EM Update | Vol. 10, Issue 8 | April 27, 2017

• Portsmouth Site Reaches Key Deactivation Milestone
• EM Completes Characterization of Y-12’s Biology Complex
• SRS Contractors Ensure Salt Waste Processing Facility Startup Stays on Track
• Workers Finish Stabilizing Contamination at Hanford Facility
• DOE Fellows Share EM Research at Meetings Throughout U.S.
• Idaho Site Preps for Calcine Retrieval Project
• EM to Bring Expertise to Robotic Systems Seminar
• Idaho Site Provides Fuel for University of Maryland Reactor
• SRS Program Highlights Atomic Workplace
• Workers Move Closer to Removing Soil at Hanford’s 324 Building
• EM Helps Tribes Prepare to Revegetate Site Near Hanford
• EM Official Discusses DOE Career Opportunities at Towson University
• Nuclear Agency Internship Deepens DOE Fellow’s Global Perspective
• Hanford Managers Host Virtual Public Forum
• Contributors

Portsmouth Site Reaches Key Deactivation Milestone

Workers lower process gas equipment from a cell for analysis and packaging.

PIKETON, Ohio – EM’s Portsmouth Site and cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP) recently finished deactivating the first floor unit of the X-326 Gaseous Diffusion Process Building, a milestone in preparing the cell for demolition.

   “The levels of skill and effort being invested in this project are showing positive returns as we reach this milestone safely and on schedule,” said Robert Edwards, manager of EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO). “Our goal is to keep this momentum while getting the remainder of X-326 ready for demolition and further advancing the deactivation of the next process building, the X-333.”

Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Portsmouth Site Lead Joel Bradburne speaks to employees during a luncheon recognizing workers for their contributions to the X-326 deactivation and the unit 25-6 milestone.

Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth Site Project Director Dennis Carr talks with employees during the luncheon.

   Deactivating a facility involves removing hazardous and radioactive materials, verifying that criticality is not possible, and de-energizing and disconnecting nonessential systems. Deactivation of cell floor unit 25-6 came after five and a half years of work that included improvements to the nondestructive assay (NDA) program. NDA measures the quantities of uranium in pipes and equipment. 

   “Previously, we were doing quantitative NDA measurements, which isn’t necessary in all cases,” said Jeff Stevens, FBP’s deputy project manager. “By using a systematic approach that focuses on scanning for ‘hot spots,’ NDA can finish its work faster, which allows us to move forward sooner.”

Technicians discuss equipment scans in the X-326 Process Building.

Technicians survey packaged components exiting X-326.

   Covering more than 30 acres, the two-story X-326 is one of three massive Portsmouth buildings used for uranium enrichment for national defense beginning in 1954 and later for nuclear energy purposes until 2001. A unit in the building contains 20 cells, each of which includes 12 stages containing motors, compressors, converters and coolers. 

   FBP Process Building Deputy Director James Miller said the team surgically removed components and equipment from unit 25-6.  

   “Significant efforts during pre-job planning and excellent coordination among the multidisciplinary team ensured timeliness and superior safety performance,” Miller said.

Workers in the X-326 building package a component for shipment.

   Focus shifted to characterizing the building’s remaining bypass and auxiliary equipment after workers safely finished removing more than 7,000 components of process gas equipment in 2016.

   PPPO Portsmouth Site Lead Joel Bradburne said EM is balancing resources between X-326 and X-333 while sequencing deactivation, demolition and waste disposal.

   “By sharing resources that would otherwise be in standby, crews can keep working on schedule and under budget,” Bradburne said. “We’re gaining momentum on our deactivation work, and that means we’re gaining momentum on the overall D&D project.”

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EM Completes Characterization of Y-12’s Biology Complex

An aerial view of the Biology Complex. 

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Oak Ridge’s EM program and contractor URS | CH2M (UCOR) completed characterization at the Y-12 National Security Complex’s Biology Complex this month, identifying contaminants before demolition and waste disposition. 

   The project is part of DOE’s Excess Contaminated Facilities Initiative, an effort to reduce risks and stabilize facilities not scheduled for near-term demolition. In this case, EM’s activities could actually accelerate the demolition schedule for the Biology Complex because its facilities are collapsing due to age, and the location can be used for modern national defense missions.  

In an example of the Biology Complex’s disrepair, tiles have fallen from the façade of Building 9207 in Y-12’s Biology Complex.

Crew members prepare samples for shipment to the laboratory for analysis.

   Eight remaining complex buildings, which span almost 350,000 square feet and are owned by DOE’s Office of Science at the National Nuclear Security Administration site, have been vacant since the early 2000s. Like many facilities built in the 1940s, the characterization results showed significant amounts of asbestos and other wastes, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Workers also found radiological constituents in some buildings.     

   It was crucial to get crews into the complex before the working environment became too hazardous. Already, team members could not enter a building due to a failed roof. Elsewhere, exterior tiles have fallen from the façade, and asbestos and other material present risks to workers due to roof leaks.

A technician surveys a pipe for contamination.

   “Completing this characterization positions our cleanup program to demolish Y-12’s Biology Complex when funds become available,” said Jay Mullis, acting manager for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. “Our goal is to eventually take down this 1940s-era complex, which will eliminate safety risks and provide land for Y-12 to continue its important national security missions.”   

   The characterization results verified that six of the buildings could be disposed in the Y-12 sanitary landfills because they do not contain radiological contamination. The remaining two will be disposed in the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility, an onsite Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) disposal facility for the majority of cleanup-generated debris.

A worker takes a sample from a concrete floor.

   Originally constructed to recover uranium from process streams, the complex later housed DOE’s research on the genetic effects of radiation from the late 1940s. The facilities once housed more individuals with doctorates than anywhere in the world.

   The complex originally consisted of 12 buildings until EM demolished four of them in 2010 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 

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SRS Contractors Ensure Salt Waste Processing Facility Startup Stays on Track

Terry Weaver works at the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions Breaker and Motor Shop.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM’s Salt Waste Processing Facility is scheduled to begin operations in December 2018, with contractor Parsons getting support from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site's management and operations contractor, and Savannah River National Laboratory to ensure it remains on track. 

   SWPF will process the majority of the Savannah River Site (SRS) salt waste inventory by treating highly radioactive salt solutions stored in underground tanks. Removing salt waste is a major step toward emptying and closing the site’s remaining 43 high-level waste tanks, as that waste takes up more than 90 percent of their space.

   As SWPF testing continued last month, concerns about temperature trends for the motors of the facility’s exhaust fans prompted engineers with SWPF contractor Parsons to request troubleshooting to ensure adequate performance.

   “We needed a motor evaluated quickly, and while we had several offsite vendors who could do the work, getting them qualified to meet the standards of this kind of nuclear facility would have added several weeks at a minimum,” SWPF Project Manager Frank Sheppard said. 

   But help was just around the corner. 

   SWPF Maintenance and Work Control Manager Mike Ward, an employee at SRS for more than two decades, suggested Parsons ask the onsite motor shop to help.

   Ultimately, SRNS teamed with Parsons and EM to develop a work scope, troubleshoot the motors and perform maintenance testing with parts supplied by Parsons. The motors were returned to SWPF in 10 days, and the work cost about $7,000.  

   “This is a big part of our job — providing important services to help all the contractors and projects at the Savannah River Site succeed in supporting these important Department of Energy missions,” SRNS President Stuart MacVean said. “In this case, our team was able to provide their expertise to Parsons and get the motor maintenance performed and back to SWPF in a few days at a fraction of what it would cost at an offsite vendor.”

   Ward said the teamwork led SRNS and Parsons to consider other collaborations.

   “It really worked well because I could have people up there watching, learning and providing oversight,” Ward said. “It’s started a good dialogue on what other services are available through SRNS.”

   In another partnership, SRNL, which is managed by SRNS, trained Parsons staff for the SWPF analytical laboratory.

   “We needed to have somewhere we could use radioactive material in training our staff and developing our methods,” SWPF Operations Manager John Pearson said. “SRNL has been a great resource, not only providing the lab space but training our staff so that we don’t have to learn things the hard way. We’d much rather learn from their experience.”

   Since August, seven Parsons workers have completed SRNL training. They are now certified to work independently and were able to prove their methods in a lab environment to show they can get the consistent results necessary once the SWPF lab is in operation.

   “Our personnel have been doing this kind of work in a radiological environment for decades. We truly understand the hazards, pitfalls and the techniques vital to a successful laboratory,” SRNL Analytical Laboratories Director Curt Gardner said. “We also understand how to develop the methods to do this work, establish the controls and the quality functions to make sure the lab is achieving what it wants to achieve. I think we’ve been able to help them make a generational jump by being paired up with us for a while.”

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Workers Finish Stabilizing Contamination at Hanford Facility

Employees work in the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility canyon.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers at EM’s Hanford Site recently completed a major risk reduction effort at the facility that stores a significant portion of the site’s radioactivity.

   The Richland Operations Office (RL) and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M) finished grouting six hot cells and other components at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF). The facility stores 1,936 cesium and strontium capsules under water. It remained operational during the project.

A grout truck operates outside the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, where workers offloaded and pumped grout through a hose into the facility.

   “These improvements to WESF are necessary before transferring those capsules to dry storage,” said Al Farabee, RL project director for waste management. “Moving the capsules to dry storage is safer and more efficient than the current underwater storage location.”

   Connie Simiele, the CH2M vice president overseeing the WESF operations, said the workers did an outstanding job.

   “The team transitioned the innermost, highly contaminated section of an operating nuclear facility to a cold-and-dark configuration, and then wove grout lines throughout the facility, filling the hot cells, airlock, old duct work and filter pit with grout,” Simiele said. “They did it safely, and all without disrupting the nearby capsules.” 

Employees train in a non-hazardous environment to ensure safety and efficiency before entering the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility to remove contamination that lodged in a piece of temporary ventilation piping during grouting.

   The grouting to stabilize about 300,000 curies of legacy contamination began in 2016, after the WESF team upgraded the facility’s ventilation system. 

   RL and CH2M are designing the dry storage and planning WESF modifications for the equipment necessary to transfer the capsules from water to dry storage casks.

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DOE Fellows Share EM Research at Meetings Throughout U.S.

   DOE Fellows have been busy sharing their research to support EM’s cleanup at conferences and other events across the U.S. this spring.

   Their investigations focus on high-level waste and waste processing, soil and groundwater modeling and remediation, deactivation and decommissioning (D&D), and technology development.

   The Fellows are from the DOE-Florida International University (FIU) Science and Technology Workforce Development Program, designed to create a “pipeline” of minority engineers trained and mentored to work at DOE.

   They conducted their research at FIU’s Applied Research Center (ARC), and summer internships at EM headquarters and sites, and DOE national laboratories.

   ARC supports EM’s cleanup through research in environmental remediation, radioactive waste processing and facility D&D. The program offers students 10-week summer internships at EM sites. The EM-ARC five-year cooperative agreement aims to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers, equipping them with skills and knowledge to contribute to the workforce after graduation.

   Seven of the presentations dealt with soil and groundwater modeling and remediation:

• Silvina Di Pietro covered the effects of ammonia and variable redox conditions on mineral dissolution at the American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco. Di Pietro is studying the use of an innovative remediation technique that would inject ammonia gas into the subsurface at the Hanford Site to decrease the movement of uranium contamination. The results can help predict the long-term effectiveness of this technique.

DOE Fellow Silvina Di Pietro presents at the American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition.

• Frances Zengotita focused on the role of ionic strength on the sorption of neodymium on dolomite at the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium at Palm Beach State College in Florida. Zengotita’s research helps explain the long-term behavior of contaminants in the subsurface at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The research will be used to update the site’s long-term risk assessment models.

DOE Fellow Frances Zengotita speaks at the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium.

• Ripley Raubenolt presented the effect of sorbed humic acid on the mobility of uranium at the FIU Undergraduate Research Conference and the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium. Raubenolt’s research will help determine if a low-cost unrefined material containing humic acid, which is found in soil, can help the adsorption of uranium to control its movement in the groundwater at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

DOE Fellows Ripley Raubenolt presents a research poster at the FIU Undergraduate Research Conference.

• Awmna Rana discussed the effect of properties of acid-contaminated sediments on contaminant mobility at the FIU Undergraduate Research Conference.

DOE Fellow Awmna Rana presents a research poster at the FIU Undergraduate Research Conference.

• Also at that conference, Alexis Smoot presented the synergetic interactions between uranium, humic acid, silica colloids and SRS sediments at variable pH levels at the conference. Smoot is investigating the effects of colloidal silica and humic acid on the removal of uranium from contaminated groundwater at SRS.

DOE Fellow Alexis Smoot presents a research poster at the FIU Undergraduate Research Conference.

• Juan Carlos Morales detailed an accumulated metalloestrogens analysis for health risk assessment and watershed toxicology management in Tims Branch at SRS at the Society of Toxicology Expo in Baltimore. Morales’ research will be used for modeling contaminant transport in the groundwater at SRS and an assessment of environmental health risks from human exposure.

DOE Fellow Juan Morales presents a research poster at the Society of Toxicology Expo.

Other presentations related to D&D and technology development:

• Alexander Piedra discussed the baseline adhesion testing of intumescent coatings at the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium. Piedra is researching the effectiveness of commercially available intumescent coatings to enhance the fire resiliency of fixatives and facilities in support of D&D projects facing potential fire and extreme heat conditions. 

DOE Fellow Alexander Piedra presents at the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium.

• Gene Yllanes presented on the T-Rex, a multipurpose all-terrain robotic platform, at the Life Sciences South Florida Undergraduate Research Symposium. Yllanes is investigating how to integrate robotic systems into hazardous work environments, which reduces risk to workers.

Three presentations related to summer internships:

• A 2016 intern at EM headquarters in Washington, D.C., Smoot talked about her research on developing a sustainability index at the FIU Undergraduate Research Presentation event for FIU’s Foundation Board of Directors. She also presented at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Memphis, Tennessee. The index attempts to quantify the relative sustainability of active and passive remediation strategies.

Four FIU students present at the FIU Honors College Board of Directors Research Event.

Honors College Associate Dean Espinosa, second from left, with FIU students at a research presentation event. 

• Di Pietro spoke at FIU’s Panther Alumni Week about her FIU undergraduate and Honors College experiences and advised students on leadership. She stressed the importance of participating in internships before graduating and shared her experience as an intern at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory last summer as part of the DOE Fellows Program at FIU. 

   Nearly 20 Fellows presented technical posters or spoke about their research at the 2017 Waste Management Symposium in early March.

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Idaho Site Preps for Calcine Retrieval Project

Under the retrieval approach, calcine from bin set 1 (listed here as CSSF 1) will be transferred to bin set 6 (CSSF 6). Bin set 1 would then be closed.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM’s Idaho Site is preparing to retrieve and transfer radioactive waste as part of a larger project needed to meet a milestone in a legal agreement with the state. 

   In an estimated $50 million project, EM is set to design a system to retrieve an estimated 220 cubic meters of radioactive waste from an older storage bin and transfer it to a newer one with storage capacity. Eventually, workers will close the emptied bin under numerous regulatory authorities.

   “This project has many challenges from both an engineering design as well as a regulatory standpoint,” said Fluor Idaho Project Manager Howard Forsythe. “Demonstrating that we can design and build a system to retrieve this waste is the first step.” 

Liquid high-level radioactive waste was converted to a granular solid called calcine, which is currently stored in six bin sets.

   The waste was generated from spent nuclear fuel reprocessing conducted decades ago. In total, 4,400 cubic meters of the waste, commonly referred to as “calcine,” is being stored in six bins sets in concrete vaults at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. The retrieval system being designed will be used to retrieve the calcine from bin set 1 and transfer it to bin set 6. 

   “We remain focused on meeting our regulatory commitments, and we’ve identified two things we can do now to make progress,” DOE Idaho Calcine Project Manager Mark Shaw said. “These activities better prepare the project to meet the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement requirement that the calcine be ready for disposal outside the state by Dec. 31, 2035.”

   The project allows EM to empty and close the oldest of the bin sets. That process will provide the regulatory framework for closing and testing the remaining bin sets after the calcine is removed.

   EM plans to complete the retrieval design by fiscal year 2018; fabricate and construct the system the following year; transfer the calcine in fiscal year 2020; and deactivate and demolish the transfer system in 2021. EM could close the emptied bin in fiscal year 2022.

   “I have some talented, problem-solving engineers on my staff who are excited to tackle this project,” Forsythe said. “I’m confident that my team has the experience and skills needed to deliver.”

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EM to Bring Expertise to Robotic Systems Seminar

EM Office of Technology Development Director Rod Rimando will speak about robotics applications and needs at the two-day seminar.

MIAMI – EM is joining federal agencies, national research laboratories, industry and academia for a seminar to explore integrating robotic systems into hazardous work environments to help workers accomplish high-risk tasks.  

   The robotic experts will take part in the seminar titled “Robots, Sensors & Humans – Benefits & Challenges of the Implementation of Robotic Systems in Hazardous Environments.”

   The event takes place May 3 and 4 at Florida International University (FIU), home to the Applied Research Center (ARC). The center provides technical research support to EM in environmental remediation and student workforce development for high-priority areas such as radioactive waste processing and facility deactivation and decommissioning. 

   EM is increasingly promoting the use of advanced robotic technologies in its cleanup to enhance worker health and safety and improve performance, productivity and overall quality. Its mission and cleanup challenges match with the many domains of robotics, involving underwater, under or below ground, aerial, and access-restricted locations.

   Rod Rimando, director of EM's Office of Technology Development, will present at the plenary session focusing on robotics applications and needs. 

   “The integration of mobile robotic platforms and advanced sensors is critically important in allowing us to better understand the physical environment in which we work and to better understand the extent and nature of hazards in those work spaces,” Rimando said. “This seminar brings greater focus on solutions for this mission challenge and opportunity.”

   Panel discussions will cover mobile robots and sensors for hazardous work environments; human and robot interaction; and wearable robotic devices and smart personal protective equipment.

   A roundtable discussion will discuss how end-user guidance benefits the development and deployment of robotic systems.

   The seminar includes a tour of ARC and live technology demonstrations of commercially available robotics and robotic technologies being developed.

   The event is sponsored by TechNeeds, a collaboration between ARC and the Waste Management Symposia, which focuses on global radioactive waste management. The seminar is co-sponsored by the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association. 

   For more information, go to www.techneeds.org.

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Idaho Site Provides Fuel for University of Maryland Reactor

A worker prepares the cask containing 19 TRIGA fuel elements for shipment to the University of Maryland.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho –  A University of Maryland research reactor will continue operating as a result of a collaboration with EM's Idaho Site.

   “We are pleased that the Department is able to fill urgent domestic TRIGA (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) fuel needs by reusing fuel in our inventory that has only been used previously in a TRIGA reactor for a short time and thus still contains most of its fission energy,” said Jack Zimmerman, deputy manager for the Idaho Cleanup Project at the DOE Idaho Operations Office.  

   EM and its cleanup contractor Fluor Idaho and DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy worked together to complete the project. Fluor Idaho fuel handlers retrieved 19 lightly irradiated fuel elements in storage since 2009 at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center’s (INTEC) Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility.

   Crews loaded the fuel into a cask and placed in on a flat-bed trailer for shipment to the university in College Park, Maryland. It safely arrived last month.

   “This was a very rewarding experience,” said Fluor Idaho Nuclear Project Engineer Alan Robb. “So many entities and individuals worked tirelessly to ensure the University of Maryland could keep their TRIGA reactor operating. It was fortuitous that we had the precise fuel they needed. I’m glad Fluor Idaho had a significant role ensuring the continued use of this research reactor.”

   Plans are underway to ship more fuel to other TRIGA reactors in upcoming years following this successful project.

A view of the cask containing TRIGA fuel in preparation for shipment.

   Scientific institutions and universities run TRIGA reactors for undergraduate and graduate education, commercial research, nondestructive testing and isotope production.

   The university has used its 250-kilowatt reactor, which has operated since 1973, to train young researchers interested in nuclear energy. A lack of available commercial fuel had threatened its shutdown.

   “There were many, many people who came together as a team to ensure this expedited task could be safely executed,” Robb said. “Operations, engineering, facility engineering, fuel handling operators, radiological technicians, supervisors, facility managers and other support personnel were all engaged in this Herculean effort.”

   Such tasks usually take about six months, but the Fluor Idaho team did it in just seven weeks due to the university’s need for fuel and constraints on the cask’s availability.

   “I am very proud of the Idaho fuel handling and packaging teams and their ability to work together to get the job done quickly and safely,” Zimmerman said. 

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SRS Program Highlights Atomic Workplace

Melissa Jolley, far right, discusses a model of the Heavy Water Component Test Reactor (HWCTR) during a tour at the Savannah River Site’s (SRS) Curation Facility. Known as “Hector,” it was an experimental nuclear reactor used for studying peaceful uses of atomic energy. 

AIKEN, S.C. – At the onset of the Cold War, “Site Number 5” in South Carolina was one of 114 locations in the U.S. considered for the production of weapons-grade plutonium, tritium and other materials.

   The federal government tasked E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company with this project. The company ultimately selected Site Number 5 in Barnwell and Aiken Counties southeast of Augusta, Georgia. In 1950, workers began transforming 310 square miles of rural agrarian towns into the Savannah River Plant, a nuclear industrial complex. 

   Today, the Cold War Preservation Program at DOE’s Savannah River Site (SRS) documents this period in U.S. history and makes stories of previous generations publicly accessible.

   “Because of the layers of secrecy during the Cold War, people may not know what actually happened at the site,” DOE-Savannah River (DOE-SR) Community Assistance Manager Parodio Maith said. “Our Cold War Preservation Program has been highly successful in preserving artifacts and buildings to better tell our story, ensuring that employees and members of the public don’t lose important pieces of our past.” 

   Last year, the curation facility accepted 60 new artifacts to add to its vast collection ranging from blueprints and safety slogans to an entire control room from an experimental physics laboratory, 777-M, and an 8,000-pound vault door that once protected plutonium and tritium. 

   “There’s something for everyone here, for people who are interested in the history of technology and for others who are intrigued by the site’s culture. That’s what makes it a great collection,” said Melissa Jolley, SRS curator with New South Associates. “The artifacts and documents serve as a reminder for why the site is here and why it’s a continuing story.” 

   The facility staff scanned 20,000 historic negatives for photos depicting the employee culture of the atomic workplace, construction of buildings, and various types of equipment used in laboratories and nuclear facilities. The collection contains 580,000 negatives, and the goal is to inventory, organize and provide long-term archival storage. 

   Since 2000, program historian Mary Beth Reed has led an effort to research and write thematic studies, which are illustrated narrative documents based on oral histories and other research. The studies are available at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History website.

   To date, the program has completed seven thematic studies, and the final one on Savannah River National Laboratory research and development is expected to be finished later this year. 

   “The Savannah River Site’s history is rich and complex. Each of these studies helps the public better understand what was accomplished behind the fence and speak to the site’s significant role in our national, state and local history. While it is a highly technical history, it also has great historic storylines that speak to the people that created the site and operated it,” said Reed of New South Associates. “So it is big history and little history, and that is what makes it so fascinating.”

   Last year, the program hosted 25 tours with 225 visitors and four meetings for the historic preservation community. Staff members created a traveling exhibit for the Augusta Public Library, and they continued to collaborate with the newly established SRS Museum on exhibits. 

   “Future generations will be so far removed from the tensions of the Cold War,” said Andy Albenesius, Cold War history manager with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the site’s management and operations contractor. “Our program puts into perspective the effort involved with building the site and its advanced technology for its time, how instruments and machines were designed and how they worked successfully. Ground was broken February 1951, and all five reactors were up running critical by March 1955.”

   In the late 1990s, DOE-SR started reviewing the site’s Cold War facilities for significant historical documents and artifacts.

   In 2004, DOE-SR entered into an agreement for the preservation, management and treatment for the National Register of Historic Places-eligible properties within SRS.

   DOE then tasked the Cold War Preservation Program to identify facilities for preservation, write histories, provide public outreach and collect and manage artifacts that date from the site’s selection in 1950 to the end of the Cold War in 1991. A cultural resource management plan outlined how historically significant buildings eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places would be treated prior to deactivation and decommissioning.

   “I don’t think you can talk about the history of 20th-century South Carolina without talking about the Savannah River Site,” Reed said. “It made for demonstrable changes in the state — technologically, economically and socially. It was especially influential for colleges and universities within its proximity. We talk a great deal about lessons learned at the site. In researching our history, we can learn from it. That’s what makes us a great nation.” 

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Workers Move Closer to Removing Soil at Hanford’s 324 Building

Workers build a mockup of the processing cell floor to be removed to access the radioactive soil beneath it.  

RICHLAND, Wash. – The 324 Building is one of the last buildings remaining in the Hanford Site’s 300 Area, where workers fabricated fuel rods and conducted research to support plutonium production. 

   Before workers can demolish it, they must remove radioactive soil beneath one of its former processing cells. Because the soil is radioactive, EM’s Richland Operations Office and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company intend to remove and dispose of it using remotely operated equipment.

   This video shows employees using mockup equipment to test a large saw to remove the floor and access the soil. It also features a training mockup for workers to prepare the building for the remotely operated equipment.

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EM Helps Tribes Prepare to Revegetate Site Near Hanford

Josiah Pinkham of the Nez Perce Tribe, left, collaborates with Mike Sackchewsky of DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) on a charter for a mock tribal vegetation project this month. EM’s Richland Operations Office coordinated a project management training with its contractor Mission Support Alliance, PNNL, the Nez Perce Tribe, the Wanapum Band and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to help the tribes develop plans to revegetate a culturally sensitive area near the Hanford Site in the next growing season.

Mike Sobotta of the Nez Perce Tribe, left to right, Michelle Burke, an EM contractor, and Steve Link of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation prepare a schedule for their mock tribal revegetation project.

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EM Official Discusses DOE Career Opportunities at Towson University

TOWSON, Md. – EM Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Resource Management Melody Bell represented DOE at the Towson University Environmental Conference earlier this month. Bell gave an overview of EM to students and faculty, answered questions about career skills needed for environmental work, and discussed internship opportunities available at the Department and its national laboratories. EM’s participation in the conference supports DOE’s goal to motivate students to pursue opportunities to help solve challenges in national security, science and energy, and the environment.

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Nuclear Agency Internship Deepens DOE Fellow’s Global Perspective

Left to right: Florida International University Applied Research Center Program Director Leonel Lagos; DOE Fellow Christine Wipfli; International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Division Director of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology Section Christophe Xerri; and IAEA Environmental Remediation Specialist Horst Monken Fernandes. 

VIENNA – DOE Fellow Christine Wipfli recently returned from a one-year internship with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where she gained insight into the complexities of a global organization balancing science and engineering with policy and diplomacy. 

   “I feel honored and fortunate to have had this invaluable internship experience at the IAEA. Being able to work with individuals from all over the world who came together to combine their knowledge and expertise, regardless of their political views, to resolve international issues affecting millions of people, was inspiring,” Wipfli said. “It reminded me that with enough people in the world ready to put aside their differences, roll up their sleeves, and work together towards a common goal, even the greatest of challenges can be overcome.” 

   The intern helped scientific secretaries in IAEA’s Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology Section implement programs in the agency’s member states. Working closely with the decommissioning and environmental remediation team, Wipfli reviewed and edited technical guidance documents, participated in consultancy meetings with member state representatives, led working group discussions and created the foundation for an online global database. 

   “Knowing how fast this internship would fly by, I made it a point to absorb as much as I could in the time that I had. I was fortunate to be able to work with such an incredible group of people on both a personal and professional level. I used every opportunity to learn as much as possible from their experiences, and also on how their projects and technical areas of expertise fit into the larger picture of the goals of the agency,” Wipfli said. “It was a wealth of knowledge from all over the world and having the opportunity to connect and learn from them was incredibly enriching.”

DOE Fellow Christine Wipfli.

   Wipfli is an environmental engineering undergraduate student at Florida International University (FIU). Her research in the fellowship program at the school’s Applied Research Center (ARC) focused on a technique to remediate uranium contamination in the soil and groundwater at the Savannah River Site.

   Horst Monken Fernandes, an environmental remediation specialist and chemical engineer at IAEA, served as Wipfli’s mentor. He said her hands-on research experience and previous internship at EM headquarters made her an ideal fit for the position.

   Wipfli expressed appreciation for the opportunity.

   “I would like to thank all of the professionals at the IAEA for inspiring me and for investing a great deal of time and effort in creating the next generation of scientists and leaders, and to DOE EM for their support and guidance during this experience,” she said. “I would also like to thank FIU’s ARC for their encouragement and for fostering an environment where students are pushed to achieve high standards, and to Argonne National Laboratory for making these life-changing experiences for myself and for others possible.”  

   Argonne manages the U.S. Internship Program on behalf of IAEA. Read more about it here.

   ARC supports EM’s cleanup through research in environmental remediation, radioactive waste processing and facility decontamination and decommissioning. The program offers students 10-week summer internships at EM sites. The EM-ARC five-year cooperative agreement aims to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers, equipping them with skills and knowledge to contribute to the workforce after graduation.

   The IAEA is the world's center for cooperation in the nuclear field and seeks to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

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Hanford Managers Host Virtual Public Forum

Leaders from federal and state agencies overseeing the Hanford Site cleanup conduct the virtual public meeting.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Leaders from federal and state agencies overseeing the Hanford Site cleanup hosted a virtual public meeting on April 12 called Hanford Live.

   They provided cleanup progress updates and answered questions from the public from around the region, country and world through a live streaming broadcast, which was also available via Facebook.

   Doug Shoop, manager of EM’s Richland Operations Office and Ben Harp, deputy manager of the Office of River Protection, joined officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology, and the chair of the Hanford Advisory Board, for the first-of-a-kind meeting for Hanford. 

   “This gave us a chance to interact with a diverse group of people interested in Hanford cleanup, especially those who were able to engage with us from around the country and even the world,” Shoop said. “The online interactive format opens the doors to a new audience.”  

   Nearly 200 people registered for the event. During the broadcast, more than 100 tuned in via an online platform, and the event received nearly 1,000 views on Facebook. Hanford managers fielded dozens of questions on numerous cleanup issues during the two-hour meeting. 

   “We continue to look for ways to talk with the public about the importance of cleanup and are encouraged by the response we got to Hanford Live,” Harp said. 

   People from Japan, the United Kingdom, and several states submitted questions for the meeting. The agencies have requested feedback on the event via survey.

   A video of Hanford Live has been posted on the Hanford Site YouTube page. More information is available at Hanford.gov.

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Contributors

Jill Conrad, Hanford Site

John DeGregory, EM Headquarters

Mark Heeter, Hanford Site

Destry Henderson, Hanford Site

Leonel Lagos, Florida International University Applied Research Center 

Wayne McKinney, Oak Ridge Site

Brad Mitzelfelt, Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.

Michael Nartker, EM Headquarters

Caroline Reppert, Savannah River Site

Martin Schneider, Savannah River Site

David Sheeley, EM Headquarters

Peggy Shoffner, Florida International University

Michelle Teeters (FBP), Portsmouth Site

Ben Williams, Oak Ridge Site

Christine Wipfli, Florida International University

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