Bechtel
A major engineering and construction contractor with long-standing roles across the weapons complex, including waste treatment plant construction and national laboratory management.
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International
PEJ, Westinghouse begin ordering long-lead items for Poland nuclear plant
Polish company Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) has authorized Westinghouse to start procuring long-lead reactor components for its first AP1000 reactor in Choczewo, Poland. According to Westinghouse’s Oct. 8 press release, this order would cover six of the plant’s reactor components, which include the reactor containment along with its related structural modules. PEJ and Westinghouse expect […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford turns 250K gallons of liquid waste into glass
The Department of Energy Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., has now converted 250,000 gallons of less radioactive tank waste into solid glass form. In September, over 39,000 gallons were vitrified into glass form at the WTP’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Facility, Bechtel National, which built the plant, […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Y-12 starts up furnaces at Uranium Processing Facility
Y-12 National Security Complex has powered up two furnaces at its Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) for the first time, marking a milestone in testing equipment intended to support the site’s nuclear security mission. The initial startup of sintering and microwave casting furnaces begins a testing program for the new facility, according to an Oct. 8 […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up: Construction starts on SDU-12 at SRS: Oak Ridge Science office seeks security support; Bechtel, developer alter plans for Wyo. reactor; more
The Department of Energy’s environmental contractor at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina has started building its final supersized Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) at the nuclear property near Aiken, S.C. Like its half-dozen jumbo-sized SDU predecessors, SDU-12 will be 43 feet high, 375 feet in diameter, and have a total capacity of 34.5 million […]
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Contracts & Procurement
TerraPower, Bechtel part ways on the Kemmerer Natrium project
Bechtel and TerraPower have parted ways on the Natrium reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyo. after failing to come to an agreement on the next stages, according to public disclosure papers filed in Virginia. The news was included in a Sept. 15 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification, in which Bechtel informed Fairfax County […]
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International
Westinghouse, Bechtel, Polish partner move forward on nuclear plant contract talks
The consortium of Bechtel and Westinghouse and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) have agreed on major commercial terms of the engineering procurement and construction contract to use Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor technology at Poland’s first nuclear plant. PEJ handed over the leading role of the project to Bechtel in August. The companies’ have now set the foundation […]
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International
Westinghouse, Bechtel, Polish partner move forward on nuclear plant contract talks
The consortium of Bechtel and Westinghouse and Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) have agreed on major commercial terms of the engineering procurement and construction contract to use Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor technology at Poland’s first nuclear plant. PEJ handed over the leading role of the project to Bechtel in August. The companies’ have now set the foundation […]
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Contracts & Procurement
TerraPower, Bechtel part ways on the Kemmerer Natrium project
Bechtel and TerraPower have parted ways on the Natrium reactor project in Kemmerer, Wyo. after failing to come to an agreement on the next stages, according to public disclosure papers filed in Virginia. The news was included in a Sept. 15 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notification, in which Bechtel informed Fairfax County […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE review looks at Hanford glass-making plant
An independent assessment by a branch of the Department of Energy last month issued a couple of findings calling for Bechtel National and its subcontractor to make certain improvements at the Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments issued the report last month calling for Bechtel and subcontractor Waste […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Round Up: Ur-Energy makes uranium shipment; Kairos launches new workforce program; SHINE, Argonne, CWRU to collaborate on fuel recycling; Bechtel to lead construction of Poland’s nuclear plant
Ur-Energy completed its first shipment of uranium from its Shirley Basin uranium mine to its Lost Creek processing facility in Wyoming, the company said in an Aug. 20 press release. Casper, Wyo.-based Ur-Energy previously announced plans to begin mining uranium at its Shirley Basin site in April and received authorization from the Wyoming Department of […]
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International
Bechtel to lead construction of Poland’s nuclear power plant
Bechtel will oversee development of Poland’s first nuclear power plant, according to a press release this month from Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ), the Polish company behind the project PEJ said in an Aug. 6 press release it handed over the leading role to Bechtel, its general contractor, as construction for the site begins. In this […]
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Transuranic Waste
WIPP receives 17 July shipments after hoist repairs
The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 17 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in July, after shipments were paused in May due to issues with the plant’s underground hoists. For comparison, WIPP received 48 TRU waste shipments in July 2025. The facility received 23 shipments in May 2026, before the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ex-employee files harassment suit against Hanford boss; Bechtel named as defendant
An ex-apprentice electrician at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant in Richland, Wash., has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in federal court against her former foreman and companies in charge of the facility. Madalyn Jennings, of Yakima County, filed the litigation last month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Jennings […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ex-employee files harassment suit against Hanford boss; Bechtel named as defendant
An ex-apprentice electrician at the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant in Richland, Wash., has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in federal court against her former foreman and companies in charge of the facility. Madalyn Jennings, of Yakima County, filed the litigation last month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington. Jennings […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: GAO says EM should rush into costly projects; Hanford Site permit comment period starts; Centrus, DOE ink $900M contract; more
The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management should not rush to embrace costly nuclear cleanup options without first checking with independent experts on less-expensive alternatives, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said Thursday July 2. In the just-released report, GAO said the DOE cleanup branch needs to do more research before advocating megadollar solutions. DOE […]
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Contracts & Procurement
CNS taps Ailes as new CEO at Y-12
Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS), the Bechtel-led joint venture that runs the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)’s Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., said Friday that Todd Ailes will become its new president and CEO effective July 1. Ailes will succeed Rich Tighe who is leaving CNS after about four years to become project […]
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Budget & Policy
Round Up: House Energy and Water vote postponed; NRC posts Ginna license renewal app; DOE nuclear legal policy exec leaves; Constellation, Walmart ink contract; and more
The fiscal 2027 House Energy and Water Appropriations bill text was released Wednesday and waits to be debated on the House floor. The bill text and any amendments submitted are available online. While the bill was scheduled to be debated on the House floor this week, debate and votes were postponed. Under the Department of […]
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National Laboratories
Livermore, Kansas City execs discuss nuclear modernization
The United States nuclear weapons enterprise must be flexible, scalable and collaborative in coming years in a world where Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their nuclear triad, officials said during a Tuesday webinar held by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance (ANWA) Deterrence Center. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Eric […]
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National Laboratories
Livermore, Kansas City execs discuss nuclear modernization
The United States nuclear weapons enterprise must be flexible, scalable and collaborative in coming years in a world where Russia and China are rapidly modernizing their nuclear triad, officials said during a Tuesday webinar held by the Advanced Nuclear Weapons Alliance (ANWA) Deterrence Center. Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Eric […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Hanford WTP turns 100,000 gallons of waste into glass form
The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]
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High-Level & Tank Waste
Hanford WTP turns 100,000 gallons of waste into glass form
The Department of Energy and its construction manager for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) said Tuesday the facility has now vitrified 100,000 gallons of liquid tank waste into a solid glass form. “Each gallon of immobilized waste brings us closer to a cleaner, safer environment and revitalized community,” Brian Hartman, WTP project director […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Wrap Up: AtkinsRéalis makes new hire; Framatome Richland plant clears NRC hurdle; more
AtkinsRéalis US Nuclear this week announced the appointment of Paul Larsen to its senior leadership team at the Hanford Site’s Central Plateau Cleanup Company. Central Plateau is an Amentum-led partnership with Fluor and Atkins, Larsen has more than three decades of executive experience in radioactive waste management, nuclear construction, and high-hazard facility operation, AtkinsRéalis said […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Wrap up: Ted Turner dies at 87; House appropriator includes nuclear triad protection in bill; Jay Tilden new exec at NENSC; Bechtel works with unions on nuclear power projects; more
Ted Turner, founder of news outlet CNN and founding co-chair of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, died at home in Tallahassee, Fla. Wednesday at age 87 due to Lewy body dementia. According to a statement by NTI, Turner launched the non-profit organization in 2001 with Sam Nunn and Charlie Curtis after watching a report on 60 […]
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Innovation & Infrastructure
Bechtel, building trades group focus on nuclear training
Bechtel and an organized labor group have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to revamp apprenticeship programs supporting nuclear power projects. Bechtel and North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) announced the MOU in a Tuesday press release. The longtime builder of nuclear infrastructure and NABTU, a large confederation of construction unions, will look to modernize […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Wrap Up: DOE seeks to beef up fuel supply chain; Los Alamos works with firms on AI; Idaho takes Penn State used fuel; more
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, […]
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Vitrification & Grout
WTP early glassmaking to hit full stride by 2028
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 […]
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Advanced Nuclear & SMRs
TerraPower starts nuclear construction for Wyoming reactor
Bellevue, Wash.-based TerraPower has begun nuclear construction for its molten salt Natrium reactor in Kemmerer, Wyo., the company announced Thursday. “This is the moment our industry has been working toward for a generation. We’re not just breaking new ground on a first-of-a-kind nuclear plant in Wyoming; we’re building the next generation of America’s energy infrastructure,” […]
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Transuranic Waste
Post-outage, WIPP receives 25 shipments in March
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 […]
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Delivery Systems & Nuclear Triad
Prototype, modular silo for Sentinel to aid construction ‘at scale’
Testing of Northrop Grumman’s and Bechtel’s prototype missile silo for the Sentinel should demonstrate a modular design the service and industry can repeat for all of the 450 planned, new silos, a Northrop Grumman official said last week. “Proving out the launch silo concept is critical to creating a repeatable approach that will accelerate deployment […]
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Transuranic Waste
New WIPP ventilation system, utility shaft ended up costing about $770M
PHOENIX — Installation of two major infrastructure projects at Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plan in New Mexico ended up costing about $770 million due to the pandemic, replacement of a major subcontractor and other factors, officials said here Wednesday. The cost of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS), renamed the Underground Ventilation […]













