EM Update | Vol. 5, Issue 12 | December 2013

In This Issue:

• EM’s December Newsletter Recaps Cold War Cleanup Accomplishments in 2013
• Oak Ridge Focuses on Old and New in 2013
• Savannah River Site Achieves Transuranic Waste Disposition Goal in 2013
• Portsmouth Site Closes a Busy Year with Several D&D Project Completions
• Demolition, Groundwater Cleanup Highlight Paducah’s 2013 Accomplishments
• Moab Reaches 40-Percent Mark in Tailings Removal
• EM’s Richland Operations Office Celebrates Disposal Achievement in 2013
• Cleanup Progresses at the Office of River Protection
• EM Makes Significant Progress on Dispositioning Transuranic Waste at Idaho Site
• Idaho’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Details 2013 Accomplishments
• Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, National Transuranic Program Have Banner Year in 2013
• West Valley Demonstration Project Prepares to Relocate High-Level Waste
• EM National Laboratory’s Solvent to Save an Estimated $1.35 Billion
• Nevada National Security Site Wraps Up 2013
• Waste and Water Top 2013 Accomplishments for Los Alamos EM Program
• ASCEM Project Achieves Major Milestone with Initial User Release
• Demand for Food for People in Need Remains High Throughout the Year

EM’s December Newsletter Recaps Cold War Cleanup Accomplishments in 2013 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Dec. 19, EM completed demolition of the 4.8 million-square-foot Building K-25 at Oak Ridge, a milestone that capped a busy and successful 2013 for the Cold War cleanup program. The demolition was one of EM’s most significant achievements this year, and it is captured in this newsletter issue along with dozens of other notable accomplishments across the EM complex. Read about EM’s productive year, including cleanup of buildings and waste sites along the Columbia River in Washington state, progress in the disposition of transuranic waste at Idaho and other sites and preparations for a major demolition at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York.

Oak Ridge Focuses on Old and New in 2013

Crews tear though the final wall of Building K-25, bringing an end to the five-year demolition project.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - In 2013, the Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management completed numerous projects. Some of the major accomplishments involved reaching two long-standing goals and progressing on the design of a new construction project.

• Building K-25 Demolition Project: One of Oak Ridge’s greatest accomplishments was the conclusion of K-25’s demolition. EM’s contractor, URS|CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC, or UCOR, took over the project in 2011 and has maintained a strong safety record while completing the demolition over one year ahead of its current schedule and approximately $300 million under the current budget. The five-year demolition project brought down the largest facility in the DOE complex, and what was once the world’s largest building under one roof. The 44-acre uranium enrichment facility was constructed in 1943, and it operated until 1964. Its demolition is a crucial element to cleanup of the East Tennessee Technology Park, which is being converted into a private-sector industrial park. "K-25 was essential to building the arsenal that defended American freedom during World War II and the Cold War," said Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman. "Now that K-25's noble cause is fulfilled, completing the demolition of the facility was an important milestone in fulfilling our commitment to return this site to the community."

Workers conduct extensive sampling and characterization throughout the Oak Ridge Reservation to clearly define the areas that require cleanup or further action.

• Refining Oak Ridge’s Cleanup Areas:  In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed the Oak Ridge site on its National Priorities List. The list names priorities where there are known or threatened releases of hazardous substances. Until recently, the entire 33,500-acre Oak Ridge Reservation was included in this listing. However, this year, EM completed a project that clearly defined the areas that require cleanup or further action. Through a review of historic documents and extensive sampling, analysis and characterization, regulators deemed 19,393 acres as clean and requiring no action. 
• Conceptual Design for Mercury Treatment Facility: Oak Ridge is finalizing the conceptual design for a mercury treatment facility at the Y-12 National Security Complex. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2017 with operations starting in 2020. The initial design of the proposed facility will accommodate treatment of 3,000 gallons of water per minute and the removal of mercury from base flow (process flows, cooling water, runoff) and a portion of storm flow entering Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. The treatment facility is also essential to Y-12's future cleanup because it is intended to mitigate potential increases in mercury entering surface water prior to, during and subsequent to the eventual demolition of nearby buildings that contain and overlie soil contaminated with mercury.  

Savannah River Site Achieves Transuranic Waste Disposition Goal in 2013

Workers gather behind a “Safety and Security begins with Me” banner at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. – EM and the Savannah River Site (SRS) management and operations contractor worked efficiently, effectively and creatively in 2013 to complete the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) goal to prepare 5,000 cubic meters of legacy transuranic (TRU) waste for shipment and disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

   EM and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) also remediated nearly all 200 cubic meters of a difficult waste — in addition to the 5,000 cubic meters of TRU waste dispositioned — and repackaged it for certification and shipment.

   In 2013, SRNS was honored as one of three finalists for the Project Management Institute’s “International Project of the Year Award,” a tribute to the company’s project management expertise in the site’s ARRA work.

   In October, the SRNS workforce achieved 21 million hours without injury or illness resulting in time away from work. DOE honored SRNS with the 13th Voluntary Protection Program Star of Excellence and the National Safety Council recognized SRNS as an industry leader.

   Two SRS assets were at the center of an amended record of decision issued by EM in 2013. H Canyon and L Basin both acquired new projects to extend their mission life for years while playing important roles in global nonproliferation and domestic nuclear energy programs.

Workers sort through transuranic waste at the Savannah River Site.

   In liquid waste operations at SRS this year, EM and its liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Remediation (SRR):

• Closed two more underground tanks containing radioactive waste, helping reduce a significant environmental risk to South Carolina. Representatives of South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, more than 100 SRR tank farm employees and others gathered to celebrate the closing of Tanks 5 and 6 on Dec. 18. They watched SRR grout finishers Glenn Kelly and Fred Merriweather pour the last bit of grout into Tank 6, topping off the tank and completing the project. Tanks 5 and 6 were closed a year ahead of schedule; 

• Reduced the number of radioactive curies in the stored legacy nuclear waste by 23 percent, which leaves 299 million curies of radioactivity remaining from the initial 376 million curies;
• Poured nearly 844,000 pounds of glassified waste for a total of more than 14.5 million pounds since the Defense Waste Processing Facility began operations in 1996; and
• Processed over 2 million gallons of decontaminated salt solution at the Saltstone Facilities for a total of nearly 13 million gallons since startup in 1990.

SRR employees Glenn Kelly and Fred Merriweather pour the final amount of grout into Tank 6.

   Also in 2013, the site’s security contractor, WSI-SRS:

• Celebrated 30 years of providing security services at SRS;
• Completed the Safety Conscious Work Environment Assessment; and 
• Earned the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., re-accreditation for law enforcement operations at SRS. 

Portsmouth Site Closes a Busy Year with Several D&D Project Completions

Workers have removed more than 25 percent of the process gas equipment from the X-326 facility since starting that work in 2012. This past year they removed 54 of 200 cells. Once the equipment is removed, the 30-acre building will be ready for demolition.

 PIKETON, Ohio – Decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of several Cold War uranium enrichment facilities capped a busy year for the EM program at the Portsmouth site. The 3,700-acre reservation includes more than 400 buildings and systems that will be part of cleanup operations to ensure the site is ready for future use.

   In 2013, EM and its D&D contractor, Fluor-B&W Portsmouth, safely advanced the project with the removal of more than 25 percent of the process gas equipment from one of three half-mile-long process buildings. Sampling analysis and removal of process gas components have been under way for more than a year in the X-326 high-assay process building. This structure is one of three that house the uranium enrichment cascade, a complex network of pipes, motors, compressors, converters and other equipment used to provide enriched uranium, originally for the Department of Defense and later for the nuclear fuel industry.

   Surveillance and maintenance costs were reduced by $13.8 million, or 30 percent, to focus resources on critical D&D activities. In 2013, five former process support structures were removed, including a large coal-fired steam plant and a cafeteria in service nearly 60 years. In all, 100,000 square feet were safely removed with no first-aid or reported safety concerns. The site also recycled 285,000 pounds of metal and 1,000 tons of coal.

The demolition of Portsmouth’s coal-fired X-600 Steam Plant after nearly 60 years of operation was one of five successful facility removals in 2013 at the site. In all, 100,000 square feet of space was cleared in the decontamination and decommissioning work.

Built in 1953, the PORTS X-102 Cafeteria was a 19,000-square-foot building that served as a gathering spot for employees over the years. Age caught up with the building and it was closed in 2012. Demolition of the structure was completed the week of Aug. 19, eight days ahead of schedule.

Demolition, Groundwater Cleanup Highlight Paducah’s 2013 Accomplishments

A high-reach shear removes debris from the tallest structure of the C-340 complex at Paducah. Watch a video of this work here. The 120-foot-high Metals Plant was the tallest building at the Paducah site and encompassed about 1.5 million cubic feet, the volume of a football field roughly three stories tall. Demolition debris filled 28 rail cars and was shipped offsite for disposal. 

PADUCAH, Ky. – Work to remove two aging, inactive structures and clean up a leading source of groundwater contamination marked the top 2013 accomplishments for the EM program at the Paducah site.

   In February, cleanup contractor LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky razed the C-340 Metals Reduction Plant at Paducah after nearly five months of demolition work and years of internal process equipment removal. Used to manufacture uranium metal during the Cold War, the Metals Plant contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), radionuclides and asbestos. It was the first uranium processing facility at the site to undergo full-scale demolition. 

   In July, LATA Kentucky completed installation of an electrical resistance heating system to remove the degreaser trichloroethene (TCE) from the ground near the C-400 Cleaning Building in the center of the Paducah site. The system will operate to remove TCE from depths of about 20 to 60 feet. Vapor and water are being pumped to the surface and treated using carbon adsorption. 

   The C-410 Feed Plant, another inactive facility, continued to undergo cleanup to prepare it for future demolition. It was used to manufacture uranium hexafluoride (UF6) during the Cold War. Workers stabilized more than 9,000 feet of UF6 piping; removed and neutralized more than a ton of residual UF6; removed asbestos wiring; and removed and packaged 20 cold traps (used to “trap” and store UF6), weighing more than 10,000 pounds each. The cold traps were placed in long-term storage for future asset recovery.

A carbon regeneration unit is lowered into place for above ground treatment at the C-400 Cleaning Building. Watch a video of this work here.

A 10,000-pound cold trap is lifted and boxed in a container for on-site storage at Paducah.

Moab Reaches 40-Percent Mark in Tailings Removal

 MOAB, Utah – The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project had a productive year, despite continued budget constraints and a first-ever, three-month curtailment of shipping operations last winter.

   On June 18, the project reached a significant milestone of having shipped 6 million tons of uranium mill tailings from the former millsite in Moab to an engineered disposal cell near Crescent Junction. The shipments mark continued progress toward relocating the 16-million-ton mill tailings pile away from the Colorado River. 

   Since June, the project has shipped an additional 457,500 tons. “I am proud this project has used its limited funding wisely and is now 40 percent complete,” said Federal Project Director Donald Metzler. “This has been accomplished by a dedicated workforce that exceeded DOE’s stringent safety goals throughout the year.”

A haul truck carrying a container is loaded with mill tailings at the Moab site. Once loaded and lidded, the container will be placed on a railcar for shipment by train to the Crescent Junction disposal site.

   In 2013, the project shipped all 158 planned trainloads, transporting a total of 21,510 containers full of tailings.

   The project reached another milestone earlier this year: extraction of 200 million gallons of contaminated groundwater from the Moab site since EM began its interim remedial action system in 2003 as part of the project’s scope. The interim action is designed to protect surface water quality and recover contaminants prior to discharge to the river. 

   To date, more than 203 million gallons of groundwater have been extracted through the interim action system, preventing 795,000 pounds of ammonia and 3,950 pounds of uranium, the contaminants of concern, from reaching the Colorado River. Extracted groundwater is pumped to a lined 4-acre pond on top of the tailings pile where it is sent to forced-air evaporators.

   “Our interim action system efficiently and cost-effectively protects the river, which is a drinking water source for millions of downstream users,” said Metzler.

EM’s Richland Operations Office Celebrates Disposal Achievement in 2013

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM's Richland Operations Office's 2013 accomplishments ranged from cleaning up buildings and waste sites to treating a record amount of groundwater. Following are Hanford site achievements this year:

• In August, EM and its contractors at the Hanford site in southeast Washington state celebrated an achievement that continues to build on their success in cleaning up hundreds of buildings and waste sites in a 220-square-mile area along the Columbia River. Site employees reached 15 million tons of contaminated material disposed of in the site’s Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, operated by contractor Washington Closure Hanford. Removing contaminated material and providing for its safe disposal prevents contaminants from reaching groundwater and the Columbia River, which flows through the site.

Workers sample a well used to monitor groundwater at the Hanford site.

• Below the surface at Hanford, the Richland Operations Office and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company met several of the Department’s key performance goals for protecting groundwater in 2013, including:

         — Treating groundwater to remove 220 kilograms of chromium;
         — Treating groundwater to remove 1,600 kilograms of carbon tetrachloride; and
         — Treating a record 1.4 billion gallons in the first nine months of the year.

   Those and other treatment activities are shrinking the areas of contaminated groundwater, particularly along the Columbia River. They also support the Department’s goal to restore groundwater so that it is protective of human health and the environment.

Workers separate a glove box for removal from Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant.

• In the center of the Site, where decades of complex and challenging work is under way, one of the most hazardous facilities on the site — the Plutonium Finishing Plant — is nearing the final stretch of cleanup. Workers have demolished 55 of the plant’s 81 facilities. In 2013, workers moved personnel out of the major plant facilities in preparation for demolition of the largest remaining structures in the next two years. Crews are cleaning out and removing equipment — called “glove boxes” — used during the production era to safely handle plutonium and other materials. They have removed 85 percent of the 238 glove boxes to date, including 18 since March. The culmination of this important work will be demolition of all of the plant’s facilities in 2016.

Cleanup Progresses at the Office of River Protection

The concrete “core” is removed from Tank C-105 after workers cut a 55-inch hole in the tank dome. 

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Office of River Protection’s (ORP) mission continues: to retrieve, treat and dispose of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in large, underground tanks. In 2013, ORP maintained steady progress toward the successful completion of its mission.

• Retrieval in C-110: ORP’s tank farm contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, retrieved Tank C-110 to a level below the regulatory requirement. ORP is in the process of submitting the required Certification of Completion of C-110 to the Washington State Department of Ecology. Retrieval in C-110 was executed using a more robust Foldtrack, a remotely operated, track-mounted device featuring a plow-blade and several types of water nozzles, to break down the difficult-to-remove, hard-heel waste on the tank floor and move it closer to the tank pump for transfer into a double-shell tank. Tank C-110 retrieval also included a newly-installed, hot-water skid to support operations, and a unique clamshell sampling apparatus used in conjunction with the redesigned Foldtrack for the first time to obtain post-retrieval samples in C-110. The combined technologies resulted in significant savings in time and cost.

A composite image of dozens of individual-frame photos taken inside Tank C-110 provides a rare panoramic view of its interior. Portions of the tank floor and the Foldtrack waste-retrieval system are clearly visible.

• C-105 Dome Cut: Crews successfully cut a hole in the top of an active radioactive waste storage tank at Hanford, allowing for the eventual installation of the first-of-its-kind Mobile Arm Retrieval System (MARS) Vacuum retrieval technology. Workers cut a 55-inch hole through 17 inches of concrete and rebar using a rotary core cutting system, which featured a laser-guided steel canister with teeth on the bottom to drill a circle into the C-105 tank dome. To gain access to the tank dome, crews had to excavate down seven feet to the top of the tank. As the cut was made and the concrete plug removed, crews installed a shield plate over the top of the hole to protect workers.
• Chiller/Compressor Plant Construction Completion: The prime contractor for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), Bechtel National, Inc., notified ORP in late 2013 that construction was complete on the Chiller/Compressor Plant. The facility houses equipment that supplies chilled water and compressed air for utility services to WTP facilities, including the Pretreatment (PT), High-Level Waste (HLW) and Low-Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facilities and Analytical Laboratory (Lab). Major components of the chill water system include package chiller units, distribution pumps and piping. The Plant Service Air (PSA) system provides a continuous supply of clean, dry air in proper pressure and temperature to the PT, HLW, LAW and Lab. Each plant has its own air distribution system once PSA enters the plant.  Plant systems split PSA into Instrument and Service air systems. DOE is currently verifying Bechtel’s declaration of construction complete.
• In September, EM released the Framework document for ORP, outlining a phased approach for beginning tank waste treatment while continuing to resolve technical issues with the PT and HLW facilities. The phased approach described in the Framework would start with immobilizing the low-activity portion of the waste. By beginning waste vitrification sooner and developing alternative waste treatment pathways, the Framework describes a path forward that could complete the tank waste mission sooner, compared to waiting until all technical issues are resolved and the PT facility is completed.

EM Makes Significant Progress on Dispositioning Transuranic Waste at Idaho Site

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM and contractor CH2M-WG, IDAHO, LLC (CWI) made significant progress in 2013 dispositioning transuranic (TRU) waste and helping ship it out of Idaho.

   Since 2005, crews had been digging up buried TRU waste from a landfill and shipping it to EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. In late 2012, waste exhumation was suspended due to budget challenges. However, EM and CWI identified efficiencies within other cleanup projects at the Idaho site, allowing for the resumption of waste exhumation in late September 2013.

   Also in 2013, EM and CWI made great progress in treating sludge-bearing, TRU waste from the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project, which is responsible for dispositioning and shipping 65,000 cubic meters of TRU waste out of Idaho. Workers repurposed the Pit 9 retrieval facility to treat this special-case waste, saving taxpayers as much as $20 million over the cost of building a new structure.

Workers treat sludge-bearing, transuranic waste from the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project.

Innovative Processes for Treating Challenging Waste Form

   EM and CWI made headway in 2013 treating and removing a challenging metal sodium that remains at the Idaho site from when the material was used as a reactor coolant.

   Crews safely completed liquid sodium treatment of residual waste in three storage tanks. The process using citric acid solution has subsequently been patented. 

   In 2014, CWI will use distillation technology, a method of separating mixtures through a heating process, to separate about 100 pounds of sodium from metal and debris that’s been designated as remote-handled waste because of its high-activity level. The material will be heated, and vapors will be drawn from the debris. Sodium vapor will then be condensed back to a metal solid, collected, and sent off site as mixed low-level waste for treatment and disposal.

A tank at the Materials and Fuels Complex containing residual sodium is moved prior to waste treatment.

Distillation equipment is shown prior to transport to the Idaho site.

Ordnance Removal Progress

   The Idaho site was once a blast — literally.

   In 2013, EM and CWI completed an ordnance investigation that spanned two decades at the Idaho site, walking over 1,100 miles to survey munitions and explosives left over from when the Arco Desert was a military installation used for training and explosives testing and research.

In these 2010 photographs, unexploded ordnance were collected and then detonated onsite at the Mass Detonation Area.

   The tests helped determine if larger quantities of explosives could be stored in magazines without igniting adjacent magazines and whether distances between magazines could be reduced. The impacts of blasts on nearby structures also were tested.

   Over the last 20 years, unexploded ordnance were collected and detonated onsite as part of Superfund interim actions, removal actions or record of decision actions. As the project enters completion, it will transition to a long-term institutional control program that will provide protection and educational resources to personnel and the public.

A shell is found during a walkdown of the Idaho site.

Idaho’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Details 2013 Accomplishments

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – EM and its contractor, Idaho Treatment Group (ITG), safely and compliantly met all of their production and shipping targets in the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) at the Idaho site in 2013. 

   AMWTP's purpose is to safely process and dispose of transuranic (TRU) and mixed low-level waste (MLLW). The defense-related TRU waste is sent to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, and the MLLW is sent to other federal and commercial disposal sites. AMWTP is the largest shipper of contact-handled TRU waste to WIPP. In 2013, AMWTP sent 2,444.69 cubic meters for permanent disposal to WIPP.

   AMWTP also maintains an impressive safety record. The last injury or illness resulting in time away from work on the project occurred on Dec. 3, 2003, more than 15.1 million hours ago. Since beginning management of AMWTP on Oct. 1, 2011, the ITG-led workforce has worked more than 2.6 million hours without a lost-time injury. 

   Also in 2013, ITG identified and created new efficiencies in operations, including:

• Use of supercompaction as treatment for prohibited items after a collaboration between DOE’s Idaho Operations and Carlsbad Field offices, as well as regulators in New Mexico and Idaho;
• Use of a macroencapsulation process developed in 2012 for shipping legacy MLLW, resulting in cost savings over conventional treatment methods;
• Introduction of a Operational Excellence program that brought a systematic approach to identifying ways to perform work in a safer, quicker and less costly manner; and
• Employee-generated ideas that enhanced the safety and productivity of retrieval operations, including the Box Retrieval Forklift Carriage, which makes retrieval of old wooden boxes safer.

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, National Transuranic Program Have Banner Year in 2013

CARLSBAD, N.M. – EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), America’s only operating deep geologic repository for the permanent disposal of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste, and the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) National TRU Program continued to be in the global spotlight with significant accomplishments throughout 2013.

   CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National TRU Program. WIPP received recognition from national, state and regional governments, organizations and industry. Prominent accomplishments included the safe, compliant and efficient shipment and disposal of defense-related TRU waste, excellence in the protection of human health and the environment and numerous cooperative exchanges through CBFO’s International Programs that benefit the U.S. and other nations.

Since WIPP became operational in March 1999, it has surpassed receiving 11,000 shipments, which traveled over 14 million safe loaded miles over the nation’s highways through WIPP’s transportation program — equal to about 29 trips around the moon. WIPP has permanently disposed of more than 89,000 cubic meters of TRU waste — enough to fill more than 35 Olympic-size swimming pools. In 2013, WIPP is on course in support of the Los Alamos National Laboratory framework agreement with the State of New Mexico for complete removal of the above ground TRU waste stored at Area G by June 30, 2014. WIPP has cleaned 22 sites of legacy TRU waste.

In 2013, a team of CBFO federal employees and WIPP contractors and subcontractors was recognized for initiatives to protect the environment through waste reduction and conservation efforts. In April, the New Mexico Environment Department selected WIPP as a Gold Level leader in the Green Zia Environmental Leadership Program, its highest recognition for environmental excellence (group photo). In August, WIPP was selected as an honoree in the category of sustainable workplace at the New Mexico Sustainable Business Summit held in Albuquerque, N.M. WIPP received the award by improving efficiencies and reducing the overall amount of hazardous waste generated in its groundwater-monitoring program. WIPP added to its achievements from latter 2012 when DOE recognized four environmental initiatives at WIPP and presented more than 20 employees with DOE Sustainability Awards for improvements in energy, water and fleet efficiency while reducing pollution and waste across the complex. 

WIPP’s exceptional safety performance in all operations was again acknowledged in 2013. In this photo of WIPP operations, personnel load a facility cask containing remote-handled TRU waste onto horizontal emplacement equipment. Once loaded, the emplacement equipment pushes the canister out of the facility cask and into a borehole. The DOE awarded WIPP with the Voluntary Protection Program’s Legacy of Stars award this year. This award, which is the result of achieving star status for four consecutive years, is the second DOE Legacy of Stars award WIPP has received. Also, the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and the New Mexico Mining Association recognized WIPP with the Safe Operator of the Year Award. This is the 25th such award received by WIPP out of the last 27 years. 

In 2013, WIPP had over 450 visitors, including more than 30 international representatives from many different nations as supported by International Programs. Additionally, CBFO representatives participated in many international forums and exchanges. In November 2013, CBFO Manager Joe Franco (far left in photo) participated in the International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials (EDRAM) Fall 2013 meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. As shown, part of the visit for EDRAM included viewing the Underground Research Laboratory HADES, Mol, Belgium, which was part of the EDRAM meeting. Representing DOE, Franco provided EM and Nuclear Energy updates at the meeting. It included discussions of technical issues addressing operational safety, with WIPP having an exemplary role because of its more than 14-year operational history. HADES was excavated at a depth of about 220 meters beginning in the early 1980s to study the feasibility of geological disposal in the Boom Clay in Belgium. EDRAM participants are shown in front of the PRACLAY gallery, where a large-scale heater experiment was installed and is scheduled to begin operating in 2014 for about a 10-year period.

West Valley Demonstration Project Prepares to Relocate High-Level Waste

The West Valley Demonstration Project’s high-level waste canisters will be relocated to interim onsite storage.

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – With completion of the recently constructed interim storage pad at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP), EM crews have begun a multi-year effort to relocate high-level waste (HLW) canisters stored inside the Main Plant Process Building to prepare the facility for demolition.

   The canisters will be placed into concrete storage casks and then moved to the outdoor storage pad on site, located inside the 3,300-acre Western New York Nuclear Service Center south of Buffalo, New York. The 278 canisters of vitrified HLW were created during a liquid waste vitrification campaign at the WVDP that ended in 2002. 

The first group of eight concrete storage casks for the West Valley Demonstration Project’s high-level waste.

   EM and its prime contractor at the WVDP, CH2M HILL B&W West Valley, LLC (CHBWV), initiated construction of the HLW storage pad in 2013 and oversaw fabrication of the first group of eight storage casks that will safely contain the HLW until it is ultimately shipped offsite for disposal. Procurement of eight multi-purpose canister overpacks that will contain the canisters and transport vehicles for indoor loading and outdoor movements of the casks began earlier this year. The storage system design and cask fabrication were adapted from commercial nuclear fuel storage systems and provided by NAC International. Canister loading is scheduled to begin in 2015.

Site subcontractor American DND completed demolition of the contaminated 01-14 Building in 2013.

   Also in 2013, EM and CHBWV completed demolition and disposal of seven facilities located on the site. The buildings demolished in 2013 included the 01-14 Building, which contained chemically and radiologically contaminated equipment and piping. CHBWV will remove approximately 40 structures from the WVDP landscape under its current contract. Workers completed offsite shipment and disposal of about 77,000 cubic feet, or more than 50 percent, of the legacy low-level waste and mixed low-level waste stored at the site. The shipments helped clear valuable indoor waste processing and storage space.

EM National Laboratory’s Solvent to Save an Estimated $1.35 Billion

AIKEN, S.C. – For the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), successful deployment is the ultimate validation of science and technology’s value to the EM program.

   In 2013, EM and its Savannah River Site (SRS) liquid waste contractor, Savannah River Remediation (SRR), deployed a Next Generation Solvent in a radioactive cesium extraction process. This marked the latest advancement that SRNL and a team of partners — including other national laboratories and contractors — have made in applying research and development to the EM program. At SRS alone, this Next Generation Solvent is expected to improve the waste processing mission by 30 percent, saving an estimated $1.35 billion.  

   In a modified centrifuge, the solvent attracts cesium, allowing waste to be separated into two forms — a decontaminated salt stream and a dilute acid stream containing the cesium. The cesium stream is ultimately stabilized in glass; by improving the characteristics of the solvent being used, researchers have provided a tool to make the process work better and faster. SRR began successfully deploying the solvent this month, replacing an earlier generation of laboratory-developed solvent.

The "MaxCalix" solvent improves the process for removing Cesium-137 from radioactive waste solutions.

   Earlier work on the technology won a national Collaboration award from the U.S. Council for Chemical Research. The council recognized the partnership for progress from fundamental research all the way to plant construction and successful operation.

   “This represents success on multiple levels,” SRNL Associate Laboratory Director for Environmental Management Dr. Jeff Griffin said. “It shows how science and the contractor community can partner for the ultimate success and efficiency of the program. It gives us a tool that can potentially be applied much more broadly to EM challenges. And, ultimately, this cuts down significantly on the time it takes to empty waste tanks, and assures that much less radioactivity will remain at the Savannah River Site. We believe it’s one of the central examples of how the laboratory community brings value to the EM mission, and it’s been a very satisfying collaboration.” 

Nevada National Security Site Wraps Up 2013

LAS VEGAS – As 2013 activities come to a close, the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) reports several noteworthy accomplishments for the year, including:

• More than 1,000,000 cubic feet of low-level radioactive waste disposed from generators in support of EM activities onsite and throughout the complex;
• Nine sampling campaigns completed at six groundwater characterization wells throughout the site; and
• 30 contaminated soils sites closed on the NNSS.

A specialist with the Nevada National Security Site groundwater characterization team collects a groundwater sample at well PM-3 located on the Nevada Test and Training Range, which is Air Force controlled land surrounding the NNSS. Groundwater characterization activities address the impacts of historic nuclear testing on groundwater.

   Nevada Field Office personnel are proud to conclude the year on such a successful note, according to Robert Boehlecke, Nevada Field Office Environmental Management Operations Manager.

   “We’re very pleased with the quality and efficient pace of our cleanup work,” said Boehlecke. “The NNSS team performed extremely well, safely and efficiently.”

Waste and Water Top 2013 Accomplishments for Los Alamos EM Program

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Los Alamos National Laboratory’s biggest environmental cleanup accomplishments during 2013 centered around waste and water.

   The laboratory’s 3706 TRU Waste Campaign, an accelerated shipping effort spurred by a massive wildfire in 2011, completed another record-breaking year in 2013, removing a cumulative 1,825 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) waste and exceeding every previous shipping record.

   “The 3706 TRU Campaign is about reducing risk to the people and environment of northern New Mexico as well as about removing waste from Los Alamos,” said Pete Maggiore, manager of EM’s Los Alamos Field Office Environmental Projects Office. “A lot of people contributed their talent and expertise to make this project successful, so it’s a great example of a successful collaborative effort as well as a successful shipping effort.”

Unusually heavy rain in early September caused flash flooding in canyons surrounding Los Alamos.

   In addition to an avalanche of waste shipping, the laboratory’s water experts dealt with a 1,000-year rain event in September that resulted in flash floods that damaged water monitoring stations, roads and other environmental structures.

   “It’s unusual to see a rain event like this in the high desert, and the damage from the floods made it difficult for our crews to assess the damage in what is often rugged terrain,” said Jeff Mousseau, associate director of the laboratory’s Environmental Programs. “Assessing the damage and recovering from a rare event like this flood was a major accomplishment for our field crews.”

   In addition to record waste shipments and recovery from flash flooding, Los Alamos also completed characterization pump testing on a chromium plume in the regional aquifer, retrieving data that will help scientists assess the characteristics of the plume and determine the best way to remove the chromium from the aquifer.

   “Chromium was used as a rust inhibitor at the laboratory in the past as it was throughout the country, and it seeped in to the regional aquifer over a long period of time,” said David McInroy, director of the Environmental Programs Corrective Actions Program at Los Alamos. “The data we collected this year will be an invaluable tool for determining a path forward.”

ASCEM Project Achieves Major Milestone with Initial User Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Advanced Simulation Capability for Environmental Management (ASCEM) Project has reached a major milestone at record pace with the release of the research and development branch of the ASCEM toolset.

   ASCEM is being tested and evaluated by initial users associated with EM’s Hanford, Savannah River and Nevada National Security sites, and Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory. While interacting with the initial users, the multi-laboratory team will continue to further develop the community and regulatory code versions for release over the next few years.

   “It is an amazing achievement by the ASCEM team to develop and release a next generation code in just a few years, and we look forward to user feedback from across the complex," said Kurt Gerdes, director of EM’s Office of Soil and Groundwater Remediation.

The Akuna customized model setup user environment contains NASA World Wind and LaGrit/Gridder in its toolset user interface. The High Performance Computing environment allows the user to do Single Run, Sensitivity Analysis, Parameter Estimation and Uncertainty Qualification.

   Launched in 2010, ASCEM provides a state-of-the-art approach to predicting contaminant fate and transport. It takes advantage of and leverages high performance computing capabilities while providing a community platform for testing and integrating new process models as they evolve. The modular, open source model enables the development of risk-informed and cost-effective remediation approaches to achieve disposal solutions protective of human health and the environment.

   The ASCEM Toolset release consists of Akuna (user interface), Amanzi (the simulator) and Agni (a set of tools for controlling the simulator). The user release also contains a set of tutorials and example problems from the Phase II demonstration to guide the new user though the ASCEM toolset capabilities.

   If you are interested in being a user, please contact Justin Marble (Justin.marble@em.doe.gov) or Paul Dixon (p_dixon@lanl.gov). More information on ASCEM, including the fiscal year 2013 annual report, can be found here.

Demand for Food for People in Need Remains High Throughout the Year

WASHINGTON, D.C. – EM and its field sites donated 53,630 pounds — or 27 tons — of non-perishable items to a food drive by federal workers to help feed families across the country in 2013.

EM surpassed its goal to donate 50,000 pounds to the 2013 Feds Feed Families Campaign.

Pictured are donations the Office of Human Capital at EM headquarters provided to the campaign.

   In Ohio, EM’s Portsmouth site donated to the Community Action Committee of Pike County Food Pantry, which typically feeds about 250 needy families in one week. Although the pantry was closed for a period in July because of a shortage of food, the EM donation of 1,151 pounds on July 30 was large enough to allow the pantry to open its doors again to the public. EM employees delivered an additional 1,680 pounds of food Aug. 23 and 7,139 pounds of food Aug. 27.

   EM’s drive contributed to the greater DOE campaign that collected 215,287 pounds of non-perishable food items for local food banks.

   The summer months are a crucial time for food banks to maintain stocked shelves. Contributions are welcome throughout the year. Consider donating to your local food banks this holiday season to help take care of people in need.

   Last year, EM donated close to 50,000 pounds of non-perishable items to the Fourth Annual Feds Feed Families Campaign, easily beating its target of 19,120 pounds.

Contributors

Steve Beehler, Hanford site

Will Callicott, Savannah River National Laboratory

Jillian Carter, EM headquarters

Rick Dale, Idaho site

Rob Davis, Savannah River Site

Cynthia Dayton, West Valley Demonstration Project

Maren Disney, Hanford site

Paul Dixon, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Jeff Griffin, Savannah River National Laboratory

Patti Jones, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Rick Kelley, Savannah River Site

Jason Lovins, Portsmouth site

Justin Marble, EM headquarters

Danielle Miller, Idaho site

Dylan Nichols, Paducah site

Angela Ramsey, Nevada National Security Site

Adam Russell, Hanford site

Wendee Ryan, Moab site

David Sheeley, EM headquarters

Erik Simpson, Idaho site

Barbara Smoak, Savannah River Site

Geoff Tyree, Hanford site

Joe Walker, Paducah site

Ben Williams, Oak Ridge site

Ryan Williamson, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Visit Us on the Web: http://energy.gov/em