WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Energy Department announced it has reached a major milestone in the Department’s efforts to clean up the Cold War legacy at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina, laying the groundwork for closing two underground storage tanks that previously held radioactive liquid waste from nuclear weapons production at SRS. The determination signed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu paves the way for SRS to begin closing the massive tanks that make up the F Tank Farm. The site will start this year by closing two tanks that pose the greatest risk to the environment - Tanks 18 and 19. These tank closures will be the first DOE tanks closed nationwide since 2007, the first closed at SRS in 15 years, and some of the largest underground storage tanks closed by the Department to date. Under Secretary for Nuclear Security at the Department of Energy Thomas D’Agostino made the announcement on a press conference call today with Karen Patterson, Chair of the South Carolina Governor’s Nuclear Advisory Council. “Today, we are able to announce a major milestone as we continue to clean up the legacy of the Cold War at the Savannah River Site and work to meet our responsibility to the citizens of South Carolina,” said Secretary Chu. “The Department of Energy, federal and state regulators, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the local community all played a key role in arriving at this important decision. As a result of these efforts and significant collaboration over many years, we are now able to move forward to safely, effectively and efficiently clean up and close these massive tanks.” “South Carolina has looked forward to this day for a long time. We appreciate the dedication of everyone involved with the project, and the positive working relationships among all the entities – without genuine dedication and a positive approach, success would have been much more difficult. We also greatly appreciate that South Carolina and local stakeholders were included in all aspects of the process. The result is a good decision that we hope means many more successful tank closures in the near future,” said Chairwoman Patterson. About 70 SRS, contractor, and construction employees are working on the final closing of Tanks 18 and 19, which is expected to take about five months. The work will include up to six cement trucks an hour, working eight hours a day, five days a week, pouring more than 3 million gallons of grout to fill the waste tanks. Each tank originally held about 1.3 million gallons of radioactive hazardous waste, or enough to fill nearly two Olympic-sized swimming pools. Workers have removed more than 99 percent of the liquid waste in the tanks. Tanks 18 and 19 will now be grouted, or filled with a cement-like material, to ensure the remaining residual waste film is immobilized and poses little to no future risk to the environment or the public. SRS was constructed in the early 1950s to produce basic materials used in the fabrication of nuclear weapons in support of our nation's defense programs. Tanks 18 and 19, two of the many nuclear facilities constructed at the site to support the United States Cold War effort, were built in the late 1950s to store radioactive liquid waste generated through the site’s nuclear weapons material processing. The determination announced today allows SRS to complete cleanup and closure of Tanks 18 and 19 by the end of this year and the remaining 18 tanks in the F Tank Farm over the next several years as they are emptied and cleaned. Prior to the decision, the Department and SRS conducted extensive technical environmental analysis, public review and comment, and consultation with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The state of South Carolina and the Environmental Protection Agency were also included in and supportive of the decision to close the tanks. The SRS FTF 3116 Waste Determination, its Basis, and the Supplement Analysis can be viewedHERE.
Hanford workers still fear reprisal for safety complaints: DOE official
Workers at the site of the biggest nuclear-waste cleanup in the US still cannot report safety risks to their managers without fear of reprisal, despite recent attempts by the Energy Department to give them that assurance, the head of DOE's health and safety office said last week. Glenn Podonski told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development that Energy Secretary Steven Chu and his senior management have taken a number of steps to address the problem at the Hanford Site in Washington State. "But the proof is in the pudding," Podonsky said. "The workers have to believe that they can raise issues without concern of reprisal, without fear of retaliation, and that is a tall order for this department." Concerns over the safety culture at Hanford became clearer than ever to top DOE management last year, when the independent Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board released a scathing report regarding the site's $12.3 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant. The report said DOE and its contractors for the project lacked an effective process for workers to raise safety issues.
The board's report followed an 11-month investigation of allegations by Walter Tamosaitis, a whistleblower and Bechtel National engineer, who said in 2010 that he was reassigned in retaliation for pointing out safety hazards.
Tamosaitis' reassignment had a chilling effect on discussions over safety at Hanford, DNFSB said. The incident also prompted the Labor Department, which investigates whistleblower-retaliation complaints, to look into Tamosaitis' situation. The department has not announced any findings yet.
Since the DNFSB report came out, DOE's Office of Health, Safety and Security, which Podonsky heads, has completed two reviews on the matter, and contractor Bechtel National produced its own report. Chu and Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman have also been personally involved in attempts to make safety policy at Hanford and across the DOE complex more comprehensive and effective, Podonsky said.
"That hands-on, personal involvement of the department leadership makes all the difference in the world," Podonsky said. "The most important thing that can happen is the leaders ... like the secretary, like the deputy secretary, need to continuously talk about the importance of safety and prove it through their actions."
But to be effective, those policy changes require implementation at the ground level, he said.
"At the end of the day, whether it is a project of nuclear construction or nuclear operation, it doesn't matter," he said. "What is important is whether the values are expressed by actions and deeds by managers, both [federal] and contractor. And that is what has to change."
The Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, which is under construction, is the most expensive and troubled project under the aegis of DOE's Office of Environmental Management, which is in charge of cleaning up Cold War nuclear weapons sites around the country.
A Government Accountability Office report in November found that the project could end up costing nearly $1 billion more than DOE's current $12.3 billion estimate, partly because of problems raised in whistleblower complaints.
Bechtel National is the lead contractor on the WTP, which is designed to transform about 53 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste into glass-like logs for disposal. The project, which is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, is overseen locally by DOE's Office of River Protection and the WTP Project Office.
Podonsky praised David Huizenga, who has managed DOE's environmental-management office since July, and who has taken frequent trips to Hanford to address safety issues.
Huizenga, who also testified before the House committee, said the agency is taking the issue seriously, despite persistent concerns.
"We are making it very clear, we are providing guidance to the Office of River Protection at Hanford and the contractor that no one will interfere with the HSS reviews," Huizenga said.
Aside from the personal attention of DOE leadership, the agency is also developing a longer-term plan to institutionalize a stronger safety culture at Hanford. That includes changing contracts to emphasize safety and increasing training for DOE officials and contractors at all levels.
Derek Sands
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