A Bechtel company, Salado Isolation Mining Contractors LLC (SIMCO), has assumed responsibility for managing and operating the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico, the company announced last month. WIPP is the only deep underground repository for defense-related transuranic nuclear waste in the U. S.
Bechtel stated that SIMCO completed contract transition activities, and the U.S. Dept. of Energy authorized the company to assume management and operations responsibility on Feb. 4.