Archive

Waste Control Specialists

A Texas-based company operating one of the nation’s few licensed commercial low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities.

  • Market Research Resumes for DOE Long-term Mercury Storage

    Soon after withdrawing its designation of Texas-based Waste Control Specialists as its long-term storage site for elemental mercury, the Department of Energy is seeking information about other potentially suitable sites. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 4 to DOE’s request for information (RFI) for a leased facility and services related to […]

  • Energy Dept. Restarts Market Research for Long-term Mercury Storage

    Soon after withdrawing its designation of Texas-based Waste Control Specialists as its long-term storage site for elemental mercury, the Department of Energy is seeking information about other potentially suitable sites. Responses are due by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 4 to DOE’s request for information (RFI) for a leased facility and services related to […]

  • Locals, Public Grumble About Rail Trips in Public Meeting for Interim Storage Site; NRC Won’t Extend Comment Period

    By John Stang Transportation, potential terrorism and environmental justice were among the concerns voiced Thrusday at web-based public hearing on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s draft environmental impact statement on Interim Storage Partners’ proposal to build a spent nuclear fuel storage site in western Texas.  “We don’t want high-level radioactive wastes dumped in our home,” said […]

  • WCS Designation as Site for Mercury Long-term Storage Withdrawn by Energy Dept.

    The Department of Energy said in a Tuesday Federal Register notice that it is withdrawing its designation of Waste Control Specialists in West Texas as its long-term storage site for elemental mercury. The DOE and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality previously granted the necessary approvals for the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) site in Andrews […]

  • Energy Dept. Withdraws WCS Designation as Site for Mercury Long-term Storage

    The Department of Energy said in a Tuesday Federal Register notice that it is withdrawing its designation of Waste Control Specialists in West Texas as its long-term storage site for elemental mercury. The DOE and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality previously granted the necessary approvals for the Waste Control Specialists (WCS) site in Andrews County […]

  • SRS Moves Pilot Shipment of Wastewater Under New High-level Waste Policy

    The Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina has completed its 8-gallon pilot shipment of wastewater to a private disposal site in West Texas under the agency’s new interpretation of high-level waste. The shipment from the Savannah River Defense Waste Processing Facility to Waste Control Specialists (WCS) in Andrew County, Texas, concluded Tuesday, […]

  • DOE Discusses Ordering Agreements for Waste Treatment

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management is looking for a group of qualified vendors to compete for orders for nationwide waste treatment services. In a recently published batch of questions and answers, the Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center, said it is not issuing an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract for nationwide treatment services for mixed and […]

  • Plans for 8-Gallon Pilot of Non-HLW Outlined by Energy Dept.

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management says 8 gallons of recycled wastewater from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina can be hauled to a Texas disposal facility with minimal risk. Shipping the waste from the SRS Defense Waste Processing Facility to the Waste Control Specialists disposal site in West Texas will be the […]

  • Stranded Los Alamos Waste Won’t Leave Texas This Year

    The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has still received no definitive timetable from the Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management for removing stranded drums of potentially-combustible transuranic waste from temporary commercial storage in Andrews County, a commission spokesperson said this week. The state regulator expected to receive a technical analysis from the Environmental Management office […]

  • Plans for 8-Gallon Pilot of Non-HLW Outlined by DOE

    The Energy Department’s Office of Environmental Management says 8 gallons of recycled wastewater from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina can be hauled to a Texas disposal facility with minimal risk. Shipping the waste from the SRS Defense Waste Processing Facility to the Waste Control Specialists disposal site in West Texas will be the […]

  • NRC Asked About Allowing Los Alamos Waste to Stay in Texas 2 More Years

    While the Energy Department faces a December deadline to remove some problem transuranic waste from a commercial disposal site in West Texas, there appears to be a chance the material might stay there for two more years. On Aug. 24, Waste Control Specialists requested the Nuclear Regulatory Commission relax its existing order that allows the […]

  • Remediation Focus at Oak Ridge Shifts Away From Enrichment Facilities

    Having lined up a potential two-year extension for environmental remediation at the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee, an Amentum-Jacobs joint venture is wrapping up work on the grounds of a former uranium enrichment complex, top managers said Thursday. Without offering much detail, leaders at URS/CH2M Hill Oak Ridge (UCOR) affirmed they are also […]

  • Webinar Set on DOE Plan to Ship Recycled Savannah River Wastewater to Texas

    The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a webinar for next week to offer details on its plan to ship some material currently classified as high-level radioactive waste from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to a facility in West Texas licensed for low-level waste. The online session is set for 11 […]

  • Energy Dept. Schedules Webinar on Plan to Ship Recycled Savannah River Wastewater to Texas

    The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management has scheduled a webinar for next week to offer details on its plan to ship some material currently classified as high-level radioactive waste from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to a facility in West Texas licensed for low-level waste. The online session is set for 11 […]

  • New Transport Cask Put to Use in Vermont Yankee Decommissioning

    Orano USA’s new transport cask is being put to use for shipment of low-level radioactive-waste generated by decommissioning of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The first shipment of reactor internals from the plant within a MP197HB transport cask arrived recently at the Waste Control Specialists radioactive waste disposal facility in Andrews County, Texas, according […]

  • Texas Congressional Candidate Raises Concerns About Spent-Fuel Storage

    The Democratic Party’s candidate for the congressional seat representing Texas’ 11th District this week emphasized his opposition to interim storage of radioactive spent nuclear fuel in the region. “One thing I’m particularly concerned about is the plan … to bring in highly radioactive nuclear waste from 100 nuclear power plants across the country, to store […]

  • Texas Commission Approves Updated Financial Assurance Figure for Waste Control Specialists

    The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Wednesday approved the latest financial assurance cost estimate for closure and post-closure activities for radioactive waste facilities operated by Waste Control Specialists in Andrews County. The three commissioners spent only a couple minutes discussing the matter before their unanimous vote, and asked no questions of TCEQ staff. […]

  • Preparations Underway for Removal of Large Components at SONGS

    Decommissioning contractors for the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) are readying for removal of large components from the plant’s two reactors, according to an update last week. SONGS majority owner Southern California Edison (SCE) laid out its decommissioning schedule during a meeting Thursday of the site’s Community Engagement Panel. Right now, SCE and its […]

  • Half-Dozen Procurement Notices Expected This Year From DOE Cleanup Office

    The Energy Department Office of Environmental Management expects to stay busy with procurements during the remainder of 2020. The nuclear cleanup office intends to roll out up to six final requests for proposals (RFP) between now and December, according to a quarterly update posted Monday by the Cincinnati-based Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center. The Energy Department […]

  • Energy Dept. Finalizes Plan for Disposal of Savannah River Wastewater in Texas

    The Department of Energy this week formalized its plan to eventually ship up to 10,000 gallons of wastewater from the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina to a commercial facility in Texas for disposal, under the classification of low-level radioactive waste. The department said it will begin within 12 months by shipping no more […]

  • DOE Finalizes Plan for Disposal of Savannah River Wastewater at Commercial Site

    The Department of Energy this week formalized its plan to eventually ship up to 10,000 gallons of wastewater from the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina to a commercial facility in Texas for disposal, under the classification of low-level radioactive waste. The department said it will begin within 12 months by shipping no more […]

  • New Mexico Gov. Asks Trump to Oppose Spent-Fuel Storage Facilities

    New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

  • New Mexico Gov. Asks Trump to Oppose Spent-Fuel Storage Facility

    New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) on Tuesday called on President Donald Trump to oppose commercial plans for facilities in her state and neighboring Texas that could temporarily store tens of thousands of tons of radioactive used fuel from U.S. nuclear power plants. “Given that a permanent repository for high-level waste does not exist […]

  • Perma-Fix Picks New EVP

    Perma-Fix Environmental Services said Monday it has promoted a longtime manager to the position of executive vice president of waste treatment operations. The Board of Directors for the Atlanta-based waste management company approved Richard Grondin’s appointment on July 22, also making him an executive officer, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. […]

  • Low-Level Waste Being Transported to Tennessee After Railcar Fire

    Low-level radioactive waste that was being carried in a railcar that caught fire in June near Chicago is now being transported by truck to Tennessee, according to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA). Transport of 42 intermodal containers started last week and is expected to wrap up this week, IEMA spokeswoman Rebecca Clark said by […]

  • Texas Regulator Objects to Federal Very Low-Level Rad Waste Rule Update

    The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) on Friday submitted a long list of concerns about a proposed Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule interpretation that could make it easier to ship “very low-level” radioactive waste to landfills. “The NRC’s proposed interpretive rule could create administrative, enforcement, and compliance challenges for both regulators and the regulated community,” […]

  • Energy Dept. Nuclear Cleanup Complex Reports 66 Active COVID-19 Cases

    There are 66 cases of active coronavirus infection among personnel for nuclear cleanup operations overseen by the Energy Department Office of Environmental Management, an agency representative said Thursday. That is more than double the 31 active cases of COVID-19 disclosed a week ago for the Environmental Management complex. The agency did not offer any theory […]

  • House Appropriations Clears $7.5B for DOE Nuclear Cleanup

    The House Appropriations Committee on Monday approved its fiscal 2021 energy and water development bill, clearing the way for a vote by the full House later this month on the spending plan that would provide at least $7.5 billion for Energy Department nuclear cleanup. The Democrat-majority panel approved the spending package in a 31-20 vote […]

  • Texas Commission OKs Rad-Waste Disposal Charge Reduction

    The members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) voted 3-0 Wednesday to reduce a charge for disposal of radioactive waste at a state-owned facility operated by Waste Control Specialists. With little discussion during the teleconference, the three commissioners said they had no major objections to the company’s request to cut the curie inventory […]

  • Wrap Up: NRC Extends Comment Period on Spent-Fuel Storage Doc

    The Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday said it would extend the comment period to Nov. 3 on the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a planned spent nuclear fuel storage facility in West Texas. The 60-day extension is intended to give stakeholders sufficient time to provide input during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The NRC staff intends […]