Category Archives: TWPC

North Wind wins Oak Ridge TRU waste contract; potential value of $123.9M

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The Transuranic Waste Processing Center is located off Highway 95 on the southwest part of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge reservation.

The Department of Energy today announced that North Wind Solutions LLC has been awarded a contract to manage and operate DOE’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge.

According to the DOE announcement, there were seven proposals submitted for the government contract, which has a potential value of $123.9 million if all options are chosen. The performance period has a three-year base, with one two-year option. The small and disadvantaged contractor, which has been supporting the work at TWPC under a subcontract to Wastren Advantage since January 2013, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cook Inlet Region Inc. and based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Continue reading →

Early step in TRU sludge project

twpcThe Department of Energy has awarded a $1.5 million contract to CH2M Hill Constructors Inc. for design work associated with plans for a transuranic sludge processing facility at Oak Ridge.

Last year, CH2M Hill was selected as the “most qualified” among bidders for the sludge buildout project at DOE’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center (pictured, left) and negotiations led to the first of what is expected to be several contracts. The initial option awarded to CH2M Hill is to finalize the design of a mock test facility, which is supposed to be completed by year’s end. Continue reading →

It’s official: Alexander to chair key Appropriations subcommittee

alexandersummitAs expected, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., today was chosen by his Republican colleagues to chair the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on energy and water development. The subcommittee is a critical cog in deciding the Department of Energy’s funding, including the money directed to federal facilities in Oak Ridge.

Here’s an Alexander statement released by his office: Continue reading →

TRU changes

tru1The Department of Energy’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center is located on the western end of the Oak Ridge reservation off Highway 95. (DOE photo)

As noted in an earlier post, the state is considering — and expected to approve — changes to the enforceable schedule for processing and disposing of transuranic wastes in Oak Ridge. The long-lived, highly radioactive materials were mostly generated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s nuclear reactors and have been stored at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge site for decades, in many cases, and are a priority in the overall cleanup effort. Continue reading →

Reworking Oak Ridge’s TRU waste milestones

tru3A spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation today confirmed that the state is on the verge of approving changes to the legally enforced milestones for processing and getting rid of the transuranic wastes at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge facilities.

“On Dec. 5, 2014, the Department of Energy requested extension of transuranic waste milestones, as part of the Annual Update of the Site Treatment Plan,” state spokeswoman Kelly Brockman said via email in response to questions. “TDEC is reviewing the request and anticipates acceptance of these changes.” She identified the planned changes as : Continue reading →

Most popular Atomic City blog posts of 2014

Readers of Atomic City Underground like old and interesting photographs, keep track of current events at the Department of Energy and its affiliated institutions and communities, and sometimes have an affinity for the unusual. That sort of defines what this news blog is all about.

I just took a look at the year’s most popular posts, using a number of analytical tools, and here are those that — sometimes inexplicably — ranked highest.

1. Now that’s a whole heck of a lot of waste.

wastedrums12. NNSA confirms uranium incident at Y-12; top official coming to Oak Ridge to address situation.

3. In the megaton range at the Y-12 History Center.

4. CNS unveils org structure, some managers.

5. Isn’t this quaint?

6. Another view of K-25’s conclusion.

7. Declassified pics of final A-bomb preparations.

8. Nuclear survivor: Bill Clark recalls 1958 criticality accident and his up-and-down life since then.

9. Backlash on Y-12 benefit changes.

10. Eight workers got internal rad doses during secret project at ORNL; lab was doing work for Y-12. Continue reading →

10 more days for bidders on rad-waste contract

tru3The Department of Energy has given would-be bidders another 10 days to prepare their proposals on the contract to manage the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge. According to the amendment posted on DOE’s Environmental Management website, the due date has been changed from Dec. 1 to Dec. 11. The value of the contract could be up to $300 million. Continue reading →

Oak Ridge TRU waste contractor gets 68.5% of fee

tru1The Department of Energy’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center is located off Highway 95 on the southwest end of the Oak Ridge reservation.

In an Oct. 28 letter, the Department of Energy informed Wastren Advantage Inc. (WAI) that it would receive $405,601 in fees for its management of DOE’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge. The evaluation was for the six-month performance period, Feb. 1, 2014 through July 31, 2014.

The fee was 68.5 percent of the maximum available fee of $592,117. Continue reading →

With WIPP closed, Oak Ridge waste backlog grows

tru2The Department of Energy’s recovery plan for the problem-riddled Waste Isolation Pilot Plant indicated it would be 2016 before the underground repository in New Mexico resumes operations and accepts transuranic wastes from DOE cleanup sites around the U.S. Earlier plans have been put on hold.

However, work continues at DOE’s Transuranic Waste Processing Facility in Oak Ridge, and there is a mounting backlog of processed and repackaged wastes that will be shipped to WIPP in the future. Because of lack of storage space at the TWPC, some of the wastes are being transported to Oak Ridge National Laboratory for housing until off-site shipments resume. Continue reading →

Nuke waste contract officially up for grabs; estimated value up to $300M

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The Department of Energy’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge. (DOE photo)

transuranicThe Department of Energy today released the final Request for Proposals for managing and operating DOE’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge. According to a summary statement, the performance period is for five years — a three-year base contract, with one two-year option. The total estimated value of the radioactive-waste work is somewhere between $100 million and $300 million.

A draft RFP was released in mid-summer seeking comment from potential bidders. A pre-proposal conference and site tour will be held Oct. 28 at the waste-processing center on Highway 95 at the western edge of the DOE reservation. The contract is a set-aside for small businesses. The proposals are due by 4 p.m. on Dec. 1. Continue reading →