O.C. BUSINESS PLUS : ORANGE COUNTY BRIEFLY : Flour to Bid on Final Phase of Cleanup : Contract: Unit of Aliso Viejo firm has managed radioactive waste project at Ohio site since 1992.
A unit of Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said Monday it plans to bid on what is expected to be the final contract to manage the government’s cleanup of radioactive wastes at the Fernald site in Ohio.
The Energy Department has paid the company an average of $17.24 million annually since Fluor Daniel Fernald beat out two other finalists for the contract in 1992.
Early in the company’s contract, federal auditors criticized Fluor Daniel for wasting money or failing to properly manage some aspects of the work. In 1996, Fluor Daniel’s pilot plant for using high heat to reduce radioactive wastes to glass chunks for long-term disposal caught fire and had to be shut down. The Energy Department has said that part of the project will be assigned to another company.
Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said on Aug. 5, however, that the Fluor-led Fernald cleanup team has generally performed well.
Fluor Daniel’s contract as general cleanup contractor at the 1,050-acre site expires Nov. 30, 2000. The Energy Department plans to solicit bids next year.
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