WASHINGTON, D.C. – DOE-Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) Manager Mike Budney was recently honored with the prestigious Meritorious Presidential Rank Award for his sustained record of extraordinary professional and technical achievements and the highest levels of integrity and dedication exhibited throughout his Senior Executive Service (SES) career.
The award is the second-highest annual honor for career SES leaders, professionals or scientists who achieve results and consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service.
Serving as the DOE-SR manager at the Savannah River Site (SRS) since February 2018, Budney has demonstrated sound, results-oriented leadership among a collective federal and contractor staff of over 12,000, building credibility and trust among key stakeholders and local communities and providing exceptional service to the American people.
Under Budney’s leadership, the SRS environmental management program has gained sustained regulatory support for new, innovative technologies that maximize cleanup, protect public health and the environment and save millions in taxpayer dollars.
Budney oversaw completion of the construction of all parts of the tank-waste treatment system at SRS, including 25 years of successful operations at the Defense Waste Processing Facility and the startup of the new Salt Waste Processing Facility. He achieved this important facility startup milestone ahead of schedule and under budget despite significant obstacles, including the COVID-19 pandemic. EM has safely disposed of record amounts of radioactive tank waste at SRS.
In another critical component of the SRS liquid waste program, Budney drove progress on design and construction of new Salt Disposal Units, large concrete vaults used for permanent disposal of decontaminated salt solution, under budget and ahead of schedule.
In nuclear material management, Budney was instrumental in implementing the Accelerated Basin De-inventory (ABD) mission that will allow processing of all remaining spent nuclear fuel in the L Basin storage area through H Canyon without recovery of highly enriched uranium, and immobilize the resulting dissolved material to be disposed of in the future. The ABD mission is expected to save more than 20 years of work and reduce the environmental liability at SRS by $4 billion.
Budney led efforts for advancing the design and construction start of the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC). Once constructed, the AMC will provide an accessible, modern facility for research and development that brings government, industry and academia together to develop and share advanced manufacturing technology. It will also support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to train the next generation of workers to support both DOE missions and U.S. industry that will increase manufacturing competitiveness across the state, region and nation.
In stakeholder engagement, Budney has been instrumental in continuing the site’s strong working relationships with the Savannah River Site Citizens Advisory Board and key community, business and regulatory partners.
Prior to SRS, Budney served as director of the Office of Business Operations in the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
He retired as a United States Navy captain after 29 years of service. While on active duty, he served aboard four submarines and three ships, commanding a Trident Ballistic Missile Submarine.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the Presidential Rank Awards Program to recognize a select group of career members of the SES for exceptional professional, technical and scientific achievement recognized on a national or international level.
-Contributor: Julie Petersen
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 The EM Consolidated Business Center welcomes Forum on Stakeholder Confidence members for the first day of their recent workshop.
CINCINNATI – Representatives of the DOE, Nuclear Energy Agency, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ohio EPA, and technical and communications professionals from around the world recently converged here for the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence Workshop.
The workshop explored lessons learned and best practices focused on the forum members’ relationships with communities that host nuclear facilities or sites where such facilities have been remediated. They also heard from stakeholders who have experienced the highs and lows of interactions involving complex environmental issues.
DOE’s Environmental Management (EM) and Legacy Management (LM) offices prepared for the international visitors and welcomed the group to the EM Consolidated Business Center. There, they discussed waste management, reviewed specific case studies and explored communications challenges and successes.
“The communications work that is performed on these matters is hard work, and it’s hard work no matter where it is happening in the world,” said Tania Smith Taylor, LM technical director for long-term stewardship. “It’s important to hear from stakeholders themselves and learn from each other so our engagement with communities in the future is productive and mutually beneficial.”
Forum members from Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland took part in the workshop.
 Forum on Stakeholder Confidence members gear up to board a bus at the Ohio State University Endeavor Center en route to EM's Portsmouth Site for a tour of ongoing cleanup activities.
Participants toured the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The plant includes a former uranium enrichment facility undergoing decontamination and decommissioning. The visitors also saw the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility and a facility in the early stages of centrifuge enrichment. EM DUF6 Program Manager Zak Lafontaine and Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP) President and CEO Greg Wilkett provided updates on the various site projects. FBP is EM's decontamination and decommissioning contractor for the Portsmouth Site.
Ohio University plays a key role at the Portsmouth Site. Stephanie Howe, the university’s associate director of human capital and operations, explained how DOE’s grant with the university provides an engagement pathway for the public to help determine the site’s end state for beneficial reuse.
“The Portsmouth Site showed how academia can play a key role in helping us to communicate and engage with communities,” EM Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Programs Director Joceline Nahigian said. “Having a process to determine an agreed-upon end state is critical and that work is still having an impact today.”
 Members of the Forum on Stakeholder Confidence gather with local stakeholders and others at the Fernald Preserve Visitors Center in Ohio.
Members of the forum also toured the Fernald Preserve Site located just outside of Cincinnati. Fernald was a former uranium processing facility that produced high-purity uranium metal products as the first step in the weapons production cycle. Cleanup there was completed in 2006, and the site is now home to a nature preserve with a new state-of-the-art interpretive center. It’s a regional destination for birdwatching.
LM Site Manager Brian Zimmerman provided an overview of Fernald and led the site tour. A panel discussion was also held that featured stakeholders from Fernald community groups, including Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) and the Fernald Community Alliance, along with Ohio EPA Federal Facilities Program Administrator Tom Schneider.
 Stakeholders from the Fernald Residents for Environmental Safety and Health (FRESH) and the Fernald Community Alliance (FCA) participate on a panel at the recent Forum on Stakeholder Confidence Workshop at the Fernald Preserve Site near Cincinnati. Pictured from right to left are FRESH members Lisa Crawford and Vicky Dastillung, FCA member Jerry Bradley, and FRESH and FCA member Edwa Yocum.
The stakeholders explained how DOE’s relationship with the community improved over time. Zimmerman said the relationship with the community is critical, even 17 years after cleanup concluded.
“We still have active remedies in place and the on-site disposal facility will be here in perpetuity, so communication with the community is still vital,” Zimmerman said. “We see our community members as partners who not only have a seat at the table, but definitely have a speaking role.”
FRESH member Lisa Crawford concurred.
“Thirty-nine years later, we’re still here. This is still ongoing,” Crawford said. “(The dialogue) is not done here and there is still more to do.”
The forum was established in 2000 by the Nuclear Energy Agency’s Radioactive Waste Management Committee as a platform for understanding stakeholder dialogue, and discussing methods to develop shared confidence and informed consent and get approval of radioactive waste management solutions.
“This was quite an impressive group of people who have a shared interest to have positive community relations with members of their respective communities,” Nahigian said. “It doesn’t happen easily. It takes a lot of hard work and the work that was performed in Cincinnati will have impacts in the United States and beyond.”
-Contributor: Rick Greene
WASHINGTON, D.C. – EM Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery gave remarks at the 43rd Meeting of the National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board (NRSB) on Nov. 7. In his address, Avery provided updates on EM progress and priorities, including technology development, the next generation workforce, DOE’s Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative and other topics. Avery noted to the board that the National Academies’ expertise brings great value to the EM mission by helping ensure the cleanup program’s plans are based on sound science and the latest technology. Here, Avery is pictured talking with NRSB member Monica C. Regalbuto, a former EM assistant secretary.
 Alexis Andaverde, an EM Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program graduate fellow, is pictured at work in his full-time position at Savannah River National Laboratory.
From Undergrad Coursework to Savannah River National Laboratory
AIKEN, S.C. – Alexis Andaverde recently joined the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) full time as an EM Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (EM MSIPP) graduate fellow in the Advanced Modeling and Simulation group.
Andaverde has ambitious intentions for his SRNL fellowship. His work at the laboratory consists of modeling and simulation of nuclear waste deposits. The graduate fellow creates a current state of the process in simulation software and then optimizes the system to dispose of nuclear waste as efficiently as possible.
“I plan to improve my modeling and simulation skills. Travel to other national labs and see their process. Understand what it really is to work at a national lab and create a strong network of connections for my career in academia and industry,” Andaverde said. “The type of work that I could contribute here was very exciting since it is what I studied in my undergrad and relates to my current thesis work.”
 The EM MSIPP graduate fellowship program provides a one-of-a-kind experience for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students to develop their careers. The program provides students from minority serving institutions an opportunity to gain specialized training in targeted technical areas of interest and need in the EM workforce. These areas include soil and groundwater, deactivation and decommissioning, tank waste processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and climate change.
In less than a month at SRNL, Andaverde has made a positive impression.
“Alexis is ambitious, driven and determined to deliver on the assignments and make a career,” said Adrian Mistreanu, the Advanced Modeling and Simulation group leader. “He knows when to say ‘no,’ and is willing to take extra assignments. He goes to the bottom of the problem and pays attention to the details.”
The graduate fellowship provides leadership development, networking and hands-on EM field experience that could lead to a career opportunity within the DOE complex.
“I do see the DOE as an amazing opportunity to make a valuable impact and gain very useful experience, so I would be open to staying on,” Andaverde said.
He was recently recognized alongside 11 other EM MSIPP graduate fellows during the 2023 EM MSIPP Achievement Workshop. The scholars will work as full-time employees at select EM sites for at least a year.
Born to migrant workers in south Texas on the border with Mexico, Andaverde was raised in Indiana. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering at Texas State University and currently attends the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he is earning a master’s degree in engineering management. Andaverde plans to begin work on his doctorate in the fall.
Contact Kimberly Ross-Malson at MSIPP@srnl.doe.gov for more information about EM MSIPP graduate fellowships and internships.
-Contributor: Tammy Newman
 Idaho Environmental Coalition decontamination and dismantlement crews use heavy equipment to remove the Accelerated Retrieval Project III last month.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM crews are returning the site of a Cold War-era landfill on the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site to its native desert landscape.
During the past year, decontamination and dismantlement (D&D) crews with EM’s INL Site cleanup contractor, Idaho Environmental Coalition, have demolished four of the soft-sided buildings used by the Accelerated Retrieval Project (ARP) within the landfill known as the Subsurface Disposal Area (SDA).
Demolition of the ARP II, III, IV and V buildings this year leaves the ARP VII, VIII and IX structures and a soft-sided waste storage building standing on the SDA. Those structures are planned to be demolished by December 2024.
The SDA is a 97-acre, triangular-shaped section of the Radioactive Waste Management Complex, established in 1952 for shallow burial of contaminated INL Site waste. From 1954 through 1970, the SDA accepted Cold War weapons wastes for disposal from sites in Colorado, New Mexico and other waste generators throughout the United States.
In 2008, the DOE, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state of Idaho agreed to exhume targeted waste — such as plutonium filters, graphite molds, sludges, and a potentially reactive form of uranium — from a combined area of 5.69 acres from the SDA footprint. This remediation was completed in early 2022, approximately 18 months ahead of schedule.
As with all ARP building removals, crews follow prescribed processes to ensure worker safety and protection of the environment. Prior to demolition, they perform extensive decontamination of the structures and place clean soil over the excavated areas to ensure safe maneuvering.
Each facility is examined for downgrade from an operating hazardous facility to one that can be safely and compliantly demolished. Once downgraded, crews remove all equipment, interior fabrics, and electrical and heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems. Then they complete final decontamination and apply fixatives. Next, each facility’s skeletal structure is weakened under the guidance and oversight of engineering personnel prior to the structure being pulled down by dual bulldozers. The building debris is then reduced in size and buried within the footprint of the SDA.
Once the remaining ARP buildings are demolished, preparations will begin to install an earthen cover over the entire SDA as the final Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act remedy. The evapotranspiration cover will require upwards of 250,000 dump truck loads of soil and rock in what will be the largest single environmental remedy in the history of the INL Site.
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
MIAMI – Florida International University (FIU) and DOE inducted 12 fellows — 10 from EM and two from the DOE Office of Legacy Management — into the Science and Technology Workforce Development Program during a ceremony last week. The program is part of a cooperative agreement between EM and FIU. DOE, FIU students, parents and staff were invited to participate in the program hosted by FIU at the university’s campus. The program is an initiative designed to create a pipeline of minority engineers and scientists specially trained and mentored to enter EM’s workforce. Among the speakers at the ceremony was Greg Sosson, EM principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, pictured here.
PADUCAH, Ky. – Contractors at EM’s Paducah Site recently teamed up to highlight career opportunities available at the site during the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce WKY (West Kentucky) Launch Experience. The EM representatives gave hands-on presentations about jobs ranging from engineering and science to the production of documents to over 800 middle school students from across the region. “Events allowing us to showcase the career opportunities at the site casts an early recruiting net in a student’s academic career,” Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) Manager Joel Bradburne said. “PPPO and our contractors are committed to outreach efforts with local schools hoping to cultivate tomorrow’s talent.” Paducah Site contractors Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), Swift & Staley Inc. and Mid-America Conversion Services, along with United Steel Workers Local 550, participated in the event. In this photo, FRNP Data Analyst Emily Coriell, right, demonstrates a pipe crawling robot at the event.
-Contributor: Dylan Nichols
 Chad Champy, a tank farm operator, conducts his practice session to employ the skills covered in a course he will teach as part of Savannah River Mission Completion’s worker-to-trainer program. The liquid waste contractor launched the program this year to provide critical knowledge transfer among the workforce.
AIKEN, S.C. – EM’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has implemented a program for workers to train new hires through a peer-to-peer learning opportunity.
Employees in Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) have the opportunity to become temporary classroom instructors through SRMC’s new worker-to-trainer program to qualify fellow teammates. The program was created to identify, train and temporarily reassign internal employees to provide critical knowledge transfer. The inaugural group of worker-to-trainer participants began co-teaching courses in September.
Before teaching their first course, the program participants receive training on best teaching practices from a full-time SRMC instructional professional, helping them gain confidence and become comfortable with leading in a classroom setting. Examples of courses taught by the worker-to-trainer program participants include instruction on water, ventilation and electrical distribution; cold chemical systems; response procedures; and electronic rounds.
The program allows avenues for selected participants to provide in-depth knowledge that is often only obtained from time in the job, according to Charles Lampley, SRMC Training, Emergency Management and Conduct of Operations manager.
“Savannah River Mission Completion’s worker-to-trainer program brings a real peer-to-peer learning experience and expertise to the classroom, closing knowledge gaps and increasing worker proficiency,” Lampley said. “Feedback from program participants has been positive. They are enjoying the opportunity for personal and professional development gained by teaching other adult learners, while at the same time earning extra compensation for their temporary, increased work scope outside of normal job responsibilities.”
Jim Folk, DOE-Savannah River assistant manager for waste disposition, commends SRMC for leveraging the significant institutional knowledge that exists within the liquid waste workforce.
“The SRS liquid waste facilities and systems are highly complex with unique features and challenges,” Folk said. “With their firsthand operating experience, liquid waste employees can provide great insight to new hires when teaching the systems or maintenance activities. It makes the work being done to advance EM’s liquid waste mission at Savannah River more personal.”
-Contributor: Colleen Hart
 Portsmouth Site tour guest Don Morrison holds a picture of his grandfather, George Cooke, in front of the X-300 building, the same facility where the photo was snapped decades ago.
PIKE COUNTY, Ohio – Public tours at EM's Portsmouth Site are often filled with retirees, curious to see what’s new, or local residents, eager to get a first glimpse of the site.
For Don Morrison, a trip to the former gaseous diffusion plant in southern Ohio from Akron, Ohio, carried a deeper meaning. The tour provided him an opportunity to reflect on his grandfather and the secrets of a career Morrison says was always a mystery.
Morrison’s grandfather George Cooke was part of the startup production team in 1953, a time when the work at the Portsmouth Site was not something employees could talk about, even with family.
Cooke held many key positions in his 25 years at the site. He was promoted to plant shift superintendent in 1966 and superintendent of cascade operations in 1974.
Read EM Update's recent wrap-up of a successful public tour season at EM's Portsmouth and Paducah sites. They saw a boost in visitors from across the country.
Morrison, an engineer like his grandfather, says finally getting a chance to see where his grandfather worked while learning about what he did was emotional.
“He never spoke about what he did, but we knew it was important and secretive,” Morrison said. “Anytime he would visit us in Akron, he would provide the plant with a phone number where he could be reached. I remember him receiving and taking calls in another room so he could talk privately.”
Cooke died in 1979, a year after he retired. If not for the public tour, Morrison would not have had the chance to learn more about his grandfather, even all these years later.
“Since my grandfather was not able to discuss his career, the tour gave me the best idea of what his time here was like,” Morrison said. “I’ve been waiting a long time to learn what he did.”
-Contributor: Cindi Remy
 EM Safety System Oversight Specialist Dimple Patel, right, speaks with an engineering student about Hanford Site opportunities during the recent WE23 Conference in Los Angeles.
LOS ANGELES – The One Hanford team made its debut at the recent WE23 annual conference in Los Angeles.
Sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers, WE23 is the world's largest gathering for women in engineering and technology fields. For the first time, 18 Hanford Site representatives joined more than 400 other exhibitors at the event. The Hanford team was there with a clear mission: recruit the next generation of Hanford engineers.
Representatives from EM’s Office of River Protection and Richland Operations Office, and Hanford contractors Bechtel National Inc., Central Plateau Cleanup Company, Hanford Mission Integration Solutions, Navarro-ATL and Washington River Protection Solutions engaged with prospective candidates at the conference and career fair.
"I was impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the attendees at WE23,” said Sydney Nachbaur, Hanford’s Workforce Management Team lead. “The One Hanford team’s participation in this event was a fantastic opportunity to connect with talented individuals who are passionate about engineering and technology. The level of engagement and the diversity of perspectives we encountered were outstanding.”
 Bechtel National Inc. Engineer Annalene Decker, left, provides insight into various Hanford Site career opportunities during the recent WE23 Conference in Los Angeles.
 Navarro-ATL Mechanical Engineer Anna Boll, right, connects with a potential candidate about Hanford Site career opportunities during the recent WE23 Conference in Los Angeles.
 Hanford Site engineer Deanna McCranie, center, and Navarro-ATL human resources member Yolanda Tuan, right, answer questions about Hanford engineering opportunities for students and graduates at the recent WE23 Conference in Los Angeles.
WE23 had an estimated attendance of more than 17,000, from students to established professionals. In addition to the career fair, the event offered interactive workshops, panel discussions and exhibits to inspire, educate and empower women. Attendees could explore emerging trends, data and best practices in the world of engineering and technology.
“Participation in this event underscores the Hanford Site’s commitment to finding talented individuals to join the One Hanford team,” said Nachbaur. “Recruiting the next generation workforce is a priority for keeping the cleanup mission moving forward.”
-Contributor: Cerise Peck
 EM crews completed construction of the final permitted cell in Landfill V ahead of schedule. The 5.7-acre expansion adds 456,000 cubic yards of capacity to the landfill, bringing its total capacity to 2.1 million cubic yards.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) lead cleanup contractor UCOR has finished constructing the final permitted cell in Landfill V ahead of schedule.
Landfill V is part of the Oak Ridge Reservation Landfills, which accept sanitary, industrial and construction waste generated from cleanup across the site.
The 5.7-acre expansion provides almost a half million cubic yards of additional disposal space to support ongoing cleanup at the Y-12 National Security Complex and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. That equates to approximately 50,000 dump truck loads of added capacity.
The buildout allows OREM to use the landfill for another 15 to 20 years, providing disposal space to nearby cleanup missions.
UCOR subcontracted the expansion effort to CTI and Associates, a small business focused on environmental consulting and engineering.
“Through CTI’s focus on safety, quality and schedule, the expansion was completed a month early despite record rainfalls in July and August," says Project Manager Julie Pfeffer. "UCOR and CTI employees worked closely together to successfully complete this project."
Enlarging Landfill V’s disposal capacity also extends the life of the Environmental Management Waste Management Facility (EMWMF), an important on-site disposal facility for low-level waste that’s currently at 85% capacity.
While OREM disposes of sanitary, industrial and construction waste in Landfill V, it sends low-level contaminated waste to EMWMF. These complimentary efforts ensure space at EMWMF is used efficiently.
UCOR and its independent quality assurance firm, Thompson Engineering, are completing a final report documenting all construction and testing activities for the Landfill V expansion. This report will be submitted to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation for approval before any waste is placed in the newly expanded area of the landfill.
OREM is also preparing the site of the Environmental Management Disposal Facility for construction. That facility, which is slated to begin operations in the late 2020s, will provide an additional 2.2 million cubic yards of waste disposal capacity for low-level contaminated waste.
OREM is working to have that facility available as EMWMF reaches full capacity.
-Contributor: Susanne Dupes
 Crews connect a pipe to the top of an underground waste tank, A-106, foreground, after removing a thick concrete core from the tank dome using a large drill, background, to provide access for installing waste retrieval equipment.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Preparations to retrieve radioactive and chemical waste from another group of large underground tanks at the Hanford Site are gaining momentum.
Workers with EM Office of River Protection contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently drilled an opening through the thick concrete top of Tank A-106 to provide access for waste retrieval equipment.
Within the next year, they will begin retrieving waste from six older single-shell tanks in the A Tank Farm, one of 18 farms at Hanford that received waste generated during plutonium production. Crews will transfer the waste to a newer double-shell tank for safe storage until it is treated.
 Watch workers with Hanford Site tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions drill a hole into the dome of an A Farm tank to install retrieval equipment — a high-hazard operation that has only been done three times in the last 15 years at Hanford.
Workers used a large drill to make the opening and installed a pipe, called a riser, that will accommodate new retrieval equipment. This task has only been done three times in the last 15 years at Hanford, and before drilling, crews trained on and tested equipment at Hanford’s Cold Test Facility.
“Time spent perfecting skills in a lower-risk environment like a mock-up is invaluable,” said Jim Greene, EM Tank Farms Program Division program manager. “Making progress on our risk-reduction mission requires developing, testing and using specialized tools and techniques. This way when workers go into the field, they can do the job safely and more efficiently.”
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A remote-controlled camera captured this picture inside underground waste tank A-106 after workers drilled through the concrete dome to create a new opening for waste retrieval operations. |
Workers suspended a slurry pump by a crane prior to installing it into underground waste tank A-101 to prepare for upcoming retrieval operations in Hanford’s A Tank Farm. |
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Crews also recently installed a pump in Tank A-101, the first tank in A Farm scheduled for retrieval. Soon workers will install two more large pieces of equipment in the tank to break down waste during retrieval operations.
“We have outstanding employees who own their work and maintain a culture of teamwork,” said Peggy Hamilton, WRPS Single-Shell Tank Retrievals manager. “They watch out for their fellow workers while doing this important work to protect site personnel, local communities and the environment.”
Waste retrieval in A Farm is scheduled to start in the summer of 2024. The A Farm tanks were built in the mid-1950s, and store waste generated by plutonium processing at the nearby Plutonium Uranium Extraction Plant during the Cold War era.
Hanford’s C Farm, with 16 underground tanks, was the first tank farm to be completely retrieved, five years ago. Retrieval of one tank in the S Farm was completed in 2007. Workers are retrieving waste from the last of the four tanks in the AX Farm.
-Contributor: Kristin M. Kraemer
 Excess Express material processors, from left, Michelle Pierce, Kevin Miles, Hunter Glover and Tyrone Walker organize pallets of excess material. In fiscal year 2023, the Excess Express team removed over 480 pallets of material from the Savannah River Site.
AIKEN, S.C. – A team arranged for the reuse or disposal of nearly $11 million in government assets at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.
Established in 2016, the Excess Express team ensures government property at the site is safely and securely disposed of or reused through a process that involves inspecting, separating, inventorying and staging the items.
Craig Martin, manager of the Excess and Salvage Programs for SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), said the team surpassed its fiscal year 2022 record by 45%, with $10.9 million in government assets disposed of or reused in the past fiscal year.
“We are constantly looking for ways to benefit the government and local communities through this turnkey operation,” Martin said.
 Excess Express team members supported the processing, disposal and reuse of nearly $11 million in government assets at the Savannah River Site in fiscal year 2023.
 Excess Express material processors Hunter Glover, left, and Tyrone Walker prepare office equipment and other excess materials for removal from the Savannah River Site inventory.
Excess equipment can be reused by SRS workers, off-site state and federal government agencies, and nearby community organizations and programs, such as the Laboratory Equipment Donation Program (LEDP) and the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO). LEDP grants surplus and used laboratory equipment to colleges and universities for educational programs. SRSCRO supports technology-based startups, business expansion and new ventures across the Central Savannah River Area.
“Millions of dollars’ worth of excess equipment and materials are trusted in the hands of this team,” DOE-Savannah River Organizational Property Management Officer Sam Brantley said. “On behalf of site tenants, site contractors, local universities and surrounding communities, we are so grateful for your contributions and dedication to this program.”
Brantley recalled when Martin requested the donation of excess stationary equipment to an impoverished community in Allendale, South Carolina.
“We were able to process those items correctly through the program and donate over $1,000 worth of equipment to students to further their education,” Brantley said. “It is a wonderful feeling when this team can repurpose unusable materials to benefit low income or disadvantaged populations in our surrounding communities.”
-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb
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