Power Engineering - Washington Group joint venture offers promising technology for treatment of radioactive wastes

Boise, Idaho, June 26, 2002 - Washington Group International, Inc. through its Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company subsidiary announced recently that it has formed a joint venture with Studsvik, Inc. to offer a non-incineration thermal technology that could significantly cut the cost and time to treat radioactive and hazardous wastes throughout the Department of Energy complex.

The new company, THOR Treatment Technologies^SM, will capitalize on the patented THORSM Pyrolysis/Steam Reforming Technology developed by Studsvik and already utilized at its Erwin, Tennessee, facility to treat radioactive waste for the commercial nuclear industry.

"Our proven technology is well suited for the destruction, conversion, or neutralization of certain constituents found in a broad range of radioactive and other waste materials, especially the DOE's most problematic and costly waste streams," said Tom Oliver, President of Studsvik, Inc. and Chairman of the joint venture's board of directors.

Washington Group and its Westinghouse Government Environmental Services Company LLC bring to the joint venture several decades of experience in all phases of work at DOE facilities across the country, including Hanford, Savannah River, Oak Ridge, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, West Valley Demonstration Project, and Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site. Washington Group provides a full spectrum of services from design through construction, operation, and dismantlement of highly hazardous materials and process facilities.

"The combination of the THORSM technology and our extensive nuclear facilities experience will provide the DOE with the option to cut years and billions of dollars from its cleanup mission," said Ralph DiSibio, President and Chief Executive Officer of Washington Energy and Environment.

"We're currently in the process of meeting with officials at several DOE facilities across the country who are interested in learning about innovative methods to accelerate cleanup and site closure," said John McKibbin, President of THOR Treatment TechnologiesSM. "We are proud to be among the private sector businesses that have chosen to apply their expertise to the nation's most pressing environmental cleanup challenges."

Studsvik, Inc. is a subsidiary of Studsvik Holding, Inc., which is a subsidiary of the Swedish-owned company Studsvik AB. Studsvik AB is a high-technology company that has a leading position in the nuclear industry. Studsvik AB develops and markets products and services that help solve its customers' environmental, safety, and quality problems in connection with the use of nuclear technology.

Washington Group International, Inc., is an international engineering and construction firm. With more than 38,000 employees at work in 40 states and more than 35 countries, the company offers a full life-cycle of services as a provider of science, engineering, construction, program management, and development in 16 major markets.

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