EM Update | Vol. 6, Issue 5 | May 2014

DOE’s Worker-Focused Safety Program Honors Contractors Across EM Complex

VPP representatives Barbara Williams and Jack Griffith with contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company receive the VPP Star Status certificate for their project at EM's Richland Operations Office at the Hanford site.

   Several contractors across the EM complex received honors in recent months in an important DOE safety program that turns to workers to assess, prevent, and control potential health and safety hazards.

   DOE launched its Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) in 1994 to encourage and recognize excellence in occupational safety and health protection. The program outlines areas DOE contractors and subcontractors can exceed compliance with DOE orders and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. It relies on cooperation between managers, employees, and DOE to continuously improve health and safety programs.

   Seventeen contractors and subcontractors to EM participate in VPP, including six from the Hanford site and the others from the West Valley Demonstration Project, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, and the Savannah River, Idaho, Paducah, Portsmouth, and Oak Ridge sites. In the past few months, Bechtel National Inc., Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International, Inc., CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, and Washington River Protection Solutions — all Hanford contractors — received certification or recertification for Star status, the highest level of recognition. CH2M-WG Idaho, known for having one of the strongest VPP programs, is expected to receive Star status recertification in the next few weeks.

   “Annually, DOE-VPP participants avoid accident and injury costs estimated at $20 to $40 million,” said Brad Davy, director of DOE’s Office of Worker Safety and Health Assistance, which administers the program. “We expect Star participants to demonstrate significant worker involvement and participation, as well as increased manager visibility and accessibility, which leads to improved communication trust, more effective work planning, and successful mission performance.”

   For certifications and recertifications, four- to eight-person DOE teams conduct two-week assessments at the sites on management leadership, employee involvement, work planning and control, and safety and health training. Each participating company is reevaluated every few years. The teams look for an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and an active partnership between managers and the workforce.

   The DOE-VPP program is similar to the OSHA-VPP. Contractor participation is voluntary, and participants can withdraw from the program at any time.  

   “Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant employees have done an excellent job in taking ownership for their safety, and looking out for each other on a large construction site is critical to achieving the level of safety we want and the DOE expects,” Bechtel’s WTP Project Director Peggy McCullough said.

ORP recently recognized Bechtel for its safety program at WTP by recertifying Bechtel’s Voluntary Protection Program Star Status. Pictured from left are WTP Assistant Manager/Federal Project Director Bill Hamel, with ORP; WTP Construction Manager Scott Neubauer, with BNI; WTP Construction Site Manager Danny Hydrick, with BNI; and WTP Project Director Peggy McCullough, with BNI.

EM contractors participating in VPP include:

• Advanced Technologies and Laboratories International, Inc.
• Bechtel National, Inc.
• CH2M-WG Idaho, LLC 
• CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company
• CH2M-HILL B&W West Valley, LLC
• Idaho Treatment Group, LLC
• INTERMECH 
• Mission Support Alliance, LLC
• Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC
• Parsons Corporation
• Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, LLC
• Savannah River Remediation , LLC
• Swift and Staley Team Infrastructure Support Contract
• Washington Closure Hanford
• Washington River Protection Solutions
• Wastren Advantage TRU Waste Processing Center
• Wastren-EnergX Mission Support, LLC

  Savannah River Remediation Achieves Safety Milestone

   In related news, Savannah River Remediation, the EM program's liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS), recently surpassed 4 million hours without work-related injury or illness resulting in missed work days.

  The achievement comes on the heels of a milestone marked earlier this year when a portion of the construction workforce at SRS surpassed more than 26 million hours without work-related injury or illness resulting in missed work days.

Worker Involvement Improves Safety at Hanford Site's Plutonium Finishing Plant

Industrial Hygiene employees at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant streamlined and consolidated their operations, increasing safety and efficiency for employees on the project.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Employees at the Hanford site are working together to find new and innovative ways to stay safe at the Plutonium Finishing Plant, one of the site’s most complex decommissioning projects.

   Employees with CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, the contractor managing decommissioning and demolition of the plant, streamlined equipment storage and checkout processes used to manage important safety equipment, such as air, gas, noise, and heat stress monitors. The equipment is vital to keeping workers safe as they prepare the plant for completion of demolition by Sept. 30, 2016. The facility was once used to manufacture plutonium for the nation’s defense.

   “Worker involvement like this is a key component of our health and safety culture at Hanford and the overall DOE Environmental Management complex,” said EM Richland Operations Office Deputy Federal Project Director Bryan Foley.

   “Employee-driven safety initiatives like this help ensure safe and compliant progress and ensure employees return home in the same condition they arrived at work,” CH2M HILL Plutonium Finishing Plant Closure Project Vice President Mike Swartz said.  

   The team implemented more precise tracking of how often the instruments were used, cycled in and out of service, and calibrated, and what repairs were needed. The changes allowed workers more time to better plan equipment needs and support decommissioning and demolition work teams.

   To find out more about the workers’ innovation, visit the Hanford Site YouTube channel.

Hanford Leads the Way for Greener Classrooms

 HAMMER instructor Michael Stordahl demonstrates the features available using a mondopad in a classroom.

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Richland Operations Office and contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA) are leading the way to greener classrooms by developing a totally paperless class at the HAMMER Federal Training Facility at the Hanford site. MSA manages HAMMER on behalf of EM.

   In 2013, Jim Whalley, an MSA instructional designer responsible for analyzing, designing, developing, and implementing training at HAMMER, looked at new technology resources available to see if he could electronically supplement or even alleviate paper training materials.  

   “It just made sense to ask the question, ‘Do we need all these manuals, handouts, and checklists?’” said Whalley. “It also provided MSA an opportunity to pilot-test a new way of training.”

Good for the Environment, Reduces Costs 

   Not only does going paperless in the classroom create a more active and hands-on experience, it also falls in line with EM’s and MSA’s initiatives to be good stewards of the environment. 

   “As HAMMER moves forward to incorporate new and innovative technologies into the classroom, the paperless concept has the ability to significantly reduce costs over the long run,” said Ashley Morris, senior advisor for EM Hanford Site Sustainability. “Including sustainability concepts in classroom and field training activities makes more funding available for cleaning up Hanford and incorporates the Department’s efforts to create a more sustainable environment.”

   The goal was to create interactive aids using technology to replace handouts and create a more hands-on learning experience.  

   Now tablet computers house all the pertinent training materials. Students use e-book applications instead of paper manuals. Instructors use projectors to display materials on a classroom mondopad, an 80-inch board that instructors can manipulate using their hands, similar to cell phone and computer touchscreens. 

   To provide more visual feedback to students, HAMMER now can use a digital media player and videotape students in active hands-on activities using wireless technology. Instructors use a tablet computer to record training activities and play back the recorded footage on the mondopad to provide comprehensive feedback to students.

   “Being able to design, develop, and implement a totally paperless class has given MSA the tools necessary for expanding its use to other classes we offer,” said Whalley. “It certainly has us all actively exploring the technology out there that we were not using.” 

Willows Aid Flood Recovery in Los Alamos Desert

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Associate Directorate of Environmental Programs (ADEP) has been busy with various flood recovery activities since last fall. 

   Los Alamos and much of New Mexico experienced off-the-charts rains in September 2013 causing over $3 million in damage to monitoring gages, roadways, and stormwater control structures on Laboratory property.  

   Collaborating with Mother Nature to control sediment migration, ADEP’s Corrective Actions Program (CAP) planted nearly 10,000 willows in April to stabilize the stream banks in the Pueblo Canyon wetland, which was badly damaged by the floods. The initiative is supported by EM.

When September 2013 floods roared through the region, sites across Los Alamos National Laboratory, such as the Pueblo Canyon wetland, were damaged.

Nearly 10,000 willows were planted to stabilize the stream banks in a canyon damaged by floods.

The Los Alamos weir was overrun with flood waters in September. This spring, crews removed 7,200 cubic yards of sediment that accumulated from the September 2013 floods.

   The September floods produced a head cut of nearly 1,000 meters and severely eroded the stream banks of the Pueblo Canyon wetland. A head cut is a channel carved through land upstream from discharged water.

   The wetland formed as a result of discharges from Los Alamos County’s wastewater treatment facility functions as a catch-all stabilization system for sediment and contamination. If water continues to discharge through the head cut, that portion of wetland will die and no longer catch sediment. 

   Willow planting was the first phase of the recovery effort. 

   “Sometimes Mother Nature just needs a jumpstart to recover from catastrophic events,” said CAP Program Director Dave McInroy. “That’s what we’re hoping to accomplish.”

   Pueblo Canyon is one of more than 130 sites where CAP is conducting flood recovery activities.

EM-Led Radiological Incident Response Program Receives Honors

Jessie Welch performs laboratory work at WIPP Laboratories, which is a member of the National Analytical Management Program and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Response Laboratory Network.  

CARLSBAD, N.M. – A program led by EM’s Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) that coordinates analytical capabilities throughout DOE for response to potential national radiological incidents recently received recognition for the best-in-track poster at a waste management conference earlier this year.

   The presentation, National Analytical Management Program (NAMP) Education and Training in Radiochemistry via Public Webinars, was selected from the conference’s Track 8, which featured communication, education, and training. The annual Waste Management Conference in Phoenix focuses on the safe management and disposition of radioactive waste and radioactive materials.   

   “We are extremely honored to have our poster selected as the best in track,” said NAMP Technical Coordinator Berta Oates, who’s the WIPP Performance Demonstration Program Manager with the Carlsbad Technical Assistance Contractor. “Our team worked hard to show the positive impact NAMP makes in the nuclear community.”

   The other team members who also worked together to design the presentation are employees with Nuclear Waste Partnership, the WIPP management and operating contractor; Science and Development Manager Mansour Akbarzadeh; DOE Office of Fuel Cycle Technologies Office of Systems Engineering & Integration Director Dr. Patricia Paviet; and Dr. John Griggs, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Analytical Radiation Environmental Laboratory, in Montgomery, Ala. 

   Waste Management Symposia Deputy Managing Director Gary Benda, who also chairs the Program Advisory Committee, notified NAMP presenters of the selection in April. “(It) demonstrated knowledge and understanding, and laid the foundation for future waste management endeavors,” Benda said in congratulations on the NAMP presentation.

   The team was required to submit a paper on its topic along with the poster. NAMP’s presentation explained how NAMP provides training and resources to educate and strengthen the radiological workforce. Using webinars on topics related to nuclear energy, NAMP is accessible to a broad audience. Besides creating a worldwide classroom, the webinars offer unprecedented opportunities for interdisciplinary crosslinking and collaboration in education and research.

   The first of these webinars was launched in April 2012. Since then, more than 4,150 people have attended or viewed the archived broadcasts. 

   “NAMP provides a valuable learning resource for individuals associated with radiological analysis,” said CBFO Senior Strategist Oba Vincent, who serves as the program’s director. “In this capacity, NAMP is recognized as a central focal point both within the DOE and also for outside agencies.” CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National Transuranic Program.  

   For more information on NAMP, visit the NAMP website.

Cultural Artifacts Cross Eras at the NNSS

LAS VEGAS – It is well known that the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) is home to many artifacts from the Cold War. But few people may be aware of the older important cultural resources that exist throughout the site.  

   Artifacts ranging from hundreds to thousands of years old are part of the NNSS cultural inventory. The NNSS’ Cultural Resources Management Program has documented tools and dwellings associated with mining and ranching from the 1800s and 1900s. Also on record are numerous prehistoric artifacts, including rock shelters, fire pits, stone tools, petroglyphs, pottery, and arrow points — some dating back to over 10,000 years.  

   “The NNSS is extremely unique in that the site contains so many different kinds of artifacts representing so many different eras,” said Federal Cultural Resources Program Manager Linda Cohn. “And these are significant items that really tell a story about human history.”

This petroglyph is among the many prehistoric artifacts at the NNSS.

Bower Cabin, on the NNSS, is a dwelling associated with mining dating to the early part of the 20th century. During the 1920s, writer B.M. Bower wrote 11 of her many popular novels while living in this cabin with her family. She was posthumously inducted into the Western Writers of America Hall of Fame in 1994.

   The NNSS Cultural Resources program, led by the Desert Research Institute (DRI), works to document and protect these sensitive resources in keeping with historic preservation laws and the input of the State of Nevada and American Indian Tribes with prehistoric affiliation to the region. Under the National Historic Preservation Act, federal agencies must consider the eligibility of sites (any object, building structure, or landscape) over 50 years old for listing on the National Parks Service’s National Registry of Historic Places — an official list of significant historical and archaeological sites in America. 

   In addition to approximately 300 nuclear testing-related structures or objects, DRI has completed cultural resources inventories of more than 1,300 archaeological sites at the NNSS.

In-Ground Heating Removes Groundwater Contamination at EM’s Paducah Site

PADUCAH, Ky. – Belowground heating technology is helping to clean up the leading source of groundwater contamination at EM’s Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.

   Since last summer, electrical resistance heating has removed nearly 1,000 gallons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that seeped into the ground over the years near a building where machinery and equipment were once cleaned. VOCs include trichloroethene (TCE), a common degreaser at the site until its use was banned at Paducah in 1993.

   “TCE is the chief groundwater contaminant at the site,” said EM Project Manager Dave Dollins. “Successful treatment of TCE in the vicinity of the cleaning building is essential to our cleanup efforts.”

   The site’s cleanup contractor LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky (LATA Kentucky) began operating the heating system in July 2013 to remove VOCs about 20 to 60 feet below ground near the cleaning building, in the center of the site’s fenced area. VOC extraction is currently projected for successful completion by September 2014.

   The system features 52 borings, each with three 10-foot-long electrodes that heat soil to remove contamination. Vapor and water are pumped to the surface and treated using carbon filtration, commonly used to remove VOCs.

A crane lowers the carbon treatment system into place during construction.

The treatment system operates in front of the C-400 Cleaning Building.

Andy Harris moves the VOC transfer hose from one tank to the next while wearing a supplied-air breathing apparatus.

   Other belowground components in the system include 33 vapor and groundwater extraction wells, 29 temperature-monitoring borings, and 15 locations to monitor vacuum levels across the treatment area.

   Mechanical issues, many related to freezing temperatures starting in early November, kept the system from being fully operational until January of this year. Despite unseasonably low temperatures, the system has remained operational, recovering VOCs more than 95 percent of the time since a Jan. 14 restart. A target average temperature of 194 degrees was attained March 20.

   LATA Kentucky managers and staff demonstrated pride and dedication in getting the system to an operational status that maximized productivity while reducing costs through automation, said Kelly Layne, groundwater project manager for the company.

   “Specifically, our site supervisors and operators have come to work at all hours of the day and night to address system shutdowns in an effort to meet reliability goals and support the cleanup mission,” Layne said.

   As the system extracts VOCs from the vapor and liquid phases, the VOCs are collected in a liquid state as part of the overall system. The liquids are moved periodically to an on-site waste storage facility pending transfer for recycling or disposal. 

   Electrical resistance heating was used twice previously, in 2003 and 2010, to remove a total of about 2,400 gallons of VOCs from other underground areas near the cleaning building.

Competition Challenges Student-Entrepreneurs

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio  ̶  Students and aspiring entrepreneurs from Ohio University in Chillicothe and Shawnee State University in Portsmouth recently went head-to-head in a Regional Business “Pitch” Competition sponsored by DOE.

   The competition at Shawnee State called for business plans to incorporate some of the available resources at EM’s former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Piketon. Each team provided a 10-minute presentation before answering questions from a panel of judges from EM, TechGROWTH Ohio, and university faculty. Five finalist teams presented their ideas to judges.

   TechGrowth is a partnership of regional economic development entities striving to create jobs and build the economy of southeast Ohio through supporting startup technology companies.

   “The students’ research and initiative were solid. That, along with their entrepreneurial spirit, will help them be successful in their future endeavors,” said Greg Simonton, who heads public outreach initiatives at the Portsmouth site. “The Department is glad to be able to support competitions like this one, which help encourage entrepreneurship in Jackson, Pike, Ross and Scioto counties.”

   Team "Sky Energy" from Ohio University won first place for its proposed solar and wind farm that would repurpose about 120 acres of land at the Portsmouth site and provide employment opportunities during construction and operation of the facility.

   “We put a lot of time into just the research alone,” Sky Energy’s Bobby Pfeiffer said. “When you start looking at something as big as renewable energy, there's a lot to it. There's a lot that's not readily available to just anybody. It kind of gets deep quick." 

Sky Energy of Ohio University claimed first place in the competition for its clean and renewable energy pitch to construct a solar and wind facility at the Portsmouth site. From left, David Felty, Mishion Payne, Bobby Pfeiffer, and Zach Ousley.

   Second place was awarded to team “Atom” for its proposal to build a nuclear power plant, and third place was earned by “Athletes” for its idea to construct a solar farm. Both teams were from Shawnee State. 

   “At first, the students seemed overwhelmed, but they quickly became very successfully engaged in preparing and presenting their potential business ventures,” said TechGROWTH Associate Operations Director Faith Knutsen, who helped plan the event through Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs. 

   “This was our first regional pitch competition and we were delighted by the result,” Knutsen said.

Team Atom presents its proposal for a nuclear power plant, which earned Shawnee State University students second place in the competition. From left: Rebekah Keys, Rebecca Legge, and Thomas Carbonari. 

   “It was great to see and understand how each team envisioned the (Portsmouth) site and how each proposal fit into the immediate local community with respect to employment and the additional creation of jobs through supporting businesses,” said EM contractor Michael Becraft of Restoration Services, Inc. (RSI), one of the competition’s judges.

   Once the teams were formed in January, students began incorporating feedback from weekly coaching sessions and focusing on their business plans. Through this exercise, undergraduate students from a range of degree programs were able to gain experience in a business team environment. Five of the eight teams that competed in campus competitions at each university in March qualified for the regional competition. 

   Ohio University’s PORTSfuture grant from DOE, administered by EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, helped fund the competition.

   Ohio and Shawnee State universities awarded cash and gift card prizes to the winners of the competition.

Army Veteran Gains Experience at EM Site

Army Capt. Mark Spurlock is photographed while stationed in Afghanistan.

AIKEN, S.C. – Army Capt. Mark Spurlock supports the EM program at the Savannah River Site as part of Operation Warfighter, an internship program for returning warfighters. 

   In a partnership with the Secretary of Defense’s Office of Warrior Care Policy, DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) created 120-day internships for active-duty veterans. Participating veterans are based at the Army’s Ft. Gordon in nearby Augusta, Ga.  

   An intern in the Office of Acquisition Management, Spurlock analyzes the acquisition process and revises manuals and directives. He has experience working in Army contracting activities.

   “I was very humbled by the acceptance of the DOE-SR Acquisition Management team and how willing everyone has been to help me get started in my internship,” Spurlock said. 

Army Capt. Mark Spurlock

   A Cleveland native, Spurlock spent 13 months in Afghanistan with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division (Duke Brigade) out of Fort Knox, Ky.

   “Our mission was to mentor and train the Afghan Border Police to better secure and defend the Pakistan border against insurgents,” he said. “It was an eye-opening cultural experience and I considered it a tremendous honor to serve my country, fighting alongside the greatest soldiers in the world.”

   Spurlock set goals to continuously learn, network and develop invaluable skills in Operation Warfighter to increase his marketability upon leaving the Army. He has a bachelor’s degree in business from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

   “Transitioning out of the military can be a stressful and a daunting time for any service member. One of the first things I noticed about working at the Savannah River Site is how supportive and accepting they are to veterans. Since there are so many veterans of all branches, it helps to foster a non-threatening, common bond, easing our transition into civilian life,” he said. 

   Operation Warfighter interns remain in active duty while participating in the internships. The DOE-SR organizations and the interns design intern development plans, which build on work experience and military skills. The plans provide a record of achievement and note accomplishments, goals, training certificates, and learned skills.

EM Contractor Awards STEM Grants to Schools

Savannah River Remediation (SRR) Project Services and Support Director Sandra Fairchild, far left, presented checks to recipients of the SRR 2014 STAR Scholarships during a recent ceremony. Recipients, second from left to right, are Nancy Brady-Wood, Kelly Edwards Elementary School, Williston, S.C.; Allison Childers, A. Brian Merry Elementary School, Augusta, Ga.; Mary Hellen Cochran, Greendale Elementary School, New Ellenton, S.C.; La’Kendra Garrett, Merriwether Elementary School, Edgefield County, S.C.; Christi McWaters, East Aiken School of the Arts, Aiken, S.C.; Debbie Murphy, Gracewood Elementary School, Augusta, Ga.; Diane Polk, Busbee Corbett Elementary School, Wagener, S.C.; Mary Simpson, North Augusta Elementary School, North Augusta, S.C.; Theresa Spieker, Mossy Creek Elementary School, North Augusta, S.C.; and Wanda Wates, W.E. Parker Elementary School, Edgefield County, S.C. Recipients not pictured include Holly Palmer, Chukker Creek Elementary School, Aiken, S.C., and Whitten Chavis, J.D. Lever Elementary School, Aiken, S.C.  

AIKEN, S.C. – Savannah River Remediation (SRR), the EM program’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS), awarded grants to 12 area schools to recognize and support excellence in teaching.

   The Students/Teachers Achieving Results (STAR) grants are awarded to area elementary schools in South Carolina and Georgia to provide funding for innovative approaches to teaching science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas. SRR has provided over $25,000 in grants since the company began giving grants in 2010.

   SRR President and Project Manager Ken Rueter described how the grants are a mutual benefit to the area schools and SRR’s STEM-related education outreach.

   “We see the bar of standards in education continuing to increase while funding may stay the same,” Rueter said. “These grants help teachers provide hands-on, innovative approaches in the classroom that they might not have been able to do with limited resources.”

   He continued, “SRR is a technology-based company with a history of supporting education. With fewer students pursuing math and science-related careers in the past decade, it is our goal to help reverse this trend to remain competitive, both as a company and a country. We want to help teachers excite students about math and science with these grants.”

   A team of SRR employees reviewed the grant proposals submitted this year and selected the best entries to receive the grants. The winners featured hands-on experiences for students in math and science by using educational kits and manipulatives, all designed to achieve student excellence in their state’s approved educational standards. The winning schools will focus on applying math and science to real-world experiences.

Contributors

Tim Boulay, EM headquarters

Maren Disney, Hanford site

Deanna Hawkins, Hanford site

Rick Kelley, Savannah River Site

Kaitlin Martinez, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Dylan Nichols, Paducah site

Angela Ramsey, Nevada National Security Site

Cameron Salony, Hanford site

David Sheeley, EM headquarters

Bill Taylor, Savannah River Site

Michelle Teeters, Portsmouth site

Joe Walker, Paducah site

Ryan Williamson, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant