The former management and operations contractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico failed to fully overcome setbacks in development of a new radioactive waste facility at the site, according to the Energy Department.
In a March 1 report, DOE’s Office of Inspector General cited problems Los Alamos National Security faced with an overdue, over-budget successor to Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility.
The current liquid waste center opened in 1963 to store, treat, and dispose of low-level waste (LLW) and transuranic liquid waste. Over time, its aging facilities have degraded and experienced failures, which leave Los Alamos unable to process liquid waste while repairs are made. The report does not offer specifics on past failures.
The National Nuclear Security Administration began a replacement project in 2004. After going back and forth on options, the semiautonomous Department of Energy agency decided in 2011 to essentially build two facilities — one for processing low-level waste and a second for transuranic liquid waste.
The project was expected to cost $82 million and be finished in May 2018. Over time the price escalated to $214 million, and completion slipped until 2020.
The Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility, located at Technical Area 50, treats radioactive liquid waste from LANL’s nuclear materials research. Solid low-level radioactive waste or sludge at the new facility would be stabilized and disposed of in an on-site waste disposal facility. The TRU waste from the new facility would eventually be shipped the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad.
Los Alamos National Security managed the project from June 2006 through October 2018. In November 2016, an Energy Department assessment said the contractor has “a pattern of weak capital asset project execution, with specific systemic issues in subcontractor bidding, selection, and management.” The LANS venture was comprised of the University of California and an industry group headed by Bechtel and including AECOM and BWX Technologies.
At one point, LANS awarded a construction subcontract to a “minimally-qualified but technically acceptable subcontractor that proved unable to successfully complete project tasks,” according to the IG.
Ultimately, “a strong coordinated effort and focused project management oversight” resulted in completion of the low-level waste portion of the Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility prior to transition to a new management contractor on Nov 1, 2018, an NNSA acquisition and project management official said in a Thursday email.
The transuranic waste portion of the project is under design by Triad National Security, which replaced LANS as the managing contractor at the nuclear weapons lab.
During the transition, LANS identified opportunities for improvement of the waste facility project, which the new Battelle-led contractor began to implement where appropriate, according to the IG report.
