EM Update | Vol. 14, Issue 41 | Oct. 18, 2022

• Oak Ridge Launches U-233 Processing Campaign, Achieving EM 2022 Priority
• SRS Begins Long Transition to NNSA Primary Management Responsibility
• Savannah River Site Streamlines Liquid Waste Lab Operations
• Portsmouth Relaunches Science Alliance, Attracting Over 1,000 Students
• EM ‘Matchmaking’ Event Draws Over 45 Small Business Representatives
• Expo Focuses on Safety at Work, Home for Hanford Employees
• Fostering Small Businesses Through Mentor-Protégé Partnerships at SRS
• Hanford Teams Host National Weather Service Director

Oak Ridge Launches U-233 Processing Campaign, Achieving EM 2022 Priority

Oak Ridge contractor Isotek conducted numerous upgrades at Building 2026 to prepare the facility for uranium (U)-233 processing operations. Workers are pictured installing new equipment essential to the downblending process, which is now underway. The downblending process converts the U-233 material into a form safe for transportation and disposal.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – EM contractor Isotek began processing the remaining inventory of uranium (U)-233 stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) last week, attaining a 2022 priority for the cleanup program.

Starting processing operations moves EM closer to achieving its highest cleanup priority at ORNL: safe and secure disposal of the Cold War legacy nuclear material stored in the world’s oldest operating nuclear facility, Building 3019.

Crews began the campaign by transferring a canister of U-233 oxide from Building 3019 into an adjacent, newly upgraded hot cell facility for downblending processing.

“Receiving startup approval for the initial processing campaign is a defining moment for the U-233 Disposition Project,” Isotek President Jim Bolon said. “Isotek personnel have invested over 500,000 hours of effort over several years to make this dream come true. I am extraordinarily proud of their hard work and commitment to the U-233 disposition mission.”

Workers spent months practicing and preparing before processing the first canister of the high-dose uranium-233 inventory last week. EM and contractor Isotek conducted extensive reviews before operations started to ensure the work would be performed safely.

Using the hot cells, which are heavily shielded rooms, workers are protected from radiation exposure as they handle the radioactive nuclear material. Employees open canisters inside the hot cells, strip the transuranic material — which has a higher atomic number than uranium — from the U-233, and mix it with depleted uranyl nitrate.

This downblending lessens the enrichment of the U-233 material, converting the material into a form safe for transportation and permanent disposal. Downblended uranyl nitrate is solidified onsite and transported offsite for disposal.

EM and Isotek’s work to safely process this Cold War-era nuclear material will reduce risks and eliminate costs to taxpayers of keeping the material safe and secure in storage.

U-233 was created as an alternative nuclear fuel source in the 1950s and 1960s. However, due to its trace amounts of U-232, a highly unstable radioactive isotope, it was too difficult to use. Eventually, it was sent to ORNL for storage.

EM and Isotek completed an earlier phase of the project last year. Together, they successfully finished processing and disposing the low-dose inventory of U-233. That two-year effort eliminated a portion of the site’s legacy nuclear material and provided rare nuclear isotopes for next-generation cancer treatment research.

An initial approach involved processing all of the remaining U-233 inventory in hot cells. However, the building where this would occur required significant upgrades before that work could begin.

Isotek identified a subset of the U-233 material with lower radioactivity levels that employees could begin processing in gloveboxes while other crews prepared the hot cells to address the U-233 material with higher radioactivity levels. Now that the hot cells have been upgraded, employees can begin processing the high-dose inventory.

The U-233 Disposition Project is not only reducing risks and eliminating future costs, but also benefiting the medical field. Under a partnership with TerraPower, Isotek is extracting thorium-229 from U-233 during processing.

Thorium-229 will be used to produce vital medical isotopes ideal for a promising new cancer treatment, known as alpha targeted therapy. The inventory of U-233 stored at ORNL is the only source of Thorium-229 in the world today. Processing of all U-233 canisters in Building 3019 is expected to yield enough thorium to produce up to 200 times more cancer treatment doses per year than what is currently available worldwide.

The U-233 processing campaign is expected to continue the next few years. By the end of the campaign, about 90% of the original nuclear inventory in Building 3019 will be dispositioned.

-Contributor: John Gray

SRS Begins Long Transition to NNSA Primary Management Responsibility

A view of the Savannah River Site’s H Area.

AIKEN, S.C. – Big changes are in store for the Savannah River Site (SRS) over the next few years.

EM and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have started a joint planning and implementation process to transition primary authority for SRS from EM to NNSA. The transition will be complete in fiscal year 2025.

EM currently manages SRS and continues to lead a comprehensive environmental cleanup onsite. As EM efficiently and safely completes its cleanup work toward a defined end state, NNSA’s nuclear security mission continues to increase onsite. As a result, DOE and NNSA have jointly decided to transition primary responsibilities to NNSA through a joint planning and transition process.

The transition process was formally started in an Oct. 6, 2022 planning memo from EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White and NNSA Administrator Jill Hruby.

The memo instructs EM and NNSA to form an integrated team of senior subject matter experts and develop a transition plan by June 2023. The plan will define responsibility and management of functions and capabilities for each organization. The plan will also assess and recommend the timing of transfer of functions and responsibilities through a phased approach.

In the memo, White and Hruby write the primary principles of the transition should be “effective mission delivery, stable and seamless transition at the site, and fairness and continuity for on-going programs.” Additionally, “The plan shall account for responsibility and management of functions and capabilities for each organization and those which will have shared usage and responsibility,” as NNSA is set to assume primary management responsibility and budget functions in the fiscal year 2025 budget.

EM and NNSA leadership have committed to a transparent process that will engage the SRS workforce and community, Congress, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and other stakeholders throughout the transition process.

On Sept. 28, the SRS Operations Office extended the current contract with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) at SRS for four years, from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2026, plus an additional one-year option through Sept. 30, 2027, for a total of five years. The current management and operations contract with SRNS expired on Sept. 30.

The Savannah River National Laboratory has a separate contract and will remain under EM management and operations responsibility.

Savannah River Site Streamlines Liquid Waste Lab Operations

Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) lab technician Dorian Carter analyzes samples using a glovebox in Savannah River Mission Completion’s SWPF laboratory.

AIKEN, S.C. – Unifying laboratory operations and streamlining analytical processes are changing the game for EM’s liquid waste program at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the SRS liquid waste contractor, has consolidated its three labs under the liquid waste program into one organization. This change unifies the analytical capabilities rather than the labs working independently.

SRMC’s labs at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF), and Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) perform various analyses of material processed in the liquid waste system.

The SWPF lab is the newest location and has been in use since radioactive commissioning of the facility began in October 2020. Lab results are used for process control; nuclear safety, criticality prevention, and material accountability; product quality; radiological waste characterization; regulatory compliance; and personnel safety.

Melissa Santaella-Ramos, senior manager for SRMC Laboratories, said the organizational change will provide an integrated focus across SRMC’s laboratories to promote consistent and efficient operations, while sharing lessons learned and best practices.

“Combining Savannah River Mission Completion’s laboratories under one umbrella will strengthen our ability to provide the analytical resources essential to our mission,” Santaella-Ramos said. “We will build on the decades of operational experience of the DWPF and ETF labs, while maximizing the new analytical capabilities and state-of-the-art equipment that the SWPF lab brings to the program, combining the wealth of scientific knowledge of the talented personnel across SRMC laboratories.”

Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) lab technician Jennifer Zimmerman operates a manipulator to maneuver radioactive samples in Savannah River Mission Completion’s SWPF laboratory.

Evidence of this integrated focus is in how personnel collaborate on improvements to manipulator arms used for remote handling of radioactive material in the labs. A work group has been established to perform routine preventive maintenance on the manipulators. This initiative will help reduce equipment degradation, improve ergonomics and minimize the risk of injuries from manipulator use.

In another change, crucial analytical processes to support qualification of salt batch feed for SWPF acceptance criteria can now take place within the SWPF lab. Salt batch qualification ensures the salt waste feed batches meet the specifications for safe processing through SRMC’s facilities.

Wyatt Clark, SRMC chief operating officer, said these improvement initiatives at the laboratory are essential as SRMC continues to ramp up facility production rates.

“Organizationally joining liquid waste laboratory operations, as well as now performing key analytical activities internally, supports the ability to keep our facilities running as safely and effectively as designed,” Clark said. “These improvements position SRMC and the Department of Energy to meet milestones, overcome future challenges and fulfill our mission.”

Radioactive liquid waste is generated at SRS as byproducts from the processing of nuclear materials for national defense, research, medical programs and outer space missions. Totaling about 34 million gallons, the waste is stored in the remaining 43 underground carbon-steel waste tanks grouped into two tank farms at SRS. The SRS liquid waste program consists of high-hazard operations, which include complex engineering, procurement, construction, waste treatment, grouting, and disposal to operationally close the waste tanks.

-Contributor: Colleen Hart

Portsmouth Relaunches Science Alliance, Attracting Over 1,000 Students

PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – EM’s Portsmouth Site recently brought back the Science Alliance, an event offering students a hands-on approach to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), following a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 1,000 students from 21 different high schools across four counties took part in this year’s Science Alliance. At the event, students also had an opportunity to meet with local universities and employers to learn about post-graduation opportunities.

“We are very happy to have the 11th Science Alliance back at the Portsmouth Site,” EM Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis said. “Not only is this a unique way for us to reach future generations through interactive and information-sharing sessions, it gives us the chance to share what we do at the site and promote future careers geared towards our cleanup mission.”

EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Federal Project Director Jud Lilly discusses the nuclear fuel cycle with students at one of 14 science stations at the newly relaunched Science Alliance.

Portsmouth Site Engineer Ellen Stone, the Science Alliance director, leads students from Jackson City Schools in Breathitt County to one of the 14 science stations at the event.

At the Science Alliance, students progressed through 14 different science stations in small groups, exploring robotics, radiation, environmental protection, aviation and other topics.

They engaged with 13 colleges and universities, eight businesses, and the GRIT Project, an organization that helps people obtain life skills that will contribute to employment through hands-on learning and engaging challenges.

-Contributor: Michelle Teeters

EM ‘Matchmaking’ Event Draws Over 45 Small Business Representatives

EM Small Business Program Manager Anne Marie Bird discusses prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities with small business representatives during a “matchmaking” event at the recent Environmental Business Association 2022 Business Opportunities & Technical Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – EM hosted a first-ever event for small businesses at the recent Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) 2022 Business Opportunities & Technical Conference.

During the inaugural event, titled “SmALL Business Thursday,” EM conducted a business opportunities “matchmaking” session in partnership with ETEBA. More than 45 small businesses provided brief overviews of their capabilities to government and industry representatives and learned about prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities across the cleanup complex.

Dae Chung, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for corporate services, emphasized the importance of the outreach effort.

“EM is very focused on small business inclusion, and the SmALL Business Thursday event was representative of EM’s desire to find avenues for greater outreach opportunities with small business,” Chung said. “The event not only included engagement opportunities between capable small businesses and EM, but also with five major EM prime contractors for significant subcontracting opportunities to support the advancement of the EM cleanup mission. EM greatly appreciates ETEBA’s partnership in supporting small business engagement.”

A view of EM’s “matchmaking” session with more than 45 small business representatives at the recent Environmental Business Association 2022 Business Opportunities & Technical Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee.

NEW VIDEO ALERT: Watch this video to learn more about the Energy, Technology and Environmental Business Association 2022 Business Opportunities & Technical Conference in Knoxville, Tennessee, where EM Senior Advisor William "Ike" White gave the keynote address. In the video, a clip from Energycast Oak Ridge, White and others discuss how EM's cleanup is setting the stage for continued success for the Oak Ridge community, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Y-12 National Security Complex.

Following the matchmaking session, EM conducted two panel discussions focused on business opportunities. One panel covered cleanup sites in the western portion of the EM complex, while the other addressed sites in the complex’s eastern portion.

Those panel discussions included representatives from the following DOE and industry entities:

• Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center
• Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization
• Savannah River Site
• Richland Operations Office
• Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos
• Idaho Environmental Coalition
• United Cleanup Oak Ridge
• Battelle Savannah River Alliance
• Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
• EM/National Nuclear Security Administration Supply Chain Management Center

ETEBA, a non-profit trade association, represents about 170 small, large and mid-sized companies and affiliate members that provide environmental, technology, energy, engineering, construction and related services to government and commercial clients. ETEBA's mission is to promote the success of its members by fostering market understanding, identifying business opportunities and advocating for common interests.

Expo Focuses on Safety at Work, Home for Hanford Employees

Fostering Small Businesses Through Mentor-Protégé Partnerships at SRS

AIKEN, S.C. – An EM contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) continues to find ways to improve its small business mentor-protégé program, now in its sixth year.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) recently held its Mentor-Protégé Center of Excellence Day, where participants suggested improvements for the program, which has received a big financial boost from SRNS, from $415,000 to $19.5 million annually.

The SRNS Mentor-Protégé Program is a DOE initiative designed to help small businesses enhance their capabilities as subcontractors across the DOE complex. The SRNS program includes the Mentor-Protégé Center of Excellence, where mentor companies share best practices and lessons learned.

Since its inception in 2016, the SRNS Mentor-Protégé Program has grown as it supports multiple companies at any one time. Four protégé companies currently participate in the program, with a fifth being evaluated.

As they work to increase participation in the program at SRS, SRNS officials also share their knowledge of mentoring protégé companies with other EM sites across the DOE complex.

“Mentor-protégé programs are a tremendous asset for small businesses and participating DOE contractors, providing valuable insight to ensure success at SRS and the greater DOE complex,” said James Toler, SRNS executive vice president, National Nuclear Security Administration Capital Projects. “These programs allow us to actively engage with these small and often new companies, teach them best practices and show them how to provide high-value products and services that support our missions.”

Supporting local small businesses has a significant economic “ripple effect” within the communities surrounding SRS.

The protégé companies often hire local residents for SRS contracts, and they use nearby commercial vendors for a large percentage of their procurement needs.

Economic impact studies have shown that when SRS organizations spend a dollar, it returns two dollars to the five counties surrounding SRS.

When companies in the program receive their mentor-protégé agreements, they can obtain subcontracts to conduct work at other DOE sites in addition to SRS. The agreement simplifies the procurement process, saving federal procurement dollars through streamlined purchasing methods.

Mentor-protégé programs are also designed to encourage large prime contractors to provide developmental assistance to small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, historically underutilized business zone (HUBZone) small businesses, small-disadvantaged businesses and women-owned small businesses.

-Contributor: DT Townsend

Hanford Teams Host National Weather Service Director

From left, National Weather Service meteorologists Larry Nierenberg and Ed Townsend, and Western Region Director Grant A. Cooper view weather model capabilities available to Hanford Mission Integration Solutions Meteorologist Grant Gutierrez at the Hanford Site’s Emergency Operations Center.

The Hanford Site recently received a new road sign to display its "StormReady" status. Hanford Mission Integration Solutions employees accepted the sign, including, from left, Manager of Program Regulatory Compliance – Natural Phenomenon Aaron Fergusson, Meteorologist Grant Gutierrez, Vice President of Mission Assurance Darci Teel and Emergency Operations Manager Ted Morales.

Hanford Site Emergency Preparedness Specialist Dulcie Allen provides National Weather Service Western Region Director Grant A. Cooper, right, a tour of Hanford’s Emergency Operations Center.

One of the benefits of the StormReady designation is that if needed during a Hanford EOC activation, the NWS would deploy its meteorologists to support the Hanford team.

EM Richland Operations Office contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions manages both the Hanford Meteorological Station (HMS) and the Hanford EOC, and showcased the partnership forged between Hanford and the NWS.

“This not only demonstrates integration at the Hanford Site, but it also provides an important resource for the community and the region,” said Kyle Rankin, with the Nuclear Safety Division of the EM Office of River Protection.

In the past year, the NWS coordinated closely with the Hanford Site to verify a new high temperature record for Washington state, set at the HMS. It is a rare occurrence to have an accepted record from a station that is not run by the NWS. For its efforts in assisting with the temperature verification, the HMS team was previously named a Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador of Excellence.

-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik

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