Publications: Weapons Cleanup Monitor

Earnings rose at BWX Technologies (BWXT), Lynchburg, Va., in the first quarter, which the Department of Energy contractor attributed to opportunities in nuclear manufacturing and the company’s recent acquisition. Net earnings for the first quarter ended March 31 were $91.2 million, or $0.99 a share, up from $75.5 million, or $0.82 a share, in the […]

Earnings fell for Centrus Energy, based in Bethesda, Md., in the first quarter, which the uranium broker and enrichment technology developer attributed to an increase in advanced technology costs and paying off debt. Net earnings for the first quarter ended March 31 were $10 million, or $0.51 a share, compared to $27.2 million, or $1.60 […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) has plenty of facilities that are more than a half-century old and, since fiscal 2020, the cost of upkeep has more than doubled to $950 million yearly, according to a government watchdog. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Tuesday it is recommending several improvements to the […]

The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup office said Friday May 1 that crews have finished emptying radioactive waste from the 23rd underground storage tank at the Hanford Site in Washington state. The work is part of a long-running effort to move waste from old leak-prone single shell tanks to newer double-shell tanks. Hanford Tank Waste […]

While the head of the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), Tim Walsh, has publicly expressed hopes of accelerating cleanup of Cold War and Manhattan Project sites, no speedup is reflected in a fiscal 2027 budget justification. The estimated final remediation of the Hanford Site in Washington state is currently forecast to fall […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) said this week it has promoted both a scientist and engineer to new positions. In a Monday press release, LM reported that Physical Scientist Nicole Olin has been promoted to LM’s team lead for LM-25, which includes Environmental, Health, Safety and Quality programs The safety and […]

The Donald Trump administration has requested that Congress again budget $45 million for the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) for fiscal 2027, partly due to increased nuclear weapons work. The $45 million was equal to the White House request for fiscal 2026, which ends Sept. 30, although Congress appropriated less, $42 million in fiscal […]

The deadline for a Genesis Mission solicitation was moved back to May 1 from April 28, according to the DOE Office of Science grants website. The solicitation from March invited interested parties from national laboratories, universities and the commercial industry to submit proposals for a $293-million requisition for application (RFA) for the Genesis Mission. Broken […]

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright were among the government officials evacuated from the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. after an armed man forced his way into the event headlined by President Donald Trump. Hegseth’s presence was cited by Trump during a press conference about an hour after […]

Chantilly, Va.-based Amentum has hired two new vice presidents, one for investor relations and one for operations. Charles Grant, a longtime executive with roots in the Navy nuclear program, has been selected as senior vice president of operations for Amentum, he said this week on his LinkedIn page. Separately, Amentum announced in an April 22 […]

The foray into spent fuel recycling by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) will take advantage of used nuclear fuel (UNF) from a test reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory. That is according to material issued with the request for applications (RFA) announced April 22.  DOE’s Environmental Management and Nuclear Energy (NE) […]

A 437-page justification for the Donald Trump administration’s request for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management adds more detail on White House priorities for nuclear cleanup. Overall, the roughly $8.2 billion Environmental Management (EM) budget would be $386 million less than the $8.56 billion enacted by Congress for fiscal 2026, according to the […]

Carlsbad, N.M. — A proposed overhaul of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) hazardous waste permit drew mixed reactions at Tuesday’s community forum, with stakeholders clashing over whether the changes would ease or create a bottleneck in federal cleanup efforts. The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is proposing revisions that would require DOE to prioritize […]

During a public meeting Tuesday in Carlsbad, N.M., most local residents voiced support for current operations of the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and argued a state agency’s proposal to modify WIPP’s permit is unnecessary. Further, most said if the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) thinks too few shipments of legacy transuranic […]

The Department of Energy’s $8.2 billion budget request for its nuclear cleanup branch would help support everything from artificial intelligence (AI) to new emergency facilities. That is among the tidbits emerging from the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) 437-page budget justification posted online last week. DOE said an initiative, the AI Research and Development […]

A North Wind Group company said this week it has landed a share of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers business worth $275 million. North Wind Site Services said in an April 27 news release it has been awarded a seat on the Corps’ Northwestern Division Regional Pre-Placed Remedial Action Contract Multiple Award Task Order Contract […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy kicked off a new initiative Thursday centered around bolstering the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain by 2033. The new initiative “Nuclear Dominance – 3 by 33” has the federal government working with industry to build up the many aspects of the nuclear supply chain, including uranium enrichment, […]

Tim Walsh, who heads the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), said this week DOE’s Hanford Site in Washington state remains the program’s biggest nuclear cleanup challenge. But at the same time Hanford, which accounts for about 40% of EM’s budget, is primed for a “breakout year,” Walsh told a Senate Armed Forces […]

Centrus Energy said this week it has selected Geiger Brothers as its construction contractor for the multi-billion expansion project for the Centrus uranium enrichment facility in Piketon, Ohio, a deal potentially worth $900 million. According to a Centrus Securities and Exchange Commission Monday filing, the time-and-materials contract signed by the two companies runs through Jan. […]

The Department of Energy’s Offices of Environmental Management (EM) and Nuclear Energy released request for applications (RFAs) Wednesday seeking partners to start recycling some of the country’s spent nuclear fuel. Submissions for the two solicitations are both due by June 19, while questions surrounding the RFAs are due by May 19. DOE EM will sponsor […]

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright disagreed Tuesday over the severity of reduced funding for the Hanford Site in the Department of Energy’s fiscal 2027 budget request. The following day, Cantwell’s Democratic colleague Patty Murray (D-Wash.) would also challenge the adequacy of the DOE request for Hanford.  Wright told Cantwell during […]

In a letter to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, lawmakers wrote this week that Congress is investigating “recent unconfirmed public reporting on the disappearance and death of individuals with access to sensitive U.S. scientific information.” As of April 17, 10 scientists were recently reported either dead or missing. All 10 were involved in researching and […]

In the latest sign of friction between the state of New Mexico and the Department of Energy, a state agency Thursday proposed restrictive changes to the hazardous waste permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad. Among other things the draft permit changes announced by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) would set […]

SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. — The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management is reassessing its reliance on natural attenuation at some uranium legacy sites after monitoring showed the approach is not meeting cleanup targets, a senior official said. William “Bill” Frazier, a program manager with DOE Legacy Management (LM), said the office is evaluating […]

The Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) should reach full speed for turning less radioactive waste into solid glass form by October 2028, Department of Energy officials told the Hanford Advisory Board Wednesday in Richland, Wash. By that point, the plant should be  converting about 2 million gallons of low-level tank waste into glass form […]

Officials in Grand County, Utah joined Department of Energy representatives April 9 to celebrate removal of 16 million tons of tailings from a site next to the Colorado River as part of the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project. DOE said. Commemorative plaques now honor the Moab Project that started in 2009, according to […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) recorded 25 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in March, following an annual maintenance outage that kept it offline since January.  The 25 shipments are the first since the facility accepted 33 shipments in December, and an uptick from March 2024 when WIPP received 13 shipments, according to […]