  Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk addresses the local Hanford Site community, speaking about its vital role in the Department’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative.
RICHLAND, Wash. – On Friday, the Hanford Site hosted the first Cleanup to Clean Energy Information Day at an EM cleanup site.
Such site events are key to DOE’s newly launched Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative, whose primary objective is to repurpose parts of DOE-owned lands previously associated with the nation’s nuclear weapons program for carbon-free energy (CFE) production.
The information days create engagement between DOE and industry, stakeholders, federal entities, tribal leaders, and state and local officials, while providing a platform for information sharing and questions.
“As the leading federal agency on clean-energy research, development, deployment and demonstration, DOE has both a unique opportunity and a clear responsibility to lead by example and identify creative solutions to achieve the president’s mandate,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “The cleanup progress made at Hanford sets the stage for additional mission success as we look to move this initiative forward.”
 EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White addresses an audience of over 70 people, emphasizing the significance of a new Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative at EM sites and outlining DOE’s goals for the success of the initiative.
In August, DOE issued a request for information to identify organizations interested in leasing federal land at the Hanford Site for large-scale CFE projects.
Approximately 19,000 acres of land at the Hanford Site have been identified for potential industrial use, including clean-energy generation and storage.
DOE may opt to lease some or all of this land to one or multiple entities for CFE-generation projects.
Following welcoming remarks by Brian Stickney, Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office deputy manager, Narayan Subramanian, DOE advisor to the secretary of energy, kicked off the event. Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk provided remarks.
“The EM mission is first and foremost,” said Turk. “What we are doing here is a related mission, a natural extension of what we have been doing here for many, many years and that is cleanup to clean energy — it really is a marriage of missions.”
 Panelist Jeremiah Baumann, center at table, senior advisor to the under secretary of energy and director of policy and implementation for the Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure, answers industry questions about land use. At right of Baumann is Julie Turner, Pacific Northwest Site Office manager. At left of Baumann is Brian Harkins, Richland Operations Office assistant manager for Mission Support. Ingrid Kolb, chief sustainability officer and director of the DOE Office of Management, is at the lectern.
Ingrid Kolb, chief sustainability officer and director of the DOE Office of Management, then moderated a panel discussion with experts, engaging an audience of over 70 participants who were able to ask panelists questions and provide comments.
The panel was composed of Brian Harkins, Richland Operations Office assistant manager for Mission Support; Jeremiah Baumann, senior advisor to the under secretary of energy and director of policy and implementation for the Office of the Under Secretary for Infrastructure; and Julie Turner, Pacific Northwest Site Office manager. White provided closing remarks.
 Hanford Site employees welcome the event’s participants.
For further details on the Hanford event, please visit DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy webpage.
DOE is seeking feedback on this initiative. Input should be sent to EMCleanEnergy@em.doe.gov by Oct. 12 at 4 p.m. PST. Following review of responses to the request for information, DOE will announce next steps to identify potential opportunities for CFE generation at Hanford.
DOE will maintain ongoing communication and collaboration with industry, stakeholders and tribal nations as the clean-energy project takes shape. Look for DOE to announce information days at additional EM sites as they are scheduled.
-Contributor: Cerise Peck
 Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk shakes hands with Jim Law, an Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) system engineer, at the facility prior to a celebratory event marking the successful start and routine operations of IWTU.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk and EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White visited the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site last week to thank federal and contractor employees for the successful start and routine operations of a radioactive liquid waste treatment facility in support of milestones with the State of Idaho.
Turk and White were at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) to recognize the efforts of engineers, fabricators, operators and other team members who helped the facility begin waste treatment operations.
Since the IWTU started treating sodium-bearing waste in April, it has converted more than 68,000 gallons of liquid waste from nearby underground tanks to a safer, granular solid.
“Truly a one-of-a-kind facility, IWTU has treated waste because of the tenacity and skilled professionals who worked on the project,” said Turk. “On behalf of the Department of Energy, I want to thank every person on the IWTU team. Your efforts are recognized and deeply appreciated.”
 Officials gather at an event last week celebrating the successful start and routine operations of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. Pictured from left are EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, EM Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr and Idaho Environmental Coalition President Ty Blackford.
White, who last visited the INL Site in March to celebrate the early completion of a spent nuclear fuel wet-to-dry campaign, also thanked IWTU staff.
“I am thrilled to be in Idaho to celebrate another important cleanup milestone,” White said. “We would not be here today without the expertise of those who made IWTU possible. Thank you for staying focused on your mission.”
The IWTU was constructed from 2007 to 2012 to treat almost 900,000 gallons of sodium-bearing waste generated during Cold War-era spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. The IWTU has undergone hundreds of modifications and several tests using a simulant in the lead-up to the start of radioactive waste processing operations.
 Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) Operator Russell O’Brien, left, welcomes Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk and EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White, far right, into the facility's control room prior to a celebratory event marking the successful start and routine operations of IWTU.
“Because of the challenges presented, treating radioactive liquid waste, like the sodium-bearing waste here in Idaho, is one of the Department’s highest priorities,” said Turk. “I look forward to a continued dedication to the mission at IWTU and closing this important chapter in Environmental Management for the citizens of Idaho.”
Turk and White were joined by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, EM Idaho Cleanup Project Manager Connie Flohr, Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) President Ty Blackford, congressional staff members and others to thank the several hundreds of members of the workforce in attendance. IEC is EM’s cleanup contractor at the INL Site.
“Please accept my sincere gratitude for what you have accomplished at IWTU,” said Flohr. “Considering the amount of interest in the IWTU, you literally carried the weight of the cleanup program on your shoulders. This long ride hasn’t been easy, but reaching this point is so fulfilling.”
 Ladd Edmo, a member of the Fort Hall Business Council of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, speaks at a celebration last week recognizing the successful launch and routine operations of the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.
 A view of the guests at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit celebration held last week at the Idaho National Laboratory Site.
Blackford, like Flohr, acknowledged the challenges the workforce had to overcome.
“This job required a lot of sacrifice over the last 16 years,” he said. “Nearly everyone spent considerable time away from friends and family, worked nights and weekends and put off vacations. In my nearly 40 years in the cleanup program, I’ve never seen such a focused, competent group of professionals in any location I’ve worked. You remained firmly focused on the prize.”
The IWTU is currently undergoing maintenance to replace components in its granulated activated carbon beds, which remove mercury from the treated sodium-bearing liquid waste. The outage is expected to last several months.
Sodium-bearing waste treatment is expected to take three to seven years to complete, accounting for outages to conduct regular maintenance on the facility.
-Contributor: Carter Harrison
 OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and cleanup contractor UCOR have safely completed demolition of the Low Intensity Test Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), checking off a second EM 2023 priority at the site in as many months.
This latest successful teardown also marks the second reactor EM crews have taken down in ORNL’s central campus over the past year, following the removal of the Bulk Shielding Reactor last fall.
“This was a complex project, and we’re extremely proud of all the team members who worked together to plan and complete it safely,” said Nathan Felosi, ORNL portfolio federal project director for OREM. “Those efforts showcase EM’s impact by clearing away another high-risk excess contaminated facility and continuing the visual transformation at ORNL.”
 The Low Intensity Test Reactor, also known as Building 3005, was built in 1949 as a criticality testing facility that used highly enriched fuel with water as a coolant. It operated until 1968.
“Demolishing this structure presented unique challenges,” said Brad Adams, UCOR project manager. “The outer structure had to be demolished in a way that didn’t disturb the reactor. A high-reach crane had to be used on a small footprint without disturbing other ORNL operations. Through hard work, perseverance and ingenuity, we were able to safely bring down both the outer structure and safely pull out and package the reactor.”
 Watch an overview of EM's project resulting in the successful demolition of the Low Intensity Test Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Teardown of the three-story facility began in March, when crews removed the outer structure and various ancillary facilities. Next, workers used a high-reach crane to remove a trolley and bridge crane from the building. They then removed precast cement slabs and shield blocks to access and address the main reactor structure.
Once the slabs and shield blocks were removed, crews used a crane to raise the 37,600-pound reactor structure out of its housing. They placed the 30-foot-long reactor in a specialized carbon metal container for shipment for disposal.
In total, the demolition project produced more than 1.1 million pounds of waste. Workers will ship the reactor to an approved waste disposition site within a few weeks.
 In the final step of the Low Intensity Test Reactor demolition project, a crane raised the 37,600-pound reactor structure from its housing, placing the 30-foot-long facility in a specialized carbon metal container for shipment for disposal.
Crews are now busy preparing for deactivation and demolition of the adjacent Oak Ridge Research Reactor, known as Building 3042, and the Graphite Reactor support facilities.
Both are slated for near-term demolition, further transforming ORNL, reducing risks and clearing land for expanding research missions at the site.
-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks
 EM crews pose in front of a transuranic waste shipping cask destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant as they mark the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s 7,000th shipment to the underground waste repository in New Mexico.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM and its cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site celebrated an important milestone last week: the site’s 7,000th transuranic (TRU) waste shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico.
Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC) crews at the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) characterize, treat, repackage, certify and ship TRU waste from the Gem State to WIPP. Each of the 7,000 shipments represents careful planning and execution by employees in coordination with their partners at WIPP.
“This milestone could not have happened without the dedication and perseverance of countless hard-working individuals, at both the Idaho Cleanup Project and the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant over the past two decades,” said Dan Coyne, IEC senior director of decommissioning and waste management. “This has been a team effort since the beginning and will continue so through the very last shipment.”
WIPP drivers have traveled millions of miles from eastern Idaho to southeast New Mexico to transport the TRU waste shipping casks for disposal at WIPP over the last two decades — enough distance to make hundreds of trips around the globe or several roundtrips to the moon. IEC will remain busy for the foreseeable future with several thousand waste containers slated for disposal at WIPP. As many as 12 shipments leave AMWTP each week.
-Contributor: Carter Harrison
 EM and liquid waste contractor Savannah River Mission Completion have made significant progress in construction of Saltstone Disposal Units at the Savannah River Site.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM and its liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) recently marked many safety and operational milestones.
Progress includes removing more than 10 million curies from tank waste, pouring more than 80 vitrified high-level canisters at the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), processing 4 million gallons of waste through the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF), processing more than 5.5 million gallons of waste treated through the Saltstone Production Facility and processing waste from 25 tanks.
Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River’s assistant manager for waste disposition, said EM is making great strides in advancing the tank waste cleanup mission at SRS.
“EM had a successful fiscal year at Savannah River,” Folk said. “We achieved monthly and weekly salt waste processing and saltstone production records, as well as exceeded the goal for the number of curies removed from the tank waste. Each curie removed and each gallon of waste processed indicate progress toward reducing risk to the environment and the public.”
In the last 15 months, EM and Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) have:
The SRMC workforce reached those achievements while marking 10 million safe hours without a work-related injury that required an employee to miss a day on the job. The construction team has reached more than 37 million safe hours, spanning 25 years of work.
In parallel to meeting safety and operational milestones, SRMC has focused on new training programs to develop both employees and managers, such as intensive leadership development workshops.
Underscoring all these achievements is the people behind the success, according to SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson.
“The success and achievements wouldn’t exist without the people putting in the work behind them,” Olson said. “Many of our team members have put in years of dedication into this mission, and I thank them for their courage and perseverance. We have also hired hundreds of employees over the past 15 months and will continue to do so in the coming months and years, and I thank our veteran employees for being the example for our new teammates by demonstrating our culture and core values.”
-Contributor: Colleen Hart
 The Hanford Site’s 200 West Pump and Treat Facility is undergoing an expansion to boost treatment capacity from 2,500 to 3,750 gallons per minute.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers with EM Richland Operations Office (RL) contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company (CPCCo) are expanding the capacity of the Hanford Site’s already robust groundwater treatment system, a move that could shorten the time needed to reach cleanup goals and reduce long-term operating costs.
Located in the center of the 580-square-mile site, the 200 West Pump and Treat Facility is a key component of Hanford’s award-winning groundwater remediation program. Workers are installing more than a dozen additional extraction wells this year that will be connected to the facility to capture even more chemical and radiological contaminants.
“Groundwater treatment has been one of Hanford’s most successful cleanup programs over the past two decades,” said Naomi Jaschke, director of EM Hanford’s Soil and Groundwater Division. “We continue to shrink areas of contamination throughout the site to meet cleanup goals and protect the Columbia River.”
 EM contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company is installing more than a dozen additional extraction wells this year to support expansion of the Hanford Site’s largest groundwater treatment facility. The Hanford Site annually treats more than 2 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater.
The strategically placed extraction wells pump contaminated water from the aquifer, which can be more than 200 feet below the surface in the center of the Hanford Site. Treatment facilities use multiple technologies to remove contaminants from the groundwater.
Treated water is injected back into the aquifer outside the areas of contamination. This helps push more contaminated groundwater toward the extraction wells.
The 200 West facility, and five other smaller facilities located along the Columbia River, make up the six pump-and-treat systems CPCCo operates. Collectively, the systems have treated more than 2 billion gallons of contaminated groundwater annually for nine consecutive years, including more than 2.3 billion gallons in fiscal year 2023, which ends Sept. 30.
The 200 West facility alone treats more than 1 billion gallons each year. That figure will increase by up to 650 million gallons after the additional wells are installed and connected to the plant over the next year.
“This is the largest expansion of the 200 West Pump and Treat extraction well network that we’ve undertaken to date,” said Jim Geiger, CPCCo well drilling manager. “The pump-and-treat systems have already removed nearly 700 tons of contaminants from the aquifer over the life of Hanford’s groundwater treatment program, and this project will allow us to more efficiently build on that number as we continue to reduce risk to the Columbia River.”
-Contributor: Karisa Saywers
 The first of three 11,300-gallon nitrogen storage tanks no longer in use at the Paducah Site is lowered onto a flatbed trailer for transfer to the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization. All three tanks had an estimated recycling value of $15,000 for the organization.
PADUCAH, Ky. – EM transferred more than 180,000 pounds of reusable and recyclable materials recovered during the demolition process for 16 unused, outdated facilities at the Paducah Site over the past year to a local community reuse organization.
The Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO), in turn, uses the transferred property or proceeds from its sale to attract new jobs to the community.
“The demolition of these smaller facilities allows us to quickly identify equipment and recyclable material to transfer to PACRO, decreasing maintenance cost for DOE and providing PACRO with potential funding opportunities,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said.
EM worked with PACRO to transfer approximately 50,000 pounds of metal recovered during the demolition process and three 11,300-gallon nitrogen storage tanks weighing 45,000 pounds each. The tanks had an estimated recycling value of $15,000 for PARCO.
The EM project team completed demolition of the 16 facilities ahead of schedule and under budget, allowing the site to complete the teardown of an additional facility before the end of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Office trailers, storage facilities and equipment-support housings were among the facilities demolished this fiscal year. Work will soon begin on an additional 11 facilities for demolition for the next fiscal year.
“There are over 500 facilities at the Paducah Site,” said Myrna Redfield, program manager of Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the site’s deactivation and remediation contractor. “Removing facilities no longer needed enables us to focus our time and resources on the long-term mission of the site.”
The effort is one of many under an agreement with PACRO, EM’s designated community reuse organization for the Kentucky counties of McCracken, Ballard, Marshall, and Graves, and Massac County in Illinois.
As the cleanup program dismantles four massive electrical switchyards at the site, the recycling of recovered materials and components supports local economic development while reducing or offsetting the site's cleanup costs. The Paducah Site also transferred approximately 210,000 gallons of electrical insulating oil from the C-531 Switchyard to PARCO.
-Contributor: Dylan Nichols
 Augusta High School student Kathryn McGee, second from right, operates a robot used in robotic competitions at the 2019 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions "Introduce a Girl to Engineering" event held in Aiken, South Carolina.
AIKEN, S.C. – In 2019, North Augusta High School student Kathryn McGee volunteered for an EM contractor’s outreach program that introduces female students to careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
She’s now a newly hired Savannah River Site (SRS) engineer and recently volunteered to serve again for the next Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) “Introduce a Girl to Engineering” program event.
In her first time partaking in the program, McGee and her two friends represented the 2019 North Augusta Robotics Club and demonstrated how to build and operate robots. The event was held at the Ruth Patrick Science Center on the University of South Carolina Aiken (USC Aiken) campus.
“I really enjoyed it,” said McGee. “And it was there that I realized that explaining the importance of engineering as a career, particularly for women, was very rewarding. In fact, during my final years at Clemson (University), I gave tours to prospective students around campus that promoted engineering.”
 Kathryn McGee working in a full-time engineering position at the Savannah River Site.
The North Augusta, South Carolina, native confirmed her lifelong desire to be an engineer through an internship and then an apprenticeship at SRS.
During fall 2021, McGee began working with Savannah River Tritium Enterprise (SRTE) Engineering as an apprentice. Shortly thereafter, she accepted an offer with SRTE’s Reservoir Systems Engineering group as a full-time employee.
“It’s been a great experience learning about the missions of SRS throughout my internship and apprenticeship opportunity,” said McGee. “The Savannah River Site is a totally different world than most companies and is unlike anything else in the U.S. I’m grateful I had this opportunity as a student to get my foot in the door. I understand so much more than if I had just hired on. It made that transition from student to employee much easier.”
McGee said she always knew that one day she would join the workforce at SRS.
“I don’t see myself working anywhere else,” she said.
The Introduce a Girl to Engineering program encourages eighth grade girls to consider careers in engineering, science and technology. In celebration of Nuclear Science Week, SRNS Education Outreach is coordinating this year’s event on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Ruth Patrick Science Education Center, USC Aiken.
“Statistically, females are highly underrepresented in STEM fields. This event provides an opportunity for local eighth grade girls to be mentored by female engineers, scientists and information technology professionals from the Savannah River Site through a variety of hands-on activities to showcase all the exciting career paths that we have to offer,” said SRNS Education Outreach Specialist Taylor Rice.
-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb
 EM Nevada Program Underground Test Activity Project Manager Ken Rehfeldt addresses a team of stakeholder representatives and independent peer reviewers at the Nevada National Security Sites location some 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
LAS VEGAS – In 1989, EM launched an intensive groundwater investigation program to address the effects of historic nuclear testing and activities at the Nevada National Security Sites (NNSS) location some 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
Recently, scientists with the EM Nevada Program achieved a significant step toward closure of the final groundwater region of four on the site, known as Pahute Mesa.
“We have reached what is known as the model evaluation stage at Pahute Mesa,” said John Myers, EM Nevada Underground Test Activity (UGTA) lead. “This means the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has sufficient confidence in the team’s work and our corrective action unit model results to proceed with model evaluation studies.”
EM Nevada has witnessed its groundwater program reach several key milestones over the past decade. Frenchman Flat was the first groundwater corrective action area to reach closure in 2016. The Yucca Flat groundwater region was brought to closure in 2020. The same year, the Rainier Mesa and Shoshone Mountain groundwater corrective action areas reached closure three years ahead of schedule to the result of $5 million in federal savings.
 A look at a slice of the Pahute Mesa groundwater region from a distance.
The Pahute Mesa groundwater region posed unique challenges. Of the 828 underground nuclear tests that occurred at the NNSS from 1951 to 1992, only 82 occurred on Pahute Mesa land. However, that 10% or so of tests contained about 60% of the radioactivity released at the site.
One advantage has been the accumulation of data available to the program. Nearly 70 years of sampling, testing and analysis provided a baseline of information. EM Nevada drilled 11 additional wells between 2009 and 2016 and in total, EM Nevada collects groundwater samples from over 100 monitoring locations on and around the NNSS.
“The success at Pahute Mesa is built from the investment the DOE has made in sampling and modeling over the last 30 years and the contributions of a half dozen collaborating organizations,” said UGTA Project Manager Ken Rehfeldt of Navarro Research & Engineering, the EM Nevada Environmental Program Services contractor.
EM Nevada carried out years of data collection and modeling that culminated in a report that serves as a comprehensive forecast of groundwater movement and contaminant boundaries in the Pahute Mesa region.
“This path began 20-plus years ago with some hesitation as to whether it could be effectively achieved but those hurdles were overcome,” said EM Nevada Deputy Program Manager Bill Wilborn.
 Map of Nevada National Security Sites Groundwater Characterization Areas.
What comes next is new data collection, testing and analysis of groundwater that is expected to take four years. Then, the groundwater region will ultimately be closed by EM Nevada.
“Model evaluation is a significant step to assess the reliability of flow and contaminant transport model results and further strengthen confidence that the model results can be used for regulatory decisions necessary for closure,” Myers said.
Rehfeldt echoed the importance of reaching the milestone.
“This is a big step. It was potentially a pinch point but with DOE and collaborator support we were successful,” Rehfeldt said. “We will evaluate and update the model based on new information and if that model is acceptable to the state when it’s finished, then the final stage is the closure stage.”
Collaborators on the project that made significant contributions include the Lawrence Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories, Desert Research Institute, U.S. Geological Survey and Mission Support and Test Services, which is the NNSS management and operations contractor.
EM Nevada expects to drill additional wells in 2024 to provide additional data to aid with model evaluation. Work is on schedule to complete the corrective action process and achieve closure of the Pahute Mesa area by the end of 2028.
Click here for more information on the EM Nevada Groundwater Program.
-Contributor: Grant Johnson
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