EM Update | Vol. 11, Issue 22 | June 11, 2019

• DOE, EM Leaders Detail New Initiatives to Accelerate Cleanup at Caucus Event
• Savannah River Site Breaks Ground on Saltstone Disposal Units 8 and 9
• Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition Making Significant Progress
• Oak Ridge Workers Recover Mercury, Prevent Future Release
• Latest Demolition Brings EM’s West Valley Teardown Total to 62
• Moab Project Marks 1,000 Workdays Safety Milestone
• Video Series Showcases Oak Ridge Technology for Mercury Cleanup
• Savannah River Site Shares Science with Charleston Students
• Partnership Agreement Furthers EM Paducah Mission
• High-Tech Heart Rate Monitoring Arrives for WIPP Workers
• Savannah River Site Improves Equipment Inspection Safety, Accuracy
• Hanford Volunteers Connect Young Women With STEM Careers

DOE, EM Leaders Detail New Initiatives to Accelerate Cleanup at Caucus Event

DOE Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar addresses the audience during last week’s panel discussion for the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus. Also pictured, left to right, are panelists Mark Senderling, EM deputy assistant secretary for waste and materials management; Jeff Griffin, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations; and Norbert Doyle, EM deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and project management.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar and senior leaders from EM told an audience of the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus last week that new initiatives in contracting and high level radioactive waste hold the potential to accelerate cleanup at key DOE sites.

Dabbar said the initiatives are indicative of bold leadership in the Department. “We are not a group that is shy about trying to approach things that are big,” he told an audience of about 125 people at the Capitol Hill event.

Discussion focused on the announcement via a Federal Register notice that DOE will interpret the statutory term “high level radioactive waste” (HLW) such that some defense wastes created through spent nuclear fuel reprocessing may be classified as not HLW and may be disposed of in accordance with their radiological characteristics and not just because of their source. Reprocessing wastes are stored in tanks at the Savannah River, Idaho and Hanford sites.

The HLW interpretation, if implemented through subsequent actions, could provide a range of benefits including reducing the length of time that radioactive waste is stored onsite, increasing safety for workers, the public, and the environment.

Dabbar said the initiative “is science-driven. It’s about radiochemistry rather than source.”

“Ultimately at the end of the day, this is not about other items, this has to do with radiological content,” Dabbar said. “Anyone who knows anything really about risk and waste, that’s about it, not where it happened to come from.”

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, chair of the House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus, speaks to the audience at last week’s caucus event prior to a panel discussion.

Jeff Griffin, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations.

Mark Senderling, EM deputy assistant secretary for waste and materials management.

Norbert Doyle, EM deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and project management.

On contracting, EM in February issued final requests for proposals on two major cleanup contracts at Hanford that will be the first to use EM’s end state contracting model. The approach calls for cleanup work to be carried out through a series of negotiated task orders that aim to get projects to completion faster and more efficiently without sacrificing safety.

Dabbar said the end state model “is aligning us and the contractors, ultimately at the end of the day, to focus on reducing risk and making certain contracts work well for both sides.”

During the panel discussion, Mark Senderling, EM deputy assistant secretary for waste and materials management, credited DOE leadership with advancing the HLW initiative.

“We have three sites with reprocessing waste that has been stored there a long, long time with no near term disposition path, and here is an option. We consider it a goal,” Senderling said. “No decisions have been made, no policies have been changed. We are going to go through the normal regulatory process to make this happen and see where it goes.”

“The deal is accelerated cleanup,” Senderling said. “If our goals are achieved, we will clean up sites faster and that’s where we want to go.”

Regarding end state contracting, Norbert Doyle, EM deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and project management, said the new approach will not affect DOE’s commitment to providing subcontracting opportunities to small businesses, nor to maintaining community commitment clauses in its contracts.

Doyle said efficiencies achieved through the end state model will carry a payoff.

“Obviously every dollar we save because we are more efficient is another dollar we can do the actual cleanup mission with, which is the goal,” he said.

Jeff Griffin, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, said the end state contracting model carries new responsibilities for field sites to negotiate task orders and work with contractors.

“Ultimately, this has to be a partnership,” Griffin said. “The contractor and the government are operating in a partnership. That is the only way it’s going to work.”

The cleanup caucus is composed of U.S. House members who represent cleanup communities and other lawmakers interested in the cleanup mission.

Rep. Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, the caucus chair, said the DOE program that remediates the environmental legacy of Cold War weapons production and nuclear research is deserving of support.

“Cleaning up legacy sites is something that all Americans can get behind and should get behind,” he said. “It’s a federal obligation and I think that is so critically important.”

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Savannah River Site Breaks Ground on Saltstone Disposal Units 8 and 9

Federal and contractor employees at the Savannah River Site attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Saltstone Disposal Units 8 and 9 on June 10.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM workers broke ground June 10 on two more large-scale units to provide safe and permanent storage for decontaminated waste material at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

Officials with DOE-Savannah River (SR) and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) held a groundbreaking ceremony for Saltstone Disposal Units (SDU) 8 and 9. About 100 federal and contractor employees, all a part of the SDU projects, attended. SRR is responsible for the design, construction, and operation of the SDUs.

At the ceremony, DOE-SR Manager Mike Budney acknowledged the importance of SDUs to the liquid waste mission.

“SDUs are key to our ability to safely dispose of material in the liquid waste tanks and underscore the Department of Energy's continued commitment to furthering progress on closing the high level waste tanks at SRS,” Budney said.

SDUs are designed to permanently dispose of a treated, non-hazardous material called saltstone. Saltstone is a waste form that is produced by treating decontaminated salt waste with dry materials to create a cement-like grout.

The salt waste is removed from the SRS waste tanks and treated through the site’s interim salt waste processing facilities, where more than 99.9 percent of the radioactive isotopes are removed.

The interim facilities, called Actinide Removal Process/Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit, are built to pilot the processes to be used in the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), the newly constructed salt waste treatment facility currently undergoing testing and commissioning. The large-scale SDUs will accommodate the larger volume of decontaminated salt solution to be generated from SWPF.

In unprecedented form for SDU construction, SDUs 8 and 9 will be built in conjunction, with each phase of construction — excavation, liner installation, slab placement, etc. — completed consecutively. This approach will optimize crews and resources used on the two adjacent structures, ultimately cutting costs for the two projects.

SRR President and Project Manager Tom Foster said SRR is proud to continue the mission of decontaminating and immobilizing the radioactive salt waste into a solid form safe for long-term disposal.

“The large-scale disposal units have proven to be operationally robust and cost-saving to the taxpayer,” Foster said. “We are pleased to break ground here today to continue that operational excellence and innovation with SDUs 8 and 9.”

Construction of SDU 7 is underway and on schedule to be completed by spring 2022. When complete, SDU 7 will be 43 feet high and 375 feet in diameter, just like the original mega-volume unit built next to it, SDU 6. SDU 6 was completed 16 months ahead of schedule and $25 million under budget in 2017. It began operating in August 2018.

SDUs 6, 7, 8, and 9 are all considered mega-units, each able to hold about 32 million gallons of saltstone. Units 8 and 9 are being built with the same design as units 6 and 7, which decreases design costs for the project.

The larger SDU design will result in substantial cost savings over the life of the SRS liquid waste project. The design requires less infrastructure and materials to design and build seven of the large units compared to the 80 smaller units originally proposed to store the remaining waste.

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

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Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant Demolition Making Significant Progress

Workers demolish a stairwell attached to the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s Main Processing Facility late last month.

RICHLAND, Wash. – The footprint of the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) is shrinking. Since beginning lower-risk demolition earlier this spring, workers with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) have safely removed a concrete vault and two stairwells attached to the PFP Main Processing Facility.

These time-lapse videos highlight demolition of the PFP vault and one of the stairwells.

A view of the site where crews tore down a stairwell attached to the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s Main Processing Facility.

The demolition activities began after crews finished removing existing debris that had been on the ground since December 2017, when work stopped after a spread of low levels of contamination. Since September 2018, CHPRC has safely packaged and transferred nearly 5,000 tons of debris to Hanford’s onsite regulated landfill.

Demolition of the remaining lower-risk portions of the main processing facility is expected to be completed in early August.

The demolition activities are being done under a revised demolition strategy and safety controls implemented last fall.

“DOE is encouraged by the safe, steady progress made on this critical risk-reduction effort,” said Tom Teynor, RL federal project director. “The safety controls in place since last fall continue to prove effective in protecting workers, the public, and the environment.”

Before-and-after photos show how workers safely removed a concrete vault associated with the Plutonium Finishing Plant’s Main Processing Facility. Demolition began in April and was completed in mid-May.

Higher-risk demolition activities are expected to begin in August, pending DOE and regulatory agency approval. That work, on more contaminated portions of the facility, includes demolishing the main processing facility’s two former processing lines and the tunnels beneath, and removing the remaining rubble from the Plutonium Reclamation Facility demolition.

This animation shows the revised demolition approach and enhanced controls, which reflect worker input. Pauses are built into the schedule to review lessons learned and incorporate additional input before proceeding.

“Excellent collaboration between our workforce, labor, management, and DOE is resulting in safe and efficient progress on the lower-risk demolition,” said Jason Casper, CHPRC vice president for the PFP Closure Project. “I’m proud of our team’s continued attention to detail and commitment to maintaining a deliberate pace to ensure a safe path forward.”

RL will continue to post weekly updates on PFP activities here.

-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann

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Oak Ridge Workers Recover Mercury, Prevent Future Release

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Crews recently recovered more than a ton of mercury from an aging facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex, marking another EM project that has prevented a release of the element into the environment.

EM teams successfully removed the mercury from tanks in the Column Exchange (COLEX) equipment on the east side of Y-12’s Alpha-4 building. Last year, cleanup contractor UCOR collected nearly 3.5 tons of mercury from COLEX equipment on the building’s west side. The latest effort boosted EM's total mercury removal in the facility to more than 4.6 tons.

“Our skilled workforce safely inspected, cleaned, and retrieved mercury from old pipes and equipment,” said Brian Henry, Y-12 portfolio federal project director for DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of EM. “This project prevents an environmental release, and it takes us a step closer to prepare Alpha-4 for its eventual demolition.”

Workers conduct a test before removing crust and scale from the inside of pipes in the Alpha-4 building.

Alpha-4 is a four-story, 500,000-square-foot facility used for uranium separation from 1944 to 1945. Workers finished installing the COLEX equipment in 1955 for lithium separation, a process requiring large amounts of mercury. A significant amount of mercury was lost into the equipment, buildings, and surrounding soils during that time, and its cleanup is one of EM’s top priorities.

While employees drained the majority of materials from the equipment when operations ended in the 1960s, they did not clean all of the systems and components. Recoverable amounts of mercury remained in the aging lines and equipment, which have rusted and deteriorated over the decades.

EM and UCOR conducted the recent six-month project in three phases. During each test, mercury was recovered from the piping, consolidated, and stored in the facility.

A crew tests a rotary machine with different attachments to remove crust and scale from the inside of the pipes of the Column Exchange equipment.

In the first phase, staff used an optical device to inspect and catalogue residual materials inside piping. The second phase involved testing decontamination methods to remove crust and residual materials from inside the process piping. The knowledge learned through that effort will play a pivotal role in removing the building’s remaining COLEX equipment and piping.

In the final phase, workers recovered any liquid mercury that remained in the piping and equipment. Additionally, employees drained and inspected 22 tanks to determine if any additional deactivation is needed prior to demolition.

The COLEX mercury removal project is part of a broader initiative to address the significant amount of mercury lost to equipment, buildings, and surrounding soils during Y-12’s historical operations.

The next big step in that larger effort begins this summer with construction of the Mercury Treatment Facility. It is a vital piece of infrastructure that will limit and control potential mercury releases as crews take down massive buildings and address soils in the mercury-contaminated area on the west end of Y-12. When operational, the facility will treat up to 3,000 gallons of water per minute and include a 2-million-gallon storage tank to collect stormwater.

-Contributor: Mike Butler

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Latest Demolition Brings EM’s West Valley Teardown Total to 62

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – Workers recently tore down a facility housing a former liquid pretreatment system, bringing the total number of structures demolished in EM’s cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site to 62.

The pretreatment system facility was located in an inactive disposal area closed years ago. Workers left the cap and cover for that disposal area intact during the recent demolition work. They will extend the cover to the area where the pretreatment system facility was removed. An interim protective cover is in place until a permanent one is installed later this year.

“The WVDP team’s work was well planned and executed in an effort to maintain safety and prevent any damage to the existing disposal area’s cap and cover during demolition,” EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. “This work is part of DOE’s efforts to reduce legacy risks while promoting sustainable environmental work practices and stewardship.”

A crew tears down the liquid pretreatment system structure.

Workers position a temporary protective cover over the pretreatment system facility demolition area until a permanent one is installed later this year.

Located along the northern and eastern edges of the disposal area, the liquid pretreatment system was built in the late 1980s to remove kerosene, an oil-like chemical, from the groundwater after it was detected in some of the disposal area’s monitoring wells. The kerosene came from waste buried in the disposal area during fuel reprocessing operations in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Our team continues to leverage their combined knowledge and expertise to safely complete the demolition, disposition, and restoration of facilities no longer in use or needed,” said Scott Anderson, president of CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, EM’s WVDP cleanup contractor. “I’m proud of their accomplishment, and in the work they continue to do on this project.”

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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Moab Project Marks 1,000 Workdays Safety Milestone

MOAB, Utah – EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project recently reached a safety milestone of 1,000 workdays without a lost-time injury or illness. During that period, employees shipped 1.4 million tons of mill tailings from the Moab Site for disposal. Currently, 140 employees work on the project. “Working one thousand days safely and doubling our waste shipments during that time is nothing less than outstanding. It is an honor to work alongside such a talented, motivated, and inspirational group of people,” Moab Project Federal Cleanup Director Russell McCallister said. Greg Church, the project manager with North Wind Portage, the site’s remedial action contractor, said the milestone is a testament to the project’s safety culture. “A healthy and successful safety program requires employee commitment and contributions from all involved,” Church said. The project has relocated more than 60 percent of the mill tailings pile away from the site. Tailings are shipped by rail four days a week to EM’s permanent disposal cell at the Crescent Junction Site about 30 miles away. Each train carries up to 144 containers. In this photo, equipment operators load tailings into containers. Haul truck drivers then place lids on the containers and rinse them before loading them onto a train.

-Contributor: Honora Thompson

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Video Series Showcases Oak Ridge Technology for Mercury Cleanup

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) released the final installment of its video series spotlighting the site’s environmental research. This segment explores how OREM is funding technology development that will greatly influence future mercury cleanup. Watch the video here.

Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Aquatic Ecology Lab are exploring creek bank stabilization techniques and various sorbent materials to prevent the movement of mercury in the environment. Learn how this research benefits OREM, how it will shape future cleanup, and how it can be used and applied at other remediation projects across the country.

Click here for the first segment, here for the second segment, and here for the third segment in the series.

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Savannah River Site Shares Science with Charleston Students

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions employees Kim Mitchell, far left, and Francine Burroughs, second from left, demonstrate how the bess beetle's uniquely clawed feet provide traction and allow the insect to pull more than its own body weight in paper clips. Fourth-grade students and teacher Danielle Dolecki from Sanders Clyde Elementary School in Charleston, South Carolina, view the demonstration.

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Engineers, scientists, and others supporting EM recently volunteered for the Savannah River Site (SRS) Science Day in partnership with the Charleston Promise Neighborhood (CPN) non-profit organization.

Employees from DOE, SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory conducted science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiments and other hands-on activities with students from local elementary schools.

The children quizzed the visiting professionals about their occupations and participated in demonstrations and projects focused on the properties of “strange” liquids, solving mysteries, meteorology and weather, and flight and rocketry. The volunteers also let animals from SRS out of cages for the children to see and touch.

“We believe in the Charleston Promise Neighborhood organization and their mission,” said Kim Mitchell with SRNS educational outreach. “The SRS employees who recently traveled here see the success of this program and have the desire to step forward to help these children wherever they can, sharing their knowledge and experience.”

Thomas Johnson, deputy manager of DOE-Savannah River, helps a fourth-grade class at Mary Ford Elementary School create geometric domes out of gum drops.

Sean Poppy with Savannah River Ecology Laboratory describes the habitat and behavior of coyotes as part of a presentation on animals found at the Savannah River Site.

Camille Hendrix, principal of Mary Ford Elementary School, said she hopes the event inspired student interest in STEM careers.

“Our students don’t get a lot of hands-on science at this school. We hope this event may increase their interest in science so that one day they may get a STEM-related job. We really appreciate this opportunity,” Hendrix said.

CPN serves children and their families to help eliminate barriers preventing students from performing as well in school as their counterparts in more affluent areas of the Charleston County School District. The organization strives to create a safe, engaging environment to accelerate learning and enable students to develop skills to succeed in school, career, and life.

DOE funded the CPN after-school program’s STEM education, which is aimed at improving information retention, test scores, and academic accomplishments.

“I want to be a marine biologist and work with animals,” said Illiana Ricon Ramos, a fifth-grader at Mary Ford Elementary School. “I think what we’ve learned today will help.”

-Contributor: DT Townsend 

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Partnership Agreement Furthers EM Paducah Mission

Leaders of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office and Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Paducah Site’s deactivation and remediation contractor, partner to achieve EM’s mission safely and compliantly.

PADUCAH, Ky. – EM’s Paducah Site leaders recently met with managers from Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP) for one of two partnering sessions scheduled for 2019.

“The purpose of these meetings is to create and foster an atmosphere where issues can be raised and openly discussed,” EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard said.

Other EM sites have joined PPPO in updating their partnering agreements. EM introduced a partnering policy eight years ago to improve contract and project management with the goal of delivering results on time and within budget. EM field site partnering agreements can be found here.

At the most recent Paducah Site meeting, the parties updated and signed their existing partnering agreement and signed a new partnering charter aimed at making continuous improvements to environmental compliance activities covered under the FRNP Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant deactivation and remediation contract.

They also discussed two additional partnering charters — one on the groundwater program and the other on office space for Paducah Site workers — that could be pursued. The parties will continue to look at opportunities to innovate as they work together to do work safely and compliantly.

“We share a lot of core values,” FRNP Program Manager Jeff Bradford said. “Our partnership agreements help to facilitate work that ensures the safety of our workforce, the public, and the environment.”

The partnering sessions strive to foster a team environment with the goal of safe and efficient execution of work. The biannual meetings were implemented at the Paducah Site at the beginning of the FRNP contract to facilitate ongoing communication and collaboration between EM and the contractor.

-Contributor: Jessica Vasseur

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High-Tech Heart Rate Monitoring Arrives for WIPP Workers

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s new heart rate monitoring system provides heart rate information for up to 40 employees, displayed simultaneously on tablet computers.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is going high-tech in its battle against heat stress.

Technology being used by teams in the National Football League, National Hockey League, 250 professional soccer teams, and more than 100 National Collegiate Athletic Association universities will now track employees both on the surface and in the WIPP underground.

The heart rate monitoring system will be used to conduct physiological heat strain evaluations, measuring the effect of heat stress on workers.

It’s not your average heart monitor. This device takes it several steps further.

The Polar H-10 heart rate monitor strap is worn by an employee under the ribcage, and the information is relayed in real time to a tablet computer through wireless technology.

Heart rate information for up to 40 employees can be displayed simultaneously on the tablet computer. The system’s software is set up to report data from each worker, by name, and it monitors preset limits on each employee’s heart rate. A color-coded display provides early warning to ensure workers are removed from heat exposure before they develop unacceptable heat strain.

A formula of 180 minus the worker’s age gives a conservative target heart rate that is plugged into the system. A readout gives the heart rate and the percentage of the target rate.

“This equipment is state of the art and provides a unique perspective into how each worker is personally responding to the heat,” said Walt Czejak, WIPP deputy manager for safety, industrial health, and site environment. “This tailors our ability to keep each worker safe and takes into account individual susceptibility to heat, hydration levels, and activity levels.”

WIPP isn’t the first industrial user of the system, but it will be the first time it is used in a mine, according to Polar.

Nuclear Waste Partnership, EM’s WIPP prime contractor, purchased 100 heart rate monitors and 10 tablet computers in advance of the 2019 heat season.

Southern New Mexico temperatures can soar to over 100 degrees on the surface at the site, and that surface air is pulled underground for ventilation. Workers have to don protective clothing in waste disposal Panel 7, which is radiologically contaminated, creating even more opportunities for heat stress.

Deployment of the devices will begin for workers with impermeable or semipermeable chemical protective clothing in Panel 7 and will be expanded to other groups based on risk level and benefit.

-Contributor: Roy Neese

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Savannah River Site Improves Equipment Inspection Safety, Accuracy

Chris Hall, left, Kerek Bearden, center, and Pete Hadden with the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions quality assurance division demonstrate the capabilities of a new probing and laser scanning device.

AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site’s (SRS) management and operations contractor recently acquired a probing and laser scanning device to improve personnel safety and the process of taking measurements.

The instrument can help fabricate obsolete parts through detailed examination of its construction and composition, and 3-D printing, reducing maintenance time and associated safety hazards to employees performing the intricate work of identifying needed repairs.

Data can be collected about parts through probing and laser scanning. The portable device can scan 600,000 dimensional points per second. Information is gathered and digitally displayed through computer software, providing a report on the part’s measurements. This file can also be uploaded to a 3-D printer for fabrication at EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory.

The 3-D printed models of SRS facilities have played an important role in the remediation and deactivation and decommissioning of several legacy structures. With this device, called the FaroArm QuantumS, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) can expand the use of 3-D printing technology to improve operations in facilities with enduring missions.

“The FaroArm meets all the latest industry standards in laser technology accuracy. We are excited about the prospects for advancements this device is expected to bring to inspection and reverse engineering processes onsite,” said Chris Boschetti, an SRNS quality assurance manager. “This technology has become a valuable asset in the commercial industry, which SRNS recognized would alleviate several risks associated with the mission success and long-term maintenance of equipment in a chemical and nuclear environment.”

Previously, measurements were taken by hand using instruments such as calipers, which measure the distance between two sides of an object. That work was much more time consuming and left room for human error. The FaroArm provides increased efficiency and exacting measurements. Its capability to use information from scans or computer-aided designs to compare to actual parts rather than performing the action by hand significantly reduces costs, and potential schedule delays.

“The Savannah River Site is dedicated to continuously improving all aspects of work, both for the enhancement of processes and the safety of our employees,” SRNS President and CEO Stuart MacVean said. “With new technology comes the potential for innovation, which can help us as we strive to make the world safer.”

-Contributor: Lindsey Monbarren

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Hanford Volunteers Connect Young Women With STEM Careers

Left to right, Washington River Protection Solutions employees Robin Varljen, Maichen Carnes, and Michelle Hendrickson recently provided guidance to young women interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers, which are a valuable part of environmental cleanup work at the Hanford Site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Volunteers at the EM Hanford Site are reaching out to female students to promote the importance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers.

Employees of Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) joined with the Tri-City area chapters of Soroptimist International, a global volunteer organization that improves the lives of females of all ages through programs leading to social and economic empowerment.

WRPS employees Maichen Carnes, Michelle Hendrickson, Maria Lopez, and Robin Varljen volunteered at a free one-day event held at Columbia Basin College recently for eighth- and ninth-graders to teach them about career possibilities, setting and achieving goals, and overcoming obstacles to success.

“This is a great way to give back to our community while helping empower and educate young females considering STEM careers,” Lopez said.

All four WRPS employees participated in career mentoring. About 60 young women spent time with the mentors, rotating through their group to explore other job interests.

“The event was a great opportunity for the young women to learn about many different careers, see that they are achievable, and understand the necessary path to get there,” Carnes said. “I enjoyed mentoring them about opportunities similar to those I had at their age, which led me to my current career.”

Varljen said she enjoys working with the local Soroptimist groups to engage young women in planning for college and careers.

“In the face of societal and gender expectations, young women need to see other women in non-traditional careers, including careers and roles of power and influence so they can begin to question and overcome bias,” Varljen said. “It is so rewarding to bring together this group to empower the next generation of women leaders in STEM.”

EM Office of River Protection Chief Engineer Elaine Diaz noted that STEM professionals will be in demand to meet new and unique challenges in the Hanford cleanup in the future.

“As the pace of operations increases on Hanford, it’s going to be exciting, interesting, and a lot of fun,” Diaz said. “We will need energetic and innovative people in STEM careers to become our workforce of the future. I’m very pleased to see our technical folks reaching out and mentoring the next generation of innovators.”

Soroptimist International was formed in 1921 in Oakland, California, at a time when women were not permitted to join service organizations. The name Soroptimist was coined from the Latin “soror,” meaning sister, and “optima,” meaning best, or perhaps interpreted as “the best for women.” The network of more than 75,000 club members in 122 countries works at local, national, and international levels to educate, empower and enable women.

-Contributor: Terese Meyer

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