Key Risk-Reduction Work Resumes at Hanford Site’s 324 Building; SRS Moves Closer to Accelerating Removal of Plutonium from South Carolina; and much more!

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EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 13 | April 6, 2021

Key Risk-Reduction Work Resumes at Hanford Site’s 324 Building
SRS Moves Closer to Accelerating Removal of Plutonium from South Carolina
WIPP Contractor Donation Helps Students Explore Careers in 3D Printing
EM Removes Tritium Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Team Completes Nearly 5,500 Procedures for Hanford Plant Operations
Visual Changes Take Shape at Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant
Radiation Monitoring Program for WIPP Area Residents Nears 25 Years of Services

Key Risk-Reduction Work Resumes at Hanford Site’s 324 Building

Key to protecting workers as they work safely inside the Hanford Site’s 324 Building has been several months of training on procedures for putting on and removing personal protective equipment in a mock-up of the building. Workers helped develop the training and procedures.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) recently resumed key risk-reduction activities to prepare to remove contaminated soil under Hanford’s 324 Building.

The building supported research on highly radioactive materials during operations from 1966 to 1996. Removing the contaminated soil is a priority in Hanford’s risk-reduction mission and will allow for safe demolition of the facility.

“As Hanford continues to advance these and other elements of its risk-reduction mission, the safety of the workforce will continue to be paramount,” said Mark French, RL federal project director. “Lower-hazard work has gone safely and smoothly, and workers are preparing to resume drilling foundation supports under a shielded containment area in the building where we’ll excavate the soil through the floor.”

Check out this video to learn more about new safety protocols as work on the Hanford Site’s 324 Building resumes.

The prep work marks the first significant progress-focused tasks since the project was paused in November 2019 after a series of low-level contamination occurrences inside the facility. A key component of the enhanced safety protocols is improved processes for putting on and removing personal protective equipment that safeguards workers from contamination.

Workers have trained on the new process at a mock-up of the 324 Building over the past several months. The mock-up helps employees train safely and test equipment and procedures before performing work in a radiological environment.

“The 324 team has done a great job of working together to develop, test, and implement improved processes to ensure the work can be done safely,” said Rob Cantwell, director of CPCCo’s Outer Area End States project. “We have a highly skilled team continuously working together to ensure this important and hazardous work moves forward safely to completion.”

-Contributor: Rochelle Juette

SRS Moves Closer to Accelerating Removal of Plutonium from South Carolina

Crews move equipment used to inspect drums holding radioactive material into a storage site in K Area at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM workers at the Savannah River Site (SRS) are setting the stage to accelerate the removal and disposal of plutonium from South Carolina.

They recently finished transferring equipment used to inspect drums holding the radioactive material from the site’s Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF) to the K Area Criticality Control Overpack Characterization and Storage Pad. Characterization and shipping activities will be consolidated at that storage facility.

“The transfer of this equipment was no easy task,” DOE Nuclear Materials Senior Technical Advisor Maxcine Maxted said. “Weighing over 70,000 pounds and at 40 feet long, many departments had to be involved in the safe transport.”

Maxted said moving the equipment to K Area will allow SRS to eliminate the step of sending the drums to SWMF for characterization and shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico for final disposition.

“Now we can perform both of those tasks right from K Area, making the process more efficient,” Maxted said.

The relocated equipment includes an X-ray system that enables operators to inspect the contents of drums without opening them. The drums were developed to safely package and transport materials such as the downblended plutonium in the K Area that goes to WIPP for disposition. The downblended plutonium has been determined to be surplus to the nation’s defense needs.

“WIPP has specific standards for the type of materials allowed in their underground repository,” DOE-Savannah River Waste Disposition Programs Division Director Sonitza Blanco said. “The examination is performed under the certified Central Characterization Program, which is managed by the personnel from the managing and operating contractor of WIPP, Nuclear Waste Partnership. It verifies and validates that the waste within each container matches the documentation provided by SRS and that it does not contain any WIPP prohibited items.”

Following the inspection, employees ensure the contents of the drums are within radioactive limits. Next, the drums are certified for shipment to WIPP and loaded into a larger sealed container before leaving K Area.

The K Area storage facility will add capacity to store over 3,800 drums awaiting shipment. Construction is scheduled for completion later this year. After the storage facility is complete, DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will conduct regulatory reviews prior to WIPP authorizing the first shipment planned for 2022.

Workers also have completed extensive facility modifications and equipment upgrades at K Area to perform plutonium downblend more efficiently.

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren

WIPP Contractor Donation Helps Students Explore Careers in 3D Printing

Engineering student Moises Trevino checks on the status of a chain being printed in the New Mexico State University Carlsbad engineering laboratory.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – A donation by the EM Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s primary contractor is helping students at New Mexico State University’s Carlsbad campus prepare for an intriguing future in the technology and manufacturing sectors.

Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) donated a 3D printer, an evolving technology that started as a way to make a prototype of a computerized design but has evolved into a technology that can produce stronger, lighter, customizable products in multiple fields.

Moises Trevino, a first-year engineering student at the university, said he has been able to use the 3D printer to experiment with printing parts for face shields and other products to learn about the manufacturing process.

The technology behind 3D printing was invented in the 1980s, started to mature around 10 years ago, and continues today as companies and individuals dream up new ways of putting it to use.

Engineering Professor Jamil Al-Nouman demonstrates a nut-and-bolt assembly printed on New Mexico State University Carlsbad’s 3D printer. The components are printed as one unit, demonstrating the capabilities behind the technology. The college is using 3D printing as an additional training tool to prepare students for upcoming opportunities in the technology and manufacturing sectors.

According to Trevino, who is also a student assistant in a university laboratory, the ability to print out a prototype allows students to experiment and determine issues such as stress points and how to strengthen them, resulting in a better overall product.

Trevino noted the process saves time and money before a product moves to full-scale manufacturing. The design of an object is created using software and transferred to a 3D printer. The printer creates a 3D product by adding layer upon layer of material until the final product is shaped. That is why 3D printing also is known as additive manufacturing, versus traditional subtractive manufacturing where a part is machined from a larger piece of material.

The 3D printing is actually a catch-all term that covers a group of additive manufacturing technologies and processes. There are 10 different methods of printing that are used depending on the product needed.

Modern technology allows 3D printing to be used to print everything from organs, such as scaffolds for lungs and hands; car parts; aerospace parts; and even homes can be printed in about 24 hours.

Materials for different products can range from plastic to fiberglass, powders, filaments, and concrete. An added advantage of this method is that some processes allow for products to be recycled.

-Contributor: Khushroo Ghadiali

EM Removes Tritium Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM crews have completed demolition on a contaminated 1960s-era building at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), opening land that DOE can reuse for future missions.

With the Tritium Target Preparation Facility removed, crews can address the soils and substructures associated with the building. The cleanup effort eliminated several contaminated areas, allowing for a transformation in a location that can support the Department in the years ahead.

“This project was a win for our program in several ways,” said Nathan Felosi, the laboratory’s portfolio federal project director for the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM). “We were able to eliminate a contaminated facility that has not been operational in over 30 years, and we found opportunities for small businesses to advance our progress at ORNL.”

A view of the Tritium Target Preparation Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory prior to demolition. The building was constructed in 1968 and had not been operational since 1990.

The Tritium Target Preparation Facility was demolished in late March. The project eliminated a contaminated 1960s-era building and opens land that DOE can reuse for future missions.

The Tritium Target Preparation Facility, also known as Building 7025, was constructed in 1968 and operated until 1990, producing tritium targets for nuclear operations. The facility was deactivated in 1997 and all of its systems were left in place. The general work area around the structure was identified as a contamination area due to the tritium present inside the building.

Small businesses supporting EM’s cleanup performed characterization and demolition of the facility. GEM Technologies conducted the preliminary characterization while CTI and Associates, Inc. led efforts to demolish the structure and remove, package, transport, and dispose the building’s equipment and debris. Characterization is a process to determine the types and levels of contamination in and around a facility to support work planning, worker safety, and waste management.

OREM is identifying tasks — like those completed at the Tritium Target Preparation Facility — in which small businesses can accomplish work and advance cleanup while its prime cleanup contractor UCOR conducts larger projects with more complexity and longer schedules, such as deactivating former research reactors.

-Contributor: Ben Williams

Team Completes Nearly 5,500 Procedures for Hanford Plant Operations

A recent aerial view of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant shows key facilities that will treat Hanford Site tank waste. The EM contractor team for the plant recently finished developing nearly 5,500 procedures required for operations.

RICHLAND, Wash. – An EM Office of River Protection (ORP) contractor team has finished creating almost 5,500 step-by-step procedures required for operation of Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) systems and facilities needed for Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach to tank waste treatment.

The team of prime contractor Bechtel National, Inc. and subcontractor Waste Treatment Completion Company (WTCC) developed the bulk of the procedures for 119 systems, with 37 abnormal operating procedures and six emergency operating procedures covering potential events such as high winds, wildfire, or security issues.

DFLAW is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together to vitrify, or immobilize within glass, Hanford tank waste.

“Completing operating procedures is the catalyst for training plant staff before we start up the first melter in the Low-Activity Waste Facility,” said Mat Irwin, ORP deputy assistant manager for the plant. “This accomplishment makes it possible for the training department to develop scenarios and train operations staff; the commissioning team to develop work packages; and the operations team to follow procedures for running systems and managing the plant.”

A pair of 300-ton melters will use electricity to heat tank waste and glass-forming materials to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. The molten mixture will be poured into large stainless-steel containers that will be sealed and transported to Hanford’s nearby Integrated Disposal Facility.

The WTCC Technical Procedures Department is a group of 35 experienced writers who work with teams across the plant to review and approve procedures. The department’s collaboration with engineering, operations, safety, and many other departments was key to continuously improving and issuing the procedures on time.

“Most of our team has both U.S. Navy and commercial nuclear experience,” said Shavon Asselin, WTCC operations procedures manager. “Their experience played a major role in completing this goal. I'm proud to be a part of such a driven and talented team.”

The WTP facilities can be viewed using the self-guided Hanford Virtual Tour.

-Contributor: Sheila Gideon

Visual Changes Take Shape at Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant

RICHLAND, Wash. – Physical progress is visible at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) as EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) moves closer to treating millions of gallons of Hanford Site tank waste. Workers recently took down scaffolding used in startup testing around large vessels in the plant’s Effluent Management Facility (EMF). Startup testing is performed after construction and before commissioning. The EMF is a key facility in the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach, a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated as a program, that must operate together successfully to vitrify, or immobilize Hanford’s low-activity tank waste in glass. The EMF will treat liquid secondary waste, called effluent, generated by melters and the off-gas treatment system in the WTP Low-Activity Waste Facility.

-Contributor: Staci West

Radiation Monitoring Program for WIPP Area Residents Nears 25 Years of Services

A Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center employee prepares a Carlsbad resident to undergo a full-body count using state-of-the-art equipment purchased with funds from DOE.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – Monitoring the environment for radiation can include many things, such as air, water, and soil. However, one key element that at times can be overlooked is people.

For those who live within a 100-mile radius of EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC) offers a free program that measures internal radiation called “Lie Down and Be Counted.”

CEMRC is a division of the New Mexico State University College of Engineering. In 1997, the center established an internal dosimetry facility, which uses a state-of-the-art whole-body counting system that can measure the body’s burden of radioactive elements at extremely low levels. DOE helped fund the program’s equipment.

By the time the first waste shipment arrived at WIPP, CEMRC had performed lung and whole-body counting services for more than 350 people living within a 100-mile radius of the WIPP site to establish a baseline for later comparison.

More than 600 people have been counted since WIPP became operational. The center has reported that comparisons of radiological activities have revealed no significant differences between those groups, indicating that waste disposal activities have had no measurable radiological impact on the health of local residents.

CEMRC continues to accept new people into the program, which can help provide a sense of security for concerned citizens. The first visit provides a count known as a baseline bioassay.

“We get the level of radiation in their bodies and then annually they come in. It’s kind of like a checkup,” said Rico Vallejo, a CEMRC research engineer.

So, how does it work? To make it short and simple, participants come in, lie down, and be counted, just as the project title states.

The process begins with filling out the necessary paperwork and watching a video before changing into scrubs to start the test. Volunteers are measured for weight and height before they are placed onto beds to begin the 30-minute count.

While the participants wait for the test to be completed, staff members are there to make them as comfortable as possible and are more than willing to play their favorite music. Once the tests are finished, staff members go over the results with the volunteers. Each participant contributes to scientific research conducted by the center.

WIPP employees are among those being counted at the facility.

“We are happy to work with WIPP to provide this service to not only their employees but also to the residents of the local area,” CEMRC Technical Director Punam Thakur said.

-Contributor: Maelene Soto

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