  Jason Johnson, known as JJ, is a senior operations technician with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management contractor Isotek supporting the Uranium-233 Disposition Project.
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Usually surprises in the nuclear industry are unwelcomed, but earlier this year, Jason Johnson — known as “JJ” to his co-workers — received one he will cherish forever.
Johnson is a senior operations technician with contractor Isotek, supporting the Uranium-233 Disposition Project. It’s the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s (OREM) highest-priority cleanup project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
That project is focused on eliminating the inventory of uranium-233 (U-233) stored in ORNL's Building 3019, which is the world’s oldest operating nuclear facility. Originally created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in reactors, U-233 proved to be an unviable fuel source.
As teams planned to retrieve the next canister of U-233 from storage for processing and disposal, Johnson learned his grandfather was one of the people responsible for preparing that very canister for storage more than 40 years earlier.
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Andy Johnson, Jason Johnson's grandfather, worked as an engineering technician in Building 3019 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. |
Isotek U-233 Specialist Billy Starnes noticed the records showed employees sampled the canister before placing it in long term storage all those years ago.
Curiosity led Starnes to delve deeper into the logbooks, and he noticed a former co-worker’s name. The grandfather, Andy Johnson, was the person who had sampled the canister.
“I was kind of blown away,” Jason Johnson said about learning that he and his grandfather worked on the same canisters. “It’s surreal to think 47 years ago when I was born that I would have the opportunity to continue what he worked on.”
Jason Johnson knew his grandfather had worked at ORNL, but he didn’t realize both worked in Building 3019 generations apart. His grandfather previously served as an engineering technician in the facility.
 Jason Johnson, far right, and other Isotek employees prepare to retrieve a canister of uranium-233 from storage for processing and disposal at Building 3019 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Starnes, who has worked in Building 3019 for more than 50 years, recognized Andy Johnson’s name because the two worked together for nearly 10 years.
“He was really good to have on your shift with you,” said Starnes. “You didn’t have to worry about Andy keeping up with you.”
Now, Starnes finds that same dependability two generations later in Jason Johnson. The Johnson family has had two generations serving one mission, decades apart.
The grandfather and grandson were close.
“He loved my children to the fullest,” Jason Johnson said. “He didn’t miss many ballgames when I was little.”
When Andy Johnson wasn’t placing U-233 canisters into storage, he was a deacon at his church, which he helped build.
Andy Johnson died in 2015, but Jason Johnson carries his grandfather’s legacy forward through his own work as Isotek helps complete critical cleanup efforts and ensures material extracted from U-233 can be used for cancer treatments.
-Contributor: John Gray
 Sadao Momota, left, and Minoru Tanigaki, both research scientists from universities in Japan, conducted surveys at the West Valley Demonstration Project to test their novel radiation detectors. West Valley’s Main Plant Process Building, which is undergoing deconstruction, is shown in the background.
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. — Two research scientists from universities in Japan visited the West Valley Demonstration Project earlier this fall to test their novel radiation detectors.
Environmental monitoring activities following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami and associated nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan showed the need for a prompt and mobile radioactivity measurement system.
Minoru Tanigaki with Kyoto University brought the KURAMA-II to West Valley for testing. It’s a portable detector system that monitors air dose rate and radioisotope concentration levels in the ground at the same time. Sadao Momota with Kochi University of Technology tested his soil gamma-ray measurement system at the site. It can be used in the field to provide real-time soil contamination data.
Tanigaki’s prototype, KURAMA, could be used in vehicles and enabled radioactivity measurement near the ground in wide areas. It evolved into KURAMA-II, which features real-time location tracking and radiation measurements. Hundreds of the KURAMA-II have been deployed in Fukushima and the surrounding areas, providing air dose rate maps over the past decade.
As the emergency period following the accident passed, evacuees returned to their communities and air dose rates in the region decreased. The focus on radioactivity monitoring in the region shifted to tracking radioactive materials deposited in the residential areas and farmlands. KURAMA-II was redesigned for such purposes as it’s small enough to fit in a backpack.
With Momota’s device, a soil sample is collected down to a one-foot depth and placed on the measurement system. The results of gamma spectroscopy are automatically displayed on an attached monitor. Such real-time data enables farmers to understand the condition of their farm fields without waiting weeks for laboratory analysis.
Tanigaki and Momota envision expanding use of their equipment from nuclear accident response to radioactivity survey at industrial nuclear sites undergoing decommissioning and decontamination.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management is currently demolishing the Main Plant Process Building at West Valley, a project scheduled for completion next year. As West Valley moves to the next phase — contaminated soils remediation and disposition, and demolition of remaining Main Plant components and other facilities — there may be an opportunity for further collaboration among the two research scientists and West Valley, according to Jennifer Dundas, West Valley assistant director of the Office of Technical Services.
“The visit to West Valley by Minoru Tanigaki and Sadao Momota was successful in that both agreed that their collaboration would be mutually beneficial,” Dundas said. “That is, radioactivity measurement technology development for the researchers and safe decommissioning planning for West Valley.”
-Contributor: Joseph Pillittere
 The Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility is used primarily for dry storage for spent nuclear fuel from the Idaho National Laboratory Site’s Advanced Test Reactor.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Crews at the Idaho Cleanup Project will modify a Cold War-era facility to transfer, repackage and place spent nuclear fuel in a “road ready” state to prepare for its eventual removal from Idaho.
Early stages of the Road Ready Demonstration project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site are focused on modifying the Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility and installing a new transfer car insert, which is a large cask-handling device that moves the fuel through the facility.
During recent work, crews cut access points into the metal insert, allowing future equipment maintenance to be completed safely. They also completed other modifications that help rotate large fuel casks to facilitate easier access during operations.
“These modifications are necessary before we can install the transfer car insert,” said Tyson Woolstenhulme, a project manager for the demonstration. “The insert is larger than our existing equipment and will give our workforce the versatility to handle anticipated fuel types throughout the Road Ready Demonstration project, including heavy casks weighing approximately 130 tons.”
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A modified cask will be installed at the Irradiated Fuel Storage Facility to allow crews to safely handle all anticipated fuel types throughout the Road Ready Demonstration project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. |
During the demonstration, the transfer car insert will help move the fuel through the facility for repackaging into U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) standard canisters. Once repackaged, the fuel will be staged to prepare for permanent disposal outside the state — a commitment to Idaho by DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM).
Woolstenhulme expects all transfer car insert modifications to be completed by the end of 2024, allowing installation to begin early next year.
Other modifications include important components to the facility, such as a truck bay ramp and permanent containment structure, which encloses the transfer car and protects the workforce from radiation exposure. Crews will expand that structure’s door and fill in the truck bay ramp in fiscal year 2025, fortifying the facility’s infrastructure to ensure safe fuel handling and transport.
Woolstenhulme credits the spent nuclear fuel workforce for the progress to date.
“We have such a committed group of professionals supporting this project,” Woolstenhulme said. “By completing targeted modifications to the facility, we will be better equipped to fulfill our mission.”
 The Road Ready Demonstration project will transfer spent nuclear fuel to a storage configuration safe for transport for permanent disposal.
The 1995 Idaho Settlement Agreement, a binding document that sets enforceable milestones on cleanup progress in Idaho, requires that spent nuclear fuel is shipped out of the state for permanent disposal. Bill Kirby, chief operating officer for EM cleanup contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition (IEC), recognizes that this project brings IEC a step closer to fulfilling its commitment to the state of Idaho and its residents.
“Progress on the Road Ready Demonstration allows IEC to continue being responsible neighbors and stewards of the environment,” said Kirby. “Our commitment to the state of Idaho is incredibly important to me and our workforce, and I look forward to watching this project develop.”
-Contributor: Carter Harrison
AIKEN, S.C. — U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management team members at the Savannah River Site (SRS) used ingenuity, teamwork and decades of experience to successfully replace damaged equipment essential to the site’s spent nuclear fuel dissolution and disposition mission.
While performing startup of the electrolytic dissolver for the Fast Critical Assembly (FCA) mission at the H Canyon chemical separations facility, employees discovered some damaged electrical components and thru-wall connectors, which serve to bring electricity to the dissolver. The dissolver is used to process the fuel from the Japanese research reactor.
“The thru-wall connectors, which were installed in the ‘60s, are housed inside metallic sleeves that were then grouted into the canyon wall,” said Lead Project Engineer Chas Shiels of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s managing and operating contractor. “To replace them, we had to look at hand-drawn blueprints and diagrams and come up with a plan for their removal and replacement.”
Adding to the difficulty of interpreting 60-year-old drawings was the challenge of completing the work within the facility. Due to the high radiation of the canyon, all work is done either using remote cranes or, in some areas, with employees dressed in personal protective equipment, including plastic suits and hoods. The employees use equipment that supplies breathing air. The canyon is also filled with equipment such as dissolvers and piping that makes for tight working conditions.
To ensure the success of the fabrication and replacement of the damaged components, employees created multiple mock-ups in another area at SRS. They worked together to fabricate custom tooling and practice removing and installing the thru-wall connectors.
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Savannah River Site team members fabricated a mock-up of a custom-made thru-wall connector onsite. They practiced with the mock-up before replacing the thru-wall connectors in the H Canyon chemical separations facility. |
A view of the thru-wall corrector from the remote crane control room in the H Canyon chemical separations facility. |
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Pre-planning was essential to the successful execution of the replacement, SRNS Maintenance Lead John Charles Lollar said.
“Personnel protection during the work in the hot areas of the canyon was our highest concern,” Lollar said. “Pre-planning helped us implement controls, like distance and shielding, for these hazards.”
Lollar applauded the team for keeping positive and embracing teamwork.
“I can’t say enough about the teamwork involved in achieving this monumental task,” he said. “The dedication and hard work of our craft employees to ensure this job was accomplished and performed safely was instrumental to the successful completion of the job.”
Project Operations Lead Mike Baynham said that SRNS employees are always willing to go the extra mile to support the mission.
“We appreciated the support of SRNS and DOE executive leadership,” he said. “We basically refurbished a dissolver and its electrical components in three months. Many of our employees have spent all day every day working this project since April, and we are excited to see the project completed safely and successfully.”
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency sent the FCA fuel to SRS in 2016, fulfilling a pledge by Japan and the United States to remove all separated plutonium and highly enriched uranium fuel from the FCA reactor. The fuel is not covered, or clad, in aluminum, requiring an electrolytic dissolver to process. That process adds electricity to the traditional chemical dissolution method.
After work on the FCA is complete, the electrolytic dissolver will be used to dissolve other non-aluminum spent nuclear fuel currently in the site’s L Basin while chemical dissolvers will work on the disposition of spent nuclear fuel clad in aluminum.
-Contributor: Lindsey MonBarren
RICHLAND, Wash. — During a 30-day public comment period, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s Hanford Field Office (HFO) hosted its annual Hanford Site 5-Year Plan public meeting this fall to engage the public about Hanford Site cleanup work to be completed or initiated during fiscal years 2025 to 2029. HFO representatives provided an overview of Hanford’s goals and objectives in major areas, including tank waste treatment, risk reduction and site infrastructure. Representatives with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State Department of Ecology also shared their perspectives, followed by a Q&A session with meeting attendees. HFO will use feedback collected during the comment period to better understand the public’s project priorities as it develops future budget submissions.
 Large swaths of timber block a secondary road on Savannah River Site following Hurricane Helene. Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture.
AIKEN, S.C. — When Helene roared across the Savannah River Site (SRS) in late September, its Category 1 hurricane-strength wind gusts blew down timber from one side of the site to the other and across many of the primary and secondary roads onsite. But Helene’s effects on the forests across the site will be felt long after the roads are cleared.
The U.S. Forest Service on SRS has experience with forest recovery from natural disasters, such as an ice storm in 2014 and a tornado that ripped across the site in 2020.
When disasters like Helene or wildfires occur on lands managed by the Forest Service, the agency establishes an Incident Management Team (IMT). The team coordinates initial assessments of the situation and manages the initial response. Team members work with local authorities to ensure coordination of work priorities and mission alignment.
District Fire Management Officer Kevin Pope led Helene’s Forest Service IMT.
“Our fire crew worked very closely with site leadership following Helene and got clear directions on how best to support the mission on Savannah River Site,” Pope said. “We needed to clear mission-essential roads to critical facilities and that’s what we did.”
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A red-cockaded woodpecker artificial nesting cavity tree on Savannah River Site damaged by Hurricane Helene. |
With site recovery well underway, the IMT mission has changed from initial response to assessing Helene’s damage to the forests onsite and planning forest recovery efforts.
Assessing the storm’s impact on roughly 170,000 acres of forested areas on the site was made even more daunting by the necessity to clear over 1,200 miles of secondary roads to access forested areas. Close to 80% of those roads are now clear.
Large swaths of trees that were to be sold and harvested in future timber sales were blown down. Forest Service employees are resurveying these areas to reassess timber values and determine the new sizes of areas to be sold.
“We need to reassess these newly established sale areas to make sure they are clear for this type of harvesting operations,” said David Malone, assistant manager for forest planning. “Some of these areas are heavily damaged, so we’re following safety protocols first and surveying these areas as best we can.”
Forested areas onsite set aside to help manage threatened, endangered or sensitive species were also affected by the storm. Seventy-three cavity trees used by red-cockaded woodpeckers were damaged. Surveys found that roughly 25% of the cluster areas where those woodpeckers are found onsite contained trees damaged by the storm. The Forest Service will designate new cluster areas and install new inserts for future use by the woodpeckers.
As the mission of the IMT has changed from first response to forest recovery, so has its staff composition. The team is now composed of firefighters familiar with sawing and heavy equipment use to continue clearing roads. The team also includes engineers, ecologists, wildlife biologists, researchers, safety and budgetary staff members, and other administrative professionals.
“Together this team will oversee the transformation from a landscape heavily damaged by Hurricane Helene back to healthy, dynamic forests on Savannah River Site,” said DeVela Clark, forest manager, Forest Service – Savannah River.
-Contributor: Josef Orosz
RICHLAND, Wash. — Construction crews recently installed a crane inside the Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant's High-Level Waste Facility. Located in one of the facility’s decontamination areas, the crane will support maintenance and repair of other equipment in the area after the facility becomes operational. The crane is the 12th piece of equipment lowered through the roof using the site’s tower crane this year, following previous installations of shield doors and other cranes. Tower cranes are used to hoist and move materials. The team plans to install more than 40 additional pieces this way before finishing the building’s roof.
-Contributor: Tyler Oates
 An unused stainless steel canister becomes a learning tool at Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech) in South Carolina. The canister was donated through the SRS Community Reuse Organization (CRO). Marking the occasion are, from left, SRSCRO President and CEO Robbie Bennett, Aiken Tech President Forest Mahan, Defense Waste Processing Facility Project Director Ken Wells, SRSCRO Board Chair Cal Wray, and Steven Simmons, dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education at Aiken Tech.
AIKEN, S.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) has had one of its unused stainless steel canisters become a learning tool at Aiken Technical College (Aiken Tech) in South Carolina.
The 10-foot-tall by 2-foot-diameter canister comes from the Savannah River Site (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), where it is used to hold vitrified high-level radioactive waste. The canister, which weighs 1,100 pounds and is three-eighths of an inch thick, did not pass stringent pre-use quality assurance dimensional inspections required for use.
To make it into a canister, first the waste is sent from the large million-gallon waste tanks to DWPF, where the waste is mixed with a borosilicate glass and put into a high-heated melter to make molten glass. Then the mixture is poured into canisters. The glass cools and hardens in the canister, which is put into interim storage in one of two Glass Waste Storage Buildings onsite while it awaits permanent disposal in a federal repository.
DWPF is part of the liquid waste mission at SRS. Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) is the liquid waste contractor for EM.
Since the canister couldn’t be used for its intended purpose, it was put into a site program for excess assets available for reuse. When no one onsite or in the DOE complex could use it, it was transferred to the SRS Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO).
The SRSCRO's region of responsibility covers the five counties of Richmond and Columbia in Georgia, and Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell in South Carolina. SRSCRO serves as the community interface organization for DOE-Savannah River Operations Office with respect to DOE-supported area economic development initiatives and other work with educational institutions. The SRSCRO is the recipient of materials from the excess program so the items can be sold to reinvest in the community.
As part of its education mission, the SRSCRO donated the canister to the Aiken Tech radiation protection technology laboratory in the Center for Energy and Advanced Manufacturing building.
Steven Simmons, the dean of the School of Technical and Continuing Education at Aiken Tech, said that having this canister as a display item opens conversations about the long term storage and disposal of nuclear waste, including the challenges and potential solutions.
“For our students, the donation of the nuclear waste container from SRMC is more than just an addition to our radiation protection lab — it's a tangible connection to the critical work being done at the Savannah River Site,” Simmons said. “This canister display will provide invaluable hands-on experience, deepening their understanding of nuclear waste disposal and its significance in safeguarding our environment.”
SRSCRO President and CEO Robbie Bennett said that his organization works to improve the regional workforce by assisting in the training of local employees for the nuclear industry. This canister donation is part of that critical work.
“To support economic development around SRS, we must look for ways to better equip the local workforce for the nuclear-related jobs that are here now and are coming in the future,” Bennett said. “This donation is just one more way we are fulfilling that part of our mission.”
SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson said that the link from a canister to nuclear waste treatment and disposal is an important part of helping future workers understand the SRS liquid waste mission.
“Our canisters are unique. Having one at Aiken Tech helps those students see firsthand what our mission is all about.” Olson said. “I hope it also leads to student inquisitiveness about the future of all things nuclear.”
-Contributor: Dean Campbell
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