ECA Update: January 8, 2016
Published: Fri, 01/08/16
Savannah River Site MOX project not impacted by deal between CB&I and Westinghouse Aiken Standard January 5, 2016 LINK Neither the Savannah River Site’s MOX project nor its contractor will be impacted by a recent sale involving the contractor’s parent company. Westinghouse Electric Company announced Monday that the company received approval to complete the company’s acquisition of CB&I Stone & Webster Inc., the nuclear construction and integrated services business of Chicago Bridge & Iron, or CB&I. The move will not impact CB&I AREVA MOX Services, the contractor responsible for construction of the SRS Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility. The facility is a key part of the nation’s project, the current pathway to meet an agreement with Russia by disposing of 34 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium. “The sale to Westinghouse included the nuclear new-build construction projects and the nuclear integrated services business. It did not include the MOX project,” said Gentry Brann, the vice president of global communications and marketing at CB&I. The recent acquisition supports Westinghouse’s strategic growth initiatives by expanding the capabilities of the company’s global footprint, the company reported. The acquired business will reside within a newly created Westinghouse subsidiary called WECTEC, which will assume project operations and assets in the U.S. and China, in addition to other nuclear engineering and construction project contracts in the U.S. Danny Roderick, Westinghouse Electric Company’s president and CEO, said the acquisition represents a renewed focus to innovate and deliver industry-leading technologies, products and solutions. “This acquisition not only supports Westinghouse’s strategic global growth framework, but also the vision we share with customers that nuclear power matters to the future of clean energy around the world,” Roderick said. Thompson to use post as energy bully pulpit Tri-City Herald January 6, 2016 LINK Bob Thompson returned to the mayor’s chair in Richland and already he’s raring to make energy the centerpiece of his new job. The Richland City Council elected Thompson to a two-year term as mayor in a secret ballot election this week. Thompson is a solo practice attorney who has served on the city council since 1994 and last served as mayor from 2000 to 2004. In a separate secret ballot, the council elected Terry Christensen mayor pro tem. Christensen joined the council in 2011, shortly after he retired from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The council also seated its newest member, Dori Luzzo Gilmour. Gilmour received the lowest number of votes in the November general election, meaning she will serve a two-year term rather than four years. The mayorship is a mostly ceremonial post with the same voting power as the other six council members. A city administrator oversees daily operations of the city, which has a 2016 budget of $214.8 million. The mayor leads council meetings and council members take turns representing the city at special events as they have time. The ceremonial nature of the job isn’t stopping Thompson from using it as a bully pulpit to tout energy as the region’s economic future. Thompson said the region needs to recognize that the Hanford cleanup won’t last forever. It needs to build its future on something else and the something else on his mind is energy in all its facets — Nuclear, renewable, manufacturing and more. While Thompson considers global warming “claptrap,” the Tri-Cities can capitalize on demand for carbon-free power. “We need to understand what a gold mine the Tri-Cities can be from an energy perspective,” he said, adding, “We need to push that energy future. I plan to put as much energy as I can into that.” He called on local, state and federal leaders to imagine a new mission for the Hanford site. The four cities have strong leaders well positioned to advocate for the community. “We have the brightest future if we just go ahead and seize it.” Thompson graduated from Richland High School. He earned an undergraduate degree from Washington State University and a law degree from Willamette University and for many years was a criminal defense lawyer in Benton and Franklin counties. He said his Pasco practice now focuses mostly on mental health law. DOE’s cleanup manager gets high marks, $4.5M in fees Knox News January 6, 2016 LINK OAK RIDGE — URS-CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR), the Department of Energy's cleanup contractor in Oak Ridge, received high performance marks and a total fee of nearly $4.5 million for its work in the six-month period that ended Sept. 30. In a Dec. 15 letter to UCOR President Ken Rueter, DOE executive Sue Cange praised the contractor for its work on multiple projects, including the demolition of the K-31 building and preparations for work on other old buildings that were once part of the government's uranium-enrichment operations in Oak Ridge. UCOR received "excellent" grades for its project management and business systems, as well as its environmental management. In other categories, the contractor was rated "very good" for worker safety, health and quality. Overall, the company earned almost 96 percent of the available fee pool ($4,661,658) for the last half of Fiscal Year 2015. DOE also cited the contractor's work on a metal recycling initiative and other projects that resulted in reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills, where space is considerable valuable. UCOR's work in demolishing old buildings and cleanup sites at the East Tennessee Technology Park is "enhancing opportunities" for reindustrializing the former uranium complex. Cange also noted that UCOR is ahead of schedule in preparing the K-27 building — the last of the former uranium-processing facilities at the Oak Ridge site — for demolition later this year. She also praised the company for its early work in designing a new mercury-treatment facility at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. According to Cange, UCOR also supported the processing of radioactive wastes at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center. Although the processing is done by other contractor, UCOR has assisted in moving the wastes in and out of storage, before and after the processing needed to prepare the high-hazard materials for disposal. Most of the evaluation was positive, but DOE also pointed out areas for improvements. Cange said UCOR experienced "deficiencies" in its transportation program during the latter part of 2015. The most serious of the problems led to a temporary suspension of waste shipments to the Nevada National Security Site. The DOE official also said UCOR had some negative incidents involving radiation protection of workers and vulnerabilities on some projects with hydrogen fluoride. In a statement, Rueter said the high rating from DOE reflects the hard work of UCOR employees, and he said the contractor will continue to make safety its No. 1 priority. A boost for Oak Ridge cleanup Knox Blogs January 7, 2016 LINK There’s good news for the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program in Oak Ridge. After the dust settled on the federal budget for the rest of Fiscal Year 2016, it looks like Oak Ridge will get a significant boost in funding for cleanup activities. Mike Koentop, executive officer of DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, said the Oak Ridge allotment is $473.8 million. That’s up significantly from the 2015 spending level of around $430 million and way above the Obama administration’s initial request of about $365 million for FY 2016. “We believe it demonstrates a high level of confidence in our ability to safely, efficiently, and effectively execute the cleanup mission here,” Koentop said. The added funding will enable DOE to continue making progress on cleanup priorities, as well as the historic preservation activities at the East Tennessee Technology Park (the former K-25 uranium-enrichment site), he said. Koentop also said there’s some above-and-beyond funding in the 2016 budget that will let DOE tackle other projects involving higher-risk facilities in Oak Ridge and to help put those facilities in a safer and more stable condition. |
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