DOE Awards $53.8 Million in Grants and Cooperative Agreements

1. Office of Environmental Management
 
2. DOE Awards $53.8 Million in Grants and Cooperative Agreements

September 28, 2023

Cincinnati – Today, the Department of Energy (DOE) awarded nearly $54 million in non-competitive financial assistance grants and cooperative agreements. The grants and agreements cover a broad range of key activities supporting the Office of Environmental Management (EM) cleanup program, from emergency response and regulatory oversight to lessons learned and stakeholder engagement. The grants and agreements award today include:

South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Agency (SCDHEC) of Columbia, South Carolina, has been awarded a financial assistance Grant (#DE-EM0005299) to provide financial support to the Agreement in Principle with SCDHEC for environmental monitoring and emergency response oversight activities; oversight and implementation of the Federal Facility Agreement and to evaluate DOE’s plans for developing treatment capacities and technologies to treat mixed waste in accordance with the Site Treatment Plan.  The total estimated value of the Grant is $19 million with a period of performance of 5 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028.

New Mexico Environment Department of Sante Fe, New Mexico, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Grant (#DE-EM0005293) to continue to provide monitoring, oversight, technical reviews, public outreach, and general administration including developing work plans, budgets, and training requirements at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The total estimated value of the Grant is $10,755,108 million with a period of performance of 5 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028.

New Mexico Environment Department of Sante Fe, New Mexico, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Grant (#DE-EM005294) to continue to provide monitoring, oversight, technical reviews, public outreach, and general administration including developing work plans, budgets, and training requirements at the Sandia National Laboratory The total estimated value of the Grant is $5,733,806 million with a period of performance of 5 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028.

California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), of Sacramento, California, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Grant (#DE-EM0005300) to fund regulatory oversight activities in the State of California as it pertains to DOE and site cleanup of the 90-acre Energy Technology Engineering Center.  Through the Grant, DTSC will continue to provide regulatory oversight of DOE clean-up activities at the site in accordance with two Consent Orders issued by the State of California, as well as applicable California laws and statutes. The total estimated value of the Grant is $9,950,773 with a period of performance of 5 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028.

National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), of Denver, Colorado, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Cooperative Agreement (#DE-EM0005289) to work collaboratively with Governors to address challenges posed by waste management and cleanup at DOE sites by improving the quality and effectiveness of state legislatures; fostering interstate communication and cooperation; and ensuring that state legislatures have a strong, cohesive voice in DOE actions and decisions. Through the Cooperative Agreement, NCSL will continue to provide a forum for states to work with DOE on an array of subjects including budget and regulatory issues, waste treatment and disposal options, and equitable decisions on waste management. The total estimated value of the Grant is $3,597,667 million with a period of performance of 5 years from September 17, 2023 through September 16, 2028. 

NuVision Engineering Inc., of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Cooperative Agreement (#DE-EM0005297) to complete an independent comparison of the EM cleanup program with the programs of the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries of interest.  In doing so, NuVision will assist in identifying key lessons learned, best practices, as well as evaluating and demonstrating innovative technologies and approaches which have the potential to reduce the costs, accelerate cleanup activities, and/or improve the effectiveness of the EM program. The total estimated value of the Cooperative Agreement is $3,524,151 million with a period of performance of 3 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2026.

Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, of Atlanta, Georgia, has been awarded a non-competitive financial assistance Grant (#DE-EM0005301) for support services to maintain the emergency planning and response capabilities to assure the citizens of Georgia that their health and safety are being protected through existing DOE programs and independent monitoring and oversight by Georgia officials, The total estimated value of the Grant is $1.2 million with a period of performance of 5 years from October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2028.

For more than 30 years, EM has remained focused on addressing the environmental legacy of nuclear weapons development and nuclear energy research that helped end World War II, win the Cold War, and position the United States as a leader in clean nuclear energy. Collectively, EM is delivering results that are protecting the environment, supporting communities and enabling a concerted focus on safely completing the mission sooner and more efficiently.

 

DOE Awards Contract for the Environmental Management Headquarters Information Technology Services Procurement

DOE Awards Contract for the Environmental Management Headquarters Information Technology Services Procurement

DOE Releases Draft Request for Proposal for Moab UMTRA Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) Procurement

DOE Releases Draft Request for Proposal for Moab UMTRA Technical Assistance Contract (TAC) Procurement

DOE Awards the Los Alamos Pueblos’ Project (LAPP) Activities for the Santa Clara Pueblo

DOE Awards the Los Alamos Pueblos’ Project (LAPP) Activities for the Santa Clara Pueblo

DOE Awards Contract for the Operation of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facilities

DOE Awards Contract for the Operation of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facilities

DOE Extends Contract to Operate Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Plants

DOE Extends Contract to Operate Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride Conversion Plants

DOE Awards Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers Grant

Cincinnati – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded a grant to the Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) for “National Research Institute: Collaborative Research: Multi-Modal Characterization of Department of Energy—Environmental Management Facilities.”



DOE Awards Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers Grant

DOE Awards Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers Grant

DOE Awards Workforce Opportunities in Regional Careers Grant

DOE Awards the Los Alamos Pueblos’ Project (LAPP) Activities for the Pueblo de Cochiti

DOE Awards the Los Alamos Pueblos’ Project (LAPP) Activities for the Pueblo de Cochiti

EM Update | Vol. 6, Issue 12 | December 2014

EM Update | Vol. 6, Issue 12 | December 2014

Energy Department Announces New Technical Review to Assess Black Cells at Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant

News release from the U.S. Dept. of Energy:

Energy Department Announces New Technical Review to Assess Black Cells at Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant

August 2, 2012 - 12:15pm

News Media Contact

• (202) 586-4940

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Energy announced today that Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has assembled a group of  independent technical experts  to assess the Hanford Site’s Waste Treatment Plant (WTP), specifically as it relates to the facility’s “black cells.” The review involves the plant’s capability, as designed, to detect equipment failure and to repair failed equipment inside the WTP’s black cells.  Black cells are enclosed concrete rooms within the WTP Pretreatment facility that contain tanks and piping.  Due to high levels of radioactivity once the plant begins operations, the cells are designed to be sealed with no access by personnel over the anticipated 40-year operating life span of the plant.  The review will include the individual input of technical experts in a variety of fields.

“I will be receiving input from each of these highly capable experts to help improve our ability to detect and address any potential issues in the black cells that could arise during the course of the Waste Treatment Plant’s operational life,” said Chu.  “These experts have a reputation for developing creative solutions to highly technical issues and their independent advice will enable us to integrate worthwhile ideas into the design of the plant before construction is completed.”

The WTP is being designed and built to treat millions of gallons of tank waste from plutonium production at Hanford from the 1940s to the 1980s.  The equipment in the facility’s 18 black cells is designed to operate without moving mechanical parts that would require maintenance. DOE is now reviewing that technical approach to determine whether or not those areas can or should be accessible for monitoring and repairing equipment once operations begin.

Secretary Chu and the independent experts will begin reviewing information about WTP this week and are expected to visit the Hanford Site in the coming months. The principal purposes of the review are to assess the plant’s capability to detect equipment vulnerabilities or failures in the black cells, assess plans to repair those systems, and recommend any design changes or operational enhancements that may be needed.  The Department has named William Hamel, the Assistant Manager for Infrastructure at Idaho, as the lead federal employee to facilitate this review.  Hamel, an employee of the Office of Nuclear Energy, has in-depth knowledge and experience with black cell designs and vitrification operations.

“We welcome this assessment and look forward to assisting with this review at the Waste Treatment Plant,” said Scott Samuelson, Manager, DOE’s Office of River Protection.  “These individuals are known for both their expertise and capability to analyze complex problems and facilities and provide sound recommendations to the government.”

The following individuals will be participating in the review:

• Langdon Holton has over 35 years experience in radiochemical process engineering and operations, nuclear fuel reprocessing, waste separations and treatment and development of waste treatment technologies supporting programs within the United States, Germany and France.  Langdon Holton is employed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and has been supporting DOE in its oversight of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant.  He has academic degrees in chemical engineering from the University of California, and graduate degrees in chemical engineering and business from the University of Washington.

• Dr. Thomas O. Hunter retired in July 2010 as President and Laboratories Director of Sandia National Laboratories.  Dr. Hunter joined Sandia in 1967 and became president in April 2005.  In May, DOE Secretary Steven Chu appointed Dr. Hunter as lead of the federal government’s scientific team that worked with BP officials to develop and analyze solutions to the BP oil spill. That work is continuing.  Dr. Hunter is a member of the Engineering Advisory Board for the University of Florida, Council on Foreign Relations, American Nuclear Society, New Mexico Technology Commercialization Council, the MIND Research Network, and the U.S. Strategic Command’s Strategic Advisory Group.  He is the author of numerous technical papers and presentations.  Dr. Hunter earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Florida, an M.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico, an M.S. in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering from the University of Wisconsin.

• Dr. David Kosson is a Professor of Engineering, Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor of Chemical Engineering, and Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Vanderbilt University.  He also is co-principal investigator (with Charles Powers) of the multi-university Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation (CRESP).  Kosson’s research focuses on management of nuclear and chemical wastes, including process development and contaminant mass transfer applied to groundwater, soil, sediment, and waste systems.  Kosson has undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical and biochemical engineering from Rutgers University.

• Dr. Milton Levenson has more than 60 years experience in nuclear energy, much of it relating to nuclear safety.  His technical experience includes work related to nuclear safety, fuel cycle, water reactors, advanced reactors, and remote operations.  Levenson was at Oak Ridge during the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s.  He had first-hand knowledge of the first fatal nuclear accident in the United States (known as the SL-1 accident in Idaho).  He led the technical team that responded to the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, and he was appointed to a special Soviet commission that investigated the Chernobyl accident.  His professional experience includes research and operations positions at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Argonne National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, and Bechtel, where he retired as vice president in 1989.  Levenson is a fellow and past president of the American Nuclear Society, a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and a recipient of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers' Robert E. Wilson Award in Nuclear Chemical Engineering.  He is the author of more than 150 publications and presentations and holds three U.S patents.  He is also a member of the National Academies' Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board and has served on several National Research Council committees.

• Dr. Arun Majumdar became the first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), the country's only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development, in October 2009.  Prior to joining ARPA-E, Majumdar was the Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.  His highly distinguished research career includes the science and engineering of energy conversion, transport, and storage ranging from molecular and nanoscale level to large energy systems.  In 2005, Majumdar was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for this pioneering work.  He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

• Dr. Richard A. Meserve is President of the Carnegie Institution for Science and Senior of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP.  He is a former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is a member of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.  With his Harvard law degree, received in 1975, and his Ph.D. in applied physics from Stanford, awarded in 1976, Meserve devoted his legal practice to technical issues arising at the intersection of science, law, and public policy.  Early in his career, Meserve served as legal counsel to the President’s science advisor and was a law clerk to Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court and to Judge Benjamin Kaplan of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.  Meserve received his undergraduate degree from Tufts University in 1966.

• Dr. Per Peterson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB).  He is a member of the President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future.  After joining UCB in 1990 as an Assistant Professor he received a NSF Presidential Young Investigator award, and most recently received the Fusion Power Associates Excellence in Fusion Engineering Award and the American Nuclear Society Thermal Hydraulics Division Technical Achievement Award.  Peterson’s research interests focus on topics in heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and phase change.

• Dr. Monica Regalbuto works in the Process Chemistry and Engineering Department at Argonne National Laboratory.  She previously served as a Senior Program Manager with the Office of Waste Processing with the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, supporting technical risk reduction and uncertainty in the Department’s clean-up programs. From 2003 to 2008, Regalbuto served as the head of the Process Chemistry and Engineering Department in Argonne’s Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division and managed a group of 30 researchers. Regalbuto has academic degrees in chemical engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey and graduate degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame.

U.S. EPA, Dept. of Energy Launch Innovative New Tools to Determine Solar, Wind Energy Potential on Contaminated Lands

For Immediate Release: April 25, 2012
Media Contact:  Mary Simms, simms.mary@epa.gov, (415) 947-4270

U.S. EPA, Dept. of Energy Launch Innovative New Tools to Determine Solar, Wind Energy Potential on Contaminated Lands
City of Richmond, Calif. is serving as a pilot community for development of the tools

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed and launched new tools designed to test underutilized sites and contaminated land for solar and wind energy potential. The tools give local communities and landowners ways to evaluate sites for renewable energy potential without the need for technical expertise.

 The alternative energy ‘decision trees,’ leverage NREL’s knowledge of renewable energy technologies and EPA’s experience in returning contaminated lands to productive use.

 The EPA estimates that nationwide there are approximately 490,000 sites and almost 15 million acres of potentially contaminated properties.

 “Opportunities to install renewable energy systems on vacant properties can be found in every community," said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Tapping sun and wind power at brownfield sites, rooftops, parking lots, and abandoned land could provide untapped gigawatts of clean energy.”

The City of Richmond, Calif. is serving as a pilot community for development of the tools.
“Developing more local renewables is among my top priorities,” said Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin. “We are extremely excited that the green, innovative City of Richmond, California is partnering with the EPA to help communities throughout the United States fully leverage technology to improve the environment, create local jobs and attract green companies.”

Positioning renewable energy on sites can increase economic value of the properties, provide a sustainable land reuse option, create local green jobs and provide clean energy for use on-site or for the utility grid. Using the decision trees, state and local governments, site owners and community members can help identify the most desirable sites for solar or wind installations from both a logistical and economic standpoint.
In addition to opportunities in cities, thousands of potentially contaminated acres in less populated areas across the country could be put to beneficial reuse with renewable energy.

The tools can be used to evaluate individual or multiple sites, such as brownfields, Superfund and other hazardous waste sites, abandoned parcels, landfills, parking lots, and commercial or industrial roofs, depending on the technology.

 The tools and a podcast by the Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response on the solar and wind decision trees are now available on EPA’s website at:
http://www.epa.gov/renewableenergyland

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News Release from DOE - Hanford Site Tours

Department of Energy Press Release

Contact: Rich Buel, DOE, Richard.Buel@rl.doe.gov, (509) 376-3375 March 1, 2012

Registration Date Set for 2012 Hanford Site Wide Tours

RICHLAND, Wash. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will open online registration on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, for its popular tours of the Hanford Site.

Online registration opens at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday morning, March 6, 2012. Visit the Public Tour link on www.hanford.gov or http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordSiteTours.

Rich Buel, DOE tour coordinator said, “We’re excited to offer a tour stop at the Plutonium Finishing Plant this year, and a return visit to the Waste Treatment Plant. When you add those two stops to a schedule that already features tours and briefings at the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, the Cold Test Facility, and the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility, it allows us to capture the unique history of our site and what the future holds for Hanford.”

News Release from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Gases drawn into smog particles stay there

February 22, 2012

• Mary Beckman, PNNL, (509) 375-3688

SPLAT helps pinpoint pollution particles to improve smog predictions

Download Original Image SPLAT II provides measurements of particles with unprecedented sensitivity and precision to scientists such as Alla Zelenyuk.

RICHLAND, Wash. – Airborne gases settle in smog particles from which they cannot escape, according to research published Feb. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The results could explain why pollution computer models underestimate organic aerosols — the major component of smog particles and the least understood component in climate change calculations.

The study, led by University of California, Irvine air chemist Barbara Finlayson-Pitts, combined alpha-pinene, a common ingredient in household cleaners such as Pine Sol and outdoor emissions, with oxides of nitrogen and ozone to mimic smog buildup. Atmospheric chemist Alla Zelenyuk at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory evaluated millions of the artificial smog particles one-by-one using a one-of-a-kind, 900-pound instrument known as SPLAT (a single particle laser ablation time-of-flight mass spectrometer).
SPLAT lives at EMSL, DOE's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory at PNNL. The researchers also employed a 26-foot-long "aerosol flow tube" at the AirUCI unit.
"Being able to study individual particles gives us so much detail about how pollution evolves," said Zelenyuk. "Incorporating what we found about these particles into computer models will help in modeling pollution and climate as well."
Read the entire release from the University of California, Irvine here.

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News release from DOE Office of Environmental Management:

Construction Begins on New Waste Processing Facility

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. – Construction has begun on a new facility that will help Los Alamos National Laboratory accelerate the shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste stored in large boxes at Technical Area 54, Area G.

The new facility will allow the Lab to repackage boxes as large as 25 feet long that contain TRU waste from as long ago as the 1970s. Mostly equipment stored in fiberglass reinforced boxes, the waste must be repackaged into containers that meet stringent requirements before it can be shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad for permanent disposal.

“This facility will help us accelerate shipment of TRU waste,” said Waste Program and Services Project Director Andy Baumer. “Since the majority of our TRU waste inventory that is in large boxes can be processed in this facility, it’s going to be our workhorse.”

The facility will feature a number of safeguards, including fire protection and high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filtering. Construction is scheduled for completion in March 2012.

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Workers construct a new facility that will help Los Alamos National Laboratory accelerate the shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad for permanent disposal.

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Before WIPP opened in 1999, waste generated from the Lab’s national security mission was packaged and stored at Area G. In order to close Technical Area 54, where Area G is located, the Lab must ship the stored waste to WIPP.

Cleanup of the Lab’s TRU waste was the focus of meetings held by EM, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) that recently resulted in the Los Alamos National Laboratory Framework Agreement: Realignment of Environmental Priorities.

Announced in January, the agreement came several months after the Las Conchas Fire, which forced closure of the Lab for several days and brought renewed attention to the need to remove Area G’s TRU waste containers. The agreement calls for the shipment of 3,706 cubic meters of TRU waste from the Lab to WIPP by June 30, 2014.

NMED and DOE agreed that cleanup schedules in the New Mexico Order on Consent, which has guided cleanup since 2005, needed another look in order to achieve desired cleanup at Area G. The agencies had a number of significant factors to consider: public concern over the risk the fire posed to the above-ground waste at Area G, existing Consent Order milestones and available funding. 

“This has been a great demonstration of NNSA, EM, and NMED working together to get to this point and the state of New Mexico will be the beneficiary” said Los Alamos Site Office Manager Kevin Smith.

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Construction has begun on a new facility that will help Los Alamos National Laboratory accelerate the shipment of transuranic (TRU) waste stored in large boxes at Technical Area 54, Area G.

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TRU waste consists of clothing, tools, rags, debris, soil and other items contaminated with radioactive elements, such as plutonium. Each of these man-made elements has an atomic number greater than uranium, so they are labeled transuranic, for “beyond uranium” on the periodic table of elements.

The Lab’s TRU Waste Program has shipped record numbers of waste to WIPP the past three years. During the past year, 171 shipments — more than 2,500 containers — of TRU waste were shipped safely to WIPP.

Savannah River Site's H Canyon

From the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Office of Environmental Management:

Savannah River Site’s H Canyon Begins 2012 with New and Continuing Missions

Transuranic waste remediation, new mission work are the focus of the nation’s only active nuclear chemical separations facility in 2012

AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site (SRS) is breathing new life into the H Canyon, the only active nuclear chemical separations facility still operating in the U.S.

“After a history of primarily dissolving and separating materials found in irradiated reactor fuel rods, H Canyon continues to diversify its scope of work,” said DOE Savannah River Operations Office Manager David Moody. “H Canyon is a huge and dynamic production facility that continues to service the nation’s nuclear needs and does it safely.  It is one of the key facilities in the site’s Enterprise SRS strategic vision.”

Enterprise SRS is an initiative launched last year to transform past environmental liabilities into revitalized assets for future use, including national security, clean energy development, and environmental management.

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H Canyon, above, and HB-Line are scheduled to soon begin dissolving and purifying plutonium currently stored at the Savannah River Site to demonstrate the capability to produce oxide material that meets the Mixed Oxide Facility (MOX) feedstock specifications. The production process at MOX, which is now under construction, will eventually create fuel pellets for U.S. commercial reactor fuel assemblies.

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New Mission for H Canyon

Excess plutonium in the U.S. has been consolidated at SRS and is currently stored within a highly secure structure at the site. This plutonium will eventually be processed at the site’s Mixed Oxide Facility (MOX), which is currently under construction. The MOX production process will remove impurities from the stored plutonium and mix it with uranium oxide to form MOX fuel pellets for reactor fuel assemblies. When operational, this facility will be capable of turning 3.5 metric tons of plutonium into reactor fuel assemblies annually. Studies are underway to determine the optimum means to supply the feedstock to the MOX.

According to Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) H Canyon Facility Manager Mike Lewczyk, H Canyon and HB-Line, which is a sister facility also located in H Area, are scheduled to soon begin dissolving and purifying a quantity of the stored plutonium to demonstrate the capability of producing oxide material that meets MOX feedstock specifications. This new mission for H Canyon, once under way, will produce approximately one metric ton of acceptable plutonium oxide annually after an initial two-year period during which production levels increase. The scope of this mission is expected to be completed in five years and will provide the initial feedstock for MOX. SRNS is the management and operations contractor at SRS.

Increasing H Canyon’s Ability to Process Transuranic Waste

H Canyon is also scheduled to implement a revision to its Documented Safety Analysis to allow the handling and remediation of transuranic (TRU) waste with higher plutonium content than currently permitted in the H Canyon TRU Waste Program. “This revision will significantly increase the number of waste containers we can process in H Canyon, allowing the Savannah River Site to complete this task sooner than originally expected,” said Lewczyk.

The H Canyon TRU work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2012. 

Ensuring Unused Process Lines are Viable for Future Use

Throughout 2012, H Canyon personnel will conduct tests to ensure the major operating systems within production lines formerly used to dissolve and separate nuclear materials run efficiently. These efforts will maintain employee proficiency and keep equipment viable for future missions in the event the production lines are again used to process used fuel or other nuclear materials.

H Canyon History

H Canyon was constructed in the early 1950s and began operations in 1955. The interior of the building resembles a canyon; the processing areas are similar to a gorge in a deep valley between steep, vertical cliffs. It is 1,028 feet long, 122 feet wide and 71 feet tall, with several levels to accommodate the various stages of material stabilization, including control rooms to monitor equipment and operating processes and unique overhead bridge cranes.

Those cranes are used to conduct work remotely to minimize radiation exposure. The thick concrete walls that separate workers from the processing areas provide added protection.

In past operations, H Canyon was used to recover uranium-235 (U-235) and neptunium-237 (Np-237) from aluminum-clad, enriched-uranium fuel tubes of the site nuclear reactors and other domestic and foreign research reactors through a chemical separations process. SRS also recovered Np-237 and plutonium-238 (Pu-238) from special irradiated targets at the facility. Pu-238 was produced by irradiating recovered Np-237 from SRS nuclear reactors that are no longer operational. Pu-238 was then recovered and used in 30 of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s deep space exploration programs, such as the Cassini spacecraft.

Savannah River Site 2012 Outlook

From the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management:

Savannah River Site 2012 Outlook: Transuranic Waste Program Set to Safely Reach Milestone

New initiatives, bigger shipping containers and highly trained, innovative workers combine in milestone year

AIKEN, S.C. – In 2012, the Savannah River Site (SRS) is scheduled to achieve a milestone by completing processing of 5,000 cubic meters of legacy transuranic (TRU) waste for shipment to a safe, permanent disposal facility.

A large portion of that waste — a byproduct of nuclear defense program research and weapons production — has already been shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The site will continue shipments until the remaining inventory is removed. Following the scheduled completion of processing the 5,000 cubic meters of TRU waste later this year, only 200 additional cubic meters of TRU waste will remain at SRS for treatment.

“By the end of 2012, we will have remediated, repackaged and certified for shipment all but 200 cubic meters of transuranic waste at SRS, meeting a vitally important milestone for our site-wide cleanup program,” said David Moody, DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office Manager. “This means that over 95 percent of our legacy TRU waste will soon be gone from South Carolina for long-term storage at the DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico, leaving a very small amount that will require some special treatment.”

TRU Waste Processing Enters New Phase

According to John Gilmour, Solid Waste Director at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the SRS management and operations contractor, success in the TRU program has resulted from several factors. New, larger TRUPACT-III shipping containers eliminate much of the need to manually reduce in size numerous, large pieces of TRU waste, saving time and minimizing employee exposure to radioactive materials, primarily plutonium-238. Plutonium-238 was once used as a heat source to generate power for deep space missions.

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By May, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions expects to be shipping transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant almost continuously, using six TRUPACT-III shipping containers like the one shown here.

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"By May, we’ll have six TRUPACT-III shipping containers available and the shipping process to WIPP will be almost continuous,” said Gilmour. “Our highly trained and talented workforce has learned to quickly recognize and productively respond to variables found when working with legacy radioactive waste materials.”

Each TRUPACT-III container can hold up to 6.6 cubic meters of TRU waste.

New Mission Takes Shape

A new SRS mission involves use of a previously unused portion of H Canyon to process and repackage plutonium (Pu) oxide.

Most of the Pu oxide in the U.S. has been consolidated at SRS and will eventually go to U.S. commercial power reactors in the form of new fuel rods. However, the relatively small percentage of Pu oxide at SRS without the properties needed for use as commercial reactor fuel will be packaged in rigorously tested containers for shipment to WIPP by SRNS Solid Waste personnel in 2012.  

“Over 100 of these specially designed metal containers, known as Pipe Overpack Containers, or POCs, have already been loaded with Pu oxide,” said Gilmour. “H Canyon has enough Pu oxide to safely fill approximately 600 of these new containers during the current campaign and potentially thousands in the future.”

According to Gilmour, once the project moves to full-production mode next year, he expects to see two to three shipments of unusable Pu oxide leave the site each week, bound for WIPP. Each truckload of waste will contain 35 POCs.

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Workers relocate a pipe overpack container used to transport small amounts of excess plutonium oxide destined for long-term storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico.

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2012 Holds Great Potential for Waste Remediation at SRS

In the past, SRS had a large amount of radioactive material stored in a variety of containers. “This waste would have been here a long time if it hadn’t been for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding,” said Gilmour. “It’s going to be a very busy year for SRNS as we safely prepare and send out shipment after shipment of TRU waste and excess plutonium to New Mexico.”

H Canyon is the only active nuclear chemical separations facility still operating in the U.S.

From the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management, EM Update, Vol. 4, Issue 1, January 2012

Oak Ridge Lays Out Big Plans for 2012

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Last year, Oak Ridge’s Environmental Management (EM) program logged one of its most successful years due to sound project management and achievements in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act work.

Oak Ridge plans to maintain that momentum in 2012, and the year is off to a great start. EM employees are making considerable progress on Oak Ridge’s largest projects, specifically the K-25 Demolition Project and Uranium-233 Disposition Project. 

“Our employees laid an excellent foundation last year through the Recovery Act and cooperation with our newly selected prime contractor, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge,” said Sue Cange, acting assistant manager for EM in Oak Ridge. “Those efforts have set the stage for an ambitious year, allowing us to make substantial gains in our work to meet requirements with regulators, protection of the environment, and furthering DOE’s other missions onsite.”

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Employees at Oak Ridge are accelerating work at K-25’s East Wing. Sixty percent of the remaining structure is expected to be down by the end of the September. 

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Currently, Oak Ridge’s EM program has a list of 40 active projects with a wide range of scopes and complexity. At the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), employees are removing K-25’s East Wing more rapidly than anticipated, with 26 percent of the 796,000-square-foot structure down and 60 percent planned for demolition by the end of September. Built as part of World War II’s Manhattan Project, K-25 housed the world’s first gaseous diffusion plant for enriching uranium.

EM is making progress finalizing the K-25 site’s historic preservation plans, which have been under negotiation since 2006. A final agreement is expected this spring.

Also at ETTP, pre-demolition work is scheduled to begin shortly in Building K-27. The eventual removal of this highly contaminated, 383,000-square-foot former gaseous diffusion facility will substantially eliminate risks and free millions of dollars in security and maintenance costs for cleanup elsewhere.

At the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), employees removed the 4,000-gallon Tank W-1A this month. The tank, located in ORNL’s central campus, was the greatest source of groundwater contamination at the site. From 1951 until 1986, the tank collected and stored liquid waste from radiochemical separations and high-radiation facilities at ORNL, until significant levels of soil and groundwater contamination were traced to the vessel. Currently, employees are removing the surrounding contaminated soils. The project is expected to be complete this summer in accordance with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) milestone.

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Tank W-1A, a 4,000-gallon contaminated tank buried in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus, was removed from the site in January.

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Also at ORNL, Oak Ridge’s EM program is advancing the Uranium-233 Disposition Project. In late December, the first shipment of inventory from Building 3019 was sent offsite, marking the beginning of the end for the world’s oldest operating nuclear facility. The first phase of shipments is expected to be complete during the next six to nine months.

 At the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12), workers continue performing the second round of Recovery Act projects made possible through savings from previous Recovery Act projects. This second round of projects is directed toward mercury mitigation. For example, EM workers are developing an absorption unit to capture and treat mercury-tainted water from a location that is one of the main contributing factors of mercury entering the Upper East Fork Poplar Creek.  

EM is making headway on its National Priorities List (NPL) Site Boundary Delineation Project, which is in the final stages of characterizing 16,000 acres within the Oak Ridge Reservation. When complete, the uncontaminated areas will be removed from the existing NPL. The list, maintained by the EPA, contains sites with known or threatened releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

Once areas are removed from the list, they can be approved for a greater range of new development and reuse activities. Most water and soil samples have been analyzed and validated, with the final two samples scheduled for completion this month. The overall project remains on schedule to meet a Sept. 30 milestone with TDEC and the EPA.