 EMTV VIDEO PREMIERE: Watch EM's inaugural Year in Review video, a cinematic exploration of the cleanup program's achievements throughout the DOE complex in 2022.
After more than 30 years of mitigating the most pressing environmental risks, EM is approaching a crossroads, shifting to remaining work that involves some of the toughest and most expensive challenges. EM summarized its cleanup accomplishments across the complex, including numerous major program priorities, in its 2022 Year in Review released today.
"I am proud of all the work done this year across EM to begin clearing the decks of some of the last longstanding challenges facing the program,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “The progress realized in 2022 sets EM up well for even greater success in the future as cleanup progress sets the stage for stewardship, restoration and enduring economic growth.”
 Click here to Read EM's 2022 Year in Review.
The 2022 Year in Review highlights progress and accomplishments at each EM site, including:
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
- Received 235 transuranic waste shipments from five generator sites.
- Reached a depth of more than 700 feet for a new utility shaft towards the targeted depth of 2,275 feet.
- Increased stakeholder engagement activities in northern New Mexico.
EM Los Alamos Field Office
- Completed 52 transuranic waste shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, surpassing an EM 2022 priority.
- Began an EM Los Alamos strategic vision plan with stakeholder input for remaining legacy cleanup campaigns at the Los Alamos National Laboratory Site.
Idaho Cleanup Project
- Completed exhumation of 5.69 acres of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex Subsurface Disposal Area — an EM 2022 priority.
Hanford Site
- Began the first large-scale treatment of waste from large underground storage tanks with the start of Tank-Side Cesium Removal System operations — an EM 2022 priority.
- Completed construction of a protective enclosure, or “cocoon,” around K East Reactor — an EM 2022 priority.
Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office
- Completed demolition of the 2.6-million-square-foot X-326 process building at the Portsmouth Site — an EM 2022 priority.
- Transferred 200 acres of land from the Portsmouth Site to the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, reducing the federal footprint and expanding opportunities for reindustrialization.
- Completed the disposition of an additional 1 million pounds of refrigerant currently stored at the Paducah Site — an EM 2022 priority.
West Valley Demonstration Project
- Launched Main Plant Process Building demolition — an EM 2022 priority.
Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management
- Completed cleanup and transfer of the Biology Complex area — an EM 2022 priority.
- Began processing uranium-233 material in hot cells — an EM 2022 priority.
Savannah River Site
- Treated more than 2.1 million gallons of tank waste and removed over 3.7 million curies from the waste.
Small Site Progress
- Continued characterization and hazard reduction activities to prepare for demolition and closure of two legacy facilities at the Nevada National Security Site.
- Disposed a cumulative 13 million tons of the estimated 16 million tons of uranium mill tailings at the Moab Site in Utah ― an EM 2022 priority.
- Completed disposal of building demolition debris at the Energy Technology Engineering Center Site in California.
- Completed the Building 280 Reactor Removal Project and finished waste disposal from the demolition of Building 175 at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
The 2022 Year in Review can be accessed here.
 Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership’s deactivation crew pumps R-114 refrigerant into a specialized shipping container. In calendar year 2022, the team shipped 1 million pounds of the refrigerant offsite for treatment.
PADUCAH, Ky. – Achieving a 2022 priority ahead of schedule, EM successfully removed 1 million pounds of an ozone-depleting chemical from the Paducah Site, a benefit to the environment comparable to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by taking about 10,000 vehicles off the road in a year.
“Congratulations to the Paducah team for meeting this milestone,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said. “This is a significant advancement towards DOE’s goal to remove R-114 from the Paducah Site entirely over the next few years.”
Dichlorotetrafluoroethane, commonly known as R-114 refrigerant, played an important role in uranium enrichment operations at the Paducah Site before operations ceased in 2014. Those operations produced large quantities of heat as a result of compressing uranium hexafluoride gas. The heat had to be removed by means of a cooling process as R-114 was pumped into the system to control temperatures during the conversion process.
 During calendar year 2022, EM’s Paducah Site packaged 1 million pounds of ozone-depleting R-114 refrigerant for offsite shipment and treatment using specialized containers like the one pictured here on a flatbed trailer.
The R-114 removal project, led by deactivation and remediation contractor Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), with support from subcontractor Veolia, was completed over a month ahead of schedule.
“We have made tremendous progress in the removal of R-114 from the Paducah Site,” FRNP Program Manager Myrna Redfield said. “In addition to the strong team we have put together at FRNP, we also give credit to the valuable partnership we have established with our subcontractor Veolia, who has supported this milestone as we shipped one million pounds of R-114 to their facility this calendar year.”
Since 2020, FRNP has safely and compliantly removed approximately 40% of the site’s former 8.5-million-pound R-114 inventory, filling over 100 specialized containers for offsite shipment and treatment. Over the next three years, FRNP will work to remove the remaining 5.3 million pounds of R-114, achieving DOE’s goal to reduce this environmental hazard from the Paducah Site altogether.
-Contributors: Dylan Nichols, Jessica Vasseur
 A view of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM’s radioactive liquid waste treatment facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site will begin its final heat-up this month before initiating radiological operations early next year.
Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) crews will follow a prescribed incremental process as the facility transitions from simulant to sodium-bearing waste (SBW). In the run-up to starting radiological operations, the IWTU Operations crew will coordinate with New Waste Calcining Facility (NWCF) Operations personnel to pump SBW from NWCF tanks to the IWTU waste feed tank where it will be blended with simulant to achieve the desired blend ratio.
NWCF converted high-level radioactive liquid waste from the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center tanks until May 2000 in a process called calcining. The infrastructure from that former operation — such as waste transfer lines and holding tanks — remains, and will be used for IWTU waste treatment.
 Integrated Waste Treatment Unit operators monitor plant conditions during a confirmatory run for the facility that took place earlier this year.
The initial desired blend ratio will be 10% SBW and 90% nonradioactive simulant. IWTU Operations will continue to process this blended mixture for approximately 30 days to allow the IWTU Radiation Protection crew to perform thorough radiation protection surveys to evaluate the radiological conditions throughout the facility.
After the evaluation of radiological conditions during processing of 10% SBW, the IWTU will process a blended mix of 50% SBW and 50% simulant and then 100% SBW. The enhanced radiological evaluations will be repeated until the IWTU is operating with 100% SBW.
IWTU was constructed from 2007 to 2011 to convert 900,000 gallons of liquid SBW from three nearby underground storage tanks to a dried, granular solid using a steam-reforming process. The dried product will be transferred to stainless steel canisters and then concrete vaults for monitored storage.
Following waste treatment, the tanks will be cleaned, grouted and closed under federal and state regulations before the area is capped.
SBW treatment is expected to take three to seven years to complete.
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
 Federal and contractor leadership from EM and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) gather Dec. 15 to celebrate the transfer of the former Biology Complex at Oak Ridge back to NNSA. EM cleared an 18-acre area that will be the future location of NNSA’s new Lithium Processing Facility. From left are Brian Henry, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM); Rich Tighe, Consolidated Nuclear Security; Laura Wilkerson, OREM; Dale Christensen, NNSA; Teresa Robbins, NNSA; Ken Rueter, UCOR; William “Ike” White, EM; Jay Mullis, EM; and Dan Macias, UCOR.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – DOE’s Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) maintained its momentum in 2022, accomplishing ambitious EM priorities, altering skylines and advancing key projects essential to up-and-coming cleanup.
The successful year was punctuated by the completion of two projects deemed EM priorities for 2022. In the first, employees began processing high-activity uranium-233 inventory stored at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), helping eliminate risks while providing rare medical isotopes for cancer treatment research.
Later in 2022, OREM completed the transfer of the former Biology Complex footprint at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) after crews removed massive high-risk structures and their foundations. They created 18 acres of clean, reusable land for Y-12 to build its new Lithium Processing Facility. EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White was on hand last week to celebrate that transfer of land back to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The past year saw Oak Ridge make headway on many other impactful projects, including notable demolitions at both ORNL and Y-12.
Crews notched their first-ever demolition of a former reactor in ORNL’s central campus. Tearing down the Bulk Shielding Reactor eliminated a potential hazard in the heart of the site. It also kicked off the first of many projects that will reshape that area and open land to support future research missions.
 The Mercury Treatment Facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex will be comprised of a treatment facility, headworks facility and a half-mile pipeline. Crews pictured here advance construction on the treatment facility.
At Y-12, crews took down another high-risk structure with the demolition of the former Criticality Experiment Lab. The project removed a shuttered 1940s-era building that had been deteriorating for 30 years. Workers also deactivated numerous other excess contaminated facilities at ORNL and Y-12, preparing them for knockdown in 2023 and beyond.
While several buildings came down, others were sprouting up. OREM completed construction on the Sludge Processing Mock Test Facility at ORNL. That facility will play a vital role in maturing technologies needed to begin processing Oak Ridge’s 400,000-gallon inventory of transuranic sludge waste. Engineers and staff will use data from that facility to inform the final design for the Sludge Processing Facility.
Construction continued on the Mercury Treatment Facility, which is slated to be operational in 2025 and is key to begin large scale cleanup at Y-12. Crews continued building the treatment facility portion, and they are preparing to lay the foundation for the headworks facility portion.
OREM also hit a significant milestone with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation when the three entities signed a record of decision for the Environmental Management Disposal Facility. That document allows OREM to move forward with early site preparation and the final design for an onsite disposal facility enabling steady cleanup progress in the years ahead at ORNL and Y-12.
OREM also launched a newscast in 2022 to highlight the partnerships and people contributing to Oak Ridge’s success. The news program has enhanced engagement with employees, stakeholders and others in the community since it began earlier this year. Energycast Oak Ridge airs in 24 counties across middle and east Tennessee and is also available on OREM’s social media channels.
-Contributor: Ben Williams
 Watch this animated video on EM’s vision for the end state of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex at DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory Site.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM and a contractor counterpart have outlined end-state plans for Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site facilities that will result in a prominent transformation across the 890-square-mile site within this decade.
Visible progress can already be seen at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex. Earlier this year, Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) crews completed targeted buried waste exhumation within a 5.69-acre footprint of the 97-acre landfill called the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA). Crews recently demolished the Accelerated Retrieval Project (ARP) IV facility, one of seven steel-framed, fabric-sided buildings at the SDA landfill.
Demolition of the ARP structures is necessary before construction can commence on an estimated 130-acre earthen cover over the landfill. The project will require an estimated 250,000 dump-truck loads of soils and rocks to be installed as the final step in remediation of the area.
The next structure to be demolished will be ARP V, which sits atop Pit 9. It will be demolished in early 2023, followed by five other ARP enclosures over the next two years. Then, construction of the cap is scheduled to begin and continue until the end of 2028.
At the nearby Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), deactivation and closure activities of the Transuranic Storage Area Retrieval Enclosure (TSA-RE) continue with removal of an asphalt pad. The asphalt is being disposed at the Idaho Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Disposal Facility (ICDF).
A small portion of the TSA-RE houses waste awaiting shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) for disposal. The transuranic waste shipments to WIPP are expected to continue for the next several years, removing waste once stored at the AMWTP and SDA.
AMWTP has retrieved, characterized, treated, repackaged, certified and shipped roughly 62,000 cubic meters of waste to WIPP and other offsite repositories for disposal. Demolition of the AMWTP facilities will be planned after the waste shipments to WIPP are completed.
At the Naval Reactors Facility (NRF), DOE and the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program have established an agreement for EM to perform select deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) activities on the NRF footprint.
IEC will remove buildings, support structures and four reactor vessels that once supported the Submarine 1st Generation Westinghouse (S1W), Aircraft Carrier 1st Generation Westinghouse (A1W) and Submarine 5th Generation General Electric (S5G) reactor prototypes. All contaminated equipment, and the vessels themselves, from the S1W and A1W prototypes are planned to be disposed onsite at the ICDF in accordance with the facility’s waste acceptance criteria. These D&D actions will free up to 4.6 acres at NRF for other purposes.
Recently, DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Idaho agreed to expand the ICDF to accommodate demolition debris from NRF and other sitewide cleanup activities. The new landfill cell will increase the overall waste disposal capacity of the facility to 1.38 million cubic yards and extend its mission by 25 years.
Lastly, EM is preparing the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) to begin radiological operations to treat 900,000 gallons of liquid sodium-bearing waste from three nearby underground waste storage tanks. Following completion of the waste treatment campaign, the emptied tanks will be cleaned and grouted. The tanks will then be closed and the area capped in accordance with federal requirements.
EM plans to build a new building to increase the storage capacity for the treated sodium-bearing waste.
“The cleanup program has had a successful 33-year run," Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr said. "The next decade will provide the most substantial, visible results in the history of the program to date.”
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
 Washington River Protection Solutions and its subcontractors finished construction of a fourth basin at the Liquid Effluent Retention Facility in fiscal 2022. The new basin can store an additional 8 million gallons of wastewater for treatment in support of the Hanford Site’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program.
EM recently awarded performance-based fees payments to 14 of its contractors at sites across the DOE complex, including Hanford, Savannah River, Paducah, Portsmouth, Nevada, Idaho, Los Alamos and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The cleanup program releases information relating to contractor fee payments — earned by completing work called for in the contracts — to further transparency in its cleanup program.
Following are the fee payments for the contractors over varying performance evaluation periods:
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Hanford Site Office of River Protection (ORP) 222-S Laboratory contractor Hanford Laboratory Management and Integration received nearly $2.27 million, or 92% of the available fee of about $2.46 million for fiscal 2022.
- Hanford Richland Operations Office mission-support contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions earned about $20 million, or almost 90% of the available fee of more than $22.3 million for fiscal 2022.
- Washington River Protection Solutions, the ORP tank operations contractor, was awarded more than $45.7 million, or nearly 87% of the available fee of $52.7 million for fiscal 2022.
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Savannah River Site (SRS) management-and-operations (M&O) contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions received almost $37 million, or nearly 95% of the available fee of about $39 million for fiscal 2022.
- Savannah River Mission Completion, the liquid waste contractor at SRS, received $26,880, or 96% of the available fee of $28,000 for the period of June 27 to Sept. 30, 2022.
- At Savannah River National Laboratory, M&O contractor Battelle Savannah River Alliance earned nearly $6.2 million, or close to 94% of the available fee of about $6.6 million for fiscal 2022.
- Centerra-Savannah River Site, the protective force services contractor at SRS, was awarded about $6.3 million, or 94% of the available fee of more than $6.7 million for the period of Oct. 8, 2021, to Oct. 7, 2022.
- Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Paducah Site cleanup contractor, received $16.8 million, or 80% of the available fee of nearly $21 million for fiscal 2022.
- Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, the Portsmouth Site decontamination and decommissioning contractor, was awarded $14 million, or 93% of the available fee of $15 million for the period of March 29 to Sept. 30, 2022.
- Mid-America Conversion Services earned $7.8 million, or 93% of the available fee of approximately $8.5 million for fiscal 2022, for its operation and maintenance of the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facilities at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites.
- Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc., EM’s cleanup contractor for the Nevada National Security Site, was awarded close to $1.12 million, or 89% of the available fee of more than $1.25 for fiscal 2022.
- Idaho Environmental Coalition, EM’s cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory Site, received about $13.34 million, or nearly 94% of the available fee of about $14.26 million for the period of May 1 to Sept. 30, 2022.
- Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos, the EM Los Alamos Field Office legacy cleanup contractor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, earned more than $7.16 million, or 77% of the available fee of $9.28 million during fiscal 2022.
- Nuclear Waste Partnership, the M&O contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, earned more than $11.14 million, representing close to 72% of the available fee of close to $15.58 million for fiscal 2022.
 A frame from EM West Valley Demonstration Project’s new animation of the Main Plant Process Building demolition depicts how the facility will be taken down one area at a time to ensure safety and stability of the building. This five-minute video details how the project will progress as each of more than 70 areas of the Main Plant are torn down.
WEST VALLEY, N. Y. – Click here to watch a new animated video showing how EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) will safely take down the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP).
The EM team at West Valley wanted to easily convey the project to the public, and they believe the animation accomplishes that goal, according to Stephen Bousquet, EM WVDP federal project director for the Main Plant Deconstruction Project.
“An animation is an excellent visual tool for showing how this project will be accomplished safely and in compliance with local, state and federal regulations,” said Bousquet, who helped create the animation. “Our engineered approach is designed to safely deconstruct this facility at a deliberate rate and sequence while maintaining the building’s structural integrity.”
CHBWV President John Rendall said removal and disposal of the Main Plant is the contractor’s remaining primary task at the site.
“More than 98 percent of the contamination has been removed from the building, and we have a state-of-the-science monitoring system that verifies the protective measures and safeguards in place continue to be protective of employees, the public and the environment.”
The animation was created using images from a 3D engineering model developed during the planning process for the Main Plant demolition.
“DOE’s carefully planned approach for deconstructing the Main Plant incorporates best practices and lessons learned from the WVDP and across the DOE complex,” Bousquet said. “This approach includes the use of deliberately planned and sequenced demolition, the implementation of robust work controls and the use of specialized tools and techniques to safely deconstruct the building.”
The EM workforce at West Valley has completed significant work over the past two decades to prepare the Main Plant for the demolition, which began in September, achieving an EM 2022 priority. The project is expected to take more than 30 months to complete.
-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere
 Representatives from several Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant suppliers toured plant facilities during a recent visit and received Premier Supply Chain Contributor Awards from contractor Bechtel National Inc. The awards recognize their support of the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program.
RICHLAND, Wash. – The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) contractor team recently recognized project contributions by 14 suppliers by presenting them with Premier Supply Chain Contributor Awards during a ceremony at the Hanford Site.
“Excellent contractor and supplier relationships are essential to our collective success,” said Frank Salaman, manager of Procurement and Subcontracts for Bechtel National Inc., which is designing, building and commissioning the WTP for EM’s Office of River Protection (ORP). “Suppliers are critical members of our team, and these businesses provide outstanding materials and service to the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program (DFLAW).”
Bechtel’s procurement team created these new awards to honor the incredible feats and support of its top contractors and plans to continue the tradition annually.
The DFLAW Program is a system of interdependent projects and infrastructure improvements, managed and highly integrated, that must operate together to vitrify, or immobilize in glass, low-activity waste from Hanford’s large underground tanks.
 Jim Jarrett, left, with Apollo Mechanical Contractors and other supplier representatives toured the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Low-Activity Waste Facility with Tim Dallas, facility manager for Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to prime contractor Bechtel National Inc.
The following suppliers were recognized:
- ABB (Zurich, Switzerland)
- API Construction Company (New Brighton, Minnesota)
- Apollo Mechanical Contractors (Kennewick, Washington)
- Coleman Oil (Lewiston, Idaho)
- Flowserve Corp. (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
- GrayMar Environmental Services (Moses Lake, Washington)
- Hitachi Energy USA Inc. (Raleigh, North Carolina)
- Howden Roots (Windsor, Connecticut)
- Peerless Pumps (Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Petersen (Ogden, Utah)
- PumpTech (Bellevue, Washington)
- R.E. Dupill, doing business as DG Nuclear (Leechburg, Pennsylvania)
- TCI (Germantown, Wisconsin)
- Two Rivers Terminal (Pasco, Washington)
Company representatives toured the plant to see firsthand how their work contributed to progress. For example, the company that built two large melters that will vitrify tank waste during treatment saw them installed inside the plant’s Low-Activity Waste Facility.
“Hanford contractors call upon suppliers from the across the country, and especially in our local area, to deliver their expertise in supporting the successful delivery of our mission,” said Tom Fletcher, ORP assistant manager and federal project director for the WTP Project. “I am pleased to see the contributions of these companies recognized as examples of the excellent support small and large businesses provide the Hanford Site and our contractors.”
When DFLAW operations at the plant begin, waste treated to remove radioactive cesium and solids will be fed to the melters. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials, heated to 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit and then poured into specially designed stainless-steel containers. The containers will be transported a short distance to the site’s Integrated Disposal Facility for disposal.
Earlier this fall, Bechtel’s corporate office announced its 2022 Global Supplier Award recipients, and three WTP suppliers were recognized: PumpTech, Two Rivers Terminal and API Construction Company.
-Contributor: Staci West
 John O'Connell with DOE’s Supply Chain Management Center trains Savannah River Nuclear Solutions procurement employees on Department-wide strategic sourcing tools and programs.
AIKEN, S.C. – Drawing from innovation, purchasing tools and DOE-wide commodity agreements, an EM cleanup contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has saved more than $124 million over the last six years.
During the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 alone, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) saved nearly $20 million.
“SRNS leveraged various cost savings initiatives, and the greatest savings are coming from use of the Supply Chain Management Center’s (SCMC) digital procurement tools and multi-site procurement agreements,” said David Dietz, SRNS supply chain procurement director. “I have to commend our people for their dedicated resolve to fully engage and use every resource available to meet and exceed our goals year after year.”
The SCMC, managed by Honeywell FM&T at the Kansas City National Security Campus, is a strategic supply chain program dedicated to simplifying the buying process to help enable savings for EM and National Nuclear Security Administration prime contractors like SRNS.
“We appreciate the collaboration and dedication SRNS consistently displays when it comes to strategic sourcing. The enterprise looks to your site as a leader,” said John O’Connell, SCMC Principal Customer Programs leader.
Founded in 2006, SCMC works collaboratively with the prime contractors to develop purchasing agreements that can be used by multiple sites across the DOE complex. This saves time by reducing duplication of effort, freeing up buyers to focus on site-specific needs. By leveraging a combined $5 billion in annual spending, SCMC can negotiate lower prices.
“We’re taking full advantage of the incredible savings opportunities through the SCMC and its ability to act as a hedge against rising costs,” said Dietz. “This practice — combined with shared procurement tools and apps, smart data analytics and advanced procurement training also provided by the SCMC — accounts for much of the impressive savings our SRNS team has been able to achieve.”
“Achieving cost savings through these strategic methods and tools is essential as we face an inflationary market with a host of global supply chain challenges,” said Jay Johnson, senior director, SRNS Contracts and Supply Chain Management. “But it’s not just about saving money, it’s about supporting small businesses, including our mentor-protégé businesses. The more money we save through strategic procurement practices, the more we can invest in these same companies.”
Local small business contracts valued at nearly $70 million were issued in 2021 within the five counties near SRS, according to Johnson.
SRNS serves as a major driver of economic growth in the greater Aiken and Augusta area and beyond through procurement contracts, local workforce development and encouraging innovation, he added.
-Contributor: DT Townsend
 Hanford Mission Integrations Solutions Vice President of Information Management Services Todd Eckman shows how a pop-up window can now be pushed out to Hanford Site computers to alert workers to network issues.
RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) recently launched a new method to quickly and easily alert Hanford Site computer users if an issue is affecting the Hanford Site network.
When activated, a pop-up alert will automatically display on the computers of all logged-in Hanford network users and prompt them to acknowledge it. The first use of the system came less than a week after it went live and sent a notification to about 5,000 users. More than half of the recipients acknowledged the alert within 15 minutes.
“Most of the Hanford workforce relies on technology in some way daily, increasing our need to distribute information quickly and efficiently,” said Mike Eddy, Hanford deputy chief information officer. “Notifying people of potential issues allows for continuity of operations where possible.”
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An example of an alert sent to computers on the Hanford Site, notifying workers of network or software disruptions.
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The new computer pop-ups use the same software system as the Hanford Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to notify personnel of emergencies. Using this software, the EOC has made Hanford emergency notifications more streamlined and informative. HMIS emergency preparedness staff can use pre-drafted messages, quickly customizing each for immediate distribution to the workforce or community members who have the Hanford Mobile app.
“By sending standardized mass notifications like these pop-up alerts, the EOC and HMIS can reach thousands of people within minutes, and the cloud-based platform also puts those alerts directly on smart devices,” said Todd Eckman, HMIS vice president of Information Management Services. “Using the platform, operators can also access the system remotely.”
-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik
The EM Update will not be published on Tuesday, Dec. 27 and Tuesday, Jan. 3. We will return to our regular publishing schedule on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
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