EM Update | Vol. 9, Issue 23 | Nov. 7, 2017

• DOE Completes Remediated Nitrate Salts Treatment at LANL
• Idaho Site to Accelerate Low-Level Waste Shipments for Disposal
• WIPP Surpasses 100 Shipments Since April
• Hanford Site Worker Shares Perspective on Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition
• SRS Contractor is Cyber Security Awareness Champion
• Hanford Contractor Improves Inspections for Site's Nearly 50 Towers
• New SRS Location Monitoring Technology Improves Safety of Field Workers
• A Roundup of EM’s Fiscal Year 2016 Contractor Fee Payment Stories

DOE Completes Remediated Nitrate Salts Treatment at LANL

For several months, technicians practiced and refined the treatment method using a mock-up glovebox closely resembling the glovebox used during the actual treatment.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – The EM and National Nuclear Security Administration Los Alamos field offices and contractor Los Alamos National Security, LLC have finished treating the remediated nitrate salts (RNS) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). 

   “Safe and successful completion of the RNS treatment is due to effective partnering between multiple organizations and demonstrates the way DOE strives to conduct operations in a high hazard environment,” EM Los Alamos Field Office Manager Doug Hintze said.

   EM Safety, Security and Quality Assurance Deputy Assistant Secretary Jim Hutton noted that workers upheld high standards in their work, pausing when necessary to address issues, and management supported that constructive behavior.

   “As a result, the workers identified process improvements that increased efficiency — and identified minor problems early — and management supported correcting those problems,” Hutton said. “This accelerated the safe completion of the RNS treatment.”

Treatment at a Glance

• The RNS drums contained an incompatible combination of nitrate salt waste mixed with an organic absorbent. The drums needed to be treated to allow safe disposition of the waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
• Treatment of the 60 RNS drums stored at LANL began in May 2017.
• The treatment involved removing the RNS waste from drums and mixing it with water and zeolite, an inert material, to render the waste non-reactive.
• The risk associated with the RNS waste stored at LANL has been removed.
• The treated RNS waste was repackaged into new drums, which are safely stored at LANL. They will undergo certification prior to being shipped to WIPP for disposal. 

The RNS containers were stored inside a climate-controlled steel enclosure.

Treatment of the RNS drums took place inside the Waste Characterization, Repackaging and Reduction Facility (WCRRF).

Prior to the treatment, workers installed a refrigeration unit to help ensure the RNS drums remained cool at WCRRF.

Workers carefully transported the RNS drums from the climate-controlled steel enclosure in Area G to WCRRF.

The RNS drums were safely secured to the glovebox at WCRRF before they were treated.

The RNS waste was mixed with water and zeolite.

Rotating teams of technicians treated the RNS drums over more than five months.

The treated drums were transported to Area G for storage until they are certified and shipped to WIPP for disposal.

Team members celebrated the final shipment of RNS drums to WCRRF.

-Contributors: Toni Chiri, Wayne Hohs, Steven Horak

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Idaho Site to Accelerate Low-Level Waste Shipments for Disposal

A new 50,000-pound cask carrying low-level waste leaves the Idaho Site en route to an offsite disposal site.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – A new shipping cask design enables EM’s Idaho Site to significantly increase nuclear waste shipments for disposal.

   The site plans to raise the average shipping rate of low-level waste containers from one to up to eight containers after DOE approved use of the 50,000-pound casks for transporting fissile and cobalt-60 waste to an offsite disposal site. 

   Idaho Cleanup Project contractor Fluor Idaho was previously approved to use a single commercial cask with limited fissile and curie content. The new casks allow for higher authorized fissile amounts and higher radioactive activity because they contain more lead shielding.

   “Due to the higher plutonium-239 fissile gram equivalent allowances and increased shielding capabilities with this cask, we’ve been able to increase our shipping output eightfold,” Fluor Idaho Waste Generator Services Manager Mary Waters said. “Obtaining approvals and transitioning to the new cask is recognized as a significant success for the project.”  

   Fluor Idaho loaded eight cobalt-60 containers into the new cask. Previously, the contractor was not allowed to ship cobalt-60 as packaged due to the remote-handled nature of the waste, which includes irradiated structural materials and activated stainless steel components from the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

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WIPP Surpasses 100 Shipments Since April

CARLSBAD, N.M. – Saturday marked the 100th shipment to arrive at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) since transuranic waste shipments to the facility resumed in April. Since resumption, WIPP has received 102 shipments from generator sites around the country, including EM’s Idaho, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River sites, and Waste Control Specialists in Texas.

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Hanford Site Worker Shares Perspective on Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition

Cody Krisher, excavator operator for the Plutonium Finishing Plant demolition.

This excavator outfitted with high-reach shears allows operator Cody Krisher to access the highest points of the Plutonium Finish Plant main processing facility to demolish the building piece by piece.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Cody Krisher, an employee of EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA), discusses his work on the Plutonium Finishing Plant complex demolition in this video.

   RL and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company are currently knocking down the complex’s main processing facility. Krisher and other MSA workers are supporting the cleanup. They have safely torn down about half of the building since they began demolishing it in September.

   RL intends to complete demolition of the complex by the end of 2017 or early 2018. 

-Contributor: John Wilkerson

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SRS Contractor is Cyber Security Awareness Champion

Dr. Barry McIntosh, Lizzie Tinker, Henry Bryant, and Tiffany Sprinkle of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions share cyber security training ideas.

AIKEN, S.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and two organizations focused on Internet safety recently named the Savannah River Site management and operations contractor a champion of cyber security awareness.

   DHS, the National Cyber Security Alliance, and the National Cyber Security Awareness Month organization honored Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) for promoting a safer, more secure, and more trusted Internet. 

   “SRNS is dedicated to providing cyber training for all new employees, as well as an annual refresher cyber training,” said Cheryl Hardy, SRNS manager of cyber security policy. “We also provide ongoing cyber education and awareness activities through monthly safety meetings, pop-up messages on the site’s intranet homepage, quarterly phishing exercises with follow-up training, and security roadshows and lunch and learns throughout the year.”

   SRNS provides a cyber education booth for the Science Education Enrichment Day for schoolchildren and supports University of South Carolina Aiken cyber curriculum development and cyber lecture series.

   DHS and the cyber security organizations present champions each October for National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Other 2017 champions include Duke Energy, SANS Institute, Augusta University Cyber Institute, IBM, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

-Contributor: Caroline Reppert

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Hanford Contractor Improves Inspections for Site's Nearly 50 Towers

RICHLAND, Wash. – The EM Richland Operations Office contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA) developed a new procedure to track inspections for the nearly 50 communication towers dotting the Hanford Site, helping ensure consistent, proper maintenance. 

   MSA’s engineering group drafted a tower inspection procedure that meets national standards and includes a checklist for inspectors to analyze tower structures and generate inspection reports.

   The contractor and tower owners will maintain a corrective action tracking list to make sure inspections are performed per required schedules and corrective actions are pursued through closure.

A worker inspects a tower on the 100-foot Gable Mountain East Telecommunications Tower on the Hanford Site.

   The procedure provides Hanford tower owners a single, consistent inspection methodology and establishes a single source for tracking inspection reports and corrective maintenance actions.    

   The towers support information technology infrastructure services, engineering and technical security, and meteorological data equipment.

   “These towers provide critical infrastructure needs on a daily basis across the site,” said John Weidert, director of Central Engineering with MSA. “Their integrity is important to completing the cleanup work.” 

-Contributor: Lori Araujo

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New SRS Location Monitoring Technology Improves Safety of Field Workers

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions employee Rebecca Sturdivant collects sediment samples at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – New Savannah River Site (SRS) technology helps ensure safety by tracking the whereabouts of employees working in secluded spots such as deep woods and marshes near alligators, snakes, and other wildlife.

   SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) developed the Remote Field Worker Application to maintain communication and monitor the location of employees across this 310-square-mile site.

   “Some of our employees access areas far away from co-workers or site-wide announcements,” said Kliss McNeel, senior vice president of the SRNS Environmental, Stewardship, Safety and Health division. “Whether they are wading through swamps next to potentially dangerous wildlife to collect our much needed environmental samples, or conducting prescribed burns to maintain the health of our vast forested landscape, our remote workers face a spectrum of risks associated with their job duties.” 

   The location and contact information of workers display on an electronic map in the SRS Operations Center. The tool alerts the center when workers are overdue for check-in and helps direct emergency personnel to them if needed.

   “The Remote Field Worker Application that we have developed modernizes and improves our ability to monitor all SRS employees in remote locations with little room for error,” said Stuart MacVean, SRNS president and CEO. “This technology has the potential to be deployed across the Department of Energy complex to help strengthen the safety posture of other site contractors who routinely send employees into isolated areas.”

   URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR) hopes to use the application after SRNS worked with the Oak Ridge Office of EM cleanup contractor to package the software and provide technical support.

   “Smart tools like the Remote Field Worker Application are assets to companies that strive to achieve an injury-free work environment,” said MacVean. “With technology continuously evolving, SRNS employees are encouraged to suggest innovative approaches that strengthen our safety posture and business operations. We are proud to share those advancements that have a common benefit with our counterparts at other sites across the complex.”

   SRS uses the tool to coordinate entry to specific areas by multiple organizations. 

   “It has helped us a great deal, especially in the springtime when the Forest Service is doing burns on the site or when there are scheduled deer hunts,” said Judy Sanders, SRNS manager of Geographic Information Systems Technology. “The application allows us to schedule and restrict remote field workers from going into these areas so there is not a miscommunication in which a field worker thinks they are going to check a sample in an area that is being impacted at the same time by a controlled burn.”

-Contributor: Angie Benfield

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A Roundup of EM’s Fiscal Year 2016 Contractor Fee Payment Stories

Workers with EM Richland Operations Office cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company install a sludge storage treatment container to transport sludge from the 100-K Area to the center of the Hanford Site. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Each year EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments — earned by completing the work called for in the contracts — to further transparency in its cleanup program. 

   Here’s a roundup of EM Update stories on contractor fee payments across the EM complex for fiscal year 2016, from Oct. 1, 2015 to Sept. 30, 2016: 

• Hanford Contractor Earns 92 Percent of Available Fee for Fiscal Year 2016
• Hanford Tank Operations Contractor Receives ‘Very Good’ Rating
• Hanford Site Services Contractor Earns 91 Percent of Fiscal Year 2016 Fee
• Hanford Occupational Medical Contractor Earns 92 Percent of Fee
• Hanford Contractor Receives 88 Percent of Available Fee in First Year
• SRS Rates Contractor’s Fiscal Year 2016 Performance as 'Very Good'
• SRS Liquid Waste Contractor Earns ‘Excellent’ Performance Rating
• SRS Security Contractor Achieves 'Exceptional' Performance Rating
• DOE Scorecard Rates Savannah River Site’s Security Contractor as ‘Excellent’ 
• EM Determines Award Fees for Portsmouth and Paducah Contractors
• EM’s Oak Ridge Cleanup Contractor Earns 94 Percent of Available Fee
• EM’s Oak Ridge Cleanup Contractor Earns 93 Percent of Available Fee 
• EM Awards 84 Percent of Fiscal 2016 Fee to WIPP Contractor 
• EM’s West Valley Cleanup Contactor Receives 85 Percent of Available Fee Award
• West Valley Cleanup Contractor Receives 80 Percent of Possible Award Fee
• EM’s Los Alamos Field Office Awards Contractor 90 Percent of Available Fee
• Moab Contractor Earns 'Good' Rating for Fiscal Year 2016

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