Sam Brinton, hired over the summer to lead the Department of Energy’s efforts to find a disposal solution for the nation’s spent nuclear fuel, was fired from the agency following multiple accusations of felony theft, according to reports.
Brinton was removed from their post as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for spent fuel and waste disposition, an agency spokesperson told the Daily Beast and other publications on Monday. The then-deputy assistant secretary was accused of stealing luggage at airports in Nevada and Minnesota in July and October, respectively.
Bernhard Capital Partners, a Baton Rouge, La., -based private equity management firm is using its recent purchase of two small Department of Energy contractors to set up a “services platform” of engineering and consulting firms for the agency.
Bernhard Capital, founded by Jim Bernhard the former president, CEO and chair of The Shaw Group, said in a Dec. 6 press release it plans to use recent acquisitions of Boston Government Service and Sterling Engineering & Consulting (SE&C) Group, which will help form the foundation of the new network.
Crews of the Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory last month started sampling about 10% of the transuranic waste drums stored at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, according to a recent federal safety board report.
The ultrasonic testing is part of an effort to head off any more problem drums being shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, according to a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board staff report dated Dec. 2. The waste disposal facility near Carlsbad, N.M., had to briefly suspend Idaho shipments earlier this year due to problems discovered when drums arrived at the salt mine complex.
The testing focuses on drums prepared for shipment no later than 2019 because of their contents, according to the board summary. “For lots of greater than 1,400 drums, managers plan to sample at least 125 of them.” If fewer than three sample drums fail, then the managers will presume the entire lot is safe to ship to WIPP, according to the report.
Employees of the Department of Energy’s prime contractors at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina have come up with a new web-based system to better track radioactive waste, according to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.
The Consolidated Waste Tracking System takes the place of various systems used over 20 years to monitor transuranic, low-level, and hazardous wastes more efficiently, according to a Wednesday press release from the Fluor-led prime contractor. The new system covers all aspects of waste tracking including movement, characterization and shipping on- and off-site.
The Department of Energy has issued a five-year, $2.5 million financial assistance grant to the regulatory branch of the Environmental Research Institute of the States.
The grant, which starts this month and runs through Dec. 18, 2027, will help the Research Institute’s Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council draft guidance and training documents for environmental professionals nationwide, DOE said in a Monday press release. The Washington, D.C.-based Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council describes itself as a non-profit state-led environmental coalition working to create innovative solutions and best management practices.
