Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board Sets Area G
Hearing In Santa Fe March 22
LA Daily Post
March 7, 2016
The Defense Nuclear Facility Safety Board announced
that it will hold a public hearing March 22 in Santa Fe.
The board will hear from its own staff and from LANL, DOE and NNSA officials on new and residual management and safety issues concerning Area G, Los Alamos National Laboratory’s hazardous waste disposal area.
In a prepared statement Thursday, DNFSB Chairman Joyce Connery said, “With the upcoming wildfire season, the Board is interested in understanding potential hazards to the workforce and
public posed by management of transuranic waste at Area G. The Board is looking forward to hearing from DOE, NNSA and the laboratory leadership about steps taken and planned to ensure safe management of transuranic waste at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.”
DNFSB officials have been monitoring Area G activities closely throughout this year as corrective actions proceed related to the underground radiation incident two years ago at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near
Carlsbad.
DNFSB site representatives have been particularly attentive in their weekly reports about activities related to the inappropriately remediated nitrate salt-bearing wastes that remain under surveillance in climate-controlled conditions at Area G. The chairman also has expressed concerns about emergency preparedness at Area G.
Public participation is invited.
The hearing is 5-9 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 at the Santa
Fe Community Convention Center, 201 West Marcy St. in Santa Fe. Parking will be available at no cost.
Frank Munger: Management in flux at DOE’s Oak Ridge Office
Knox News
March 7, 2016
The leadership team at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge
Office is in a bit of flux, with at least three of the key management positions - including the top two - yet to be filled on a permanent basis.
The situation was created by losses of key personnel, including the death of Oak Ridge Office Manager Larry Kelly a year ago and the departure of his deputy and successor, Kevin Hall, several months later.
Don Thress, the Oak Ridge Office's chief legal
counsel, is currently the acting manager.
According to John Shewairy, the assistant manager for administration and former public affairs chief who is acting as the deputy manager at ORO, Thress will continue to serve as acting manager until the job is filled through the Department of Energy's competitive process.
"The selection of the permanent ORO manager rests with the Office of the Deputy
Director of Field Operations for the Office of Science," Shewairy said via email.
"The selection process is ongoing."
The Department of Energy has reorganized its Oak Ridge operations in recent years, creating separate offices for the agency's different functions - Science, Environmental Management and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
That has made it more confusing, even by DOE standards.
The Oak Ridge Office has become a hybrid of sorts. Besides being responsible for the agency's 33,000-acre Oak Ridge reservation (outside of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Y-12 National Security Complex and the East Tennessee Technology Park), the office also manages the Integrated Services Center, which supports DOE labs around the country. The DOE manager also communicates and coordinates activities
with other Oak Ridge offices.
As for the deputy position, Shewairy said the permanent ORO manager, once appointed, will make that selection.
Meanwhile, Shewairy said the position of assistant manager for safety and technical services is vacant.
But the process of filling that role is underway, he said, and DOE plans to close the advertising of
the position on Feb. 22.
No other "key management positions" are vacant at this time, the DOE official said.
It's not clear if Thress will return to his position of chief counsel once DOE names the manager of the Oak Ridge Office. Wendy Bryan currently is serving in the top legal position.
Other leadership positions filled at the Oak Ridge
Office include: Chief financial officer, Marcie Bischak; assistant manager for procurement and contracts, Jeff Burgan; and assistant manager for safeguards, security and emergency management, Pauline Douglas.
At the Helm: Morgan Smith became president and chief executive officer of Consolidated Nuclear Security, effective Feb. 1.
CNS is the government's managing contractor at the Y-12 National
Security Complex in Oak Ridge and its sister plant, Pantex, which is located near Amarillo, Texas.
In his message to employees, Smith said he believes his primary job is to support employees as much as possible "within the constraints of the business in which we work."
To do that, he said, he needs to understand the details of the work and the people.
"I've found that what works best for me is to interact with as many people as possible," Smith said, asking employees for their patience and assistance.
"My decision-making is based on two key tenets: do what is right for the country, and do what is right for employees. In my experience, if we do these two things well, we'll be successful in our work and find fulfillment in our jobs."
DOE spending $28M to cut risks at Y-12, ORNL
Knox News
March 7, 2016
OAK RIDGE - The U.S. Department of Energy is spending $28 million this year to reduce the risks at several old facilities at Y-12 and Oak Ridge National Laboratory until enough money is available to tear them down and complete the cleanup.
The special fund was part of a congressionally approved "plus-up" in funding for the cleanup effort in Fiscal Year 2016.
DOE is attacking one of its biggest concerns in Oak Ridge: excess facilities that are rapidly deteriorating but not yet scheduled to demolition. In some instances, it could be decades before enough the federal agency has enough money to get rid of the crumbling and contaminated sites once and for all.
Most of the work is designed to prevent the spread of radioactive materials, but one project at Y-12 -
repairing the roof and other tasks at the Alpha-4 building - will help address the plant's legacy of mercury pollution.
"The roof is deteriorating, and we have some water intrusion," Sue Cange, DOE's cleanup manager in Oak Ridge, said in a telephone interview. Water can affect the overall stability of the building, and that's an issue, she said.
Alpha-4 was one of the original Y-12 facilities
built during World War II for enriching uranium, but it was converted in the 1950s for lithium production to support development of hydrogen bombs.
Vast tons of mercury were used in the COLEX processes for lithium separation. The upcoming project will evaluate the condition of some of the COLEX equipment located outside the Alpha-4 building and - if there is sufficient funding DOE may remove the exterior equipment and dispose of it, Cange
said.
"I will say we're concerned with the structural integrity of the equipment," she said.
Although there is COLEX equipment inside and outside of Alpha-5, only the outdoor equipment is part of the upcoming project.
Cange said DOE's cleanup contractor, URS-CH2M Oak Ridge, is handling most of work on excess facilities. On the Alpha-4 roof
repairs, however, the agency will share a subcontractor that Y-12 has already hired for roof work at two other buildings.
Other near-term activities at Y-12 include evaluations of the old "Mouse House" and seven other buildings that were once part of the biology research complex. The studies are to make plans for demolition in the future.
If there's enough money available, DOE would like to tear
down some of the smaller buildings in the complex, Cange said.
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DOE wants to stabilize the situation at multiple old nuclear facilities - including the Homogeneous Reactor Experiment, which has been shut down since the 1950s.
"There's quite a bit of water in the basement of that building, and the building is leaking," Cange said. "Interestingly enough, the
primary contamination is asbestos, and some radiological constituents."
The DOE plan also include some work at ORNL's old "hot cells," where highly radioactive materials were formerly processed.
One of those facilities is Building 3026, where some of the hot cells were removed a few years ago with Recovery Act funding. That work, however, was halted when the stimulus money ran out.
As part of work planned later this year, an underground tunnel once used to transport materials at the site will be filled with grout to prevent the further spread of radioactive contamination.
DOE Issues Request for Information for Richland Operations Office Richland Acquisitions – Post Fiscal Year 2018 Contract Acquisition Planning- Occupational Medical Services
(OccMed)
DOE-EM
March 7, 2016
Cincinnati -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center today issued a Sources Sought/Request for Information (RFI) seeking interested parties with specialized capabilities necessary to successfully perform all or a portion of the elements of scope for the upcoming competitive Environmental Management (EM) procurement for the Hanford Site occupational medical services, hereafter referred to as
“Richland Acquisitions – Post Fiscal Year 2018 OccMed Contract” and to further determine whether or not all or a portion of the work can be set-aside for small and disadvantaged businesses. The type of contract and period of performance is yet to be determined. DOE is seeking feedback from interested parties regarding options for efficient and effective performance of scope elements.
DOE starts search for next Hanford medical provider
Tri-City Herald
March 8, 2016
The Department of Energy is asking for information from companies interested in providing occupational health services at Hanford, an initial step toward awarding a new contract.
HPM Corp. of Kennewick holds the current contract, which expires in September 2018. It operates clinics in Richland and in central Hanford.
The new contract is expected to cover about $15 million of work annually. Health and safety services would be provided to more than 8,000 Hanford and DOE employees.
Services could include medical monitoring, worker qualification exams, first aid, following ongoing site-related health issues, employee counseling and health promotion, vaccine services, travel medicine and hearing protection.
DOE has not set the type of contract or contracts, their length or other requirements, saying its request for information is for market research. However, when HPM Corp. was awarded its current contract, only businesses that met federal small business requirements were allowed to bid.
Businesses have until 9 a.m. March 31 to submit statements on their capabilities and any ideas about the efficient
performance of the work. DOE said it planned to post information at 1.usa.gov/24N0afn. Send questions to Richlandpost2018@emcbc.doe.gov.
Bechtel and BWXT have announced an acceleration of Generation mPower
Atomic Insights
March 5, 2016
On March 4, 2016, in a
press release issued from Reston, VA, Bechtel and BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced
that they would be accelerating their Generation mPower small modular reactor project. Bechtel will take over the project lead and focus on aspects of the development that take advantage of its “historic strengths in engineering, licensing, procurement, construction, and project management.”
BWXT will focus on completing the design of its
195 MWe BWXT mPowerTMreactor. Design completion tasks include the testing program that will be required to validate and verify the engineering assumptions and computer codes used to support the design certification application (DCA).
Both companies will play a major role in completing the DCA. The press release did not include a projected date when
the application will be ready for submission.
This project acceleration decision follows a period lasting almost two years in which the Generation mPower team head count fell from about 600 people to substantially below 200. That reduction in force and slowdown in development occurred after the B&W board of directors
determined they would reduce spending on the project from ~ $100 million/year to a maximum of $15 million per year.
Before the slowdown, substantial progress had been made in developing the DCA; the submission had been planned to occur by the first quarter of 2015. There was about a year’s worth of work remaining.
In the summer of
2015, the Babcock and Wilcox Company split into two separate companies. The units that focused on combustion-related products like boilers and pollution control systems now form the company that retained the B&W name. The units focused on nuclear energy products, including the large segment that supplies and services the Navy nuclear power program are now part of BWXT. The BWXT mPower reactor project is one of those business units.
Based on the existence of the new
agreement, it’s apparent that Bechtel and BWXT have
continued discussions about the best way to move forward with the promising technology.
Between B&W, Bechtel and the Department of Energy there has already been nearly half a billion dollars invested in the mPower reactor and associated power conversion system.
The timing of the announcement will come as a surprise to the people who have remained on the project under its slowed spending rate.
Several have been working diligently to find users for the multi-million dollar
Integrated System Test (IST) facility that was put into a preservation mode when the operating crew was laid off.
Below is a full copy of the press release issued yesterday
afternoon.
Aside: The press release lede exaggerates to the point of inaccuracy by labeling the interrupted mPower reactor as “the world’s first commercially viable Generation III++ small modular nuclear reactor.”
RESTON, Va., March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Global engineering and construction leader Bechtel and nuclear technology leader BWX Technologies, Inc. have announced
a new agreement to pursue accelerated development of the world’s first commercially viable Generation III++ small modular nuclear reactor.
Bechtel will lead the program and leverage the company’s historic strengths in engineering, licensing, procurement, construction, and project management. BWXT will focus on designing and testing the nuclear steam supply system. Both companies will collaborate to prepare a design certification application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission.
Known as Generation mPower, the project is centered on the BWXT mPowerTM reactor—a 195-megawatt-electric power plant that will be a safe, cost-competitive, and innovative solution to provide low-carbon electricity—addressing the growing challenges of climate change and sustainable development.
“This technology holds great promise and we are firmly committed to doing everything we can to bring it to market,” said Ty Troutman, general
manager of Bechtel’s nuclear power business unit. “It’s one of the keys to solving the problem of replacing older power plants without relying on fossil fuels or the intermittent availability of solar and wind. Pound for pound, small modular reactors can deliver more 24/7 electricity than any other low-carbon alternative energy technology.”
Generation mPower delivers greater certainty in nuclear power costs and schedule, which is needed to enable broader, more timely
development of nuclear power. Its key features include:
- Compact size
- Factory built, rail shippable reactor
- Passive safety systems incorporating post-Fukushima design criteria
- Underground containment structure
- Standard fuel assemblies made from less-than-five-percent-enriched uranium
- Fit for purpose: designed for cost-effective deployment
“Bechtel is unique in that we have, and will continue to take, the long view on nuclear power,” Troutman said. “We are an enduring presence in the industry.”
Privately held, Bechtel has been a leader in nuclear engineering and construction for more than 60 years. The company has designed or serviced 80% of nuclear plants in the U.S. and 150 worldwide. In 2015, Bechtel completed construction on Watts Bar Unit 2 for the Tennessee
Valley Authority in the U.S.—the first reactor this century to receive a new authorization to operate.
Generation mPower was founded in 2010 to develop a plant using the BWXT-designed reactor. Engineering and development continued through 2014 with the assistance of a Cooperative Agreement for funding made available through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Small Modular Reactor Licensing Technical Support Program.
Learn
more:
About Bechtel:
Bechtel is one of the most respected global engineering, construction, and project management companies. Together with our customers, we deliver landmark projects that create long-term progress and economic growth. Since 1898, we’ve completed more than 25,000 extraordinary projects across 160 countries on all
7 continents. We operate through four global businesses: Infrastructure; Nuclear, Security & Environmental; Oil, Gas & Chemicals; and Mining & Metals. Our company and our culture are built on more than a century of leadership and a relentless adherence to our values, the core of which are safety, quality, ethics, and integrity. These values are what we believe, what we expect, what we deliver, and what we live.
www.Bechtel.comAbout BWX Technologies, Inc.
BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) is a leading supplier of nuclear components and fuel to the U.S. government; provides technical, management and site services to support governments in the operation of complex facilities and environmental remediation activities; and supplies precision manufactured components and services for the commercial nuclear
power industry. BWXT has more than 5,400 employees and significant operations in Lynchburg, Va.;
Erwin, Tenn.; Mount Vernon, Ind.; Euclid, Ohio; Barberton, Ohio; and Cambridge, Ontario, as well as more than a dozen U.S. Department of Energy sites around the country. Follow us on Twitter @BWXTech and learn more at
www.bwxt.com.
Media
contact:
Fred de Sousa
t. 703 429 6435
tfdesous@bechtel.com
For BWX Technologies:
Jud Simmons
t. 434 522 6462
hjsimmons@bwxt.com
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SOURCE Bechtel
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