Public Can Comment on Proposed D&D and Waste Disposition Plans for EM's Portsmouth Site Through January 10

More than 100 Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant neighbors, community leaders, and workers attended the public meeting this month at a high school near the plant. Many of the attendees voiced their opinions on the preferred alternatives during the public comment part of the meeting. Portsmouth D&D stakeholders have until Jan. 10, 2015 to submit comments on the proposed plans associated with facilities D&D and waste disposition at the site. 

WAVERLY, Ohio – Approximately 150 neighbors, community leaders, workers, and other interested people participated in a public meeting Nov. 17 near the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site to hear from EM and its decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) contractor, Fluor-B&W Portsmouth LLC, about options for future cleanup of the site.

   EM held the meeting at Waverly High School to receive comments on proposed plans that were agreed to by EM and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) for release for public review and comment. The plans will determine future D&D of more than 200 buildings at the site that are no longer in use, along with waste disposition options assuming the buildings are demolished.

A question-and-answer session was held prior to the meeting’s comment session. The panel included, from left, Marc Jewett, Fluor-B&W Regulatory Planning and Stakeholder Affairs; Fluor-B&W Site Project Director Dennis Carr; EM Site Director Dr. Vince Adams, and EM Site Lead Joel Bradburne.

   EM has worked closely with the Ohio EPA in determining preferred cleanup alternatives that ensure protection of human health and the environment and provide a permanent solution that is the best balance among the many criteria that must be considered. Of the alternatives being considered, EM proposes controlled demolition of the large process buildings and numerous associated structures. EM also proposes disposal of the approximate 1.5 million cubic yards of resulting waste through a combination of an engineered onsite disposal facility and shipment of certain contaminated waste to appropriate licensed and/or permitted offsite facilities.

   Dozens of verbal comments on the proposed plans and EM's preferred alternatives were received at the Nov. 17 public meeting.

   As part of the required regulatory process to produce Records of Decisions (RODs) and select final remedies, EM continues to invite public comments through Jan. 10, 2015 on the Proposed Plan for the Process Buildings and Complex Facilities D&D Evaluation Project and the Proposed Plan for the Site-Wide Waste Disposition Evaluation Project.

Pike County Commissioner Blaine Beekman speaks about the Portsmouth Waste Disposition Proposed Plan during the meeting’s public comment portion.

   EM looks forward to receiving formal input from the public on these proposed plans and believes these plans are a step forward in the ultimate transfer of appropriate portions of the site back to the community for its use.  

   Copies of each proposed plan, along with instructions on how and where to submit comments, are available online at www.fbportsmouth.com, or by calling (888) 603-7722.

   EM and the Ohio EPA will consider all public comments on the proposed plans before EM prepares the RODs. The final remedy selected in each ROD may include modifications from the preferred alternative based on public comment.

   EM has conducted an extensive public outreach program in recent years to inform the community about these decisions. This has included public meetings, engagement of elected officials, and frequent interaction with the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board (SSAB) — a stakeholder board that provides advice to EM regarding cleanup activities at the site — among many other outreach efforts.

   The plant was constructed from 1952 through 1956. Uranium enrichment operations began in 1954 and ceased in 2001. Enriched uranium from the Portsmouth site was used to fuel the nation’s commercial nuclear power plants and for national security applications.

Environmental Contractor Mentors Young Students

Jeff Boulton of LATA Kentucky works with middle school students to demonstrate and test the acidity and basicity levels of groundwater.

PADUCAH, Ky. – More than 300 area sixth graders have a much better understanding of groundwater cleanup at the Paducah site thanks to mentoring from EM’s environmental contractor, LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky.

   “The program was excellent, very informative, kept student interest, and provided great models that allowed students to visualize what you were talking about,” said Paducah Middle School Gifted, Talented, and Creative Resource Teacher Brandon Cornaby. 

   In September and October, the students participated in classroom activities explaining and demonstrating groundwater cleanup. Mentors used models, sampling tools, videos, and illustrations to help students connect classroom science with real-world careers. 

Middle school students use water bottles and powdered drink mix to learn how contamination interacts with surface and groundwater.

   “These bright, young minds are tomorrow’s leaders,” said Jennifer Woodard, Paducah site lead for EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. “We’re delighted to see their interest in groundwater cleanup and good environmental stewardship.” 

   Ken Davis, LATA Kentucky senior scientist in the field of hydrogeology (groundwater), taught the students about the water cycle, groundwater, and aquifers. 

   “The aquarium model where the ‘red dye contamination’ moved through the aquifer really helped me to see how even small contamination at sites like at a gas station can spread,” said student Johnathan Strachan. 

   Jeff Boulton, LATA Kentucky environmental monitoring sampling manager, illustrated the importance and culture of wearing personal protective equipment at the Paducah site and showed students tools used to sample groundwater. The students used tools that measure acidity or basicity (pH) in water and learned acceptable ranges of acidity in water.

LATA Kentucky’s Ken Davis uses a monitoring well screen to show middle school students how monitoring wells are used to measure groundwater quality and the movement of groundwater contamination.

   “I loved the tools they brought to show us,” said sixth grader Gabe Thomas. “Probes attached to measuring tapes, water sampling tools, even the pH strips, were very cool.”

   Brandy Roberts, sixth-grade science teacher, called it a “great pleasure” working with LATA Kentucky and other EM contractors over the last several years and said she looks forward to continuing the relationship.

   “Today was a great opportunity for students to see several processes and technologies that the Paducah site has successfully utilized to aid in groundwater treatment,” she said.

Head of EM Program Tours Hanford Site Facilities

 EM Office of River Protection (ORP) Manager Kevin Smith, right, discusses the Low-Activity Waste Facility design and construction with Waste Treatment and Immobilization Project Assistant Manager Bill Hamel, left; EM Acting Assistant Secretary Mark Whitney, second from left; and EM Waste Treatment Plant/Tank Farms Program Director Todd Shrader during a tour of the facility. Whitney visited the Hanford site earlier this fall.

ORP Tank Farms Project Assistant Manager Tom Fletcher, left, explains the purpose of the Cold Test Facility to DOE Senior Advisor to the Secretary Alison Markovitz, second from left, and Whitney, third from left, during a tour of ORP’s facilities. This facility is a full-scale model of a single-shell tank used for testing retrieval technologies before deploying them in the field.

Markovitz, left, and Whitney, right of Markovitz, watch ongoing prototypic pulse jet mixer operations while visiting the EnergySolutions Engineering Laboratory, known locally as the Full-Scale Vessel Test Facility. The facility is where full-scale testing of the control system for the waste treatment plant’s pulse jet mixers takes place.

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Whitney, far left, receives a briefing at Hanford's K Reactor Area during a tour. EM Richland Operations Office (RL) Acting Manager Doug Shoop, far right, and RL Acting Deputy Manager Stacy Charboneau, second from right, briefed Whitney on the sludge treatment project. Markovitz is second from left and Shrader is third from left.

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Whitney receives a briefing on RL’s 200 West Pump and Treat facility at Hanford. Charboneau is right and Shoop is center. Whitney also visited the 100-K Area, Plutonium Finishing Plant, and Central Waste Complex.

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Whitney, left, tours the Hanford site’s B Reactor. Earlier this year, historians, elected officials, former workers, and others celebrated the 70th anniversary of the world’s first production-scale nuclear reactor official startup. 

EM’s Exhibit Attracts International Attention

NNSA Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security Director Kevin Veal, left, greets IAEA officials at the agency’s Safeguards Symposium. IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano is right of Veal.

VIENNA – EM recently showcased its work in safeguards for nuclear and radioactive material transportation for the world to see in a joint effort with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

   “This symposium enhances EM’s profile in safeguards, safety, and security in the transport of radioactive and nuclear materials throughout the DOE complex,” said Dr. James Shuler, manager of the DOE Packaging Certification Program, an EM-managed operation that organized the display.

   Every four years, IAEA organizes its safeguards symposium for the 162 countries that comprise its membership. The symposium provided a forum to discuss a variety of international safeguards and nonproliferation issues. It gave EM the opportunity to highlight its innovative real-time tracking and monitoring systems to IAEA officials and member states.

   Yukiya Amano, director general of IAEA, found EM’s display interesting, Shuler said. IAEA promotes the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies.

EM and the NNSA Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security worked together to create a display for the IAEA Safeguards Symposium.

   EM collaborated on the display — one of about 20 at the symposium — with the NNSA Office of Nuclear Safeguards and Security. The display was designed by Argonne National Laboratory, which is part of DOE’s network of national laboratories.

   EM’s portion of the display highlighted advanced technologies for monitoring and tracking systems funded by EM and developed by DOE laboratories, including Argonne, Oak Ridge, and Savannah River. The systems can be used to enhance safety, safeguards, and security and provide real-time knowledge of nuclear material — such as its temperature and location — in storage and transport.

   Following are the technologies EM featured in its display:

• ARG-US: Developed by Argonne, the ARG-US radio frequency identification (RFID) system provides real-time location, tamper indication, safeguards, security, and package health status during transportation and storage of individual packages. The system has won multiple awards, including "Most Innovative Use of RFID" in 2011 by RFID Journal.
• Remote Area Modular Monitoring (RAMM): Created by Argonne, RAMM incorporates location- and facility-specific monitoring sensors into units placed in critical facilities, such as nuclear power plants, research and test reactors, fuel-cycle manufacturing centers, spent-fuel dry-cask storage facilities, and other nuclear installations.
• CommBox: Also developed at Argonne, this briefcase-size unit has a cellular and satellite module and can sit in cargo bays with ARG-US tagged containers. Tracking can be done through the DOE Packaging and Certification Program, Argonne Command Center, or DOE TRANSCOM. 
• SAV-EM: This Rapid Deployable Global Sensing Hazard Alert System produced by a team at Savannah River National Laboratory is about the size of a credit card and can be used anywhere in the world. The remote monitoring unit can include a positioning system configured to determine a position of the remote monitoring unit based on signals received from satellites.
• Secure Active Container Tracker: Oak Ridge created this tracker enhancing containment and surveillance system that optimizes fuel-cycle chain of custody and improves continuity of knowledge of nuclear assets.

   The DOE Office of Packaging and Transportation, which manages the DOE Packaging Certification Program, is positioned within EM to provide the tools, guidance, support, and oversight to assure that shipments of radioactive and other hazardous materials are carefully planned, tracked, safe, secure, timely, and efficient to meet the needs of DOE programs, and to protect the health and safety of workers and the public.

Defense Secretary Awards EM Idaho Contractor Freedom Award at Pentagon

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – CH2M-WG Idaho (CWI), the main cleanup contractor for the EM program at the Idaho Operations Office, received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award at the Pentagon for its support of National Guard and Reserve employees.

   “I realized what an achievement this was for CWI, considering the other companies in the ‘large company’ category were huge conglomerates,” said CWI Safety and Health Director Duke Moscon, a Navy Reserve Commander who had nominated CWI for the recognition. “We all had great pride seeing CWI achieve such a high mark even though we employ a fraction of the workforce compared to these other companies."

   The award is the highest recognition given by the U.S. government to employers for their support of their employees who serve in the Guard and Reserve. The award was created to publicly recognize employers who provide exceptional support to these employees. It is the highest in a series of employer recognition awards given by the Defense Department.

   In his nomination submittal, Moscon highlighted CWI’s Adopt-a-Soldier program, which provides assistance to service members, veterans, and their loved ones during difficult times.

   “I was so honored to attend and represent the CWI team” said James Floerke, vice president for the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center Cleanup Project. “It’s tough to express the feelings, emotions, and huge pride I felt. This is the ultimate compliment to all of us from the most prestigious and humbling group I have ever met. We do a lot of good things, but supporting the folks that sacrifice so much is one of the greatest things we can do.”

Jim Floerke, left to right, Bonnie Anderson, Brig. Gen. Gary L. Sayler, Tony Orlando, Tom Dieter, Duke Moscon, and George Hames.

   CWI President and CEO Tom Dieter was proud of his employees for supporting a worthwhile program.

   “Our veterans, civilian soldiers, and reservists have given so much to protect our freedoms and I’m glad we can give back to them,” Dieter said.

   Volunteer Protection Program Lead Bonnie Anderson said she felt particularly proud of CWI and its employees who have participated in the Adopt-a-Soldier program.

   “It is extremely rewarding to help the families of soldiers and veterans,” she said.

   The group toured the Pentagon and saw the 9/11 memorial on the site. The group also met high-ranking military officials.

   The awards ceremony was emceed by Tony Orlando, who is best known for singing the 1973 Dawn hit, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree.” Orlando has been a dedicated supporter of the U.S. military for many years and appears at many events for military members and veterans.

Moab Project Exceeds 5 Years of Operations Without Lost-Time Injury, Illness

Debris from the former mill buildings at the Moab site is excavated from the mill tailings pile.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – It has been more than five years since workers on the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Utah had a lost-time injury or illness. This represents roughly 2.2 million hours of safe work.

   Although the project has a successful safety record, management continues to seek ways to improve the safety culture and identify and address potential vulnerabilities. 

   “We cannot rest on our laurels; otherwise, we put our workers and project at risk,” said Moab Federal Project Director Donald Metzler.

   The site’s remedial action contractor, Portage, Inc., is resurrecting use of work planning and improvement teams that were first created on the project during EM’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Program to make employees an integral part of finding solutions to safety issues in various processes used on the project. 

   Teams are being created for handling mill debris buried in the uranium mill tailings pile at the Moab site and for transporting and placing the material in the disposal cell near Crescent Junction, Utah. Other teams will address interactions between workers and heavy machinery, and facility and equipment maintenance.

   “For us to have any real buy-in, we must involve employees in the process from the beginning,” explained Portage Project Manager Jeff Biagini.

   The project has relocated more than 45 percent of the mill tailings pile at Moab to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission-approved disposal cell near Crescent Junction, 30 miles away from the Colorado River.

Los Alamos Drills to Record-breaking Depths

Workers reached a record-breaking depth of 1,100 feet with a sonic drill rig.

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – The EM-supported Environmental Programs at Los Alamos National Laboratory is pushing the limits of drilling technology with the use of a sonic drill rig to drill coreholes more than 1,100 feet deep in support of a chromium remediation project. 

   The project is an initiative to remediate a chromium plume in the regional aquifer derived from historical laboratory operations at a power plant in the nearby upper Sandia Canyon. 

   Part of the laboratory’s Corrective Actions Program (CAP), the team used a sonic drill rig — which drills using vibration and rotation — to drill coreholes to this depth. Unlike other rigs, this one drills without additives that could adversely affect the data obtained from the rock core. 

   "The complex geology of the Pajarito Plateau repeatedly has required us to utilize cutting-edge approaches to drilling," said CAP Deputy Program Director Craig Douglass. "To collect core for the chromium project, we teamed with Yellow Jacket Drilling Services to implement an innovative approach to sonic coring that resulted in reaching a depth more than 300 feet deeper than the previous record of approximately 800 feet."

   Experts will use data from the core in at least five coreholes to characterize chromium distribution underground and to develop strategies for plume control and remediation. Los Alamos also plans to complete the coreholes by installing sensors to measure the aquifer’s hydraulic response to pumping CrEX-1, the first groundwater extraction well installed for the project.

   The team has been characterizing legacy chromium contamination and developing strategies to control and remediate the plume since 2006, with current activities representing an accelerated effort to contain and remediate the plume.  

Savannah River Site Achieves Waste Transfer First

Workers made a historic transfer from one tank farm to another through the new Consolidated Control Room. 

AIKEN, S.C. – The EM program and its liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) made history recently by safely transferring radioactive liquid waste from F Tank Farm to H Tank Farm using a central control room.

   SRS has two tank farms where 37 million gallons of waste are stored in 45 large waste tanks. EM and Savannah River Remediation are working to treat and disposition the waste safely and effectively and then close the waste tanks.

   The historic transfer of 60,000 gallons was the first inter-area transfer controlled from H Area since the implementation of the Control Room Consolidation (CRC) Project. This transfer helped create space in the tanks and prepared the waste for disposition.

   The estimated two-mile-long inter-transfer line had been out of service since 2012 for refurbishment and replacement of antiquated equipment. During the past 50 years, it has played an integral role in the storage, treatment and disposal of waste between areas.

   The transfer line will continue to be used to move sludge waste through the Defense Waste Processing Facility and salt solution through the Actinide Removal Process (ARP)/Modular Caustic Side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU) and, when operational, the Salt Waste Processing Facility.

   The CRC project, which began in 2005, centralizes the waste transfers in H Tank Farm.

   Nearly a decade of work to consolidate most F and H Area control rooms into one facility was completed in April 2013 with the closure of two F Tank Farm control rooms.

   Mike Borders, SRR’s director of Tank Farms, Effluent Treatment Facility and ARP/MCU, said the combination of inter-area transfer line improvements and the outstanding work on the CRC project demonstrates innovative thinking.

   “Our employees worked hard on both these projects. The inter-area line work is a key element in our future,” Borders said. “Besides improving operations, the CRC also resulted in improved maintenance safety by reducing potential exposure to employees of hazardous energy, reducing the problem of finding replacement parts for old equipment, and improving conduct of operations by eliminating difficult communications between control rooms.”

   DOE-Savannah River Acting Assistant Manager for Waste Disposition Jim Folk called CRC an innovative step taken by SRR to safely manage SRS tank waste.

   “At SRS, we are being proactive to seek methods to remove the waste and use safe, long-term disposition processes,” Folk said. “Control room consolidation is another important and innovative step toward completing this vital task.”

CBFO and WIPP Commemorate Veterans Day

EM Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager Joe Franco, left, addresses employees during a Nov. 6 recognition event at EM’s offices in Carlsbad held prior to Veterans Day. Jasmine Sahd, center, an ambassador of Carlsbad High School, sang the national anthem. New Mexico Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Martin Hernandez, right, and Sgt. Jake Farmer, not shown, posted the colors at the event. “It’s important that we know that freedom isn’t free. Remember the veterans who have preserved that freedom over the years, and thank the armed forces service members who protect it today,” Franco said. CBFO has responsibility for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the National Transuranic Program. 

Representing the New Mexico Army National Guard, Staff Sgt. Martin Hernandez (left) and Sgt. Jake Farmer prepare to post the colors at the ceremony at EM’s offices in Carlsbad. 

CBFO Deputy Manager Dana Bryson, far right, speaks to CBFO and WIPP employees about Veterans Day at the recognition event at the WIPP site, held simultaneously with one at EM’s offices in Carlsbad. The WIPP site ceremony also included the posting of colors by an employee volunteer color guard detail and the singing of the national Anthem by CBFO Assistant Manager for Office of Program Management National TRU Program Casey Gadbury.  

CBFO and WIPP Volunteerism Makes a Big Difference This Winter for Little Ones

From left, NWP President and Project Manager Bob McQuinn, CBFO Manager Joe Franco, and CBFO organizers Margaret Gee, Martin Navarrete, and Dennis Miehls, hold up some of the donated coats that will be provided to Carlsbad area schools. CBFO organizers not pictured are Andrea Cooper, Kristi Squires, and Russ Patterson. NWP organizers not pictured are Bertha Cassingham, Dana Dorr, Yolanda Salmon, and Yolanda Navarrete.  

CARLSBAD, N.M. – November’s winter chill started early in New Mexico. However, children in the Carlsbad, New Mexico area should be able to keep warm while outdoors thanks in part to the actions of the EM Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) and Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) team of employees.  

   “This is the third year we’ve held the clothing drive, which is ongoing from October through the end of November,” said Margaret Gee, one of the organizers from CBFO, which joins with Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP), the WIPP management and operating contractor, to help children in the area receive winter clothes. CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National Transuranic Program.

   “Sadly, adequate winter clothing may not be a reality for struggling families,” Gee said. “We decided on the volunteer initiative after schools informed us that some of their students came to school cold and without coats. As the student population grows, the need increases each year.”

   The team of federal, contractor, and subcontractors employees makes a difference in the lives of the children. Last year, the group’s collection of new or gently used winter coats, sweaters, gloves, scarves and hats for children in need totaled approximately 170 items.

   “Federal employees are an important part of each and every community where we live and work,” said CBFO Manager Joe Franco. “The generosity shown by CBFO and WIPP employees represents their character and compassion. This effort helps to keep children warm throughout the community.”

   Counselors and teachers in the public schools are able to provide the donated clothing to children who need it most. Carlsbad schools also are able to increase participation by providing the coat drive flyer to their staff and parents who may want to donate clothing.

Contributors

Dean Campbell, Savannah River Site

Steve Christmas, Paducah site

Maren Disney, Hanford site

Lance Frisbee, Hanford site

Kaitlin Martinez, Los Alamos National Laboratory

Yvonne Levardi, Hanford site

Jason Lovins, Portsmouth site

Marlo Lozier, Portsmouth site

Dr. Yung Y. Liu, Argonne National Laboratory

Dylan Nichols, Paducah site

Dirk Roberson, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Wendee Ryan, Moab site

David Sheeley, EM headquarters

Dr. James Shuler, EM headquarters

Erik Simpson, Idaho site