Department of Energy

Citing potentially fatal procedural flaws on both sides, the Department of Justice on Tuesday asked a federal judge to suspend a lawsuit over a recently awarded liquid waste contract and let the Department of Energy try to fix the mess. Hanging in the balance is the $45-billion Department of Energy Hanford Integrated Tanks Contract at […]

SUMMERLIN, NEV. — Amentum-led United Cleanup Oak Ridge will break ground this summer on a new low-level radioactive waste landfill at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told Exchange Monitor’s Radwaste Summit here Tuesday. “I’m proud to announce that on Aug. 2 in Oak Ridge we are going to […]

The winner of a massive Department of Energy liquid-waste cleanup contractor in Washington state is trying to turn the tables on a rival who has argued in court that the awardee was ineligible for the work. The winner, BWX Technologies (BWXT)-led Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, told the U.S. Court of Claims for the […]

After being down for a while last week for upkeep on a major component, a $1.4-billion facility to treat sodium-bearing waste at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is back in operation, an agency spokesperson said by email Monday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) “continues to process 100% rad waste,” the DOE spokesperson […]

The Department of Energy on Monday released a draft solicitation for a contract under which it could acquire up to 145 metric tons of high assay low-enriched uranium to help develop new nuclear reactor designs. Also on Monday, the agency released a draft solicitation for converting the energy-dense uranium into reactor fuel. DOE did not […]

The bipartisan debt ceiling bill, which President Joe Biden (D) signed into law on Saturday, passed the Senate Thursday with 63 affirmative votes, but it drew a lot of Republican opposition, including from members representing Department of Energy weapons complex states. Senators who voted no included Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Sen. […]

Las Vegas-based subcontractor Longenecker & Associates has selected Jason Hatfield, a 20-year manager of Department of Energy contractor Bechtel National, to become its senior vice president for operations. Hatfield was most recently Bechtel’s mission assurance manager at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, Longenecker said in a Thursday June 1 press release. He officially starts […]

The Department of Energy is getting the ball rolling on an environmental review of its big drive to drum up a domestic industry for energy-dense uranium fuel by hosting public webcasts about the effort this month. The agency announced the opening of a public comment period on a draft environmental impact statement for its High […]

A bill that would force reviews of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s efficiency and extend caps on industry liability for catastrophic nuclear accidents cleared a Senate committee Wednesday on a 16-3 bipartisan vote. Only three Democrats opposed the bill, the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act of 2023. Sens. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), […]

The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, along with a subcontractor, are being investigated for a January incident where a worker was exposed to “potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide,” according to DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. The exposure happened Jan. 10 during testing of a gasoline-powered welder generator inside […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]

After about two years of bid protests, incumbent Centerra Group recently started its 60-day transition into a new 10-year contract to provide security to the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., an agency spokesperson said Thursday. The Notice to Proceed was issued on May 15 and Centerra should start its new decade-long, […]

Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and National Nuclear Security Administration head Jill Hruby are too legit to quit. In mid-May, the pair hosted former rapper and “science enthusiast” MC Hammer at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore California.  Hruby included a photo of the three of them, along with Kim Budil, director of […]

It is time for the Department of Energy to arrange an outside review of its potential alternatives for treating the most highly-radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued last week. “DOE has not committed to obtaining an independent review to validate the portions of […]

Mark Menezes, who was deputy secretary of energy under President Donald Trump, will become the United States Energy Association’s new president and chief executive officer, the organization said last week. Menezes will become the top boss at the U.S. Energy Association (USEA) June 15, replacing acting executive director Sheila Hollis, who has led the group […]

Senators from four states have joined forces to form a caucus dedicated to advocating for U.S. national laboratories, including those overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), James Risch (R-Idaho.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) announced the creation of a new Senate National Labs Caucus on May 25. […]

President Joe Biden (R) on Sunday signed legislation that would cut much non-defense federal spending over the next two fiscal years in exchange for extending U.S. borrowing authority. The Senate passed the bill on Thursday, averting a U.S. default on its debt payments. Biden negotiated the terms of the deal with the Speaker of the House […]

A member of the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) announced plans this week to leave Congress in order to attend to his ill wife. Stewart did not reveal details of the health issues facing his wife but could resign soon, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday. “I can say with pride that I […]

A federal judge this week did not throw out on technical grounds a $45-billion liquid waste cleanup contract the Department of Energy issued in April, but the BWX Technologies-led joint venture that won the business still must explain its legal eligibility for the award. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, was given until […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for radioactive liquid waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state are in the market for technology to better identify and evaluate leaks from single-shell underground tanks, according to a notice Wednesday on a federal procurement website. DOE and Amentum-led Washington River Protection Solutions are seeking expressions […]

The Jacobs-led cleanup contractor at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory, along with a subcontractor, are being investigated for a January incident where a worker was exposed to “potentially dangerous levels of carbon monoxide,” according to DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments. The exposure happened Jan. 10 during testing of a gasoline-powered welder generator inside […]

A federal judge on Tuesday did not throw out on technical grounds a $45-billion liquid waste cleanup contract the Department of Energy issued in April, but the BWX Technologies-led joint venture that won the business still must explain its legal eligibility for the award. The team, Hanford Tank Waste Operations and Closure, wants until June […]

A company seeking to build a small modular demonstration reactor at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site has received a qualified endorsement from a Nuclear Regulatory Commission advisory panel. Kairos Power said Thursday via Twitter the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards has recommended issuance of the construction permit for the […]

It is time for the Department of Energy to arrange an outside review of its potential alternatives for treating the most highly-radioactive waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued Thursday. “DOE has not committed to obtaining an independent review to validate the portions of the […]

Mark Menezes, who was deputy secretary of energy under President Donald Trump, will become the United States Energy Association’s new president and chief executive officer, the organization said Friday. Menezes will become the top boss at the U.S. Energy Association (USEA) June 15, replacing acting executive director Sheila Hollis, who has led the group since […]

Senators from four states have joined forces to form a caucus dedicated to advocating for U.S. national laboratories, including those overseen by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), James Risch (R-Idaho.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) announced the creation of a new Senate National Labs Caucus on May 25. […]

A long-awaited report released Monday from the National Academies finds a “strong technical case” for using concrete-like grout to augment operation of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state. The report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine lauded a study by DOE’s Savannah […]

Crews at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state are doing electrical testing, setting the stage to again start heating up the first melter at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, the agency’s acting nuclear cleanup boss said this week. “At Hanford we resumed our electrical testing for the vitrification plant,” William (Ike) […]

Jessie Hill Roberson, a fixture in the public and private sectors of the nuclear field for more than 30 years, plans to exit the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board this October when her latest term expires, a board spokesperson said Monday. The exit of the longtime nuclear hand could, temporarily at least, leave only two […]

A $1.4-billion facility to convert sodium-bearing waste into a solid granular form at the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory is now running with 100% radioactive waste, the head of the $8-billion nuclear cleanup office said Monday. The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho National Lab is now “at 100% waste feed,” William […]