EM Update | Vol. 10, Issue 2 | Jan. 16, 2018

• SRS Advances Integration of SWPF With Liquid Waste System
• WAI Earns 96 Percent Award Fee for Hanford Laboratory Work in FY 2017
• EM Sites to See Cost Savings From Sharing Equipment to Relocate Waste
• Idaho Site Significantly Reduces Waste Treatment Time Using Port
• SRNS Succeeds in Streamlining Hiring as More Employees Retire
• EM’s HAMMER Emergency Management Team Supports Hurricane Relief

SRS Advances Integration of SWPF With Liquid Waste System

Crews install new strip effluent line in the 511-S excavation. 

AIKEN, S.C. – Key waste transfer line modifications to connect the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) to the liquid waste system at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are complete, bringing multiple facilities a step closer to fully integrated operations.

   The modifications, which began in July 2017, included installing new underground waste transfer lines and changing existing lines at an area known as 511-S, near the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF).

   The lines support the future throughput of material to and from SWPF, SRS tank farms, and DWPF, transferring multiple products, including strip effluent (an acidic aqueous material) from SWPF to DWPF, once SWPF becomes operational. The strip effluent contains cesium, which will be extracted from the raw salt waste using a solvent technology at SWPF and sent to DWPF for stabilization. This solvent technology has been proven successful at the interim salt processing facility, the Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit.

Workers place new strip effluent line on the permanent supports in the 511-S excavation.

   Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition, said workers consistently and safely met tie-in milestones for bringing SWPF online at 511-S.

  “The Liquid Waste and Salt Waste Processing Facility integration team led by Savannah River Remediation has been practicing excellent conduct-of-operations techniques to make conservative and safe decisions on this project,” Folk said. “The work to tie SWPF into the current liquid waste operations has been progressing steadily, but most importantly it has been conducted safely and deliberately.”

   Updating critical safety documents is the next step in the integration process. The integration team is proceeding with revisions to the facilities’ documented safety analyses, which provide the technical basis for ensuring safe, compliant operations of the liquid waste facilities. 

   The 511-S excavation backfill is scheduled for completion by the end of this month. This summer, workers will install a new high-volume feed pump on Tank 49, the SWPF feed tank in H Tank Farm, just before the final SWPF tie-ins which are currently scheduled to start in November 2018.

   SWPF will be the key liquid waste facility for processing the SRS salt waste inventory, which makes up about 90 percent of the site’s remaining 35 million gallons of tank waste. The facility will separate salt waste into a high-level stream for vitrification in DWPF and a low-level stream to the Saltstone Production Facility for disposal.

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

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WAI Earns 96 Percent Award Fee for Hanford Laboratory Work in FY 2017

A laboratory technician works remotely with a waste sample in a hot cell at the 222-S Laboratory.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Hanford Site contractor Wastren Advantage Incorporated (WAI) recently earned an overall 96 percent award fee, including 100 percent of performance-based incentives, for its work at the 222-S Laboratory in fiscal year (FY) 2017. The determination came from EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP), which oversees WAI’s analysis and testing services contract at the lab. 

   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.

   In issuing the award fee determination, ORP recognized WAI for achievement of the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP)-Legacy Star status, which demonstrates a commitment to safety above and beyond DOE orders and Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards.

   ORP noted the quality of data delivered to lab customers, and WAI’s performance in its internal and external audits. WAI received perfect fee determinations in several categories, including delivery, analytical reporting and data quality, and environmental stewardship and compliance.  

   “WAI’s performance on the 222-S Lab contract has been excellent in quality, schedule and cost, and employees have been successful in implementing several changes to the contract in a timely manner,” said Jaren Glover, ORP’s Contracting Officer for the WAI contract. “WAI has surmounted some significant challenges with old equipment and an aging infrastructure, and they did so while continuously promoting the safety of all Hanford workers through their industrial health sampling.”

   WAI 222-S Laboratory Manager Susan Kon said she is proud of WAI's efforts in achieving the fee determination.

   “We recognize the important role the 222-S Lab plays in achieving the Hanford mission and remain committed to delivering timely and accurate results as safely as possible to our customers,” Kon said.  

   The 70,000-square-foot onsite laboratory facility analyzes highly radioactive samples of tank waste and other materials to support several Hanford cleanup projects.

   View the scorecard here.

- Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann

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EM Sites to See Cost Savings From Sharing Equipment to Relocate Waste

Equipment will be repurposed to advance proposed dry storage efforts

Workers at the West Valley Demonstration Project load the specially designed, robotically operated welder onto a flatbed for shipment to the Hanford Site.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – Cost savings will result from two EM cleanup sites sharing highly specialized equipment for packaging and relocating nuclear waste to storage locations. 

   Workers at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) in New York shipped welding equipment to the Richland Operations Office (RL) at the Hanford Site in Washington state on Jan. 8 to assist in proposed packaging and moving of radioactive cesium and strontium capsules to dry storage. Sharing the equipment valued at approximately $2.4 million helps the sites achieve savings.

   The robotically operated welder was designed and fabricated to seal the WVDP overpacks. Workers inserted five high-level waste canisters into a stainless steel overpack that was preloaded into a steel-lined concrete vertical storage cask. They welded the overpack lid shut using the welder prior to moving the storage cask assembly to the interim storage pad. 

   The welder enables repetitive precision welding, producing a high-integrity seal to ensure a safe, secure shipment-ready package. The welder’s remote operation capability prevents radioactive exposure to the operator. 

   The welder’s computer interface is capable of monitoring and controlling welder amperage, voltage, travel speed, wire feed speed, and the hot wire current. All of this, combined with a fully integrated robotic arm, further enhances the safety and precision for welding operations. 

West Valley Demonstration Project operators train with the automated welding system. 

   At Hanford, a team is scheduled to relocate 1,936 cesium and strontium capsules stored underwater at the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility to an outside storage area. The planned storage area at Hanford, similar to the one at WVDP, is modeled after dry spent fuel storage systems at commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. It will feature above-ground, shielded cask storage, which requires little maintenance.

   This summer, the Hanford team is scheduled to receive a large tow tractor and vertical transporter used to move casks to outdoor storage at WVDP. The equipment was designed and built to move each 87.5-ton, steel-reinforced vertical storage cask to the interim storage pad at the WVDP. 

   Teams from both sites previously shared best practices. Employees from RL’s cleanup contractor CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. visited counterparts at CH2M BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) to learn about the WVDP’s successful relocation of 278 canisters of vitrified high-level waste to an onsite interim storage pad. The canisters were packaged in overpacks and welded shut with the specialized welder before being relocated. CHBWV accomplished this task in November 2016, a year ahead of schedule. 

   “It’s important to share lessons learned and best practices,” CHBWV President Jeff Bradford said. “This helps to prevent potential problems, increase safety, and maximize success.” 

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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Idaho Site Significantly Reduces Waste Treatment Time Using Port

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Workers at the Idaho Site’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility (AMWTP) are using a new tool to more safely and efficiently handle drums containing high fissile gram equivalent (FGE) material.

   Crews with EM cleanup contractor Fluor-Idaho now access Port 16 in the floor of the facility’s South Boxline, a large concrete and metal hot cell where the containers of radioactive waste are opened and sorted without exposing workers to the hazardous materials inside. Drums with high FGE material are sent through this egress and reintroduced to the boxline for additional processing.

   During the second processing, a drum is reopened and its contents are altered to reduce the amount of high FGE material. Next, the repackaged drum is again sent through an assay system to verify its FGE count is below 200, which is required before containers can be treated using the supercompactor, a machine used to reduce the size of drums. 

A drum containing high fissile gram equivalent waste is lowered through Port 16, located in the floor of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility’s South Boxline. Port 16 expedites treatment of waste drums.

   Fissile material is composed of isotopes capable of sustaining a nuclear chain reaction. These isotopes behave somewhat differently from one another, but they’re measured by comparing each isotope to plutonium 239, which is where the term FGE comes from.

   Port 16 eliminates a time-consuming system for processing drums. Workers previously moved drums containing high FGE material from the facility to a secure area for repackaging before returning them to the facility. For example, it took workers several weeks to process and treat eight drums with high FGE waste in a previous campaign; in the most recent campaign, they processed three drums containing FGE waste in four hours.

   Port 16 was part of the facility’s original construction, but challenges to establishing the operating parameters for moving drums through the port meant that personnel could only focus on other waste that could be more easily processed through the supercompactor. With more high FGE waste for processing, the efficiency of Port 16 became more apparent, so employees created the operating control set to allow its use.

   AMWTP is used to retrieve, process, and ship for disposal legacy contact- and remote-handled transuranic waste sent to the site from the now closed Rocky Flats Plant in Colorado. The waste is primarily composed of industrial debris, soil, and sludge from the Cold War-era manufacture of nuclear components.

   To date, workers at the facility have treated and shipped 57,300 cubic meters of waste out of the state in accordance with an agreement between DOE and the State of Idaho. 

-Contributor: Rick Dale

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SRNS Succeeds in Streamlining Hiring as More Employees Retire

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) President and CEO Stuart MacVean (far right) chats with interns (left to right) Benjamin Langdale, Logan Stringfield, Serenity Edwards and Jacqueline Phillips at an intern reception in July 2017. SRNS welcomed 147 summer interns and hired 69 interns for full-time employment last year. 

AIKEN, S.C. – With nearly 550 new hires in 2017 and a drop in the average employee age of six years to 48, an effort by the Savannah River Site (SRS) management and operations contractor to address a looming increase in retirements is yielding positive results.

   “We have put a strong emphasis on making sure that we inform, inspire, and reward our workforce as we build for the future,” Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) President Stuart MacVean said. “We are focused not only on new hires, but also retention of our employees and supporting them as they grow.”

   The company hired more than 1,900 workers — mostly local — over the last four years. A more efficient security clearance process, market equity adjustments for engineers and scientists, and other improvements helped attract new employees, earning SRNS recognition as the “Workforce Innovator of the Year” by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce.

   “We also to want to make sure we continue to benefit from the accumulated experience and understanding of the SRS personnel as our workforce evolves, so we’ve also expanded our mentoring and knowledge transfer initiatives,” said Carol Barry, SRNS Senior Vice President, Workforce Services and Talent Management, noting a 40-percent increase in participation in a mentoring program in 2017.

   SRNS initiatives to improve hiring and workforce retention include:

• A new web-based module that streamlines the onboarding of new hires using an automated process to complete new hire and benefits forms;
• An expanded internship program that resulted in SRNS welcoming 147 summer interns in 2017 and hiring 69 interns for full-time employment;
• Salary equity increases for engineering and scientist managers, and industrial hygiene and health protection professionals;
• Expanded variable pay efforts to include programs for attracting and securing new hires (sign-on awards) and retaining critical skills like fire protection engineers; and
• Encouraging employee engagement in the organizations LEAP (Leaders Emerging Among Professionals) and AMP (Aspiring Mid-Career Professionals), which conduct professional development, networking, and outreach events.  

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Eyler speaks at Leadercast, a livestreaming event sponsored by SRNS AMP (Aspiring Mid-Career Professionals) on May 5, 2017, in Aiken. AMP provides professional development, networking and outreach opportunities for SRNS employees who have between seven and 20 years of work experience.  

   SRNS improved the hiring process, ultimately reducing time spent hiring employees by 50 percent. A new process to enroll new hires in training using the site badging system allows background checks to be completed prior to employees attending the training. Also, new employees can fill out security questionnaires before their first day, easing the security clearance process.

   Perhaps the biggest impact, MacVean says, resulted from engaging all employees to identify better ways to tackle the SRS mission. The SRNS Focused Improvement Transformation and Continuous Improvement Program resulted in $41 million in productivity and cost savings in fiscal year 2017.

   “We also exceeded our goal of $5 million in hard-dollar savings, reaching $6.7 million and allowing for more work to be accomplished,” MacVean said. “Our employees are the cornerstone of our success.”

-Contributor: Martin Schneider 

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EM’s HAMMER Emergency Management Team Supports Hurricane Relief

Bill Eaton, Steve Gunnink, and Nicole Zawadzki — part of the DOE Emergency Support Function #12 energy response team — accept the Mission Support Alliance (MSA) President’s Safety Award from MSA President Bob Wilkinson (far right).

RICHLAND, Wash. – Employees of an EM training facility on the Hanford Site have played an important role on a DOE emergency response team, helping areas affected by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria over the past several months.

   The 80-acre campus at the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Federal Training Center is managed by EM Richland Operations Office contractor Mission Support Alliance. It provides training to Hanford workers and others outside the site. The campus includes life-sized training props geared toward cleanup, emergency response, energy assurance, and homeland security. 

   Relief efforts began in August when Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas, causing massive rainfall and flooding and leaving more than 30,000 people homeless. As the devastation unfolded, the HAMMER team joined field responders to identify electrical outages and oil and gas issues, with the goal of restoring these critical resources. 

   Hurricane Irma then hit in the Atlantic, affecting parts of the U.S. Virgin Islands. After causing destruction on the islands of St. Thomas and St. John, the storm damaged the East Coast from Florida to Tennessee. Again, HAMMER staff deployed to support DOE’s Energy Response Center in Washington, D.C. 

   In September, Hurricane Maria moved through the Caribbean, striking the U.S. Virgin Islands again and directly impacting Puerto Rico as a high-end Category 4 Hurricane. The storm left an estimated 3.4 million people without power. Responders worked with the local government, federal interagency partners, and DOE to expedite damage assessment, restoration planning, and recovery coordination. Many DOE personnel, including individuals from HAMMER, provided vital coordination and communication, helping return electricity to the island. 

   In December, HAMMER staff members conducted meetings and gathered input from DOE’s Emergency Response Organization and National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C. for the 2017 hurricane response after-action report development. The meetings provided a forum to identify improvements for the 2018 hurricane season. 

   “Yet today, HAMMER staff remain actively involved in response efforts with Emergency Support Function #12 responders stationed on St. Croix and Puerto Rico,” said Nicole Zawadzki, manager for Emergency Management Training and External Programs at HAMMER. “Response and recovery support from DOE and HAMMER is expected to continue into the spring.”

-Contributor: Lori Araujo

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