Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto Discusses EM's Plans for Fiscal Year 2017; Savannah River National Laboratory Lays Out New, Collaborative Management Approach; and Much More!

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EM Update | Vol. 8, Issue 22 | Nov. 30, 2016

EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto Discusses Year Ahead
New Management Approach Seeks to Position SRNL as Complex-Wide Asset
Savannah River National Laboratory Opens Washington State Office
Demolition Alters SPRU Skyline
West Valley Workers Relocate Waste Year Ahead of Schedule
Los Alamos Prepares for Remediated Nitrate Salt Drums Treatment
Hanford Workers Progress With Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition
SRS Efforts Lead to Millions in Savings, Improvements in Safety and Efficiency
Hanford Crews Maintain Building to Support Hazardous Cleanup
EM, IWTU Project Team Discuss Path to Startup
EM Contractors Gain Experience at Early Career Professional Exchange
Workers Install Final Major Piece for Hanford Waste Facility
DOE, National Park Service Mark Manhattan Project Park’s First Year
Contributors

EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto Discusses Year Ahead

EM Update recently spoke to Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto about EM’s priorities and goals for fiscal year 2017.

What are your main objectives and goals for fiscal year 2017?

We were very fortunate in EM in the last fiscal year to realize some significant achievements across the complex, and I think we’re on track to do the same this fiscal year.

Of course, our highest priority is resuming waste emplacement activities at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) once it is safe to do so. We’re currently in the final stages of our preparations, and we’re close to completing a DOE Operational Readiness Review that has looked at the proficiency of personnel in receipt and handling of contact-handled transuranic (TRU) waste; systems maintenance and operations; fire safety; and other safety programs. Once that review is completed and any identified pre-start findings are addressed, then the New Mexico Environment Department will conduct a site inspection to ensure WIPP is in full compliance with its hazardous waste facility permit and administrative orders. The successful completion of these last remaining steps will help ensure we’re ready to resume waste emplacement at WIPP.

We’re working this fiscal year to complete the demolition of the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant to slab on grade. This building produced more plutonium metal for use in nuclear weapons than any other facility in the country, and was once known as one of the most dangerous buildings in the DOE complex. It was a multi-year effort to get us ready to begin actual demolition of this facility, which we got underway in early November. I’m looking forward to watching our skilled and experience workforce safely and efficiently complete this important project over the next several months.

We’re also going to continue to move forward with startup and commissioning activities at two of our important waste treatment facilities — the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) at the Idaho Site and the Savannah River Salt Waste Processing Facility. These facilities are critical to our plans for addressing the remaining tank waste at these two sites. And we will continue to make progress on those sections of the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) that are important to our plans to directly feed waste to the WTP Low Activity Waste Facility for treatment.

At headquarters, we’re going to continue implementation of our new management structure that’s intended to help us better support our field sites where cleanup work is performed and seek to continue to strengthen our alignment with the field. We are also going to work to incorporate the feedback from this year’s 2016 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey to continue our efforts to make EM a great place to work. I was happy to see increases in satisfaction in many important areas, but I also know there are still some areas where we can continue to improve.

At the 2016 National Cleanup Workshop, a panel focused on EM successes including completion of demolition of Building K-27 at Oak Ridge, completion of construction of the Savannah River Salt Waste Processing Facility, and the significant progress made in D&D activities at the West Valley Demonstration Project. What projects do you think are likely to be discussed at the EM success panel at next year’s National Cleanup Workshop?

I look forward to being able to highlight the completion of the recovery of WIPP, for one. The workforce at WIPP, both federal and contractor employees, have been the key to the progress we have made in being able to resume waste emplacement activities, and they’re the main reason why we are close now to the finish line. While the incidents that led to the closure of the facility were unfortunate, thanks to the investigations we performed into their cause, we have learned a number valuable lessons we are implementing not just at WIPP but across the EM program.

I think we’re going to be able to celebrate the completion of the demolition of the PFP. That’s going to be an accomplishment not just for Hanford, but for the entire EM program.

And I think a pleasant surprise is going to be the work we have done at the Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) site. SRPU is one of our smaller sites and doesn’t get quite the same amount of attention as, say, Hanford or Savannah River. But we’re wrapping up demolition of one of the last remaining buildings at the site and we’re moving forward with demolition work on the other remaining building. So I think by the time of the next National Cleanup Workshop, we’ll have a lot of great things to say about the work done at this site.

How would you assess the results of the new management structure at EM headquarters so far?

First of all, I think we did a very good job of rolling out the new management structure and communicating to EM employees, and our stakeholders, why we are implementing this new structure and what we expected the benefits to be.

I think one of the main advantages we are already seeing is an increased ability to respond to the needs of our field sites in a faster and more efficient way. This was one of the driving forces behind the new management structure — the need to make EM headquarters more field-centric. Our ability to better support the field is due, in large part, to the new set of field liaisons we have established under Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Stacy Charboneau. These new field liaisons play a crucial role at EM headquarters by serving as advocates for their sites and work issues on their behalf.

Another advantage has been the creation of the new EM Chief Engineer’s Office, which is responsible for providing technical engineering support to sites across the EM complex and guidance on major construction and commissioning activities. This office has been especially beneficial for the WTP and IWTU projects.

EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto

What areas do you see progress being made in technology development this year?

I think this is going to be an exciting year for our technology development efforts. We’re going to continue to move forward with our mercury and technetium roadmaps to help us address some of our challenging types of contamination. We’re also going to continue with the Science of Safety initiative looking at how robotic technologies can help our workers perform their activities in a safer and more efficient manner.

One area where I’m looking forward to seeing results is our CT scanner test bed. This uses technology developed to help scan cargo at U.S. ports to help us better examine waste drums and further improve our characterization abilities. The technology we are testing will allow us to see things like materials that can’t be disposed of at WIPP. Our next step will be testing this technology using actual waste drums.

What do you think will be the major challenges EM will face this fiscal year?

Obviously one challenge we are working through right now is the transition to the new administration. Secretary Moniz has stressed the importance of ensuring a smooth transition at DOE, and we have been carrying out a very robust transition planning effort since this summer. We want to do all we can to ensure the new administration understands what the EM program is, what our priorities are and what our challenges are going to be going forward.

We’ve developed a corporate overview of the EM program that lays out what we’ve accomplished, our organization and functions and some of the major actions we have planned for the coming year. We’ve also developed a set of issue papers where we delve into more details on topics like Hanford, the WTP and WIPP. We will begin to have briefings with the transition team on EM and I look forward to continuing to work with them.

Another challenge I see for this fiscal year is continuing to address our infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs. We don’t get younger year to year, and the state of infrastructure and maintenance programs can have a direct impact on our ability to perform our cleanup mission.

We will also be working to effectively and efficiently transition workers from one project to the next. For example, we’re looking to begin transferring those workers at Oak Ridge who helped us complete the decommissioning and demolition of the former gaseous diffusion plants at the East Tennessee Technology Park to necessary work at Y-12. That’s being challenged, though, because of funding issues and that’s something we’re working to address to help improve efficiency.

What message would you like to send to EM's stakeholders for this fiscal year?

I, and all of us in EM, are looking forward to resuming waste emplacement activities at WIPP and beginning to work off the backlog of transuranic waste at our cleanup sites. I want to thank the local communities near those sites for their understanding and patience as we have worked to recover WIPP in a safe and deliberate manner. I also want to say thank you to everyone who is involved in our efforts to startup the IWTU, which will allow us to address the remaining liquid waste at the Idaho Site once it is in operation. We are continuing to make progress in preparing that facility for radioactive waste operations.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all of our various stakeholders across the EM program for their continued support and engagement. I think our engagement with the local communities near our sites is one of the best within DOE, and their support is so crucial to our ability to safely and efficiently carry out our mission.

New Management Approach Seeks to Position SRNL as Complex-Wide Asset

A researcher and intern create a filler for contaminant shielding at the Savannah River National Laboratory.

AIKEN, S.C. – DOE’s new approach to managing Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) seeks a deeper collaboration among the lab, EM headquarters program offices and cleanup sites.

Through a reorganization within EM this summer and a new governance framework formalized by EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto in October, SRNL now has a direct relationship with EM headquarters after being primarily managed as part of Savannah River Site (SRS) operations.

“SRNL is EM’s laboratory and we need to do everything we can to ensure that the unique capabilities of SRNL are fully utilized to bring efficient, innovative solutions to the toughest technical challenges across the complex,” EM Laboratory Policy Office Director Mark Gilbertson said. “This new framework sets our expectations and clear lines of responsibility in managing and utilizing SRNL.”

Under the framework, the EM Laboratory Policy Office will work with the director of SRNL, the DOE Savannah River Operations Office through its Savannah River Laboratory Office, and the board of SRS contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) to form a single, comprehensive governance system to ensure efficient, effective use of resources to support EM’s mission.

The framework enables better coordination with the EM technology development program and Chief Engineer’s Office, and the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) policy office, which is charged with strategic planning and stewardship of NNSA national laboratories, including stewardship interests at SRNL.

“As SRNL expands its impact, it’s more important than ever that we reach into all the necessary parts of the DOE organization to support the lab and make sure we are all aligned,” Gilbertson said.

Managed as part of the SRNS contract, SRNL has expanded its impact across the complex in the past decade. The lab led key DOE efforts to assess the management of chemical vapors at the Hanford tank farms and the investigation of the Feb. 14, 2014 breached drum incident at EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

While much of the lab’s non-SRS work focuses on Hanford’s Waste Treatment & Immobilization Plant and tank farms, SRNL also supports the Richland Operations Office at Hanford, sludge processing and mercury support for the Oak Ridge Office of EM, Integrated Waste Treatment Unit research and testing support for EM’s Idaho Site office, and Tc-99 barrier testing for the EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.

The new management approach seeks to build on that success, making it easier for DOE sites to engage SRNL in solving problems across the complex. SRNL is also working with EM and other national labs to establish an “EM National Laboratory Network” to enable broad national laboratory access and collaboration, helping bring a “best team” approach to national laboratory support for EM cleanup sites.

“We like to say that at SRNL, we put science to work,” SRNL Director Terry Michalske said. “That is not just a slogan — we are an applied science lab focused on bringing innovative solutions to the DOE complex, our nation’s national security apparatus and across the globe. This closer strategic relationship with DOE will ensure we are as nimble, responsive and efficient as we can be in delivering our mission.”

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz prioritized strengthening the relationship between DOE and its network of national laboratories through the congressionally-chartered Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories (CRENEL) and the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Task Force, which have made specific recommendations to this effect.

A cornerstone of the CRENEL and SEAB Task Force recommendations was to ensure all national laboratories are governed by DOE; operated within their contracts to maintain a close, strategic relationship with DOE; provide unbiased technical assessment and support to the U.S. government; and be fully defined and transparent in their structure and operations.

“This really aligns with the Secretary’s priorities in managing our national laboratories,” Gilbertson said. “We have incorporated the external recommendations and our organization and management approach is well positioned to enable success at SRNL.”

To support the new structure, SRNL on Oct. 1 began operating as a separate business unit within the existing SRS management and operating (M&O) contract. SRNL is the only national laboratory contained within a larger M&O contract.

That relationship will continue for the remainder of the SRNS contract, with the changes enabling SRNL to implement business and management processes aligned with the mission needs of the lab and its diversified client base.

Savannah River National Laboratory Opens Washington State Office

AIKEN, S.C. – Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has opened an office in Richland, Wash. to better support EM’s work at the Hanford Site.

“SRNL truly is a complex-wide resource. We are proud to have formed a partnership with DOE and the Hanford contractors that will allow us to further address the complicated issues related to legacy cleanup and remediation,” Lab Director Terry Michalske said. “This office is an important link between our main campus in South Carolina and Hanford. It allows us to more readily deploy technologies and processes successfully implemented at the Savannah River Site (SRS) and put them into place at Hanford.”

At Hanford, SRNL supports EM’s Richland Operations Office (RL) and Office of River Protection (ORP).

“As the national laboratory for the Office of Environmental Management, we have been charged with applying our science and engineering capabilities to address technical issues across the EM complex. In order to establish effective long-term engagement 3,000 miles from home, we needed a base for our staff to help accomplish our mission,” SRNL Associate Laboratory Director Jeff Griffin said. “But more than that, we need to be part of the community, not just flying in and out. We want to show that we are a partner in finding solutions for the long term.”

Griffin said SRNL’s Hanford office will work with DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) at Hanford.

“Our capabilities and expertise are largely complementary to those of PNNL and other national labs,” Griffin said. “At Hanford, we are focusing on putting science to work, bringing our experience and the lessons learned from SRS, where we have made great progress in the remediation of groundwater and soil contamination, D&D of contaminated facilities and disposition of high-level waste. It’s time for SRNL to apply our expertise, experience and technology to help in the cleanup mission throughout the DOE complex.”

Most of SRNL’s Hanford work focuses on the ORP mission, but the lab hopes to support RL’s remediation and deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) work on Hanford’s Central Plateau. The lab completed a radiation mapping device demonstration at the Plutonium Finishing Plant for Central Plateau cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company last year.

“That was a big success and we are talking now about how we can help plan D&D operations in the future,” said Connie Herman, who leads SRNL’s Hanford Mission Program Office.

Demolition Alters SPRU Skyline

NISKAYUNA, N.Y. – EM’s demolition of above-ground portions of Building G2 at the Separations Process Research Unit was completed on Nov. 18, a milestone in the ongoing cleanup at the former research site. The photos above show the building before demolition (top) and after demolition (immediately above). Project contractor AECOM will work to remove structural steel and concrete. Building G2 was one of two buildings where research was conducted in the 1950s on chemical processes for separating plutonium and uranium from irradiated materials. Demolition at Building H2 is taking place under a ventilated enclosure.

West Valley Workers Relocate Waste Year Ahead of Schedule

The HLW Relocation and Storage Project crew poses in front of the 56th and final cask containing vitrified high-level waste awaiting transfer to an onsite storage pad.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) is the nation’s first and only commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant to successfully vitrify high-level waste (HLW) — liquid waste converted into a glass substance. West Valley recently marked another first: completion of the HLW Relocation and Storage Project, one year ahead of schedule.

Nearly 280 canisters of vitrified HLW were produced and placed into storage in the site’s Main Plant Process Building. Workers relocated the HLW canisters from the building to an onsite interim storage pad, a necessary step to support the building's eventual demolition.

Fifty-six casks containing 278 canisters of vitrified high level waste sit safely on an onsite storage pad.

EM and contractor CH2M Hill BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) carried out extensive planning, design, construction, building modifications and the purchase of special transport equipment in accomplishing the task of transferring 56 vertical storage casks, each holding five HLW canisters and weighing 87.5 tons, from inside the plant to the storage pad. They are scheduled to remain there until they can be disposed in an approved facility.

Workers moved the final cask on Nov. 17. The casks, each including a 4-inch thick steel liner and 20 inches of steel-reinforced concrete, were fabricated onsite and carry a minimum design life of 50 years. The five-pack storage system design is based on spent nuclear fuel dry cask storage systems in use throughout the U.S. and around the world. The interim storage configuration meets or exceeds all state and federal regulations, and supports future offsite shipment of the HLW canisters.

“I continue to be amazed by the accomplishments of our team of dedicated employees,” said Bryan Bower, WVDP director. “They have safely achieved another first for the DOE complex. This is a huge step in moving forward with the deactivation activities of the Main Process Plant Building and Vitrification Facility as we prepare for demolition activities to begin in 2017.”

A specialized hauling vehicle transports the 56th and final cask. Relocation of the waste will enable West Valley to move forward toward demolition of the Main Process Plant Building and Vitrification Facility.

David Brown, CHBWV project manager, said workers remained focused on completing this important work one year ahead of schedule.

“This major accomplishment was made possible because of the hard work and dedication of this crew. We set a goal, worked together to solve problems as they arose, and remained focused. Only through their dedication to perform all work safely has this been possible, Brown said. “I am honored to have been a part of this team, and part of another West Valley Demonstration Project first.”

Los Alamos Prepares for Remediated Nitrate Salt Drums Treatment

Technicians practice the RNS treatment procedure using a mockup glovebox.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – EM’s Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) is gearing up in fiscal year 2017 to treat remediated nitrate salt (RNS) drums at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to make them suitable for storage and disposal.

Sixty RNS drums containing nitrate salt waste incorrectly mixed with an organic absorbent currently are stored at LANL’s Technical Area-54. EM-LA expects to begin the required re-treatment in spring 2017.

To prepare, EM and LANL have conducted tests to determine the equipment and processes needed for the treatment process, which will involve mixing the RNS waste with water and an inert material to render the waste non-reactive. The RNS waste will then be repackaged in drums. Work is underway to further refine the planned treatment process in conditions similar to the treatment process.

LANL is making necessary modifications to the Waste Characterization, Reduction and Repackaging Facility (WCRRF), where the treatment process will be conducted. These changes include the addition of cameras for remote observation of treatment processes, a refrigerator for cooling the waste, water supply to support RNS treatment and a trailer for crew briefings.

“We are continually monitoring these drums to ensure safe storage while we evaluate and test treatment methods to render them safe for long-term storage and disposal,” EM-LA Manager Doug Hintze said. “We are now looking forward to beginning the treatment process later this fiscal year and we are confident in our ability to execute these operations in a safe and efficient manner.”

The refrigerator at WCRRF will cool the RNS waste.

An RNS drum from LANL was found to be the cause of the 2014 radiological release at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). EM’s investigations into the WIPP radiological event determined that the mixture within the RNS drum created an exothermic chemical reaction, resulting in a temperature and pressure buildup that caused the drum to breach. These findings have helped EM and LANL develop measures for safe storage of the RNS drums prior to their treatment, including the installation of a supplemental cooling system where the drums are stored and the addition of high-capacity, high-efficiency particulate air filters and high-quality burst discs to ensure the drums do not over-pressurize.

Before the RNS drums are shipped offsite, LANL’s TRU waste program must be recertified to ensure it meets the revised Waste Acceptance Criteria for the safe disposal of waste at WIPP. All generator sites across the EM complex must complete recertification satisfactorily before waste can be shipped to WIPP.

Hanford Workers Progress With Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition

The Plutonium Reclamation Facility (PRF), shown with a large section of the top floor removed. Demolition is progressing toward lower floors.

PRF, before demolition of top two floors, October 2016.

PRF, after demolition of top two floors, November 2016.

RICHLAND, Wash. – The skyline at the Hanford Site’s 200 West Area looks noticeably different as demolition of the Plutonium Finishing Plant progresses. Workers finished demolishing the top two floors (red box in photos above) of the Plutonium Reclamation Facility (PRF), the first of the four main PFP structures to be demolished. After completing this initial stage, crews held a post-job review to identify improvements to the demolition process, such as increasing the efficiency of loading out and removing demolition debris. Workers will incorporate those improvements as demolition continues with the four lower floors of PRF in the coming weeks.

SRS Efforts Lead to Millions in Savings, Improvements in Safety and Efficiency

AIKEN, S.C. – EM and the management and operations contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) have achieved millions of dollars in savings through two major cost-cutting efforts.

EM will save more than $1.7 million annually using a new radiation protection approach that further improves safety and efficiency at the chemical processing facility known as HB Line. Contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) streamlined its work, producing an estimated savings of nearly $2.7 million through the end of its contract in 2018.

Under the new HB Line approach, areas requiring respiratory protection and other personal protective equipment (PPE) in the facility now have requirements more tailored to conditions involving airborne radioactivity. The cost savings come from reductions in labor and laundry costs, required respirator usage and air sampling analysis costs.

HB Line process rooms had radiological postings of airborne radioactivity areas (ARAs), requiring respiratory protection and other PPE for a contamination area (CA). However, as the potential for airborne radioactivity was small, the decision to post these areas as ARAs was made out of an abundance of caution.

“Any intrusive work (work in a glovebox) still requires respiratory protection, so the areas are posted as airborne radioactivity areas during that time,” HB Line Radiological Protection Department (RPD) Deputy Facility Manager Jim Wood said. “Once intrusive work is completed, and the area goes back to normal surveillance and operations, the room gets posted as a contamination area again.”

To ensure no airborne contamination after intrusive work, radiation protection personnel installed continuous air monitors that sound an alarm for airborne radioactivity. This protection is in addition to routine surveys.

“We also took extra precautions to prevent personnel from entering one of these areas with the wrong PPE,” HB Line RPD Facility Manager Johnny Lott said. “We installed E-flares to help notify personnel when a room is posted as an ARA. A solid red light indicates that the room is currently an ARA and requires respiratory protection to enter. Once the continuous air monitors confirm that the air is clear and all surveys have been completed, the e-flare is then removed from the door, indicating the room has changed to a CA. These flares are in addition to regular radiological postings.”

Eliminating respiratory protection is a cost savings and benefit to safety. Potential heat stress from wearing this protection has greatly decreased. It’s easier to see and move with reduced PPE, making it safer for operators doing rounds.

“Personnel exhibited a great questioning attitude to ask how they could improve processes and used their experience and knowledge to make it happen,” said Wyatt Clark, SRNS senior vice president, EM operations. “I truly appreciate the tremendous amount of work and time that our radiological protection personnel put in to make our processes, safer, more efficient and more cost conscious.”

E-flares, shown in the circle, are used in HB Line areas to help alert personnel of radioactivity levels and personal protective equipment requirements.

In another cost-cutting effort, the estimated $2.7 million in savings result from an ongoing project management value stream analysis (VSA). A team of subject-matter experts from inside and outside SRNS are identifying opportunities for improvements and a path for implementing them. The team has so far convened more than a dozen multi-day sessions.

“The SRNS culture puts a priority on continuous improvement,” said SRNS President and CEO Stuart MacVean. “We encourage our employees at all levels to always be thinking about how we can do our job better, more safely and more efficiently. This project management effort is a great example of that.”

The analysis led to improvements to SRNS project management processes that reduce duplicative or unnecessary paperwork and other time-consuming steps. SRNS streamlined the upfront screening process for new facility modifications to better determine project management controls and oversight needed to mitigate business risk. This improvement is projected to result in potential savings of over $1.8 million through 2018.

The analysis resulted in a reduction in the average project closure time from over 1,000 days to 180 days, aligning with DOE’s financial guidelines. SRNS also consolidated critical decision packages, which are high-level decision gates required by DOE for large projects to advance. Combining the packages where appropriate significantly reduces external reviews and associated cost and schedule impacts.

At right, Ken Brooks, SRNS projects manager, leads a project management improvement session.

“Project management is a multifaceted process, affecting groups from engineering, construction and project controls to finance and risk management,” said Ken Brooks, manager of projects. “When we embarked on this VSA journey, our team recognized an overall lack of standard work for elements of the project management processes. Some procedures were cumbersome and inefficient, and the project closeout process durations were significantly higher than our customer’s expectations.”

The analysis is part of the SRNS Focused Improvement Transformation and IDEAS (Individuals Developing Effective Alternative Solutions) programs, which look to improve products, services and processes. Employees can submit suggestions for improvements and increased safety through the IDEAS program.

“The Focused Improvement Transformation is all about people, and allowing people to work as teams to improve their processes and identify and eliminate waste and non-value added work from their processes. It’s a win-win,” said P. K. Hightower, manager of SRNS continuous improvement.

Hanford Crews Maintain Building to Support Hazardous Cleanup

Building 324 crews recently finished replacing components of a ventilation fan, which helps keep the 50-year-old building safe and compliant while crews prepare to remove highly radioactive soil beneath the building.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Just north of the city limits here and within sight of the Columbia River remains one of the last buildings to be demolished in the Hanford Site’s 300 Area.

Building 324 houses four areas known as hot cells, contaminated from years of research and development work supporting plutonium production in the Manhattan Project and Cold War. Before the building can be demolished, a waste site of highly radioactive soil must be removed from beneath one of the cells.

“Remediating the waste site and demolishing the building is one of the most important projects remaining on the river corridor,” EM Federal Project Director Mark French said.

As crew’s design and test components to remove the soil, workers maintain the building’s ventilation and fire suppression systems to allow safe and compliant remediation of the highly contaminated soil.

Crews recently replaced the shaft and bearings of an exhaust fan that provides negative ventilation to the building and helps prevent the spread of contamination.

A project team will clean the airlock in early 2017. Eventually, crews with remote operated equipment will cut through the hot cell’s floor to safely remove contaminated soil underneath, allowing for the building’s demolition.

EM, IWTU Project Team Discuss Path to Startup

Mike Wiemers, an IWTU technical expert with contractor Fluor Idaho, center, shows the redesigned auger-grinder to EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Frank Marcinowski, left, and EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto met with Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) project engineers this month at the Idaho Site to discuss progress on the facility and review plans for the next work phase.

IWTU was built to treat the remaining 900,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center’s tank farm. The team has been making changes to IWTU’s key components to address equipment reliability and process control concerns.

Regalbuto inspected the redesigned auger-grinder, which size-reduces any large agglomerations of treated waste product to prepare it for transfer to downstream packaging processes. The component required a redesign due to malfunctions during previous waste simulant treatment campaigns.

The new auger-grinder design has more distinct “teeth” and blades, with two primary sections, which allows for parts replacement without replacing the entire assembly.

Testing of the new auger-grinder began earlier this month with granulated, simulated waste product and travertine rock to simulate larger chunks of product. The new component will be tested under conditions similar to prior waste simulant runs, which includes temperatures of over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and the inclusion of steam.

Regalbuto met with project engineers to discuss results from the first phase’s engineering, modeling and testing and to receive a briefing from the Technical Review Group (TRG). The TRG, comprised of technical experts from national laboratories, industry, and academia, made recommendations to the IWTU project team based on their review of the project’s engineering studies, modeling, and bench-scale studies that examined chemistry and fluidization issues that surfaced in the IWTU’s primary reaction vessel — the Denitration Mineralization Reformer.

“The Technical Review Group has been a huge asset to us,” said Leo Thompson, a technical issue resolution manager with contractor Fluor Idaho. “The experience of each individual is helping us with the strategies to resolve the chemistry, fluidization, and hardware issues that IWTU is currently facing.”

The second phase, which began in late October, involves use of the Hazen Research Facility in Colorado to conduct pilot-plant tests to confirm that chemistry and waste product fluidization issues are resolved in the Denitration Mineralization Reformer. Additional waste simulant treatment runs are scheduled for next year at IWTU as well as computer modeling, bench-scale testing and other engineering studies.

Regalbuto was impressed with the engineering changes and Fluor’s approach to getting the IWTU operational.

“I’ve appreciated the time spent with the IWTU team during our meeting and learning more about their progress,” Regalbuto said. “I’m impressed with the thoroughness of the plans for Phase 2 testing and believe they have a solid approach moving forward. I look forward to the results from this next phase of testing.

“It’s remarkable what was done in four and a half months,” she said. “Really good work!”

EM Contractors Gain Experience at Early Career Professional Exchange

Early career professionals from the Hanford, Savannah River Waste Isolation Pilot Plant sites pose for a photo during a recent visit to the Waste Treatment Plant construction site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Early career professionals from EM sites gathered this fall at the Hanford Site for a technical information exchange where they shared lessons learned from throughout the DOE complex.

Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), the tank farms contractor at the Hanford Site, hosted Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the liquid waste contractor from the Savannah River Site, and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the management and operations contractor at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, for the Fall 2016 Early Career Professional Exchange.

Eighteen representatives from the three sites, including AECOM employees from Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant, attended. Similar exchanges were held in November 2015 and April 2016.

Attendees gave site-specific presentations to each other and senior management. Participants toured B Reactor, the first full-scale production reactor built at Hanford during World War II.

Thomas Yamamoto, an SRR tank farms systems engineer, said the exchanges are the perfect setting to facilitate the flow of information between EM sites.

“Each site was able to network and share their knowledge, experiences, challenges and successes,” Yamamoto said. “The representatives were able to provide insight into some issues that other sites are also experiencing, allowing for easy sharing of lessons learned among attendees.”

Senior engineering managers from WRPS and SRR created the exchanges to promote intra-site cooperation and collaboration among subject-matter experts across sites.

“We recognized that establishing lines of communication and building a network of contacts earlier in our careers would have been very helpful in addition to expanding our awareness of the scope and technical activities of the DOE cleanup mission,” WRPS Deputy Engineering Manager Mark Tavelli said.

Workers Install Final Major Piece for Hanford Waste Facility

RICHLAND, Wash. – The caustic scrubber for the EM Office of River Protection’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s (WTP) Low-Activity Waste (LAW) facility has been installed, paving the way for completion of the facility’s construction in 2018.

“This is the last major piece of equipment to be installed in the facility,” explained the LAW facility federal project director Jeff Bruggeman. “This allows for us to continue moving forward towards construction complete to support the direct feed of low-activity waste.”

Workers recently installed the nearly 29-foot-tall and 6-foot diameter caustic scrubber to remove contaminants from the off-gas exhaust created during vitrification of low-activity waste.

“The caustic scrubber removes acid gases and nitrogen oxide components in the off-gas generated from the melters,” said Bruggeman. These components, he said, are harmful to people and the environment.

Installing the scrubber’s internal parts and supporting wiring, piping and other connections to the off-gas treatment system will continue into early next year, according to Bechtel National, ORP’s prime contractor for building the facility.

At the LAW facility, the majority of Hanford’s chemical and nuclear tank waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit in melters. The resulting molten material will be poured into containers, where it will cool and harden into a solid glass form.

As the material is heated, gases are released. The off-gas system, of which the caustic scrubber is part, will remove contaminants from these gases before being exhausted from the facility stack at levels that meet environmental, safety, and health requirements.

DOE, National Park Service Mark Manhattan Project Park’s First Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. – DOE and the National Park Service (NPS) have made considerable progress in their inaugural year managing the national park commemorating the Manhattan Project.

“Everyone involved with the park from DOE, the National Park Service, and our community partners has put a lot of work into the Manhattan Project National Historical Park over the past year and it shows. The Office of Legacy Management is excited to join the team and we’re looking forward to contributing to its continuing success,” DOE Office of Legacy Management Acting Director Thomas Pauling said.

Established on Nov. 10, 2015, the park consists of facilities at three sites — Hanford, Wash., Oak Ridge, Tenn. and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico — that played key roles in the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. This park tells the story about the people, events, science, and engineering that led to the creation of the atomic bomb, which helped end World War II.

Since the park’s inception, DOE and NPS have installed visitor contact stations in all three communities. Each location is interpreted, broadening the public’s access to the Manhattan Project story. DOE and NPS formed partnerships with organizations supporting the park, and the influx of thousands of park visitors benefits the local economies.

DOE recently made its Office of Legacy Management responsible for park management. This month, DOE named Tracy Atkins its principal representative for the park and NPS named Kris Kirby as the permanent superintendent.

First-year accomplishments at the park units include:

Hanford

Eliminating the age requirement for all park facilities and increasing tour seats by 40 percent to 14,000.
Working with partners to enable recreational opportunities inside the park for the first time, including a full-scale choral concert and 20-mile bike ride.
Piloting an agreement with a riverboat cruise company to bring its own buses to B Reactor and hire Hanford trained guides, resulting in more visitors at no government cost.

Shown here are the remains of Hanford High School, built in 1916 in the town of Hanford. It is one of many attractions at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

Oak Ridge

Expanding Oak Ridge Reservation facility access for park interpretive events, including the Secrecy, Security and Spies Education Program at the DOE Historical Gatehouses, Bike Tours on DOE Greenways and special tours for Girl Scouts and Girls, Inc. at the X-10 Graphite Reactor.
Doubling the days for bus tours to more than 120 days a year.

At left, people in Oak Ridge celebrate the Manhattan Project Historical National Park's launch in November 2015. Some in the crowd hold signs and newspapers marking the park's opening like residents did in 1945 when World War II ended (at right).

Los Alamos

Forming an agreement between NPS and the National Nuclear Security Administration for historic preservation work on park and park-eligible buildings.
Finalizing smartphone apps to support park interpretations at Los Alamos park properties.
Sampling for industrial hygiene at properties for worker access and historic preservation work in park and park-eligible buildings.

A present-day photo of the Pond Cabin at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Built in 1914, it was used to support plutonium chemistry research.

Contributors

Tracy Atkins, DOE Office of Legacy Management

Lynette Bennett, West Valley Demonstration Project

Colleen Hart, Savannah River Site

Steven Horak, Los Alamos Site

Jamacia Jimerson, Savannah River Site

Sonya Johnson, Hanford Site

Danielle Miller, Idaho Site

Lindsey MonBarren, Savannah River Site

Michael Nartker, EM Headquarters

Caroline Reppert, Savannah River Site

Martin Schneider, Savannah River Site

David Sheeley, EM Headquarters

Erik Simpson, Idaho Site

Stephan Tetreault, EM Headquarters

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