EM Update | Vol. 14, Issue 20 | May 24, 2022

• White, Congressional Members Survey Portsmouth D&D Progress, Meet With Community Members
• Johnson Looks Back on 41-Year Federal Career, Including Three Decades in EM
• Ike White Discusses Cleanup With Alliance for Nuclear Accountability
• More Than 100 People Attend Oak Ridge Meeting on Proposed Disposal Facility
• STGWG Receives Updates on DOE Progress, Visits EM Closure Site
• Soil Flushing System to Accelerate Hanford Groundwater Cleanup
• Savannah River Site Vitrification Facility Undergoes Major Upgrade
• West Valley Makes Progress Toward Reducing Cold War Footprint
• Critical Infrastructure Improvements Support Sustainability in SRS Tank Farms
• Hanford Inventory Count Tallies Hundreds of Thousands of Items

White, Congressional Members Survey Portsmouth D&D Progress, Meet With Community Members

Officials gather outside the Building X-326 demolition project while on a tour of the Portsmouth Site. From left, Brian Smith, congressional staff; Frank Miller, Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP); U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan; Jeremy Davis, EM; Greg Wilkett, FBP; Pat O’Neill, FBP; EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White; Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne; U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur; and Jaime Shimek and Ryan Keating, congressional staff.

PIKETON, Ohio – EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White accompanied two U.S. House of Representatives members from Ohio on a visit to the Portsmouth Site on May 20, attending a listening session afterward with members of the community, representatives of the Scioto Valley Council of Governments and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative.

It was White’s third visit to the site in southcentral Ohio over the past year.

During a tour of the site, White and U.S. Reps. Marcy Kaptur and Tim Ryan got a firsthand look of EM’s demolition work at Building X-326, the first of three former Portsmouth gaseous diffusion process buildings to be demolished.

Kaptur, who represents Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, is chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. Ryan represents Ohio’s 13th Congressional District and is also a member of the House Energy & Water Appropriations Subcommittee.

Demolition on Building X-326, which began last May, is approximately 80% completed. Teardown of the half-mile-long building is an EM priority for 2022.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, the progress made has been remarkable,” White said. “It is a testament to the talent and dedication of the workforce we have in this community.”

Danielle Stumbo, far right, of Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, updates U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan, center, and Marcy Kaptur, center-left, on the Building X-326 demolition project at the Portsmouth Site. Also pictured are EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, far left, and EM acting Portsmouth Site lead Jeremy Davis, second from right.

Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth’s Frank Miller, right, briefs congressional visitors on progress at the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility at the Portsmouth Site.

The group observed air monitoring operations and visited the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility, where debris and rubble, including Transite from the massive X-326, is being safely transported for final disposition. They also visited former Portsmouth Site land that has been turned over to the community. Eighty acres has already been transferred and another 200 acres is in the process of being transferred.

Following the site visit, White joined Kaptur and Ryan for a listening session with the community related to the former gaseous diffusion plant, which produced enriched uranium during the Cold War beginning in 1956. In the 1960s, Portsmouth’s mission changed to focus on producing fuel for commercial nuclear power plants and other national security applications.

An extensive environmental cleanup program began at the 3,777-acre site in 1989, with deactivation and decommissioning activities initiated in 2011.

White said it is important for congressional members, DOE leaders and others to hear from members of the community.

“Our Portsmouth Site is fortunate to be surrounded by a community that shares our goals for a safe, efficient and effective cleanup,” White said. “Staying engaged and maintaining a dialogue with the communities around our sites is key to successful cleanup.”

-Contributors: Stephen Clutter, Shawn Jordan

Johnson Looks Back on 41-Year Federal Career, Including Three Decades in EM

Thomas Johnson Jr. retires on May 31 after 41 years in the federal government, 30 of them in EM. He has served as the DOE Savannah River Site (SRS) deputy manager since September 2018, and as associate deputy manager at the site from 2015 to 2018. Johnson started his EM career at SRS as a remedial project manager from 1992 to 2006. His path also has taken him out to California as the EM federal project director at the Energy Technology Engineering Center site, and to EM headquarters, where he served stints as director of the EM American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program and as associate deputy assistant secretary for acquisition and project management.

How did you get your start in EM?

I received my start in EM due to a reference from a colleague. I was working for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the time when a former colleague, who transferred to DOE-SRS a couple years prior, suggested that an opening for a project manager for a landfill construction project was just posted (April 1992) and thought that my background would make me a prime candidate for the position. I made the decision to leave the Corps after having served as its first cooperative education student from the University of South Carolina followed by seven years as a full-time employee. While this was a difficult decision, the timing was perfect for my family.

How did your perspective on the EM program change after working at multiple field sites and headquarters?

I believe I am one of the few people within the Department that has worked at a large site, a small site, DOE Headquarters, and my eventual return to SRS in a senior leadership role. Each location has its own unique culture that you must recognize and learn to deal with in respect to its management and interaction with the community and regulators.

The primary differences that I found is that when you work at a specific site, the problems of that location are the most important thing to you as an employee and you deal with it on a more personal level. You see your fellow employees, colleagues, community members and regulators both within and outside of the workplace environment — you see them at the stores, church, ballgames, and perhaps even volunteer events. You know that the decisions you make have a direct impact on the lives of those individuals — the faces that you see on a regular basis. At headquarters, even though the decisions that you make may have an even greater impact, it does not seem to have a personal linkage to it. This may be because you don’t have to deal directly with anyone other than the federal employee(s) or perhaps the company senior leadership. At the headquarters level, a specific site is likely just one of the many sites that you have to interact with. Sometimes the issue at a specific site, while of great importance to the site, pales in comparison to the issue being dealt with at another or several sites at the same time. This may leave a site feeling that it is unimportant; however, the real issue is its specific concern is not at the level of crisis being dealt with at the other site that may require more focused attention.

I also believe that regardless of where your desired position is located, all employees and especially those in leadership positions should experience working both in the field and headquarters. This would give the employee a better sense of how to balance priorities and better understand how decisions are made and viewed as the environment in the field and at headquarters can sometimes be starkly different. Headquarters can be viewed as only caring about the budget and image, while the field is often viewed as too emotionally attached to needs/decisions and unconcerned about the overall budget.

You served as deputy director and director of EM’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Program from 2009-2012. How did the stimulus funding help advance the EM mission?

The EM Recovery Act stimulus funding was probably the greatest game-changer during my tenure as a federal employee. At the time, EM’s normal annual budget was on the order of $6 billion dollars and the influx of ARRA funding matched that total with no corresponding decrease to the normal budget in subsequent years. We were able to use those funds to immediately impact the economy through having nearly 36,000 workers directly benefit from the additional funding. Ninety-one projects were originally selected under the EM ARRA program and 90 percent of those in the original portfolio were completed within cost and on schedule. Savings from the original projects were used to complete 33 additional projects. The total portfolio was completed 5 percent under costs. All of the projects were completed without a single Government Accountability Office or DOE Office of Inspector General adverse finding or deficiency in the management of the funds or projects.

EM ARRA funds were used to shrink EM’s footprint from 3,125 square miles when the EM program began in 1989 to only 90 square miles by the completion of ARRA Program in 2015.

What do you see as the biggest achievement in your time at EM?

While the work of the ARRA program was monumental for the cleanup program, I believe some of the things we are doing now at SRS will continue to keep us in good standing with the community, regulators and employees, and could serve as a model for other DOE sites. We meet regularly with the community to ensure they not only know what is happening at the site, but provide them with an opportunity to influence what we are doing at the site through community events and citizens advisory board meetings at locations across South Carolina and Georgia; we partner with the regulators on documents to allow them to understand the decision process which greatly reduces the number of surprises/disagreements on cleanup plans; and we meet regularly with employees to hear their concerns and have discussions on how to improve the workplace. This collaborative approach has been used at each of the three DOE locations that I have worked. I have seen communities move from not trusting the Department because of lack of transparency to eagerly scheduling community meetings. Not every concern necessarily resulted in a change, but they knew they were heard, input considered, and feedback provided if a change could not be made.

What do you see as EM’s biggest challenge moving forward?

EM came into existence in 1989 and the bulk of its employees came onboard in the 1990-1992 timeframe. Most of those employees, much like myself, are now ready to exit on into the next phase of their lives. So without question, one of the biggest challenges that EM will face going forward is finding a replacement workforce. At SRS, we elected to work directly with local colleges and universities to ensure the curriculum matches the needs of the site for the higher education demand jobs and have certificate-based programs in place for operators and technician type positions. We are also working to ensure the workforce of the future is diverse and the workers understand that SRS is not just a place for a job, but a place where one could actually have a career due to the vast mission of the site.

What are you going to miss most about EM?

I will definitely miss the people — federal and contractor colleagues, community members, interactions with congressional staffers, and even interactions with headquarters senior leadership. The people at every level care deeply about their communities and impact of Environmental Management programs and operations. There will be no more late evening calls to settle the concerns of a community member or crisis related to staff or headquarters emails demanding urgent responses.

Ike White Discusses Cleanup With Alliance for Nuclear Accountability

EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White met with members of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) on May 17 to discuss timely topics in the cleanup program, from DOE’s Justice40 Initiative and stakeholder involvement in EM’s Strategic Vision to waste disposal and deactivation & decommissioning (D&D) work around the complex.

“I really appreciate the opportunity to hear from all of you on your different perspectives and where the cleanup program should be and where it should go in the future,” White said to the members of the grassroots network of 34 community organizations focused on health, cleanup and weapons issues at EM sites.

White and other EM senior managers met with the alliance in a virtual meeting during the ANA DC Days event in which ANA members convene with congressional and administration officials on nuclear issues. For over 30 years, EM management has met with the ANA for the annual event. DC Days normally takes place in person but has shifted to a virtual format in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

EM Senior Advisor William "Ike" White and other senior managers with the cleanup program met with members of the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability in a virtual meeting on May 17.

During the meeting with EM leadership, ANA members asked questions and discussed facility demolition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, cleanup at the Energy Technology Engineering Center, the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility in Oak Ridge, the future of EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and public involvement in the Hanford Site cleanup.

“I have the privilege of being responsible for a program where we have really good alignment with all the folks who have an interest in our program with respect to the big picture of what we’re trying to accomplish: to clean up the environmental legacy of decades worth of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy research across this county, and do it in a way that helps the community grow and thrive into the future,” White said.

ANA members attending the meeting with EM officials included Joni Arends, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety; Melissa Bumstead, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab; Kevin Collins, Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance; Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center; Janie Hill-Scott, Georgia Women’s Action for New Directions; Raiza Marciscano-Bettis, Tri-Valley CAREs; and Liz Mattson, Hanford Challenge.

More Than 100 People Attend Oak Ridge Meeting on Proposed Disposal Facility

Local government officials, community and business leaders, advocacy groups and citizens were among those attending the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s May 17 public meeting on a proposed onsite disposal facility to allow for adequate waste disposal capacity to complete environmental cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – More than 100 people attended a May 17 public meeting on the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s (OREM) proposed onsite disposal facility.

The meeting was part of a new phase of public outreach OREM recently launched for the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility (EMDF) that includes a 30-day comment period and new website to inform area residents about the project.

View a recording of the public meeting here.

OREM hosted the meeting with representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) on hand. The meeting focused on three key areas related to the project: site groundwater characterization, waste acceptance criteria and ensuring the protection of Bear Creek’s water quality.

The proposed EMDF is essential to adequately dispose of waste from OREM’s environmental cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A cameraperson films Roger Petrie, with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) regulatory affairs, as he gives a presentation about the proposed Environmental Management Disposal Facility at a May 17 public meeting. View a recording of the meeting here.

The current disposal facility at Oak Ridge is approaching full capacity after 20 years of safe operations. That facility was critical to OREM’s successful completion of major cleanup at the East Tennessee Technology Park ahead of schedule and under budget.

During the meeting, Roger Petrie, with OREM regulatory affairs, gave a presentation about the project before opening the floor to the public for comments. Local government officials, community and business leaders, advocacy groups and citizens provided input.

“We are committed to keeping the community informed about the plans and details related to this project,” said Petrie. “Public input is an important element of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act process, and we are doing everything we can to give people the information they need to provide meaningful feedback on this project.”

The new public outreach phase marks the second public comment period and public meeting on the project. The previous meeting occurred in 2018 during a 120-day comment period when OREM released the proposed plan for EMDF.

OREM responded to all comments it received from that comment period in the responsiveness summary included in the draft record of decision for the project.

OREM will respond to all comments from the current public outreach phase in an updated draft record of decision scheduled to be submitted to regulators in July.

OREM is accepting public comments on EMDF through June 7.

-Contributor: David Barton

STGWG Receives Updates on DOE Progress, Visits EM Closure Site

ST. LOUIS – The State and Tribal Government Working Group (STGWG) toured a new interpretive center at a site where EM completed remediation about 20 years ago and received updates from the cleanup program on workforce development and other topics during its recent annual spring meeting.

Also at the three-day meeting, representatives from Jemez Pueblo, the Advisory Council on Historic Properties and DOE’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs briefed STGWG.

The working group provides a forum for communication among states and tribes affected by EM sites and activities. STGWG focuses on several priorities, such as: long-term stewardship, natural resource damage assessment and restoration, and state and tribal issues related to the cleanup and closure of DOE sites.

“Many STGWG members have been on the working group for many years,” EM Tribal Affairs Program Manager Jill Conrad said. “Having this chance to share perspectives and ideas is invaluable. STGWG has guided EM on many subjects over the years.”

STGWG members toured the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center, whose exhibits address the history of the Weldon Spring area, the site’s contributions to World War II and the Cold War, cleanup and continuing long-term stewardship. Nearby the center is a rock-covered hillside with stairs to the top of the Weldon Spring Site Disposal Cell — a 41-acre engineered structure designed to contain the site’s waste resulting from cleanup.

EM conducted remediation at the Weldon Spring Site in accordance with Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act regulations. The site was transferred to the DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) in 2003 for long-term surveillance and maintenance.

State and Tribal Government Working Group members Debbie Duren, left, with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Talia Martin, with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, talk during the working group's recent spring meeting.

Kristen Ellis, EM’s acting director of regulatory, intergovernmental and stakeholder engagement, provided updates to STGWG on EM progress, including science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and workforce development, which are priorities for the working group.

STGWG members also discussed long-term stewardship of EM sites. They were briefed on the actions of DOE’s National Long-Term Stewardship Working Group, which is comprised of representatives from EM, LM and the National Nuclear Security Administration. The working group is considering STGWG’s guidance as it forms its own goals and plans.

Ira Matt, director of the Office of Native American Affairs for the Advisory Council on Historic Properties, gave a detailed presentation on a memorandum of understanding on interagency coordination and collaboration for the protection of indigenous sacred sites, which was signed by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm last year.

Jennifer Kramb, with DOE’s Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs, discussed funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Clarice Madalena, Jemez Pueblo’s director of environmental programs, concluded the meeting by sharing a comprehensive illustration of the pueblo’s program to sample and monitor for contamination on Jemez Pueblo land.

-Contributor: Jill Conrad

Soil Flushing System to Accelerate Hanford Groundwater Cleanup

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is preparing to employ an innovative treatment system at the Hanford Site to speed up the removal of contamination in the soil near the Columbia River.

The system is installed on a half-acre area near the former K East Reactor. It is designed to remove hexavalent chromium, a hazardous chemical added to cooling water to inhibit corrosion in Hanford’s reactors. During Cold War operations, some of the chromium was spilled or leaked to the soil.

Groundwater treatment facilities have reduced the area of chromium contamination by more than 75% since 2010, but some contamination remains in the soil above the water table, making it difficult to remove.

The new system works by using up to 225 gallons of clean water per minute to force — or flush — chromium contamination in the soil down to the groundwater, where it will be extracted through a network of existing wells and sent to a nearby treatment facility, accelerating the cleanup process.

“We are always seeking more thoughtful and cost-effective ways to improve the performance of our groundwater treatment network,” said Ellwood Glossbrenner, RL project lead for cleanup of soil and groundwater at Hanford. “The protection of the Columbia River is our ultimate goal, and this soil treatment system is a great example of how we are achieving our goal.”

EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company is implementing a new soil flushing system near the Hanford Site’s former K East Reactor. The system forces residual chromium contamination in the soil down to groundwater, where it will be extracted through a network of existing wells and sent to a nearby treatment facility.

A new groundwater remediation system on the Hanford Site will use a network of pipes to flood the soil with clean water to accelerate removal of residual chromium, a toxic chemical. Nearby pump-and-treat facilities have reduced chromium contamination in groundwater in the area by more than 75% since 2010.

The flushing system is expected to start this summer.

“I’m proud of our team for successfully implementing this enhancement to our groundwater remedy,” said Emily Macdonald, CPCCo project manager. “Removing this hard-to-reach contamination is a win for the environment and gets us one step closer to completing cleanup along the river.”

Collectively, Hanford’s treatment systems have removed about 600 tons of contaminants over the life of the groundwater cleanup mission. Most of the chromium contamination in the soil and groundwater along the Columbia River has been removed, as well as other contaminants of concern such as carbon tetrachloride, technetium-99 and uranium.

-Contributor: Dieter Bohrmann

Savannah River Site Vitrification Facility Undergoes Major Upgrade

AIKEN, S.C. – EM’s vitrification plant at Savannah River Site (SRS) is undergoing a significant process improvement.

The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) enters an outage this month to begin the replacement of formic acid with glycolic acid in the facility’s vitrification process. Glycolic acid will allow for safer processing of high-activity radioactive waste at DWPF, leading to more efficient conversion of waste into glass. The transition to glycolic acid is expected to be completed by October 2022.

The current use of formic acid results in generation of hydrogen and produces ammonia as the acid reacts at elevated temperatures. Glycolic acid significantly reduces these off-gas hazards while providing chemical stability for the process.

This change is another step to ensure the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) can operate at high production rates since DWPF will be able to treat greater quantities of waste due to the stability of the process.

SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) operates DWPF and SWPF for EM.

Savannah River National Laboratory performed testing that contributed to the selection of glycolic acid as a replacement for formic acid. The replacement of formic acid with glycolic acid was studied for 10 years before it was put into use, according to Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition.

“Extensive laboratory testing showed us that glycolic acid enables DWPF to treat more waste, removing curies from SRS waste tanks at a faster rate,” Folk said. “Safely removing greater volumes of liquid waste continues to reduce the risk this waste poses.”

Wyatt Clark, SRMC chief operations officer, said the use of glycolic acid is a significant innovation for the overall waste treatment process.

“We expect glycolic acid to improve the overall efficiency of waste processing inside DWPF,” Clark said. “Removing formic acid will allow us to process more waste. The overall impact is more efficient processing in an environment that is even safer than before, making this a win-win for the SRS Liquid Waste Program and our employees.”

The change to glycolic acid means that all major SRS liquid waste facilities will also be paused since the facilities are integrated. However, during this planned outage, preventive and corrective maintenance work will be performed in SRS liquid waste facilities. Performing this maintenance work now takes advantage of the pause and will make the entire liquid waste system more reliable and more robust when operations resume.

During the outage, the Saltstone Disposal Units construction will continue, as will any work not connected to the change to glycolic acid. Those units are where the saltstone grout resulting from waste processing solidifies into a nonhazardous, solid low-level waste form.

-Contributor: Jim Beasley

West Valley Makes Progress Toward Reducing Cold War Footprint

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) are working to close a former storage area for hazardous mixed waste, thereby reducing the site’s Cold War footprint and helping protect the environment.

A team of employees from CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) and a subcontracted driller recently finished soil sampling at the former waste storage site. The sampling is required by a closure plan in accordance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, a public law that creates the framework for the proper management of hazardous and nonhazardous solid waste.

The team is awaiting laboratory results from the samples to determine whether the former waste storage site can be closed.

A team at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project worked efficiently to complete sampling of a former waste storage area site in half the time planned. Pictured from left are K.T. Simmons, J.J. Nosal, Marty Regan, Chuck Roesch, Dave Baldwin, Terry Sullivan, Mike Weyand, and Vince Sabin. Team members not pictured include Hugh Foster, Doug Ruszczyk, Paul Fintak, Mike Pendl and Dave Klenk.

The crew completed the sampling in half the time scheduled after working with regulators to develop and implement a plan to evaluate Methyl ethyl ketone, a common laboratory contaminant that had been detected in two locations at the former waste storage site following initial sampling.

That plan included sampling at designated depths for the liquid substance to determine its extent. Methyl ethyl ketone is used as a solvent and to make plastics, textiles and paints.

“The team was able to complete all 21 sample locations within one day,” said David Klenk, CHBWV regulatory strategy environmental compliance and monitoring manager, referring to the second round of sampling. “Everyone was well versed and prepared for their respective job functions, which allowed the whole project to operate safely, effectively and efficiently.”

-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere

Critical Infrastructure Improvements Support Sustainability in SRS Tank Farms

AIKEN, S.C. – EM is improving operational reliability through critical infrastructure replacement at a Savannah River Site (SRS) tank farm.

Crews in the site’s H Tank Farm installed a new, 38-foot pipe bridge to transport utility services to the 2H Evaporator. The increased reliability of utility supply will help ensure the evaporator, one of two located in the tank farm, can run efficiently until the end of the liquid waste mission at SRS.

The bridge installation is part of an ongoing project to install new aboveground infrastructure to replace aging underground utilities that service tanks and facilities located on the H Tank Farm’s East Hill. Replacing the utility infrastructure improves the reliability of critical utilities, such as steam, air and water.

There are 43 remaining operational tanks that store radioactive salt and sludge waste at SRS. Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), EM’s SRS liquid waste contractor, manages all SRS liquid waste systems, including the tank farms. SRMC is completing the East Hill utilities project for EM.

Improving critical infrastructure will allow the tank farm to better support salt batches for the Salt Waste Processing Facility and sludge batches for the Defense Waste Processing Facility, according to Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition.

“The East Hill utilities project mitigates excavation to repair underground utilities, avoiding potential system downtime,” Folk said. “It is also more cost effective to run new utilities above ground than to replace underground utilities in potentially contamination areas.”

Crews install a new pipe bridge in the Savannah River Site’s H Tank Farm that will transport utility services to 2H Evaporator, pictured, which reduces the volume of liquid radioactive waste in the site's 43 remaining operational tanks.

Hanford Inventory Count Tallies Hundreds of Thousands of Items

Hanford Mission Integration Solutions Storekeeper Cooper Whitney counts items in a Hanford Site warehouse as part of the 100% wall-to-wall inventory process.

RICHLAND, Wash. – A wall-to-wall count that will cover every item located in warehouses and storage areas on the Hanford Site is underway. This process ensures accountability for the accuracy and cost of purchases made on behalf of the EM Richland Operations Office (RL).

The inventory process covers all items within the warehouse network managed by Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS), the site’s essential-services contractor. The HMIS warehousing and property management team accounts for all items, such as spare parts and materials for future projects, as well as general supplies, waste-packaging drums, respiratory hoods and filters, and numerous other items to support the cleanup mission.

“Accountability to taxpayers includes fiscal responsibility and oversight of all inventories at the Hanford Site,” said James Gagnon, RL industrial property management specialist. “This includes maintaining an accurate tally across a network of more than 15,000 item locations covering 18 different groups of inventory, plus physical buildings and outdoor storage areas.”

Hanford Mission Integration Solutions Inventory Specialist William Keck leads this year’s count of all inventories on the Hanford Site.

The detailed process takes several months, with different items selected each week for counting. If the numbers don’t match, the history of the item is reviewed, and a recount called for. The 2021 inventory covered 470,420 items and resulted in an accuracy of more than 99% for both items and cost.

“Our team prides itself on the tremendous effort made to maintain a highly accurate inventory for the Hanford Site,” said HMIS Property Manager Billy Shoemake. “The team also serves as the steward of property purchased to support cleanup operations.”

HMIS expects to complete the inventory process by the end of September, in time for the end of the fiscal budget year.

-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik

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