EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 9 | March 9, 2021

banner EM Update | Vol. 13, Issue 9 | March 9, 2021 GreenBar EM Poised to Build on Success, White Says in Address Crews Finish Demolishing Brookhaven Reactor Exhaust Stack EM Enters New Era with Release of 2021 Priorities to Advance Cleanup Mission Walls Going Up for Newest Saltstone Disposal Unit at Savannah River Site Project Manager Comes Full Circle in Idaho Site Career Spanning Six Decades EM Prepares to Test Hanford Tank Waste Treatment System Oak Ridge Enters Homestretch of ETTP Cleanup, Transformation WIPP Makes Steady Progress in Annual Maintenance Outage DOE Recognizes EM Nevada Program Experts for Contributions to Waste Management Assessment EM Poised to Build on Success, White Says in Address EM is poised to build on recent achievements and launch a new era of progress, Acting Assistant Secretary William “Ike” White said Monday at the Waste Management Symposia 2021. Speaking at the event held virtually this year, White said EM delivered on key priorities during 2020 while adhering to precautions and worker safety protections during the COVID-19 pandemic. EM now is taking the next step. “Today, EM is at the start of a new era, with a new Administration, and a new set of ambitious priorities for the year. And, hopefully, the start of a post-pandemic world,” he said. White was a plenary speaker at the symposia, one of the nation’s leading gatherings of government, international, and industry experts on waste management. Other EM speakers are participating in sessions throughout the weeklong conference. p Acting Assistant Secretary William "Ike" White White said EM will build on the transformational progress achieved in 2020 in tank waste capabilities, successful demolitions that resulted in skyline changes, a shrinking cleanup footprint, and the award of contracts that accelerate safe progress. In the key field of tank waste treatment — one of EM’s biggest challenges — White said the Salt Waste Processing Facility at the Savannah River Site now is operational and is expected to process 6 million gallons of waste this year. Further, the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit at the Idaho National Laboratory Site is expected to start up in 2021. The Hanford Site will complete construction of the Tank Side Cesium Removal system, a pretreatment system critical to the Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach to treating tank waste. Among other priorities, White said a number of sites will enter new phases in addressing contaminated excess facilities. Oak Ridge is focusing on building demolition at the Y-12 National Security Complex and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory after successfully taking down the entire uranium enrichment complex at the East Tennessee Technology Park. Other notable demolition goals for 2021 include the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York beginning to pull down its last major facility, and the completion of demolition of DOE-owned buildings at the Energy Technology Engineering Center in Ventura County, California. Most importantly, White said, EM will continue to shrink its footprint by continuing to make land and resources available this year to communities near EM sites. White said new DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm understands the importance of the EM mission and DOE’s responsibility to deliver on commitments. “She and the new DOE team know the vital role the communities near our sites played in U.S. history,” he said. “They also know how important the EM mission is to help those communities have a strong future. “The cleanup progress we make doesn’t just support national security, energy, and research missions,” he said. “It also helps us to create opportunities for economic development, conservation, and recreation for the communities EM sites call home.” White applauded the performance of the EM workforce and others who supported the program during the pandemic over the past year. “I have been extremely proud of the way the entire cleanup program and all of the companies that support the program have coordinated and worked together to ensure the safety and health of our workforce,” White said. “In the nuclear industry, we have always been clear that the safety of the public and the workforce is our top priority. And in the current circumstances, all of you have worked to demonstrate that this truly is a core value for the cleanup program. “Our ability to move forward on the public safety mission in the past year has been due, in large part, to the effectiveness of the actions we’ve taken to ensure the safety of the workforce, and we don’t want to lose sight of that as we get closer to an end point on this pandemic,” he said. Crews Finish Demolishing Brookhaven Reactor Exhaust Stack UPTON, N.Y. – Work crews have demolished the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) exhaust stack at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, achieving an EM program priority. Brought to ground level on Feb. 24, the 320-foot-tall stack at the former reactor site at the national laboratory on Long Island, New York was decommissioned and demolished under the direction of DOE, with oversight by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. The distinctive red-and-white stack was used for a small research reactor that DOE shut down more than 20 years ago. The HFBR provided a source of neutrons for multidisciplinary scientific research in materials science, chemistry, biology, and physics. p The Brookhaven National Laboratory’s High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack before demolition. Midway through demolition of the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack. p p The site of the Brookhaven National Laboratory’s High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack after crews demolished it. Sustained demolition of the stack started in early January using a patented concrete chimney demolition system called the MANTIS. EM crews dismantled the stack down to the base, approximately 36 feet above ground, before fully demolishing it last month. “Our crews worked through pandemic hurdles and intense weather delays to complete the HFBR stack demolition with zero safety incidents and zero vibration disturbances to ongoing laboratory operations. Using innovative systems like the MANTIS to safely control debris and minimize personnel on the demolition platform, we’ve made huge strides in EM’s cleanup scope at Brookhaven,” said Paul Lucas, the project manager. p Sixty-five waste containers loaded onto railcars await shipment away from Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is the first of two expected shipments of debris from the exhaust stack demolition. p EM Crews use the MANTIS system to safely demolish the High Flux Beam Reactor exhaust stack, a prominent part of the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The MANTIS is a remotely operated demolition system for concrete chimneys. The project’s next steps are cleanup of soils and the below-ground stack infrastructure, and verification that cleanup goals have been met. The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education will conduct independent verification of the stack cleanup. The first rail shipment of exhaust stack debris to off-site disposal will involve 65 intermodal waste containers loaded onto a 10-railcar train. Approximately 45 additional containers are expected to be shipped as part of the second and final waste shipment. Removal of the HFBR stack will mark the completion of the EM cleanup scope at Brookhaven required by a 2009 record of decision. -Contributor: Stephanie Shewmon EM Enters New Era with Release of 2021 Priorities to Advance Cleanup Mission p EM's Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities lists specific planned accomplishments across the cleanup complex for the coming year. WASHINGTON, D.C. – EM has released its Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities, a key marker to the program’s continuing success in addressing the legacy of nuclear weapons production and government-sponsored nuclear energy research. The Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities outlines a new list of specific planned accomplishments across the cleanup complex for the coming year. Built on significant achievements in 2020, the Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities marks a new era for EM that will continue progress in addressing environmental risks and financial liabilities, while advancing EM’s obligations to the communities that played such an important role in U.S. security and prosperity. “EM is protecting the environment today and helping to prepare the communities near our sites for the economy of tomorrow. By successfully tackling our past environmental legacy, EM progress means safer, cleaner sites and new economic opportunities for the future,” said William “Ike” White, acting assistant secretary for EM. p Crews demolish Building 9210 at the 1940s-era Biology Complex at Oak Ridge. The Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities sets goals at EM sites, including: Completing construction of the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system at the Hanford Site. TSCR is a pre-treatment system critical to the site’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach to treating tank waste. Completing the processing of 6 million gallons of tank waste at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, a goal made possible by the 2020 startup of the major Salt Waste Processing Facility. Transitioning from deactivation to demolition at Building X-326, one of three former uranium enrichment process buildings at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio. Completing demolition of the 1940s-era Biology Complex at the Oak Ridge site in Tennessee. Beginning demolition of the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York, the last major facility at the former commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing center. Completing demolition of all 18 DOE-owned buildings at the Energy Technology Engineering Center in Ventura County, California. Awarding contracts that continue to enable safe and efficient cleanup progress across the EM enterprise. The Calendar Year 2021 Mission and Priorities is available here. Walls Going Up for Newest Saltstone Disposal Unit at Savannah River Site fewr The first wall section of Saltstone Disposal Unit 8 is being constructed at the Savannah River Site. AIKEN, S.C. – The first wall section is now rising from the ground on the newest mega-sized disposal unit being constructed at EM’s Savannah River Site (SRS). Savannah River Remediation (SRR), EM’s liquid waste contractor at SRS, continues to make progress on Saltstone Disposal Unit (SDU) 8 with the recent wall and flooring installation. SDU 8 will stand at 43 feet tall and 375 feet in diameter, and have a 33-million-gallon capacity, just like two mega-sized SDUs built at SRS before it. The disposal units are built to safely and permanently contain decontaminated salt solution processed at SRS. The 25 wall sections of SDU 8 will be constructed using high-strength, reinforced concrete and will be wrapped with seven layers of more than 300 miles of steel cable for added strength. The flooring of SDU 8 is more than halfway complete. The concrete floor sits on top of a multilayer foundation: a geosynthetic clay liner and high-density plastic liner sandwiched between two concrete layers called “mud mats.” The floor is being completed in 14 sections. SRR is building SDU 9 in parallel with SDU 8. At SDU 9, the lower mud mat is complete with the liner now being installed on top of it. Site prep design is ongoing for SDUs 10-12, the final three units to be built. The site prep design and excavation work for SDUs 7-12 were completed safely by BK All American Company, a locally owned small business. ewre Savannah River Remediation, EM’s liquid waste contractor at the Savannah River Site, continues to make progress on the next Saltstone Disposal Units being constructed to support the Salt Waste Processing Facility. DOE-Savannah River SDU Federal Project Director Shayne Farrell said waste tank cleanup is a priority for EM, and the SDUs play a key role in that mission, along with the Salt Waste Processing Facility (SWPF) that is now operational and processing waste. “The Salt Waste Processing Facility will greatly increase waste tank cleanup at the Savannah River Site,” Farrell said. “The liquid waste system relies on the capability to safely dispose of the saltstone onsite, and the Saltstone Disposal Units are required to fulfill this mission need.” SRR President and Project Manager Phil Breidenbach said the SDU program is quite a phenomenal construction project, and it is easy to feel awe by the size, the materials, and the magnitude. “However, it is important to remember that these structures, the Saltstone Disposal Units, are engineered and constructed by people,” Breidenbach said. “It takes construction workers, subcontractors, engineers, safety professionals, planners, and more to get the job done. We have a great team at Savannah River Remediation getting this work done the right way — safely.” SRR is building the SDUs to support the increased decontaminated salt solution from the SWPF. Salt waste at SRS is decontaminated through processes that remove radioactive isotopes, such as cesium, at SWPF. The treated solution is then sent to the Saltstone Production Facility, where it is mixed with dry materials to form a grout. The grout is pumped to the above-ground SDUs where it hardens to a form called saltstone. The first mega-volume unit, SDU 6, is already operational and receiving treated waste. SDU 7 is nearing completion and undergoing testing. -Contributor: Colleen Hart Project Manager Comes Full Circle in Idaho Site Career Spanning Six Decades p Fluor Idaho Calcine Retrieval Project Manager Howard Forsythe, right, and Chief Engineer Tim O’Connor monitor robotic testing for EM's calcine retrieval project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site. IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – It’s rare for employees supporting EM’s cleanup to come full circle in their careers, but Howard Forsythe has done just that. Forsythe, a manager with Fluor Idaho, EM’s cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site, accepted an engineering job at the site in 1978 after graduating from the University of Utah with a degree in chemical engineering. His first job was running the Waste Calcining Facility, which was known as the calciner. It used a closed-loop thermal heat source to convert a high-level liquid waste generated through spent nuclear fuel reprocessing to a granular solid called calcine. The waste he helped transform was transferred to concrete storage vaults called bin sets, which stand out like sentinels over the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. The New Waste Calcining Facility, which replaced the original plant in 1982, permanently shut down in 2000 after both facilities had generated a total of 4,400 cubic meters of calcine transferred to six bin sets. How ironic it would be for Forsythe to manage the calcine retrieval project that is tasked with transferring calcine from one bin set to another and closing the first bin set under federal regulations. It’s the first step to prepare the material for out-of-state disposal. “The big difference between when I came here to create calcine and now is the technology already existed to run the calciner,” Forsythe said. “For the calcine retrieval project, we are having to create high-tech equipment and robotics from scratch to enter a bin set that was never designed to be opened.” Forsythe manages a small team of mechanical and design engineers who have developed technologies to enter the bin set, recover the calcine from the storage vaults, transfer the granulated material 600 feet to another bin set, and monitor all activities with state-of-the-art, remotely operated cameras that can withstand extremely high radiation fields. “What draws engineers to this project is the fact that they are creating innovative technologies, testing their designs, and modifying the equipment to ensure its long-term reliability,” he said. “They are pioneers.” In just over a month, Forsythe will retire after a 42-year career at the INL Site. He will not get to finish seeing the calcine — that he helped to create — retrieved, but he feels he is turning the task over to a talented group of engineers who can carry the baton to the finish line. “It’s important for those in the nuclear industry to bring up the next generation to lead the industry into the future,” he said. “I’m proud to have mentored these talented engineers who will take over this project. It’s in good hands.” -Contributor: Erik Simpson EM Prepares to Test Hanford Tank Waste Treatment System wre To support testing of the Tank-Side Cesium Removal system, EM Office of River Protection tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions recently installed ion exchange columns and filters that will treat tank waste. RICHLAND, Wash. – EM Office of River Protection (ORP) tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions has begun testing a critical piece of equipment needed to treat Hanford Site tank waste. Since delivering the Tank-Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) system enclosures in September, workers have installed and tested additional equipment, including electrical, test tanks, interconnecting piping, hoses, pumps, and associated insulation. That equipment is required for operational acceptance testing, which will provide validation of operations and maintenance procedures and training. “We’ve made tremendous progress in just a few short months,” said Janet Diediker, ORP federal project director. “We are well on our way to beginning TSCR operations this calendar year.” The TSCR system will remove radioactive cesium and solids from tank waste and is critical to Hanford’s Direct-Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) approach, which will send treated waste directly from Hanford’s tank farms to the Low-Activity Waste Facility at the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant to be vitrified, or immobilized in glass. erwe Nuclear chemical operator Brian Ennen is training to support 24/7 operations of Hanford’s Tank-Side Cesium Removal system. Significant training has already occurred, including for the operators who are conducting the testing. In addition, several weeks of hands-on operator training are planned for four shifts, necessary for the safe, 24/7 operation to ensure a steady supply of treated tank waste. Workers are also practicing switching out the TSCR system’s 24,000-pound ion exchange columns that will absorb the cesium from the tank waste after solids have been filtered out. It is estimated that two columns will reach capacity and need to be replaced about every 26 days during DFLAW operations. View the TSCR system on a self-guided Hanford virtual tour. -Contributor: Hal McCune Oak Ridge Enters Homestretch of ETTP Cleanup, Transformation ertr Oak Ridge workers with heavy equipment tear up a concrete slab where the former 235,000-square-foot Centrifuge Complex stood. OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Oak Ridge crews are removing building foundations and remaining contaminated soil areas at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) to achieve EM’s ultimate vision for the site: a multi-use industrial center, national park, and conservation area. All building removals and many major soil remediation projects at ETTP, which is the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, were completed last year. The latest work is not as pronounced as the massive demolition projects that took place there over the past two decades, but it’s just as critical as EM transforms the former Manhattan Project and Cold War-era enrichment complex into new uses. “Completing building demolition at ETTP significantly altered the site, eliminated numerous risks, and enabled new economic development at the site,” said Acting ETTP Portfolio Federal Project Director James Daffron. “However, there are some remaining building slabs and soil and groundwater remediation projects to complete. These efforts are enhancing safety and making more land available to the community for reuse in the future." wre A view of the site where crews removed the building slab for the Centrifuge Complex. The project, scheduled for completion this spring, will result in a grassy field available for transfer from government ownership for economic development. The former Centrifuge Complex area, which had a footprint of 235,000 square feet, is the largest slab removal taking place at ETTP. Crews are breaking up and removing the concrete slab, sampling soil to identify potential contamination, and backfilling excavated areas with clean soil. The project, scheduled to wrap up this spring, will convert the site into a grassy field available for transfer from government ownership for economic development. Crews with Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) cleanup contractor UCOR are also removing contaminated soil and backfilling sites in other ETTP areas. At the location of the former K-1401 facility, workers have removed thousands of cubic yards of contaminated soil and backfilled the area with clean soil. K-1401, one of the site’s early facilities, was used as a cleaning and decontamination facility, generating a variety of contaminants. werwe Employees collect samples to identify areas of soil that require removal. They also conduct confirmatory sampling to ensure the removal of all contamination following completion of the project. In another area where tanks associated with the site’s former power infrastructure stood, crews placed a 2-foot protective soil cover over a 9-acre tract that contained asbestos-contaminated soil. They are also placing a 2-foot cover on an adjacent 21-acre site and contouring it to ensure proper stormwater drainage. OREM is also working with regulators on an interim record of decision to address groundwater cleanup at the site. It will accompany two existing records of decision addressing soil remediation of the site’s main plant and the area surrounding it. Cleanup at ETTP is paying dividends for the region. More than 20 business are already located there. Future industrial development projects include a medical radioisotope pharmaceutical company and a nuclear test reactor facility. -Contributor: Wayne McKinney WIPP Makes Steady Progress in Annual Maintenance Outage rwe Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) personnel perform maintenance on an overhead crane in the site’s Waste Handling Building. The crane is used to remove transuranic waste containers from transportation casks. This work is part of the nearly 100 activities being performed during the annual WIPP maintenance outage. CARLSBAD, N.M. – They are three weeks into an eight-week maintenance outage, and crews are making steady progress to help keep the vital national mission of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) moving forward. This year’s annual long maintenance break at the nation's only deep geologic repository for nuclear waste spans Feb. 15 to April 14, with 97 planned work activities using personnel from six departments, including mine operations, waste handling, hoisting, work control, safety, and engineering. The break includes site-wide power outages to accommodate electrical work. “We are making great progress to complete the almost 100 activities planned for the annual long maintenance break,” said WIPP outage manager Andy Cooper. “All the work is critical to ensure all systems are working properly to support WIPP’s important national mission.” Preventive maintenance checks are made on a schedule that can range from daily to annually. Quarterly efforts generally take about a week to tackle. Once a year, a multi-week outage is scheduled to handle projects needing the greatest effort that cannot be performed while normal transuranic waste operations are ongoing. One of the largest outage projects began when crews started removing approximately 170 feet of railroad-like rails used to transfer waste pallets. The rails and metal plates will be removed, and the salt floor will be leveled. Gravel ballast will be added as a base layer, and the rails will be reinstalled. Crews also began replacing a battery exhaust fan in the site’s waste handling building, a project expected to take two weeks. They also started testing and repair of a 13.8-kilovolt feeder cable between two onsite electrical substations, and replacement of air pressure instrumentation. As of March 1, workers completed mechanical and electrical inspections on four contact-handled waste bay dock cranes; calibrations of dock instrumentation; a filter changeout on two ventilation fans; mechanical inspections on the supplemental ventilation system fan; mechanical and electrical inspections of two fans known as the 860-series fans; and inspections of eight bulkheads in the WIPP underground used to direct airflow. -Contributor: Roy Neese DOE Recognizes EM Nevada Program Experts for Contributions to Waste Management Assessment LAS VEGAS – Two experts associated with the EM Nevada Program have been honored with the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award in recognition of their service to a DOE complex-wide assessment team. The prestigious honor — a subset of the annual Secretary's Honor Awards and based on accomplishments from 2019 — was awarded to Marilew Bartling, Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program manager for Navarro Research and Engineering, the environmental program services contractor to the EM Nevada Program; and Andrew Worker, a general engineer specializing in waste disposition, who recently joined the EM Nevada Program. werew Marilew Bartling, Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program manager for Navarro Research and Engineering, the environmental program services contractor to the EM Nevada Program. Andrew Worker, a general engineer specializing in waste disposition, who recently joined the EM Nevada Program. ewere The Achievement Award honors a group or team of DOE employees and contractors who accomplish significant achievements on behalf of the Department, demonstrating cooperation and teamwork in attaining their goals. Bartling and Worker were recognized for their contributions to a 36-person assessment team, formed at the direction of the Deputy Secretary of Energy. The team extensively investigated and analyzed radioactive waste packaging and shipping practices across the DOE complex. Bartling and Worker possess nearly 50 years of combined experience in radioactive waste management. In an explanation of the award, the Secretary of Energy emphasized that Bartling and Worker had “applied their extensive technical expertise and knowledge of DOE policies, procedures, and practices toward independently assessing a critical system within the Department, thereby enhancing the confidence of senior DOE leadership in the safe conduct of radioactive waste packaging and shipping operations.” With the support of Bartling and Worker, the work of the assessment team ultimately led to the issuance of a DOE report titled “Enterprise-wide Assessment of the Department of Energy’s Packaging and Shipping of Radioactive Waste.” The Secretary noted that the report had succeeded in “extensively documenting recommendations and best practices found across the Department” and provided “a road map to further strengthen the management of radioactive waste packaging and shipping operations.” The final assessment report found that, overall, DOE site contractors have developed and implemented effective procedures and practices for the proper characterization, waste stream control, packaging, and shipping of radioactive waste for disposal. For more information on EM Nevada’s safe, secure, and successful radioactive waste management program, click here. -Contributor: Michelle French Like EM on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DOEEnvironmentalManagement Follow EM on Twitter: @EMcleanup