EM Update | Vol. 14, Issue 17 | May 3, 2022

• EM Milestone: Last of Legacy Transuranic Waste From SRS Arrives at WIPP
• Senior Advisor White Outlines EM Achievements to Congress
• Nelson-Jean Shares Opportunities, Encouragement With Students in Oak Ridge
• EM Improving Sustainability and Developing a Climate-Conscious Culture
• Hanford Collaborates With Universities on Robots to Evaluate Tank Integrity
• SRS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group Charged With Making Real Change
• National Cleanup Workshop Set for Sept. 21-23
• Business is Booming in K Area Complex at Savannah River Site
• VIDEO: Hanford Capsule Transfer Project Making Solid Progress
• DOE Experts Gather for D&D Technology Development Workshop

EM Milestone: Last of Legacy Transuranic Waste From SRS Arrives at WIPP

The final legacy transuranic waste shipment from Savannah River Site departs the site near Aiken, South Carolina in mid-April, en route to EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico for permanent disposal.

CARLSBAD, N.M. – The final container of legacy transuranic (TRU) waste from Savannah River Site (SRS) arrived at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for permanent disposal on the afternoon of April 14, capping the end of a journey for 239 shipments that began in 2011.

It has been a long road for the waste containers, known as Transuranic Package Transporter Model 3 (TRUPACT-III) shipping casks. In all, trucks carried the shipments weighing a combined 11,402,000 pounds more than 347,000 miles to the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository.

“Each milestone reached gets us closer to completing EM’s mission of environmental remediation,” said Ken Princen, assistant manager for the National Transuranic Program for EM’s Carlsbad Field Office. “The Carlsbad Field Office looks to build on the success of this campaign as we continue to safely dispose of transuranic waste at WIPP in the future.”

The first TRUPACT-III left SRS on Aug. 24, 2011, arriving the next day at WIPP. A team of drivers travel straight through the 1,400-mile journey, taking about 22 hours. They stop only for fuel, bathroom breaks and official inspections. Shipments are monitored around-the-clock by a satellite tracking system.

The rectangularly shaped TRUPACT-III cask, certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was invented to accelerate the pace of cleanup at EM sites and reduce risk to workers by eliminating the need to cut up or reduce the size of some contaminated equipment or components being shipped for disposal at WIPP. Large TRU waste items include contaminated glove boxes, used motors and large-scale analytical equipment. All TRUPACT-III shipments have come from SRS.

This latest cleanup milestone is a big deal at WIPP as well as SRS.

“We are pleased to see the last of the legacy transuranic waste safely in its final disposition location,” SRS Site Management Representative Kerri Crawford said. “This effort has involved a lot of time, effort and coordination between SRS and WIPP representatives and couldn’t have happened without the great teamwork between the two sites.”

The final legacy transuranic waste shipment from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina arrives safely at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in mid-April.

The TRUPACT-III cask — just over 8 feet square and 14 feet in length — weighs about 55,000 pounds loaded and is transported on a custom-designed trailer. It contains up to 7.4 cubic meters of contact handled TRU waste, which is equivalent to 35 55-gallon drums. By comparison, the workhorse TRUPACT-II weighs up to 19,250 pounds loaded and can hold up to 14 55-gallon drums.

In order for SRS to ship to WIPP, the waste must meet stringent WIPP waste acceptance criteria and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit requirements from the State of New Mexico.

Loading a TRUPACT-III can be up to a 12-hour process. Unloading and emplacing its contents in the waste repository can take just as long.

An automated transporter is used to carry a cask into a room within the WIPP waste handling building. A multiple-bolt front end and inner lid are removed from the TRUPACT-III before it is moved to another work area, the payload transfer station, where the box containing the waste is pulled out and placed onto a facility pallet.

Strapped to the pallet, the box rides 2,150 feet to the WIPP underground for emplacement.
At each step of the process, WIPP radiological workers perform surveys to monitor any potential problems.

The casks used to ship waste to WIPP from SRS are now available for use by other sites within the complex.

-Contributor: Roy Neese

Senior Advisor White Outlines EM Achievements to Congress

EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White appeared before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on April 27, following release of the DOE budget request for fiscal year 2023.

Support from Congress will enable EM to continue making steady progress in cleaning up communities that supported U.S. defense efforts over the decades, Senior Advisor William “Ike” White told a Senate panel on April 27.

“EM is focused on its commitment to clean up the environmental legacy of the national defense programs that helped end World War II and the Cold War,” White said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.

“This work helps address the government’s responsibilities to the communities that played such an important role in U.S. history, and more importantly helps position them to continue to grow and thrive in the future,” White said.

White appeared before the panel following release of the DOE budget request for fiscal year 2023. He said the EM budget request of $7.6 billion “will enable EM to further advance its mission, maintain national security priorities and support those most impacted by the environmental legacy of the past.”

White said the budget will support work to begin vitrifying tank waste at the Hanford Site in Washington state by the end of 2023; accelerate waste processing and tank closure activities at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina; advance operations of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site; modernize the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico; and address high-risk excess contaminated facilities and groundwater cleanup across the EM complex, among other priorities.

White noted that cleanup progress depends on quality workers. The EM budget boosts support for workforce development “and for building a pipeline of talent that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said.

And, as EM moves forward, “we remain committed to those most directly impacted by the environmental legacy of the past.

“EM’s sites are fortunate to be surrounded by diverse communities and tribal nations who are strong partners in advancing cleanup and planning for the future,” White said.

Watch the April 27 hearing before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces here. 

Nelson-Jean Shares Opportunities, Encouragement With Students in Oak Ridge

Nicole Nelson-Jean, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, at center, met with students from Benedict College and Tennessee State University (TSU) in Oak Ridge, where the students got an up-close look at cleanup projects and learned about new opportunities through EM’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program. Pictured from left are TSU student Kayla Clanton; Benedict student Jonathan Larkin; Nelson-Jean; Benedict student and incoming UCOR intern Dari Gabriel; and TSU student Jeannine Mbabazi.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Wide eyes and eager note-taking hands lined the perimeter of a large conference table in Oak Ridge. Dari Gabriel, a senior environmental engineering student from Benedict College in South Carolina, was one of them.

“This is huge. Really huge,” she said.

Students from various colleges and universities, some nearly 300 miles away, had come to tour cleanup sites and meet Nicole Nelson-Jean, EM’s associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations. Nelson-Jean was at Oak Ridge to discuss a major funding boost to EM’s Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP).

“I graduated from an HBCU, so meeting some of these students who are ready to go out into the world and make a difference, hearing some of their questions, and hearing from the administrators, was a wonderful opportunity for me,” Nelson-Jean said.

Nelson-Jean added that she valued the opportunity to obtain input from the students as EM continues to expand its MSIPP.

Funding for the program increased from $6 million in fiscal year 2021 to $56 million in fiscal year 2022. The growth in funding will enable expansion of the EM MSIPP to provide more opportunities for students from Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the country.

“Where before we could reach maybe hundreds of students, we now can reach thousands of students,” Nelson-Jean said.

There are 107 HBCUs, 32 tribal colleges and universities, and several historically Hispanic institutions that the EM MSIPP will be able to impact, Nelson-Jean said. The program provides opportunities to students like Gabriel, who begins her internship with EM Oak Ridge contractor UCOR this month.

“I’m going to be doing a little bit of everything, but the main thing is to figure out how to decontaminate the soil and groundwater,” Gabriel said. “It makes me feel like a superhero because I’m working to make change and make the world better.”

Joining the meeting virtually, Tennessee State University President Glenda Glover shared her gratitude for the financial support from the EM MSIPP.

Nelson-Jean said the program will now be able to provide hands-on experience to college and university students, further preparing them for careers in EM. The EM MSIPP also will ensure the institutions have the opportunity to maintain and sustain a student body that can work on cutting edge activities on campus, she added.

EM has been charged with the responsibility of cleaning up 107 sites across the country whose area is equal to the combined area of Rhode Island and Delaware. Although there are 15 active EM sites remaining where cleanup work is currently ongoing, Nelson-Jean said there is still decades of work to complete.

“For us to be able to complete that work, we need a workforce and a talent pool that we can pull from, and we want to ensure that that workforce is reflective of America,” Nelson-Jean said.

The expanded EM MSIPP funding comes at a crucial time. The EM cleanup program has a workforce of about 33,000 federal and contractor employees. A significant portion of the workforce is eligible, or will soon be eligible, for retirement. The EM MSIPP provides an opportunity to create a strong pipeline to fill future openings.

Nelson-Jean told the students gathered at Oak Ridge that she had not come from a science background. But with determination and a strong support system, she has created a successful career that has so far spanned three decades.

Gabriel noted that it’s difficult to apply for jobs and internships as a college student when companies want candidates with career experience.

“I’m new to this,” she said. “You have to start somewhere, too.”

Gabriel is grateful that start is taking place in Oak Ridge.

-Contributor: Summer Dashe

EM Improving Sustainability and Developing a Climate-Conscious Culture

A snapshot of EM’s efforts to reduce energy and water use and greenhouse gas emissions in fiscal year 2021.

EM continued a decade-long trend in reducing its energy and water use and greenhouse gas emissions in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, 2021.

The cleanup program achieved a 41% reduction in energy use at its facilities in fiscal year (FY) 2021 when compared to FY 2015 baselines, surpassing the Department’s goal of a 30% reduction by 2025. This was accomplished through a variety of methods, including converting power plants from coal to biomass, investing in renewable energy, upgrading to LED lighting, decommissioning older facilities and purchasing green technology.

“Each of our sites has developed and implemented an annual site sustainability plan that identifies contributions towards meeting the Department’s sustainability goals,” said Nancy Buschman, EM director for infrastructure and deactivation and decommissioning (D&D). “What we have accomplished in building a brighter, more environmentally sustainable future for the communities we serve is remarkable. I am proud of how we’ve answered the Department’s call and are continuing to show leadership in clean energy and sustainability.”

EM lowered greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70% as of FY 2021 when compared to FY 2014 baselines and continues to aggressively pursue further cuts in support of the Administration’s Net Zero by 2050 goal, which aims to limit the worst effects of global warming.

The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project partnered with a non-profit group on Earth Day this year to plant trees along the Colorado River at a local park. This project was especially meaningful to the employees because the river park is located on top of an old uranium mill site that DOE cleaned up.

The raw ingredients for a permeable reactive barrier installed at Savannah River Site are shown here. Workers mixed more than 1 million pounds of iron filings with a food-grade, starch-like material to create the underground wall, which neutralizes Cold War-era chemical solvents found in the aquifer beneath the site. The project won a 2021 DOE Sustainability Award and is anticipated to provide energy and cost savings of more than $35 million over three decades of operation.

While environmental stewardship has always been at the center of EM’s work, approaching projects from the planning stages through a lens of sustainability over the past decade has pushed EM to achieve reductions in energy and water use, massive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and completion of projects that use recycled materials for a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective result. Key efforts by EM sites in FY 2021 include:

• Savannah River Site: Generated 31.9% of electrical energy consumed onsite.
• Hanford Site: Exceeded the goal for reuse and recycling by diverting 65% of nonhazardous solid waste from landfills.
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant: Retrofitted facilities with LED lighting and upgraded metering systems to better capture energy usage.
• Portsmouth Site: Procured 23,100 megawatt hours of power from biomass in FY 2021, equating to 29% usage from a renewable source.
• Paducah Site: Powered nine air monitoring stations with solar panels, saving over 2,800 kilowatt hours per year.

Sustainability efforts will only grow moving forward. President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm have made climate action a top priority and issued direction for agencies and programs to prioritize climate resilience and move to carbon-free energy sources. Initiatives are underway to more directly include climate considerations in DOE and EM projects and decision-making processes.

“EM’s mission — cleaning up sites and returning them to productive use — is fundamentally about sustainability, and the way we accomplish the mission needs to be consistent with the same values,” said Betsy Forinash, director of the EM Office of Infrastructure Management and Disposition Policy. “We’re building a holistic culture that prioritizes these goals within EM’s work each and every day. We aim to build sustainability into every aspect of our work, from the supply chain to remediation approaches to waste disposal, to further reduce our environmental footprint and combat climate change.”

EM works to reinforce this culture through its strategic vision and annual priorities, site planning efforts and even internal training programs that address sustainability in EM operations, the cleanup program’s carbon footprint, and its resiliency in extreme climate events. EM sites continue to reduce emissions by increasing electric vehicles in onsite fleets and will explore installing onsite zero-emission energy sources, accelerate D&D for certain excess facilities and continue efforts to plant wildfire-tolerant vegetation and add firebreaks around threatened infrastructure.

“By creating a sustainable and climate resilient complex, EM ensures its mission continues to be delivered while helping its communities adapt and prepare, as well as promoting energy and environmental justice and well-paying jobs,” said Albes Gaona, EM environmental scientist, as he concluded a recent internal EM climate training session.

-Contributor: Albes Gaona, Kyle Hendrix

Hanford Collaborates With Universities on Robots to Evaluate Tank Integrity

Florida International University research scientists Mackenson Telusma, left, and Anthony Abrahao deploy a pipe crawler during a field test at the Hanford Site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Robot technology is providing new ways to monitor the integrity of underground double-shell waste-storage tanks at the Hanford Site.

Under a cooperative agreement with DOE, Florida International University (FIU) recently worked with EM Office of River Protection (ORP) tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) to test a miniature magnetic rover, deploying it at a tank in the site’s AP Tank Farm.

"It is always great to see the research that the students have been performing successfully deployed in the field," said Genia McKinley, program manager for the DOE-FIU Cooperative Agreement. "It shows the capabilities of our students and the payoff for their hard work in real time."

The rover underwent rigorous testing at FIU, followed by a final demonstration at a vendor facility in Richland, Washington. The demonstration showcased the abilities of the device and allowed field crews to familiarize themselves with the rover before deploying it over 50 feet deep into air cooling slots in the bottom of the tank.

Crews directed the rover as it shot video of both steel shells of Tank AP-105. The contractor’s tank integrity team will use the footage in their assessment of the structural integrity of the inner shell.

“We get excited about these kinds of projects,” said Glenn Soon, operations specialist with WRPS. “The university’s team worked with us to create this reliable, first-of-a-kind solution for tank inspections. Reaching the point of deploying the mini rover successfully has been very rewarding, and the rover shows a lot of promise for use in our tank integrity monitoring program.”

The lead segment of a pipe crawler is equipped with a camera, mock-up radiation scanner and other sensors. A 3D printer was used to help build the crawler.

A mini crawler, developed by Florida International University students and faculty, moves along the outside of the inner tank shell on a double-shell waste-storage tank at the Hanford Site.

The mini rover was one of two technologies FIU recently tested at Hanford. The second is a robot called a pipe crawler. It was designed to travel through pipes underneath waste tanks, using air pressure rather than a motor. For the demonstration, the crawler was outfitted with a mock-up radiation scanner unit to simulate future measurements of gamma radiation and a camera to shoot footage for visual inspections.

“We had initially designed this crawler to clean transfer lines, and when we learned that WRPS was looking for a way to survey underground pipes, we retrofitted the design for single-shell tank lateral gamma detection,” said Anthony Abrahao, FIU research scientist. “Students were highly involved in designing and building the crawler. They created pieces of the crawler with a 3D printer and collaborated with students at a university near Hanford to develop a system to deploy the crawler.”

A group of five interns at Washington State University’s (WSU) Tri-Cities campus in Richland designed a cable management system to retrieve the crawler once it completes scanning inside the pipes. The FIU team gave the WSU team design specifications to allow the two systems to work together, and the WSU team came up with a reel that could automatically deploy the crawler at regular intervals without human involvement.

“This was such a unique learning opportunity,” said Misty Lace, a WSU mechanical engineering student. “All seniors have to work on a project, but we were one of the only groups that got to build something with a real-world application, coordinate our design with students on the other side of the country and then come together to test it.”

FIU DOE Fellow Jeff Natividad had roles in creating and testing both robots during back-to-back internships with WRPS at Hanford.

“I love robotics, but I hadn’t considered that it could apply to an environmental remediation task like this,” Natividad said. “I would like to see more students get involved in this kind of project so they can better understand the nuclear industry and the cool career opportunities that are available.”

-Contributors: Jenna Kochenauer, Leonel Lagos, Daniel Martin

SRS Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Group Charged With Making Real Change

AIKEN, S.C. – An employee group at EM’s Savannah River Site (SRS) has convened to create real change within its company and EM.

Savannah River Mission Completion’s (SRMC) Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Working Group kicked off last month with a charge from Nicole Nelson-Jean, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, who joined the inaugural meeting virtually. Nelson-Jean shared her perspective on the importance and positive impact this initiative will have on SRMC and EM.

SRMC is EM’s liquid waste contractor at SRS.

The DEI Working Group is responsible for aiding the SRMC executive team in fostering a culture of mutual respect that recruits, retains and develops a workforce from various experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and abilities, so that everyone feels a sense of community.

The group includes 11 employees from a variety of backgrounds and organizations. The team is refining a list of achievable action items, evaluating improvement opportunities from employee feedback, and will provide recommendations to senior leadership for change.

“The DEI group is important because we want every SRMC employee to know that regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, genetics, national origin, disability, status as a parent, veteran status or gender identity, everybody will receive equal opportunities,” said Grady Harrison, DEI Working Group chair. “We are here to build an inclusive workplace culture that proves equal rewards and recognition for everyone.”

Ensuring inclusivity within the next generation of senior leadership starts today, according to SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson.

“Today we must be intentional in identifying and developing high-performing, high-potential leaders from all walks of life to ensure everyone will have a seat and voice at the table,” he said. “I am looking forward to the perspectives, thoughts and recommendations that will be coming out of this DEI working group.”

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

National Cleanup Workshop Set for Sept. 21-23

Business is Booming in K Area Complex at Savannah River Site

AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site’s (SRS) K Area Complex (KAC) nuclear material management facility is undergoing a large number of infrastructure projects at an unprecedented pace to improve the capabilities and flexibility of KAC and its employees and prepare for upcoming missions.

Major infrastructure work is ongoing to support expanded plutonium downblending operations and prepare for the installation of three new surplus plutonium disposition project gloveboxes, and the additional personnel who will operate them.

“SRS is committed to helping the Department of Energy advance its mission of removing plutonium from the state of South Carolina,” said Lee Sims, K Area Facility manager for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the managing and operating contractor at SRS. “Most of our facilities are approximately 70 years old, including the decommissioned K Reactor facility where most nuclear material storage and processing activities occur. We are working to modernize and upgrade our facilities to increase efficiencies, ensure safety and maximize productivity. A little investment in infrastructure now will go a long way to ensure a successful future.”

In the next several years, KAC will nearly double its workforce to keep up with changing missions. To work in KAC, employees must navigate a number of security features, including multiple entry control facilities (ECFs) staffed by SRS protective force personnel.

“Although this process can be cumbersome and sometimes takes a few minutes per individual, it is imperative to ensuring the safety and security of the nuclear materials we are entrusted with storing and processing,” K Area Deputy Facility Manager Amanda Barnes said. “Our team recognized early on in the process of planning increased plutonium downblending that once significantly more employees start showing up at the ECFs during shift changes, the lines to get through would start backing up and waste a lot of worker time. To improve personnel access time, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has funded projects to build an additional ECF into the protected area and build a larger, more efficient ECF into the Material Access Area (MAA) to facilitate personnel flow.

“We have also completed installation and hook-up of nine new trailers to add additional office spaces and restroom facilities for the current employees and influx of employees to come.”

A crane lifts part of a modular building as part of improvements in K Area at the Savannah River Site.

VIDEO: Hanford Capsule Transfer Project Making Solid Progress

A new concrete transfer pad will support the movement of radioactive capsules from the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility to a nearby dry-storage area at the Hanford Site.

RICHLAND, Wash. – In the blink of an eye, as this time-lapse video shows, crews with EM Richland Operations Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company last month completed pouring 11 truckloads — or about 120 cubic yards — of concrete for a new transfer pad outside the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility truck port at the Hanford Site. The 18-inch-thick, rebar-reinforced slab is designed to support loads up to a half-million pounds.

The work is part of ongoing upgrades and modifications to get ready for the movement of 1,936 radioactive capsules from an underwater basin in the facility about a quarter-mile to a new dry storage area. Moving the capsules to dry storage will enable the planned deactivation of the aging storage facility and save as much as $6 million in annual operating costs.

DOE Experts Gather for D&D Technology Development Workshop

Participants in the Deactivation & Decommissioning Technology Development Workshop included, from left, Marion Cofer, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL); Todd Phillips, Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR; Rob Hogg, Savannah River Site managing and operating contractor Savannah River Mission Completion; John Mojka, UCOR; Holly VerMeulen, SRNL; Joe Sinicrope, Florida International University (FIU); Jean Plummer, SRNL; Gary Benda, Waste Management Symposia; Jen Wohlwend, SRNL; Leonel Lagos, FIU; Nancy Buschman, EM headquarters; Will Jolin, SRNL; Anna Stanfield, SRNL; and Chris Bannochie, SRNL.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Scientists, engineers and technical experts from DOE programs learned of progress in technology development during a workshop held April 25-27 in Augusta, Georgia.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) hosted the Deactivation & Decommissioning (D&D) Technology Development Workshop at the Georgia Cyber Center. More than 60 people attended in person or virtually.

Nancy Buschman, director of EM’s Office of Infrastructure and D&D, served as lead speaker, discussing the importance of lessons learned, progress in technology development and the integration of technologies into EM.

Other topics during the workshop included decontamination/dismantlement; approaches to mercury-contaminated buildings; artificial intelligence and robotics; and knowledge sharing.

Participants included speakers from EM headquarters; SRNL; Oak Ridge cleanup contractor UCOR; Florida International University; Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory; EM Consolidated Business Center; Idaho National Laboratory; West Valley Demonstration Project; Environmental Alternatives Inc.; and FIS 360.

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