Reducing the Legacy Footprint: EM Nears Deactivation of F Area Facilities at SRS; Completion of Waste Transporter System Marks Progress Toward Hanford Waste Treatment; and much more!

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EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 6 | Feb. 16, 2021

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Hanford Continues Safety Systems Testing for Waste Treatment Plant

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RICHLAND, Wash.EM Office of River Protection (ORP) contractor Bechtel National, Inc. continues to make progress on testing secondary safety systems installed to prevent situations that could potentially harm the Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), workers, or the environment. The WTP team has completed testing on six of the 37 systems, called safety instrumented functions (SIFs), in the plant’s Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility. The testing demonstrates that hardware and software in these systems work together and function correctly — an important step before handing over safety systems to plant management for commissioning. Included in the testing was a system that detects a potential large leak of steam and isolates the steam inside the LAW Facility to protect safety equipment. The WTP team expects to complete tests on all 37 SIFs and turn over the systems to support commissioning by the end of this fiscal year.

-Contributor: George Rangel



Oak Ridge Contractor Highlights Initiatives to Attract Next-Generation Workforce

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UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter was joined by UCOR employees Cheyanna Hawn, left, and Anna Summers in a recent virtual presentation to the Energy Communities Alliance. The hour-long session focused on workforce development best practices.


OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Ken Rueter, president and CEO of Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR, led a virtual presentation recently to the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) highlighting partnerships and programs that help train and attract the next-generation workforce to advance cleanup at the site.

Two UCOR employees joined Rueter to share their stories of how those partnerships and program benefited their careers. Watch a video about the virtual presentation here. 

UCOR’s workforce development initiatives and partnerships with labor unions have been the backbone of EM’s environmental cleanup success on the Oak Ridge Reservation, Rueter said in the presentation to ECA, an organization of local governments adjacent to or impacted by DOE activities.

“We collaborate with national and local union leaders on initiatives to continue to ensure a pipeline of trained metal trades and craft construction personnel for cleanup work in Oak Ridge,” Rueter said. “That relationship is critical to our joint success in the region.”


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View this video to learn more about UCOR’s virtual presentation to the Energy Communities Alliance and its partnerships and programs that help prepare the next-generation workforce at Oak Ridge.


UCOR laborer Cheyanna Hawn is a graduate of the East Tennessee Apprenticeship Readiness Program. She talked about how participating in UCOR’s apprenticeship program impacted her professionally and personally.

That program provides a gateway for local residents to gain access to apprenticeship programs. Classes are offered through the North America’s Building Trades Unions, which sponsors similar training nationwide.

A UCOR employee of three years, Hawn has worked on EM cleanup projects at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) and the Y-12 National Security Complex. She says her career at Oak Ridge has been positive for her and her family.

“I’m a single mom, and I didn’t have a lot of steadiness about my life,” Hawn said. “It’s been a very positive experience for me. I have two children, and they get to know that mom goes to work, and they know that I feel like I’m doing something important and helping my community.”

Hawn added, “I’m just really happy for the time I’ve spent at UCOR. It has changed my life.”

To prepare students for careers in chemical operations, UCOR also sponsors a chemical engineering technology program at the nearby Roane State Community College. Four students from the inaugural class were selected for UCOR internships and offered employment as chemical operators at the company after they concluded their internships.

Anna Summers, a native of the region, is an example of the success of that program. She started her career as an apprentice with UCOR while in college and went on to earn an associate’s degree in chemical engineering technology from Roane State Community College. After graduation, she was hired full time by UCOR as a chemical process operator to support cleanup projects at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

“I’ve had a great experience. It made it real easy, being a college student, and then being able to start a college apprenticeship program, and then a graduate,” Summers said. “Now I have a full-time job, it’s been really great.”

The commitment by DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management and UCOR to collaborate with labor, develop the workforce, embrace diversity, and continue education has led to historic cleanup achievements at ETTP and is creating new opportunities for success associated with future cleanup at Y-12 and ORNL.

-Contributor: Scott Boyle



Subcontractor to Support Radioactive Capsules Transfer to Dry Storage at Hanford

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EM Richland Operations Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently selected a subcontractor to continue to modify the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) and install new equipment needed to transfer nearly 2,000 highly radioactive capsules to safer interim dry storage. In earlier progress at the critical risk-reduction project, other Hanford workers have completed a mock-up of the key parts of WESF that will be used to transfer capsules to dry storage casks. The mock-up will be used for testing, training, and procedure development for the workers in support of the capsule transfer project.


RICHLAND, Wash.EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) recently selected a subcontractor to continue work on the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) at the Hanford Site and install equipment needed to transfer nearly 2,000 highly radioactive capsules from a water-filled basin to safer interim dry storage.

CPCCo is managing the project and has awarded a $9.5 million construction subcontract to Apollo Mechanical Contractors Inc.

Apollo will have two tasks: complete the necessary structural and utility-related modifications to WESF and install the new cask storage system. These modifications will enable the safe transfer of the capsules from the basin to engineered stainless steel and concrete casks for dry storage.

Once filled, the casks will then be transported to a nearby capsule storage area. Transferring the capsules from the WESF basin to dry storage reduces the risk of a radioactive release in the unlikely event of loss of water from the basin.

“While the 1,936 cesium and strontium capsules are currently in safe storage, WESF is an aging facility,” said Gary Pyles, RL project manager. “Moving the capsules will enable the planned deactivation of WESF and will reduce the risk and significantly reduce the annual costs for storing the capsules.”

The project team has already made key progress over the past few months, pouring the concrete foundation for the new capsule storage area near WESF and completing construction of a full-scale mock-up that replicates WESF’s G Cell, canyon, and truck port through which the cesium and strontium capsules will be transferred. The mock-up allows workers to safely train, test equipment, and develop procedures before performing the work in a radiological environment.

“The award of this contract gets us another step closer to completing the project and enabling the safe transfer and packaging of the capsules,” said Bob Nichols, CPCCo inner area end states director. “My team looks forward to working with Apollo to continue to move this critical risk-reduction project forward.”

The capsule transfer project is expected to be completed by 2025.

-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann



Safety Goes High-Tech at New SRS Facility

AIKEN, S.C.EM is employing 3D laser scanning to further ensure safety and accuracy in work at the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) at the Savannah River Site (SRS).
The 3D scanning will allow EM’s liquid waste contractors at SRS to use virtual reality tools to bolster the safety of operations, engineering, maintenance, training, and other functions at the new facility.
At the heart of this technology is a state-of-the-art 3D laser scanner used to scan the SWPF processing areas, particularly those restricting human entry following the start of radiological operations initiated in early October.
The scans have been combined in a software program to produce 3D virtual models of those locations, many of which are posted as radiation or contamination areas. The images can be used to plan repairs, upgrades, general maintenance, and other tasks.
Jim Folk, EM’s assistant manager for waste disposition at SRS, said the modeling tool is an example of efforts being made to help workers do the job well and do it safely.
"Performing every job safely at SRS is always our priority," Folk said.

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Defense Waste Processing Facility Crane Manager Robbie Robinson uses 3D virtual reality equipment to view images from inside the Salt Waste Processing Facility.


The training staff at liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation (SRR) has played a key role in the scanning project.

Wesley Hightower, the training technologies team lead, oversaw a three-month effort to photograph or "map" the target SWPF process areas by strategically repositioning and relocating the scanner to capture a full 360-degree view.

Those scanned images were then combined using specialized software. The team’s efforts led to producing a catalog of 3D views of the facility process areas sealed from human entry — a valuable tool when training new personnel on SWPF's long-term operations and maintenance activities.

Use of virtual reality is part of an overall effort to make training more compelling for workers and promote active learning. The modeling program can also assist planning efforts by engineers tasked with upgrading the facility in the future, as well as provide unusual views of SWPF's inner workings for the public by way of virtual tours.

Keith Harp, SRR's project integration manager for SWPF, said virtual reality will be an invaluable tool for workers.

"Many of the site's engineers and maintenance workers have never seen the inside of SWPF," Harp said. "These images will enable them to acquaint themselves with specific rooms and affected equipment inside the facility, allowing them to analyze the situation, which gives them a step ahead for any repairs or replacements that might be needed. We feel this tool will not only improve their safety in those operations, but also enhance their efficiency."

SWPF is currently operated by Parsons Corporation, which also designed and constructed the facility. Parsons will continue to operate the facility during its first year of operation.

Mike Pittman is the vice president of nuclear operations and SWPF project manager at Parsons, as well as a supporter of the use of technology to strengthen efforts inside the facility.

“Virtual reality is quickly becoming an invaluable technological tool, especially in relation to one-of-a-kind facilities like SWPF,” Pittman said. “Their use gives workers a step up on effectiveness and safety.”

-Contributor: Jim Beasley



Rock Climbing Lured Engineer to the West, Cleanup Project Keeps Him There

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Christopher Graham, calcine retrieval project lead design engineer for EM contractor Fluor Idaho, operates a riser positioning tool with a joystick at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.


IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – After earning engineering degrees from Cornell University, Christopher Graham left the east coast for the Rocky Mountains to advance his interest in rock climbing. He got a job in Spokane, Washington, and climbed on the weekends.
Later, Graham’s girlfriend was hired by an Idaho Falls engineering firm, and Graham moved with her. He got a job and worked as a subcontract engineer to EM contractor Fluor Idaho at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site.
“As soon as I had a job opening, I knew I had to hire Chris,” Fluor Idaho Calcine Retrieval Project Manager Howard Forsythe said. “He did such a great job for us as a subcontractor.”
Graham continued rock climbing in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, spending many weekends in an area called the Fins in the mountains bordering the INL Site. One day, however, he badly shattered his ankle, which significantly damped his passion for rock climbing.
During his three years on the Calcine Retrieval Project, Graham, 29, has designed and demonstrated several technologies that will be used to retrieve and transfer 220 cubic meters of a granulated, high-level waste called calcine remaining from the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center’s spent nuclear fuel reprocessing mission. The calcine will be transferred from one storage bin set to another, after which, the bin set will be closed under federal regulations.

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Christopher Graham, calcine retrieval project lead design engineer for EM contractor Fluor Idaho, adjusts settings on an access riser positioning system, which is used to hold a length of pipe in place for welding on top of a bin set. The riser will be used to insert equipment into the bin set for calcine retrieval at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.


Graham’s work includes design and development of a wall-climbing robot capable of carrying heavy loads and operating in a high-radiation environment. He also conceived a strategy and designed much of the necessary equipment for remotely installing access riser pipes onto the calcine bin sets, helped develop a robotic articulating arm, and has been closely involved with the design of many other systems crucial to calcine retrieval.

Graham said it is that type of work that keeps him interested in working for EM.

“It’s fairly rare to find a project with this much opportunity to develop things from scratch,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of freedom to do the things that we think are necessary for the project.”

Forsythe said Graham has thrived in that environment.

“His work so far has displayed creativity and initiative, and we anticipate that he will continue to be a valuable asset for our project for quite some time,” he said.

Since joining the Calcine Retrieval Project, Graham has been promoted to a supervisory position. He is the technical lead for the design team, which still allows him to do what he loves — develop and test innovative technologies.

The Calcine Retrieval Project is a crucial project for the Idaho Cleanup Project. All 4,400 cubic meters of calcine must be retrieved from six bin sets and ready to leave the state by 2035 in compliance with the 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement.

Despite his diminished interest in climbing, Graham moved to Pocatello to be near miles of mountain biking and hiking trails near his home.

It’s just the kind of scenery and solitude a young engineer needs to keep his creative mind active.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Editor's note: In an occasional series, EM Update profiles early career professionals across the EM complex.

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