A partial stop work order from the Energy Department at the Waste Treatment Plant being built at the Hanford Site in Washington state is scheduled to stay in effect through May 23, a manager for construction contractor Bechtel said last week.
The order for the plant that will convert Hanford tank waste into a stable glass form for disposal keeps Bechtel on the same “essential mission critical” operating status as the other major contractors at the former plutonium production site, WTP Project Director Valerie McCain said in a Wednesday memo posted on the project website.
The current stop-work order is being extended by a month, McCain said. The Energy Department adopted the current reduced-staffing operational status at Hanford on March 24 in an effort to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
The Energy Department can lift the order before May 23, McCain added. Currently, Bechtel is making maximum use of telework, with craft workers staying home and receiving paid leave.
In a March 26 memo to employee, McCain said 1,600 WTP workers were telecommuting and only 80 remained on-site.
No timeline has been set for a return to normal staffing levels, McCain said last week.
The Energy Department expects to start converting low-activity waste into glass at WTP by the end of 2023.
A Bechtel representative deferred all comment on current staffing levels to the Energy Department, and an agency spokesperson did not provide the data by press time.
In an email to DOE employees Friday, Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette promised “a deliberate, data-driven process for a phased return to the physical office space when the time is right.” The energy secretary, however, offered no timeline for start of the phased returned to more normal operations.
