EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 48 | Dec. 14, 2021

• Secretary Granholm Kicks Off Workshop With Thanks for EM Employees, Industry, Local Partners
• Deputy Secretary Turk Underscores EM’s Commitment to Communities
• White Says Next Decade Will Be Transformational for EM Mission Following 2021 Successes
• Progress at Key Sites Highlights New Era for EM
• EM Field Managers Share Insights on Maintaining Progress Amid Pandemic
• Hanford Leaders Discuss New Era of Tank Waste Treatment at Workshop
• Panel Addresses Challenges of Hiring, Retaining Next Generation Workforce
• EM Names Bradburne Field Manager of Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office

Editor's Note
Along with news from the EM complex, this issue of the EM Update focuses on the seventh-annual National Cleanup Workshop, held Dec. 7-9 in Alexandria, Virginia. The event, which drew more than 660 in-person and virtual attendees, was hosted by the Energy Communities Alliance with the cooperation of EM and the Energy Facility Contractors Group, and is a premier annual gathering to discuss progress in environmental cleanup of former government weapons sites and nuclear research facilities.

Secretary Granholm Kicks Off Workshop With Thanks for EM Employees, Industry, Local Partners

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, EM has made significant progress in its cleanup mission, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who kicked off the first full day of the National Cleanup Workshop on Dec. 8.

Granholm began her remarks via video by thanking EM as well as members of the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) and the Energy Facility Contractors Group (EFCOG). The three-day event was hosted by ECA in cooperation with EM and EFCOG. Granholm delivered her remarks to an audience of 662 people, with 465 attending in-person and 197 attending virtually.

“Every single one of you plays an indispensable role in this operation and the president is deeply invested in your efforts,” Granholm said. “It’s why the theme of this year’s workshop is so fitting. We’ve entered a new era for cleanup success, and you’re already capitalizing on it. In fact, despite the continuing challenges brought on by this pandemic, you have helped the Department achieve the vast majority of our environmental management priorities for 2021.”

Noting that the nature of EM’s work required many to continue reporting in person throughout the pandemic, she thanked them for “your steadfast commitment to the mission.”

Granholm also thanked those who have done their part to keep themselves, colleagues and families safe by getting vaccinated for COVID-19.

“I encourage everyone to get a booster shot as soon as possible,” she said. “Because we need all of you safe, healthy and ready to build on your achievements in 2021.”

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm provided remarks via video at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop on Dec. 8.

The EM mission, Granholm pointed out, is more than “knocking down buildings” and cleaning tank waste.

“It’s about keeping the promises we’ve made to the American people,” she said. “It’s about ensuring that the families most directly impacted by the Department’s environmental legacy can breathe clean air, drink clean water and raise their children in safe homes. It’s about providing jobs and opportunities to the communities that have given so much to the Department for so long. It’s about protecting the planet.”

Granholm also touched on the Biden administration’s commitment to cutting America's emissions in half by 2032, reaching 100% clean electricity by 2035, and to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“Of course, clean energy isn’t the only Biden administration priority you’re advancing,” she noted. “You’re developing plans to break down barriers facing minority contractors. You’re widening the talent pool by forming partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, as our Oak Ridge team has with Tennessee State University and Benedict College. You’re educating community members on the impacts of DOE’s environmental legacy, and convening discussions with stakeholders around how we can meet community needs.”

In her closing remarks, Granholm highlighted contributions EM can make as the administration seeks to tackle climate change, deliver environmental justice and build a diverse workforce.

“I look forward to watching those ideas come alive in the years ahead as you continue to deliver for the American people. And I congratulate you all once again for a phenomenal year of achievement.”

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

Deputy Secretary Turk Underscores EM’s Commitment to Communities

Deputy Energy Secretary David M. Turk reinforced DOE’s commitment to pursuing environmental cleanup solutions in his address at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop.

DOE remains committed to the communities near EM sites by developing and delivering solutions to cleanup challenges around the DOE complex.

“The Department of Energy, as the Secretary and I like to call it, is the ‘solutions’ department,’” Deputy Energy Secretary David M. Turk told the audience at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop.

In providing solutions from an environmental management perspective, “we try to help these communities move on from the legacy of the past and look towards the future,” he said. “I personally feel a lot of fulfillment from that part of the work.”

The EM mission goes beyond cleanup to focus on working with communities on revitalization efforts, including job opportunities and growing industries such as clean energy.

“We have to do right by our communities,” Turk said. “We have to do cleanup in the way it should be done — with transparency, with justice in mind, and with looking towards the futures of our communities.”

Recent EM Successes

Turk highlighted EM successes, noting that the cleanup program has cleaned up 91 sites in 30 states and Puerto Rico, reducing the amount of land needed for active cleanup by 90% since the inception of the EM mission. He acknowledged the sacrifice of those who stepped up during the past year and a half to work under the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Just in this last year, we finished cleanup at Brookhaven National with the demolition of the iconic stack there,” Turk said of the cleanup site in New York state.

Turk also noted that EM processed record amounts of radioactive tank waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, which he recently visited.

“It was great to have a chance to come out and see for myself some of the terrific progress we’ve had there,” he said.

Turk pointed to other 2021 successes, including the demolition of all DOE-owned buildings at the Energy Technology Engineering Center in California and the teardown of the Biology Complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He noted that those accomplishments are important milestones for those communities.

Project Management Advances

Turk also discussed how advances in project management have enabled EM progress.

“The latest Saltstone Disposal Unit in Savannah River was completed eight months ahead of schedule and $32 million under budget,” he said.

DOE is on a partnership journey with its communities, including the DOE workforce, contractors, state, tribal, and local leaders, unions, regulators, and industry partners, Turk said.

He added that DOE leadership is eager to receive feedback.

“I’d rather hear about challenges as soon as we possibly can and work through them together in this partnership journey,” Turk said.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

White Says Next Decade Will Be Transformational for EM Mission Following 2021 Successes

EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White speaks during an address at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop.

EM is on track to complete the vast majority of its program priorities for 2021 and is well positioned for the future, EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said in an address at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop.

“The next decade is built on the accomplishments of today,” White said. “It’s a decade that will be transformational for the EM mission.”

Earlier this year, EM completed the demolition of the High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack at the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Other EM successes this year include treating a record amount tank waste at the Savannah River Site and completing that site’s Saltstone Disposal Unit 7 ahead of schedule and under budget.

White attributed EM’s successes this year to a dedicated workforce committed to creating a safe and healthy environment to support in-person engagement and keep workers safe in the field.

“The bulk of EM’s work requires boots on the ground,” White said. “The buildings at the Energy Technology Engineering Center didn’t come down remotely; WIPP did not receive it’s 13,000th shipment without drivers in trucks and workers underground; seventy-five percent of the Moab tailings pile did not get moved without workers onsite; 1.5 million pounds of refrigerant were not dispositioned without a team on the ground at Paducah; and looking ahead, tank waste treatment at Idaho and Hanford will not begin remotely.”

By 2031, White said, EM sites and communities will look very different, with many tanks at the Savannah River Site closed. White said treatment of liquid sodium-bearing waste at the DOE Idaho National Laboratory Site will be completed; tank waste treatment at Hanford will be well underway; demolition of the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project will be completed; two of three former uranium enrichment process buildings at Portsmouth will be demolished; key infrastructure upgrades will be completed at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; and, at Oak Ridge, the remaining uranium-233 disposed and new Mercury Treatment Facility built.

White closed his remarks by sharing his optimism for the future of the mission and renewing his commitment to working in a collaborative manner with EM’s industry, tribal, state, and local partners.

“We have a lot planned,” White said. “I look forward to working with all of you over the course of this decade.”

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

Progress at Key Sites Highlights New Era for EM

Leaders from key EM sites speaking at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop detailed achievements over the past several months, highlighting a new phase of progress in the cleanup program.

Speakers from Oak Ridge, Portsmouth, the Savannah River Site (SRS) and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) outlined activities that they said are enabling both short- and long-term value.

“These are accomplishments that don’t just have immediate benefits of risk reduction, but really help position the sites for a new era,” said discussion moderator Mike Nartker, EM chief of staff.

Oak Ridge is focusing on new goals after becoming the first site in the world to remove an entire uranium enrichment complex, which included the K-25 plant that measured a half mile long and was larger than the Pentagon. After more than two decades, the site was cleared of 500 contaminated buildings spanning the equivalent of 225 football fields.

“However, our work is not finished,” said Laura Wilkerson, acting manager of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management. Crews have transitioned to cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex and at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory that will involve more years of challenging cleanup work. Areas that are cleaned out can be utilized in future missions for the lab and the security complex.

“Despite these challenges, we’re very confident in our ability,” Wilkerson said. “That’s because we have an amazing workforce that is experienced and highly trained, and have already made significant skyline changes at these sites.”

Joel Bradburne, right, manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, discusses progress on demolition of the X-326 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site. At left is Greg Wilkett, chief operating officer of Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth.

At the Portsmouth Site, demolition began in May on the X-326 Process Building, the first of the site’s three massive uranium enrichment structures to be tackled. But Joel Bradburne, manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, explained X-326 deactivation and demolition also was choreographed with the development of an onsite waste disposal facility and the excavation of legacy landfills and groundwater plumes for soil that will be used as fill. This innovative synchronized approach is expediting cleanup and providing more land for future reuse, a major priority for the local community.

“It’s a complete and comprehensive strategy that involved a lot of work and a lot of input from pretty much everyone,” Bradburne said. “It is complex and there needed to be orchestrated activity at the site because it involves a lot of work in various locations that have to be executed in harmony.”

Reinhard Knerr, manager of the Carlsbad Field Office that operates WIPP, said the site is making major advances in its infrastructure to support continued waste emplacement and optimum conditions for site workers, including the new Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System and a utility shaft project that also included construction of a site bypass road to alleviate traffic.

“We remain the cornerstone of the Department’s cleanup efforts regarding transuranic waste, and in order to be able to continue that mission we need to make sure infrastructure at the site is able to support that long-term mission,” Knerr said.

Knerr credited strong support from the Carlsbad community and others in southeastern New Mexico and also in Los Alamos, New Mexico, where the DOE laboratory and cleanup project ships waste to WIPP. “Without their continued support I don’t think we would be anywhere near as far along on waste emplacement activities and infrastructure upgrades,” he said.

Carlsbad Field Office Manager Reinhard Knerr details infrastructure improvements at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as Sean Dunagan, president and project manager for Nuclear Waste Partnership, looks on.

Mike Budney, manager of the Savannah River Site Operations Office, and Savannah River National Laboratory Director Vahid Majidi, detail the benefits being derived from the laboratory’s new status as a standalone business operation.

At SRS, manager Mike Budney said EM is benefiting from the new contract status of the Savannah River National Laboratory as a standalone entity, apart from the site’s main cleanup contractor. The arrangement has enhanced the lab’s ability to provide independent analyses, and to attract work to support other contractors and sites in the EM complex, he said.

Budney said the lab operator, Battelle Savannah River Alliance, has involved local universities in its efforts, expanding a pipeline to young talent and potential SRS job recruits. The lab also is a key participant in planning for the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC), a facility that will serve as an innovation hub supporting research that can be adapted into modern manufacturing and industrial practices.

“That will be the place we can eventually see more transitions in technologies from the lab to industry,” Budney said of the AMC.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

EM Field Managers Share Insights on Maintaining Progress Amid Pandemic

Managers leading cleanup at several EM sites detailed how they have made significant progress in the EM mission over the past two years despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was one of the key takeaways from a roundtable discussion at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop held by the managers of the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM), Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO), Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA), Savannah River Site Operations Office and Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center (EMCBC).

The panelists provided insight into how they have navigated the pandemic and other challenges while ensuring progress in EM’s cleanup mission. They also agreed that EM’s strategic vision has enabled EM sites to maintain focus on completing important goals and milestones. EM’s Strategic Vision 2021-2031 is a blueprint to the program’s anticipated accomplishments over the next decade that will protect the public and environment.

Reinhard Knerr, CBFO manager, noted that EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) was able to continue receiving transuranic waste shipments throughout the entire pandemic. Last month, CBFO marked receipt of the 13,000th waste shipment to WIPP, an important landmark in EM’s mission to clean up the country’s Cold War legacy.

Laura Wilkerson, OREM acting manager, highlighted Oak Ridge’s biggest accomplishment, which was, “without question, the completion of Vision 2020.” She noted that Oak Ridge achieved the ambitious goal at the height of the pandemic. Workers accomplished Vision 2020, an EM 2020 priority, by completing demolition of Oak Ridge's East Tennessee Technology Park, making it the first site in the world to remove an entire uranium enrichment complex.

Participants in a roundtable discussion at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop included, from left, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Acting Manager Laura Wilkerson, Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center Director Jack Zimmerman, EM Los Alamos Field Office Manager Michael Mikolanis and Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne.

Jack Zimmerman, EMCBC director, detailed successes at EMCBC sites over the past year, including demolition of the final DOE-owned buildings at the Energy Technology Engineering Center and the teardown of the High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which resulted in a dramatic skyline change.

The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project was able to maintain operations despite the pandemic, according to Zimmerman. In October, workers at the site accomplished an EM 2021 priority by successfully relocating another million tons of uranium mill tailings away from the Colorado River, bringing the cumulative total to 12 million tons permanently disposed.

“Even though we are dealing with smaller sites, we are not dealing with smaller problems,” Zimmerman said as he emphasized the significance of the EMCBC sites’ achievements.

Ron Woody, far left, county executive of Roane County, Tennessee, and chair of Energy Communities Alliance, moderated a roundtable discussion with EM field office managers, including Mike Budney, center, with Savannah River Site Operations Office, and Reinhard Knerr with Carlsbad Field Office.

Roundtable moderator Ron Woody, county executive of Roane County, Tennessee, and chair of Energy Communities Alliance, emphasized the need for EM sites to be “investment worthy.”

Michael Mikolanis, the EM-LA manager, said the Los Alamos site is investment worthy, adding that he’s “really pleased and proud to see that I have an organization that is focused on reducing costs, accelerating the work and delivering results for the community.”

PPPO Manager Joel Bradburne highlighted the close relationships among PPPO and the Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky sites, and how those relationships help ensure work gets done.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

Hanford Leaders Discuss New Era of Tank Waste Treatment at Workshop

The Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program at the Hanford Site integrates individual projects, facilities and infrastructure upgrades, with involvement from all of Hanford’s contractors. Click here to view the full size of this image.

Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office Manager Brian Vance delivers an overview of Hanford tank waste treatment during a virtual session of the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop.

The safe disposal of the vitrified waste canisters marks the end of the line for the waste. Scott Sax, president of Central Plateau Cleanup Company, described Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility as a site that currently includes two disposal cells engineered to protect the environment. Workers will monitor and collect runoff that reaches the liner at the bottom of the facility for safe treatment and disposal.

Throughout the process, essential services are critical to successful operations. Bob Wilkinson, president of Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, highlighted infrastructure that keeps the mission moving forward. Water, power, information technology and emergency services are just a few of the interdependent systems that support Hanford cleanup in a fundamentally different site operating environment.

David Reeploeg, executive director of Hanford Communities, works with legislative and community members to ensure the success of the Hanford cleanup mission. He emphasized how important it is, from the community’s perspective, to be moving forward with tank waste treatment. The One Hanford philosophy has guided DOE and contractors in working together to successfully begin the tank waste cleanup phase of the Hanford cleanup by the end of 2023.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

-Contributor: Jill Harvill

Panel Addresses Challenges of Hiring, Retaining Next Generation Workforce

Kristen Ellis, left, EM acting director for regulatory, intergovernmental, and stakeholder engagement, moderates a discussion by the "Future of the EM Workforce" panel at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop. Panelists pictured are Dennis Carr, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, and Kim Lebak, president of Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos. Ellis also serves as EM’s senior advisor for STEM and talent acquisition.

Focusing on the future workforce is vital to the EM mission, according to panelists at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop who discussed challenges and possible solutions in recruiting and retaining talent.

The future challenges are coming fast, speakers said, particularly at each DOE site. The Department will need more than just science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to remain competitive and fill critical positions, they said.

Kristen Ellis, EM’s acting director for regulatory, intergovernmental, and stakeholder engagement, moderated the session, which included Mary Kruger, EM’s deputy assistant secretary for resource management; Kim Lebak, president of Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos; Dennis Carr, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions; and Rebecca Casper, mayor of Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Mary Kruger, EM’s deputy assistant secretary for resource management, at left, and Rebecca Casper, mayor of Idaho Falls, served on the "Future of the EM Workforce" panel at the 2021 National Cleanup Workshop. 

The panelists offered solutions to help attract, hire and retain qualified staff needed for important projects and sites. Those solutions included student loan forgiveness, increased money for incentives, working closely with subcontractors, and remote working.

Ellis, who is also EM’s senior advisor for STEM and talent acquisition, emphasized the importance of working with students on STEM issues, beginning as early as elementary school, as well as expanding EM’s Minority Serving Institution Partnership Program.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

EM Names Bradburne Field Manager of Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office

EM has selected Joel Bradburne to serve as field manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) in Lexington, Kentucky.

In this role, Bradburne will oversee the deactivation and demolition of the former gaseous diffusion facilities at the Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky sites, and the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Project, which includes operations at both locations.

Bradburne was named acting PPPO manager on July 31 this year. Prior to that, he served as PPPO deputy field manager. In that position, he provided leadership direction to the Lexington professional staff and site management, and served as manager of the DUF6 project.

“Joel’s experience managing primary projects at PPPO makes him uniquely qualified to serve in this role,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “We are looking forward to Joel’s continued commitment to cleanup progress at EM’s Portsmouth and Paducah sites, as well as the ongoing operations of the DUF6 plants.”

EM has named Joel Bradburne field manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office in Lexington, Kentucky.

Before joining the PPPO office in Lexington, Bradburne was the Portsmouth Site lead for eight years, and was heavily involved in planning and execution of the current deactivation and demolition approach at the site.

Bradburne has more than 35 years of experience in government and commercial nuclear operations and cleanup. His DOE experience includes more than 20 years at numerous sites and projects.

Prior to moving to Portsmouth, Bradburne was a senior project manager with Nuclear Fuel Services in South Carolina. He held several management positions with Fluor Fernald, Inc., at the DOE Fernald Site near Cincinnati from 1994 to 2004. He also worked in shipyard and foreign nuclear site decommissioning.

Bradburne earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bridgewater College in Virginia and a master’s degree in environmental management from the University of Findlay in Ohio.

Click here to watch new EM videos on EM site missions.

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