• Tribes Essential to Renewed Cleanup Focus, Assistant Secretary White Says at Summit
• Savannah River Site Completes First Batch in Waste Removal Pilot Project
• Workers Complete Soil Cleanup at Los Alamos Canyon Site
• West Valley Crew Knocks Down Third of Seven Support Facilities
• EM's Savannah River Lab Works to Recover Nuclear National Treasure
• More Vessels Arrive at Hanford WTP
• Safety Training Prepares New Generation of Workers in Oak Ridge
• Underwater Camera Allows Remote Look at Radioactive Debris at Hanford
• West Valley Contractor Receives Blue Ribbon at Waste Management Symposia
• Hanford Employees Show Local Students the World of Engineering

Tribes Essential to Renewed Cleanup Focus, Assistant Secretary White Says at Summit

EM Assistant Secretary Anne White delivered the keynote address at this week’s Reservation Economic Summit 2019.

LAS VEGAS – EM Assistant Secretary Anne White emphasized the invaluable role of American Indian tribes in a renewed focus on completing cleanup across the DOE complex during a keynote address at this week’s Reservation Economic Summit 2019.

   White said leaders of tribes located near DOE sites help EM make decisions on cleanups that are protective of the environment and that benefit everyone. She described the diverse opportunities for EM and Indian Country to do much together.

   "I seek to move EM forward in a way that utilizes tribal businesses to advance our cleanup goals and ultimately being part of restoring the environment," White said.

   Sponsored by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, the summit brings together tribal leaders, members of Congress, federal agency representatives, state and local officials, and CEOs.

   As EM shifts to a procurement approach that drives accelerated completion of work and moves sites closer to their intended end-use faster, tribal businesses have opportunities to contribute as contractor partners, White said.

   “I believe that tribes have significant contributions to make to this new chapter in the cleanup mission, and I want you to consider being a part of it,” she told the audience. "You are often the foremost experts on the land and natural resources on and around major EM sites."

   That expertise recently came into play at the Hanford Site, where tribes were instrumental in revegetating a portion of the site after cleanup work had been completed, White said.

   White also focused on collaborations to help EM understand tribal visions for future land use. Initiatives in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and workforce development are helping EM develop a 21st century workforce in tribal communities and beyond, White said.

   “The Santa Fe Indian School is a great example of a DOE-tribal STEM partnership that is having impactful results," she added. “It operates a STEM-based program covering nuclear legacy issues and its impact on tribes.”

   Noting EM’s 30th anniversary this year, White said the cleanup program has benefited from its strong relationship with tribal communities since EM’s inception. The cleanup is linked to tribal communities in states such as Washington, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, and New York.

   “I am counting on your partnership and counsel as we work to bring the cleanup mission into the next chapter towards completion,” White said.

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Savannah River Site Completes First Batch in Waste Removal Pilot Project

AIKEN, S.C. – EM’s first batch of processed radioactive liquid waste using a new technology at the Savannah River Site (SRS) is complete.

   Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the SRS liquid waste contractor, launched Tank Closure Cesium Removal (TCCR) operations in January, and finished processing the first batch of salt waste through TCCR last month.

   Workers processed the beginning batch, about 152,000 gallons of dissolved salt waste, at a rate of five gallons per minute. It was the first of several batches expected to be processed — 600,000 to 750,000 gallons total — over a 9-month operating period.

   TCCR is a demonstration project designed to accelerate removal of radioactive salt waste from the SRS underground waste tanks to support tank closure.

   The recent TCCR batch process included transferring salt waste from Tank 10 into the TCCR processing module. Once inside the remotely operated module, the waste went through pre-filters and multiple ion exchange columns, where it was treated with an engineered resin to remove the cesium, a radioactive chemical element.

   Successfully completing the first batch in TCCR operations means EM is well on the way to achieving desired results of this pilot project, according to Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition.

   “Our goal with Tank Closure Cesium Removal is to decontaminate salt waste safely and as efficiently as we can,” Folk said. “We’re pleased with how initial operations are going and look forward to continuing this performance throughout the coming months.”

   SRR Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Project Manager Mark Schmitz said the TCCR equipment is performing as designed.

   “TCCR operated very well in this first system test,” Schmitz said. “The team continues to work effectively to decontaminate the salt solution from Tank 10 while maintaining a rigorous, disciplined operation.”

   Preparations to begin the second batch are underway, including adding water to the tank to begin dissolving the saltcake in the waste.

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

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Workers Complete Soil Cleanup at Los Alamos Canyon Site

A crew removed about 300 cubic yards of chemically contaminated soil from a narrow canyon at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The soil will be shipped offsite for disposal.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – The EM Los Alamos Field Office and cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos have finished cleaning up soil contaminated with chemicals near the former Omega research reactor site at DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory.

   The source of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) contaminated soil is suspected to have been electrical transformers that served the Omega site. The contamination was discovered during sampling of a former storm drain adjacent to the transformers.

   Workers removed 300 cubic yards of PCB contaminated soil from the site and restored the area to its original contour. Because of the tight confines of the cleanup site in Los Alamos Canyon, the excavated soil was securely placed in large sacks, which were temporarily staged nearby. The soil will be transported to a disposal site in Utah.

   Several research reactors were located at the Omega site. The first reactor was built in 1943 at the start of the Manhattan Project. The last one operated until 1992. Workers demolished site facilities in 2003.

-Contributor: Todd Nelson

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West Valley Crew Knocks Down Third of Seven Support Facilities

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) recently completed demolition of a former laundry facility.

   “This accomplishment allows the workforce to continue with the demolition of the remaining ancillary structures as the site’s 200-acre cleanup footprint and associated legacy risks are reduced,” EM WVDP Assistant Director Craig Rieman said.

   Workers tore down the nearly 1,500-square-foot concrete laundry facility after taking extra precautions to safely remove duct work in an area of the building used to clean contaminated clothes worn during reprocessing and cleanup operations.

   “The WVDP team continues its planned and deliberate demolition approach as they work towards the safe and compliant completion of cleanup work,” CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley President and General Manager Scott Anderson said.

Workers load debris for off-site disposal after finishing the laundry facility demolition.

   Laundry operations at the facility ended in 2012 after they were outsourced as a cost-savings measure. Built in 1964, the structure was originally used for maintenance purposes. It became the laundry facility in the early 1970s.

   The building was the third WVDP facility workers have demolished in recent months that supported past vitrification operations. Four other ancillary structures await demolition.

   The team tore down two facilities used to repair and decontaminate equipment supporting the solidification of 600,000 gallons of high-level liquid radioactive waste at the site from 1996 to 2002. They also safely completed the demolition of the first vitrification facility built in the U.S.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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EM's Savannah River Lab Works to Recover Nuclear National Treasure

Savannah River National Laboratory adapted a robot for use in the recovery of plutonium-244 at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – Plutonium-244 is a highly valuable nuclear material used in applications such as nuclear forensics and medical research.

   And it is extremely rare.

   The material is thought to exist in nature in almost undetectable quantities as a relic of the violent galactic activity that contributed to the formation of our solar system over 4.6 billion years ago. It has a half-life of 81 million years.

   The only plutonium-244 that originated through human activity, other than that dispersed from nuclear weapon explosions, was produced in the unique high flux reactors, now decommissioned, that operated at the Savannah River Site (SRS) during the Cold War.

The layout of the scheduled Mark-18A recovery in the Savannah River National Laboratory shielded cells.

   Only 20 grams of this material exists in only one place: the Mark-18A “targets,” or nuclear material assemblies, stored at SRS. In 2011, DOE asked the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to preserve the valuable, rare, and irreplaceable plutonium-244.

   Recovering the materials from the Mark-18A targets is no easy task. They are mixed together in each assembly and must be chemically separated before they can be used.

   H Canyon at SRS is the only operating, production-scale, radiologically-shielded chemical separations facility in the U.S. However, the facility is designed to handle large quantities of nuclear materials, so recovering the relatively small quantity of Mark-18A target material there is impractical.

   SRNL decided to process the targets in a special facility at SRNL that contains cells providing shielding and confinement necessary to work with radioactive materials. A specially trained operator stands safely outside each cell to perform tasks remotely inside the shielded workspace.

Savannah River National Laboratory designed a shielded cask for use in recovering plutonium-244 at the Savannah River Site.

The cask receipt table at the Savannah River National Laboratory, to be used in the Mark-18A recovery campaign.

   The laboratory invented equipment to enable processing of the 14-foot-long Mark-18A target bundles inside the 6-by-6-foot workspaces of the SRNL shielded cells.

   One is a shielded cask that will safely package, transport, and deliver a target from wet storage in L-Basin into a shielded cell. It was received at SRS in July.

   Another is a cell insert that will seal the open cell; align the target as it is inserted into the cell from the transport cask so a saw can slice pieces to be processed in the limited workspace of the cell; and provide shielding during operations in the cell.

   SRNL also has adapted a commercial robot typically used in the automotive industry to remotely remove material from the shielded cell and place it in a shielded container for transport. The robot arrived at the site in August 2018.

   Those procurements allow for design verification of interfacing equipment, development of procedures, and personnel training necessary to prepare for an expeditious start of recovery operations. Recovery of material from the first Mark-18A target is scheduled to begin in mid-2021.

-Contributor: Sheryl Bush

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More Vessels Arrive at Hanford WTP

Safety Training Prepares New Generation of Workers in Oak Ridge

Instructor Billy Edington and an oral interpreter discuss how to don personal protective gear during the training.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) cleanup contractor UCOR and the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9-288 have partnered for the last three years to cultivate a new generation of environmental cleanup workers by providing free training to east Tennessee high schools.

   This year, UCOR and USW supplemented that training with a new course: Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) General Industry Outreach Training. The class is drawing people interested in training for the challenging hazardous waste response field.

   Students from the Tennessee School for the Deaf in Knoxville, Tennessee were among the first members of the class and completed the training earlier this month. The school provides an inclusive learning environment for deaf and hard-of-hearing students from toddlers through age 22.

   While the class required oral interpreters to sign to the students, the classroom environment differed little from classes in past years.

   “The interpreters did an amazing job, and the students were very engaged and receptive,” said class instructor Billy Edington, who works for UCOR and is also the USW Local 9-288 president.

A student tries on a respirator with the help of instructor Billy Edington during the safety class.

Classroom instructors Billy Edington and Pam Gray help a student put on personal protective gear correctly.

Underwater Camera Allows Remote Look at Radioactive Debris at Hanford

An underwater imaging camera helps remote operators at the Hanford Site quantify the amount of radioactive material in debris stored at the former K West Reactor fuel storage basin. The detailed information will help inform future environmental cleanup decisions.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A recently deployed underwater imaging camera is helping EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) remotely characterize radioactive debris in a former spent fuel storage basin. Learn about this innovative tool in this video.

   Remediation of the debris will follow the packaging and transfer of highly radioactive sludge in the K West Reactor Basin to safe interim storage in the central part of the Hanford Site. The sludge removal project began last June and is expected to be finished in December.

   The camera was adapted for underwater use in a full-scale mock-up at Hanford’s Maintenance and Storage Facility.

   “This camera is yet another example of the benefits of the training and testing we do in mock-up facilities at Hanford,” said Mark French, RL project and facilities division director.

CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company adapted an imaging camera for characterization of radioactive debris in a water-filled storage basin.

   The remaining debris will require removal or staging before the final stabilization and remediation of the basin. The camera helps remote operators characterize and quantify the radioactive material in the debris. Remediation and closure of the storage basin will reduce a significant environmental risk.

   “This camera really lets us zero in on how much radioactivity is contained in the debris,” said Pete Sauer, CHPRC project manager. “That information will help inform future environmental cleanup actions to reduce risk to workers and protect the river.”

-Contributor: John Wilkerson

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West Valley Contractor Receives Blue Ribbon at Waste Management Symposia

CH2MHILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) Regulatory Strategy Vice President Janice Williams and Brent Blunt, a consultant to CHBWV and subject-matter expert on air monitoring and modeling, stand in front of CHBWV’s informational poster at this year’s Waste Management Symposia in Phoenix.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – Waste Management Symposia (WMS) awarded EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) cleanup contractor a blue ribbon this month for its professional poster session on a unique air monitoring method used during an open-air demolition project.

   “This was a team effort that involved several months of planning,” CH2MHILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) Regulatory Strategy Vice President Janice Williams said of the air monitoring project. “I’m proud of this accomplishment on behalf of the WVDP team. We are committed to performing our work in a safe and environmentally sound manner by implementing safe, innovative, and regulatory compliant cleanup practices in everything we do.”

   WMS awarded a blue ribbon to one presentation in each of 10 poster sessions over four days during its 2019 conference in Phoenix. Judges used 10 criteria to rate each poster and presenter, including subject-matter objectives, methods, content, and results.

   CHBWV’s Environmental Protection Agency-approved alternative method for emission estimation was used during demolition of WVDP’s Vitrification Facility completed on Sept. 20. Air monitors set up around and inside the demolition area successfully recorded data on air to protect the health and safety of employees, the general public, and the environment. All worksite and perimeter air sample results were below federal regulatory limits.

   Williams and Brent Blunt, a consultant to CHBWV, presented the poster on research, planning, and implementation efforts for the air monitoring at WVDP. Williams and others at CHBWV developed the innovative monitoring approach from extensive modeling, best practices, and lessons learned.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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Hanford Employees Show Local Students the World of Engineering

Third-grade students have fun with engineering projects during Hanford Engineers Week.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Employees with EM’s Office of River Protection Hanford tank operations contractor recently helped area students discover the wonders of engineering.

   Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) led the outreach as part of Hanford Engineers Week, a nationally recognized event that celebrates the value of the profession.

   The classroom visits were sponsored by the Hanford Engineers Week Committee, which is comprised of Hanford contractors. WRPS coordinated the elementary-level activities through a program called “Zoom into Engineering.”

   Natalie Young, the event coordinator and a WRPS chemical engineer, said the employees talked with students about what engineering entails, how students can pursue careers in the field, and the contributions of engineers to Hanford’s cleanup.

   With the help of the WRPS employees, students built hoop gliders, wind meters, and toothpick bridges.

   “It’s so rewarding to see the impact we’re making in the classroom,” Young said. “The support we get from our volunteers is amazing, and the teachers and students are so enthusiastic. It’s only a few hours of our time, but you can really see the difference it makes to these kids.”

As part of Hanford Engineers Week, Washington River Protection Solutions Chief Engineer Karthik Subramanian visited third-graders at Richland’s Marcus Whitman Elementary to teach them about the importance of engineering.

   This is the seventh consecutive year WRPS coordinated Zoom into Engineering, which grows each year. In 2019, 163 Hanford engineers gave 217 presentations at 30 local schools, reaching more than 7,300 students.

   "I think it’s a great learning experience for everyone,” said Bradley, a fifth-grader. “We learned that sometimes we have to work together as a team and cooperate to achieve the goal.”

   Fifth-grade teacher Kelsey Jager said students saw that they can learn from failure as part of the engineering process.

   “If we fail, we develop a plan to improve our design, make corrections, and move forward,” Jager said. “We’re so thrilled these volunteers are making time to visit our classrooms and help inspire the next generation of engineers. We really appreciate them.”

-Contributor: Rob Roxburgh

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