EM Update | Vol. 6, Issue 9 | September 2014

EM Eliminates Potential Safety Hazard at SRS

Shown here is H-Canyon, where workers recently dissolved the last spent nuclear fuel that was a potential safety hazard.

 AIKEN, S.C. – Workers in the EM program recently dissolved the last spent nuclear fuel that represented a health and safety concern at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

   The fuel came from the Sodium Reactor Experiment, a nuclear power plant that operated decades ago at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in California. It was the first nuclear reactor in the U.S. to produce electrical power for a commercial power grid.  

   The metallic-based thorium fuel was reactive when exposed to water, making it a potential hazard in continued long-term wet storage. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board expressed concern about storing the fuel in the basin during a public meeting at SRS in 2011.

   EM Tank Waste and Nuclear Material Deputy Assistant Secretary Ken Picha said processing this fuel addressed a longstanding vulnerability posed by storing the thorium fuel in L-Basin. 

   “Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the Savannah River Site’s management and operations contractor, strengthened a number of its internal programs and completed some necessary safety modifications to position the site to be able to complete this important risk-reduction activity," he said. “DOE-Savannah River and EM’s Office of Tank Waste and Nuclear Material staff also worked diligently to ensure that the facility and programs were ready to perform this activity. It was a team effort that enabled the elimination of this risk."

Pictured here is the basin where the spent nuclear fuel from the Sodium Reactor Experiment was stored before it was dissolved in H-Canyon.

   Following the completion of safety analyses to prepare for the project, workers in 2012 began dissolving the fuel in acid at the SRS H-Canyon, which is the only remaining production-scale nuclear chemical separations facility operating in the U.S.

   In all, 148 bundles of the fuel were disposed of in H-Canyon. An average bundle of the fuel contains four fuel assemblies, which are comprised of pellets of ceramic uranium dioxide sealed in metal rods. EM manages different types of nuclear fuel assemblies that weigh between an estimated two pounds and nearly a half ton. The basin where the fuel was stored is an underwater storage facility designed to store spent nuclear fuel and target assemblies discharged from reactor cores.

   Because the fuel from the Sodium Reactor Experiment was thick like peanut butter after being dissolved and did not flow easily, high aluminum spent fuel was dissolved and added to the Sodium Reactor Experiment fuel to enable transfer of the material through pipes and tanks to the liquid-waste system.

   EM plans to continue to use H-Canyon for processing additional spent nuclear fuel containing highly enriched uranium, along with liquid highly enriched uranium from Canada as shipments of that material arrive at SRS. Plans call for recovering and blending down the highly enriched uranium in the fuel and Canadian liquids to low-enriched uranium and providing it to the Tennessee Valley Authority for use in fabricating fuel for its commercial reactors that generate electricity.

Energy Secretary Honors EM Employee for Outstanding Safety Oversight

 Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, center, recently honored EM employee Robert (Dennis) Yates from the Savannah River Operations Office, right, as DOE’s Facility Representative of the Year for 2013. Also pictured is Yates’ wife, Deanna, who works in the Office of Human Capital Management at the Savannah River Operations Office. Each year, the Department presents the award to an employee who exhibits superior service. Yates is responsible for operational oversight of the HB-Line at the Savannah River Site. The HB-Line is part of the H-Canyon, which conducts nuclear chemistry, packaging, and processing operations on plutonium and transuranic materials. Yates received a plaque and certificate from the Secretary in recognition of his outstanding safety oversight work. He was selected from a field of 15 nominees. About 200 Department federal employees serve as Facility Representatives, providing day-to-day oversight of contractor operations at DOE facilities.

EM Citizens Advisory Board Celebrates 20th Anniversary, Meets in Idaho
 

EM SSAB Chairs, Vice Chairs, and staff attend the September 2014 Chairs' meeting in Idaho Falls.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB) held its Chairs Meeting here, and it coincided with the board’s 20-year anniversary.

   The EM SSAB was established in 1994 in response to the Keystone Dialogues, which was a working dialogue that explored citizen involvement in EM cleanup. The Keystone Dialogues included representatives of federal government agencies; state, Tribal and local governments; and regionally and locally based environmental, community, environmental justice, Native American, and labor organizations.  

   While only one EM SSAB exists, eight local boards under the EM SSAB umbrella charter have been organized at Hanford in Washington State, Idaho, Northern New Mexico, Nevada, Oak Ridge in Tennessee, Paducah in Kentucky, Portsmouth in Ohio and Savannah River in South Carolina. The Chairs of these eight local boards hold biannual public meetings throughout the EM complex — like this month’s meeting in Idaho Falls — that facilitate exchanges between members of the EM SSAB, DOE managers, and interested organizations and citizens.

   Attendees of the Chairs Meeting in Idaho Falls included Chairs, Vice Chairs, and federal and site staff from the eight local boards. Speakers from EM headquarters included Acting EM Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Waste Management Frank Marcinowski; Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Planning and Budget Connie Flohr; and Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Thomas Johnson. Site managers from EM sites across the complex participated, and Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto spoke with the Chairs.

   Whitney thanked the EM SSAB for its efforts and noted that the board is vital to EM.

   “Decision-making in [EM’s] cleanup program is vastly improved by the involvement of stakeholders. Specifically, the SSAB helps [EM] find solutions that are cost-effective, more responsive to the community needs and environmentally-sound,” Whitney said. “The EM SSAB is a cornerstone of [EM’s] stakeholder involvement program.”

UK Nuclear Cleanup and Research Experts Visit DOE to Expand Collaboration

From left to right, DOE Office of Nuclear Energy Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fuel Cycle Technologies John Herczeg, EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, and UK National Nuclear Laboratory Managing Director Paul Howarth sign a Statement of Intent amendment at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United Kingdom’s National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) met with senior members of EM and DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) recently to amend a landmark Statement of Intent to include the NNL in collaborations on radioactive waste and nuclear materials cleanup and management. 

   The NDA was created in 2005 to ensure cleanup of the UK’s civil nuclear legacy, and is responsible for 17 former nuclear industry sites in Great Britain, many of which were built in the 1940s and 1950s. In 2007, EM and NDA signed the Statement of Intent to exchange information on the management of radioactive waste and nuclear materials. In 2012, NE signed the statement.

   NNL specializes in developing and applying techniques to decommission nuclear facilities, including waste management, measurement and analysis, and immobilization technology. Its work also includes spent fuel disposition and plant integrity, nuclear security, safety management and engineering services, and advanced modeling and simulation.

   “As a premier nuclear services technology provider, NNL became a government owned and operated entity in 2013,” EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto said. “It makes sense to include the organization in the joint Statement of Intent.”

   Regalbuto, NE’s Fuel Cycle Technologies Deputy Assistant Secretary John Herczeg, and NNL Managing Director Paul Howarth signed the amendment at the British Embassy earlier this month.

   “NNL is delighted to be joining DOE and NDA in this Statement of Intent. International collaboration is essential to delivering value for all stakeholders,” said Howarth.

   NDA’s Strategy and Technology Director Adrian Simper signed the document the following week in the UK.

   DOE and UK technical experts also met to review EM’s draft Tank Waste Technology Development Plan and discuss technology improvements, alternative processing options, tank management and closure options, and future areas for collaboration. The UK experts were given the draft plan in July 2014 and provided feedback at the meetings with DOE. Their feedback included the importance of highlighting the benefits from past technology development efforts and the need to prioritize technical challenges in a constrained funding environment.

   Given the use of over 150 pulse jet mixing systems over a period of about 50 years, the British also shared perspectives and operating experience on the design and widespread use of pulse jet mixers at their various waste recovery and treatment facilities.

   Leadership from the organizations regrouped for the 12th Standing Committee meeting, which included NNL for the first time. The leaders discussed research and development collaborations and shared best practices.

   “We're very glad to work with NNL, EM and NE investigating areas of mutual interest,” said Simper. “This will be to the benefit of all of our programs.” 

Hanford Begins New Campaign to Remove Excess Water from Double-Shell Tanks

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Office of River Protection has begun operating its evaporator facility to remove about 800,000 gallons of excess water from Hanford’s double-shell tanks of high-level radioactive and chemical waste. 

   “In the first pass of this campaign, we’ve reduced the waste volume in the double-shell tank inventory by over 365,000 gallons, which was right on target with our engineering calculations based upon the steam condensate system upgrades,” Tank Farm Operations Division Director Mat Irwin said. “We had a minimum goal of waste volume reduction of 250,000 gallons, so this first pass was very successful.”

   Built over three years beginning in 1974, the evaporator launched in 1977. Since then, more than 60 campaigns have been completed, removing 67 million gallons of water from tank waste and reducing the volume stored in the double-shell tanks to make room for waste retrieved from single-shell tanks. The evaporator's last campaign was in October 2010, when waste volume was reduced by more than 480,000 gallons.

   “The 242-A Evaporator is critical to the safe and timely cleanup of Hanford’s tank waste,” EM Office of River Protection 242-A Evaporator Program Manager Ron Koll said. “The evaporator creates additional storage space in the double-shell tanks, which allows the contractor to retrieve, transfer, and store waste from single-shell tanks until it can be permanently disposed of.”

The 242-A Evaporator facility.

   Before being processed in the evaporator, waste is analyzed to establish its makeup. This information is used to determine how the waste acts during and after the evaporation process, and how much water can be safely removed. The liquid waste is then pumped to the evaporator through double-walled underground transfer lines, where it is heated in a sealed vessel under a vacuum such that the boiling point of the waste is reduced to 125 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature is 100 to 110 degrees lower than normal for tank waste slurry to boil under typical atmospheric pressure. The vapor is then captured, condensed, filtered, sampled and sent to the nearby Liquid Effluent Retention Facility for further treatment and storage. The remaining slurry is returned to the tanks.

   “We completed numerous upgrades to help ensure the facility remains operational,” said Brian Von Bargen, the 242-A Evaporator manager at Washington River Protection Solutions, the tank farm cleanup contractor. “They included new engineered safety systems, an upgraded steam condensate system, a new dip tub flush system, upgraded instrumentation for 88 instruments, and new feed and slurry jumpers.” 

   The forecast completion of this campaign is currently mid-October, with two to three campaigns scheduled per year in the future to support ongoing single-shell tank retrievals.

Crews Make First Entry into McCluskey Room for Final Cleanup at Hanford Site

Bryan Harting, nuclear chemical operator for CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, was part of the crew that made the first entry to begin final cleanup of the McCluskey Room at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant this month.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers are cleaning up one of the most hazardous rooms at the Hanford site: the “McCluskey Room,” named after a worker who was injured there in a Cold War accident. Watch a video of one of the first entries into the room here.

   Crews with EM Richland Operations Office contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL) are using specially designed suits to protect them from contamination inside the McCluskey Room at the site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant. The first entry into the room since 2011 took place this month. Crews have since worked to improve ventilation and airflow to better protect workers from airborne contamination in the room as they clean it out. 

   “That was the first of multiple entries workers will make to clean out processing equipment and get the McCluskey Room ready for demolition along with the rest of the plant,” said Bryan Foley, acting federal project director for the Richland Operations Office. “It took a year to prepare for this first entry. The time and effort workers put into finding the right equipment and training will ensure they are as prepared as possible to remain safe during the cleanup.” 

   The room was used in the Cold War to recover americium, a highly radioactive plutonium byproduct. It is named the “McCluskey Room,” after worker Harold McCluskey. He was injured in 1976 when a vessel inside a glove box burst and exposed him to radioactive material. McCluskey, who was 64 at the time, lived for 11 more years and died from causes not related to the accident. 

   Today, employees are cleaning out the room thanks to the use of advanced supplied-air systems and protective suits never before used on the Hanford site. Workers traveled last year to a similarly contaminated EM site in Idaho and observed the use of the systems and protective suits, which the contractor adopted for use at Hanford. For more details on that information exchange, click here. A video about this equipment is available here.

   “The employees helped choose the equipment, trained on the equipment, and gave us feedback on its performance in training,” said Mike Swartz, CH2M HILL’s vice president for the Plutonium Finishing Plant Closure Project. “Their input helped us make some adjustments along the way and has been the key to being able to enter the room safely as we start this challenging cleanup project.”

   Since 2008, EM and CH2M HILL have been preparing the Plutonium Finishing Plant for demolition. Of the plant’s 238 glove boxes, 212 have been removed or cleaned out and readied for removal during demolition. Of 81 buildings that made up the plant, 63 have been removed.

Hanford Treats Groundwater Ahead of Schedule

A team of drillers installs a well to support groundwater treatment operations at the Hanford site. 

 RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Richland Operations Office and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL) are ahead of schedule in meeting EM's annual goals for treating contaminated groundwater at the Hanford site in southeast Washington state.

   “We are successfully removing contamination to prevent its migration toward the Columbia River,” Richland Operations Office Soil and Groundwater Division Director Briant Charboneau said. “With six pump-and-treat systems in operation and hundreds of wells placed strategically across the site, we have been removing more contamination from groundwater than ever before.”

   A month ahead of schedule, Richland Operations Office and CH2M HILL recently met three goals set by EM for fiscal year 2014 (Oct. 1, 2013 to Sept. 30, 2014):

• Treat 1.8 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater (comparable in size to nearly 2,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools);
• Remove 2,400 kilograms (5,291 pounds) of the contaminant carbon tetrachloride from groundwater; and
• Remove 45,000 kilograms (99,208 pounds) of the contaminant nitrate from groundwater.

Shown here is the exterior of the 200 West Groundwater Treatment Facility, DOE’s largest system for treating contaminated groundwater at the Hanford site. Contractor CH2M HILL manages this facility and five others across the 586-square-mile site to remove contamination from the aquifer.

   In June, Richland Operations Office and CH2M HILL met the goal to treat groundwater to remove 250 kilograms (551 pounds) of the contaminant hexavalent chromium, and in early September they achieved the goal to remove 1.1 curies of technetium 99 from groundwater. 

   The contamination resulted from Hanford’s operations to produce plutonium from the 1940s through the 1980s. Richland Operations Office and CH2M HILL are treating and monitoring groundwater using a mix of technologies, including six groundwater treatment facilities and a network of more than 2,000 wells and other tools. CH2M HILL also collects more than 11,000 samples a year to monitor soil and groundwater contamination. 

   “Our workers continue to find ways to expand our capabilities so we can treat more groundwater and remove more contaminants,” said Karen Wiemelt, CH2M HILL vice president of the Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project. “With the right technologies in the right places, we will continue to improve our abilities to reduce levels of contamination, shrink the contamination plumes, and protect the Columbia River.” 

   To learn more about groundwater cleanup at Hanford, visit www.hanford.gov or watch the Hanford Story Groundwater Chapter.

AMWTP Receives Award of Excellence for Safety

Discussions on safety issues are incorporated into simulated work at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Plant, including when workers learn procedures in mockup situations, such as a practice session on solidifying used hydraulic oil, pictured here.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) at the Idaho site was recently presented with the Department’s Voluntary Protection Program’s (VPP) Star of Excellence award.

   It was the third time that the nuclear waste treatment facility, which is managed by Idaho Treatment Group (ITG), received the honor since 2009.

   “Receipt of the DOE VPP Star of Excellence award demonstrates ITG’s commitment to the safe performance of work and active engagement of management and workers in AMWTP safety programs,” said Mark Brown, DOE-Idaho Operations’ Manager for Nuclear and Safety Performance.

   The award is given to sites that demonstrate injury and illness incident rates and lost workday injury and illness rates at least 75 percent below the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics national average in the industry.

   “This is a workforce that cares about each other and is determined to improve its safe work practices every day,” ITG President and Project Manager Danny Nichols said. “With more than 16 million hours worked without a lost-time injury — nearly 11 years of operations — there is a clear demonstration of watching out for the safety of others.”

   During a recent VPP recertification audit, a team of DOE and contractor auditors closely examined ITG’s safety systems. The team saw a strong safety culture and very active workforce involved in improving the safety program. It verified that ITG’s injury performance and injury prevention programs exceeded the expectations for a VPP Star site. 

   “This workforce understands how critical safe work is to operations. To get work done, you have to do it safely,” Nichols said. “It is a mindset that has been central to AMWTP’s success and this project’s recognized role as DOE’s regional waste treatment project.”

EM Tackles Cleanup at Tonopah Test Range

Field technicians survey a shaker used in past cleanup operations.

NEVADA – Environmental cleanup experts spent the last weeks of summer on the Tonopah Test Range addressing contaminated equipment and debris at two historical nuclear testing locations. 

   EM and Nevada Field Office (NFO) contractor, Navarro-Intera (NI), are preparing, packaging, and removing contaminated items at the Clean Slates II and III sites. These items, which remained at the sites following an initial cleanup campaign in the late 1990s, will be disposed at a low-level waste disposal facility on the Nevada National Security Site, located south of the range.

   Clean Slates II and III were part of a series of experiments known collectively as Operation Roller Coaster in 1963. These experiments were designed to test the safety of nuclear devices by detonating them with conventional explosives to determine if a nuclear yield would occur. Though testing indicated such actions would not result in a nuclear yield, the experiments caused the dispersal of surface contaminants, uranium, and plutonium. 

A field technician in protective gear surveys a bucket used during soil cleanup in 1997.

   In the spring, NI conducted pre-planning activities at Clean Slates II and III. Investigators evaluated drums, shipping containers, debris piles, and a shaker machine — which is a conveyor system used to sift solid constituents — used during previous activities.

   “We wanted to thoroughly analyze field conditions before developing a remediation plan of attack,” said EM Operations Manager Rob Boehlecke  

   Crews returned to the field in August to begin the cleanup and removal process.

   “We’re making good progress so far,” said NI Soils Manager Pat Matthews. “Our goal is to have the waste inventory ready for disposal by the end of September.” 

   The NFO, under DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, is responsible for environmental restoration work at the range. Restoration commitments, processes, and timelines are identified in a formal agreement between the DOE and the State of Nevada.  

   Sandia National Laboratories, the management and operating contractor for the range, is providing logistical support during the Clean Slates cleanup campaign.

Workers at EM’s West Valley Site Surpass 1 Million Hours without Lost-Time Accident

Employees of CH2M HILL Babcock & Wilcox and its subcontractors are shown during West Valley Demonstration Project’s Safety Week celebration.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM’s cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) recently marked 1 million work hours without a lost-time accident or illness.

   Workers from CH2M HILL Babcock & Wilcox West Valley (CHBWV) and its subcontractors achieved the 1-million-hours milestone over 20 months.

   “I could not be more proud of the safety accomplishments of our team. Achieving 1 million work hours without a lost-time accident is a true indication of the safety culture that we embrace at the West Valley Demonstration Project,” EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. “The best part is that this accomplishment means that every one of our team members has been able to safely return home to their families for 20 months. That is an accomplishment in which we should all be proud.”

   Bower said the workers achieved the milestone after performing deactivation work in cells with high radiation fields, demolishing obsolete ancillary facilities, repairing aging infrastructure to support the site’s ongoing mission, shipping legacy and newly generated waste, and conducting facility upgrades to support high-level waste canister relocation.   

   The cleanup team at the environmental cleanup and waste management project located about 35 miles south of Buffalo was also recognized as a DOE-Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) STAR site and received the “Star of Excellence” award from DOE headquarters. Achieving this status was a joint effort involving DOE, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and CHBWV employees and subcontractors.  

   The VPP promotes safety and health excellence through cooperative efforts among labor, management and government at the DOE contractor sites. The Department initiated its VPP in January 1994 to promote improved safety and health performance through public recognition of outstanding programs. VPP also includes coverage of radiation protection, nuclear safety, and emergency management because of the type and complexity of DOE facilities.

   CHBWV is responsible for decommissioning activities at West Valley and operating under a 7.7-year, $463.9 million contract that began in August 2011. Since the start of the contract, the team has performed cleanup and facility demolition activities and made low-level waste shipments. Workers also are preparing for the relocation of 275 high-level waste canisters to a new dry cask storage facility.

   “Our team is committed to delivering results that matter to our customers and taxpayers, workplace safety, active community involvement, and responsible environmental stewardship,” CHBWV President and General Manager Dan Coyne said.

Cleanup Contractor Achieves ‘Elite’ Nuclear Material Accountability Status

LaChelle Telfair, LATA Kentucky Nuclear Material Control and Accounting representative, takes notes inside a storage facility that contains cold traps removed from the C-410 Feed Plant.

PADUCAH, Ky. – EM’s cleanup contractor at the Paducah site has received national acclaim for timeliness of reporting and promptness in reconciling nuclear material inventories.

   DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) presented LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky with a Certificate of Achievement for Superiority in reporting to the Nuclear Materials Management and Safeguards System, a central federal database used to track and account for nuclear material to ensure that it has not been stolen or diverted to unauthorized users.

   The system contains current and historical data on the possession, use, and shipment of nuclear material within the U.S., as well as all exports and imports of such material. The database is jointly funded by the NRC and DOE and is operated under a DOE contract.

   LATA Kentucky, which received the award for the first time, was honored for outstanding performance for inventory reporting and reconciliation during 2013.

   “Your efforts are considered ‘Elite,’ a model to the Nuclear Industry and a testament to the quality and high standards of your personnel,” according to the certificate.

A crane lifts a cold trap into a storage container.

   The success reflects teamwork between nuclear material control and accounting representatives for LATA Kentucky and United States Enrichment Corporation, which leases Paducah processing facilities and other site areas for commercial uranium enrichment operations.

   “This is a demonstration of how separate organizations and companies can work together effectively to establish a program that works efficiently and provides quality results that positively reflect on the Department of Energy and the high standards of its personnel,” said EM Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard.

   The award relates to an inventory of equipment removed from the C-410 Feed Plant, an inactive facility that is being demolished to help clean up the site. The pieces of equipment, called cold traps, were used many years ago to trap uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas and turn it into a solid. They are being stored at the site for future recovery of UF6 material during plant decommissioning when systems are in place to remove the material safely and economically.  

   LATA Kentucky personnel recently placed the cold trap inventory into the nuclear material accountability system and reported the results to the federal database, as DOE orders require. Each month, USEC submits a book inventory to the database on behalf of LATA Kentucky. An annual physical inventory must also be performed and submitted by Oct. 15 of each year. LATA Kentucky performed the annual physical inventory on Oct. 1, 2013, and provided the inventory to USEC to report to the database on LATA Kentucky’s behalf. 

   Each month, the system compares the data submitted from each transaction report to the book inventory. All deadlines were met, and no reconciliation issues occurred in 2013 for the cold traps under safeguards inventory accounting.

Portsmouth/Paducah Employees, Contractors Donate 17,500 Pounds of Food

EM and contractor staff of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site prepare shipments of food to local pantries as part of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office’s 2014 Feds Feed Families effort.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Employees and contractors of EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) donated more than 17,541 pounds of food to families in need in their local communities as part of the federal government’s 2014 Feds Feed Families campaign.

   Employees at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in southern Ohio donated a majority of the total with 15,681 pounds of canned goods and other nonperishable items, while employees at the Paducah site collected 1,410 pounds and PPPO’s Lexington headquarters staff in Kentucky gathered 450 pounds.

   Abigail Parish, coordinator of the Portsmouth site’s effort, said the contributions have made a significant impact in the region.

   “It makes me proud to be part of an effort that involves so many generous people who are trying to make a difference in our community,” Parish said. “This is an opportunity for us to give back because we have a lot of neighbors in need and our employees are answering the call.”

Shown here are some of the items donated to local food pantries in the Portsmouth site’s 2014 Feds Feed Families effort.

   In a letter to EM, Pike County Community Action Committee representative Pamela Crawford said the employee donations to the Pike County food pantry are impactful.

   “Community Action Committee of Pike County would like to thank (EM) for the continuous generous food donations. The food donated will help those who visit our pantry to have a variety of food items to choose from,” Crawford wrote.  

   Parish, EM Facility Representative Dewintus Powell, and contractor staff organized various fundraising activities, including ice cream socials, employee breakfasts, and employee luncheons.  

   Since the Feds Feed Families campaign began in 2009, workers across federal agencies have donated and collected more than 24 million pounds of food and non-perishable items to support families across America.

Contributors

Lynette Bennett, West Valley site

Tim Boulay, EM headquarters

Edgardo DeLeon, EM headquarters

Maren Disney, Hanford site

Rick Greene, Portsmouth site

Destry Henderson, Hanford site

Robert LaGrange, EM headquarters

Sayoh Mansaray, EM headquarters

Danielle Miller, Idaho site

Dylan Nichols, Paducah site

Angela Ramsey, Nevada National Security Site

David Sheeley, EM headquarters

Joe Walker, Paducah site