Bechtel Awarded $3 Billion Contract for Managing Nuclear Waste Repository

  • U.S. Department of Energy has chosen a Bechtel company to manage as well as operate Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico
  • According to Dena Volovar, executive vice president of Bechtel National, the task of properly disposing defence-related nuclear waste is very crucial for protecting people and the world
  • Defense related TRU waste is disposed in WIPP facility
shipment of radioactive waste arrives at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New MexicoU.S. Department of Energy photo

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the only deep underground storage for nuclear waste, and the U.S. Department of Energy has chosen a Bechtel company to manage as well as operate it.

If all options are implemented, the work scope may be worth $3 billion over a ten-year period.

According to Dena Volovar, executive vice president of Bechtel National, the task of properly defence-related nuclear waste is very crucial for protecting people and the world. Bechtel is honoured and look forward to work with the WIPP team and the Carlsbad neighbourhood.

“The mission to safely dispose of defense-related nuclear waste is vitally important for protecting people and the planet,”

Bechtel National is the U.S government services arm of Bechtel Corp and has more than 44 years of expertise in successfully administering Department of Energy installations in South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, and other states.

Defense related TRU waste is disposed in WIPP facility which includes items like residues, clothing, tools, rags etc contaminated with radioactive elements. The waste is permanently disposed of in rooms mined in an underground salt bed layer over 2000 feet from the surface.

To dispose of defense-generated TRU waste from DOE facilities across the nation, WIPP was built. Clothing, tools, rags, residues, garbage, dirt, and other items contaminated with radioactive materials created by humans make up TRU waste. In chambers dug in an underground salt bed layer more than 2000 feet below the surface, the waste is permanently disposed of.

Bechtel is also supporting the planet and communities by helping US Government in destroying chemical weapon. At the Blue Grass Chemical Agent-Destruction Pilot Plant (BGCAPP), which is close to Richmond, Kentucky, a team led by Bechtel has begun destroying GB nerve agent rockets. The destruction of the missiles is a further step in the U.S.’s mission to destroy all chemical weapons by September 30, 2023, to fulfil its commitment to an international treaty. The Blue Grass squad destroyed more than 17,000 missiles with VX nerve toxin just three months ago.

Bechtel Operates and upkeep mission-critical facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Armed Forces, including those that preserve the nation’s nuclear arsenal, test new aircraft systems on the ground, and safely destroy stored chemical weapons

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