EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 24 | June 22, 2021

• Sustained Collaborations Drive EM’s Progress in 2021, White Says
• New SRS Facility Supports Removal of Plutonium From South Carolina
• New Panel for Waste Emplacement Takes Shape at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
• Idaho Site’s Largest Building Moves Closer to Closure
• Moab Increases Efficiency, Shipping More Waste on Each Train
• Training Program Boosts Workforce Readiness in Oak Ridge
• New Hanford Facility for Craft Workers to Improve Safety, Efficiency
• West Valley to Resume Waste Shipments by Train Following Upgrades to Rail Line
• Fleet Devices Promote Safety, Efficient Vehicle Performance at Hanford

Sustained Collaborations Drive EM’s Progress in 2021, White Says

Successful collaborations have fueled EM’s progress over the past 18 months, enabling a series of achievements while emphasizing health and safety protections during the COVID-19 pandemic, Acting Assistant Secretary William “Ike” White told members of the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG) during its annual meeting earlier this month.

During the virtual gathering, White outlined EM’s accomplishments over the past year, including processing more than 1 million gallons of tank waste at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, successful demolition of the Biology Complex at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and significant progress on the tank waste mission at Hanford in Washington state.

Most impressive, White said, was that the EM program was able to work together with its contractors to accomplish these milestones while protecting the workforce during the pandemic.

To build on momentum, EM has laid out ambitious goals for the upcoming year. White said EM aligns with a number of the new administration’s top priorities, such as protecting the environment, promoting environmental justice, and building a diverse workforce.

White noted that President Biden’s fiscal 2022 budget request for EM emphasizes this alignment.

“This is the largest administration request for Environmental Management that I can recall,” White said. “The budget is a very clear statement by the administration that they prioritize the EM program.”

Acting Assistant Secretary William “Ike” White

Looking ahead, EM plans to make significant headway at sites across the country. The program intends to advance the tank waste mission at Hanford, complete processing of 6 million gallons of tank waste at SRS, and progress toward startup of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the DOE Idaho National Laboratory Site.

The program will also continue to drive deactivation and demolition efforts at various sites, including demolition of the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York and continued cleanup at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 in Oak Ridge.

While EM moves forward with demolitions at some sites, it is investing in upgrades at others, according to White. For instance, infrastructure upgrades at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico will secure the site’s ability to support DOE legacy waste cleanup for years to come.

The program continues to employ its end state contracting model with contracts recently awarded at Hanford and the Idaho Cleanup Project, and others expected this year. EM will evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the model, which calls for cleanup work to be carried out through a series of negotiated task orders that aim to get projects to completion faster and more efficiently without sacrificing safety.

EM will also consider lessons learned from the telework experience prompted by COVID-19 as the program tackles its goals for the year.

“That sort of out-of-the-box thinking is something we can translate going forward,” White said.

New SRS Facility Supports Removal of Plutonium From South Carolina

The new K Area Characterization and Storage Pad at the Savannah River Site has the capacity to hold 3,800 Criticality Control Overpack drums while they await shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for permanent disposal.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM workers have placed the first drum inside a new facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) to support the interim storage, characterization, and shipment of plutonium for permanent disposal.

Completion of the National Nuclear Security Admininstration-funded facility, known as the K Area Characterization and Storage Pad, is an accomplishment that will support the removal of plutonium from South Carolina.

Plutonium is downblended in the site’s K Area Complex glovebox in a process that mixes plutonium oxide with a multicomponent adulterant to enable DOE to meet requirements for shipping plutonium to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico for disposal.

Next, the plutonium is packaged in Criticality Control Overpack (CCO) drums and stored on the pad until it is characterized and ready to be received at WIPP. The pad also contains equipment to load drums into larger shipping containers on a shipping transport vehicle.

Members of the Savannah River Site K Area Characterization and Storage Pad team and their management celebrate the delivery of the first Criticality Control Overpack drum to the pad. From left are Brian Whitlow, K Area nuclear material control and accountability lead; Janice Lawson, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) deputy vice president of environmental management (EM) operations; Michael Mickolanis, DOE assistant manager for nuclear material stabilization; Chris Amos, SRNS security; Larry Lee, SRNS security; Geoff Hendrick, K Area Storage and Characterization Pad program manager; Lee Sims, K Area Complex Facility manager; James Rowell, SRNS security; Toby Phillips, SRNS security; Amanda Barnes, K Area Complex deputy facility manager; Jim McKeon, SRNS security; Virginia Kay, director, National Nuclear Security Administration Office of Material Disposition; and Wyatt Clark, SRNS senior vice president of EM operations.

“Initially the pad will add the capacity to store over 3,800 CCO drums while awaiting shipment,” said Geoff Hendrick, the K Area Storage and Characterization Pad project manager for SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. “The first shipment is planned for March 2022.”

In the past, all waste shipped to WIPP was characterized in the SRS Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF), located several miles away from K Area. A large piece of characterization equipment was transferred from SWMF to the pad in December 2020 to prepare for the characterization process.

Additional characterization equipment has also been procured and installed on the pad. This equipment will be used by WIPP contractors to verify and validate that the waste within each container matches documentation provided by SRS and that it does not contain any items prohibited by WIPP before shipment out of South Carolina.

“By being able to store, characterize, and ship the material directly from the pad, we are eliminating the step of sending the material to SWMF to verify the material is safe to ship. With the pad in operation, that same verification can now be done in the area where the material is packaged and stored. This saves time and resources and allows for more efficient mission execution,” Hendrick said. 

“Despite many unavoidable challenges throughout the project, such as weather delays and a global pandemic, the SRNS project team remained committed to completing the characterization and storage pad construction safely and within cost and schedule constraints. This focus was clearly demonstrated by the project manager. This new storage facility is an important step in progressing the nonproliferation mission of the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),” said Bill Wabbersen, with NNSA’s Office of Materials Management & Minimization. “This impressive project is just one of the ways SRS helps make the world safer.”

-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren

New Panel for Waste Emplacement Takes Shape at Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

A map of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground, with a focus on Panels 7 and 8 at right.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – By any measure, the amount of salt mined so far in Panel 8 at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a lot, comparable in weight to more than 46,000 Ford F-150s, about 16,000 African bush elephants, nearly 510 Boeing 747s, two Titanics, or enough to coat the rims of 3.6 million margarita glasses.

Creating a panel is a process honed by more than 30 years of experience in the underground. Miners working 2,150 feet underground extract salt to create space to emplace defense-related transuranic waste, using machines known as continuous miners to chew through and haul away 8 to 10 tons of rock per minute.

A continuous miner chews up salt rock in Panel 8 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

With WIPP’s Panel 8 scheduled for completion in a little over half a year, crews recently crossed the 100,000 tons mined threshold and as of mid-June are at 105,000 tons.

Lowering the floor is the final piece of mining in the panel, which consists of two drifts, or passageways, for air flow with seven rooms between them, making the layout look like a ladder. Each room is 33 feet wide, 16 feet high, and 300 feet long, equivalent to a football field from goal line to goal line.

“It may seem counterintuitive to dig down to get more height, but it’s the way we have traditionally created the panels,” WIPP mining manager David Sjomeling said.

WIPP practices “just in time” mining; Panel 8 will be ready about two months before Panel 7 is filled and sealed. It’s planned that way because salt “creeps,” or moves, 2 to 4 inches per year and begins to close the excavated space.

Panel 7 has 1.5 rooms remaining to be filled. Once Panel 7 is full, scheduled for around May 2022, bulkheads will seal the panel and waste emplacement will move to Panel 8.

Using laser devices for precise measurements, crews use a continuous miner machine to cut 8 to 10 tons of salt per minute, which is taken away by haul trucks to the salt hoist’s collector, known as a grizzly. From there, salt is carried to the surface to waiting 40-ton haul trucks that deposit the salt to the north of the site.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant teams use lasers to guide the cutting of salt in the underground, but sometimes a return to basics double-checks the work as an employee uses tape measure.

A salt-haul truck makes a tight turn into Panel 8 for another load of mined salt at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

The “rough cut” that creates the panel’s outline is followed by the first round of bolting to stabilize salt movement, then the ribs, or walls, are cut to their final dimensions.

The rough cut’s first pass is limited to about 9 feet by the reach of the miner’s rotating cutting head. The second finishing pass cuts from the floor, taking the floor-to-ceiling, or back, height from 9 to 16 feet.

There is a stark difference between the first “rough cut” of Panel 8 rooms and the second “floor cut” by the continuous miner at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

An electric-powered continuous miner machine is shown at rest in Panel 8 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant after cutting the floor to its final height. The machine, using its movable head and sharp teeth, can mine 8 to 10 tons per minute.

Floor mining is set to be finished in August. After that, the panel will be outfitted with power, lights, continuous air monitors, volatile organic compound monitors, mine phones, and bulkheads, which control airflow. That work is tentatively slated to be done by February.

-Contributor: Roy Neese

Idaho Site’s Largest Building Moves Closer to Closure

Comparable in size to more than five football fields, the Transuranic Storage Area/Retrieval Enclosure is the largest building at the DOE Idaho National Laboratory Site.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – With EM’s mission completed in major sections of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site’s largest building, workers have emptied those areas to prepare them for closure under federal and state regulations.

At more than 316,000 square feet, the Transuranic Storage Area/Retrieval Enclosure (TSA/RE) is comparable in size to more than five football fields. It contained Cold War weapons waste for decades.

Remaining barrels and boxes of waste, heavy equipment, and metal debris were removed from the facility, which is part of the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project’s (AMWTP) complex. Personnel with EM INL Site cleanup contractor Fluor Idaho are removing the asphalt floor of the building and will dispose of the material at an on-site landfill.

In addition to removing more than 5,000 waste containers from the TSA/RE, crews demolished two inner contamination enclosures, which are soft-sided buildings with extensive air filtration for repackaging large, contaminated items. They also decontaminated three forklifts so they can be used elsewhere. In the last two decades, more than 100,000 waste containers have been removed from the facility.

The TSA/RE, about 7 acres in size, was built over an above-ground waste storage pad used from 1970 until the late 1980s to store waste generated from the Rocky Flats Plant near Denver and other waste generators during the height of the Cold War.

A view of the interior of the 316,000-square-foot Transuranic Storage Area/Retrieval Enclosure, which will soon be closed under federal and state regulations.

While the pad was in use, waste was periodically covered with soil, which was compacted with heavy equipment. Once the TSA/RE was erected over the soil berm, crews exhumed, characterized, treated, repackaged, certified, and shipped the waste out of Idaho for permanent disposal. Crews retrieved the last waste from the berm in early 2017 but continued to use sections of the TSA/RE for characterization, repackaging, and storage.

Under the closure strategy for the AMWTP, the TSA/RE will be the first building closed under the first phase. The north end of the building will be demolished to make way for a drainage canal that will channel water from the nearby 97-acre Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA), which will be capped with native rocks and soil.

The second and third phases involve the closure of the treatment facility, associated buildings, and remaining AMWTP buildings once the inventory of transuranic and low-level waste is shipped out of state for disposal. Off-site shipments of the remaining waste are expected to continue through 2028 based on the current schedule.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Moab Increases Efficiency, Shipping More Waste on Each Train

EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project has acquired a 39th railcar for the project train at the Moab Site, pictured here on the right, enabling the shipment of more tailings each week to a disposal facility at Crescent Junction, Utah.

MOAB, Utah – EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project surpassed its own record, once again, recently completing its largest weekly shipment to date by transporting 21,092 tons of uranium mill tailings to the Crescent Junction disposal cell.

The achievement was supported by the addition of a new railcar to the train, enabling EM to ship, on average, an additional 540 tons each week. Prior to adding a new railcar, the project was shipping an average of 20,300 tons each week.

The project continually looks for ways to increase efficiency and reduce cost. EM, the Moab Site remedial action contractor North Wind Portage, and Union Pacific, the rail transportation provider, worked together to evaluate loading, unloading, and transportation processes. After some minor rail improvements at the Crescent Junction Site and fine-tuning operations at both Crescent Junction and Moab, the project was able to add a 39th railcar to the train. Each railcar can carry up to four intermodal containers. 

Mill tailings are a sand-like material that remain from processing uranium ore. The tailings are
excavated from the former mill site at Moab, and shipped to the Crescent Junction disposal cell about 30 miles north. Workers place and cap the tailings with a multi-layered cover composed of native soils and rock.

Over the last two and a half years, the Moab Project has added 20 containers to the train. These incremental changes add up. Twenty containers equate to more than 35,000 tons of waste that can be shipped in a year’s time, making a significant impact to the project’s lifecycle.

“The coordination and effort that goes into making these types of improvements are considerable and it takes a multitude of people to ensure successful execution,” Moab Project Manager Greg Church said. “Safely increasing production at this point in time is a great accomplishment and a testament to the quality of our personnel.”

Federal Cleanup Director Russell McCallister commended the project team for helping advance EM’s cleanup.

“The project crew has once again outdone themselves. The tenacity demonstrated by squeezing another railcar on the space-limited rail bench is nothing short of amazing,” McCallister said. “Working together to overcome obstacles and transforming the way we do the work distinguishes this crew as one of the best in the business.”

-Contributor: Honora Thompson

Training Program Boosts Workforce Readiness in Oak Ridge

Graduates of the most recent radiation protection technician class at Oak Ridge, pictured with class instructors. All 20 participants passed the certification exam.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – A new chapter of cleanup is underway at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), a massive endeavor requiring EM to maintain its existing workforce while preparing new skilled workers for the challenges ahead.

EM Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR is ensuring employees are trained to advance cleanup. Most recently, the contractor administered training to workers who will provide radiation protection support to numerous projects in the field.

“With decades of environmental cleanup remaining in Oak Ridge, companies like ours will continue to need a well-trained, highly-skilled workforce,” said Ken Rueter, UCOR president and CEO. “The goal is to ensure that an adequately trained workforce is ready to meet the challenges and demands of future cleanup on the Oak Ridge Reservation. To the extent possible, we want to draw workers from the local community.”

This month, UCOR’s second radiation protection technician class graduated 20 people who successfully completed the 13-week course. The first class, which also had 20 graduates, completed its training in December.

Chris Jones, UCOR training cadre manager, teaches Oak Ridge’s future radiation protection technicians. The 13-week course features classroom, on-the-job, virtual reality, and simulated training environments for students to achieve proficiency.

Most of those participants are new to Oak Ridge’s environmental cleanup, while a smaller portion entered the training program from labor and craft positions that had been supporting various cleanup efforts.

The course features classroom, on-the-job, virtual reality, and simulated training environments to achieve proficiency. It covers 32 hours of asbestos training and 40 hours of hazardous waste operations and emergency response training.

A cross-training program provides workers opportunities to expand their knowledge and experience to include industrial safety and industrial hygiene disciplines.

Ryan Keeton, a June graduate, said instructors made sure students understood what they would be dealing with in the classroom and in the field.

“To me that perspective was the biggest draw in keeping us engaged and helping us understand the importance of what we are learning,” Keeton said.

Chris Jones, UCOR training cadre manager, says the latest class included top performers with all students passing the exam. The average exam score was 92 percent.

“The students leave training more than prepared for their first assignment,” Jones said. “This training opportunity is the beginning of a rewarding career path for these new survey technicians that will open up new directions and other future job possibilities.”

With training complete, participants are now supporting projects ranging from deactivation of former enrichment buildings at Y-12 and former reactors at ORNL to soil remediation projects at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks

New Hanford Facility for Craft Workers to Improve Safety, Efficiency

Workers with EM tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions install roofing on a new, centralized facility for craft personnel assigned to tank operations and maintenance at the Hanford Site. The facility is scheduled for completion in early 2022.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP) and its tank operations contractor are constructing a new facility on the Hanford Site to house about 160 craft personnel under one roof and improve the efficiency of tank farm operations.

The 27,000-square-foot Multi-Craft Maintenance Facility, scheduled for completion in early 2022, will be home to multiple craftspeople, including electricians, carpenters, painters, insulators, pipefitters, millwrights, and instrument technicians.

“The new facility will provide a centralized location for Washington River Protection Solutions’ (WRPS) highly skilled craft teams to support critical operations and maintenance throughout the tank farms,” said Jim Lynch with the ORP’s tank farms programs division. “Having the teams under one shop will enhance work planning, communication, and coordination, which will improve safety and efficiency.”

A view of the 27,000-square-foot Multi-Craft Maintenance Facility under construction at the Hanford Site. The shop facility will house about 160 craft personnel.

The shop facility was designed with input from craft employees and will feature a designated workspace for each craft and room for storage. A kitchen and dining area will double as a space for meetings, and there will be locker and shower rooms. Compressed air lines and hoses will provide air to all work areas, and there will also be a breaker-testing station. Roll-up doors will make it easy to transfer equipment and tools in and out of the facility.

Since workers started construction last fall, they’ve moved about 50,000 cubic yards of dirt, poured the foundation, placed structural steel, and are installing the roof, windows, siding, and underground utilities.

“The Multi-Craft Maintenance Facility will help us advance the Hanford cleanup mission for years to come,” said Mike Daniels, WRPS maintenance organization manager. “The facility is being constructed while adhering to all social distancing and safety-related guidelines. It’s a great example of what can be accomplished with teamwork and a dedication to safety.”

-Contributor: Mark McKenna

West Valley to Resume Waste Shipments by Train Following Upgrades to Rail Line

Workers use an excavator to remove soil that had been excavated for the installation of a unique groundwater treatment system at the West Valley Demonstration Project years ago. The soil and a structure used to store the soil will be shipped offsite by rail this month.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) will resume using a rail line to ship waste offsite starting this month.

“The resumption of rail shipments signals a new beginning for the WVDP and will bring many benefits to the future cleanup of the site,” WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. “This work today will help accelerate decommissioning and remediation activities in the very near future.”

WVDP worked with the Buffalo-Pittsburgh Railroad (BPRR) Administration to rehabilitate the Western New York Nuclear Service Center rail spur and BPRR’s main line.

Shipping the waste by rail enhances safety by removing potential hazards such as vehicle traffic associated with completing the shipments via truck. Train shipments also increase efficiency by allowing more material to be shipped compared to trucking. The train shipments also cost less than truck shipments, saving taxpayer dollars.

“Our employees and subcontractors did an excellent job in getting the rail line ready for shipments,” said Linda Michalczak, CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) projects manager. “This accomplishment speaks volumes on the importance of solid communication, teamwork, and best practices.”

Among the waste to be shipped by rail is an estimated 108,000 cubic feet of soil that had been removed to make way for a unique groundwater treatment system constructed years ago. A structure used to store that soil also will be shipped for disposal by train. This project plans to ship approximately 400 intermodal containers of the material from West Valley.

The groundwater treatment system, known as a permeable treatment wall, was installed to mitigate a groundwater plume that originated from historical releases at the site’s Main Plant Process Building. The wall, which will remain in place, is an approximately 785-foot-long trench that contains nearly 2,000 metric tons of zeolite, a naturally occurring mineral formed from volcanic ash. The zeolite strips the contaminant strontium-90 from the groundwater passing through the wall.

The rail line will also be used to ship waste generated by the future demolition of the Main Plant Process Building. Beginning demolition of that facility is an EM priority for 2021.

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

Fleet Devices Promote Safety, Efficient Vehicle Performance at Hanford

Mechanic Mike Hubbard with Hanford contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions has installed hundreds of GPS devices in vehicles used on the Hanford Site. The small devices keep tabs on fleet performance and pinpoint vehicle locations, among other safety benefits.

RICHLAND, WA – A new vehicle monitoring system on the Hanford Site has increased efficiency and promotes driver safety by equipping hundreds of vehicles with a GPS device.

EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) manages and maintains the majority of fleet vehicles on the site. HMIS maintenance crews have installed the GPS devices in more than 1,400 vehicles to support efficient vehicle monitoring and encourage safe driving.

“Full implementation of this system by HMIS for all site contractors supports the goal of consistency in and collaboration on fleet services,” said Doug Chapin with the RL infrastructure and services division. “The devices improve the contractors’ abilities to manage inventory, monitor vehicle performance, and increase driver awareness.”

Fleet maintenance crews with Hanford contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions installed more than 1,400 GPS devices in Hanford Site vehicles, increasing efficiency and driver safety.

Additionally, the devices allow site contractors to track fuel consumption, and they even display vehicle fault codes if the “check engine” light turns on. Fleet maintenance crews are able to quickly pinpoint the vehicle’s location.

“We have seen a significant reduction in response times on service calls thanks to data provided by the devices,” said Rick Thompson, fleet maintenance manager for HMIS. “Our service technicians can troubleshoot a vehicle fault code and grab tools and parts before they leave the shop to assist someone.”

-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik

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

Follow EM on Twitter: @EMcleanup