  Saltstone Disposal Unit 8 project team members stand in front of the newest mega-size disposal unit completed at the Savannah River Site.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM has authorized the newest mega-size disposal unit to begin operating at the Savannah River Site (SRS), checking off another priority for the cleanup program for 2023.
The authorization marks the last step before the Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) 8 begins to receive decontaminated material for disposal. The unit was completed three years ahead of schedule.
EM’s liquid waste contractor at SRS, Savannah River Mission Completion, manages the construction and operation of the SDUs. Subcontractors Quality Plus Services, US FUSION & Specialty Construction and DN Tanks completed the site preparation, interior and exterior liner systems, and unit construction, respectively.
The SDUs are the end of the salt waste processing path. The Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) produces decontaminated material that is sent to the Saltstone Production Facility, where it is mixed with dry materials to make a cement-like grout. The grout is pumped into the SDUs, where it solidifies into a monolithic, non-hazardous form.
 SDU 8 is the third mega-size unit built at SRS and can hold up to 33 million gallons of saltstone. These larger SDUs are designed to support the increased material production from SWPF. The new SDUs result in more than $500 million in cost savings over the life of the SRS liquid waste program because they require less infrastructure and materials than the previously planned 80 smaller SDUs.
Achieving significant construction milestones, such as SDU 8, is an EM priority part of the 10-year Strategic Vision, according to Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition.
“DOE-Savannah River is proud to play a critical role in EM’s commitment to tackling one of the largest environmental cleanup efforts in the world,” Folk said. “The mega-size Saltstone Disposal Units are key in our ability to safely dispose of legacy liquid waste and underscore DOE’s commitment to complete the SRS Liquid Waste Program.”
Construction and testing of the next unit, SDU 9, is slated for completion in fall 2024. SRMC is also in various stages of constructing the final SDUs needed at SRS — 10, 11 and 12.
The SDU 8 construction project was another job well done by the team, according to SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson.
“A construction project of such scale involves the skills and expertise of hundreds of hands and minds,” Olson said. “I am proud of the SRMC team and everyone’s commitment to furthering our mission through this important project.”
-Contributor: Colleen Hart
 A truck hauls excavated salt away from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant's (WIPP) utility shaft project, marked by a large aboveground steel headframe. The shaft, key to WIPP’s new air ventilation project, has reached the depth necessary to allow horizontal tunneling work to begin on connecting the shaft to the WIPP underground repository complex. The repository is 2,150 feet below ground level.
Connection work to underground repository now begins
CARLSBAD, N.M. – Excavation crews recently attained a milestone in the construction of a new utility shaft at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
They’ve reached an underground depth, known as station depth, that allows horizontal tunneling work to begin on connecting the shaft to the WIPP repository complex. The repository sits at 2,150 feet below ground level.
“This is a hugely significant step in increasing airflow in the WIPP underground,” said Mark Bollinger, manager of EM’s Carlsbad Field Office. “Congratulations to the crews, who have safely and compliantly worked around the clock to make continual progress on an important part of the new WIPP infrastructure.”
The utility shaft, WIPP’s largest at 26 feet in diameter when completed, will provide air to the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS), the largest containment ventilation system in the DOE complex. That system and the utility shaft are being built by Salado Isolation Mining Constructors (SIMCO), EM’s management and operations contractor at WIPP.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our WIPP workforce,” said Ken Harrawood, SIMCO president and program manager. “The new utility shaft is a key component of the SSCVS that, when online, will enhance WIPP’s capability to deliver the nation and New Mexico’s cleanup mission.”
 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) mining crews view progress in an ongoing mining tunnel, known as a drift, at the underground repository where a new utility shaft will eventually be connected. Excavation crews recently reached a milestone at the new utility shaft by reaching the depth necessary that allows horizontal tunneling work to begin on connecting the shaft to the WIPP underground complex.
The SSCVS will provide increased airflow that allows simultaneous mining, rock bolting, waste emplacement and maintenance operations. Bolting controls the movement of salt rock — known as salt creep — in the WIPP underground.
Reaching the station depth was a culmination of nearly three years of construction and mining work as crews overcame unique challenges. Work on the utility shaft started in late 2019, was paused in late 2020 for one year during the pandemic, and the State of New Mexico authorized a restart in November 2021.
Crews from Harrison Western-Shaft Sinkers Joint Partnership, SIMCO’s shaft subcontractor, work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They set charges to blast half of the shaft circle at a time, excavating and removing the debris to the surface, before repeating on the other side of the circle.
Work in the shaft is conducted from a Galloway, a five-story tall, multilevel platform. As it descended into the shaft, crews installed concrete liner of varying thickness down to 873 feet, where an ancient salt layer begins. From there to the final planned depth of the shaft bottom at 2,275 feet, crews will install rock bolts and metal mesh to control loose rock.
WIPP is the nation’s only geologic repository for defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste from DOE sites throughout the country. It opened in 1999 and is currently about 42% full toward its limit of 6.2 million cubic feet of TRU waste as outlined in the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act of 1992.
TRU waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, residues, debris, soil and other items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and other man-made radioactive elements. The waste is permanently disposed of in rooms mined in an underground salt bed layer more than 2,000 feet from the surface.
-Contributor: Roy Neese
 Participants in the recent National Conference of State Legislatures Nuclear Legislative Working Group meeting pause for a photo outside the Advanced Test Reactor while on a tour of the Idaho National Laboratory Site and facilities.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) recently hosted the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Nuclear Legislative Working Group (NLWG) meeting, offering a tour of the site and facilities for lawmakers to discuss nuclear related legislation and engage with DOE and EM officials.
“I was pleased to not only present at the meeting, but to listen to the NLWG members’ discussion and answer questions about our 15 remaining cleanup sites,” said EM External Affairs Director Stephen Clutter. He shared with the group glossy copies of the new EM Strategic Vision: 2023-2033, which offers a blueprint to the program’s anticipated accomplishments over the next decade that will protect the public and environment.
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EM External Affairs Director Stephen Clutter speaks during the the recent National Conference of State Legislatures Nuclear Legislative Working Group meeting at Idaho National Laboratory. |
The group toured the INL Site over a day and a half, seeing firsthand cutting-edge technology and learning from the world’s leading experts in the energy and nuclear decommissioning field. The tour included visits to the Advanced Test Reactor, Transient Reactor Test Facility, Materials and Fuels Complex, Advanced Reactor Demonstration Panel, and Space Systems Building, concluding with a stop at INL’s Energy Systems Laboratory.
Meeting attendees listened to presentations and interacted with speakers and officials from INL, EM, DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE), Nuclear Energy Institute, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, TerraPower, Electric Power Research Institute, City of Idaho Falls, Idaho Advanced Energy Consortium, and Idaho Department of Commerce. Also attending were legislators from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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“I was impressed to see so many legislators want to understand more about our work at the Idaho Cleanup Project and the future of nuclear energy. This in-person gathering also helps us understand if there are any gaps in information as well as address concerns. It was a great opportunity for interaction.”
— Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr
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NLWG’s mission is to provide legislative members the opportunity to learn about the cleanup of federal nuclear weapons production and research facilities, transportation and storage of radioactive waste, and areas of interest related to nuclear energy that affect the United States. The working group is made up of legislators from select states appointed by state legislative leadership. They meet biannually at various DOE and commercial facilities across the country.
The working group is supported by funding from EM and NE. EM supports a number of institutionalized activities and relationships with various national intergovernmental organizations by means of grants and cooperative agreements. Other organizations supported by EM include Energy Communities Alliance, Environmental Council of States, National Association of Attorneys General, National Governors Association and State and Tribal Government Working Group (STGWG). NCSL coordinates and facilitates the interactions for DOE related to NLWG and STGWG.
“Stakeholder engagement is a priority for DOE,” Clutter said. “Building relationships with legislators, as well as regulators and local communities, provides EM an opportunity for interaction that ultimately leads to better alignment on a shared vision for the future and common goals for success.”
 Environmental remediation workers at the Paducah Site inspect groundwater treatment equipment at the C-612 Northwest Pump-and-Treat facility. The C-612 facility was constructed in the early 1990s and was upgraded with modernized equipment in 2016, improving the reliability of the system and the efficiency of maintenance.
PADUCAH, Ky. – The Paducah Site and the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) have teamed up to produce a documentary video about EM’s groundwater cleanup program, resulting in a collaborative communication tool that helps audiences understand efforts to remediate off-site groundwater contamination.
Watch the video here.
EM partners with environmental regulators and community stakeholders to implement a cleanup strategy helping to reduce the presence of trichloroethene, a common industrial degreaser once used at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to clean equipment, discovered in off-site groundwater in 1988.
“I was glad to take part in this project,” said former board member William Murphy, who is featured in the video. “The cleanup program has been in operation for about 30 years. It’s important for our community to understand the issue and for DOE to demonstrate to the community what actions they are taking to ensure the environment is preserved.”
 A still shot featured in EM’s new groundwater cleanup video shows a Paducah Site worker performing environmental water sampling activities.
In addition to board members sharing insight into Paducah’s groundwater cleanup program, the video features Paducah Site employees integral to the development and implementation of the site’s groundwater cleanup strategy.
“For many years the CAB’s partnership with DOE has resulted in key guidance to the cleanup program,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Manager Joel Bradburne said. “Having them participate in the groundwater video is a documented example of our collaborative success.”
Click here to watch the video on PPPO’s YouTube page.
-Contributors: Dylan Nichols, Jessica Vasseur
 During and After Oak Ridge Cleanup: View progress of workers clearing more than 21 million pounds of scrap metal from the Old Salvage Yard at the Y-12 National Security Complex. The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) finished clearing the 7-acre area for reuse in 2012. Years later, it turned out to be OREM and cleanup contractor UCOR that would reuse the area.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – An area cleaned up by the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) years ago is becoming a new base of operations for hundreds of workers who will conduct large-scale cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex.
The Old Salvage Yard was established in the 1970s for storing scrap metal. In 2012, OREM finished a project that removed 21 million pounds of old scrap metal and opened the 7-acre area for reuse. Years later, it turned out that OREM and contractor UCOR would be the ones to reuse it.
UCOR had staged its operations for a massive demolition project at the footprint of the former Biology Complex. That station provided crews close proximity to the former Biology Complex. That project has since been completed, and the footprint is needed as the site of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) new Lithium Processing Facility.
The transition to a new, centralized location for OREM helps ensure other critical deactivation and demolition work can continue seamlessly at Y-12. It enhances logistics and efficiency by providing space near some of the largest upcoming demolition projects at Y-12. It also features infrastructure to support employees and field work, such as workspaces for daily briefings, superintendent offices and shower trailers.
“Developing this base of operations is a significant step that helps aid and enable our cleanup efforts at Y-12 for years to come,” said Brian Henry, OREM’s Y-12 portfolio federal project director.
 UCOR began designing the infrastructure for a new base of operations for cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex last fall, and construction started earlier this year. Employees bring trailers to the new location to provide needed workspace to support cleanup crews.
UCOR began designing the infrastructure for the new location last fall and began construction earlier this year.
The project required close collaboration with NNSA and its management and operating contractor for Y-12, Consolidated Nuclear Security. It included a variety of moving parts from agreements to transfer the site to adding utilities and relocating trailers for offices and worker support.
“I am extremely grateful for our project team of engineers, planners, field support and our construction subcontractor who have worked tirelessly to establish our new base of operations,” said UCOR Project Manager Harrison Boyd.
The new base of operations is scheduled for completion later this summer.
Meanwhile, crews at Y-12 continue to prepare three large former uranium enrichment facilities for demolition — Alpha-2, Alpha-4 and Beta-1. The new workspace will be crucial to those ongoing efforts.
-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks
 Some of the participants of the recent Savannah River National Laboratory-Hanford Analytical Knowledge Sharing Workshop pause for a photo.
RICHLAND, Wash. – More than 100 people from Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) and the Hanford Site recently participated in a workshop in which they shared analytical knowledge focused on EM’s tank waste cleanup mission.
SRNL partnered with Hanford Site contractors Navarro-ATL and Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) to create the workshop. It was sponsored by SRNL, the DOE Laboratory Policy Office, Office of River Protection (ORP) and WRPS, and hosted by Navarro-ATL. Also joining the workshop were Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to Bechtel National Inc., which is designing, building and commissioning the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant for ORP.
Workshop goals included sharing state-of-the-art knowledge on tank waste analytical methods and strategies needed for waste batch qualification while keeping the analysts’ exposure to radiation as low as reasonably achievable. The workshop provided a forum for discussion among researchers to exchange details, optimize analytical methods and share lessons learned and planned improvements.
SRNL has worked for many years to qualify batches of waste for both the Defense Waste Processing Facility and the pretreatment processes at Savannah River Site and has made many improvements to the analytical methods. These methods used by SRNL were described so that they may be adapted for use at Hanford’s 222-S Laboratory as ORP accelerates tank waste retrieval and treatment.
The meeting was followed by a tour of the 222-S Laboratory, allowing SRNL researchers to better understand capabilities and limitations of the instruments and facilities there, and to facilitate more detailed discussions.
The workshop is expected to be the first in a series of interactions between the laboratories to continue optimizing analytical methods for tank waste batch qualification and to identify and find solutions to knowledge gaps affecting the ability to meet waste acceptance criteria for the treatment facilities.
ARLINGTON, Va. – In an inaugural National Cleanup Workshop session this year, early career professionals can learn more about EM and how to grow and succeed in the DOE cleanup program.
Early career professional sessions will include:
- Leadership development principles;
- Case studies from federal and contractor representatives on building a career in the EM program;
- An in-depth “EM 101” on the background and history of the DOE cleanup program; and
- Lessons learned and opportunities to grow a career in the cleanup program.
The workshop offers a special reduced registration for early career professionals to attend this year’s workshop. The rate is offered to those who have not previously attended the workshop and have been involved in the EM program for less than five years.
The ninth-annual National Cleanup Workshop is from Sept. 11-13 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.
The agenda features a lineup of senior EM leadership, along with members of Congress, state and local government officials and industry leaders from sites across the DOE complex. Key speakers include EM Senior Advisor William "Ike" White, EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery and Rebecca Casper, mayor of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
Check out this EM webpage to find coverage of past workshops, including a video of White’s 2022 workshop keynote address. The site features EM Update newsletter reporting and a gallery of photos showcasing everything from the reception kicking off the event to a variety of speakers and panels.
Last year, about 630 in-person and 91 virtual participants attended the workshop, billed as the premier annual gathering to discuss progress in environmental cleanup of former government weapons sites and nuclear research facilities. Energy Communities Alliance, with the cooperation of EM and the Energy Facility Contractors Group, host the workshop. Registration is open for this year's workshop.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Employees at the Hanford Site's Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant recently hosted their inaugural Heavy Equipment Expo. The event offered employees a chance to safely interact with and learn about the heavy equipment and machinery they could encounter at the plant. “This was a great opportunity for the team to learn about all aspects of heavy equipment safety,” said Bruce Covert, deputy general manager for Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to Bechtel National Inc., which is designing, building and commissioning the plant for EM’s Office of River Protection. “Equipment operators and safety specialists were on hand to educate our team about important topics like blind spot awareness, giving equipment the proper space and more.” The plant’s Site Support Services & Distributions team organized the expo to highlight the importance of respecting and properly using heavy equipment.
 Savannah River Mission Completion summer interns arrive ready to learn about the liquid waste mission. Pictured from left are Robby Smith, McKenzie Joy, Trent Carpenter, Ronald Barnes, Emmanuel Harley, Ben Randolph, Nicholas Leger, Truman Brabham, Amagee Sims, Ava Girard, Marisabel Acevedo, Cedric Slavin, Ashley Dogal, Lucy Moon, Mackenzie Stroud, Colton Hunt, Jonathan Bussey, Jada Pixley, Nicolas Hoeppel, Jinju Philip, Alliayah Shirley, Logan Richardson, Bryson Wilson, Kevin Reece, Madison Plue, Hunter Shealy, Gordon Bryce, Justin Le, Ella Eick, Sarah Davidson, Laura Bachelder, Ethan Youmans, Jacob Schmitz, Willie Ouzts, Liying Wu, Haze Matthews and Aisha Burrell. Not pictured: Tatum Gillespie, Brooklynn Sims, Gage O'banion, Maren Gwaltney, Caleb Randolph, Ambereen Khan and Tarun Nair.
AIKEN, S.C. – Forty-four students from across the country are embarking on a paid trial run in the nuclear industry with EM’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site this summer.
Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) summer interns bring educational backgrounds in all facets of engineering, environmental science, biology, chemistry, business administration and more.
The interns represent colleges and universities from South Carolina to Texas, including University of South Carolina, University of South Carolina Aiken, Clemson University, Wofford College, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, Morehouse College, Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, University of Florida, Texas Tech University, Purdue University, Tulane University, University of Tennessee, University of Alabama, Texas A&M University, University of Texas and more.
 Savannah River Mission Completion summer interns volunteer with Project VISION, a community service project for the United Way of Aiken County, to perform home repairs for a local homeowner.
SRMC Intern Coordinator Allison Brinkley loves seeing students’ curiosity come alive and witnessing the pride they feel for having contributed to SRMC’s important mission: safely reducing the risk to the community and environment of radioactive liquid waste stored in aging waste tanks.
“The purpose of our internship program is to foster interest in the SRMC mission and future employment at SRMC,” Brinkley said. “We have an invaluable opportunity to encourage individual student development. This is all thanks to our mentors and managers ensuring students are contributing team members.”
The summer interns will have a well-rounded experience at SRMC with professional development sessions, weekly lectures, community service projects and networking activities.
-Contributor: Dara Glass
 Network and engineering staff from Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) and its subcontractor, North Wind Solutions, helped bring Bechtel National Inc. computer users onto the Hanford computer network. From left: Andy Onica, Gavin Creach, and Mike Yale with North Wind, and Phil Budde and Cristal Robinson with HMIS.
RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) has transitioned more than 1,000 Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) computer users from the company’s corporate network to the Hanford Site network.
The move was required for BNI, which is designing and commissioning Hanford’s Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), to certify that the plant's information systems meet DOE cybersecurity requirements and are approved for operations under the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) Program.
“DFLAW required significant infrastructure upgrades, including many projects coordinated by our site integrator and One Hanford contractors,” said Brian Harkins, EM assistant manager for mission support. “Establishing access to the Hanford network services is an important step toward the start of the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility at Hanford.”
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After a multiyear effort, users on the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste Program computer network transitioned from the Bechtel National Inc. corporate network to the Hanford network. This effort was managed by Hanford Mission Integration Solutions and subcontractor North Wind Solutions. |
The multiyear transition project began with creating a virtual holding area to temporarily stage BNI user accounts before moving them to the Hanford network. HMIS technicians developed and tested hundreds of user accounts supporting all required privileges and functionality, including basic tasks like network printing, information access and retrieval, and email.
During this same process, information technology teams installed multiple fiber-optic lines to and from WTP to support connectivity and appropriate firewalls to meet all user needs, and added supporting infrastructure like servers and data storage.
“These accomplishments took a heavy lift and a tremendous cross-organizational, cross-contractor effort,” said Todd Eckman, HMIS vice president of Information Management Services. “This is a big step toward DFLAW going into operations — the highest priority project for Hanford — and I am so very proud of our team.”
Additional accomplishments included issuing new logical access control system cards, establishing two-way radio communications for first responders, integrating emergency event notifications, and creating virtual desktop guides for users.
BNI Information Services & Technology and Plant Engineering teams also managed the separation of the computer systems critical to waste vitrification operations from other project systems. They transitioned the vitrification operations programs to the Hanford network with HMIS. Vitrification is a process in which tank waste is immobilized in glass.
“This separation ensures the plant systems and applications are protected from internal and external threats during operations,” said Rick Holmes, general manager for Waste Treatment Completion Company, a subcontractor to BNI.
-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik
 Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth crews pour concrete for a valve house at the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility at the Portsmouth Site. Valve houses are structures containing mechanical piping necessary to control leachate flow from an active disposal cell. They also provide a means to access a leak detection system for monitoring.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) recently awarded $14 million, or about 95% of the available fee to the prime contractor at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio for its performance in the first half of fiscal year 2023, or Oct. 1 of last year through March 28 of this year.
The fee award goes to Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, which conducts decontamination and decommissioning at the Portsmouth Site.
“The contractor has demonstrated notable improvement since the last performance evaluation,” said PPPO Manager Joel Bradburne. “We appreciate our workforce that continues to safely deliver for the environment, the taxpayer and our communities.”
EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments — earned by completing the work called for in the contracts — to further transparency in its cleanup program.
EM’s cost-plus-award-fee contracts are designed to provide incentive for excellence. In determining the awards, EM considers overall performance along with completion of specific EM mission objectives. The results are summarized on scorecards.
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