• WIPP Reaches 12,500-Shipment Milestone
• West Valley Team Creates Conveyor, Furthering Safety for Asbestos Removal
• Demolition Reduces Risk at Oak Ridge Building
• WIPP Driver Celebrates 20 Years of Safe Transportation
• SRS Worker Efficiencies Save Time, Money for Spent Nuclear Fuel Processing
• Paducah Site Contractors are Repeat Winners of Governor’s Safety Awards
• Overhaul of Required Reading Program Boosts Hanford Site Efficiency

WIPP Reaches 12,500-Shipment Milestone

A shipment of transuranic waste approaches EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – Just before midnight on June 27, EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received its 12,500th transuranic (TRU) waste shipment since operations began there in 1999.

The shipment originated from the EM program at Idaho National Laboratory, which has sent WIPP the most TRU waste shipments — 6,500 and counting — of all DOE generator sites over the past 20 years.

WIPP drivers have safely traveled over 14.9 million loaded miles, transporting more than 178,500 waste containers for permanent disposal 2,150 feet underground.

WIPP transportation protocols are among the most stringent in the commercial transportation industry, ensuring each shipment departs generator sites — and arrives at WIPP — completely defect free.

-Contributor: Bobby St. John

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West Valley Team Creates Conveyor, Furthering Safety for Asbestos Removal

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) crew members used ingenuity and lessons learned to develop a conveyor system to safely remove material containing asbestos from inside a building at the West Valley Demonstration Project.

Workers used the conveyor system to get rid of about 56,000 pounds of plaster containing asbestos material from the walls of a control room on the fourth floor of the Main Plant Process Building. They are clearing away asbestos material to prepare the structure for demolition.

The crew helped design, test, and build the conveyor system to further improve safety and limit contact with asbestos material during the project. Drawing from lessons learned from previous work, the team built the system with readily available equipment, saving time and money.

“This team took an issue and turned it into an opportunity by putting their knowledge into practice,” EM WVDP Federal Project Director Dan Sullivan said. “The safe and compliant disposition of asbestos-containing material is another important step in the progress towards the future demolition of the Main Plant.”

The EM West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) team that developed the conveyor system for asbestos removal. Front row, from left, CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) operators Jessica Krzeimien, Nathan Hebdon, Jolene Biela, and Nathan Low; and Jim Moshier, supervisor with WVDP subcontractor American Demolition & Nuclear Decommissioning; back row, from left, CHBWV operators Marcus Perrington and Ryan Mackey; Tom Whittemore, radiological control technician with WVDP subcontractor InTomes; CHBWV Operator Jonathan Schurr; CHBWV Safety Technician Dan Rzucek; and InTomes Radiological Control Technician Michael Carlin.

Three 900-pound lift bags filled with asbestos material sit on a conveyor system designed by workers at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project.

Crew members filled 25-pound-capacity bags with the asbestos material and placed them into 900-pound-capacity lift bags. They transported the lift bags on the conveyor system from inside the building to an outside overhead crane. The crane lowered each lift bag to the ground where a fork truck added them to a waste container for off-site disposal.

Dale Macklem, D&D manager with EM cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, commended his crew for the creativity to turn an idea into reality.

“Working with asbestos-containing material is the most physically challenging work at the site when you include radiological and industrial hazards, layers of protective clothing, and warm temperatures,” Macklem said. “This crew used lessons learned to enhance safety, improve efficiency, and reduce exposure to job-related hazards. They put their collective knowledge into practice, and that’s to be commended.”

Constructed in the 1960s, the Main Plant, a commercial reprocessing facility, was used to recover reusable plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear reactor fuel.

The crew will use the conveyor system to remove asbestos-containing material from the three-story Main Plant Office Building before demolishing that structure later this year.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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Demolition Reduces Risk at Oak Ridge Building

Workers demolish the west portion of Building 3017 at the Oak Ridge Site. 

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM workers have torn down the west end of Building 3017 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory after more than a decade of challenges, evaluations, and repairs to the structure.

The building was used for office space by Isotek, the EM Oak Ridge Office of EM (OREM) contractor responsible for processing and disposing of the site’s inventory of uranium-233.
Crews have cleared debris from the site, and the remaining portion of the building is being refurbished with a new entrance. That work is expected to be completed this month so normal operations can resume there.

The east end of Building 3017 dates back to 1951, when it was used for the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology. At the time, it was the only location in the world offering a yearlong curriculum to train engineers and scientists in the field of reactor theory and technology. Nearly 1,000 students graduated from the school before it closed in 1965. The east end was used for laboratory work, while the west end was added in 1967 to provide office space.

Isotek moved into the building in 2007, but shortly afterward, the structure began showing signs of structural weakness in the southwest corner when the floor began sinking due to foundation issues. The contractor added foundational support in 2008, but that did not solve the problem. The floor continued to sink unevenly, causing cracks in walls and separation of walls from the roof.

Workers carefully divide the east and west portions of Building 3017 before major demolition begins.

A sinking foundation compromised Building 3017’s structural integrity. The building was shifting, causing cracks in walls and separation of walls from the roof.

Demolition of the west end of Building 3017 is complete. This month, workers will finish refurbishing the facility’s east end with a new entrance so normal operations can resume there.

A 2016 structural evaluation report showed that the structural integrity of Building 3017 was compromised, and a permanent solution was needed to ensure the area remained safe.
Working together, OREM and Isotek decided demolition of the west portion was the best path since it could not be structurally secured in a cost effective manner. They developed a demolition plan, carefully divided the two sections, and then conducted the teardown.

With this risk eliminated, Isotek can focus on preparing Building 2026 for processing operations to address the remaining inventory of uranium-233. Those operations are scheduled to begin later this year.

-Contributor: John Gray

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WIPP Driver Celebrates 20 Years of Safe Transportation

Randahl Mills, CAST Specialty Transportation Carlsbad terminal manager, left, presents Mark Beene with an award for 20 years of service with CAST and EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – Mark Beene started his professional driving career in 1990 and for the past 20 years has been safely transporting the nation’s defense-generated transuranic (TRU) waste to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), logging more than a million total miles, the majority while transporting TRU waste to WIPP.

Beene began his career at WIPP in 1999 with CAST Specialty Transportation, the company contracted to transport all TRU waste shipments to WIPP.

“This is a big accomplishment, and we are very proud of Mark,” said Randahl Mills, CAST Carlsbad terminal manager. “The men and women that make up the WIPP driving team are truly the best. They are second to none.”

Beene started with CAST shortly after WIPP became operational. Since that time, he has logged more than 635,000 safe miles for the project and continues to add to that total.

“I really enjoy what I do,” Beene said. “The men and women I work with are an exceptional group of people. We all take great pride in what we do.”

Beene has seen many interesting things over the years as a professional driver, but one stands out in his mind. In August 2004, a dense fog set on Interstate 80 in Wyoming. Beene and his driving partner at the time, who has since retired, were transporting a shipment of TRU waste to WIPP.

“The fog appeared once we topped the hill and started down the other side,” Beene recalled. “I slowed way down because visibility was not very good.”

Not long after, they approached a large accident on the interstate due to the fog. Quick thinking and years of experience helped prevent the WIPP shipment from becoming part of what was later determined to be a 36-car pileup. Beene steered the WIPP shipment well off the roadway onto the shoulder to avoid the accident.

“I just wanted to do my best to ensure the safety of my partner and me, the shipment, and others in the area,” he said.

Beene and his partner then began helping others get out of their vehicles, some of which were on fire.

“I just did what anyone else would have done, especially any of the WIPP drivers,” he said. “We are trained to handle serious situations.”

WIPP drivers are some of the most highly trained in the commercial driving industry. They must meet extensive driving and background requirements before being considered for employment. Once employed, they receive specific training as it relates to transporting TRU waste from generator sites across the country. This includes everything from package securement devices and use of radiation detection equipment to emergency management. Drivers receive close to 200 hours of training before transporting their first shipments of TRU waste.

WIPP drivers have safely transported 12,500 shipments of TRU waste, totaling over 14.9 million safe loaded miles.

-Contributor: Bobby St. John

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SRS Worker Efficiencies Save Time, Money for Spent Nuclear Fuel Processing

AIKEN, S.C. – EM workers at the Savannah River Site recently cleared a path to move bundled spent nuclear fuel assemblies vertically instead of horizontally, a change to increase the efficiency of this process by 25 percent.

Employees from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor, relocated storage racks no longer in use to create the path. That allowed them to move an interim bucket storage closer to the location where spent nuclear fuel casks are unloaded at the site’s L Area Basin Disassembly Basin. Bucket storage is used to unload fuel from the casks and store it for eventual processing. This storage method allows casks to be removed from the basin quickly, saving time and money.

“The basin travel path modifications will allow our operators to be dressed out in their personal protection equipment for shorter durations, reducing the potential for heat stress. It also saves half a shift worth of work for each cask processed, leading to a 25-percent efficiency gain,” DOE-Savannah River Nuclear Materials Manager Maxcine Maxted said. “This will ultimately save DOE money from more efficient operations and ensure our ability to meet our commitments.”

The casks arrive at the basin from off-site foreign and domestic research reactors via truck and are unloaded within an underwater pit in the transfer bay. Crews bundle the fuel assemblies and move them through the basin to storage locations. The fuel returns to the transfer bay before it is shipped by rail to the site’s H Canyon to be processed into a low enriched uranium solution, which can be used to create fuel for commercial nuclear reactors.

“All fuel loading and unloading happens in the transfer bay, so it really becomes a choke point for our work,” SRNS L Area Facility Manager Lakela Lofton said. “We have to carefully plan when we receive incoming shipments around shipments to H Canyon for processing. To address this issue, L Area management organized a continuous improvement event involving some of the best minds in our organization to come up with a way to accelerate and increase availability of our transfer bay.”

Workers turn the fuel bundles horizontally to move them to the transfer bay for loading into a 70-ton cask for shipment to H Canyon.

“Turning the fuel bundle horizontally while keeping it under water is time consuming and precarious work,” Lofton said. “Specialized tools are used to slowly lift the bottom end of the fuel bundle by operators standing on platforms above.”

The SRNS team recognized that keeping the 11.5-foot-tall fuel bundles vertical in transit would save time and effort. However, the team needed to ensure appropriate space between the bundles and adequate water depth for radiation shielding to protect workers.

“The primary concern was that if the vertical fuel bundle inadvertently fell while transferring, it would have the potential of interacting with other fuel,” Lofton said.

The team moved the unused storage racks to ensure that if a fuel bundle fell, it would only interact with empty racks.

“We expect to be able to start moving fuel vertically early in 2020, which will allow us to process fuel more efficiently,” Lofton said.

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren

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Paducah Site Contractors are Repeat Winners of Governor’s Safety Awards

From left, Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS) Environment Safety & Health Manager Joe Johnson; Doug Raney, an MCS health, safety, and radiological control technician and United Steel Workers (USW) safety representative; Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin; and Brad Richards, MCS production support operator and USW unit vice president.

PADUCAH, Ky. – Two prime contractors at EM’s Paducah Site were recently recognized by Kentucky’s governor for excellence in health and safety performance for the past year.

Representatives of Swift & Staley, Inc. (SSI), responsible for site infrastructure support services; and Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS), operator of EM’s depleted uranium hexafluoride conversion (DUF6) facilities, received the awards from Gov. Matt Bevin at a ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky.

The Governor’s Safety and Health Award is the Kentucky Labor Cabinet’s way of recognizing companies for outstanding safety and health performance, and it encourages development of programs to reduce and eliminate occupational injuries and illnesses. Employers and their employees who have achieved a required number of work hours without lost-time injury or illness are eligible.

MCS received the award for the third consecutive year, having achieved more than 1.6 million hours without a lost-time injury from July 2015 through December 2018, while SSI workers achieved over 1.2 million injury-free hours during the same period. This is SSI’s eighth governor’s award.

“DOE recognizes how valuable our workers are to completing the cleanup mission at the Paducah Site. Maintaining the safety and health of the workforce is a daily challenge that our contractors embrace,” EM Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard said. “We are proud of our contractors for being recognized by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for their commitment to safety through these annual awards.”

During the award ceremony, Bevin noted there are more than 70,000 employers in Kentucky, and approximately 38 had been approved for the award during 2018.

"An award like this is rare in our business and is only accomplished through the dedication of the workforce, United Steelworkers Local 550, and support of the management team,” MCS Paducah Plant Manager Jim Barker said. “I'm very thankful to be part of an amazing team like this that understands the hazards of the workplace and still safely accomplishes an incredible amount of work stabilizing the nation's DUF6 inventory."

From left, Swift & Staley, Inc. (SSI) Environment Safety & Health Manager John Hobbs; Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin; SSI Laborer Charmain Shannon; and SSI USW Safety Representative Jason Gilbert.

SSI Environment, Safety and Health Manager John Hobbs said the award is evidence of his company’s longstanding commitment to working safely, and its safety culture that fosters hazard recognition and reporting.

“The work environment is dynamic and unpredictable, but through effective leadership, training, and employee involvement, Swift and Staley team employees are successfully accomplishing the mission without serious injury,” Hobbs said.

SSI and its major subcontractors provide roads and grounds maintenance, janitorial services, safeguards and security, information technology and cyber security, radiological monitoring services, records management and document control, facilities maintenance, property management, and training at the Paducah Site.

MCS operates the DUF6 conversion facilities and maintains the DUF6 inventory at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site. The DUF6 conversion process produces two materials: depleted uranium oxide and hydrofluoric acid. The hydrofluoric acid is sold and used commercially. The depleted uranium oxide continues to be evaluated for further reuse or subsequent disposal.

The Paducah Site is situated on 3,556 acres in western Kentucky. Built as part of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, the gaseous diffusion plant enriched uranium from 1952 to 2013, originally for military reactors and nuclear weapons, and later for commercial nuclear power fuel.

-Contributors: Kearney Ackermann, John Hobbs

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Overhaul of Required Reading Program Boosts Hanford Site Efficiency

EM Richland Operations Office contractor Mission Support Alliance staff, from left, Chris Evans, Steve Metzger, John Rider, Paul Gravelle, Duncan Nisbett, and Dave Kucera, all helped overhaul the required reading program used across the Hanford Site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA) boosted efficiency at the Hanford Site by replacing multiple programs for required reading with one standardized, automated system.

“With various reading requirements for 9,300 site workers, the need for a simple way to create, maintain, and store completed assignments is essential,” said Jill Conrad, EM program manager for the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response (HAMMER) Federal Training Center. “Integration among our contractors is essential for consistency, and this is a significant improvement in efficiency.”

During the design process, MSA collaborated with other Hanford contractors to develop program enhancements and ensure the program was easy to use.

“By standardizing the program across the site, we eliminated the need to maintain multiple required reading programs,” said Steve Metzger, MSA vice president of training and conduct of operations. “By automating the process, we have also significantly reduced the workload of required reading coordinators.”

The required reading program provides essential information, such as system and procedure changes and company policies, in a timely manner. The automated system allows reading assignments to be sent electronically and monitored for completion. Managers have access to reports that allow them to easily determine if their teams have received and reviewed critical information to ensure work is performed safely, properly, and efficiently.

-Contributor: Lori Araujo

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