EM Update | Vol. 15, Issue 19 | May 16, 2023

• ‘Gone Fission’ Podcast Turns Focus to EM Hiring Initiatives
• EM Leaders Attend State and Tribal Group Conference, Tour Nevada Cleanup
• Oak Ridge Groundbreaking: Viewing Platform Brings Historic K-25 Into Perspective
• WIPP Mine Rescue Team Uses Lifesaving Skills in Highway Accident
• Idaho Waste Treatment Facility Increases Production Fivefold
• Hanford Collaborations: Creating Connections With the Next Generation
• SRS-Sponsored Robotics Team Makes Inroads at International Competition
• Hanford Uses 3D Scanning to Enhance Worker Safety for Demolitions

‘Gone Fission’ Podcast Turns Focus to EM Hiring Initiatives

In a continued effort to raise awareness of EM’s hiring initiatives amid a swelling number of job vacancies, an employee of the cleanup program’s Workforce Management Office joined the “Gone Fission Nuclear Report Podcast” last week to discuss work to build the next-generation workforce.

Click here to access the podcast episode, titled "DOE EM is Hiring Today and Tomorrow."

"Ensuring an adequate workforce for the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program is a continuing concern and a high priority. There are decades of cleanup work left to do," podcast host Michael Butler said. "EM is now engaged in an aggressive program to hire more professionals. In this week's episode, we examine the need for workers and what EM is doing to make sure there are enough qualified employees now and in the decades ahead."

An aging workforce, a search to bring more diversity and inclusion into the cleanup program and shifting priorities around the EM mission are the main reasons for the urgent call for hiring across the cleanup complex.

“We need everyone and every skill as we continue to take this work into the future,” Dameone Ferguson, supervisory diversity manager for EM’s Workforce Management Office, told Butler while outlining the types of candidates EM is looking to hire.

Ferguson noted a few mission-critical roles EM is seeking to fill: interdisciplinary engineers, physical scientists, information technologists and contract specialists.

Read a related EM News Flash here about how EM is strengthening its procurement capabilities to ensure the cleanup program has talented, capable acquisition professionals now and in the future with the launch of the new EM Career Acquisition Program.

Michael Butler, host of the “Gone Fission Nuclear Report Podcast,” said EM Update's recent reports on the cleanup complex's hiring initiatives and challenges prompted him to cover the issue in his podcast. Click here to access the episode.

EM Workforce Management Office Supervisory Diversity Manager Dameone Ferguson has said EM is taking positive steps to attract, recruit and retain talent by leveraging its human capital plan to drive forth greater solutions to source for the next-generation workforce.

Ferguson and Butler delved into the hiring needs for both the federal and contractor workforce within EM during the podcast episode. Federal workers are needed to provide oversight and contractor employees are necessary to support the work being done at EM.

While recruitment efforts will not be slowing anytime soon, EM has already seen success from measures it has taken so far to find new employees, including in-person and virtual job fairs and partnerships with local ecosystems such as colleges, universities, professional societies and minority-serving institutions.

One example of that success is the Pathways Recent Graduates Program offered to current students, recent graduates and those with advanced degrees. Ferguson shared that over 1,100 candidates applied for 30 positions being advertised.

ONE-STOP JOB SHOP: An EM webpage titled EM Jobs, Internships & Fellowships offers a variety of resources on EM employment positions, internships and other programs as well as guidance on applying for jobs with EM. The site features useful links to EM and the broader DOE positions available on USAJobs, DOE veterans recruitment, graduate fellowship and postdoctoral research programs, and internships. In addition, the website houses past EM Update articles highlighting EM recruitment efforts, internships and more across the DOE complex.

"DOE EM is Hiring Today and Tomorrow:" Click here to listen to the “Gone Fission Nuclear Report Podcast” episode focused on EM hiring initiatives with podcast host Michael Butler and special guest Dameone Ferguson, supervisory diversity manager for EM’s Workforce Management Office.

Social media posts and EM Update newsletter articles — access some of them here, here and here — have also put a spotlight on the need for new employees. EM is working to fill more than 300 vacancies as more than half of its federal workforce is set to retire in the next three to five years.

When Butler asked Ferguson why people should work for EM, Ferguson replied, “People are looking for both purpose and passion and this mission we have within the EM organization is allowing people to do just that.”

Butler has said Gone Fission focuses on the EM program. Last fall, he hosted Ferguson and two other special guests from EM for an episode in honor of Veterans Day. They discussed how EM opens doors to veterans.

Open positions across EM and the broader DOE can be found here.

-Contributor: Carly Howard

EM Leaders Attend State and Tribal Group Conference, Tour Nevada Cleanup

EM leaders Jeff Avery and Kristen Ellis are pictured at center on a tour of Sedan Crater, which was formed in 1962 when the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, a predecessor agency to DOE, conducted an excavation experiment using a 104-kiloton thermonuclear device. The test, detonated 635 feet underground, helped develop technology for earth-moving projects.

LAS VEGAS – Two EM senior leaders visited southern Nevada recently to learn about the latest work of the EM Nevada Program and other organizations at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS).

The four-day visit by Jeff Avery, principal deputy assistant secretary, and Kristen Ellis, acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and policy affairs, proved to be multifaceted. One component of the trip involved daylong participation in the State & Tribal Government Working Group’s annual conference in Las Vegas.

Their involvement served to further relationships between DOE, state technical and policy representatives and tribes that host DOE facilities or are impacted by DOE activities. The groups discussed long-term stewardship, tribal issues, transportation planning, radioactive waste disposal, and deactivation and decommissioning activities.

“It has been my experience that it takes a team to complete anything of real consequence,” Avery said during a panel discussion. “We are always better together, and we have so much to learn from all of you in this room.”

From left, Debbie Duren with the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation, Raymond Martinez, Tribal Council representative with the Pueblo de San Ildefonso, and Jeff Avery, EM principal deputy assistant secretary, discuss examples of how close collaboration between DOE, tribal nations and federal regulators leads to exceptional results during the State & Tribal Government Working Group spring conference.

Avery and Ellis also received updates on progress by EM Nevada and the National Nuclear Security Administration at the NNSS. This included briefings from EM Nevada representatives on the ongoing characterization, monitoring, modeling and institutional control of specific areas of groundwater contaminated by historical underground nuclear testing, the Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program and hazard reduction for future demolition of the Engine, Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly (EMAD) and Test Cell C (TCC) facilities at the NNSS.

“The EMAD and TCC facilities represent the last major demolition efforts currently identified in EM Nevada’s environmental remediation mission and it is exciting to see new trucks arrive and demolition staging begin for work at TCC in the coming weeks,” said Ellis.

With the Engine, Maintenance, Assembly, and Disassembly Facility in the background, EM Nevada Program Manager Robert Boehlecke points to Test Cell C being staged for demolition while talking with EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery.

Avery met with Christine Andres of the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection to discuss accomplishments, as well as ongoing challenges and concerns. Avery and Ellis then embarked on a comprehensive tour of the NNSS, visiting areas related to ongoing legacy cleanup work and environmental stewardship. They also visited historic sites including the Apple-2 House, Sedan Crater and Icecap.

“We were honored to host Jeff, Kristen and their team,” EM Nevada Program Manager Robert Boehlecke said. “It was a great opportunity to highlight the important work being done by the EM Nevada Program to address legacy contamination at the NNSS while providing information about our safe and secure disposal options for low-level waste, mixed low-level waste, and classified waste generated by EM, the DOE, the NNSA and Department of Defense programs.”

Avery and Ellis also toured The Atomic Museum in Las Vegas, a national science, history and educational institution that tells the story of America’s nuclear weapons testing program at the NNSS.

Last year, the museum added an EM exhibit dedicated to educating visitors on the environmental cleanup work associated with historic testing.

The EM leaders also met with Anthony Graham and Mark Hilton of the Nevada Site Specific Advisory Board to hear from them on issues and opportunities for improvement.

“Traveling to the sites, meeting with DOE, community, state, and tribal representatives who are all working in concert to move the mission forward — that is the best part of my job,” said Avery. “It takes courage to remain open to new ideas and allow ourselves to challenge one another as we pursue best approaches to our common goals. I saw a tremendous amount of courage on display from EM and all our partners in Nevada.”

-Contributors: Kyle Hendrix, Glenn Puit

Oak Ridge Groundbreaking: Viewing Platform Brings Historic K-25 Into Perspective

From left, American Museum of Science and Energy Director Alan Lowe; Roane County representative Bonnie Argus; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Deputy Commander Maj. Todd Mainwaring; Geiger Brothers Project Engineer Ian Fitzpatrick; Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management Deputy Manager Laura Wilkerson; Oak Ridge Historian Ray Smith; UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter; and Gregor Smee, Smee + Busby Architects break ground on the K-25 Viewing Platform.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Officials celebrated progress on a facility here last week that will give the public a new perspective of what was once the world’s largest building as they broke ground for the K-25 Viewing Platform at the East Tennessee Technology Park.

Through an interagency agreement signed last year, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) provided the funds for the project, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will oversee its construction. Geiger Brothers was awarded the $9.9 million contract to build the facility.

Smee + Busby Architects designed the K-25 Viewing Platform and OREM contractor UCOR will provide engineering support to USACE and its contractor during construction.

“It couldn’t be scripted any better that the agency responsible for the birth of Oak Ridge would be the one to help build the infrastructure that shares the history and accomplishment of that original story,” OREM Deputy Manager Laura Wilkerson said of USACE.

The K-25 Viewing Platform, now under construction, is expected to be open to the public late next year. Located next to the K-25 History Center, this new facility will provide visitors a complete view of K-25’s massive 44-acre footprint.

The K-25 Viewing Platform will be adjacent to the recently opened K-25 History Center and provide visitors a complete view of the building’s massive 44-acre footprint.

“I imagine standing on the viewing platform and seeing this ghost of a facility where so much happened and so much important work was done,” said Maj. Todd Mainwaring, deputy commander, USACE, Nashville District. “I think it'll really drive home the importance of the mission here and what the community delivered.”

Its construction is one of the final components of a multi-project agreement OREM signed in 2012 to commemorate the history of the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, where the K-25 Building was located. OREM completed the other elements in previous years, which included construction of the K-25 History Center and preservation of the historic Alexander Inn.

“To be here, to work on this site, and provide the community and visitors this building is profound,” said Geiger Brothers Project Engineer Ian Fitzpatrick. “We want to hit the ground running so there’s no delay in the community having access to it.”

The K-25 Viewing Platform is expected to be complete and open to the public by late 2024.

VIDEO: Watch officials break ground on the new K-25 Viewing Platform, which will overlook the massive K-25 Building footprint at East Tennessee Technology Park.

While the K-25 History Center focuses on the men and women who built and operated the Oak Ridge Diffusion Plant during the Manhattan Project and Cold War, the viewing platform will help visitors understand the scope and magnitude of the former K-25 Building.

Originally constructed in 1944, the K-25 Building was the largest structure in the world and carried an equally immense and important mission to help end a global war by producing uranium for the world’s first nuclear weapon. Yet despite its size and urgent work, the public would not learn of its existence in Oak Ridge until the end of World War II.

Uranium enrichment operations ceased there in 1985, and the site was permanently shut down in 1987. Afterward, DOE began a massive environmental cleanup effort to transform the site into a multi-use industrial park for the community. That effort involved tearing down five massive enrichment facilities, including the K-25 Building, and 500 other structures that supported operations at the site. OREM and UCOR completed demolition of the K-25 Building in 2013 and finished all demolition at the site in 2020.

The transformed site, now called the East Tennessee Technology Park, already has numerous private businesses onsite along with large conservation areas and a national park. The K-25 Building footprint is within the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, a unit of the National Park Service that contains sites in Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, New Mexico and Hanford in Washington.

-Contributor: Ben Williams

WIPP Mine Rescue Team Uses Lifesaving Skills in Highway Accident

Members of EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) mine rescue teams recently put their lifesaving skills into action, possibly saving a young woman’s life as they were returning from a mine rescue competition in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

While heading back to EM’s Carlsbad Field Office last month, the team members witnessed a severe automobile accident that involved a young woman who was ejected from a vehicle after it hit a rock wall. WIPP mine rescue team members Fabian Muñoz, Misty Long, Matt Ridgway, Terry Grube and Mark Long immediately sprang into action. They were joined by members of another mine rescue team also returning from the competition. That team was from The Mosaic Company, a commercial mining business.

Without hesitation, the teams grabbed first aid supplies from their mine rescue trailer and used the first responder training they routinely practice and test.

“I want to commend the quick thinking and actions exhibited by our WIPP mine rescue teams and individuals from the Mosaic mine rescue team,” said Ken Harrawood, president and program manager for Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO), which manages and operates WIPP. “These men and women train extensively to respond in the event we have an emergency in the WIPP underground. It just so happened they were in the right place at the right time to provide medical attention to this young lady.”

Thanks to the training they received, the mine rescue team members used the first aid supplies effectively. They knew exactly what supplies were needed and how to use them properly, which allowed them to provide the necessary first aid quickly and efficiently. Their quick thinking and decisive actions possibly saved the young woman's life. She was airlifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital and survived.

Harrawood presented each team member a SIMCO President’s Life Saving Award to commend them for their bravery, quick thinking and vital role they play in their community.

-Contributor: Donavan Mager

Idaho Waste Treatment Facility Increases Production Fivefold

EM management, Integrated Waste Treatment Unit employees and others signed the first stainless steel canister prior to crews filling it with sodium-bearing waste and simulant. Once filled, that canister and 15 others were placed in a concrete vault for storage.

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Since the launch of operations just over a month ago, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has increased sodium-bearing waste treatment fivefold, a crucial step in removing remaining liquid waste from nearby underground tanks at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site and protecting the underlying Snake River Plain Aquifer.

To date, the facility has converted more than 8,550 gallons of the liquid tank waste to a more stable, granular solid.

On April 11, IWTU began treating a blend that was 10% sodium-bearing waste and 90% non-radioactive simulated waste, or simulant, which had been essential to IWTU testing from 2012 to 2023.

That day, EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, EM Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr and other officials congratulated the federal and contractor staff for reaching the crucial milestone and praised them for carrying through on a commitment EM and the workforce made to the state of Idaho and its citizens.

IWTU employees also shared a sense of achievement over the facility's launch, saying it was rewarding to see their hard work pay off.

“It was nerve-wracking for a bit because everyone was holding their breath, but when we saw it was working, there was a collective sigh of relief and then it was like a normal day,” said engineer Allyson Ferry, who joined IWTU staff shortly out of college in 2017.

IWTU crews have since increased the treatment blend to 50% waste and 50% simulant before it eventually becomes 100% sodium-bearing waste based on the plant’s operating conditions.

Integrated Waste Treatment Unit operators monitor and control all aspects of the facility's operations through a digital control system.

Following treatment, the granulated waste is stored in stainless steel canisters — more than 40 have been filled to date — and placed within concrete vaults, each of which holds 16 canisters.

All IWTU monitoring data is shared with the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality as part of the facility’s operating permit requirements. Later, IWTU crews will initiate a system performance test to demonstrate compliance with established performance standards and determine adequate operating conditions under the permit.

About 900,000 gallons of liquid waste was generated during decontamination activities following historic spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, an activity that ended at the INL Site in 1992.

The treated waste will remain onsite until a permanent disposal site becomes available.

-Contributor: Erik Simpson

Hanford Collaborations: Creating Connections With the Next Generation

From left, John Navarro, Washington State University (WSU) Tri-Cities Career Center, Sandra Haynes, WSU Tri-Cities chancellor, WSU Career Center staff, John Eschenberg, Central Plateau Cleanup Company president and CEO, and Wes Bryan, Washington River Protection Solutions president and project manager, cut a ribbon at the new WSU Tri-Cities Career Center.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Highlighting pathways to careers on the Hanford Site, EM Office of River Protection (ORP) contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) established creative collaborations with local colleges and universities that allow interns the opportunity to advance into careers at Hanford.

In 2022, WRPS donated $250,000 to Washington State University (WSU) Tri-Cities to begin a co-op internship program. Through the program, students can participate in paid internships that could lead to full-time employment after graduation.

“Students today are looking for work that makes an impact, and the complex mission at the Hanford Site certainly meets that criterion,” said Ricky Bang, ORP Tank Farms Program Division director. “With so many options for the next generation of workers, it’s great to see contractors finding creative ways to engage with them.”

A Washington State University Tri-Cities student, left, chats with Haydee Ramirez and Timmary Staigle with Washington River Protection Solutions Workforce Resources about internship and career opportunities during a student-and-recruiter event at the campus student union building earlier this month.

Along with establishing the co-op program, WSU Tri-Cities used the donation to establish a new career center to provide a space for students and local employers to connect. The center includes office space for recruiters to conduct internship and job interviews, and gives students access to help with resume and cover letter development, interview coaching, and information about internships and employment opportunities.

“The WRPS donation to building a career center and establishing unique experiential learning for students is very meaningful and reflective of the support we receive from the Tri-Cities community,” said Sandra Haynes, WSU Tri-Cities chancellor, during a recent career center ribbon cutting. “These pathways to careers, especially careers at the Hanford Site, help our community prosper and contribute to the Tri-Cities being a great place to live and work.”

There are currently nine WSU co-op students involved in internships at WRPS, with several interns already transitioning into full-time employment.

“Getting into the industry was hard during COVID-19,” said Yareli Curiel, a former WSU Tri-Cities co-op intern who is now an engineer for WRPS. “Being able to go onsite, have things explained to us and see things was really beneficial.”

Washington River Protection Solutions President and Project Manager Wes Bryan works at the coffee shop on the Washington State University Tri-Cities campus as part of a student-and-recruiter engagement event earlier this month.

WRPS recruiters recently shared information on campus about their co-op and internship opportunities. Last year WRPS hired 54 interns through co-ops at WSU Tri-Cities and a similar program at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington, and from internships.

“This partnership is already paying dividends for us, with a wide range of engineers and business systems and IT students that we just hired from the first co-op group,” said WRPS President and Project Manager Wes Bryan. “This program is really an in-depth interview process. It’s a chance for us to learn about students and for students to learn about the company. Students get the opportunity to experience their fields of study and see firsthand all the aspects of a potential career.”

-Contributor: Jenna Kochenauer

SRS-Sponsored Robotics Team Makes Inroads at International Competition

AIKEN, S.C. – An EM contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) once again sponsored a team from Aiken High School to join an international robotics championship competition.

The M’Aiken Magic robotics team took part in the annual event in Houston, Texas, hosted by FIRST, or For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The educational program is offered worldwide to students in eighth through 12th grades.

In the competition, students on each team work together to build a robot from scratch. FIRST’s mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators as they develop new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.

“As a company, we at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) understand the importance of a STEM-based education and that many students best learn STEM-based curricula using unconventional means, such as through designing, building and operating a robot,” said Sean Alford, SRNS executive vice president and chief of administration. “We have been financial sponsors of the M’Aiken Magic program for many years.”

EM supports research and development tied to deployment of robotics and use of artificial intelligence for remote operation to tackle cleanup challenges. For example, workers last year introduced a first at EM’s Paducah Site in Kentucky — use of robot technology — to set the stage for future deactivation and remediation work at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. With the Paducah Site in the early phases of deactivating process buildings, site engineers evaluated a robot pipe crawler designed to inspect piping previously used to support uranium enrichment operations.

Aiken High School’s M’Aiken Magic robotics team placed first in a district event in Hartsville, South Carolina. The win qualified the students to compete in Georgia for a spot in an international robotics championship competition in Houston, Texas.

After winning district competitions in Anderson and Hartsville, South Carolina, M’Aiken Magic went on to the Peachtree District Championship, finishing in second place out of the 50 best teams from Georgia and South Carolina. M’Aiken Magic’s performance qualified the team to attend the world championship in Houston, Texas, and compete against more than 600 teams.

In Houston, the event was divided into eight divisions, each with about 70 teams. After each division plays two days of three-on-three style qualification matches, teams are seeded based on their performance. The top eight seeds select their alliance partners to play in the divisional tournament.

“Our team already knew it was going to be an uphill battle when we discovered that our division not only included two of the reigning world champion teams, but also the number-one ranked robot in the world from this season,” said Ambrose Wiering, who works with robots at SRS while mentoring the team. “But M’Aiken Magic has never been a team to shy away from a challenge. And after the second day of qualification matches, they ended up seeding ninth out of the 77 teams in their division.”

This meant that when the world’s top-ranked team, from the Canadian province of Ontario, picked the five-time world champion team from California to play with it in the tournament, M’Aiken Magic shifted into the eighth seed spot and became an alliance captain. M’Aiken Magic selected team Up-A-Creek robotics from Colorado and team GEMS from Michigan as alliance members.

In the double-elimination bracket, M’Aiken Magic’s alliance faced off against the top-seed alliance. In a stunning upset, the underdogs were victorious.

M’Aiken Magic fell short in its next match, falling into the lower bracket where the teammates found themselves needing a win to survive. According to Wiering, they played their hearts out and lost their last match of the season by a razor-thin margin of 190-192. The team that eliminated M’Aiken Magic went on to win the division.

“This season has been the most successful season in recent memory for our team,” said Wiering. “We hope to return to the world stage next season.”

Any students interested in joining the team can reach out to maikenmagicrobotics@gmail.com
for more information.

“I want to thank Savannah River Nuclear Solutions for their generous financial support of our program. Due to your contributions, our program has made a significant educational impact across Aiken County,” said Wiering. “Without SRNS, this amazing experience would not have been possible, much less winning a few matches against the best of the best, an unbelievable achievement for this team.”

-Contributor: DT Townsend

Hanford Uses 3D Scanning to Enhance Worker Safety for Demolitions

RICHLAND, Wash. – A team of designers with EM Richland Operations Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) is using 3D laser scanning technology to gather data to help workers prepare some of the facilities on the Hanford Site for demolition.

The process uses laser light to capture information about the surface and shape of an object from different perspectives. The system collects millions of data points and blends that information with high quality photos to create scans capable of highlighting the smallest surface detail.

The amount of detail collected allows designers to build the most accurate 3D computer models possible. The models provide an exact layout of a facility and its contents, including flanges, pipelines, tanks, and valves, all the way down to the nuts and bolts.

“Anytime we can capture comprehensive layout and configuration data in hazardous areas, some of which have not been explored in decades, that’s a big win for worker safety,” said Mark French, EM division director for Hanford’s Central Plateau Cleanup Project. “When workers are required to make physical entries, knowing system layouts and configurations allows for robust planning, which reduces risk and makes the job more efficient.”

Workers with EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company used 3D laser images of the Reduction-Oxidation Plant on the Hanford Site to identify safe locations for cutting into a concrete wall.

CPCCo is deploying the 3D technology at cleanup projects across Hanford’s Central Plateau, including at the Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant (PUREX), Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility (WESF) and Reduction-Oxidation Plant (REDOX). The data not only helps with the development of work packages, sampling plans and demolition preparation, but it can also be used to conduct virtual walk-throughs of facilities.

At PUREX, crews are using digital models of the tanks, structures, pipelines and ancillary equipment to support ongoing cleanup activities. For crews at WESF, 3D scanning assisted with design modifications to the building to prepare for installation of equipment that will transport nearly 2,000 radioactive capsules from underwater pools in the aging facility to a new dry-storage pad. At REDOX, 3D scans were used to establish locations for workers to cut into a concrete wall to install a new roll-up door, which will enable the removal of contaminated equipment as the facility is being prepared for demolition.

“We want to show our crews what the facilities look like right now; we want to eliminate the unknowns,” said Stephen Papenfuss, CPCCo designer and engineer with the Inner Area End States team. “In the past, the projects have had to rely on old pictures and drawings that can take a long time to find and might not best represent conditions inside the facilities today. With the 3D images and models, everybody can be working off the same, up-to-date information.”

-Contributor: Mark McKenna

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