Department of Energy

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) this month formally determined that the site of the now-decommissioned Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) can be released for unrestricted use. Contractor EnergySolutions completed decommissioning the facility in April. While the University of Arkansas owns the reactor site, the work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. […]

The Department of Energy is accepting claims through Sept. 13 for reimbursement of expenses for cleanup of certain uranium and thorium processing sites in the current 2019 federal fiscal year. The agency said in a Federal Register notice Tuesday that its Office of Environmental Management requested just over $21 million in fiscal 2020 for the […]

The Department of Energy has extended three technical support services contracts through Sept. 30 for cleanup operations at its Paducah Site in Kentucky and Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Further details about the contract extensions were not immediately available. The department has indicated it could extend the contracts in three-month increments from April 1 to Dec. […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday committed to explaining the missed 2017 deadline to complete environmental remediation at his agency’s portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The Energy Department is one of three parties, with Boeing and NASA, responsible for cleanup of the former 2,850-acre rocket testing and nuclear research complex […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a young California company that is offering a “drillhole” approach for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the House’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Smith proposed prohibiting any DOE funding in the upcoming federal budget […]

Mission Support Alliance (MSA), the support services provider for the Hanford Site in Washington state, has dropped a contract dispute complaint against the Department of Energy. The chair of the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals on June 19 dismissed MSA’s case against the Energy Department with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled at a […]

The legacy nuclear cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico this week canceled the procurement for removal of concrete slabs and related work in Technical Area 21. In an update to its April contracting notice, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) said Monday it was terminating the procurement […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a young California company that is offering a “drillhole” approach for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the […]

The Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) this month formally determined that the site of the now-decommissioned Southwest Experimental Fast Oxide Reactor (SEFOR) can be released for unrestricted use. Contractor EnergySolutions completed decommissioning the facility in April. While the University of Arkansas owns the reactor site, the work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. […]

By John Stang A Thursday hearing of a U.S. Senate committee focused on a perceived symbiosis between the long-delayed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository and two proposed consolidated used fuel storage sites in Texas and New Mexico. Senators and witnesses argued that a permanent disposal facility in Nevada needs to be actively in motion to […]

Saudi Arabia will have to sign “a very strong 123 agreement” to be counted among the “adult members of the world community” that use nuclear power, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said this week in congressional testimony. Perry has made that point directly to the Saudi government, the Energy Department chief told the House Science […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the lower chamber’s version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House Armed Services Committee chairman proposed prohibiting any DOE […]

Parsons has provided quality management at the Savannah River Site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), with little need for improvement, according to a recent assessment from the U.S. Department of Energy. Agency officials further concluded the contractor has successfully implemented processes and procedures that fall in line with DOE’s Conduct of Operations for facilities in […]

Contractors at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state have won praise, for the third year in a row, for their efforts to limit the environmental impact of their computers and other electronic equipment. In 2018, over 95% of the electronics bought by all DOE contractors at Hanford were environmentally friendly, according to […]

Leaders in the Nevada county where the federal government wants to build a nuclear waste repository on Wednesday criticized several key elements of legislation aimed at resolving the longstanding impasse over management of the radioactive material. “The Nye County Commission remains in support of the proposition that the Yucca Mountain licensing proceeding should be completed […]

The Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Kentucky temporarily lost all power Sunday following a storm in the region. In an occurrence report published Wednesday, DOE said “the Paducah Site experienced a total loss of site power as a result of the severe weather affecting the Shawnee-Marshall 161kV Line that feeds power to the Paducah […]

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) wants to give state governors a firm voice in the Department of Energy’s reinterpretation of the federal definition of high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In an amendment submitted to the House’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Smith proposed prohibiting any DOE funding in the upcoming 2020 federal budget year […]

The Department of Energy is accepting claims through Sept. 13 for reimbursement of expenses for cleanup of certain uranium and thorium processing sites in the current 2019 federal fiscal year. The agency said in a Federal Register notice Tuesday that its Office of Environmental Management requested just over $20 million in fiscal 2020 for the […]

The legacy nuclear cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico this week canceled the procurement for removal of concrete slabs and related work in Technical Area 21. In an update to its April contracting notice, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B) said Monday it was terminating the procurement […]

Saudi Arabia will have to sign “a very strong 123 agreement” to be counted among the “adult members of the world community” that use nuclear power, Secretary of Energy Rick Perry said Tuesday in congressional testimony. Perry has made that point directly to the Saudi government, the Energy Department chief told the House Science Committee […]

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Tuesday committed to explaining the missed 2017 deadline to complete environmental remediation at his agency’s portion of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. The Energy Department is one of three parties, with Boeing and NASA, responsible for cleanup of the former 2,850-acre rocket testing and nuclear research complex […]

The Department of Energy has extended three technical support services contracts through Sept. 30 for cleanup operations at its Paducah Site in Kentucky and Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Further details about the contract extensions were not immediately available. The department has indicated it could extend the contracts in three-month increments from April 1 to Dec. […]

Mission Support Alliance (MSA), the support services provider for the Hanford Site in Washington state, has dropped a contract dispute complaint against the Department of Energy. The chair of the U.S. Civilian Board of Contract Appeals on June 19 dismissed MSA’s case against the Energy Department with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled at a […]

One of the Department of Energy’s major contractors has sealed a cooperative agreement with a company offering a “drillhole” method for disposal of nuclear waste. Under the memorandum of agreement announced Monday, Bechtel will offer project management, business, and other support to assist Deep Isolation in selling its technology to the Energy Department and other […]

The prime cleanup contractor for the Central Plateau at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state is accepting expressions of interest from potential manufacturers of an ion-exchange system for treatment of contaminated groundwater. The selected subcontractor would design, produce, and submit the system for extraction of uranium and technetium-99 for the pump-and-treat facility […]

Environmental services provider US Ecology on Monday announced it would acquire an energy industry-focused remediation and response company. The $966 million, all-stock buyout of NRC Group Holdings (NRCG) is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of the year, pending stockholder and regulatory approval, according to a US Ecology press release. “The addition of […]

The Democrat-led House of Representatives on Wednesday further cemented its newfound rejection of funding licensing for a nuclear waste repository under Yucca Mountain, Nev. In a 226-203 vote, the House approved a nearly $1 trillion “minibus” appropriations bill that would fund the Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission, respectively the applicant and adjudicator for […]

The Department of Energy is requiring over a dozen of its cleanup sites to conduct extensive evaluations of their radioactive waste holdings and safety practices, in hopes of preventing a repeat of the April 2018 sludge release at the Idaho National Laboratory. The facilities overseen by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) have until Sept. […]

A defense policy bill unveiled last week by the Senate Armed Services Committee would require the Department of Energy to report to Congress on its progress in closing radioactive waste storage tanks at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Idaho National Laboratory. The committee is also looking for a report from the […]