EM Update | Vol. 11, Issue 39 | Oct. 8, 2019

• Secretary Perry Celebrates Success at Hanford
• EM Contractors Recognized for Safety Excellence
• Hanford, University Team Up to Test Filters for Waste Treatment Operations
• Agency's Reuse of Equipment Leads to $1 Million Savings for West Valley
• Celebrating 30 Years of EM: Employee Spotlight
• DOE Honors SRS for Drones Performing Rooftop Building Maintenance
• SRS Savings Lead to ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Employee Onboarding
• Hanford Employee Honored as Washington State Fire Mechanic of 2019
• SRS Women@LiquidWaste Group Celebrates Year of Growth, Success

Secretary Perry Celebrates Success at Hanford

Energy Secretary Rick Perry joined Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, EM Senior Advisor Ike White, and the Hanford Site EM management team at the “front face” of the B Reactor National Historic Monument last week. The Secretary was at Hanford to celebrate the removal of contaminated sludge from the K West Reactor Basin and was briefed on the site’s past, present, and future.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Hanford’s past, present and future were on display last week as Energy Secretary Rick Perry celebrated a significant cleanup milestone of transferring 35 cubic yards of highly radioactive sludge from a reactor basin near the Columbia River to safe storage in the center of the 580-square-mile site.

Perry lauded the accomplishment during a ceremony attended by about 200 Hanford workers, tribal leaders, community leaders, Hanford regulators, and the news media. The Secretary was joined by Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington state, Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar, EM Senior Advisor Ike White, and Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance.

“This takes a risk away from the Columbia River and this community,” Perry said. “I hope today is a confirmation that government can do what it says it is going to do and do it in a reasonable way.”

Energy Secretary Rick Perry welcomes invited guests and thanks Hanford workers during a celebration marking the completion of a decade-long project to remove contaminated sludge from near the Columbia River. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington state is seated at center and Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon is seated at right.

In his remarks, Dabbar invoked a letter written by famed physicist Albert Einstein to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, calling for action to defend against a potential weapon scientists working for Adolf Hitler were developing.

“From that step, the people of the Tri-Cities heard their call to action and constructed the first plutonium reactor, helping to defeat the tyrannies of World War II,” Dabbar said.

During the ensuing Cold War, more reactors were constructed. Hanford's K East and K West reactors were built side by side in the 1950s and operated for 15 years. In the 1970s and 1980s, the reactors’ spent fuel basins were used to store irradiated fuel from N Reactor, Hanford’s last operating reactor.

The last of the 2,300 tons of fuel was removed from the basins in 2004. Workers transferred sludge from the K East Basin and removed the basin itself. After years of preparation, workers started transferring 35 cubic yards of sludge out of underwater containers in the K West Basin and completed the project in September.

“Today marks the important closing of the door of yesteryear and the successful cleanup of the last reactor,” Dabbar said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry, center, thanked, from left, operations manager Mike Garza, and operators Harvey Brown, Amanda Gustafson, and Frank Vargas, with contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, for their contributions to finishing the removal of 35 cubic meters of sludge from a facility near the Columbia River.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry visited the new control center for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, which will begin treating Hanford tank waste by the end of 2023. Hanford Site Manager Brian Vance is behind Perry at left. Rick Holmes, Waste Treatment Completion Company general manager and Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) site director, is at right. WTP employee Eric Davis is in an orange vest in the background. 

With the sludge removed, efforts are now underway to remove debris, such as contaminated tools and pumps, from the basin, after which dewatering and demolition will begin. The sludge will remain in interim safe storage at Hanford’s T Plant until a disposition path is selected.

Perry also visited the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, and received an update on the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility, which is set to begin treating Hanford’s tank waste by the end of 2023.

Perry finished his visit at a Hanford mockup facility with local science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) high school students who were learning about future cleanup and potential careers. The facility is used to develop equipment and train workers to remove highly contaminated soil from beneath the 324 Building, a former chemical laboratory.

-Contributors: Hanford Office of Communications

Back to Top

EM Contractors Recognized for Safety Excellence

Billy Ellington, left, receives the 2019 Safety and Health Outreach Award from J.A. Rodriguez, chair of the DOE Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association National Board of Directors. Edington is an employee of Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR.

EM cleanup contractors from coast to coast were recently honored with a variety of awards for safety and health excellence in DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP).

Working through cooperative efforts among labor, management, and government at DOE contractor sites, the VPP promotes improved safety and health performance through public recognition of outstanding programs.The awards by the Voluntary Protection Program Participants' Association (VPPPA) were made at its recent national symposium in New Orleans. 

Two employees at the Hanford Site were honored with the VPP Champion Award, given to only three employees in the DOE complex each year. The awardees were Jack Griffith, with CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC), and Vern Prosser, with Waste Treatment Completion Company.

“The Champion Award recognizes individuals who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to advance the message and spirit of VPP and mentor other organizations in safety performance,” Hanford Manager Brian Vance said. “Thank you, Jack and Vern, for your many years of contributions to the health and safety of so many workers.”

Several contractors also received the VPP Star of Excellence award, presented to VPP Star sites that maintain an injury/illness rate at least 75 percent below the industry average. Some also were honored with the Legacy of Stars award.

Developing the workforce of the future is a key commitment for EM. Billy Edington, an employee of Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR, has performed that work for more than 15 years as a trainer and mentor. The VPPPA awarded him the 2019 Safety and Health Outreach Award.

Edington serves as a trainer for the United Steelworkers Tony Mazzocchi Center (USW/TMC) for health, safety, and environmental education. The center provides training to thousands of individuals in the U.S. and abroad.

Edington spearheaded a collaboration that provides safety and hazardous waste training to high school students in areas near DOE’s site in Oak Ridge.

“Offering these training classes to local high schools is very gratifying because it helps to ensure a pool of talented, skilled workers to address cleanup needs of the future,” Edington said. “It also gives students in these rural areas an advantage as they transition into the workplace.”

UCOR also received the Safety and Health Outreach Award for its work at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), a former enrichment complex at Oak Ridge. Oak Ridge's EM program and UCOR are working toward achieving Vision 2020, the goal to complete major cleanup at ETTP by the end of 2020.

Savannah River Remediation (SRR) President and Project Manager Tom Foster, right, and SRR Senior Industrial Hygienist Alex Brown view a system that monitors air quality for potentially dangerous mercury vapors.

Savannah River Remediation (SRR), EM’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS), won the Innovation Award for its efforts to protect workers from mercury vapors, which can be found at SRS as a byproduct of processing nuclear materials.

In 2018, SRR’s industrial hygiene team installed air sampling units to sample and monitor mercury levels as part of a pilot project. The units simultaneously sample air quality for mercury vapors at eight separate locations across the site’s Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), providing nearly real-time results for each environment every 25 minutes. Previously, the facility relied solely on hand-held detection devices carried by workers.

Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition, said DOE views employee safety as the most important part of any job.

“Across the entire Savannah River Site, employee safety is of special importance,” Folk said. “Each individual within the liquid waste program performs a significant task, helping us accomplish our overall mission of properly and safely disposing of waste.”

SRR has won the Star of Excellence award each year since it became the SRS liquid waste contractor in 2009, except for 2014 and 2018 when SRR earned the Legacy of Stars award in lieu of the Star of Excellence.

Employees with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the Savannah River Site management and operations contractor, safely lower a fuel cask into the SRS L-Basin for storage until its ready for final disposition.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the SRS management and operations contractor, was awarded its 17th Star of Excellence for demonstrating continued excellence in safety programs, performance, and culture.

“SRNS has always strived to instill a strong safety culture in employees,” SRNS President and CEO Stuart MacVean said. “Receiving our 17th Star of Excellence validates our workforce’s commitment to ensuring our company remains the industry leader in nuclear and workplace safety.”

Dae Chung, far right, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety, Security, and Quality Assurance, presents the DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star of Excellence award to John Rendall, far left, deputy general manager for CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV), EM West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) cleanup contractor; and James Wilkinson, with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers – Local 2401, which represents a portion of CHBWV employees, at a recent employee safety recognition picnic at WVDP.

At EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project Site, Dae Chung, EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Safety, Security, and Quality Assurance, presented employees with contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley with the Star of Excellence award during a recent visit to the site.

“The safety and health of our employees, both contractor and federal, are the highest priorities for the Department,” Chung said.

WVDP first received the Star of Excellence award in 2000, the second DOE site to receive the honor after EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. WVDP has received the award every year since. Next year will mark 20 years that WVDP has flown the VPP flag over the site. WVDP also was the first DOE site to receive the Legacy of Stars award. 

“It is my honor to present this award to the WVDP in recognition of your ongoing commitment to safety,” Chung said. “I look forward to your continued success.”

Employees from CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) received the Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association's Safety and Health Outreach Award for the STEM Like ME! Program, which involves CHPRC volunteers mentoring middle school students. The program is part of CHPRC’s Highway to Hanford commitment, which promotes opportunities in the local community that bring diversity, inclusion, and the next generation of workers to Hanford. CHPRC also was honored with the Star of Excellence award.

Mission Support Alliance (MSA) received three Star of Excellence awards this year for its mission support services and safeguards and security divisions, and the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Federal Training Center.

This year, eight Hanford organizations received the Star of Excellence award:

• CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company
• Intermech, a subcontractor to Waste Treatment Completion Company
• Mission Support Alliance, for the Volpentest Hazardous Materials Management and Emergency Response Federal Training Center
• Mission Support Alliance, for its mission support services division
• Mission Support Alliance, for its safeguards and security division
• Washington River Protection Solutions
• Waste Treatment Completion Company
• Wastren Advantage, Inc., for the 222-S Laboratory

VPPPA also recognized CHPRC and Washington River Protection Solutions with Safety and Health Outreach awards.

"Our safety focus and responsibilities are integral to accomplishing our important cleanup mission at Hanford, a great public work for the Pacific Northwest and our nation," Vance said.

-Contributors: Kearney Ackermann, Jim Beasley, Patrick Conrad, Colleen Hart, Wayne McKinney, Joseph Pillittere, Lynn Tegeler

Back to Top

Hanford, University Team Up to Test Filters for Waste Treatment Operations

From left, Robert Sprague with Waste Treatment Completion Company, and Zach Phillips and Bill Trainor from Mississippi State University (MSU) test high-efficiency particulate air filters at Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Analytical Laboratory. The specialized filters are part of the filtration system testing recently conducted by plant workers and MSU technicians.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Mississippi State University (MSU) technicians recently collaborated with EM Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) Analytical Laboratory (LAB) contractor Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) to test high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtration systems.

“This testing is an important part of our progress toward starting tank waste treating operations,” said Howard Sawyer, BNI startup manager for the LAB. “We want to ensure that safety and quality are built into the WTP so that we are protecting the public, workers, and the environment during operations.”

The HEPA filters weigh 72 pounds each and are used in multiple banks of four filters, called housings. The LAB holds 34 housings and 136 filters.

The circular shape of the filter traps contaminants better than previous designs and is relatively new to the nuclear industry. The filters are at least five times stronger than standard HEPA filters and exceed WTP-specific standards and codes.

The BNI testing team conducted the test, and the MSU team collected and analyzed the data and will provide a final report in coming weeks.

“Our strong partnership with MSU has been critical to our success,” said Tommy Davis, BNI facility test lead. “This was an intricate and detailed process, from the prep work and procedure development through the actual testing, and we have been in lockstep with MSU the entire time.”

BNI and MSU are now conducting filter tests in WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility and will eventually conduct them in the plant’s Effluent Management Facility.

-Contributor: Darcy Richardson

Back to Top

Agency's Reuse of Equipment Leads to $1 Million Savings for West Valley

Cleanup equipment leaves EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project Site for a six-hour trip to its new home in Messena, New York for reuse by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. WVDP is transferring the specialized piece of equipment to the corporation, which maintains a portion of the seaway between the Port of Montreal and Lake Erie within the U.S.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site will achieve $1 million in savings by transferring cleanup equipment for reuse by a U.S. agency that operates facilities on the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

The transfer allows WVDP to avoid the time and expense of disposing of the equipment as waste. West Valley crews had used the equipment to lift and move 86.5-ton concrete casks containing waste canisters in a project successfully completed in 2016, a year ahead of schedule. In that project, workers relocated nearly 280 canisters of vitrified high-level waste from the site’s Main Plant Process Building to an onsite interim storage pad, a necessary step to support the building's eventual demolition.

“Sharing highly specialized equipment like this that we no longer need at West Valley helps save money for taxpayers and the government,” EM WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. “It will save the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation time and money because the equipment is already built, tested, and used, even with minor retrofitting for our application.”

WVDP workers helped load the equipment into a truck to transport to the corporation, which is an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation that operates and maintains the U.S.-owned and operated facilities of the joint U.S.-Canadian Seaway. The corporation’s operations are located at two U.S. seaway locks in Massena, New York.

“This cost savings is the result of employee engagement, innovation, and commitment in getting work done safely and maximizing resources,” said Scott Anderson, president of CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, the WVDP cleanup contractor. “I am confident that our employees will continue this effort as we further reduce legacy risks at the site.”

–Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

Back to Top

Celebrating 30 Years of EM: Employee Spotlight

Back to Top

DOE Honors SRS for Drones Performing Rooftop Building Maintenance

A view of an aerial drone gliding above the rooftop of a sealed and closed reactor building at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – DOE recently recognized a Savannah River Site (SRS) team for its innovative approach to sustainability involving the use of aerial drones to control the growth of vegetation atop two closed reactor buildings, saving more than $170,000 a year.

“Using aerial drones to inspect the roofs of closed reactors high above the ground using high-resolution video cameras provides for significant improvements in our efficiency and effectiveness,” said DOE-Savannah River Operations Office Physical Scientist Philip Prater. “The drones also allow post-closure surveillance and maintenance activities to be performed remotely at these facilities, keeping our workers safe.”

DOE’s Sustainability Performance Office sponsors the Sustainability Awards, including the Innovative Approach to Sustainability Award presented to the SRS team from the DOE-Savannah River Operations Office, SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), and EM’s Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).

“We’ve recognized for some time now the tremendous potential drone technology offers us in multiple areas within the missions SRNS is contractually tasked to achieve at SRS,” said Chris Bergren, SRNS director of environmental compliance and area completion projects.

SRS had previously relied on helicopters to control the vegetation growth on the rooftops of the P and R reactors buildings, which crews finished decommissioning in 2011.

“With the discovery of vegetative growth on the reactor roofs, that may allow root intrusion,” Bergren said. “We began to use a helicopter crew and an SRNS photographer to determine the amount of growth and then spray the plants as necessary. This approach was highly effective, but also very expensive.”

To improve that approach, SRNS and SRNL deployed a small drone to capture video and photos of the rooftops, providing a more thorough inspection than the assessments by the helicopter crew, at half the cost. The team then partnered with Virginia Tech to build a drone to spray herbicide on the rooftops.

A small aerial drone with a high-resolution camera hovers above a larger drone that identifies where to spray herbicide on the rooftop of a closed reactor building.

The entombed reactor buildings at SRS were constructed to last for thousands of years with proper maintenance. Implementing a long-term, safe, sustainable, and efficient maintenance plan ensures the integrity of the structures over time.

The Sustainability Awards program recognizes the contributions of individuals and teams at DOE facilities across the country who have demonstrated inventive ideas with applicability across the DOE complex.

Members of the award winning SRS team are Peter Avioli, Ronald Bartholomew, David Bender, Chris Bergren, Joe Burch, Todd Coleman, Herb Craven, Jeffrey Crenshaw, Marcia Delmore, James DeMass, Alan Doane, Jim Fudge, Mike Griffith, Avery Hammett, Todd Hatfield, Kelsey Holcomb, Angelia Holmes, Gary Hoover, Tommy Johnson, Charles Koss, Troy Lorier, Jimmy McMillian, Amy Meyers, Ted Millings, Earl Morrison, Carl Noe, Tony Polk, Philip Prater, Kirby Scott, Tommy Sessions, Mark Spurlock, and Robbie Wood.

–Contributor: DT Townsend

Back to Top

SRS Savings Lead to ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Employee Onboarding

Savannah River Site federal and contractor employees gather for a ribbon cutting for a “one-stop shop” for employee onboarding at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). Front row, from left, are Norm Powell, SRNS senior vice president, business services; Mike Budney, DOE-Savannah River manager; Mac McMillian, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager, infrastructure and environmental stewardship; Stuart MacVean, SRNS president and CEO; Thomas Johnson, Jr., DOE-Savannah River deputy site manager; Don Turno, SRNS site services business support manager; and Mike Swain, SRNS vice president, technical services.

AIKEN, S.C. – About $4.7 million in savings from Savannah River Site (SRS) fiscal 2019 infrastructure improvement projects enabled renovations to a building that consolidates new employee onboarding for the site’s management and operations contractor.

“It’s now a one-stop shop for new employees,” said Stuart MacVean, president and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). “General employee training, badging, and medical testing are all in one location. This also frees up much needed office space at other SRS facilities.”

SRNS expects the new center will more efficiently and effectively meet the needs of future employees.

The renovations cost $2.9 million, about a third of the cost of a new facility comparable in size and furnishings.

“It’s a great news story regarding bringing together a lot of folks that had different needs that could all be consolidated and pulled together in one place,” MacVean said. “Thanks to all the people who made this possible, from the planning phase through moving and setup.”

Renovations to Building 703-47A consolidate the Savannah River Nuclear Solutions new employee onboarding process into a "one-stop shop" with general employee training, badging, and medical testing all in one location.

Ironically, SRS had planned to demolish the building, known as 703-47A, within weeks of the decision to renovate it. Don Turno, SRNS site program support manager, said a company in Augusta was loading the wrecking ball and support equipment onto a trailer when it received a call about the change in plans.

“Improving and sustaining our site’s infrastructure is an area of strength we can point to, where time and again, steady progress has been and continues to be made, whether it’s roofs, roads, or buildings,” MacVean said. “We completed $120 million worth of infrastructure improvements over this past fiscal year with significant costs savings.”

Those projects include upgrading cybersecurity; obtaining new emergency service vehicles; refurbishing emergency power generators and fire water support systems; paving more than 50 miles of roads; replacing over 25 roofs, comparable in area to three football fields; and upgrading power distribution systems. Workers also renovated the patrol headquarters building for SRS security contractor Centerra.

Between fiscal years 2016 and 2019, SRS crews completed more than 50 infrastructure improvement projects valued at over $350 million.

–Contributor: DT Townsend

Back to Top

Hanford Employee Honored as Washington State Fire Mechanic of 2019

Mission Support Alliance fire mechanic Joshua Wright, center, receives the 2019 Washington State Fire Mechanic of the Year award. Also pictured are the Hanford Fire Department's deputy fire chief Adam Moldovan, left, and battalion chief Mark Cope.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Joshua Wright, an employee with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA), was recognized as the 2019 Washington State Fire Mechanic of the Year by the Washington Fire Chiefs Association.

Wright, a mechanic for MSA’s fleet services organization, received the award for providing quality service and ensuring the Hanford Site’s firefighting equipment is in proper working order.

“Our fire mechanics are an important part of keeping the Hanford Fire Department ready for any emergency,” said Corey Low, RL director of security, emergency services, and information management. “Thank you, Joshua, for your hard work and exemplary support of the department and fleet services.”

Within the fleet services organization, Wright is recognized by his peers for his ability to identify a mechanical issue and resolve it efficiently.

“Joshua is a mentor to the other mechanics at the shop, showing them what it means to be innovative, motivated, and quality oriented,” said Dave Baie, MSA’s fleet services director. “That includes his drive for continued education above what is required, to ensure his knowledge and training are of the highest quality.”

The Hanford Fire Department is managed by MSA on behalf of RL.

–Contributor: Ginger Benecke

Back to Top

SRS Women@LiquidWaste Group Celebrates Year of Growth, Success

Women@LiquidWaste (W@LW) co-chair Christine Ridgeway, left, and chair Stephanie Franklin, right, participate in an icebreaker activity at a recent W@LW meeting at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – With a membership that has grown to 60 people, Savannah River Site employee resource group Women@LiquidWaste (W@LW) is celebrating one year of professional development, networking opportunities, and membership growth.

Since September 2018, Savannah River Remediation’s (SRR) W@LW has been helping employees enhance professional knowledge and experiences to strengthen leadership skills.

Membership in W@LW is open to employees of SRR, EM’s liquid waste contractor at SRS.
The group provides information, resources, and networking opportunities for women who aspire to be in leadership; desire to strengthen leadership abilities; and express interest in discussing workplace challenges for women.

Members of Women@LiquidWaste have spent the last year providing professional and leadership development opportunities to Savannah River Remediation employees.

“The vision of Women@LiquidWaste is to leverage the knowledge, expertise, and diverse perspectives to further encourage women into leadership or positions of influence to align with SRR’s goals of diversity and inclusion,” said Stephanie Franklin, SRR’s equal employment opportunity and employee concerns program compliance manager, and a founding member of the group.

W@LW reinforces diverse perspectives in the workforce and makes SRR a stronger employer, Franklin added.

The group's events in the last year have included discussions on effective interviewing techniques, speed mentoring with executive staff members, and resume workshops.

–Contributor: Colleen Hart

Back to Top

Like EM on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DOEEnvironmentalManagement

Follow EM on Twitter: @EMcleanup