Office of Environmental Management (EM)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management last month marked the 20th anniversary of final remediation of the Fernald Site, a former uranium processing facility 20 miles outside of Cincinnati, Ohio. Over 250 people turned out for a Sept. 19 commemoration of the Cold War nuclear site that operated from 1951 until 1986 when […]

A full week into fiscal 2027, the Department of Energy had still not appointed members for the newly-configured Hanford Advisory Board. A DOE spokesperson said late Thursday Oct. 8 that the new members of the citizen advisory board for the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have yet to be finalized. DOE had previously targeted Oct. […]

With dignitaries such as U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) on hand, Amentum Thursday formally opened what it calls its Global Nuclear headquarters in Oak Ridge, Tenn. The offices at 151 Lafayette Drive will house more than 150 staff and serve as a hub for Amentum’s international nuclear operations as well as providing the company a […]

The Department of Energy has removed “acting” from the title of Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Nick Balsmeier at the Idaho National Laboratory. “17 years ago today, I started my career at the Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) as a United Steelworker (Local 652),” Balsmeier said in an Oct. 5 post on LinkedIn. “Today, I started my […]

Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste. The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a […]

The Department of Energy’s final request for proposals (RFP) for operation of the 70,000-square-foot 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., could be out this month, DOE said in a recent procurement update. That projection, shared Sept. 29 on the online procurement site, SAM.gov, is consistent with the timeline posted by the DOE […]

The Department of Energy’s final request for proposals (RFP) for operation of the 70,000-square-foot 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., could be out this month, DOE said in a recent procurement update. That projection, shared Sept. 29 on the online procurement site, SAM.gov, is consistent with the timeline posted by the DOE […]

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) says it is continuing technical work on the site’s hexavalent chromium plume despite a state directive to shut down its interim measure, while discussions with regulators and the Pueblo of San Ildefonso continue. At a Sept. 30 community forum, […]

The Department of Energy is preparing a Manhattan Project-era facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex for demolition while recovering equipment that can be reused across dozens of National Nuclear Security Administration facilities. The department’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and NNSA are working with their respective contractors, United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) […]

The Department of Energy is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from vendors that could potentially help recover valuable critical materials from nuclear cleanup sites. DOE expects it can reclaim rare earth elements and other materials important to industry from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the department’s Office of Environmental Management, according to […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The head of the Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office in Richland, Wash., said at a conference here last week it would be feasible to treat 80% of the Hanford Site’s underground tank waste by 2040. Hanford Field Office Manager Ray Geimer made the remark during a Sept. 15 panel discussion during […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup wing recently delayed or paused a couple of contract procurements, participants in the National Cleanup Workshop heard here Sept 15. The Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup solicitation in New Mexico has been delayed, as well as the Paducah Decontamination and Decommissioning Contract in Kentucky, said Aaron Deckard, […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Within weeks the Department of Energy could announce potential winners of a solicitation to set up a nuclear fuel recycling demonstration at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the department’s head of nuclear cleanup said here last week. Tim Walsh, the head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, said Sept. 15 at the […]

Nuclear cleanup crews at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio have taken down a huge chunk of the X-333 Process Building as part of the ongoing demolition of the 33-acre facility. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday press release that workers have torn down the 66,000-square-foot southwest corner of […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Within weeks the Department of Energy could announce potential winners of a solicitation to set up a nuclear fuel recycling demonstration at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the department’s head of nuclear cleanup said here last week. Tim Walsh, the head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, said Sept. 15 at the […]

Nuclear cleanup crews at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio have taken down a huge chunk of the X-333 Process Building as part of the ongoing demolition of the 33-acre facility. The DOE Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday press release that workers have torn down the 66,000-square-foot southwest corner of […]

Uranium recovery at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina will resume next month when the site’s H Canyon facility restarts head end operations, meaning it will begin the initial processing stage.  During an SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) meeting on Tuesday, the site’s DOE Office of Environmental Management executive Edwin Deshong […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup wing recently delayed or paused a couple of contract procurements, participants in the National Cleanup Workshop heard here Sept 15. The Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup solicitation in New Mexico has been delayed, as well as the Paducah Decontamination and Decommissioning Contract in Kentucky, said Aaron Deckard, […]

The Hanford Site’s Tank-side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system is back in operation for the first time since February, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Sept. 15 press release. DOE contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure (H2C) suspended operations Feb. 25 because Tank AP-106 was too full to take more […]

The Department of Energy is seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from vendors that could potentially help recover valuable critical materials from nuclear cleanup sites. DOE expects it can reclaim rare earth elements and other materials important to industry from Cold War and Manhattan Project sites overseen by the department’s Office of Environmental Management, according to […]

ARLINGTON, VA – The head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup branch said here Tuesday the Office of Environmental Management (EM) is indeed being renamed. In his “State of EM” speech, Walsh again said the Environmental Management office is being rebranded as the “Office of Nuclear Restoration and Revitalization. His remarks came at […]

Savannah River Site is moving beyond its traditional environmental cleanup mission as the Department of Energy and National Nuclear Security Administration prepare to expand nuclear-fuel, plutonium and other national-security activities at the South Carolina site. The NNSA took over landlord responsibilities from DOE’s Environmental Management in October 2024. Edwin Deshong, manager of DOE Environmental Management’s […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) told the National Cleanup Workshop here on Wednesday he expects the Energy & Water Development bill for fiscal 2027 to pass during the so-called “lame duck” session after Congress returns following the November election. Fleischmann, a member of the House Appropriation Committee, chairs the Energy & Water subcommittee […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 29 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in August, in its first full month following hoist repairs that paused disposal back in May.  By comparison, the facility received 55 waste shipments in August 2025, and 55 shipments in April of this year, when operations […]

ARLINGTON, Va. – Someone who mistakenly stumbled into the Department of Energy’s National Cleanup Workshop without an agenda might be excused for confusing it with a conference on artificial intelligence (AI). Many conversations from the podium and in the hallways here this week have focused to some extent on the potential and perils of AI. […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will spend about half of 2027 down for maintenance, DOE and contractor officials told the National Cleanup Workshop here Tuesday. WIPP will be essentially offline and not receiving waste for two three-month cycles during 2027, said Ken Harrawood, president and […]

ARLINGTON, VA — The Department of Energy’s nuclear cleanup branch is about a third smaller than it was a few years ago, although more people could be brought on following a pending regional reorganization. “You know today we are at about 820 federal employees,” Tim Walsh, the head of DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said […]

ARLINGTON – The head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup branch said here Tuesday the Office of Environmental Management (EM) is indeed being renamed. In his “State of EM” speech, Walsh again said the Environmental Management office is being rebranded as the “Office of Nuclear Restoration and Revitalization. His remarks came at the […]

Tim Walsh, the Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for Environmental Management, or EM-1, is one of the headline speakers for this week’s National Cleanup Workshop in Arlington, Va, and he could update key front-burner issues facing the nuclear cleanup branch. In March, Walsh told the Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix that EM could soon be […]

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 […]