Oak Ridge Reservation
The Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, home to the Y-12 National Security Complex, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and ongoing DOE environmental cleanup.
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Budget & Policy
Compromise NDAA Seeks Financial Data on Energy Dept. Nuclear Cleanup Milestones
A defense policy bill on the verge of passage would require the U.S. Energy Department to provide Congress with anticipated costs of complying with court-enforced consent decrees at nuclear cleanup sites. The final version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed easily out of the House of Representatives Wednesday on a vote […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Companies to Extract Cancer Treatment Research Materials From Oak Ridge Waste
Two companies are working together to extract rare isotopes for cancer treatment research from nuclear waste at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. The project was unveiled in late November by Isotek Systems, a DOE contractor that oversees management of uranium-233 stored at ORNL, and TerraPower, a company co-founded […]
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Commercial Low-Level Waste
Waste Control Specialists to Store Mercury Under DOE Contract
The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday awarded Waste Control Specialists (WCS) a task order for long-term storage of elemental mercury in existing buildings on its Andrews County, Texas, property. The agency’s press release did not reveal the value of the deal to lease WCS storage space for up to 6,800 metric tons (7,480 tons) […]
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Transuranic Waste
October Data Shows WIPP Catching Up With 2018 Shipment Pace
The U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received 275 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during the first 10 months of this year, compared to 272 during the same period in 2018. October is the last full month for which shipment information is available through WIPP’s public database. It shows that the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Another Delay Possible on Draft ROD for Oak Ridge Landfill
After already being delayed several times, publication of a draft record of decision (ROD) for a proposed new landfill at the U.S. Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee could slip into 2020. The document is supposed to be issued Dec. 19, but DOE managers have informed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Jacobs Increases Revenue to $3.4B in Fourth Quarter
Jacobs Engineering on Monday posted $3.4 billion in revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 27, a step up from $3 billion in the same period a year earlier. The Dallas-based multinational reported earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019 before the market opened for the day. Its earnings per diluted share was $0.16, a […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
AECOM Chief Executive to Retire
AECOM said Friday that CEO and Chairman Michael Burke plans to retire by next year, either once his successor is found or ahead of the company’s 2020 yearly shareholders meeting scheduled for March. Burke will be the last executive to hold the dual title, the Los Angeles-based infrastructure and engineering multinational said in a press […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
AECOM Cites Record Revenue, Net Loss for Fiscal Year
AECOM, the international infrastructure company that is preparing its exit from contracting for the U.S. Energy Department, on Tuesday reported record annual revenue but a net loss for its fiscal 2019. Company-wide revenue of almost $20.2 billion was up 2% from $20.15 billion in fiscal 2018, according to AECOM’s latest earnings report. But the net […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Two Major DOE Contractors Resist Updated Whistleblower Protections
Strengthened whistleblower protections approved by Congress are now written into most but not all major contracts at the U.S. Energy Department, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report dated Nov. 4. The office reviewed 30 of DOE’s largest contracts, together worth about $386 billion – or 94% of the agency’s $411 billion in […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Feasibility Study Planned for Entombing Oak Ridge Molten Salt Reactor Experiment
U.S. Department of Energy officials are continuing to evaluate a decommissioning approach for the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee that could involve removing above-ground structures and encasing contaminated structures below ground in a concrete-like grout. The DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is beginning planning […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Feasibility Study Planned for Entombing Oak Ridge Molten Salt Reactor Experiment
U.S. Department of Energy officials are continuing to evaluate the possibility of entombing the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee, possibly burying contaminated structures below ground in grout. The DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management is starting a planning process that could be part of a phased […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Most Major DOE Contractors Have Implemented Whistleblower Protections
Strengthened whistleblower protections approved by Congress are now written into most but not all major contracts at the Energy Department, according to a DOE Office of Inspector General report dated Nov. 4. The office reviewed 30 of DOE’s largest contracts, together worth about $386 billion – or 94% of the agency’s $411 billion in current […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
BWXT Expects Hanford Central Plateau Award in Weeks, Tanks Contract in Mid-2020
BWX Technologies President and CEO Rex Geveden said Tuesday the U.S. Energy Department should soon issue one multibillion-dollar contract at the Hanford Site in Washington state, while another probably won’t land until mid-2020. “In the coming weeks we expect to hear about the Hanford Plateau Central Cleanup contract for which we are competing,” Geveden said […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Draft ROD for Oak Ridge Landfill Pushed Back to December
The planned release of a draft record of decision (ROD) for a new 2.2-million-cubic yard landfill for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee has been delayed again, with the new target release date set for Dec. 19, a U.S. Energy Department spokesperson said Monday by email. The document had most recently been scheduled to drop […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Dept. Needs Better Procedures for Managing PILT Program, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said Tuesday the Department of Energy should provide better documentation of how it manages the payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) program for communities around nuclear facilities. The Energy Department handed out $23 million in PILT revenue to communities near a dozen nuclear laboratory and cleanup sites in fiscal 2017. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Dept. Lacks Clear Standards for Managing PILT Program, GAO Says
The U.S. Government Accountability Office said Tuesday the Department of Energy should provide better documentation of how it manages the payments in lieu of taxes (PILT) program for communities around nuclear facilities. The Energy Department handed out $23 million in PILT revenue to communities near a dozen nuclear laboratory and cleanup sites in fiscal 2017. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Draft ROD for New Oak Ridge Landfill Now Expected in December
The planned release of a draft record of decision (ROD) for a new 2.2-million-cubic yard landfill for the Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee has been delayed again, with the new target release date set for Dec. 19, a U.S. Energy Department spokesperson said Monday by email. The document had most recently been scheduled to drop […]
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Nuclear Weapons & Stockpile
Environmental Groups Ask Judge Again: Stop UPF Construction
Environmental groups whose lawsuit forced the U.S. Department of Energy to partially redo an environmental review of its Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) on Monday asked the federal judge who ordered the do-over to halt construction of the next-generation weapons-uranium hub. While she ordered the agency on Sept. 24 to incorporate federal earthquake hazard data into […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
AECOM Provides Detail on Sale of Government Service Unit
Both AECOM and the investment group planning to buy its government contracting business could call off the deal if it takes too long to complete, according to a recent financial filing. AECOM plans to sell its Management Services business to Maverick Purchaser Sub LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firms American Securities and Lindsay […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AECOM Offers Additional Detail on Sale of Government Service Unit
Both AECOM and the investment group planning to buy its government contracting business could call off the deal if it takes too long to complete, according to a recent financial filing. AECOM plans to sell its Management Services business to Maverick Purchaser Sub LLC, a joint venture formed by investment firms American Securities and Lindsay […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AECOM to Sell Government Contracting Biz to Investment Group for $2.4B
AECOM announced Monday it plans to sell its government contracting business for $2.4 billion to two investment firms rather than advancing a previous plan to spin the branch off into a stand-alone public company. Affiliates of New York City-based American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg are joining to buy AECOM’s Management Services business. In its press […]
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Contracts & Procurement
AECOM to Sell Government Contracting Biz to Investment Group for $2.4B
AECOM announced Monday it plans to sell its government contracting business for $2.4 billion to two investment firms rather than advancing its previous plan to spin the branch off into a stand-alone public company. Affiliates of New York City-based American Securities and Lindsay Goldberg are joining to buy AECOM’s Management Services business. In June, AECOM […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: DOE Nuclear Cleanup Office Launches Twitter Account
The U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), which oversees remediation of 16 Cold War and Manhattan Project nuclear sites, now has a Twitter account (@EMcleanup). The account launched Sept. 9 to mark the 30th anniversary of nuclear cleanup office with a tweet honoring the 20,000-plus Environmental Management workers and contractors. The Office of […]
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Decommissioning
Centrus Energy Finishes $15M Decommissioning Project at Oak Ridge
Centrus Energy on Wednesday said it had finished the $15 million decontamination and decommissioning of the K-1600 plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier met its budget and schedule commitments for the job, according to a press release. “I’m pleased our team was able […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Senate Appropriations Panel Seeks DOE Data on Livermore Excess Facilities
The Senate Appropriations Committee wants a report from the U.S. Energy Department on what it will take to decommission excess facilities at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California over the next 10 years. The panel made the request on Sept. 12 in a report accompanying its version of the $49-billion energy and water development […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Plans Groundwater Study for Former Oak Ridge Uranium Enrichment Complex
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—The U.S. Department of Energy is preparing a study that could help determine how to treat contaminated groundwater at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the former site of uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons and nuclear power reactors. The feasibility study is expected to evaluate technologies that could be used to treat the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Warren Plan Would Revive Corporate Superfund Taxes
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), seeking her party’s nomination for president, on Wednesday proposed reinstating corporate taxes to pay for cleanup of Superfund sites contaminated by hazardous wastes. The measure is among a list of proposals in the candidate’s new environmental justice plan. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists more than 1,300 Superfund properties on […]
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Transuranic Waste
Several DOE Infrastructure Projects Nearing Completion, Cleanup Official says
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Some large infrastructure projects in the U.S. Energy Department’s nationwide nuclear cleanup complex should be completed in the next couple years, an agency official said Wednesday. That should include startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Hanford Mission Support Contract Expected Soon, DOE Procurement Manager Says
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Barring unforeseen circumstances, the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management expects soon to award the potential 10-year, $6 billion support services contract for the Hanford Site in Washington state, an agency procurement official said Wednesday. The Energy Department apparently recently informed Congress the contract was being awarded, only to reverse course […]
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Decommissioning
Centrus Energy Finishes $15M Decommissioning Project at Oak Ridge
Centrus Energy on Wednesday said it had finished the $15 million decontamination and decommissioning of the K-1600 plant at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee. The Bethesda, Md.-based nuclear fuel supplier met its budget and schedule commitments for the job, according to a press release. “I’m pleased our team was able […]






