U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management

10/13/2026

🚛 WIPP Driver Returns to Spotlight with Second National Safety Award in 2026

Tommy Cash has driven more than 3.6 million safe miles over 43 years. The WIPP waste shipment driver of 23 years was just named the 2026 Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance International Driver Excellence Award recipient. It's his second national honor this year, following a Professional Driver of the Year award from the Truckload Carriers Association.

Cash is one of only 36 elite drivers in the U.S. entrusted with transporting transuranic radioactive waste to WIPP's underground repository. Beyond the miles, he mentors new drivers and has set such a high standard that his company has had to adapt its hiring practices to keep pace.

In September, a member of Congress presented Cash with a certificate of special congressional recognition honoring his 2026 awards. This is what the EM safety culture looks like on the road.

10/13/2026

🌏 Walsh Advances President Trump's U.S.-Japan Energy and Nuclear Cleanup Cooperation

EM Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh recently led a delegation to Japan to strengthen nuclear cleanup and energy partnerships between the two nations.

The trip included a tour of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and participation in the 10th International Forum on its decommissioning. Walsh and the delegation met with Japanese government officials and U.S. Embassy staff to advance the Trump administration's goals of energy security, nuclear cooperation and economic growth.

"Together, we are building a deeper and more connected relationship between our two nations that will benefit the United States and Japan, and the rest of the free world," Walsh said.

10/08/2026

🏆 Celebrating EM Excellence: Secretary's Honor Awards
Seven teams and individuals across the Office of Environmental Management have earned DOE's highest honor — the Secretary's Honor Award.

Award recipients include the Oak Ridge and Portsmouth Paducah reindustrialization team, whose work is transforming EM sites into American Energy Hubs that are attracting billions in private investment and thousands of jobs. The Hanford Waste Treatment team was honored for starting up the Low-Activity Waste Facility and solidifying tank waste in glass for the first time. Two Savannah River teams were recognized for removing more than 48 million curies of radiation, deploying drones inside radioactive waste tanks and accelerating tank closures ahead of schedule.

These are the people helping to power America's nuclear future.

10/07/2026

Demolishing a 33-acre facility requires precision timing and reliable machinery.

At the Portsmouth Site, cleanup crews created a custom equipment database to manage tools, parts and preventative maintenance for the X-333 project. From extending blade lifespans to reducing downtime, this tool maximizes taxpayer dollars and keeps cleanup on schedule.

Learn more:

Cleanup teams recently created a new database to keep equipment organized, save money and stick to the schedule of safely and efficiently demolishing a 33-acre legacy uranium enrichment building at the Portsmouth Site.

10/06/2026

“This groundbreaking is so much more than shifting soil.”

Members of the Scarboro community in Oak Ridge recently celebrated the start of construction on the new Elks Community Enrichment Center. Made possible by a $2.4M DOE grant, the center will offer free medical clinic space, workforce training classrooms and startup business space.

See how this project is building a brighter future:

Members of the community recently broke ground for a first-of-a-kind community enrichment center in the Scarboro community made possible by a $2.4 million Community Capacity Building Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management.

10/06/2026

Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh conducted an interview with News 4 WIVB Buffalo at the West Valley Demonstration Project last week that you will not want to miss!

Hear EM’s top leader discuss the site’s history, latest progress updates, and vision for the future:

Buffalo Brief: West Valley Update

10/05/2026

The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project has officially removed 17 million tons of legacy mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River!

With the tailings shipped safely by rail to an engineered cell 30 miles away, this achievement marks major progress in safeguarding vital waterways. Read more about this monumental milestone and the project's next phase:

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project recently achieved a milestone by removing 17 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the banks of the Colorado River near Moab.

10/02/2026

Autonomous robots, AI-driven cleanup and landmark waste retrieval—see real cleanup in action nationwide!

This exciting EM Update issue takes you inside breakthrough technology, major milestones, and local community investments shaping our future. Subscribe to the newsletter today and never miss a mission update: https://www.energy.gov/em/articles/vol-17-issue-38

10/02/2026

Historic cleanup meets modern national security at Oak Ridge!

As crews prep the 313,000-square-foot Manhattan Project-era Beta-4 facility for eventual demolition, they’ve recovered over 550 reusable items—from steam heaters to power systems—to support 76 active National Nuclear Security Administration facilities. This team effort reduces environmental risk while saving valuable resources.

Read how they achieved this:

A partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration is advancing preparations for future demolition of a legacy facility while recovering valuable equipment for national security missions.

10/01/2026

Big progress at Hanford! The site is preparing to retrieve radioactive and chemical waste from its 25th underground storage tank. Tank A-103 holds roughly 385,000 gallons of legacy waste, which will be dissolved and transferred to safer, double-shell storage. This key milestone significantly reduces environmental risk and advances the cleanup mission.

Learn more:

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office and contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure are about to mark a turning point in retrieval activities by removing radioactive and chemical waste from the 25th underground storage tank.