Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz talks with Hanford Site employees.
"This is an impressive state-of-the-art facility," Moniz said, referring to HAMMER during a Hanford employee meeting. "I met a number of your worker-trainers instructing employees on how to safely and successfully complete the extremely challenging and hazardous work that takes place at Hanford."
After the employee meeting, Moniz and Regalbuto visited the AP Tank Farm, receiving a briefing on new vapors technologies that are aimed to provide additional data and increased protection for workers. They then toured a multi-tank farm control room where the contractor's staff monitors cameras and sensors in real time.
After their tour, both joined in an open-dialogue discussion with all four tribes with Hanford Site interests: the Wanapum, Nez Perce, Yakama Nation and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The meeting focused on issues important to those tribes at the site.
Karthik Subramanian, far left, chief engineer with EM contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, explains to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto a piece of equipment used to monitor toxic gases, oxygen and combustible gases in hazardous environments at the Hanford tank farms.
Jason Young, federal project director for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant balance of facilities and analytical laboratory, briefs EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto at the analytical laboratory during her visit to the facility.
Outfitted in protective clothing while touring a former chemical engineering laboratory that was previously highly contaminated, EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, right, enjoys a discussion with April Wickersham, operations manager for cleanup of the laboratory, known as the 324 Building, for EM contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company.
Richland Operations Office Manager Doug Shoop points out tribal revegetation projects south of the 300 Area on the Hanford Site to EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto while Wanapum leader Rex Buck, Jr., looks on. The EM office and its contractor recently removed debris and will be revegetating this area of importance to the Wanapum.
Regalbuto also met with Wanapum leader Rex Buck, Jr., to discuss waste sites and tribal revegetation projects of significance to the tribe near Hanford's 300 Area.
Moniz and Regalbuto also met with leaders of the local labor union and talked with Hanford Site employees before Regalbuto toured the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP). There, she saw the progress being made on the Low-Activity Waste (LAW) Facility, Analytical Laboratory and balance of facilities. The LAW Facility and Analytical Laboratory are both on their way to completion, and the nearly two-dozen buildings that make up the balance of facilities will provide support services to WTP are either complete or nearing completion.
She also observed a document scanning-and-indexing operation performed by local college students, and toured the 324 Building, which sits atop a highly contaminated waste site and remains one of the most important cleanup projects remaining on the Columbia River corridor.
Later in her visit, Regalbuto visited the Richland-based Mid-Columbia Engineering, where an engineered scale-test facility recently began its startup phase to integrate the filtration and ion exchange systems for the Low-Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) and confirm the technologies involved. The LAWPS facility is a key part of EM's Office of River Protection plan to start vitrifying low-activity waste as soon as 2022, which means turning it into a stable glass form for final disposition.
"The people that I met and the projects that I visited are some of the finest in all of EM. They're dedicated to working safely and to completing all of the challenging work ahead, while rightfully proud of all they have done," Regalbuto said.
Other EM Events Set for September Focus on Safety, Technology Development
Fluor-BWXT Site Project Director Dennis Carr, left, learns how to operate a FirstLook robot from Fluor-BWXT Nondestructive Assay Engineer Kevin Banks.
PIKETON, Ohio – EM and its Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) hosted the "EM Science of Safety: Robotics Challenge" Aug. 22-25 at the Portsmouth Site in cooperation with cleanup contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP).
EM believes robotics can enhance worker health and safety and improve performance, productivity and overall quality. The Robotics Challenge serves to educate EM's workforce on the use and benefits of robotics and related enabling technologies.
Technology demonstrations at the Robotics Challenge included a machine-learning pipe crawler, modular prosthetic limb, radiation robotic rabbit, serpentine and modular robots, and the RoboGlove from NASA's Johnson Space Center.
Members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 689-1 gained hands-on experience as they operated the robotic technologies.
"Structuring the demos to have the workers and operators conduct the demos provided us a unique opportunity to gain their perspectives on the utility of the technologies and to offer their insights on ways to make their work safer and easier to do," said Rodrigo Rimando, director of EM's Office of Technology Development. "Robotics, as a key mission-enabling technology, provide countless solutions to our very complicated and high-risk problem-set."
PPPO — in partnership with FBP — was pleased to host demonstrators from some of the most prestigious organizations around the country, Portsmouth Site Lead Joel Bradburne said.
"It was a very successful week of viewing new technologies. We are excited for the possibilities for the use of these technologies not only to increase efficiency, but reduce personnel exposure to hazards to complete our mission," Bradburne said. "We believe this effort will lead to further deployment of robotic technology, not only at our sites, but also other DOE sites around the country."
Two PackBots designed and built by Endeavor Robotics with mounted radiation sensor/communication are prepared for the demonstration.
Following the Robotics Challenge, a Sept. 14 event for the bipartisan House Nuclear Cleanup Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. will focus on how technology development can make EM's cleanup of nuclear waste sites safer and more effective and cost efficient.
"Boosting technology development through our science of safety initiative will result in smart solutions to the cleanup challenges of today and tomorrow," said EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, who will participate in the event's panel discussion. "I look forward to updating the caucus on this initiative and how it will better position EM to meet our shared cleanup goals as we complete some of the most technically complex and hazardous work in the world."
The caucus advocates for EM cleanup and provides updates on the program to members of Congress.
The related events of EM's science of safety initiative will be featured at the National Cleanup Workshop Sept. 14-15 and DOE's "Advancing Environmental Stewardship through Innovation Lab Day" on Sept. 13.
The National Cleanup Workshop will bring together senior DOE executives, officials from DOE sites, industry executives, and other stakeholders to discuss EM's cleanup progress.
At the Lab Day event on Capitol Hill, members of Congress and their staff will learn about the capabilities and contributions of the national laboratories in four key areas: advancing the science of safety for cleanup, enabling a sustainable future, understanding earth systems, and coping with emergencies. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Regalbuto will join thought leaders in a fireside chat illustrating how the network of national laboratories is a global innovation powerhouse.
The science of safety initiative aims to increase collaborations within DOE, other federal agencies and in the private non-nuclear sector to gain expertise in advanced robotics to enhance safety and quality of life for workers.
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, front row, third from left, gathers with EM headquarters and CBC employees during her visit to CBC.
CINCINNATI – EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto emphasized her commitment to provide to the field sites the support and focus required to achieve cleanup success in a speech to employees at EM's Consolidated Business Center (CBC) Aug. 25.
"I am excited to be at the CBC," Regalbuto told the employees. "This is a great place to be and I appreciate the work you do."
Regalbuto said CBC contributes significantly to the EM mission. Pointing to the center's work helping to manage and oversee EM's smaller sites, she noted that while some EM sites may be smaller in size, they often have complexities and challenges similar to the larger sites. She highlighted several EM accomplishments:
Regalbuto also recognized CBC employees for their significant contributions to advancing DOE's vision for EM management of the Los Alamos National Laboratory cleanup. 
EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto, left, congratulates Loretta Parsons for 40 years of service in government.
EM's efforts to strengthen safety across the cleanup program and Regalbuto's science of safety initiative were also discussed at the meeting.
Expressing appreciation for the employees' work supporting the EM mission, Regalbuto welcomed feedback on how EM can further improve safety, adding that employees directly involved in EM's work often provide the best suggestions for improvements.
In what Regalbuto called "encouraging progress," a review concluded WVDP has an effective Integrated Safety Management System.
"Safety is an ongoing process," she said. "Safety is like exercise. You stop doing it and you lose the benefits. We need to practice it always."
EM is taking a broader view of safety and how technology development can be maximized to make cleanup safer for workers, and more effective and cost effective. EM's science of safety initiative aims to increase collaborations within DOE, other federal agencies and in the private non-nuclear sector to gain expertise in advanced robotics to enhance safety and quality of life for workers.
"The use of robotics could limit the exposure workers have to high-hazard or intensely repetitive work," Regalbuto said.
During her visit, Regalbuto also toured CBC and met with the center's leadership team.
"The CBC is preparing themselves for a bright future," Regalbuto said.
At Dounreay, left to right, Laurie Judd, Director, Technology and International Programs, Longenecker & Associates; Stacy Charboneau, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations, EM; Mike Brown, Strategy and Implementation Manager, NDA; John Mathieson, Head of International Relations, NDA; Jack Craig, Manager, SRS; David Lowe, Deputy Managing Director, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd.; and Benjamin Rivera, International Program Liaison, EM.
Officials from EM headquarters and Savannah River Site (SRS) visited the United Kingdom's Sellafield and Dounreay sites this summer to explore how the U.S. and U.K. can benefit from sharing expertise in nuclear waste cleanup to reduce costs, improve safety and increase efficiency.
"I have been impressed by the progress being made at both Sellafield and Dounreay. The complexity of the cleanup is similar to DOE's even though the sites are much smaller in area. It is clear that DOE and NDA have a lot to learn from one another as we go forward," Charboneau said, referring to the U.K. Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, which is responsible for the decommissioning and cleanup of the UK's civil nuclear legacy. 
At Sellafield, left to right, Stacy Charboneau, Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Field Operations, EM; Jack Craig, Manager, SRS; Laurie Judd, Director, Technology and International Programs, Longenecker & Associates; John Mathieson, Head of International Relations, NDA; and Benjamin Rivera, International Program Liaison, EM.
EM's visit was under the auspices of the Statement of Intent (SOI) between DOE, NDA, and the U.K. National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL). The SOI has led to information exchange among these organizations and has demonstrated that collaboration can result in safer, more cost-effective and faster cleanup of legacy waste.
In their latest meetings, EM and NDA officials discussed the NDA's novel "G6 Approach," which has helped NDA accelerate the pace of cleanup and save hundreds of millions of dollars since its inception in 2014.
The visitors toured NNL's Central Laboratory, which is a newly commissioned hot cell suite for the safe handling of highly radioactive materials. They also visited the full-scale Vitrification Test Rig, which optimizes the processing of high-level waste into a stabilized form suitable for long-term storage; and the inactive large-scale test facility in Workington used to demonstrate new technologies, such as robotic systems.
At Dounreay, the group learned about the remediation of the Dounreay Shaft, a 200-foot-deep tunnel used to store nuclear materials in the 1950s and 1960s; the Waste Receipt, Assay, Characterisation and Supercompaction area, used for packaging low-level waste for storage; and the Prototype and Dounreay fast reactors, where the visitors considered decommissioning challenges.
The U.K. visit by Charboneau and Craig comes four months after NDA CEO John Clarke and Sellafield Programme Director Pete Lutwyche visited DOE headquarters and the Hanford and Savannah River sites. 
The 235-F Risk Reduction "Dream Team" at SRS: (back row, from left) Antonio Jenkins, Tim Smith, Pete Smith, Roy Jones, Michael Sims, Wayne Minton, Tony McCall, Ronnie Farmer, Debbie Coleman, Sylvester Palmer, (front row, from left) Franklin McKinnis, Jamellia Reid, Greg Hughes, Angela Steward, David Miller. Not pictured: Clem Campbell.
AIKEN, S.C. – When it came time to clean up a hazardous facility, EM's management and operations contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) took a novel approach: assemble an elite, handpicked team of experienced professionals for the job.
As cleanup of the inactive Plutonium Fuel Form (PuFF) facility in Building 235-F enters its second year, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions' risk reduction approach continues to bring success.
To lower risk of a fire, the team safely removed fixed combustibles, upgraded the fire detection system and de-energized unneeded electrical circuits. To remove materials from the cells and support material characterization, the team drains and cleans shield cell windows after their partial disassembly, installs lighting and mechanically isolates the cells.
Called the "Dream Team" by facility management, the 18 crew members were chosen primarily for their experience in handling radioactive materials, primarily in the SRS transuranic waste (TRU) campaign. TRU waste typically consists of protective clothing, tools, rags, equipment and miscellaneous items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium.
"We knew that we would be facing a lot of unknown challenges, and we needed a team who could handle them," said Jeff Hasty, 235-F risk reduction manager. "In my 29 years of experience, this is the only handpicked crew I have seen."
When the PuFF facility operated, workers created spheres and pellets from plutonium (Pu)-238 for the heat source in radiolytic thermal generators used to power deep space missions. The work left behind about 1,500 grams of Pu-238. Facility cleanup is challenging as workers face tight spaces with limited accessibility and fine Pu-238 particulate dust that is easily disturbed. The biggest health threat from plutonium is inhalation, so workers must work carefully to not stir up the dust.
"Some of us were asked if we would come to this project after TRU was over," said Ronnie Farmer, 235-F risk reduction first line manager. "We said yes, but only on one condition: you let us get the people who we want for this job. We were looking for people with the right temperament and experience, and upper management let us pick the people we needed to do this job correctly and safely."
235-F Risk Reduction Operator Antonio Jenkins looks on while fellow operator, Sylvester Palmer, practices using a tool in the 235-F mock-up facility.
Inside the PuFF facility are nine cells of thick concrete walls with shielded windows. Employees worked with Pu-238 using remote manipulators from outside the cell. Material entered the facility in one cell, then moved to the others where the spheres and pellets were created.
Teamwork and self-motivation are the hallmarks of the team's success.
"If you sit back and watch them, they all know each other's job and work together so well, it is sometimes hard to tell who is who," said Hasty. "They are all willing to pitch in for the job."
The team is committed to the SRS standard of safety excellence. Its members regularly pause work to reassess situations and determine safer alternatives.
Radiological Protection Department Inspector Pete Smith recalled when team members struggled to remove a 550-pound cell window.
"We called a time out, got the rigging supervisor, and figured out the best and safest way to complete the job," he said.
The PuFF facility cleanup is scheduled for completion in 2021. Pu-238 and contaminated equipment removed from the facility will be safely packaged and stored for eventual shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico for permanent disposal.
"The fact is that the combination of experience, respect, management support, humor and comradery is what makes this team great," said Hasty. "They care about each other and it shows."
Workers construct the vertical storage casks to contain the canisters of vitrified high-level radioactive waste.
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM's West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) has crossed the halfway mark in its work to relocate 278 canisters of vitrified high-level radioactive waste for eventual disposal offsite.
Relocating the canisters from the Main Plant Process Building to an onsite storage pad is necessary before WVDP and contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) can demolish that building and the Vitrification Facility. The project marked the first time vitrified high-level waste was relocated for onsite interim storage in the U.S.
"This team has worked safely and tirelessly to plan, construct, train and operate the specialized equipment to relocate the canisters from the former reprocessing facility to allow for the demolition of the building to begin in the spring of 2017," EM's WVDP Director Bryan Bower said. "I could not be more proud of this team."
Workers relocate a vertical storage cask.
A vertical storage cask is transported to the interim storage pad.
Vertical storage casks moved to the interim storage pad are shown here .
Workers on Aug. 30 moved the 29th of 56 vertical storage casks with the 145th canister of vitrified waste about a half mile to the storage pad. The relocation effort, which began in November 2015, is scheduled for completion by December 2016, about one year ahead of schedule.
The project required years of extensive planning, design, construction, and building modifications, and the purchase of special transport equipment. Each cask — containing a stainless steel overpack with five canisters — weighs about 87.5 tons. Built onsite, the casks have 4-inch-thick steel liners and 20 inches of steel-reinforced concrete, and are designed for use for at least 50 years. Their design is based on spent nuclear fuel dry cask storage systems used throughout the world, with modifications for long-term storage of vitrified high-level waste.
Once the site of the first and only commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in the U.S., WVDP is now an environmental cleanup and waste management project. In 1972, commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing ceased in the Main Plant Process Building. Workers vitrified the waste from 1996 to 2002, placing it into the 10-foot-tall canisters and storing them inside the building.
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Angled drilling at an injection well at the project site.
The Los Alamos Field Office and its contractor Los Alamos National Security (LANS) are implementing an interim measure approved by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to ensure the hexavalent chromium plume stays within the laboratory's boundary while a final remediation approach is evaluated.
Under the interim measure, one or more wells will extract the contaminated groundwater and injection wells will add the treated groundwater to the aquifer. The injection wells, which are scheduled for completion this winter, will be located along the plume periphery. Using the combination of extraction and injection, migration of the plume will be controlled.
"This approach will enable the return of millions of gallons of high-quality treated water back into the aquifer for future use," Los Alamos Field Office Manager Doug Hintze said.
LANS and two of its drilling subcontractors installed five of the six planned injection wells. To avoid disturbing area cultural sites, three of the injection wells were drilled at an angle from existing monitoring well pad locations to reach the target location in the aquifer several hundred feet away. Those three wells were drilled with borehole lengths approximately 1,200 feet through extremely complex geologic forms, ranging from relatively soft volcanic tuff to fractured basalts and loose sand and gravel.
"While this adds complexity and cost to the drilling process, it demonstrates DOE's and LANS' commitment to preserving the cultural legacy of New Mexico," said Cheryl Rodriguez, program manager with the Office of Completion Project Delivery at the Los Alamos Field Office.
Success in this campaign could allow for future angled drilling to achieve technical goals that were thought to be unachievable or entailed compromised performance due to the constraints of siting vertical wells.
The project team recently received a key discharge permit from NMED allowing for use of the injection wells.
"During 2015 and 2016, DOE and LANS worked diligently to complete the National Environmental Policy Act review and to obtain key permits that support several facets of the project," said LANS Technical Project Lead Danny Katzman.
As the project team conducts the interim measure to control plume migration, it continues to characterize the plume center and conduct field studies to develop approaches to remediate the plume.
"It's really exciting and rewarding to finally be tackling this contamination head-on. It's clear why the project is such a high priority for the laboratory, and we feel that we have an excellent team and partnering environment with DOE and NMED to be successful," said Katzman.
An auger grinds up waste, piping material and soil from a vertical pipe unit at the 618-10 Burial Ground.
RICHLAND, Wash. – Scott Sax had a simple goal for his company in the final months of the River Corridor Closure Project at the Hanford Site.
"Finish strong and finish with pride," the president of Washington Closure Hanford (WCH), EM's Richland Operations Office's contractor, repeatedly told his team.
And that's exactly what WCH has accomplished with the $3 billion River Corridor Closure contract after 11 years. Nowhere is it more evident than at the 618-10 Burial Ground.
Cleanup of the burial ground includes remediating 94 buried vertical pipes units (VPU) that contain radioactive and chemical waste. The VPUs were constructed of 55-gallon drums welded together end to end, corrugated pipes or solid steel pipes, all buried vertically. Some of the waste disposed in the VPUs was packaged in a variety of containers ranging in size from juice cans to paint buckets.
To remediate the VPUs, WCH used an auger to grind up the waste, piping material and soil within a steel overcasing, which allows the waste to be safely retrieved, treated and shipped to the site's Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) for permanent disposal.
EM originally requested WCH to auger 28 of the VPUs and retrieve waste from 15 of them. Before transitioning its remaining work scope at the burial ground this month to CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) — EM's Plateau Remediation contractor — WCH finished augering 80 VPUs and retrieved waste from 33 of them. CHPRC will remediate the remaining 14 VPUs, which are made of thick-walled steel, and dig up the remaining waste from the VPUs augered by WCH.
"It was like a hot knife through butter," said Mark French, the EM project director for the River Corridor, said of WCH's work. "It could not have gone any better."
French said the augering process allows the VPUs to be broken open and their contents to react with the surrounding soils and moisture below grade, protecting the workers, environment and public.
"It potentially saved millions of dollars by stabilizing the waste as it was being augered, reducing extra steps that would have been required," he said.
WCH began digging up the augered waste this spring using a clamshell shovel lowered into the overcasing to bring up the waste and soil mixture. Workers deposited the mixture in a steel box, where it was mixed with grout for disposal at ERDF.
The team has been remediating the burial ground's waste trenches, removing about 1,900 of an estimated 2,000 drums, some of which are concrete-lined and contain high-dose-rate items. In addition, about 350,000 tons of waste material — mostly contaminated soil — have been safely transported and disposed at ERDF.
"The credit for our cleanup success at the 618-10 Burial Ground goes to our workers, who have been committed to working safely and efficiently since we began trench remediation activities in April 2011," Sax said. "The burial ground is full of unknown hazards, which require careful, detailed planning and deliberate execution. I could not be more proud of the entire 618-10 project team and those who have supported the cleanup effort."
The 7.5-acre burial ground operated from 1954 to 1963, receiving waste generated primarily from Hanford's 300 Area, where new methods were developed to separate plutonium from nuclear fuel.
Thor Zollinger with Manta Robotics uses a rod to rotate the camera to perform the visual tank inspection with the HD camera.
LEXINGTON, Ky. – EM has adopted a safer, more effective method for internal tank inspections at the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Plants at the Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio sites.
After consulting experts from industry and DOE, the DUF6 Project decided to inspect the 10,000-gallon, rubber-lined tanks used for bulk storage of hydrofluoric acid (HF) by remote high-definition (HD) video camera instead of tank entry.
"This is a good example of how technology can be used to improve safety and performance," said Robert Edwards, manager of EM's Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO). "By developing and implementing techniques and procedures to use remote video instead of placing an individual in the tank, the DUF6 Project enhanced worker safety while at the same time accelerating in-field inspections."
DUF6 resulted from uranium enrichment during decades of operations at DOE's former gaseous diffusion plants. HF is a co-product of the conversion of DUF6 into depleted uranium oxide.
The tanks' rubber liners protect the metal tank bodies from the corrosive properties of the acid, and after time they require internal inspections to verify the integrity of the liners.
The industry standard for conducting internal inspections of lined tanks had involved entering them for a one-time visual assessment and spark testing, in which a charged wire brush sparks if gaps or breaks in the rubber liner are present. Hazards related to confined space, chemical exposure and heat stress combine to create a high level of risk.
Frank Carney from Manta Robotics (left) and Kirk Barlow, BWCS systems engineering manager, use a monitor to see inside the tank.
BWXT Conversion Services LLC (BWCS) is the project operating contractor for EM's two plants that convert DOE's more than 800,000 metric tons of DUF6 into more stable depleted uranium oxide and HF for disposal or reuse.
Manta Robotics of Firth, Idaho provided a custom fixture and expertise to remotely operate a chemical-resistant HD camera. The fixture allows for radial scans across the internal liner surface. Locations of interest are recorded for further scrutiny and future reference.
Several techniques for streamlining the new evaluation technology were developed during the implementation, and limiting hours to night and early morning while using a portable air conditioner for the Manta technicians limited the impact of heat stress during summer.
The additional techniques complement the camera inspection, providing a robust and comprehensive assessment of the tank liner properties. Measurements taken along the liner surface confirm its hardness properties remain acceptable. Conductivity testing is performed by introducing an electrical current into the liquid-filled tank. Any breaches in the liner will allow electrical current to flow into the metal tank body and will be measured on a test instrument. If necessary, ultrasonic testing of the metal tank body can further detect whether internal corrosion takes place. Acid samples taken from the tanks at regular intervals during plant operation are analyzed for iron concentration, providing an early indication of tank liner flaws.
Use of a remotely operated HD image capture technique established a new standard for the internal evaluation of lined tanks by providing high-quality results and eliminating the hazards associated with confined space entry and potential chemical exposure. The video record allows a more objective evaluation of the liner surface to be performed remotely by multiple observers as compared to a single individual subjected to the stress of restrictive personal protective equipment and a confined space. This approach provides evidence that the performance of traditional spark testing and its associated risk of potential damage to the liner surface is not necessary.
"The safety of our employees is our overriding priority, and we are constantly looking for ways to eliminate hazards," said BWCS Project Manager John Woolery. "This initiative is a great example of effective implementation of the hierarchy of controls, and the Integrated Safety Management System and continuous improvement process at work."
Crews erect the ninth and final building over a portion of a 97-acre landfill that accepted Rocky Flats-generated hazardous and radioactive waste from 1954 until 1970. Once the structure is completed in 2017, crews will exhume the last targeted waste at the landfill required under a 2008 record of decision between DOE, the state of Idaho, and Environmental Protection Agency.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Construction is under way on the ninth and final building for crews to exhume buried Cold War weapons waste at the Idaho Site generated decades ago at the former Rocky Flats Plant near Denver.
Crews in 2005 began removing the radioactive and hazardous constituents from drums and boxes buried in unlined trenches at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex from 1954 to 1970. Individual steel-framed buildings with fabric exteriors were erected over specific areas of the landfill containing higher concentrations of the targeted waste material. These buildings provide a barrier to prevent any radiological release to the environment during exhumation and protect the workers. Exhumation of the waste is necessary to protect the underlying Snake River Plain Aquifer, the primary drinking and irrigation water source for more than 300,000 Idahoans.
In 2008, the DOE, Environmental Protection Agency and state of Idaho agreed to remove targeted wastes from a combined area of 5.69 acres of the landfill. Fluor Idaho, EM's cleanup contractor at the Idaho Site, is currently removing targeted buried waste in the eighth building erected over the landfill. Waste exhumation in that 1.72-acre building is 52 percent complete and is expected to continue into 2017.
Construction of the ninth building began this summer. EM awarded an $11 million small-business contract to North Wind Services of Idaho Falls. The 0.69-acre structure is scheduled for completion in late spring 2017, with waste exhumation scheduled to start after a readiness review.
"I am extremely pleased with the waste exhumation work that is being accomplished at the Accelerated Retrieval Project," said Jack Zimmerman, DOE Idaho Operations Office's deputy manager for EM. "The Accelerated Retrieval Project is two years ahead of schedule and the workers continue to outperform the baseline. The credit goes to the employees, who continue to work towards completion of exhumation efficiently and safely. It is their continued focus that helps ensure ongoing success of the environmental cleanup program in Idaho."
Crews have removed waste from 4.18 acres, generating the equivalent of more than 35,000 55-gallon drums of material. Once exhumed, characterized and repackaged, the waste is shipped out of Idaho for permanent disposal. Following the completion of waste exhumation, a soil cap will be installed over the unlined trenches.
H Canyon Senior Control Room Operators Deborah Thomas (top) and Audrey Davis prepare for the startup of the First Cycle unit operations, marking the first time this operation has ran in more than five years.
AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site's (SRS) H Canyon has moved closer to restarting low enriched uranium (LEU) blend down by turning on the First Cycle unit operation for the first time in more than five years.
In First Cycle, uranium from spent nuclear fuel (SNF) is separated from aluminum, fission products and other impurities. It's the fourth of five unit operations to restart following the DOE 2013 Amended Record of Decision, allowing SRS to process approximately 1,000 bundles of SNF and 200 High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) cores.
"LEU blend down is estimated to restart within two years," DOE Nuclear Material Stabilization Assistant Manager Patrick McGuire said. "After blend down, the LEU will be shipped to a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) vendor for the manufacture of reactor fuel to be used for the production of commercial nuclear power. The last shipment made to the vendor was in November 2011. As more material is shipped, more SNF will be able to be removed from storage in the SRS L Area Basin, processed through the H Canyon and shipped to TVA."
H Canyon Senior Control Room Operator Audrey Davis has worked in H Canyon for 31 years.
"It's a milestone to me, being close to retirement age and seeing this equipment start up again," she said. "We are cleaning up the environment and playing a role in our nation's nuclear nonproliferation missions by safely and productively dispositioning the spent fuel we have stored here. We are one step closer to having the blend down process up and running."
In the blend down process, highly enriched uranium recovered from bundles of spent fuel rods from foreign and domestic research reactors is mixed with natural uranium to make LEU.
"Disposition of the 1,000 bundles and 200 HFIR cores is expected to be completed in 2024, which would potentially allow DOE to authorize more missions for H Canyon," said McGuire. "Producing LEU again in H Canyon helps keep our nation safe, while providing clean energy; it would be hard to find a better mission than that."
H Canyon is the only production-scale, radiologically shielded chemical separations facility operating in the U.S. Constructed to produce nuclear materials for U.S. defense weapons programs, the facility later began dispositioning and stabilize nuclear materials and spent nuclear fuel from legacy cleanup, and foreign and domestic research reactors.
WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – EM's West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) RAD CON Team — 25 highly trained radiological control workers — is preparing contaminated facilities and equipment for demolition in 2017 and placing canisters of high-level waste (HLW) into safe, interim storage until they can be disposed in an approved facility.
Watch a video of the team at work here.
The workers have placed 145 HLW canisters into 29 vertical storage casks and moved them to the storage pad. Relocation of the remaining 133 canisters is scheduled to be complete in 2018.
Liquid HLW in the canisters was immobilized in glass through the vitrification process. The canisters are being relocated from the site's Main Plant Process Building to interim storage so pre-demolition activities can take place in the building.
Commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing ceased in the building in 1972. Workers vitrified the waste resulting from operations from 1996 to 2002 and placed it into 275 10-foot-tall canisters. The canisters were then stored in the building.
The team's mission, to decontaminate and decommission the remnants of the nation's only commercial fuel reprocessing plant and vitrification facility, is conducted in accordance with the highest safety and radiological control standards to protect all employees and the environment and to ensure occupational radiation exposures are within regulatory limits and standards.
Before they are authorized to work with radioactive materials — or to enter any radiologically controlled area unescorted — WVDP workers are required to complete radiological worker training and pass an examination.
Completion of the formal training course requires satisfactory performance during basic types of simulated work operations. Participants train for situations that may arise in radiologically controlled areas, such as an injury in a contaminated area. Course participants also discuss accident reports to become more familiar with possible problems on the job.
The WVDP cleanup is conducted by EM in cooperation with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley is EM's contractor for WVDP.
Lynette Bennett, West Valley Demonstration Project
William Dye, Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office
Jessica Gleason, EM Headquarters
Mark Heeter, Hanford Site
Destry Henderson, Hanford Site
Jerry Holloway, Hanford Site
Laurie Judd, EM Headquarters
Danny Katzman, Los Alamos Site
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mark McKenna, Hanford Site
Lindsey MonBarren, Savannah River Site
Michael Nartker, EM Headquarters
Benjamin Rivera, EM Headquarters
David Sheeley, EM Headquarters
Michelle Teeters, Portsmouth Site
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