  The exterior of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System facility at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
CARLSBAD, N.M. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) has achieved a major milestone by completing commissioning of the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) facility — a new, state-of-the-art, large-scale ventilation system at its Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
“This is a big step in getting the SSCVS fully operational and providing additional airflow to the WIPP underground,” EM Carlsbad Field Office Manager Mark Bollinger said. “This project is important in increasing our workers’ safety while allowing us to continue DOE’s critical environmental cleanup and national security mission.”
WIPP management and operations contractor Salado Isolation Mining Contractors (SIMCO) began commissioning activities last fall after completing construction of the facility in June. Commissioning involved testing each system individually and then the SSCVS as a whole to demonstrate complete functionality.
Following the commissioning phase, team members turned the SSCVS over to the operations team members so they can gain proficiency in running the highly efficient system.
“This is a very big day for the WIPP project,” said Tammy Hobbes, SIMCO’s vice president and Operations/National TRU Program manager. “I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the partnership between the project and operations team throughout this process. This was truly a team effort.”
 HEPA filters located within the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System facility at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Next steps involve conducting assessments to show the SSCVS is fully integrated into other WIPP site systems. This will demonstrate that all primary and backup systems are functional and operating as expected, and that operators are proficient and fully understand the ventilation system.
Finally, EM will conduct an assessment to authorize SSCVS startup operations. Following approval of that review, team members will connect the SSCVS to the underground ventilation system of the waste repository. SSCVS is expected to be fully operational and online this year.
When fully online, the SSCVS facility will significantly increase airflow through the WIPP underground. Air exiting the underground will pass through a HEPA filtration system made up of 22 filtration units.
The SSCVS will work in tandem with WIPP’s new utility shaft, which provides a new entry point for air into the WIPP underground repository. The SSCVS will pull air through the repository, remove salt when required and send the air through the HEPA filtration units before it’s released to the environment. The new ventilation system will increase underground airflow from 170,000 cubic feet per minute up to a maximum of 540,000 cubic feet per minute.
The SSCVS includes two primary buildings, the Salt Reduction Building, which pre-filters salt-laden air coming from the WIPP underground, and the New Filter Building, which houses fans and HEPA filtration to further clean the air.
-Contributor: Bobby St. John
 Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne speaks to the approximately 200 attendees of the Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association’s Business Opportunities Exchange last week.
COVINGTON, Ky. — Cleanup progress at the former Portsmouth and Paducah uranium enrichment plants is helping enable new opportunities for local communities to continue advancing U.S. energy and U.S. security goals, Joel Bradburne, manager of the Portsmouth Paducah Project Office (PPPO), said here last week.
The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) “is not only addressing the legacy of the past, but is enabling U.S. jobs, U.S. energy and U.S. security for today, and for the future. In doing so, EM contributes to the goal our new Energy Secretary Chris Wright has laid out to usher in a new golden era of American energy dominance,” Bradburne told the approximately 200 attendees at the Energy, Technology & Environmental Business Association (ETEBA) Business Opportunities Exchange.
“The communities around the Portsmouth and Paducah sites are primed to be a part of it as we transform liabilities into opportunities for the future,” he added.
Bradburne outlined recent cleanup accomplishments at the two sites. At Portsmouth, EM has safely torn down the first of the site’s three former enrichment process buildings, and is set to begin tearing down the second later this year. At Paducah, 14 excess facilities have come down, including the site’s former fire water tower, which at 300 feet, was the tallest structure at the site. In addition, deactivation work is underway at the first of Paducah’s four former enrichment process buildings to prepare it for eventual demolition. At both sites, EM continues to make progress converting cylinders of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) material from past enrichment operations for safe reuse or disposal.
“The long-standing partnership between EM and the best of American industry is key to the progress we’re making in cleaning up these former uranium enrichment sites and safely managing nuclear waste and materials,” Bradburne said.
A key factor in PPPO’s cleanup progress, according to Bradburne, is the use of a “One PPPO” approach to manage cleanup activities at the two sites as a single integrated enterprise. This has enabled the sharing of lessons learned, and helps drive innovative approaches.
An example of such innovative approaches is PPPO’s “Decision 2029” strategy to help streamline regulatory decision-making for cleanup at Paducah, Bradburne said. This approach, which PPPO is currently working with federal and state regulators, has the potential to cut the number of regulatory decision documents needed from more than 50 to just five.
“More importantly, it has the potential to significantly jumpstart the Paducah cleanup and help empower the surrounding communities as they look to their future,” he said.
-Contributor: Michael Nartker
 To prepare for the completion of deactivation of the X-333 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site, workers remove material and decontaminate the internal surfaces of drums that are about 40 feet in length and 8 feet tall.
How would you assess the current state of cleanup at both Portsmouth and Paducah? What are your main near-term opportunities for success? How has the One PPPO approach aided cleanup at these sites?
If I had to characterize our status at PPPO right now, I would say it is transformative. While we are making tremendous cleanup progress at both sites, we have realized we are no longer doing cleanup in isolation. With the states where our sites are located recently embracing positions on a nuclear resurgence, we are being challenged to make the sites available for traditional and nontraditional economic development.
This leans into our One PPPO approach to managing the work as an integrated enterprise. This has been critical to our current success at Portsmouth and our recent success at Paducah.
Just look at the timeline. EM jumpstarted final cleanup at Portsmouth about a decade ago. Since 2015, we reached two major regulatory decisions, have built and are operating an On-Site Waste Disposal Facility, and used excavated dirt from previously closed landfills and plumes for fill at the OSWDF. We’ve torn down the first of the site’s three former enrichment process buildings — these are huge buildings — along with a number of smaller facilities. And, perhaps most importantly, since 2018 we’ve transferred over 300 acres back to the local communities and they are seeing solid economic development interest. Looking ahead, this year we’ll begin demolition of the next process building, and moving forward with the next land transfer.
At Paducah, we’ll tailor the approach from Portsmouth through a new “Decision 2029” regulatory strategy. We’re moving forward with deactivation work at one of Paducah’s former enrichment process buildings to prepare it for demolition. We’re also preparing for the first land transfer at Paducah, and we’re seeing the local community there getting excited about future reuse possibilities as well.
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Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne |
How are Portsmouth and Paducah sharing expertise and lessons learned as they advance the facility D&D projects you mentioned and other cleanup work?
This is a hallmark of the One PPPO approach. We’re managing the work at Portsmouth and Paducah not as two sites, but as a set of seven former enrichment buildings and seven DUF6 processing lines. One PPPO promotes openness, collaboration and teamwork by allowing us to leverage knowledge transfer and real time lessons learned by getting our teams, including our labor workforce, to the sites. The ability to do immediate problem solving across the enterprise is leading to measurable efficiencies that is accelerating safe and secure cleanup.
 Worker Mike Reed connects a lifting fixture to begin movement of waste accumulated during material sizing activities in the X-333 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site.
How will Decision 2029 accelerate cleanup at Paducah and benefit the community?
I think this approach is a great example of EM looking to develop and utilize innovative strategies. We are working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and our regulators in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to conduct a more holistic and integrated regulatory approach, based on our successful experiences at Portsmouth. Through Decision 2029, we are working to reduce by 90 percent the amount of regulatory decisions we need at Paducah — from 51 to just five covering groundwater cleanup, environmental media, facility D&D and on-site waste disposal. If we’re successful, we think this can accelerate final cleanup decision-making by 25 years. It’ll position us to immediately ramp up work at Paducah.
The Paducah community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky are aggressively ramping up their energy development and have already submitted a request for land transfer. Ultimately, successful implementation of Decision 2029 will get assets back to the community faster, and reduce the federal footprint.
I’m proud of the strong relationship we at PPPO have with our regulators at EPA and in Kentucky. We appreciate their willingness to work with us as we advance Decision 2029. I think we’re all excited about what is possible through this collaborative approach.
 To prepare exterior asbestos transite panels of the Portsmouth Site’s X-333 Process Building for demolition, a fixative spray is applied to prevent loose fibers from becoming airborne during removal activities. Prior to the structural demolition, all exterior transite panels are removed and transported to the On-Site Waste Disposal Facility for disposition.
One of the exciting things in recent years is the growing interest in reusing land and assets like nickel. Can you outline what are main opportunities you see in the near term to utilize assets at Portsmouth and Paducah to help enable U.S. jobs, U.S. energy and U.S. security?
There is so much potential at Portsmouth and Paducah to help the local communities build a bright future and to help advance DOE’s overall goals to build, as Secretary Wright has said, a “golden era” for American energy. As I mentioned, we’ve already transferred 300 acres at Portsmouth and are moving forward with the fourth package now, with new companies already interested in building at the site. At Paducah, we’re advancing work to conduct our first land transfer, and we’re seeing growing excitement and interest from the local community about what can be possible as we successfully clean up the site.
But there’s more than just land. At both sites there’s a large quantity of nickel that has great potential for reuse. One of EM’s priorities this year is to move forward with examining a process that can extract nickel from surface contaminated material to be reused for a variety of purposes. In addition, at Portsmouth the DUF6 material has become attractive for interagency reuse and at Paducah, DOE has an agreement with Global Laser Enrichment to use some of the material to help advance a new laser enrichment facility. More than ever, there is a growing need to turn a once-considered liability into a reusable asset.
I’m really excited about our next chapters at Portsmouth and Paducah, and even more so about what we’re capable of doing. We’ve got a great team here, and we’re not only cleaning up the past legacy at these sites, but we’re working to make so much available so that communities around the two sites can continue playing a role in U.S. energy and security for years to come.
 EMTV: An overview of the Idaho Cleanup Project's Integrated Waste Treatment Unit Project.
Facility treated over 1,700 gallons of waste per day — nearly triple the rate of previous run
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — A radioactive liquid waste treatment facility at the Idaho National Laboratory Site recently completed its most successful run to date by treating more than 211,000 gallons of material and meeting two critical milestones with the state of Idaho.
The Integrated Waste Treatment Unit (IWTU) has since entered an outage to conduct routine maintenance following the five-month waste treatment run. Following the outage, the IWTU will return to normal radiological operations.
To date, the IWTU has converted more than 279,000 gallons of waste. The facility was constructed to treat approximately 900,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste from three nearby underground storage tanks to convert it to a safer, granulated waste form.
“I’m always impressed with the level of professionalism exhibited by all IWTU staff,” U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) Manager Mark Brown said. “The most recent run was a showcase of their expertise, and I thank them for their commitment to safety and operational compliance.”
 Integrated Waste Treatment Unit operators monitor plant conditions from the control room.
In its most recent run, the IWTU met the 2024 and 2025 waste treatment milestones with the state, which requires the average annual treatment of about 128,000 gallons based on a three-year rolling average.
“The IWTU’s performance has significantly improved,” said Dan Coyne, president of ICP contractor Idaho Environmental Coalition. “During the latest run, the facility reliably treated more than 1,700 gallons of liquid waste per day, which is almost three times the treatment rate achieved during the previous run.”
He added: “Our operations and maintenance crews deserve a great deal of credit for keeping the facility within its ideal operating environment and troubleshooting the plant issues as they arose.”
During the outage, crews will replace granulated activated carbon bed media, which capture mercury in the off-gas before the emissions are discharged to the IWTU’s exhaust stack. They also will replace feed nozzles in the facility’s primary reaction vessel, and conduct other routine maintenance.
The liquid waste being treated by IWTU was a by-product of decontamination activities between spent nuclear fuel reprocessing runs at the site’s Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. Reprocessing ended in 1992.
-Contributor: Erik Simpson
 Electricians Jim Nowlin, left, and Steve Brunner pause on a lift as they work to cut power cables from the X-333 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site. Above them are the “big red” cable and associated cable tray they installed nearly two decades ago.
PIKETON, Ohio — Electricians Jim Nowlin and Steve Brunner were among a crew that recently disconnected thick power cables feeding the X-333 Process Building to prepare for upcoming demolition activities at the Portsmouth Site.
Nowlin and Brunner were also part of the crew that installed those same cables nearly two decades ago.
“It took about six months to install the wire and a day to cut it all down,” Brunner said.
The two electricians remember installing the cable tray and cable in 2007 to refeed power to the X-333 Process Building due to the demolition of the X-533 Switchyard.
“Installing it was our first job as new employees after we completed our training,” recalled Nowlin. “The cables fed large motors inside the building and auxiliary substations, and ran the entire length of the X-333 Process Building.”
 From left, electricians Chris Ray, Steve Brunner, Jim Nowlin and John J.P. Spradlin pose for a photo after cutting power in four locations around the X-333 Process Building at the Portsmouth Site. Disconnecting power is one of the steps to prepare the building for demolition.
Seven electricians were on the installation crew versus four on the disconnection crew. Brunner said each foot of the 15-kilovolt cable weighs 13 pounds.
“Keeping the power on and equipment running in the X-333 Process Building paid for the food on our table and clothes on my back my entire life,” said Brunner. “My dad started here as an electrician in 1975 and always shared stories of the equipment and how to keep it running.”
Brunner added, "Getting to work on this equipment, especially the refeed, was pretty exciting for a young man who always wanted to work here. Being part of the crew that helped this giant building take its last breath was important to me."
To further prepare for demolition, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews have isolated utilities and routed power lines around the building to continue service to surrounding facilities.
“Our process buildings required a lot of electricity, equipment and employees for uranium enrichment activities,” said Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis. “Removing power from the X-333 Process Building helps establish the building as cold, dark and ready for demolition. These electricians had the unique opportunity of a full-circle moment to refeed power and then to remove power from the building. We are encouraged by these moments to reflect on the history of our site as we prepare for the future.”
With the X-333 Process Building completely deactivated, the facility is currently being prepped for demolition. It will be the second of three process buildings to be torn down at the site. EM crews finished demolishing X-326 in June 2022.
-Contributor: Michelle Teeters
 Solid radioactive and chemical waste inside Tank A-102 at the Hanford Site before workers started breaking it up to remove waste.
RICHLAND, Wash. — The Hanford Field Office and its tank operations contractor recently began retrieving radioactive and chemical waste from another large, underground storage tank at the Hanford Site.
Single-shell Tank A-102 is a million-gallon tank that contains about 41,000 gallons of solid waste. It is the 23rd tank on the site to have waste retrieved. The waste is being transferred to newer, double-shell tanks for continued safe storage until it is treated for disposal.
“Moving waste from underground tanks is not easy, but Hanford teams continue to build on their extensive experience as they take another significant step in our risk-reduction mission,” said Jim Greene, Hanford program manager for single-shell tank retrievals.
 Workers remotely operate equipment inside the Hanford Site’s Tank A-102 from a control room.
Hanford is home to 177 underground storage tanks built in groups called tank farms. Workers built A-102 and five other million-gallon tanks in the A Tank Farm in the 1950s to store waste from plutonium processing during the Cold War era.
To prepare for retrieving waste from the tanks, workers replaced old equipment and built the infrastructure to remove waste from multiple tanks.
 Workers installed a pressurized water system in the Hanford Site’s Tank A-102 to help break down waste during retrieval activities.
During retrieval, workers remotely operate equipment to break down the solid waste in Tank A-102 with pressurized water and pump out the waste.
“We are excited to be starting field operations on another tank,” said Peggy Hamilton, the contractor’s retrievals manager. “It is a testament to the entire Tank Farms team’s talent, hard work and dedication that we are able to safely continue advancing the cleanup mission.”
 A Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project team member assists Moab Museum attendees at the Moab Project’s activity tables.
MOAB, Utah ― A local museum recently opened an exhibition on the community’s Cold War-era uranium boom, and the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project took part.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) Moab Project is essential to the exhibition’s story. This year the team is working to finish removing a cumulative 16 million tons of the radioactive material resulting from legacy uranium milling operations at the Moab Site.
The Moab Museum launched its newest exhibition with an opening free to the public. The exhibition, "U92: Moab’s Uranium Legacy," will have two separate phases. The first phase focuses on the uranium boom and the second phase will highlight its impacts.
The Moab Project supported the museum’s efforts to tell this story, providing site history and knowledge, and incorporating the DOE Office of Legacy Management’s Atomic Legacy Cabin, in Grand Junction, Colorado. That historic site presents the history of uranium mining and processing on the Colorado Plateau, as well as Grand Junction’s unique contribution to the Manhattan Project and Cold War.
“The Moab Site was established as a uranium ore processing mill back in the boom. The mill and DOE’s cleanup of the site are an integral part of Moab’s history with uranium,” Moab Federal Project Cleanup Director Matthew Udovitsch said.
 A Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project activity table is shown at the opening of the Moab Museum’s uranium exhibition.
Moab Project staff members participated in the exhibition opening with informational and activity tables. They gave out envelopes containing wildflower seeds native to the area, highlighting DOE’s plans to revegetate the Moab Site with native plants after the Moab Project completes the cleanup.
In October, the Moab Project achieved another 1-million-ton cleanup milestone. The accomplishment marked the removal of a cumulative 15 million tons of mill tailings from the site. The contaminated soil and debris is shipped to an engineered disposal cell in Crescent Junction, 30 miles north of the Moab Site.
EM is partnering with the community to determine an end state for the site and plan for its future use.
-Contributor: Barbara Michel
 The deactivation phase prepares structures for safe demolition. A team inside the Beta-1 facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex conducting deactivation work discusses utility isolations.
Efforts lead way to enabling modernization, providing land for research, national security missions
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — While U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management crews are busy with their largest demolition yet at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), other team members are forging the way for the next batch of major teardowns in Oak Ridge.
The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and cleanup contractor UCOR are deactivating more than 400,000 square feet of Manhattan Project and Cold War-era facilities — equaling nearly 10 acres — at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
The deactivation phase readies structures for demolition. It involves environmental sampling, utility disconnections, asbestos and hazardous waste removal, and other tasks to ensure the buildings are safe to demolish.
“Most of the time deactivation isn’t visible to outside observers, and it doesn’t capture headlines,” OREM Operations Management Division Director Larry Perkins said. “However, it plays a critical role in accomplishing our mission. You can’t safely remove old, contaminated buildings or transform the landscape without it.”
 Workers remove waste from the Oak Ridge Research Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. They are preparing the facility for near-term demolition, which will transform the laboratory’s central campus area.
 Crews are deactivating approximately 300,000 square feet of facilities at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Beta-1, a former Manhattan Project-era uranium enrichment facility, takes up most of that total.
At ORNL, former research reactors and isotope production labs totaling 102,000 square feet are in various stages of deactivation. Around 300,000 square feet of facilities are being deactivated at Y-12, including Beta-1, a Manhattan Project-era uranium enrichment facility.
“This is complex work as the teams review old building drawings that might date back to the 1940s, and we remove hazardous materials and equipment that were left behind,” says UCOR Chief Operating Officer Pat Timbes. “Every step of the deactivation process must be planned carefully as workers could encounter unexpected conditions that must be resolved before moving forward.”
UCOR General Foreman Juli Foster and her team have been working on deactivation related work for more than a year at ORNL’s Building 3517, the former Fission Project Development Laboratory. Teams are drilling access points into the building’s contaminated hot cells for remote camera inspection.
“This work involved months of mock-ups, practice drilling and coordination with radiological control personnel and carpenters,” says Foster. “When we encountered challenges with an overhead crane, our team figured out a solution to keep safely working, and we’re nearing completion.”
 Crews are mobilizing equipment to enter the last remaining hot cell of the Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Greg Buckner, UCOR’s Y-12 deactivation and demolition characterization field lead, has worked 20 years with safety, industrial hygiene and radiological control teams on complex deactivation work. His more recent projects involve Alpha-2, now being demolished, and ongoing deactivation work at Beta-1 and Alpha-4.
“Our team ensures those facilities are safe for workers during deactivation activities like piping and waste removal, so it’s rewarding for our crews to see a large building like Alpha-2 coming down, and the role we played in clearing that area at Y-12,” said Buckner.
The work happening now is removing risks and laying the groundwork for numerous demolitions on the horizon at Y-12 and ORNL.
The deactivation underway will enable the near-term removal of the Radioisotope Development Laboratory, Oak Ridge Research Reactor, Graphite Reactor support facilities, and Isotope Row facilities in the heart of ORNL to clear space for research missions, and the removal of Beta-1 at Y-12 to enable modernization.
-Contributor: Carol Hendrycks
 Ava Bogard, center, with Calloway County Middle School Team #1, discusses a toss-up question during the DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl for area middle schools.
PADUCAH, Ky. — Calloway County Middle School Team #1 recently won the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl.
Recognized as the region’s most notable science competition for middle school students, the event is sponsored and organized by DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) Portsmouth Paducah Project Office employees and contractors. More than 120 volunteers serve as moderators, judges, technical advisors and scorekeepers.
“The Science Bowl is an incredible showcase of talent, dedication and academic excellence,” EM Paducah Site Lead April Ladd said. “The enthusiasm and preparation displayed by students, coaches and volunteers each year are truly inspiring. This competition not only challenges students’ knowledge but also fosters a passion for science and teamwork, benefiting them for years to come.”
 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Program Analyst Robert “Buz” Smith, far right, poses with DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl champion Calloway County Middle School Team #1, from left, coach Scott Pile, Ava Bogard, Collin Naber, Theodore Perlow, Kyler Myers and Abby Rekow.
The five-member team will compete in DOE’s National Science Bowl finals in Washington, D.C., from April 24-28.
“We are so excited to represent western Kentucky at the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., and are excited to continue our journey,” Calloway County Middle School Team #1 Coach Scott Pile said. “These students exemplify the characteristics of hard work. We would like to thank DOE for providing opportunities for the leaders of tomorrow.”
Eighteen middle school teams competed in the regional competition, which is celebrating its 17th year. Each year, coaches, volunteers and competitors take on extensive training in advance of the event.
 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Program Analyst Robert “Buz” Smith, far right, poses with DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl runner-up Lone Oak Middle School Team, from left, coach Tessa Hooks, Athena Yang, Reid Martin, Alexander Peterson, Sharon Shi, Asher Fawkes and coach Daniel Rushing.
Lone Oak Middle School finished second and St. Mary Middle School finished third in the regional competition.
Other schools competing in this year’s event included Ballard County, Christian County, Heath, Henderson County North, Hopkinsville, Murray, Paducah and Reidland middle schools from Kentucky, and Massac Junior High School from Illinois.
The tournament is a quick-recall, fast-paced, question-and-answer contest. It’s designed to quiz students on their knowledge of biology, chemistry, Earth and space, energy, mathematics, and physics.
 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Program Analyst Robert “Buz” Smith, far right, poses with DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl second-runner-up St. Mary Middle School Team, from left, coach Rodney Holt, Trey Ashford, Emma Dee, Boston Yazigi, Reyansh Bejgum and Aditya Bhatia.
The first-place middle school team in the regional tournament receives $1,200 for its school.
DOE created the National Science Bowl in 1991 to encourage students to excel in math and science, and to pursue careers in those fields. More than 344,000 students have participated in the event throughout its 34-year history, and it’s one of the nation’s largest science competitions.
Click here to read about DOE's West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl for high schools held earlier this year. Owensboro High School Team #1 won that event.
RICHLAND, Wash. — The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Hanford Field Office awarded Hanford Site Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) contractor Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) approximately $14.2 million, or about 95% of the available fee for work performed last year.
EM releases information relating to contractor fee payments — earned by completing the work called for in their contracts — to further transparency in its cleanup program.
EM evaluated BNI’s performance against seven subjective fee criteria. According to the award fee determination scorecard, BNI’s performance was “excellent” in three areas associated with the High-Level Waste (HLW) Facility. Noteworthy activities in these areas include:
- Demonstrating a strong commitment to completing the HLW design by 2027 with an emphasis on an integrated “system of systems” focus and an operations centric design approach;
- Implementing over 500 lessons learned into the HLW project from a variety of complex projects to reduce risk; and
- Leading a cross-contractor team to establish the HLW waste acceptance criteria range and integrated process to establish the point of compliance.
Areas for improvement in BNI’s performance include:
- Construction oversight and execution of safety training of new workforce;
- Work to establish early mock-up functional improved troubleshooting and testing of components and systems integrated testing to reduce risk of redesign; and
- Timeliness of construction material awards and resolution of field changes to support schedule achievement for planned construction activities.
 Glenn Hills Middle School students complete a do-it-yourself compass activity to learn about electromagnetism during “Discover Engineering.”
AIKEN, S.C. — Nearly 30 engineers at the Savannah River Site (SRS) engaged over 1,400 area students in 56 hands-on activities during the recent “Discover Engineering” week.
In the activities, the engineers highlighted how engineering impacts the world. Since the program's inception in 2008, SRS volunteers have dedicated thousands of hours to share science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experiences with more than 30,000 students.
“This is a major opportunity to expose students to the world of engineering,” said Taylor Rice, education outreach specialist with SRS management and operations contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, which coordinated the activities. “Our partnerships with local schools continue to spark interest in crucial scientific and technical careers.”
 Savannah River Nuclear Solutions engineer Bre Ricks assists Glenn Hills Middle School students during a do-it-yourself compass activity focused on electrical engineering techniques.
Bre Ricks, a mechanical engineer supporting the Savannah River Tritium Enterprise, emphasized the importance of early exposure to engineering.
"I chose the spaghetti and marshmallow building contest because it was one of the first engineering projects I did in high school that sparked my interest,” Ricks said. “Providing that exposure and support can boost students’ confidence and make a huge difference.”
Will Kellum, an electrical engineer for the site’s Tritium Extraction Facility, led students at Glenn Hills Middle School in Augusta, Georgia, through an electromagnetism involving do-it-yourself compasses. Electromagnetism is the physical interaction among electric charges, magnetic moments and electromagnetic fields.
 Electrical Engineer Will Kellum shares his career journey with students at Glenn Hills Middle School.
Sixth-grader Chance Ellison said he was amazed by the compass he made.
“Even if you removed the needle and put it back on compass, it still pointed north,” Ellison said. “I'm very thankful for my teacher for giving us this opportunity to have a guest speaker from SRNS visit our classroom."
During their demonstrations, SRNS volunteers covered engineering degrees, average salaries, recommended courses, extracurricular activities and ways students can plan for early success.
"Our students often lack exposure to higher-level opportunities and careers that are available close to home,” Glenn Hills Science Instructor Tama Clarke said. "Meeting two different SRS engineers in one day highlighted the vast array of career options available to them.”
-Contributor: Mackenzie McNabb
 Workers with Hanford Field Office contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company load boxes of surplus personal protective equipment for shipment to Hanford’s tank operations contractor for use on other projects.
RICHLAND, Wash. — In the spirit of giving, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Hanford Field Office contractor is putting surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) to good use on the Hanford Site.
A team from Hanford contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company recently donated a variety of unused PPE to support projects managed by contractor Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure.
Workers wear PPE to minimize exposure to hazards. It includes coveralls, chemical resistant gloves, glove liners, arm sleeves, boot covers and respiratory equipment, as well as radiological waste disposal bags.
“Finding a purpose for unused PPE to support other projects is an excellent use of resources, eliminating the need to order new equipment and saving taxpayer dollars,” said Stan Branch, Hanford Field Office Safety & Health Division director. “The collaboration between Hanford prime contractors to share this equipment reinforces the value of our One Hanford approach, with everyone working together to keep the cleanup mission moving forward.”
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