Bechtel and partner Science Applications International Corp. will handle site characterization while awaiting a final decision on whether the controversial desert repository will be built. That decision is expected next July. Bechtel-SAIC beat out teams led by site incumbent TRW together with Parsons Corp. and Washington Group Inc., with Westinghouse Corp., which Washington partly owns. These will determine whether high-level waste stored in the repository would heat up surrounding rock and change the moisture content, which ultimately could affect stored waste.
Moisture is the biggest issue in the repository,'' the spokeswoman says.
If the project is built, Bechtel-SAIC will handle licensing and construction. Bechtel already is managing major work at DOE sites in Idaho, Tennessee, Texas, Nevada and Washington state. Fluor and major subcontractor Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., which have worked at Fernald since 1992, will now manage final cleanup of the former uranium production plant near Cincinnati. Under the new contract, the team will perform work under a cost-plus incentive fee arrangement meant to encourage it to complete the task early. We will keep that date in our sites,'' says John Bradburne, president of Fluor Fernald.