North Wind Recognized for “Excellent” Performance

North Wind Solutions operates the TWPC in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Employees at the facility process, package and ship transuranic waste for disposal at a plant near Carlsbad, N.M. Photo courtesy of North Wind.

At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., North Wind Group subsidiary North Wind Solutions (NWSol) is responsible for round-the-clock waste operations support at the lab’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center (TWPC), dealing with radioactive elements like plutonium and americium.

For the evaluation period Oct. 27, 2017, through Oct. 26, 2018, NWSol earned 97 percent of the fee for which it was eligible and was recognized for “excellent” performance. The project was featured in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management (EM) newsletter in January. (EM annually releases information relating to contractor fee payments—earned by completing the work called for in the contracts—to further transparency in its cleanup program.)

Additionally, on Feb. 8, 2019, the DOE issued a two-year contract extension to NWSol so it may complete the legacy transuranic waste processing mission.

“I am very proud of the accomplishments, dedication and overall performance of the NWSol team at TWPC,” said Chris Leichtweis, president and CEO of the North Wind Group. “Our project success is attributable to our established partnership with the DOE.”

For more information, visit www.northwindgrp.com.

NWSol’s accomplishments during the evaluation period include:

  • Processing 28.89 cubic meters of contact-handled transuranic waste, surpassing its goal of 27.31 cubic meters by 5.8 percent.
  • Completing 44 transuranic waste shipments to the waste isolation pilot plant in Carlsbad, N.M., and undergoing a recertification audit by EM’s Carlsbad Field Office without any major issues.
  • Implementing an effective, well-managed safety and health program.