Environmental Remediation


From remediation to production: The DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative

September 20, 2024, 3:10PMRadwaste Solutions
Idaho National Laboratory employees consult on a microgrid at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground. Two solar projects were selected for development on INL land. (Photo: INL)

On July 28, 2023, the Department of Energy launched its Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, an effort to repurpose underutilized DOE-owned property—portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program—into the sites of clean-energy generation.

Demolition work continues near former Hanford processing facility

September 20, 2024, 12:00PMRadwaste Solutions
Crews demolished a former chemical storage area at the Hanford Site’s Reduction Oxidation Plant. (Photos: DOE)

Workers with the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently demolished a former chemical storage area at the Reduction Oxidation Plant, one of five former plutonium production facilities at the Hanford Site.

NextEra Energy selected for WIPP solar power project

September 19, 2024, 12:03PMRadwaste Solutions
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico. (Photo: DOE)

Juno Beach, Fla.–based NextEra Energy Resources Development has been selected to enter realty negotiations for a large-scale solar electricity generation project at the DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico as part of the department’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative.

Artesian well water passively cleans contaminated Savannah River water

August 19, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
The D Area Groundwater Treatability Study project team assesses artesian flow into injection well at the Savannah River Site. (Photo: SRNS)

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the management and operations contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site, announced that it has injected more than 100 million gallons of clean artesian well water to neutralize shallow groundwater contamination underneath 33 acres of a former coal storage yard and the associated runoff basin at the site in South Carolina. According to Ashley Shull, senior scientist for the project, “100 million gallons is nine times more water than [is] contained in the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.”

RFP issued for Paducah infrastructure support contract

August 16, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
The Paducah Site. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a final request for proposals for an infrastructure support services (ISS) contract at the department’s Paducah Site in Kentucky, which is the former home of the Paducah gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant. DOE-EM has conducted extensive cleanup and environmental remediation activities at the site since the late 1980s.

DOE announces first clean energy project for INL

June 10, 2024, 9:31AMRadwaste Solutions
The Materials and Fuels Complex at INL. (Photo: INL)

The Department of Energy will enter into lease negotiations with two solar energy developers for 400 megawatts of solar electricity generation within the Idaho National Laboratory site. Announced on June 5, the projects are the first proposed projects selected under the department’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, an effort to repurpose parts of DOE-owned lands—portions of which were previously used in the nation’s nuclear weapons program—into sites of clean-energy generation, including for solar, geothermal, wind, and nuclear.

DOE-EM finishes cleanup of legacy Oak Ridge reactor lab site

May 3, 2024, 1:25PMRadwaste Solutions
UCOR employees use a crane to load the Low Intensity Test Reactor vessel for transport to its final disposition location in Clive, Utah. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management announced that the 30-foot-long, 37,600-pound reactor vessel from Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Low Intensity Test Reactor was shipped to EnergySolutions’ low-level radioactive waste facility in Clive, Utah, in late April.

EPA issues final rule regulating “forever chemicals”

April 24, 2024, 9:30AMNuclear News

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it will issue a rule aimed at limiting public exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The final rule will designate two widely used PFAS chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.

According to the EPA, both PFOA and PFOS meet the statutory criteria for designation as hazardous substances.

Cattle industry poised to lead the way to a cooler Earth

April 16, 2024, 3:04PMNuclear NewsJames Conca
Methane emissions from cows are surprisingly important as a greenhouse gas. (Photo: Martin Abegglen)

In discussing how to counter global warming, it’s pretty easy to argue that nuclear should be the major electricity source and heat producer to replace fossil fuels. At 6 grams per kilowatt-hour, it has the lowest carbon emissions of any energy source, according to the United Nations, and is objectively the safest form of energy for humans and the environment alike, again from a recent UN report.

DOE eyes WIPP site for potential clean energy projects

February 29, 2024, 12:00PMRadwaste Solutions
The DOE's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. (Photo: DOE)

The Department of Energy has issued a request for information (RFI) to identify industry partners interested in developing commercial clean energy projects at the DOE’s at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site in southeast New Mexico.

DOE issues final RFP for Portsmouth/Paducah support services contract

February 28, 2024, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has issued a final request for proposals for the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) technical support services contract. The PPPO manages the department’s cleanup efforts at the two gaseous diffusion plant sites in Ohio and Kentucky.

DOE-EM releases 2024 cleanup priorities

February 1, 2024, 3:22PMRadwaste Solutions
Click to expand to see all priorities. (Image: DOE)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has released its program priorities for calendar year 2024, covering key cleanup actions, project construction, acquisition, and other important activities that will further the office’s mission of addressing the environmental legacy of the nation’s nuclear research and weapons development.

DOE issues draft RFQ for Hanford clean energy initiative

December 22, 2023, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions
The DOE’s Hanford Site. (Image: Washington River Protection Solutions)

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management issued for public comment the first request for qualifications (RFQ) related to the department’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, which aims to increase energy production by making DOE land available for the potential development of carbon-free energy (CFE) electricity generation through leases.

DOE's cleanup year in review

December 21, 2023, 9:30AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy, in its 2023 Year in Review released on December 20, noted that its cleanup program in 2023 had successes in treating liquid tank waste, carrying out deactivation and decommissioning, remediating groundwater and soil contamination, and reducing risk at its various sites across the nation.

William “Ike” White, senior advisor in the DOE's Office of Environmental Management, said that the office “realized numerous accomplishments in 2023 that not only reduce risks but help position cleanup sites for the next phase of progress. In addition, our workforce’s efforts over the past year led to a cleaner environment while also boosting DOE’s national security missions, supporting scientific innovation, and enabling a better future.”

DOE issues $19 million Community Capacity Building Grant Program FOA

December 8, 2023, 12:01PMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management released a competitive funding opportunity announcement (FOA) on December 6 for the Community Capacity Building Grant Program, aimed at communities affected by DOE-EM’s mission to clean up legacy nuclear waste.

Portsmouth Site tests radiation-detecting drone

November 2, 2023, 3:00PMNuclear News
A radiation detection drone was tested at the Portsmouth site in southern Ohio. (Photo: DOE)

Through a collaborative effort between the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management and the state of Ohio, a drone outfitted with radiation detectors underwent testing recently at the site of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant for potential future use.

DOE issues additional Cleanup to Clean Energy RFIs

October 20, 2023, 9:32AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy has released two additional requests for information related to its Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, which aims to repurpose certain DOE-owned lands—portions of which were previously used during the nation’s nuclear weapons program—into sites for clean energy generation, including include solar, geothermal, wind, and nuclear electricity.

DOE-EM lacks clear view of operating costs, GAO says

October 4, 2023, 9:51AMRadwaste Solutions

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, which is responsible for the cleanup of 15 nuclear sites across the country, lacks a clear understanding of its costs for work not directly related to site cleanup, hampering the department’s ability to prioritize competing funding needs, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.

EPA adds Oklahoma’s Fansteel Metals site to National Priorities List

September 13, 2023, 7:01AMRadwaste Solutions

The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that it is adding Oklahoma’s Fansteel Metals/FMRI Superfund site to the National Priorities List. The list includes the nation’s most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination and serves as the basis for prioritizing EPA Superfund cleanup funding and enforcement actions.