EM Update | Vol. 5, Issue 6 | June 2013

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EM Update | Vol. 5, Issue 6 | June 2013 In This Issue: Duffy Served as EM's First Assistant Secretary Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Attracts World Interest Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Achieves Safety and Production Marks Site Attracts Private Sector Investments for Reuse Oak Ridge EM Program Collaborates with Regulators on Groundwater Strategy Hanford Groundwater Contamination Areas Shrink as EM Exceeds Cleanup Goals Hanford Workers Achieve Success in Glove Box Project at Plutonium Finishing Plant Senator Murray Visits Hanford Duffy Served as EM's First Assistant Secretary  Editor’s note: In an occasional EM Update series, we feature interviews with former EM Assistant Secretaries to reflect on their achievements and challenges in the world’s largest nuclear cleanup and to discuss endeavors in life after EM.       More than 24 years ago, Leo Duffy became the first Assistant Secretary of DOE’s Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management. Confirmed during President George H.W. Bush’s administration, Duffy served as the head of this new mission from 1989 to 1993. That pioneering program is now the Office of Environmental Management.    Duffy established EM to tackle the nation’s nuclear waste legacy. When reflecting on his tenure at DOE, he considers the establishment of EM his biggest accomplishment. The former cleanup chief solicited feedback from Congress and hundreds of engineers and scientists across the complex to create this groundbreaking program and an initial five-year plan. His efforts resulted in a $5.3 billion dollar operating budget and a staff of 1,400 for the new office.    In recognition of his development of EM and the five-year plan, Duffy was honored as the Engineering News Record Construction Man of the Year in 1993. This is one of the construction industry’s most esteemed awards.    Leo Duffy served as head of DOE's nuclear cleanup program from 1989 to 1993.    “It was a prestigious recognition for me personally and all EM staff and DOE,” said Duffy. “It was a major national recognition of the EM program.”    If he had to do it over again, Duffy said he wouldn’t change anything. He stressed the importance of having credibility and listening to positive and negative feedback.    “If you’re going to get anything out of a discussion, it has to be a communicative discussion,” Duffy said.     Over a 40-year career, Duffy developed a comprehensive knowledge of nuclear and fossil-fueled energy generation, waste management control and environmental compliance requirements through his professional experience in federal government and private industry. The former contractor is retired in Pennsylvania, but he still follows developments at the Department and continues to offer his advice to DOE leadership on EM issues. Back To Top Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Attracts World Interest Lights, Camera, Action! In May 2013, an INDIGO FILMS production crew prepares for an interview with EM's Carlsbad Field Office Chief Scientist Roger Nelson. INDIGO FILMS is producing a segment on WIPP for a program that highlights interesting, non-public locations that should air on the Travel Channel this fall. CARLSBAD, N.M. – If a picture is worth a thousand words, seeing EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., is invaluable to understanding the service it provides to the nation.       The hundreds of U.S. and international visitors from diverse backgrounds that WIPP hosts each year have vested interests in the project for a variety of reasons. Last year, more than 700 visitors toured WIPP to learn about EM’s mission to clean up U.S. defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste. Approximately 20 percent of the visitors represented foreign governments pursuing repository development and environmental management.      A roster of WIPP visitors in May 2013 shows the breadth of interest in WIPP. Tour participants included attendees from a high-level waste management conference held in Albuquerque, N.M., news media and filmmakers, regulators, nuclear engineering students and special interest groups.      Although ongoing disposal operations necessitate that tours be limited, EM's Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) recognizes the importance of the exchange of information to the mission of WIPP and its project stakeholders. CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National TRU Program. A group of Texas A&M University nuclear engineering students shows enthusiasm for WIPP’s underground operations in May 2013.    CBFO Senior International Programs & Policy Advisor Dr. Abe Van Luik said the WIPP experience is unique.    “Sharing what WIPP has done to operate safely for 14 years with our international visitors helps carry out U.S. policy to assure nuclear safety around the world,” he said.    Why do they come? WIPP is a seamless operation involving nuclear materials handling. Radiological control technicians who work in the underground qualify for mining safety under the Mine Safety and Health Administration standards. While WIPP’s regulatory framework, baseline monitoring programs, community relations and record of safety are noteworthy, most visitors are especially interested in the deep geologic repository and the ancient salt formation in which it’s located.     At a depth of 2,150 feet, the repository offers ideal conditions for isolation of long-lived radioactive materials. It also provides an excellent location for scientific research that requires low levels of background radiation.    “It’s ironic,” said CBFO Chief Scientist Roger Nelson. “To make exquisitely sensitive measurements for particle physics experiments, scientists need the lowest natural levels of radioactivity. So they come to WIPP, which is isolating mega-curies of nuclear waste. It just shows how protective disposal in deep geologic salt can be.”  In April 2013, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and his staff visit WIPP to learn about transuranic waste handling and disposal operations.    WIPP hosts the following scientific experiments in the north end of the mine:  Isolated from terrestrial and comic radiation, the Low Background Radiation Experiment tests the effects of less-than-background levels of exposure to basic life forms to determine if the absence of exposure is a benefit or detriment or has no effect on organisms; and The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber, a particle physics experiment, seeks to find weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, which pass through most matter.    For more information on the experiments, click here.    While visitors often remark about the facility’s remote location in the desert of southeast New Mexico, it’s not until they step off the hoist into the underground repository that permanent, safe isolation becomes clear. One visitor involved with the Republic of Korea’s repository development program, which may use a clay disposal medium, emphasized what so many have said about WIPP: “This salt formation is truly a national treasure.”    WIPP is America’s only operating deep-geologic repository for the disposal of defense-related TRU waste and the nation’s first repository designed for the permanent disposal of long-lived radioactive waste resulting from U.S. nuclear defense programs. Back To Top Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project Achieves Impressive Safety and Production Marks IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – 14M50K is the new, genuinely unique vanity plate that only the 620 employees at EM’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP) at the Idaho site have earned the right to put on their vehicles.     That’s because they have worked more than 14 million hours without a lost-time injury and safely and compliantly shipped more than 50,000 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) and mixed low-level radioactive waste for disposal.    “Without question, AMWTP has proven to be an unqualified success for the Department,” DOE Idaho Operations Office EM Deputy Manager Jim Cooper said. “The safe and compliant performance of the work taking place at AMWTP is continuing to provide DOE, and taxpayers, with the performance expected of this project.”     EM’s cleanup contractor, Idaho Treatment Group (ITG), took over management of AMWTP in October 2011. ITG is responsible for 2 million hours and more than 6,000 cubic meters of the totals.    “When we hold safety as a value, all other considerations fall into place,” ITG President and Project Manager Danny Nichols said. “Our employees and this management team understand that we will not be successful as a project unless we continue to hold safety above all else. Behind every statistic and accomplishment are conscientious, hardworking people who care about their coworkers.” Only the 620 employees at EM’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project earned the right to this vanity plate after working more than 14 million hours without a lost-time injury and safely and compliantly shipping more than 50,000 cubic meters of transuranic and mixed low-level radioactive waste for disposal. No. 1 Shipper to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant    Ongoing safe, compliant operations are also important for another DOE facility, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the nation’s only repository for the permanent disposal of defense-related TRU waste.    Shipments of TRU waste to WIPP have totaled more than 11,220, representing more than 86,800 cubic meters. Of those, more than 5,223 shipments — nearly 50 percent — have come from AMWTP.    Of the 50,000 cubic meters removed from Idaho, 40,000 were TRU waste shipped to WIPP. The other 10,000 cubic meters consisted of mixed low-level waste sent to federal and private disposal sites. A Regional Asset for DOE    To date, AMWTP has processed and shipped to WIPP an estimated 600 cubic meters of TRU waste from 15 DOE sites.    “We’ve seen thousands of shipments leave AMWTP, but these shipments of offsite waste are particularly significant to the Department,” said Cooper. “It’s our proof that waste from other sites can be safely and compliantly processed in Idaho at AMWTP.”    With an estimated 23,000 cubic meters of waste remaining, AMWTP is on track to have all waste safely and compliantly shipped out of Idaho to achieve regulatory mandated requirements. As AMWTP crews work towards completion, the Department is considering an ongoing mission for the project.    AMWTP is the only site in the complex that serves as a regional waste processing center for DOE, which eliminates the cost of building other facilities and certifying waste processing programs at other sites. Governor's Task Force Endorses Project    The project has been endorsed by an important Idaho task force appointed by Idaho Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter.     Earlier this year, the Idaho Governor’s Leadership In Nuclear Energy Commission issued a final report that included this statement about the future of AMWTP:    “With regard to current activities at the (Idaho National Laboratory) site, the Commission believes the State of Idaho should continue to support… the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project (AMWTP), to process other DOE wastes after fulfilling its cleanup obligations under the Settlement Agreement. Over $1 billion has been invested in this facility, which is a national asset. Once the Idaho cleanup efforts are completed the facilities at the AMWTP could be effectively used to assist in the characterization and cleanup being performed at other national locations.”    While the future of AMWTP is being considered, one thing remains certain: emphasis will remain on safe operations, complemented by the can-do attitude of the AMWTP workforce. It’s a combination that will continue making AMWTP the nation’s leading project for safely and compliantly treating and shipping TRU waste. Back To Top Site Attracts Private Sector Investments for Reuse OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – DOE envisions Oak Ridge's East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) Heritage Center — a former uranium enrichment site — as a thriving private industrial park.    As EM’s Cold War cleanup progresses, Oak Ridge comes closer to that end state through its Reindustrialization program. Currently, 18 private companies operate at the site and several of them have invested in construction projects. For more information, click here and read the highlights below on recent transformations at ETTP: Babcock Services, Inc. begins operations. This company, which provides services to the nuclear industry, constructed a 13,000-square-foot building at the center to manage, recover and refurbish components from commercial nuclear power plants. This business could bring more than 100 new jobs within three years of operation.    The Babcock investment is a success for the Reindustrialization program. The facility is located on land transferred from DOE to the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) and subsequently sold to Babcock. CROET will use the sale proceeds to enhance the center’s viability as a private industrial park. Most buildings at ETTP have been transferred to the private sector or demolished and more than 200 acres of land has been transferred, creating an opportunity for private investment and job creation.  This 13,000-square-foot building constructed by Babcock Services, Inc. is a sign of continued success for the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center. Newest solar project enhances ETTP. A second solar installation was dedicated at the center, highlighting the continued growth of Tennessee’s solar industry and the industrial park’s suitability for renewable energy production.    Franklin, Tenn.-based Vis Solis, LLC is leading the project, working with the Tennessee Valley Authority, the German Energy Agency, DEGERenergie (Germany’s leading solar manufacturer) and CROET. The system consists of seven ground-mounted geo-trackers that rotate, following the sun to maximize the amount of collected light. Each rotating tracker holds 30 solar panels and the 50-kilowatt photovoltaic system will produce enough power to serve about 15 homes.    “We are pleased to welcome such an innovative solar project and international partnership to Oak Ridge, a city with a rich history in energy innovation and leadership,” said Oak Ridge Mayor Tom Beehan. “This solar project further boosts Oak Ridge’s reputation as a cutting-edge science and technology hub that’s open for business.”    This project highlights DOE and CROET’s commitment to efficient reuse of land assets at the former K-25 uranium enrichment plant. A new solar installation was recently dedicated at the East Tennessee Technology Park Heritage Center in Oak Ridge. Back To Top Oak Ridge EM Program Collaborates with Regulators on Groundwater Strategy OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – The Oak Ridge EM program has joined state and federal regulators in a series of workshops to address contaminated groundwater on the Oak Ridge Reservation.    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are working with Oak Ridge’s EM program and other organizations interested in the site's environmental cleanup and quality. Those entities include URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge’s prime cleanup contractor, and Science Applications International Corporation, which facilitates the workshops. Dan Goode, from the U.S. Geological Survey, serves as a liaison to the Oak Ridge Site Specific Advisory Board. The team is working on an interagency approach to address potential onsite and offsite health threats and restore local groundwater resources.   EM uses data collected at monitoring wells to determine groundwater migration patterns and potential risks.    “This effort is helping us achieve a more complete understanding of the state of the Oak Ridge Reservation’s groundwater,” said Oak Ridge EM Manager Mark Whitney. “We are taking a collaborative approach to arrive at the best recommendations for the future safety of our local water supply and other environmental protection concerns.”    Workshop participants established several objectives, one of which is to set priories to guide funding decisions, with a focus on pathways where contaminated groundwater could be migrating offsite.     To date, the workshops have focused on groundwater flow and contaminant boundaries within the reservation. The group has also worked to discover any data gaps and rank groundwater issues according to potential associated risk. The risks have been ranked, and participants considered each area’s geology, land use, surface water and groundwater interaction.    The sixth and final upcoming meeting will examine the final rankings and select a project to undertake. The interagency group will release its final findings, strategy and areas of consensus in a report due Sept. 30. Back To Top Hanford Groundwater Contamination Areas Shrink as EM Exceeds Cleanup Goals RICHLAND, Wash. – Workers supporting groundwater cleanup for EM’s Richland Operations Office at the Hanford site have exceeded a fiscal year goal to remove 3,500 pounds of carbon tetrachloride from groundwater under the center of the site.    EM-funded contractor, CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL), is responsible for monitoring groundwater and removing contamination from it. As of June 1, CH2M HILL removed 4,300 pounds of carbon tetrachloride.    An area of groundwater contamination called a plume covers a 4-square-mile area under the center of the site, equivalent in size to 1,900 football fields. The plume contains eight contaminants of concern, including the chemical carbon tetrachloride, a solvent used in plutonium production processes. The 200 West Pump and Treat System is Hanford’s largest facility for treating contaminated groundwater.    The plume resulted from liquid waste releases from the Plutonium Finishing Plant beginning in the 1940s. The plant produced nearly two-thirds of the nation’s supply of plutonium during the Cold War. Contaminated liquids from the plant were discharged to underground disposal structures called cribs and trenches. When plutonium production ceased in the late 1980s, the contamination migrated deep into the ground and to groundwater.    The 200 West Pump and Treat System, Hanford’s largest facility for treating contaminated groundwater, began operating in 2012 and uses a network of wells and treatment technologies to remove the contamination and shrink the plumes.    DOE and CH2M HILL are reducing the concentration of carbon tetrachloride through treatment and containing the plume to keep it from moving toward the Columbia River by using wells to inject treated water near the outside edge of the area of contamination. A graphic showing the 200 West Pump and Treat plumes and well network.    “The work is helping DOE keep the contamination in the center of the site and prevent the contamination from moving toward the Columbia River, which is seven miles away,”  CH2M HILL Vice President of Soil and Groundwater Remediation Bob Popielarczyk said.    EM and CH2M HILL are working to remove contamination from Hanford groundwater, treating more than 1 billion gallons per year. To learn more about groundwater treatment at the Hanford Site, including videos and photos, click here and here. Back To Top Hanford Workers Achieve Success in Difficult Glove Box Project at Plutonium Finishing Plant Team members gather for a photo after safely and successfully completing a complicated glove box separation. RICHLAND, Wash. – EM’s Richland Operations Office and contractor CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CH2M HILL) recently finished safely separating three glove boxes for removal from Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) after months of planning and preparation.    The 7,500-pound pieces of equipment known as glove boxes were challenging to manage due to their large size and unusual configuration. The highly-contaminated glove boxes were once used to make plutonium metal from plutonium solutions for weapons production.    The latest project brings the number of glove boxes removed to more than 180 of 238 total. The goal is to finish cleaning out and demolishing all PFP facilities in 2016.    Workers separate highly contaminated glove boxes from their connection points in Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant.       Workers pull a glove box apart and encase each section in a protective covering to prevent exposure.    Over the past several months, a crew of 10 workers prepared the glove boxes for removal by isolating and removing external utility systems connected to them. They removed room walls, size reduced and removed internal equipment and decontaminated interior surfaces of the glove boxes.    After separation, the glove box units were loaded into containers for disposal. Back To Top Senator Murray Visits Hanford U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) visited the Hanford site in Washington state recently. In this photo, she receives an update on activities at C Farm from Office of River Protection (ORP) Manager Kevin Smith, left, and ORP Tank Farms Assistant Manager Tom Fletcher. C Farm is one of the groups of underground waste tanks at Hanford. Murray also toured the site’s largest groundwater treatment facility. The 200 West Pump and Treat System removes multiple chemical and radiological contaminants from groundwater in the center of the site, where plutonium production facilities operated during the Cold War, and where the underground waste tanks are located. The facility is one of the largest of its kind in the DOE complex with the capacity to treat 2,500 gallons per minute (Photo courtesy of ORP). Back To Top Contributors Paul Cooke, Oak Ridge site Rick Dale, Idaho site Spencer Gross, Oak Ridge Mékell Mikell, EM headquarters Danielle Miller, Idaho site Sunil Patel, EM headquarters Tania Reyes, Hanford site Susan Scott, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant David Sheeley, EM headquarters Ben Williams, Oak Ridge site   Visit Us on the Web: http://energy.gov/em

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