Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), waste storage tank operations contractor at the Hanford Site in Washington state, received 89 percent of its available fee for fiscal 2017, the Department of Energy noted in a recently issued performance scorecard.
WRPS earned $11.89 million of the available $13.35 million for the budget year ended Sept. 30, 2017. The Energy Department cited the company’s overall performance as “very good,” ranking it as “excellent” on five of 10 rating areas and “very good” in four others.
Washington River Protections Solutions was “good” when it came to carrying out actions to address threats posted by vapors from waste in the underground tanks. The scorecard did not elaborate on the reasoning for the ratings.
In recent years, dozens of workers have reported possible exposure to vapors, and concerns about the health effects of exposure go back much further. The Energy Department and WRPS are currently in settlement talks with Washington state and other parties that sued in 2015 seeking better worker protection against chemical vapors associated with waste held in underground tanks.
The excellent ratings covered nuclear safety, environmental regulatory management, implementing WRPS’ safety program, its contractor assurance program, and its support of commissioning of Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant.
The very good ratings were issued for quality assurance, cost and management, conducting tank farm operations, and managing the single-shell and double-shell tank system.
The Energy Department said there is room for improvement in WRPS’ project management of the low-activity waste pretreatment system. Steps are needed to ensure design, cost, and schedule goals are met, DOE indicated. The department has adopted a plan to start treating low-activity radioactive waste at WTP by 2023, while construction continues elsewhere at the plant.
The contractor also should “ensure a consistent high level of operations performance is achieved across all facilities; and comprehensive vapor control actions to ensure actions are effectively managed to completion,” DOE said.
WRPS manages storage of Hanford’s 56 million gallons of highly radioactive waste and preparations for delivery to the Waste Treatment Plant, where it will be converted into a glass form for storage.
AECOM and Atkins partner to operate the company, with AREVA as its primary subcontractor. WRPS holds a 10-year contract that expires in September 2018, barring an extension.
