 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, second from right, attended a tour with representatives from Los Alamos County to discuss several cleanup sites especially important to the county, including the chromium project area in Mortandad Canyon, pictured, Middle DP Road site and Technical Area 21. From left: Sarah (Ellie) Elizabeth Gilbertson, EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) deputy manager; James Alarid, deputy utility manager, Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities; Brad Smith, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos president and general manager; Michael Mikolanis, EM-LA manager; Anne Laurent, deputy manager, Los Alamos County; Danielle Duran, intergovernmental affairs manager, Los Alamos County; White; and Philo Shelton, director, Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Amid renewed interest in the atomic history of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), EM leadership had the opportunity to discuss and highlight the significant progress underway in the legacy cleanup mission at LANL during a visit last week.
EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White and other EM officials met and discussed key cleanup projects with leaders from the Pueblo de San Ildefonso and Los Alamos County. The EM officials also discussed cleanup accomplishments at LANL over the past five years, and the plans for the next stage of work, in events with the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board (NNMCAB), the Environmental Management Cleanup Forum (EMCF) and a public panel discussion hosted by Los Alamos County.
During the Manhattan Project, J. Robert Oppenheimer oversaw the development of the atomic bomb. Credited with ending World War II, development of the bomb also created a legacy of waste at sites across the United States that EM is now charged with cleaning up.
“In my time in the EM program, one of the things I have really enjoyed is my ability to focus on what has happened over time as part of history. The act of going back and cleaning up the legacy of the past necessarily involves understanding and learning about a lot of that history and why it was important,” White said at the EMCF event.
EM, Local Leaders Tour Groundwater Cleanup, DP Road Projects
As part of last week’s visit, White, EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) Manager Michael Mikolanis and other EM representatives met separately with Pueblo de San Ildefonso Gov. Christopher Moquino, and with representatives from Los Alamos County at Mortandad Canyon to discuss progress underway in addressing groundwater contamination.
One of EM’s key projects at Los Alamos, and of concern to many in the region, is addressing a plume of hexavalent chromium contamination. Based on monitoring and sampling through the operation of the chromium interim measures, current data indicates that groundwater contamination has not moved beyond LANL’s borders, and over the past five years, EM and LANL legacy cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) have treated more than 400 million gallons of contaminated groundwater.
Pueblo de San Ildefonso land borders LANL to the south, with a drinking water supply well close to the LANL site boundary. Currently, EM and Pueblo de San Ildefonso are working to place a second monitoring well on pueblo land to support additional groundwater monitoring efforts.
“We’re committed to protecting the water,” White told San Ildefonso leaders.
White, Mikolanis and N3B President and General Manager Brad Smith also had the opportunity to show Los Alamos County representatives progress at the Middle DP Road site. Cleanup of legacy waste is largely completed, pending verification of confirmatory sampling results. The area, close to the heart of downtown Los Alamos, is a primary economic development effort for Los Alamos County.
‘Dedicated and Talented People’ Behind Cleanup Progress
The legacy cleanup mission at LANL focuses on three primary areas — protecting water supplies, cleaning up contaminated soil and continuing to drive down legacy radioactive waste inventories at LANL by preparing and shipping the material off-site for safe disposal. EM’s major cleanup accomplishments at LANL to date have included:
- Treating more than 420 million gallons of contaminated groundwater from the hexavalent chromium plume;
- Completing 60% of cleanup at more than 2,100 areas of potential contamination;
- Shipping more than 500 cubic meters of transuranic waste to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant;
- Shipping more than 11,800 cubic meters of low-level and mixed-low-level radioactive waste off-site for disposal; and
- Initiating retrieval and size-reduction activities for a set of corrugated metal pipes containing cemented transuranic waste.
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White met with members of the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board last week during a trip to New Mexico. White expressed appreciation for the board’s service and fielded a variety of questions from members. From left: Brad Smith, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos president and general manager; Michael Mikolanis, EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) manager; White; and S. Elizabeth Gilbertson, EM-LA deputy manager.
At the EMCF event, Mikolanis outlined the progress EM-LA is making in developing a strategic vision to guide the remaining legacy cleanup work at LANL. The vision is intended to be built from “the ground up” through “robust engagement” with a variety of representatives around LANL, according to Mikolanis. EM-LA is in the process of completing engagement sessions with a variety of officials, pueblo representatives, stakeholders and the public in Los Alamos and surrounding communities.
“I want to highlight that our success, in part, centers on the community support that we have and enjoyed here. That’s dependent on regularly working with our stakeholders, the pueblos, our elected officials, nongovernmental organizations and our regulators to identify their values and priorities,” Mikolanis said. “That feedback will guide us in how we make critical decisions and build the vision on how we’re going to complete the work we have in front of us.”
Also at the EMCF event, White said, “All of the work that is so important to us doesn’t happen without the dedicated and talented people who are willing to devote their careers and their energy to doing a public service that benefits all of us.”
“It takes a village,” Smith said at the NNMCAB meeting. “What people bring, and what people think, is the secret sauce.”
White also thanked the NNMCAB members for their contributions to EM’s cleanup progress at LANL.
“I am grateful for the time and commitment the NNMCAB gives to help EM ensure that a rich and diverse community of members participate and provide recommendations on the legacy cleanup projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory,” White said. “Stakeholder engagement is the cornerstone of our cleanup programs across the EM complex and the NNMCAB is vital to our efforts in New Mexico.”
-Contributors: Mike Nartker, Todd Nelson
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – With the recent uptick in interest in the role Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) played in the World War II-era Manhattan Project, EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White was joined by EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) officials in a visit to Los Alamos on July 19-20. They met with stakeholders to discuss project accomplishments and share EM’s continued commitment to the legacy cleanup mission. The visit included a tour of several cleanup projects with representatives from Los Alamos County, as well as participation in a meeting of the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board and the Environmental Management Cleanup Forum. White also participated in a public panel discussion on Los Alamos’s “History, Present and Future,” hosted by Los Alamos County.
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White participated in the EM Los Alamos Field Office and Los Alamos cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos quarterly public outreach meeting, the Environmental Management Cleanup Forum, “From Oppenheimer to Tomorrow,” in historic Fuller Lodge, during White’s recent visit to New Mexico.
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White attended the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board (NNMCAB) meeting last week during a trip to New Mexico. White extended his appreciation to members for serving on the NNMCAB and bringing citizens’ perspectives and recommendations to aid the legacy cleanup mission at Los Alamos. Standing with the NNMCAB members are Michael Mikolanis, EM Los Alamos Field Office (EM-LA) manager, second from left; White, fifth from left; and S. Elizabeth Gilbertson, EM-LA deputy manager, fourth from right.
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White visited Mortandad Canyon to view progress in addressing groundwater contamination at Los Alamos National Laboratory. During the tour, White addressed questions from Los Alamos County representatives on the hexavalent chromium plume. From left: Michael Mikolanis, EM Los Alamos Field Office manager; Troy Thomson, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos Environmental Remediation Program manager; White; Philo Shelton, director, Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities; and Ann Laurent, Los Alamos County deputy manager.
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, second from right, participates on a panel to speak to the history of the Manhattan Project and its legacy during Los Alamos County’s “Oppenheimer Festival 2023.” The panel, “Los Alamos – History, Present and Future,” highlighted visuals of important places in Los Alamos. Shown on the screen is a popular mountain bike trail at Pajarito Ski Mountain. Created in 1957, the ski area originated in 1943 from a group of scientists and soldiers working in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project.
 In this 2016 photo, schoolchildren explore the B Reactor, a popular field trip destination for elementary, middle and high schools.
Editor's Note
This EM story focuses on the Manhattan Project, the origin of EM’s nuclear cleanup mission. America’s greatest scientific and engineering minds, craft workers and military members worked side by side at several secret sites including Los Alamos, New Mexico; Richland, Washington; and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
The atomic age began in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945, with the Trinity Test — the culmination of the top-secret Manhattan Project.
This first-ever detonation of a nuclear device led to a new era marked by the development of weapons with previously unimaginable power, and a complicated legacy that includes the fields of nuclear medicine and nuclear energy, the growth of a vital national laboratory system and EM’s vast environmental cleanup.
The B Reactor at the Hanford Site was the world’s first full-scale plutonium production reactor, and produced plutonium for the Trinity Test and one of two weapons deployed in August 1945 during World War II. B Reactor is now part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. Other historic facilities at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos are also part of the park.
While it only took 11 months in 1943 to construct B Reactor, preserving the reactor and later creating the park took considerably longer. Nonetheless, the decades-long effort exemplifies what is possible through strong partnerships among Congress, local communities, DOE headquarters, EM sites and other federal agencies.
Former B Reactor workers sought recognition for the facility’s historical status, resulting in its designation as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in 1976, and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1994.
With broad community support, the reactor was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. In 2008, with DOE support, the U.S. Department of Interior designated B Reactor a National Historic Landmark. After a decade of a congressionally mandated study by the National Park Service and DOE, bipartisan legislation was passed by Congress and signed into law in 2014 establishing the park.
Community advocates and local leaders in the three Manhattan Project communities and elsewhere across the nation drove efforts to preserve the reactor.
For EM and Hanford, the vision and tenacity of community leaders and organizations — including the B Reactor Museum Association, the Tri Cities Development Council, local governments and Visit Tri Cities — and the work of their representatives in Congress made the park possible.
EM and Hanford leadership safely preserved the B Reactor and supported the creation of the park, recognizing that providing controlled, safe public access to the historic facilities over time would be a powerful educational tool in explaining the EM mission and progress to taxpayers.
More than 12,000 people typically visit the B Reactor each year, and international visitors have come from more than 90 countries worldwide, bringing an estimated $3 million in tourism to the local community.
 Swift & Staley was recognized as a 2023 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool Purchaser Award winner, marking the fourth time the EM Paducah Site infrastructure support services contractor has won the award. From left are Swift & Staley employees Christa Armstrong, Green Team; Latrice Ford, Property Department; Mike Golightly, Green Team; and John Witte, Information Technology Department.
Eight EM sites have been honored with the 2023 Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) Purchaser Award, the most the cleanup program has won in a year since the program honoring purchases of sustainable goods began in 2015.
“EM is a leader in the Department and had a very successful year in the 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award Program,” EM Chief Information Officer Jeanne Beard said. “The office's field sites have now earned 40 total EPEAT awards since the program began in 2015."
What’s more, UCOR, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management lead cleanup contractor, was recognized for the ninth consecutive year, tying North Wind Dynamics from EM’s Portsmouth Site for the longest winning streak for the EPEAT Purchaser Award in the EM cleanup complex.
“As an environmentally focused company, UCOR constantly looks for ways to procure materials with a focus on sustainability,” said Mandy Vitello, UCOR’s chief information officer. “We are honored to be recognized by EPEAT for our purchasing practices.”
Also, EM Paducah Site infrastructure support services contractor Swift & Staley was named an EPEAT Purchaser Award winner for the fourth time.
EPEAT is an ecolabel for the information technology (IT) sector that helps purchasers, manufacturers, resellers and others buy and sell environmentally preferable electronic products such as computers, displays, imaging equipment and mobile phones endorsed by the Global Electronic Council, a nonprofit that advocates for purchasing practices that improve the environment. The council’s annual awards event recognizes excellence in the sustainable procurement of IT products. Purchasers are recognized for product categories in which they purchase EPEAT-registered products.
 This year, Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management cleanup contractor UCOR won an Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool Purchaser Award in three categories: computers and displays, servers and televisions.
 The North Wind Dynamics team, from left, are Matt Miller, environment, safety, health, and quality manager; Bret Childers, information technology manager; Stephanie Puckett, procurement lead; Melinda Noel, process administrator; and Damon Detillion, project manager.
EM’s 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award recipients include:
The virtual 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award Ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, July 27 from 1 to 2 p.m. EST. Registration for the event and more information is available here.
-Contributor: Carly Howard
 Remedial actions vary from tearing down buildings to digging up contaminated soil and treating groundwater plumes. Crews are working to complete an action at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory by demolishing the Low Intensity Test Reactor. They are making progress, and the project is scheduled for completion this fall.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Recent figures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and its contractors are conducting cleanup at a rate leading the nation among federal facility sites.
Government-sponsored environmental cleanup in the United States extends far beyond DOE’s 15 active EM cleanup sites. It also includes scores of U.S. Department of Defense sites, and those overseen by other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Interior.
There are 175 federal facilities, or sites, on the Superfund National Priorities List where cleanup is needed across the country. Those sites require cleanup tasks, known as remedial actions, which can range from tearing down buildings to digging up contaminated soil and treating groundwater plumes.
Remedial action completions are an important national target for EPA, and they are reported to Congress annually.
The latest reports show that from fiscal years 2018 to 2022, OREM accounted for 13% of all completed federal facility remedial actions in the U.S., and 40% of all completed actions in EPA’s Region 4, which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.
EPA’s Region 4 includes 20 federal facilities located at EM’s Oak Ridge, Savannah River and Paducah sites, in addition to 17 military bases.
 Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management has completed 40% of all federal facility remedial actions in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 4 since 2018. These tasks are eliminating risks to the environment. Workers are pictured conducting soil remediation projects at the East Tennessee Technology Park. That work is scheduled for completion next year.
“Remedial actions can vary in size and complexity across different federal facilities, but even with those considerations, these figures highlight a special focus and diligence from our employees that set us apart,” said OREM Manager Jay Mullis. “Their approach continues to reinforce our reputation as a site where federal investments lead to visible progress and enhanced safety.”
Crews in Oak Ridge were the first in the world to remove a former uranium enrichment complex that operated during the Manhattan Project and Cold War. That effort, completed at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) in 2020, involved removing more than 500 buildings with a total footprint that could cover 225 football fields.
Today, workers are in the final stages of removing all contaminated soil at ETTP. They’re also taking down old reactors at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and preparing former enrichment facilities for demolition at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12).
Together these projects are eliminating hazards and opening land for reuse. Cleaned land at ETTP is transferred to the community for economic development, and it is helping support expanding research and national security missions at ORNL and Y-12.
“Regional and national data show OREM has an incredibly high-performing Superfund cleanup program,” said Cathy Amoroso, EPA Region 4 Superfund Division manager for DOE coordination. “Oak Ridge’s numbers showcase how our teams are working together through complex issues and producing tangible successes that are resulting in meaningful risk reductions for nearby residents.”
-Contributor: Ben Williams
 Officials cut a ribbon in a ceremony celebrating the addition of over 100 zero-emissions vehicles to the Savannah River Site vehicle fleet. Pictured front row, from left, are Jeff Allison, deputy field office manager, National Nuclear Security Administration Savannah River Field Office; Mike Budney, manager, DOE-Savannah River; Stuart MacVean, president and CEO, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS); Angelia Holmes, deputy assistant manager, DOE-Savannah River Infrastructure and Environmental Stewardship; and Mike Swain, senior vice president, Technical Services, SRNS.
AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site (SRS) is rapidly moving from burning fossil fuels to using electricity to power a fleet of nearly 1,000 vehicles, fulfilling a Biden administration executive order.
Employees with EM contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) are carrying out directives in the initial phase of the executive order on catalyzing clean energy industries and jobs through federal sustainability. They are converting gasoline cars, vans and light-duty trucks to electric alternatives at SRS.
“SRS personnel have successfully converted over 10% of our light-duty, gasoline-powered vehicles to those powered by electricity,” said Joe Solesby, SRNS logistic manager, Site Services. “We now have 76 zero-emission vehicles onsite, with more to come by the end of our fiscal year in September.”
Crews are placing multiple charging stations at locations across the site.
“Our goal is to have the electric vehicle infrastructure in place to support our zero-emissions vehicles as they are being delivered, working towards fully meeting all the directives within the executive order,” Solesby said.
 The Savannah River Site is moving quickly toward using electricity to power its fleet of nearly 1,000 vehicles.
In one area of SRS, crews have installed eight fast-charging stations near administrative buildings that will provide a zero-to-80% charge within 60 minutes, enabling a range of approximately 200 miles. They recently installed a bank of slower charging stations several miles away in another site location. A third block of stations is under construction in another area at SRS.
During additional phases of the project, SRS will convert mid- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission engines, as well.
The executive order also states that gasoline-powered, light-duty vehicles may not be purchased for use at federal facilities after 2027, if an electric version is available.
“The work accomplished at the Savannah River Site on this project has been impressive,” said Mike Budney, DOE-Savannah River manager. “It’s truly taken a team effort from multiple individuals and organizations to realize the progress we’ve seen to date. Preserving, protecting and improving the environment continues to be a top priority for us.”
-Contributor: DT Townsend
 Pictured here is a small portion of the staffers who help maintain the entire Hanford Site as part of the custodial services team with contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions. Since 2020, more than 40 custodial employees have accepted positions in other fields on the Hanford Site after growing their skills with this team.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Managers with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS) noted a pattern of successful hiring over the last three years. They found many who start in entry-level custodial services positions often remain dedicated to the One Hanford mission and build their knowledge, skills and abilities to later fill other openings elsewhere.
HMIS noticed the custodial “workforce pipeline” growing and documented more than 40 staff members who went through the training process and accepted new roles at locations throughout the Hanford Site. The most common transitions included moving into positions as a nuclear chemical operator or health physics technician.
“The Hanford Site offers an array of challenging, interesting and highly skilled positions across many disciplines,” said Brian Harkins, EM assistant manager for Mission Support. “We are continually proud of our ability to attract quality candidates and capitalize on their strengths to benefit the cleanup mission with their dedicated contributions.”
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Tamara Balch, a member of the custodial services team for contractor Hanford Mission Integration Solutions (HMIS), helps with upkeep for a building on the Hanford Site. HMIS recently noticed a “workforce pipeline” within this team and documented dozens of custodial services employees who accepted new positions elsewhere on the Hanford Site. |
Nancy Sumsion cleans a facility on the Hanford Site as part of the custodial services team for contractor Hanford Mission Intergration Solutions.
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Each time a team member accepts a new job onsite, whether within their department or elsewhere, a manager needs to hire and train someone new to replace them. However, Hanford leaders recognize that constant development of the workforce benefits the whole site.
“As a manager, you never want to lose good workers,” said Joel Ah Yat, manager of HMIS Custodial Services. “On the other hand, one of the biggest gratifications is seeing an employee move up the ranks to take on new roles.”
Career opportunities available to custodial services employees after going through training also include positions such as instrument technicians, safety representatives and material coordinators.
-Contributor: Robin Wojtanik
 Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership Technical Services Summer Intern Catherine Creekmore, center, applies what she is learning in her internship to characterize materials found in process gas equipment in the C-333 Process Building with Paducah Site workers Donnie Mathews, left, and Ronnie Walker.
PADUCAH, Ky. – Summer internship programs sometimes evoke images of students filing paperwork or sitting idly at a desk for days on end.
That’s far from reality for summer interns at EM’s Paducah Site this year. For University of Kentucky College of Engineering student Catherine Creekmore, the summer internship program is giving her hands-on experience she never dreamed possible.
“I love what I’m doing now and could honestly see myself doing this for a long time,” she said. “This has been one of the most interesting things I have ever done in my life. It is gratifying to know my work is contributing to things that actually matter.”
Creekmore is working with Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), EM’s Paducah Site deactivation and remediation contractor. Her mentor is training her on a scientific discipline known as characterization, a process that allows site workers to quantify the types and quantities of materials contained in equipment and facilities being evaluated for future demolition at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Creekmore’s summer project is to help characterize equipment in the C-333 Process Building, a building so large, its two floors could cover 20 football fields. Work is currently being done to prepare the building for future demolition, which is a priority project for the Paducah Site.
Colton May is finishing his final year as a mechanical engineering student at the University of Ohio. This summer, he is working with the Paducah Site’s technical support contractor, Enterprise Technical Assistance Services (ETAS). He is working with site engineers to quantify and plan for future waste disposal and other important site needs. This internship has provided him an opportunity to apply the lessons he has learned in the classroom to real-life work.
“I was not really sure what to expect from this internship, as I knew nothing about the plant or industry before arriving. However, I would say any expectations I had prior to arriving have been exceeded and this internship has been a great experience,” May said.
 Enterprise Technical Assistance Services Summer Intern Colton May, center, speaks with Paducah Site workers on the C-535 Switchyard Demolition Project.
Through the internship program, students like Creekmore and May develop lifelong professional skills aimed to aid them in their future career pursuits. The students’ work supports key projects, including the site’s groundwater cleanup strategy, facility deactivation and demolition, utilities optimization and occupational medicine. Interns are also employed to support office personnel in accounting, human resources and public affairs.
Summer internship programs help EM and its contractors recruit next generation leaders to the site’s workforce. Since the program began in 2014, approximately 112 students have benefited from internships at the site.
“The technical skills students obtain during their internships are rewarding; however, of equal value are the connections and interpersonal communication skills with which the mentors equip these students,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said. “It is these things that help students understand how to work as a team, which translates across all industries and disciplines, providing students with many career options when they leave here.”
Site contractors that participate in EM’s internship program include Mid-America Conversion Services, Swift & Staley, ETAS and FRNP. This year, 26 students from schools located across the Commonwealth and one student from Ohio participate in the program.
-Contributors: Dylan Nichols, Jessica Vasseur
 Workers place contaminated sediment from the excavation area for the Lower Three Runs project into sacks for disposal.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM and a contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) recently finished the cleanup of a discharge canal, a project that successfully completes environmental remediation of the Lower Three Runs stream system.
Lower Three Runs is composed of several ponds and canal systems that received thermal discharges from cooling water systems associated with the site’s P and R reactors, which were shut down in the 1980s and decommissioned by EM in 2011. The discharges included radionuclides that may pose a threat to human health, and mercury pumped from the Savannah River also posed a risk to the environment.
Earlier this year, DOE awarded the Lower Three Runs Final Remedial Decision Team members with the Secretary of Energy Achievement Award for their dedication to securing the record of decision remedial agreement for the Lower Three Runs stream system at the site. Their efforts culminated in substantial cost savings and the protection of approximately 30 miles of canals and streams and over 3,000 acres of aquatic habitat. Their approach to the project can be applied to other stream systems at the site and help achieve EM priorities of legacy cleanup and environmental stewardship.
“It’s been an honor to be an integral part of the Lower Three Runs project, which is now the first fully remediated closure site at Savannah River Site,” said Juana Maddox, a project manager with Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) Environmental Compliance & Area Completion Projects. “Successfully completing this project within a year without incident speaks to our team’s willingness to collaborate and rise to the occasion.”
To safely isolate the identified area for cleanup, crews placed large aqua barriers, blocking off the area with higher concentrations of the contaminants. They pumped out the water from the contaminated area, exposing the underlying sediment.
Workers then treated the sediment with a drying agent and excavated it to approximately 1 foot deep. They safely discarded the excavated sediment in sacks and disposed of it as low-level waste at SRS. Crews removed about 21 cubic yards of sediment from the 500-square-foot excavation area.
“The planning and field implementation on this project was very well orchestrated,” said Susan Blas, fellow scientist with SRNS Environmental Compliance & Area Completion Projects. “As with any field deployment, there were aspects that were not anticipated. The team did an excellent job suspending work when unexpected conditions arose, meeting at the field site where all variables were discussed, and a safe alternative was agreed upon by the entire team.”
SRNS subcontractor CTI & Associates, a small construction and remediation company based in Michigan, performed the field work for the project. CTI is one of several businesses that has partnered with SRS through its successful mentor-protégé program.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control approved the project.
“They say it takes a village, which was proven to be true during this field project,” Blas said. “The expertise applied to this type of project makes all the difference.”
-Contributor: Fallan Flatow
 EM crews use light construction equipment to remove the final pieces of asphalt from one of the pads at the Transuranic Storage Area-Retrieval Enclosure, which once housed thousands of barrels and boxes of waste.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM recently moved a significant step toward closure of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site’s largest building, which could comfortably house a modern U.S. aircraft carrier.
EM and contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition were notified that the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality considers two concrete pads at the Transuranic Storage Area-Retrieval Enclosure (TSA-RE) officially closed following the completion of required work under the facility’s Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) interim operating permit.
The two pads represent more than half of the 7-acre TSA-RE. Closure means the pads can no longer be used for waste storage and do not require additional remediation.
 Crews removed more than 7,500 tons of asphalt from Pads 1 and R at the Transuranic Storage Area-Retrieval Enclosure, allowing for their closure under federal regulations.
The TSA-RE pads received waste from DOE sites, primarily the former Rocky Flats Plant near Denver, Colorado, from 1970 to the late 1980s. Waste was stored outside on asphalt pads and covered with clean soil. The TSA-RE, a metal-framed building with metal siding, was constructed over the massive waste-storage mound. The building was constructed to allow for safe retrieval of the waste from the asphalt pads for treatment at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) treatment facility. TSA-RE is part of the AMWTP complex.
In the lead-up to official closure of the two concrete pads at TSA-RE, crews removed more than 15 million pounds of asphalt, filling 860 waste containers.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Dave Martin, AMWTP operations director. “It’s a proud, yet bittersweet, time for the folks who have invested so much of their careers at AMWTP.”
Although the two concrete pads constitute the majority of the TSA-RE building footprint, waste destined for EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant or other off-site repositories is stored on a remaining asphalt pad permitted under a different RCRA permit and overseen by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.
EM plans to demolish the TSA-RE building once it’s empty. Crews will then tear down other buildings and structures at the AMWTP until the entire AMWTP facility is closed near the end of this decade.
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
 The Osborne Brothers work together as uranium material handlers at EM's Portsmouth Site in Ohio. From left are David, Randy, Rick and Rick's son, A.J., an industrial hygienist.
Environmental cleanup at EM sites is a family affair. Each day, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, and uncles and nephews show up together to perform the hazardous tasks and myriad support services necessary to carry out the world’s largest environmental cleanup. This week’s episode of the "Gone Fission Nuclear Report Podcast" introduces viewers and listeners to some of these families to show what it’s like to work together in this challenging setting. In this podcast episode, meet the Osborne brothers, David, Randy, and Rick, and Rick's son, A.J., at the Portsmouth Site; Dieter and Natalie Bohrmann, father and daughter at the Hanford Site; Cathy and Matt Torres, mother and son at Savannah River Site; and the Seeber brothers, Richard, Kevin, and Chris, and Chris Seeber's son, Cody, at Oak Ridge.
 Evaluators observe Devin Lockard, right, Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Control Room supervisor, as he leads his team through an operations drill inside Hanford’s Low-Activity Waste Facility.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) staff at the Hanford Site recently conducted a drill simulating the response to an abnormality in the plant’s power system.
Staff conducted the drill as part of the plant’s Operations Drill Program, which is designed to ensure WTP personnel are prepared to respond to events that could compromise the plant’s operability.
“The program is built to promote a strong, long-lasting operational culture,” said Tom Fletcher, EM Office of River Protection assistant manager and federal project director for WTP. “It’s a key piece in preparing the WTP team and site for future direct-feed low-activity waste (DFLAW) operations to treat radioactive and chemical waste from large, underground storage tanks.”
The program team holds a drill at least once per week, rotating through the operations shift crews and pulling from a wide variety of systems and possible situations. New drill scenarios are created regularly.
“Our program covers any plant system or event not included in the emergency preparedness drill scope,” said Arnoldo Saenz, the WTP operations support specialist who runs the program. “We cover everything from the melter control systems to support systems like cooling water. If it can go wrong, we drill for it.”
During DFLAW operations, treated waste from Hanford’s underground storage tanks will be fed directly to melters inside the WTP’s Low-Activity Waste Facility. The waste will be mixed with glass-forming materials and heated in the melters in a process known as vitrification, then poured into specially designed stainless steel containers for disposal at Hanford’s Integrated Disposal Facility.
-Contributor: Tyler Oates
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