Morning Briefing - January 15, 2025
Visit Archives | Return to Issue
PDF
Morning Briefing
Article 3 of 4
January 14, 2025

WIPP prime expected to receive keys to new ventilation system

By ExchangeMonitor

After a delay, the subcontractor that built a new ventilation system at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in New Mexico was expected to turn over the keys to the project to the prime contractor last month, according to a federal update.

A Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNESB) staff report on Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) operations, said The Industrial Company was expected to transfer control of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) Dec. 2 to Bechtel’s Salado Isolation Mining Contractors.

The Industrial Company earlier intended to turn over the $500-million SSCVS in late October, according to the DNFSB report. The boss of DOE’s Carlsbad field office, Mark Bollinger, said last October the project should be operating in 2026 after all the readiness testing is done.

Officials at DOE and Salado, reached Tuesday, did not immediately confirm or deny whether the turnover has occurred yet. 

A Tuesday DOE press release on the start of WIPP’s maintenance outage, said crews are installing the final duct work for the ventilation project expected to triple WIPP’s underground air flow to 540,000 cubic feet per minute.

The Industrial Company, a subsidiary of Kiewit, was brought in to finish construction of the SSCVS after the prior WIPP Amentum-led prime, parted company with the initial subcontractor in 2020. 

Partner Content
Social Feed

NEW: Via public records request, I’ve been able to confirm reporting today that a warrant has been issued for DOE deputy asst. secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition Sam Brinton for another luggage theft, this time at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid airport. (cc: @EMPublications)

DOE spent fuel lead Brinton accused of second luggage theft.



by @BenjaminSWeiss, confirming today's reports with warrant from Las Vegas Metro PD.

Waste has been Emplaced! 🚮

We have finally begun emplacing defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste in Panel 8 of #WIPP.

Read more about the waste emplacement here: https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20221123-2.asp

Load More