INEEL Contract to be Bid by DOE

The Energy Daily on September 17 said that the U.S. Department of Energy had decided during the week of September 13 seek a new operator for its INEEL. Lockheed Martin has the current contract to manage the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. It expires Sept. 30, 1999

The department cited disturbing nuances resulting from a sense of overconfidence as the reason for its decision.

Although the DOE declined to cite specifics, The Energy Daily said that safety management was an issue. Failings, said the Daily, were underscored by a recent worker fatality at the site when a fire-suppression system activated unexpectedly.

The Daily also said that LMITCO bore the burden of the Pit 9 debacle. Pit 9 involved the privatized cleanup of sundry radioactive and toxic wastes buried in a huge pit at INEEL decades ago. The contractor Lockheed Martin Advanced Environmental Systems experienced delays and cost overruns.

According to The Energy Daily, LMITCO officials declined to say whether they would enter the competition for the new contract.

The Daily listed as potential bidders Morrison Knudsen (Idaho) and Foster Wheeler.

The INEEL's primary mission is cleanup of past nuclear weapons production facilities and wastes.