Q&A With Acting EM Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff; SRS Completes Massive Salt Disposal Unit at More Than $25 Million Under Budget; EM Aims for More Timely, Effective Decision-Making; and Much More!

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EM Update | Vol. 9, Issue 14 | July 28, 2017

New Acting Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff Lays Out His Vision for EM
SRS Completes Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 Construction, Saves More Than $25 Million
EM Officials Share Decision-Making Goal at Procurement Forum
Demolition of Oak Ridge’s Poplar Creek Facilities Underway
Hanford Workers Topple 200-Foot-Tall Ventilation Stack at Plutonium Finishing Plant
DOE Senior Advisor Tours EM Cleanup Projects Across Complex in July
WIPP Fire Protection Engineer Receives Prestigious DOE Award
Hanford Workers Prepare to Remove Contaminated Soil
Hanford Tank Waste Evaporator Completes First Campaign of 2017
SRS Mock Active Shooter Exercise Yields Significant Lessons Learned
Office of River Protection Honors Team for WTP Milestone
Workers Install IWTU Manway to Aid Startup
50 Years in the Making: SRS Contractor Receives Lifetime Achievement Award
Air Force Honors Hanford Employee With Commendation Medal

New Acting Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff Lays Out His Vision for EM

EM Update recently spoke with new Acting EM Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff on his vision and priorities for the EM program.

You’ve had a lengthy career in the EM program. Based on your experience, where do you feel the program is today?

There are several areas where we have made great progress. We have a strong workforce —from the union standpoint, the contractor standpoint and the federal standpoint. I think there continues to be an interest in getting things done. I think when people wake up in the morning, they certainly want to be able to work in a safe environment and also be able, at the end of the day, to feel good about the accomplishments they have made.

I think we have a number of decisions that are teed up, and that’s one of the reasons for the 45-day review now underway. What I am looking at is how we can be more timely in our decision-making. That’s very important to me. (Read more about this effort in a separate story in this newsletter issue.)

I believe that just by inherently making timely decisions, that in and of itself it reduces costs because you get on with implementing a particular decision. Certainly, I am always interested in reducing cost and reducing schedule. We go through that on our contracting approach where we accomplish our work via competitive contracts and then we look to have mechanisms with those contracts to have continuous competition in the subcontracting area to have cost-effective work done.

So that’s where I believe we are today.

Along with the 45-day review, what are some of your other priorities going forward?

What I would like to be able to do is look at the decisions examined in the 45-day review in four categories: Do It, Boil, Simmer, and Defer. A good example is getting to glass for the direct-feed low activity waste (DFLAW) approach to tank waste treatment at Hanford. Some of the decisions needed now are getting the documented safety analysis completed and ensuring that we have the necessary permits, as well as ensuring from a cost-and-schedule standpoint that we’re on track. So that’s what I look at, especially as to where we need to place that idea of timely decisions.

As always, we need to be mindful of the budget. We’ll be working on the FY (fiscal year) 2019 budget in the next few months. So that’s our opportunity to not only look at where we need money but where we need certain policy decisions. As we’re working through that budget request, we need to ensure, for example, that we have adequate money for the liquid waste efforts down at Savannah River. We’ve made such an investment in the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) as well as the other liquid waste facilities, and we need to bring the SWPF online and we need to ensure that everything is in place to bring it online.

What do you see as potential opportunities for near-term success?

I think across the EM complex, if you look at every site, there are opportunities for success. Certainly at Hanford, getting the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) down is going to be a great accomplishment. Also at Hanford, for the cleanup along the River Corridor, getting the records of decision to guide cleanup and waste management activities in place is going to be a good accomplishment.

At Oak Ridge, I see as a near-term success, what we’ve been able to do at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) and bringing those buildings down brings us closer to converting ETTP into a commercial-use industrial park. At Idaho, we are getting closer to having the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) up and running, hopefully in the next several months and start processing sodium-bearing waste. At Savannah River, we’re making progress in treating salt waste, bringing us closer to emptying the sites tank waste. In fact, each of our sites are making tremendous progress.

The new Administration has shown its support for the EM mission through measures such as the FY 2018 budget request, which is the largest for the EM program in a decade. How does that support and backing further help the EM program?

I think it demonstrates to the entire EM workforce, both federal and contractor, as well as to the local communities, the support from the Administration for the EM program to continue to make progress in our cleanup work. I think our job now, and always, is to be able to wring out efficiencies where we can, get things done and demonstrate that we can make effective use of those dollars. That is what I look at and a lot of my focus is looking at the effective execution of our $6.5 billion program. That is an awful lot of money, and we need to ensure that each dollar is being utilized efficiently and effectively.

Along with the 45-day review, another action you have taken is the creation of the new Office of Special Projects here at EM headquarters, headed up by former senior EM official Dae Chung with an initial focus on the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). What was your thinking and intent behind setting up that office?

The WTP is one of the largest projects within EM. It’s the largest project within the Department and it’s probably the largest project across the federal government. So with that, I felt we needed one individual that lives and breathes getting DFLAW up and running with a singular focus here at headquarters. Certainly the federal project director (FPD) has his job in ensuring that it gets accomplished, but here at headquarters, we need someone who is not only working from a resources standpoint, but ensuring that we bring the various offices here together at headquarters to ensure we’re really looking for any opportunities to clear away any hindrances and not waiting for those challenges to come up. Let’s be looking forward and resolve them ahead of time before they become an issue.

I would like to see if we can make glass at Hanford earlier than 2022, where it is appropriate, or at least at this juncture. We need to get ahead of the schedule, so when we do run into challenges during commissioning, we have built in some additional time to be able to resolve those challenges. So that’s what this office and Dae will do — a singular focus in working with the FPD and management at the Office of River Protection.

With WTP being such a large part of EM and DOE, how much of an accomplishment will that be once DFLAW is operational?

I think we have seen within EM that we have the ability with these one-of-a-kind waste treatment facilities to complete construction and bring them online. We were able to get the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) plants at Paducah and Portsmouth up and running, though we have had some challenges with continuing to run them. With the IWTU, it was the next level of complexity and it has demonstrated that it has some issues.

The Salt Waste Processing Facility is looking like Parsons (our contractor) has done an excellent job of completing construction and starting commissioning, and it looks like we have learned that we need to pay some more attention to certain areas. The whole nuclear industry has atrophied so there has been that challenge of available materials, workforce, and engineering capabilities. But I think with the SWPF, we have turned that corner.

At WTP, DFLAW will just be that next iteration. On the one hand it’s not as complex as the SWPF, but it is complex in the size of it and the material going through it there, as well as the complexity of the melters. It will be good for EM to be able to demonstrate that we can do that. It will be excellent for the state and the community, as well as for the Administration and Congress, and their confidence in providing us the money to proceed.

To wrap things up, what challenges do you see coming up? What are the things that keep you awake at night, so to speak?

EM is target-rich as to challenges. First and foremost is the safety of our workers and the safety of the communities near our sites, both in terms of industrial safety as well as radiological safety and potential exposure. We need safe environments, safe work practices, and consideration for all workers.

Another challenge is the tunnels at Hanford and the broader question of infrastructure. When you have something like the partial collapse of Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX) Tunnel 1 that occurred, you look at it and say, ‘Could that have been preventable?’ You look at the other facilities that we have that are older and are similar and the things that we should be doing. We know there is always that balance between looking at the current facilities and ensuring they are in a safe place and being able to make progress on projects like bringing PFP down to slab-on-grade, or what we’re trying to do at Portsmouth to D&D (deactivation and decommissioning) facilities there.

There is never enough money so we could say we want to go full on everything. Even if we had more money, there are still going to be competing priorities. You can’t do it all at once in a year or two years or five years. Some things just take time.

- Contributor: Michael Nartker

SRS Completes Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 Construction, Saves More Than $25 Million

Workers poured an initial mud mat to serve as a solid surface for the Saltstone Disposal Unit 6.

AIKEN, S.C. – Workers completed construction of a massive disposal unit for the Savannah River Site’s (SRS) saltstone waste more than $25 million under budget and more than a year ahead of when it’ll be needed for cleanup.

The 32.8-million gallon Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 (SDU 6), designed and built by SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR), is more than 10 times larger than the six previously constructed SDUs. The SDU 6 is designed for the larger decontaminated salt solution stream to be produced by the site’s Salt Waste Processing Facility, scheduled to begin operating in December 2018.

“Construction of SDU 6 is significant for the SRS liquid waste mission and underscores the Department of Energy's continued commitment to furthering progress on tank closure and risk reduction,” Savannah River Operations Office Manager Jack Craig said.

SRR completed construction of SDU 6 in late April at a cost of about $118 million — more than $25 million under the budget of $143.2 million — and 16 months ahead of the originally established completion date of November 2018.

Saltstone Disposal Unit 6 at the halfway point in construction.

Savannah River Remediation successfully completed its first mega-volume Saltstone Disposal Unit on a 2-1/2 acre site.

“The cost savings of these SDUs is significant to all of us,” SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster said. “The Saltstone Disposal Units have proven to be very successful in the dispositioning of decontaminated salt solution, which is key to achieving our mission here at SRS.”

Salt waste makes up about 90 percent of the waste volume in SRS tanks. The Saltstone facility receives decontaminated salt solution after highly radioactive isotopes — primarily cesium — are removed and transferred to the Defense Waste Processing Facility to be turned to glass and stored at SRS awaiting permanent disposal.

The SDU 6 design differs from the previous six SDUs, each holding roughly 3 million gallons of saltstone. Built with more than 13,000 cubic yards of concrete, SDU 6 measures 43 feet high and 375 feet in diameter. Its tank walls are wrapped in 289 miles of pre-tensioned wire strand. They were designed to expand outward as the tank is filled, and the wire strand maintain the structural integrity of the tank walls while waste is added to the tank.

The larger design, which mirrors those for commercial water applications, allows for cost savings because it requires less infrastructure and materials to design and build.

SRS will need only seven of the larger units to meet mission needs — equivalent to 80 of the smaller units — and DOE has approved the concept of replicating the efficient SDU 6 design for all remaining SDUs. Work has begun on SDU 7, and initial approvals are slated for the remaining SDUs in 2017.

“This change will result in a significant life-cycle cost savings of over $500 million over the life of the program, given economies of scale, layout, design and construction processes,” SDU 6 Project Manager Jon Lunn said.

- Contributor: Dean Campbell

EM Officials Share Decision-Making Goal at Procurement Forum

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A 45-day program review underway aims to enable timely and effective EM decision-making, Acting EM Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff told more than 50 people at the latest procurement forum on July 13.

Acting EM Assistant Secretary Jim Owendoff details EM’s 45-day review in progress during the Business Opportunity Forum.

“What I see the major thing we’re challenged with is timely decisions,” Owendoff said at EM’s 11th quarterly Business Opportunity Forum. “How do we make timely decisions, either we’re going to do something or we’re not going to do something.”

The review, which Owendoff initiated in late June, seeks to identify program decisions that need immediate or short-term focus, and ones that can simmer, he said.

“We’re looking at what ones the site managers can make, which ones can we make up here (at EM headquarters) and which ones do we need to engage with the Deputy (Secretary) and with the Secretary,” Owendoff said. “That’s the long and short of it with the review.”

“And one of those key areas is contracting,” Owendoff said. “We’re genuinely looking for ways to get those decisions made quicker.”

Organized by EM’s Office of Acquisition and Project Management, the forum allows companies to get the latest news on doing business with EM and participate in dialogue about the program’s business opportunities. Dozens of people also joined the outreach event remotely.

Owendoff’s message was underscored by Ralph Holland, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management. The 45-day review extends from EM’s concentration on being “agile and crisp and being able to focus on what’s really relevant,” Holland said.

Ralph Holland, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management, discussed improvements to EM's acquisition process.

“That’s very relevant to what we’ve been doing for the last year in contracting,” he said. “We’ve been doing a lot of internal things focused on making the decision-making process more agile.”

For instance, “It’s not necessarily visible to folks in industry but we’ve reduced the number of internal directives in the area of acquisition from more than 30 down to eight,” Holland said. Additionally, EM is working to further standardize practices for businesses.

The goal “is to make the acquisition process work better,” Holland said.

Norbert Doyle, EM Acquisition and Project Management Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, responded to dozens of questions from the more than 50 people in attendance and others participating remotely.

Vicki Vasques, president and CEO of Tribal Tech, LLC, an American Indian, woman-owned small business, asks Norbert Doyle, EM Acquisition and Project Management Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, about EM’s goals for contracting with 8(a) and woman-owned small businesses during the forum.

Norbert Doyle, EM Acquisition and Project Management Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary, guided the audience to segments of the EM public website devoted to program management and procurement resources. Navigating the site “may give you some business intelligence as to where you want to put your focus going forward,” he said.

Throughout the two-hour session, Doyle answered questions about the appropriate contacts within EM, the role of the EM Consolidated Business Center, and opportunities for small business.

“We take our work with industry very seriously,” Doyle said. “We want to work with you. We cannot succeed in EM without industry and you can’t claim success if we’re not doing the cleanup in an efficient manner for the taxpayers.”

The next EM Business Opportunity Forum is scheduled for Oct. 5 in Knoxville, Tennessee in conjunction with the Business Opportunities Conference organized by the Energy Technology and Environmental Business Association.

- Contributor: Stephan Tetreault

Demolition of Oak Ridge’s Poplar Creek Facilities Underway

Workers tear down the K-832 Cooling Water Pumphouse.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Workers began demolishing the Poplar Creek facilities this month, bringing Oak Ridge’s EM program closer to completing major cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) by 2020.

“Demolishing the Poplar Creek facilities is significant for our program because it continues the visible transformation of ETTP’s skyline, and it removes the most contaminated facilities remaining at the site,” said Jay Mullis, acting manager of the Oak Ridge Office of EM (OREM).

OREM has taken down more than 400 facilities at ETTP spanning 10 million square feet, including all five former uranium enrichment facilities.

Crews demolished two of the 23 buildings and structures that make up the Poplar Creek facilities: the K-832-H Cooling Tower and the K-832 Cooling Water Pumphouse.

Crews demolish the K-832-H Cooling Tower.

The 5,500-square-foot cooling tower supported the site’s uranium enrichment process. Constructed in 1985 to replace the original Manhattan Project version, it operated a short time until activities ended that same year.

The 11,000-square-foot pumphouse operated from 1946 to 1985. It pumped recirculating cooling water from the cooling tower basin through the uranium enrichment equipment. In the years after its closure, the building was used to store electrical equipment and batteries.

Teams have also been removing the pipes, or tie lines, that once connected the gaseous diffusion buildings and transferred the enriched uranium. Approximately 31,000 linear feet have already been removed as part of that effort; about 12,000 linear feet remain.

The Poplar Creek facilities were constructed in the 1940s and 1950s to support the site’s nuclear operations.

The next Poplar Creek facility is slated for demolition in September as OREM continues toward its goal of converting the site into a private-sector industrial park. The office has transferred 880 acres and 14 facilities to private entities.

- Contributors: Ben Williams and Wayne McKinney

Hanford Workers Topple 200-Foot-Tall Ventilation Stack at Plutonium Finishing Plant

The Plutonium Finishing Plant’s 200-foot-tall ventilation stack topples to the ground.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers used explosives to safely demolish the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s (PFP) 200-foot-tall ventilation stack on July 15, reducing a Hanford Site landmark to rubble.

Watch video of the demolition here.

Controlled Demolition Inc., a subcontractor to EM contractor CH2HM HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M), used a small amount of explosives to weaken the stack, allowing gravity to bring it down. This technique was applied to safely demolish other similar structures at Hanford. It’s safer and more efficient than having workers use cranes and other equipment at elevated levels to tear down the structure.

After placing explosives drilled in the base of the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s ventilation stack, workers wrapped chain-link fence around the stack to limit the spread of debris from the explosion.

Crews used fogging with water for dust suppression and fixatives, a paint-like substance used to trap contamination, before, during, and after demolition. They set up air monitors near the demolition zone and around PFP, and laid fresh dirt where the stack fell to reduce the risk of debris and contamination spreading.

Removing the stack allowed demolition to proceed on the PFP’s main processing facility annex, which has begun.

- Contributor: Destry Henderson

DOE Senior Advisor Tours EM Cleanup Projects Across Complex in July

Roger Jarrell, Senior Advisor to the Energy Secretary for EM, toured cleanup operations at the Hanford Site this month. Here, Office of River Protection's (ORP) Dr. Sahid Smith, at bottom, chemical engineer for the Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System, explains testing of the full-scale vessel and pulse-jet mixers for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), to Jarrell, right. Also pictured, left to right, are ORP Federal Project Director and Assistant Manager Bill Hamel; Bechtel's WTP Project Manager Peggy McCullough; and contractor AECOM's Gary Beyer.

Jarrell, third from right, met with tribal leaders at the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center following his visit to Hanford. Pictured with Jarrell are, left to right, Patrick Wyena and Rex Buck of the Wanapum Tribe; Armand Minthorn and Leland Bill, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation; and Asa Washines of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.

Jarrell toured the Savannah River Site (SRS) in mid-July and met with community leaders and SRS stakeholders. Here, Jarrell, center, visits the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF). DOE-Savannah River SWPF Project Office Facility Representative Steve Stamper is at left and SRS Manager Jack Craig is at right. SWPF testing and commissioning is more than halfway complete, and the facility is on schedule to begin operating in December 2018.

In a tour of the SRS Saltstone Facilities, Jarrell, center, gathers with SRS officials atop the silos overlooking an area with the Saltstone vaults and the newly-completed Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) 6. The new 32.8-million gallon SDU 6 is more than 10 times larger than the six previously constructed Saltstone vaults and is the first of seven planned to store the remaining tank waste. See the related story on the SDU 6 in this newsletter issue. “I’m excited to see all of the positives here in accelerating DOE’s cleanup priorities,” Jarrell said. “There is a lot of good, tried-and-true work going on at SRS to support the classic EM cleanup completion story.” Pictured, left to right, are SRS Manager Jack Craig; Jarrell; DOE-Savannah River Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition Jim Folk; Liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Waste Treatment Facility Manager; and SRR Project Integration Manager Kim Hauer.

During his Oak Ridge visit, Jarrell, right, toured all EM-related projects and facilities, including the Transuranic Waste Processing Center. He met the employees who are processing and packaging waste for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Jarrell, right, met with leaders and local stakeholders at a community reception in Oak Ridge, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office Manager Johnny Moore.

Cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT’s Director Dennis Carr (left) and X-326 Process Building Deactivation Director Gary Hazlewood show Jarrell, center, posters depicting deactivation steps underway in a former uranium enrichment facility at EM’s Portsmouth Site. Jarrell toured the southern Ohio site and received updates on decontamination and decommissioning work.

Jarrell, front, third from left, was welcomed at a robotics training center at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant at the Portsmouth Site in Piketon July 19. The center is preparing cleanup personnel through the use of remote robots and virtual reality training, simulating work to be done in the former uranium enrichment plant being decontaminated and decommissioned.

- Contributors: Jill Conrad, Lynn Freeny, Wayne McKinney, Office of River Protection, Julie Petersen, David Sheeley

WIPP Fire Protection Engineer Receives Prestigious DOE Award

William “Bernie” Till, a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant fire protection engineer and technical lead.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – DOE has honored a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) fire protection engineer with its highest award for fire protection.

William “Bernie” Till received the Walter W. Maybee Award earlier this year for the vital role he played in rebuilding WIPP’s fire protection program, following a truck fire and unrelated radiological event in 2014. Without significant fire protection program enhancements, WIPP would not have been able to resume waste emplacement in January.

“Bernie Till certainly deserves this recognition,” EM Carlsbad Field Office Manager Todd Shrader said. “His leadership was crucial in the development of the many upgrades to the fire protection program that we have today at WIPP.”

Bruce Covert, president and project manager of Nuclear Waste Partnership, WIPP’s management and operations contractor, expressed pride for Till earning the distinction.

“An immense effort was undertaken to improve WIPP’s fire protection program, and he was essential to that effort.”

Improvements included major changes to fire hazard analyses, nuclear safety basis documents, and fire safety programmatic controls; installation of underground fire protection systems and vehicle fire suppression systems; and correction of inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection system deficiencies.

The DOE Fire Safety Committee grants the award to those who embody the ideals of the fire protection community and make significant accomplishments in fire protection engineering and emergency services.

- Contributor: Victoria Parker

Hanford Workers Prepare to Remove Contaminated Soil

A worker drills a hole in the concrete wall of a mockup structure for the installation of remotely operated soil removal equipment. Crews will train on and test that equipment in the safe environment of the mockup before using it in the 324 Building, where high radiation levels will make repairing or troubleshooting the equipment unsafe and difficult.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Hanford Site crews are modifying a testing and training structure that will ensure safety and efficiency in the removal of radioactive soil under a building a few miles north of Richland.

EM contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company will use a mockup of the 324 Building to test remotely operated equipment and train workers who will remove the contaminated soil. Testing and training is safer and more efficient in the contamination-free mockup facility.

Removal of the soil is necessary before demolition of the building, located about 300 yards away from the Columbia River.

Workers are drilling holes in walls so they can install remote-operated equipment and support infrastructure later this year.

- Contributor: Destry Henderson

Hanford Tank Waste Evaporator Completes First Campaign of 2017

A recent 242-A Evaporator campaign created approximately 200,000 gallons of double-shell tank storage space.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Office of River Protection (ORP) contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently completed the first operating campaign of the year at Hanford’s 242-A Evaporator, creating approximately 200,000 gallons of double-shell tank storage space.

“Evaporator campaigns are a key part of the safe and timely cleanup of Hanford tank waste,” said Glyn Trenchard, acting ORP assistant manager for the tank farms project.

During the 16-day campaign, approximately 540,000 gallons of liquid waste from feed tank AW-102 was transferred to the evaporator where it was heated to a boil under a vacuum.

Liquid from the boiling waste was collected, condensed, filtered, and sent to Hanford’s Effluent Treatment Facility for treatment and disposal, resulting in the tank waste volume reduction of roughly 200,000 gallons. The remaining concentrated waste was transferred to double-shell tank AP-104.

Prior to processing waste through the evaporator, the waste is analyzed to determine its key constituents. The data is used to determine how the waste will behave during and after the evaporation process, and to establish how much water can be safely removed from the waste.

The evaporator runs under strict environmental regulations, stringent operational controls, and requires extensive maintenance and operator training to maintain the facility in a fully operable condition.

ORP replaced the facility’s ventilation system and upgraded its monitoring and control system as part of improvements in recent years. In June, workers extended the evaporator’s ventilation stack from a height of 63 feet to 111 feet above ground to enhance chemical vapor emission controls during operating campaigns.

“With continued integrity assessments, equipment upgrades, and a proactive maintenance strategy, we expect the evaporator to operate safely for many more years,” said Mark Lindholm, WRPS president and project manager.

Since it began operating in 1977, the evaporator has removed 86 million gallons of water from Hanford tanks. The next evaporator campaign is scheduled for next month.

- Contributor: Washington River Protection Solutions

SRS Mock Active Shooter Exercise Yields Significant Lessons Learned

Centerra-SRS Protective Forces respond to reports of an active shooter in the SRS emergency exercise.

AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site (SRS) conducted an emergency response exercise on active shooters this month that will yield important lessons learned.

More than 500 people participated as responders, controllers, and evaluators in the mock event, the culmination of nearly two years of planning and training led by the DOE-Savannah River Operations Office, management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions and protective force contractor Centerra-SRS.

“As difficult as it is to imagine such a scenario taking place, it’s important that SRS is prepared for events like this,” Savannah River Operations Office Manager Jack Craig said. “The exercise was an important one, and I’m proud of how everyone performed. I’m certain our emergency response and security capabilities have taken a step forward, and I look forward to incorporating the lessons learned.”

The scenario involved a disgruntled employee and her spouse entering the badge office for revenge. Mannequins were used to show 13 people killed, while 15 SRS volunteers acted as wounded employees.

After responders apprehended the first mock assailant, the recently formed Rescue Task Force teams, consisting of SRS Fire Department and Centerra personnel, entered to provide immediate medical attention to the victims. Responders took critically injured victims to local hospitals while site medical staff treated those with less serious injuries.

The newly formed Behavioral Response Team, staffed by personnel from SRS Workforce Services, provided psychological aid to employees who witnessed the attack.

Members of the SRS Rescue Task Force team provide medical attention to victims in the mock event.

The Centerra-SRS Pro-Force team provides coverage during a medical evacuation of victims in the emergency response exercise.

Centerra-SRS employees conduct a briefing for participants in the emergency response exercise from the Aiken County Coroner's Office, DOE Inspector General's Office, and FBI.

SRS officials held a mock news conference to demonstrate how they would answer media questions in a real event. The site then developed a comprehensive plan to return SRS to normal operations, conduct the criminal investigation, and relocate badge office operations.

“One of the major goals of this was to ensure the right level of coordination with all the entities involved — and that includes all the offsite units like the FBI, ambulance support, and local hospitals,” said Greg Hightower, head of drills and exercises in the SRNS Emergency Operations Group. “We’ve learned a lot in terms of communication and command and control.”

James Hutton, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety, Security and Quality Assurance, attended the exercise and applauded SRS for making it a priority.

“This exercise was well worth the effort because the effectiveness of our response to events like this is measured in lives saved,” Hutton said. “There will be lots to learn that we can incorporate in training and preparedness across the complex going forward.”

- Contributor: Martin Schneider

Office of River Protection Honors Team for WTP Milestone

Members of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant team, front row, left to right: Alan Dobson, Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI); Ron Bates, BNI; Kim Irwin, BNI; Jeff Bruggeman, Office of River Protection (ORP); Zach Peterson, ORP; Rich Peters, BNI; Scott Ferrell, Waste Treatment Completion Company (WTCC); Dolly Daniels, BNI; Scott Neubauer, BNI; and Bill Hamel, ORP. Back row, left to right: Scott Miller, WTCC; Jeremy Wilkins, BNI; Bill Clarno, ORP; Pat Landon, ORP; Josh Abrahamson, ORP; Dick McGrew, BNI; Chris Cowan, WTCC; Jake Feaster, WTCC; Clell Olney, WTCC; and Joe Smith, BNI. Not pictured: Bill Riker, ORP and Kris Thomas, ORP.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and contractor Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) recognized the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) team this month for completing assembly of the first of two Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility vitrification melters.

ORP Federal Project Director Bill Hamel and BNI Project Manager Kim Irwin congratulated the team members and presented them with certificates of appreciation during an employee event.

“Not only did you do a safe and quality job, you made sure safety and quality were constructed into the product,” Hamel said.

The 300-ton nuclear waste melter is one of two inside the LAW facility, and is the largest vitrification equipment of its kind in the U.S. The melters represent the “heart” of the WTP low-activity waste vitrification process, and completing the assembly marks another step towards completing LAW facility construction. Completion of the second melter assembly is expected in September.

The LAW facility, an Analytical Laboratory, and 20 support facilities are part of EM’s Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste approach to treat low-activity tank waste ahead of full WTP commissioning, taking advantage of facilities close to completion. When operational, the melters will heat Hanford’s low-activity tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit — which is the vitrification process — before the mixture is poured into stainless steel containers for permanent storage. The melters will produce 30 tons of glass daily.

- Contributor: Greg Atencio

Workers Install IWTU Manway to Aid Startup

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – A team helping improve the Idaho Site's Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) added an entrance to the facility’s primary reaction vessel to replace damaged equipment.

Welders and pipefitters with a Denitration Mineralization Reformer (DMR) project team secured an 18-inch manway onto the 2-inch-thick DMR vessel. This allows for removal of the internal ring header damaged by erosion in prior waste simulant runs. The ring will be replaced with an alternative system that introduces the gases necessary to keep treatment media and waste moving in a fluidized motion inside the reaction vessel.

Workers welded the manway after a hole was cut in the DMR by a mobile waterjet subcontractor. The DMR’s Haynes 556, a stainless steel alloy – manufactured for high temperatures and corrosive operating conditions, but prone to cracking during welding – proved challenging.

Workers welded a new nozzle to the manway hole of the Denitration Mineralization Reformer to allow entry into the vessel to replace a ring header.

“There were a few times that all of us thought this thermally aged material might be impossible to weld on, but we all took the challenge and proved the impossible could be done,” Fluor Idaho Project Manager Scott Shurtliff said. “Our welders are now, quite literally, the world’s foremost experts on working with Haynes 556 of this thickness, and it’s been with the help of the whole team.”

Tests showed the welders performed the task perfectly.

“They did an excellent job as there were no unacceptable indications found,” said Shurtliff.

EM and Idaho Cleanup Project contractor Fluor Idaho are preparing for the IWTU’s second simulant demonstration: a 30-day run to test the fluidization improvements.

Ultimately, the IWTU will use a steam-reforming technology to treat 900,000 gallons of liquid radioactive waste stored in three underground stainless-steel tanks.

- Contributor: Erik Simpson

50 Years in the Making: SRS Contractor Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Savannah River Site contractor Wade Faires stands in front of the Defense Waste Processing Facility holding his South Carolina LeTellier Cup Award.

AIKEN, S.C. – The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) honored a Savannah River Site (SRS) contractor who has worked in engineering for more than 50 years.

Wade Faires received the South Carolina LeTellier Cup Award for lifetime achievement in civil engineering in June.

The structural mechanics manager employed by Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the SRS liquid waste contractor, began his career after graduating from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering in 1967.

Faires entered the nuclear industry as an engineer at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company in Virginia. He helped design and analyze conventional and nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines, and conventional service ships.

“Back in 1967, analytical software did not exist,” Faires said. “We evaluated our designs with manual calculations using slide rule to simulate normal operating loads and shock and blast conditions.”

In 1972, Faires became a senior engineer at Offshore Power Systems, working on design and analysis of floating nuclear power plants for water, seismic, wind, and tornado events. During this tenure, Faires commuted over 160 miles two times a week for three years to the University of Florida to pursue his Masters of Engineering degree in structural engineering.

After receiving his graduate degree, Faires held positions at Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Westinghouse Savannah River Company before working at SRR. Faires has been at SRS for almost 30 years and has been a member of ASCE for 25 years. ASCE promotes continuing education by conducting seminars and developing codes, standards, and regulations to protect the public.

“As a fellow member, I have had the opportunity to serve in ASCE positions at branch, state, and national levels ranging from treasurer to president to governor,” Faires said. “Being a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers has fulfilled me in many ways throughout the years, and I am humbled and proud to have been recognized by my colleagues for my service.”

- Contributor: Ashley Dernberger

Air Force Honors Hanford Employee With Commendation Medal

RICHLAND, Wash. – Andrew Fudge, an employee with Hanford Site contractor Mission Support Alliance’s cyber security team and member of the Washington Air National Guard, was recently awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for helping develop intelligence for preventing cyberattacks against the Air Force. Fudge, a staff sergeant with the 256th Intelligence Squadron at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, created mission-critical documents and presentations for members of his squadron during the past several years. This gave the squadron heightened cybersecurity awareness on emerging threats and tactics. Fudge recently became an Air Force officer.

- Contributor: Patrick Conrad

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