Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC Assumes Tank Disposition Contract

Following the successful completion of a four-month transition, Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, LLC (H2C) assumed responsibility for the Integrated Tank Disposition Contract (ITDC) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Site today.  

H2C was awarded the contract on Feb. 29, 2024, and comprises BWX Technologies, Inc., (BWXT), Amentum, and Fluor companies. Except for a very small number of senior leadership positions, H2C offered jobs to all incumbent workers on the Tank Operations Contract, and more than 99% of the approximately 2,600-person workforce accepted offers of employment with H2C. 

“We are thrilled to begin work at Hanford today,” said H2C President and Program Manager Carol Johnson. “I can’t say enough positive things about how we have been welcomed by the existing workforce and the community, and I commend Washington River Protection Solutions President and Project Manager Wes Bryan for creating an unfailingly cooperative spirit within the staff of the outgoing contractor as we worked through transitioning the contract to H2C. We are also very appreciative for the DOE’s engagement and guidance in preparing to manage this critical cleanup effort.” 

H2C is committed to reducing DOE’s environmental liability and risk, safely accelerating tank waste disposition, and decreasing lifecycle costs for the duration of the Hanford ITDC. These efforts will be supported by close partnerships with DOE and the site’s regulators, collaboration with other site contractors, strong union relationships, and engaging with small businesses and the community. 

H2C’s management approach is based on these principles: 

• ​Partnering with DOE and site regulators to refine our approach, forge agreement on strategies, drive those strategies into relevant task orders, and then safely optimize operations
• Effective integration with other site contractors as part of the One Hanford approach
• Delivery of unsurpassed nuclear operations
• Implementation of lessons learned from development and execution of task orders throughout the DOE’s Environmental Management complex
• Use of systems proven effective on delivery of other task orders throughout the federal government

Small businesses will play a major role in H2C’s vision to reduce risk and liability. Using scope-based tasks as the basis for procurement, H2C will integrate small businesses to deliver innovation, efficiencies, and savings. H2C has committed to begin the contract by offering 18% of the year-one contract value (more than $300 million) to small business. 

H2C will also work with DOE and the community to recruit and retain the workforce required to continue the important missions at Hanford, with an emphasis on university partnerships, workforce development, hiring a new generation of workers, and retaining critically skilled employees. 

Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure’s mission is to deliver exceptional performance in safely removing, treating and disposing of tank waste. H2C leads the nation’s largest and most complex radioactive waste cleanup, including closure of the legacy waste tanks at Hanford containing 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste. Eventually, H2C will operate portions of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, providing final treatment and disposal of Hanford tank waste. Comprised of BWX Technologies, Inc., (BWXT), Amentum, and Fluor companies, our team brings the capabilities necessary to reduce the nation’s environmental liability and risk, accelerate tank waste disposition, and decrease lifecycle costs — achieving our vision of solving the Department of Energy’s largest environmental challenge in order to provide a positive legacy for future generations. Learn more at www.hanfordtanks.com