EM Update | Vol. 12, Issue 32 | Oct. 27, 2020

• DOE, NNSA Celebrate Transfer of Nevada Sites for Long-Term Stewardship
• Collaboration With NNSA Leads to EM’s First Transuranic Waste Shipment From Los Alamos Facility
• EM Officials Update SSAB Chairs on Progress, Vision for Coming Decade
• EM Field Operations Leader Tours Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
• Mapping Out the Future of the Hanford Site
• EM Prepping Experimental Cold War Reactor for Deactivation in Oak Ridge
• Team Innovates With Underwater Vacuuming of Spent Fuel Core Resin at SRS
• SRS Implements Innovative Emergency Preparedness Drills During Pandemic
• Divers Perform Underwater Maintenance of Fire Water Storage Tank at West Valley

DOE, NNSA Celebrate Transfer of Nevada Sites for Long-Term Stewardship

DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) officials commemorate the successful transfer of 70 remediated sites on and around Nevada’s historic Tonopah Test Range (TTR) from EM to the Department’s Office of Legacy Management (LM) for long-term stewardship. Pictured from left are Dave Taylor, program manager, Navarro Research and Engineering; Rob Boehlecke, program manager, EM Nevada Program; Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar; Dr. David Bowman, acting manager, NNSA Nevada Field Office; Ken Kreie, site manager, LM; and David Feather, vice president, Mission Support and Test Services.

MERCURY, Nev. – EM has fulfilled a key part of its mission in Nevada, completing remediation activities on and around the historic Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and conveying 70 sites into long-term stewardship.

Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar joined other DOE and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) representatives on Oct. 20 to celebrate the transfer of the sites from EM to the Department’s Office of Legacy Management (LM).

The accomplishment, completed in less than half the time initially estimated, was among EM’s 2020 priorities.

Representatives from the EM Nevada Program, LM, and the NNSA Nevada Field Office (NFO) took part in marking the occasion.

“The successful transfer of these TTR sites, well ahead of schedule, represents the fulfillment of a key strategic vision priority for the Department,” Dabbar said. “Not only does this accomplishment advance one of our missions to reduce the EM complex footprint, it also demonstrates our continued commitment to bringing projects to end states quickly and efficiently, while maintaining safety and security.”

Revegetation activities at the Tonopah Test Range.

In September 2020, the EM Nevada Program completed the transfer of more than 7,200 documents and records to the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) for long-term stewardship of 70 sites on the Nevada Test and Training Range, including the Tonopah Test Range. In this photo, taken earlier this year prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, are members of the team with the EM Nevada Program and lead environmental program services contractor, Navarro Research and Engineering, who shipped records to LM. From left, Marla Libidinsky, EM Nevada Program; Alicia Tauber and Mary Page, Navarro; Pamela Bailey, EM Nevada Program; Scott Kranker, Katharine Wickham, and Patrick Matthews, Navarro; and Tiffany Gamero, EM Nevada Program.

The transfer of the 70 sites to LM was completed 10 years ahead of schedule. As a result of the expedited timeline, EM avoided $2 million in costs associated with post-closure monitoring. The TTR sites were also among the dozens of surface locations remediated by the EM Nevada Program as part of its overall soils sites cleanup mission, which was successfully completed six years earlier than planned in late 2019, saving nearly $67 million in federal funding.

Prior to the transfer to LM, EM Nevada completed cleanup activities at sites on and around TTR where contamination had resulted from historic nuclear weapons testing and support activities.

The Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor to DOE, began testing weapons systems, research rockets, and artillery on the TTR in 1956. These tests included transportation experiments to determine if nuclear weapons could be accidentally set off and produce a nuclear yield.

As part of the remediation process, contaminated soil and debris from these sites were transported to the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) for permanent disposal. Upon completion of the cleanup, the remediated sites were identified to be transferred to LM for long-term maintenance in perpetuity.

The Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor to DOE, began testing weapon systems, research rockets, and artillery on the Tonopah Test Range in 1956.

“In partnership with the Office of Legacy Management and our lead environmental program services contractor, Navarro Research and Engineering, the EM Nevada Program is proud to have completed the transfer of these sites for safe and secure long-term stewardship,” EM Nevada Program Manager Rob Boehlecke said. “Completed in a matter of months instead of years, this major milestone supports our federal cleanup mission and shows firsthand what can be accomplished when a dedicated team works together to accomplish a goal.”

Transitioning the sites from EM to LM involved more than 100 unique actions across 10 key focus areas, including the coordination of stakeholder commitments, the transmission of more than 7,200 documents and records, and the identification and transfer of existing infrastructure, such as fences and monuments.

“We commend the EM Nevada Program for their outstanding work, and we are excited to add TTR to our portfolio of legacy sites that played a critical role in America’s nuclear history. LM is committed to the protection of human health and the environment and to transparent communication with our communities,” LM Site Manager Ken Kreie said. “We look forward to carrying on the great work at this site to ensure public and environmental safety for generations to come.”

The transfer was officially executed on Sept. 30. Navarro Research and Engineering supported EM Nevada and LM in administering the transfer process, with additional coordination from NNSA NFO and Mission Support and Test Services, the management and operations contractor at NNSS.

Click here for more information on EM and LM work at TTR.

-Contributor: Jesse Sleezer

Collaboration With NNSA Leads to EM’s First Transuranic Waste Shipment From Los Alamos Facility

EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Nicole Nelson-Jean discusses the first EM transuranic waste shipments from the Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory with Enrique “Kiki” Torres, left, Senior Director, Environment and Waste Programs, Triad, and Robert Crosby, Chief Engineer and Chief of Staff for EM Field Operations.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – EM’s Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) completed its first two shipments of transuranic waste from the Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing (RANT) facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) on Oct. 22.

“Being able to ship transuranic waste out of RANT not only moves the EM mission forward and brings DOE closer to its goal of reducing waste at LANL, it further ensures the safety of the nearby communities and pueblos, the workers, and the environment," EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Nicole Nelson-Jean said. "By working together we can improve mission success.”

Operated by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its contractor Triad, the RANT facility provides space for EM crews to load drums, boxes, and 10-drum overpacks containing transuranic waste into shipping containers. Workers confirm the containers meet WIPP’s waste acceptance criteria under a program approved by the State of New Mexico and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency before they are shipped to the waste repository. EM-LA has completed nine shipments to WIPP this fiscal year.

“Being able to use RANT alongside our colleagues in the NNSA mission represents a significant step forward in terms of EM’s ability to ship transuranic waste to WIPP,” EM-LA Manager Kirk Lachman said. “We are looking forward to shipping more waste offsite and the ability to use RANT helps us to achieve that goal.”

An EM transuranic waste shipment from the Radioassay and Nondestructive Testing facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory departs for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

The Oct. 22 shipments consisted of four boxes and 28 55-gallon drums. The transuranic waste had been transported to the RANT facility from Technical Area 54’s Area G, which is used to store, characterize, and remediate LANL’s legacy transuranic and low-level waste before it is shipped offsite for permanent disposal.

Prior to using the RANT facility, workers with EM-LA and its cleanup contractor, Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B), loaded EM’s transuranic waste shipments outdoors at Area G. Inclement weather could limit operations or delay shipments. Use of the RANT facility will enable EM to ship transuranic waste year-round as the shipping schedule permits.

Close coordination between NNSA’s Los Alamos Field Office (NA-LA), EM-LA, Triad, and N3B enabled EM to use the RANT facility to prepare shipments for WIPP.

“This is a great example of partnering between EM and NNSA resulting in the indoor loading capability provided by RANT, which enables both NNSA and EM to reduce their transuranic waste inventory at LANL and thereby reduce risk,” NA-LA Manager Mike Weis said.

-Contributor: Steven Horak

EM Officials Update SSAB Chairs on Progress, Vision for Coming Decade

Eight local boards, one at each major EM cleanup site, are organized under the umbrella charter of the EM Site-Specific Advisory Board.

EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Todd Shrader discussed cleanup progress over the past year and noted the resilience of the EM workforce in light of the COVID-19 pandemic during the EM Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB) Chairs meeting, held virtually on Oct. 19 and 20. The meeting was recorded and can be viewed here.

Shrader emphasized that EM will see a leap forward in its ability to tackle its largest and most challenging environmental risk — tank waste. He pointed to the recent startup of the Salt Waste Processing Facility at Savannah River Site, noting that the State of South Carolina has been a strong partner in this game-changing facility, which will ramp up EM’s ability to address tank waste there.

At the Hanford Site, EM is advancing progress on the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste initiative — a priority EM shares with the State of Washington, Shrader said. The DFLAW approach puts the start of actual tank waste treatment at Hanford within reach in just a few years. Shrader added that EM is advancing the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site, while continuing to ship transuranic waste from that site to support EM’s agreements with the state.

Shrader also talked about EM’s Strategic Vision for the coming decade, noting that the cleanup program is interested in receiving feedback from stakeholders. He encouraged EM SSAB members to provide the EM site managers feedback on the Strategic Vision, including project priorities, site end-state visions, and opportunities for cleanup acceleration.

The Strategic Vision provides a roadmap of strategic initiatives, outlining a decade of anticipated progress, including initiating radioactive tank waste treatment at the Hanford Site and completing construction of the Outfall 200 Mercury Treatment Facility at Oak Ridge.

The EM SSAB chairs and vice-chairs shared their local priorities and goals for fiscal 2021. During the next year, they will develop a white paper on best practices to guide outreach programs and activities. They also were asked to identify EM SSAB expectations and guiding principles to be used as a complex-wide framework for EM’s interaction with stakeholders and communities as they work towards end-states.

EM Office of Budget and Planning Director Steve Trischman provided a briefing on the EM budget and how stakeholder input is used. The chairs and vice-chairs received a briefing by Low-Level Waste Disposal Facility Federal Review Group co-chairs Sherri Ross and Justin Marble on DOE’s Radioactive Waste Management program. EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regulatory and Policy Affairs Betsy Connell also provided an update on regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement.

The EM SSAB is considered a single advisory board; however, eight local boards are organized under its umbrella charter, one at each major EM cleanup site. The local boards are the Hanford Advisory Board, Idaho Cleanup Project Citizens Advisory Board (CAB), Northern New Mexico CAB, Nevada SSAB, Oak Ridge SSAB, Savannah River Site CAB, Portsmouth SSAB, and Paducah CAB. These bodies are made up of representative members of local citizens, Native American tribes, and community and public interest groups that provide recommendations to EM on its cleanup program.

-Contributor: Alyssa Harris

EM Field Operations Leader Tours Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

CARLSBAD, N.M. – EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Nicole Nelson-Jean talks to Carlsbad Field Office Deputy (CBFO) Manager Ed Garza during a tour of the underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). In a visit to the site on Oct. 21 and 22, Nelson-Jean met with CBFO Manager Reinhard Knerr to get an update on progress WIPP has made while adapting to challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including receiving an average of five waste shipments a week, maintaining ground control, mining for a new waste disposal panel, and continuing progress on all infrastructure projects. Nelson-Jean also met with community leaders to discuss the future of WIPP.

Nuclear Waste Partnership Capital Infrastructure Manager Steve Smith, left, shows construction progress at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant utility shaft to EM Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations Nicole Nelson-Jean as Robert Crosby, Chief Engineer and Chief of Staff for EM Field Operations, takes notes.

Mapping Out the Future of the Hanford Site

Doug Fenske, left, and Byron Gessel, team members with EM Richland Operations Office contractor Mission Support Alliance, demonstrate the use of location intelligence and mixed reality to locate underground utilities.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA) is rolling out major updates to its use of location intelligence that could change the way work is done at the Hanford Site.

Location intelligence uses geospatial data on roads, facilities, bodies of water and other features to help solve problems, identify efficiencies, and reduce risk. Anyone who has a cellphone, computer, or tablet uses this geospatial information to find where they are going or what is around them. At Hanford, this information is key to making decisions that help guide cleanup progress.

MSA’s Geospatial Information Technology Services (GITS) team recently simplified the process for creating and using interactive maps across the 580-square-mile site. One new feature uses location intelligence and mixed reality, which is a merging of real and virtual worlds, to allow workers to see in real-time and real-space what infrastructure lies beneath the surface, ensuring safer, smarter, and more efficient work.

“It’s exciting to see the improvements location intelligence has brought to the site’s projects and processes,” said Ben Ellison, chief information officer at the Hanford Site. “Almost everything we do at Hanford is tied in some way to location. The convergence and information exchange between the field and the virtual is really helping to underscore how crucial geospatial information systems are to mission success.”

Through the combination of location intelligence and mixed reality, Hanford Site workers are able to use a mobile device to map out underground utilities while in the field, ensuring efficiency and worker safety.

In recent years, one of the biggest challenges was understanding and adjusting to a changing and broadening user base. An example of this is the need for field crews to collect and view geospatial information while they perform their traditional work. Another part of this challenge is changing the general perception about the technical services team from giving general support to providing solutions for nearly all work scopes on the Hanford Site.

“Everyone onsite is now a consumer of geospatial information,” said Jason Altman, MSA GITS program manager. “To account for this, our team has taken a One Hanford approach and collaborated with the other Hanford contractors and work groups to implement a modern site-wide enterprise solution.”

Recent updates to location services focused on streamlining user interfaces, making it easier for workers to explore and use the vast amount of geospatial information created and managed on the Hanford Site. This makes the information easy to understand and access.

Over the next five years, work groups will expand and integrate the use of location intelligence into nearly all work at Hanford.

-Contributor: Patrick Conrad

EM Prepping Experimental Cold War Reactor for Deactivation in Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) is set to begin cleanup of a first-of-a-kind experimental reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

OREM and cleanup subcontractor UCOR are in the planning stages to fully deactivate the Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor for eventual demolition.

UCOR Project Manager Susan Reid noted the benefits of transitioning the workforce from Oak Ridge’s East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), where crews recently completed the first-ever removal of a former uranium enrichment complex, to the experimental reactor project.

“We are taking full advantage of the highly skilled workforce that recently completed cleanup at ETTP. Their familiarity with the hazards, the type of facilities, and lessons learned make them ideal for this work and add cost efficiency to our project,” Reid said.

In 1956, Congress directed the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), which would later become DOE, to build a gas-cooled, graphite-moderated reactor — the first civilian reactor of its kind in the U.S.

Construction of the facility was a result of Congress pushing to keep pace with research advances in Great Britain. The British were working on dual purpose reactors that would produce plutonium for bombs and also generate nuclear power.

The eight-floor, 107,922-square-foot facility at ORNL was intended to be more than an experimental reactor. It was also to be a prototype for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s nuclear power generation. However, in 1965, when the facility was 90-percent complete, the AEC decided to go in another direction and stopped construction.

The reactor was never put into service, but the control, service, and turbine buildings were later used as development space for other research and programs. The facility would go on to house ORNL’s Fuel Recycle Division.

The Experimental Gas-Cooled Reactor is one of 16 inactive research reactor and isotope facilities that OREM is addressing and cleaning up at ORNL. This massive cleanup effort is happening concurrently with other OREM cleanup projects underway at the Y-12 National Security Complex.

OREM’s cleanup at these sites is eliminating risks, enabling modernization, protecting current research and science missions, and opening land for new research and national security facilities.

-Contributor: Susanne Dupes

Team Innovates With Underwater Vacuuming of Spent Fuel Core Resin at SRS

AIKEN, S.C. – Employees at the Savannah River Site (SRS) recently began underwater vacuuming to remove resin from a reactor’s spent nuclear fuel cores.

Removing the resin allows the cores to be sent from the site’s L Basin for processing in H Canyon, moving the L Basin closer to ending its mission as a storage facility.

“In the early ‘90s, resin was deposited on a number of High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) cores during L Area Basin operations,” said Neil McIntosh, L Area facility manager at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor. “The resin deposits rendered the cores unsuitable for dissolution and processing in H Canyon, which is the disposition path for this type of fuel.”

As a result, the site’s spent nuclear program created an innovative method for resin deposit removal while the cores remained underwater to maintain adequate shielding from radiation, McIntosh said.

The HFIR is the highest flux reactor-based source of neutrons for research in the U.S. using highly enriched uranium. The fuel elements, an inner and an outer element, together form a reactor “core.” The reactor is located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Before beginning vacuuming, personnel went through extensive training involving mock fuel and used virtual reality to practice the operation.

“Installation of the vacuum station and the start of vacuuming were completed ahead of schedule, even with the delays associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said McIntosh. “Once the cores are vacuumed clean of resin, they can be sent for further processing in H Canyon.”

At H Canyon, the cores are dissolved in nitric acid and the resulting materials are dispositioned as authorized by DOE.

“Thanks to the innovation of the L Basin team, we are able to clean and process the affected HFIR cores,” DOE Nuclear Materials Senior Technical Advisor Maxcine Maxted said. “Accelerating the de-inventory of L Basin moves us closer to our long-term goals of environmental cleanup.”

All vacuuming of HFIR spent nuclear fuel cores is scheduled for completion by fiscal year 2023.

Spent nuclear fuel is nuclear fuel that has been irradiated in a nuclear reactor. The spent nuclear fuel from the site’s former production reactors, and from foreign and domestic research reactor programs, is safely stored in an underwater storage facility in L Area, called a disassembly basin.

L Basin has concrete walls up to 7 feet thick and holds approximately 3.4 million gallons of water, with pool depths up to 50 feet. The basin water provides shielding to protect workers from radiation. Since 1964, SRS has received more than 2,400 casks containing over 47,500 spent nuclear fuel assemblies.

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren

SRS Implements Innovative Emergency Preparedness Drills During Pandemic

AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site (SRS) has launched innovative methods to ensure emergency preparedness drills continue in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to many employees working remotely.

Traditional emergency drills and exercises involve dozens of employees working in close proximity across the 310-square-mile site. By pivoting to a virtual format during the pandemic, the site’s Emergency Response Organization (ERO) has been able to continue conducting its drills while strengthening its ability to respond to emergencies by implementing methods focused on remote workers and small groups of employees onsite.

“In response to the pandemic, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) took a close look at our capabilities that allow us to respond quickly and effectively to emergencies, along with our ability to deliver results on our projects despite the constraints presented to us by COVID-19,” said Stuart MacVean, president and CEO of SRNS, the site’s management and operations contractor.

The SRNS Emergency Preparedness (EP) organization adapted quickly to COVID-19 constraints, implementing the virtual and small-group facility drills to maintain readiness while protecting the health of SRS employees. Since March, when COVID-19 began to impact site operations, the organization has completed 48 virtual drills and 38 real-time drills at facilities using controls specific to the pandemic.

The SRS EP team also conducted a first-of-a-kind response drill in which the SRS ERO responded from remote locations. The activation demonstrated that SRS emergency management employees can respond effectively to an emergency from remote locations.

The SRS emergency management team delivered online training in advance of that planned activation. A full-scale virtual response drill is scheduled for next year.

The SRS Infectious Disease Response Team, a subset of the SRS ERO, has also been active since March. This team is responsible for directing pandemic response efforts at the site, including case management, protocol development, and supply coordination. The team has been providing necessary information to employees, stakeholders, and the greater public.

The team also set up a “war room” to ramp up daily engagement at the site’s Alternate Emergency Operations Center. According to MacVean, local, regional, and national information and data is provided to the team, which consists of 14 SRS ERO members in the war room and 17 emergency management personnel providing support remotely. In addition, five emergency preparedness coordinators monitor potential COVID-19 cluster areas and draft patient tracking reports.

“SRS employs over 11,000 people. Maintaining a constant state of readiness in a work environment as large as ours is paramount, and our success in this area speaks to our commitment to safety and security,” MacVean said.

The SRS EP organization will continue to host virtual drills, with plans to move to a hybrid model involving virtual and real-time drills in the first quarter of 2021.

The site will reinstate traditional drill protocols post-pandemic. SRS is currently in Phase 1, meaning maximized telework is in place for EM missions.

-Contributor: Angie Benfield

Divers Perform Underwater Maintenance of Fire Water Storage Tank at West Valley

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM and its cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley recently went underwater to clean and inspect a fire water storage tank at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP). EM maintains 460,000 gallons of water in the 40-foot-tall tank in the event of a fire. Trained divers performed repair work after the inspection and cleaning in accordance with National Fire Protection Association requirements, which will increase the life expectancy and viability of the tank for several years. Pictured at the top of the fire water storage tank are divers Nick Bednarz, Mike Smith, and Tom Elstad with BIDCO Marine Group, which supported the WVDP tank inspection.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

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