion to […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 As talks on a new commissioning agreement for the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility stretch past eight months, a DOE official this week emphasized that a new startup deal is not necessary to begin operations. DOE and SWPF construction contractor Parsons are in talks to improve upon an […]

GAO Upholds One of Two Protests Filed Against Portage’s Win Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 The Department of Energy’s long search for a new support services contractor for the Office of Legacy Management took another turn late this week, when the Government Accountability Office upheld one of two protests filed over DOE’s second decision to […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Thanks to a boost in funding, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is looking to add more than 100 new staff in “several mission critical areas,” according to a memorandum issued late this week by EM’s new No. 2 official, Mark Whitney. While EM’s workforce has fallen below […]

Hanford Vit Plant Comes in Second Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 The Portsmouth D&D project has the most open Department of Energy investigations underway in the DOE cleanup program, according to documents WC Monitor obtained this week. The DOE Office of Enforcement is in the midst of three investigations—that could result in financial penalties— tied to incidents […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Concerns over numerous recent operations and engineering issues at the Savannah River Site are growing in both the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office sent a letter last month to the site’s managing contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, […]

House Approved Defense Policy Measure This Week Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) was successful in adding a small boost to cleanup funding in the House version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act before the full House approved the bill late this week. An amendment offered by Hastings  to […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Despite White House opposition, the House approved a measure late this week that would significantly lower the maximum number of employees at the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board. The House version of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Act would cut the maximum number of employees the DNFSB has […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/23/2014 Top Department of Energy and contractor officials from Hanford said this week they are working to achieve “a final answer” to address long-standing concerns over tank vapors at the site. Savannah River National Laboratory has been tasked with conducting a review of the issue after more than 25 workers at […]

Site Will Need $3.6B Next Year, Officials Say WC Monitor 5/16/2014 Hanford will need about $3.6 billion in Fiscal Year 2016 to meet its legal obligations, officials said at the annual Hanford budget meeting this week. That’s $1.5 billion more than the Obama Administration has proposed for FY 2015 and still could not be enough […]

Regalbuto Ranks Cleanup Priorities: 1. WIPP, 2. Hanford, 3. Savannah River Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 The nominee to be the next Department of Energy cleanup chief suggested this week that cleanup at Hanford may be a higher priority than the Savannah River Site, raising eyebrows among some stakeholders in South Carolina. Monica Regalbuto, the […]

URS Warns Total Project Cost Could Exceed $300M Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/16/2014 As URS’ potential financial liability at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) D&D project continues to rise, a document obtained by WC Monitor through a Freedom of Information Act request shows the company has, at least on one occasion, asked for its […]

Uranium Producers Oppose DOE View That Transfers Won’t Impact Market Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/16/2014 In a move that could have serious impacts for D&D efforts underway at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, the Department of Energy is revamping how it manages its stocks of excess uranium, with less to be provided to help fund […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 As this week marked three months since the Feb. 14 radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that has left the facility shut down for the foreseeable future, there is still no clear answer as to what caused the release, though officials have found evidence of a reaction that […]

Mike Nartker WC Monitor 5/16/2014 Bechtel’s Systems and Infrastructure unit, responsible for the company’s government businesses, is undergoing a reorganization to consolidate “five regionally focused business lines to three global business lines”—Nuclear Security & Operations (NS&O), Environmental (ENV), and Defense & Security (D&S), according to a message sent to employees last week. The reorganization, set […]

Shipments Halted as DOE Examines Potential Reactions In LANL Drums Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 With shipments suspended for the past two weeks, it could soon be impossible to meet a high-profile June 30 commitment to New Mexico to remove aboveground transuranic waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The campaign has been the top priority […]

Todd Jacobson WC Monitor 5/16/2014 Fresh off its defeat at Y-12 and Pantex, Babcock & Wilcox is planning to make a push for an increased role at the Savannah River Site, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Ferland said on a conference call with investors this week. B&W is “working hard on positioning for Savannah […]

Poor Maintenance Found to Be Factor in Incidents at Repository Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 With the Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, coming under heavy criticism for inadequate maintenance at WIPP, documents obtained by WC Monitor through a Freedom of Information Act request show […]

Local Officials Near Site Want to Block Award of New Contract to TFE, Inc. Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 Local officials in Carlsbad, N.M., are pushing the Department of Energy to block the recent award of a $24.5 million Waste Isolation Pilot Plant subcontract to Tennessee-based TFE, Inc. URS-led M&O contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership last […]