CRESP Update #5: August 30, 2012

DOE-EM

Badger Engineer Works to Create New Environmental Legacy- Mark Gilbertson

University of Wisconsin School of Engineering  Posted on August 24, 2012 by Jim Beal

Mark Gilbertson (BS, CBE ’81) did not set out to play a key role in cleaning up some of the world’s largest environmental disasters, but if you ask him how it all began, he’ll tell you it started with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The UW engineering curriculum prepares you well for tackling tough challenges that face the country,” he says. “One thing that made me successful was reaching across various programs at UW. I took courses in civil, biology, toxicology and limnology. The ability to work with others in other disciplines has served me well over the years.” Link

Revitalized Board Lays Out New Path amid EM’s Recent Underground Tank Waste Successes IDAHO FALLS, Idaho

EM News Flash august 20 2012

A board charged with advancing the cleanup of underground waste storage tanks met this month to establish new working groups and draw lessons from recent successes at the Savannah River and Idaho sites. It was the first time the EM Tank Waste Corporate Board met since EM reorganized under a matrix structure earlier this year to better align the program and achieve mission success. Originally formed in the early 1990s, the board revised its charter this year to align with the new organization, which is centered around Mission Units with a program perspective. One of those units develops strategies to plan and optimize tank waste processing. The board will help EM move forward with processing highly radioactive liquid waste, which is among EM’s greatest challenges requiring innovative technical solutions and scientific approaches. EM set the stabilization, treatment and disposal of tank waste as one of its core priorities. More than 240 tanks containing 90 million gallons of waste are located in the EM complex at the Hanford, Idaho, West Valley and Savannah River sites (SRS). Link

Hanford

Bechtel Response to DOE Engineering Memo
In the interest of transparency, the Bechtel response to the DOE Engineering Memo is provided.Link

 Bechtel responds to DOE internal memo regarding safety of waste treatment plant design

RESTON, VA, August 29, 2012—  Bechtel today responded to a memo that questions the company’s ability to safely design the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), also known as the Vit Plant. The facility will treat 56 million gallons of radioactive waste currently stored in underground tanks in Washington state. “Everyone who works on this project knows that at the end of the day, this plant has to work safely and effectively because we are dealing with radioactive waste.  We will get it right because people’s lives and the environment depend on it.  That’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly, nor do the 3,000 people who work on this project,” said Frank Russo, Bechtel’s project director at WTP. Russo went on to stress that the company has carefully reviewed the comments in the memo and found that the issues date as far back as 10 years and have long since been resolved in concert with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).   He added, “There is no question that the Vit Plant project represents a major design and engineering challenge, and I am the first to acknowledge there is still a handful of questions that must be answered before the entire plant can be completed.” Bechtel National, Inc. (BNI) is designing and building WTP for DOE. The project is more than 60-percent complete, and the site recently announced its achievement of 12 million safe work hours without a lost work-day injury. “I am confident Bechtel has the depth of talent and the expertise necessary to deliver a completed Vit Plant that will address the very real and present threat posed by the waste in the Hanford tanks.  We respect and welcome the opinions of others and will continue to rely on prudent science to move forward with this increasingly important mission,” Russo added. A leader in environmental cleanup and restoration of former nuclear weapon production sites. BNI’s experience includes the cleanup, remediation, and closure of high-level nuclear waste facilities in Washington state, New Mexico, and South Carolina.  Link

IG audit finds challenges in getting waste to vit plantPublished: August 29, 2012 By Annette Cary, Tri-City HeraldChallenges remain for completing a system to deliver and feed radioactive waste to the Hanford vitrification plant, according to an audit released Tuesday by the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General. But overall, DOE has made progress in completing the system that will allow the vitrification plant now under construction to eventually begin operating, the audit concluded. "We found the department completed a number of waste feed delivery sub-projects earlier than planned and was on track to complete other critical path activities," the audit concluded. The $12.2 billion vitrification plant is planned to turn up to 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste now held in underground tanks into a stable glass form for disposal. The waste is left from the past production of plutonium for the nation's weapons program. The waste will be staged at double shell tanks nearest the vitrification plant that will serve as feeder tanks. There, the waste will be mixed to make sure that it can be delivered in consistent batches and then piped to the vitrification plant's Pretreatment Facility. The waste will be sampled in the transfer lines. However, the criteria the waste must meet to be treated in the plant have yet to be set, and uncertainties with tank waste mixing and sampling also could affect the delivery of the waste to the vitrification plant, the audit said. Link

Comments still being taken on Hanford permitPublished: August 30, 2012 By the Tri-City HeraldRICHLAND, Wash. -- The comment period has been extended for the Washington State Department of Ecology's draft sitewide Hanford permit for dangerous waste. The last day to comment has been moved from Sept. 30 to Oct. 22 to allow more time to comment after the final public meeting on the issue. Two public hearings have been held in Richland and public hearings are planned Sept. 13 in Portland and Sept. 19 in Seattle. Comments may be emailed to hanford@ecy.wa.gov or mailed to Andrea Prignano, Department of Ecology, 3100 Port of Benton Blvd., Richland, WA, 99354. Information is posted at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/nwp  under the permitting section. In response to DOE memo, Bechtel confident of safe operation at vit plant

In response to DOE memo, Bechtel confident of safe operation at vit plant

Published: August 29, 2012 Updated 1 hour ago By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

No matter how hard engineers and scientists work on the Hanford vitrification plant, it will never be perfect, said Frank Russo, Bechtel National project director. But he is confident that the plant will operate safely and efficiently while protecting the public, the environment and the employees who operate the plant, he said. His comments were in response to an internal Department of Energy memo made public Monday, in which DOE's engineering division director for the project criticized Bechtel's performance. The memo called for Bechtel to immediately be removed as the design authority responsible for establishing the design requirements. Bechtel also is designing and building the $12.2 billion plant to turn up to 56 million gallons of radioactive waste left from weapons plutonium production into a stable glass form for disposal. Link

 

FSummary of Actions and Design Outcomes that Erode Confidence in the ability of Bechtel National Inc. to complete their assigned role as Design Authority for the WTP

Memo TO: Scott L. Samuelson, Manager, Office of River Protection/Acting Federal Project Director for the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Delmar L. Noyes, Deputy Federal Project Director, Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant  Link

 Federal memo criticizes nuclear cleanup contractor

By SHANNON DININNY The News Tribune Published: Aug. 28, 2012 at 3:33 p.m. PDT — Updated: Aug. 28, 2012 at 5:09 p.m. PDT

The company hired to design and build a massive plant at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site should no longer have authority over its design, according to an internal U.S. Department of Energy memo released Tuesday. The memo raises more questions about a waste treatment plant project long viewed as critical to ridding the Pacific Northwest of pollutants left from decades of weapons production for the nation's nuclear arsenal, but one that has endured countless technical problems, delays and skyrocketing costs. It also raises more concerns about the contractor at the center of the mix, Bechtel National Inc., which has come under fire in recent months from critics who say the company has suppressed employee concerns related to the plant's safety and retaliated against whistleblowers. The memo noted 34 instances where Bechtel National provided information that was incorrect, technically unfeasible or failed to provide the best value to the government, among other things, while designing the $12.3 billion plant at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation. "The behavior and performance of Bechtel Engineering places unnecessarily high risk that the WTP design will not be effectively completed," Gary Brunson, the Energy Department's engineering director assigned to the project, said of the waste treatment plant in a memo to top Energy Department managers Thursday.
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/08/28/v-lite/2271357/memo-raises-more-concerns-about.html#storylink=cpy

 

Energy Secretary Steven Chu to visit Tri-CitiesBy Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald Published: August 28, 2012 Energy Secretary Steven Chu is tentatively expected to spend much of next week in the Tri-Cities, holed up with a group of hand-picked experts. Chu and his team plan to take a fresh look at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant, focusing specifically on its black cells. The vitrification plant is being built to treat up to 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste left from the past production of plutonium for the nation's weapons program. It will be turned into a stable glass form for disposal. The plant is planned to have 18 black cells -- enclosed concrete rooms with tanks and piping that are designed to have no worker access during the 40 years the plant operates because of high levels of radioactivity. The review will look at the plant's capability to detect equipment failure and to repair failed equipment within the black cells. Changes to the design or operation plan of the plant could be proposed. Link

DOE director wants Bechtel authority for vit plant cutPublished: August 28, 2012 Updated 22 hours ago By Annette Cary, Tri-City HeraldBechtel National should be removed as the design authority for the Hanford vitrification plant, according to a memo from a key Hanford Department of Energy official overseeing engineering of the project. Bechtel holds the Department of Energy contract to build the $12.2 billion plant, including serving as the design authority to establish the design requirements and make sure the design process is technically adequate. It also is assigned to design the plant. "The behavior and performance of Bechtel Engineering places unnecessarily high risk that the WTP (Waste Treatment Plant) design will not be effectively completed, resulting in fully operational facilities," Gary Brunson, DOE engineering division director for the plant, wrote in the memo. Link

What's Inside The Suspect Nuclear Waste Tank At Hanford?
Forbes TECH 8/27/2012 @ 9:03AM |3,316 views

When news broke last week that radioactive material had been found outside of the inner containment wall of a double-hulled tank at the nuclear waste cleanup site in Hanford, Wa, most reports characterized the contents of the tank as “radioactive waste.” But that’s more a category than a description. The Energy Department has been eager to find out exactly what’s in the tank, which received wastes from leaky single-walled tanks and from more than a half dozen facilities at the Hanford site, including nuclear reactors, plutonium processing plants, a PUREX plant, and laboratories. DOE funded many studies to analyze the chemical compounds in the tank, determine whether they could corrode the stainless-steel walls, and to anticipate the effects of a spill. Here’s some of what those studies found: Hanford tank AY-102 contains 857,000 gallons of waste in the form of a brown sludge stewing from the heat of its own decay in a translucent yellow liquid at 110 to 135 degrees. LINK

Hanford double-shell tank may have interior leak
RICHLAND, Washington, August 20, 2012 (ENS) – For the first time, a leak of highly radioactive waste has been detected from a double-shelled tank at the Hanford Nuclear Site in central Washington state.

Environment News Service (http://s.tt/1lgXd) Link

By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald Published: August 18, 2012 Radioactive material has been found between the inner and outer walls of an underground double-shell tank at Hanford for the first time. The discovery increases the concern that the inner shell of the tank may have leaked, indicating the deterioration of at least one of the 28 double-shell tanks that are needed to hold millions of gallons of waste for decades to come. Link

Oak Ridge

IG finds 'troubling displays of ineptitude' at Y-12, multiple system breakdowns, poor leadership

The U.S. Departmemt of Energy's Office of Inspector General today released a scathing 18-page special report addressing some of the problems identified in the July 28 security breach at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Here's an excerpt from the summary:"Our review found that the Y-12 security incident represented multiple system failures on several levels. We identified troubling displays of ineptitude in responding to alarms, failures to maintain critical security equipment, over reliance on compensatory measures, misunderstanding of security protocols, poor communications, and weaknesses in contract and resource management. Contractor governance and Federal oversight failed to identify and correct early indicators of these multiple system breakdowns." Link

 

Hints that ORNL's radioactive waste may be moving under Clinch River, but tests not conclusive

Posted by Frank Munger on August 27, 2012 at 11:39 AM

There is evidence that isuggests radioactive wastes from Oak Ridge National Laboratory's old burial ground may be migrating under the Clinch River to groundwater on the other side. But, so far, the tests are not conclusive. Link.

 

High-rad surprises expand ORNL cleanup project, put other nuke rehabs on the shelf

Posted by Frank Munger on August 26, 2012 at 6:09 PM

The cleanup of old hot cells at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, one of the big efforts funded with Recovery Act money, has been a devil from the beginning -- with higher radiation fields than expected and more legacy nuclear materials than detailed in the original scope of work awarded to Safety and Ecology Corp. (now a subsdiary of Perma-Fix). Indeed, after some of the initial discoveries, the old cells had to be weather-proofed with a special coating to keep the radioactive material from spreading with the rad, which created a look that some folks suggested was a Radioactive Stonehenge. The original SEC contract, which included a number of cleanup tasks for the U.S. Department of Energy, has had to be revisited on a couple of occasions because of problem sightings and added costs, especially the work involving Building 3026 at ORNL. "The original task order included options to remove and disposition contaminants from Building 3517 and D&D of Buildings 3038 and 2026," Mike Koentop, a spokesman in DOE's Oak Ridge office, said. "We were able to complete cleanout of material from Building 3038, which was part of the original task order." But the big rad discoveries unbelted the other plans. Link

 

DOE's across-the-river project

Posted by Frank Munger on August 22, 2012 at 7:21 PM 

As I noted in an earlier post, it's still an open question whether the radioactive wastes in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory burial grounds are somehow seeping via rock formations, etc., to groundwater on private property on the other side of the Clinch River. It's been looked at for a few years, but there's still no conclusive answer. After the issue was raised a few years ago, with the possibility that wells on the other side of the river might be contaminated with ORNL stuff, the U.S. Department of Energy started paying to have potable water brought to residents so they could discontinue using their wells for drinking water. And then DOE paid to have city water lines brought to the residences along the river and is still footing those bills.

SRS

First Weapons-Grade Plutonium Shipped from Savannah River Site to New Mexico Disposal Site

By Thomas Clements | Aug 30, 2012 The Aiken Leader

Shipment Reaffirms Need for New Analysis for Options to Dispose of Plutonium as WasteColumbia, SC -- Affirming that surplus weapons plutonium can be disposed of as waste, the Department of Energy has confirmed that the first shipment of contaminated weapons-grade plutonium has been transported from the Savannah River Site (SRS) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. The long-delayed plutonium shipment took place on August 16, as stated at an SRS Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) meeting on August 28.  A written presentation at that CAB meeting also affirmed that SRS “recently made the first shipment to WIPP.” Link

Misc

Glass Offers Improved Means of Storing Nuclear Waste, Researchers Say

ScienceDaily (Aug. 22, 2012) — University of Sheffield researchers have shown, for the first time, that a method of storing nuclear waste normally used only for High Level Waste (HLW), could provide a safer, more efficient, and potentially cheaper, solution for the storage and ultimate disposal of Intermediate Level Waste (ILW). Link

How Climate Change May Affect Nuclear Power Plants

Posted August 29, 2012 The Energy Collective

Many nuclear power plants rely heavily on access to nearby sources of cold water to keep the system cool. Many of these power plants were built several decades ago and some of them are not well prepared for the warmer weather we are now experiencing.

At a twin-unit nuclear power plant in Illinois, temperatures exceeded what is allowed with current regulations by four degrees Fahrenheit. Link

Yucca Mountain

Most of last jobs at Yucca Mountain project expire next month

BY KEITH ROGERS LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL Posted: Aug. 21, 2012 | 6:23 p.m.

Sources close to the beleaguered Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project said Tuesday that jobs will expire in September for the last two dozen workers who transferred to another Department of Energy program amid hundreds of layoffs in 2010.

That would leave only 20 former Yucca Mountain Project workers - 15 at the Energy Department's North Las Vegas facility and five in the Washington, D.C., area - working on nuclear waste site options other than the mountain, 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas, said one source who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "There was a small group who got positions for two years," the source said, referring to former Yucca Mountain Project workers who took jobs working on grant awards for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2009. Link

CRESP Update #4: August 17, 2012

DOE-EM

EM Program Updates: Two Peer Review Processes Help EM Achieve Cost, Schedule Targets in Environmental Cleanup Mission

by em-hq@em.doe.gov (DOE Environmental Management)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – EM revamped and expanded peer reviews for its contracts and projects in the past year with a goal of improving performance and delivering results in the world’s largest nuclear cleanup on time and within cost...Link

Hanford

After 70 years, Hanford site continues to help economy

Posted: Aug 13, 2012 11:27 PM EDTUpdated: Aug 13, 2012 11:27 PM EDT Breanna Gilroy, News Anchor RICHLAND, Wash

While Monday marks the 70th anniversary of the Manhattan Project, some are looking back at how the secret project has changed not only the nation, but the Tri-Cities. The Hanford site draws thousands of tourists to our region each year. Those visitors spend money at our local businesses, generate state taxes, and boost our economy. Along with being a tourism area, the Tri-Cities is known for its strong ties to the science and engineering fields. But without the Hanford site, the region would probably be known more for agriculture. Even more, some of our local schools -- may have never been established here. "WSU Tri-Cities, Columbia Basin College, right across the road from us is Delta High School. All those things came from an educated, scientific community," said TRIDEC Vice President Gary Petersen. Today, the Tri-Cities is home to third generation scientists, engineers and technicians working on the Hanford site, all of whom may never have established roots in our area without the Manhattan Project. Link

Oak Ridge

The question remains: Is ORNL's radioactive waste crossing the Clinch River? Posted by Frank Munger on August 10, 2012 

For the past few years, there have been ongoing studies to determine whether radioactive wastes historically buried in trenches near the Clinch River may be somehow migrating under the river to groundwater on the other side. The U.S. Department of Energy paid to have monitoring wells installed on property across the river and also paid to bring water lines to riverside residents who used to get their drinking water from private wells. Link

Another stunner: B&W Y-12 slapped with 'show cause notice' that could bring down Oak Ridge contractor Posted by Frank Munger on August 13, 2012

In the wake of last month's stunning security breach at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, the federal government issued a "show cause notice" to managing contractor B&W Y-12. The stern order, which was issued Aug. 10, requires the plant's contractor to explain why its contract should not be terminated. It underscores why drastic personnel changes -- including the removal of three top executives at B&W -- have taken place in recent days to address the security concerns. The notice is one of multiple, aggressive actions that have been taken by the U.S. Department of Energy and its semi-independent unit, the National Nuclear Security Administration, since the July 28 break-in by an 82-year-old nun and two other anti-war protesters. The trio managed to penetrate the plant's vaunted security system and reach the plant's storage complex for bomb-grade uranium, defacing it with spray-painted protest slogans and pouring human blood at the site. The intrusion at one of the nation's highest-security nuclear installations -- often called the Fort Knox of Uranium -- shocked the system and evoked an unusually swift response. Link

 

Government says Y-12's security cameras fixed  Posted by Frank Munger on August 15, 2012 

In its "show cause" letter to B&W Y-12, the National Nuclear Security Administration said a "high number" of cameras associated with the plant's intrusion and detection system were inoperable at the time of the predawn intrusion July 28 by Plowshares protesters. In the nearly three weeks since the break-in, those cameras have been adjusted and/or repaired, according to NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt. "All of these cameras have been fixed and checked and are 100% operable," Wyatt said today. Meanwhile, security experts from around the country have reportedly been brought to Y-12 to help with the situation. Wyatt confirmed that additional security personnel have arrived from other sites in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, as well as from NNSA headquarters in Washington, D.C. He declined to be specific in identifying the individuals or their home sites. Link

 UCOR touts first-year accomplishments Posted by Frank Munger on August 13, 2012
 CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) recently celebrated its first anniversary as manager of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge cleanup campaign, citing a long list of accomplishments. Link

Y-12 authorized to resume nuclear operations following stand down August 15, 2012

Nuclear operations at the Y-12 Security Complex are in motion once again after an unprecedented break-in by three protestors. The National Nuclear Security Administration said in a release that the re-start, which was announced late Wednesday afternoon, takes place that day. The contractor, B&W, temporarily shut down the facility on August 1, 2012, a few days after the security breach happened on July 28. The protestors, who The trio supports the "Transform Now Plowshares" peace movement that opposes nuclear weapons. Link

NRC

Nuclear Waste Confidence -- NRC Ruling No Big Deal

by James Conca Forbes- ENERGY 8/11/2012 @

There has been some fist-bumping this week in the anti-nuclear sector over the recent vacating of two NRC rules by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in June; the waste-confidence decision and the storage rule. The judges felt that the agency had failed to conduct an environmental impact statement, or a finding of no significant environmental impact, before ruling that it is safe to store nuclear waste in wet pools and dry casks without a permanent solution in sight. But it was just that the initial NRC rule was too vague, not that this type of storage is unsafe (platts NRC Ruling). Link

For New Nuclear Chief, Concerns Over Plant Safety

By MATTHEW L. WALD NYTIMES August 13, 2012

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The new chairwoman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has good news and bad news for the nuclear power industry.  The good news is that although an impasse over the storage of nuclear waste now threatens some of the industry’s routine activities, the chairwoman says she believes that a permanent repository can be set up eventually. The bad news is that she considers the industry’s evaluation of earthquake vulnerability — an issue that was once believed to be settled when a nuclear power plant was licensed — to be inadequate. Allison M. Macfarlane, the first geologist to serve on the commission, which regulates power plants and the civilian use of radioactive materials, arrives at a time when geology has moved to the center of the industry’s concerns. Since the triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant last year, which was caused by an earthquake that the Japanese industry had not believed was possible, a question has reverberated: Are the 104 reactors in the United States prepared for the worst challenge they could face? Nuclear waste is also a crucial issue for the commission these days. In June, a federal appeals court ruled that the agency has acted too hastily in issuing licenses to power plants on the theory that waste could be safely stored at the plants until a final resting place is established. Link

William Ostendorff, GOP-Appointed Regulator, Under Investigation For Thwarting Nuclear Safety Probe

The inspector general at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has launched an investigation into a GOP political appointee for attempting to thwart an agency probe into safety concerns at a Michigan plant, NRC insiders tell The Huffington Post. 
In late May, Gregory Jaczko, then the chairman of the NRC, paid a rare visit to the controversial Palisades Power Plant on Lake Michigan. Activists are agitating for the plant's closure due to safety issues. The plant is represented in Congress by Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican who has long been close to the nuclear industry. While Jaczko was touring the plant on May 31st, according to the sources, a significant leak of potentially radioactive water was pouring into the control room. Less than two weeks later, the plant was shut down to repair the leak. Yet Jaczko was never made aware of the issue while inspecting the plant. He asked the NRC's Office of Investigations to look into why the leak was kept from him. Commissioner William Ostendorff, however, wanted no such investigation to take place. Shortly after Jaczko ordered it, Ostendorff shouted at the top agency investigator, Cheryl McCrary, in front of several NRC employees. He told her that the inquiry should be halted and that it was a "waste of agency resources," according to the sources, who were briefed on the exchange by witnesses. Link

 

IAEA

Management of Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste - August 17, 2012

IAEA Promotes Sharing of Experience and Good Practices Amongst Member States Link

Technological Challenges To Safe Disposal of Radioactive Waste Link

Understanding Safety Challenges: IAEA Standards and Legal Instruments Help Harmonize Safety Approaches in Managing Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste Link

Government says Y-12's security cameras fixed | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com

Government says Y-12's security cameras fixed | Frank Munger's Atomic City Underground | knoxnews.com

Update #3 August 10, 2012

DOE-EM

EM Launches Comprehensive Flickr Collection – USEFUL FOR PRESENTATIONS WASHINGTON, D.C. – EM recently established an EM Flickr Collection, which organizes more than ,100 photos from around the EM complex. This collection was created as a resource for anyone in search of photographs of EM’s nuclear cleanup activities, from enormous demolition projects to intricate groundwater cleanup. EM will continually update the compilation with new images. The Flickr photos are easy to view, download and use in their original, highest-quality size or other sizes and have been approved for public use. Search for photos by topic — such as demolition and disposal — or by an EM site — such as Savannah River Site or Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Atomic bomb labs may be made a national park

August 6, 2012 7:37 AM CBS This Morning Video

The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan 67 years ago today. Now, there's a plan to mark the history of that devastating weapon by turning its birthplaces into a national park. Lee Cowan reports.

Where's the Oversight at Nuclear Labs? Department of Energy's Hands-Off Approach is Recipe for Disaster

By PETER STOCKON and LYDIA DENNETT POGP Project on Government Oversight

As the saying goes, “The fish rots from the head down.” This is certainly the case at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where an 82-year-old nun and two accomplices recently broke in, raising serious questions about the Department of Energy’s (DOE) security strategy. LINK

Hanford

Hanford?s Robust Safety Culture Gains One More Site-Wide Safety Standard

14 standards have been adopted or developed through collaborative efforts Link to DOE story

Washington will hold off on Hanford vit plant dispute resolution

Published: August 4, 2012

By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

The state of Washington will not immediately go to dispute resolution over court-enforced deadlines that will be missed at the Hanford vitrification plant, Gov. Chris Gregoire said Friday. But she also will not allow the Department of Energy to "throw in the towel" on the deadlines and tell the

state to trust the federal government without full information, she told the Herald editorial board.

State urged to take tough stance on Hanford tank waste

Published: August 9, 2012 By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

The state of Washington needs to take a hard line with the Department of Energy on the 56 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste held in underground tanks at Hanford, said speakers at a public hearing in the Tri-Cities this week.

The Washington State Department of Ecology heard comments on the newly released section of its draft Hanford Facility Dangerous Waste Permit that covers Hanford's leak-prone, single-shell tanks. About 20 people attended the Richland meeting, with additional people on a call-in line. Link

Hanford officials finish water treatment plant

Paul Erickson — Tri-City Herald  Published: August 9, 2012

A new groundwater treatment plant opened at Hanford today. CH2M Hill and Department of Energy officials marked the completion and start-up of the 200 West Pump and Treat System that will help clean up one of the largest contaminated plumes at Hanford.

CH2M Hill and Department of Energy officials celebrated the completion and start-up of the 200 West Pump and Treat System at Hanford this morning. The plant will help clean up one of the largest contaminated plumes at Hanford.

The large sophisticated plant uses technology to go after multiple chemical and radioactive pollutants in central Hanford groundwater, rather than just one type of contaminant like most groundwater treatment projects. Link

Oak Ridge

State supports DOE's 2014 environmental budget proposal; pushes for more Oak Ridge funding; cleanup could go until 2043 at current spending

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is supporting the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge cleanup funding request for Fiscal Year 2014, although neither the state nor DOE will reveal the exact amount of the funding request. story

New acting general manager appointed for Y-12's security contractor

By Frank Munger Tuesday, August 7, 2012

OAK RIDGE — WSI, the government's security contractor in Oak Ridge for the past decade, is bringing in a senior executive from a federal project in Washington State to lead the operations and is making a series of other personnel changes as the contractor tries to restore confidence following an unprecedented security breach at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Steven C. Hafner is a senior vice president with WSI, formerly known as Wackenhut Services. He has been working for Mission Support Alliance — a contractor partnership of Lockheed Martin, Jacobs and WSI — at the U.S. Department Energy's Hanford Operations. He served there as director of safety, security and environment. Hafner succeeds Lee Brooks, the former Oak Ridge general manager, who was relieved of his duties in the wake of the July 28 intrusion at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant. Gary Brandon, WSI's protective force director at Y-12, also was removed from his position, and the contractor is shuffling personnel to resolve issues associated with the security lapse that allowed three protesters, including an 82-year-old nun, to penetrate the Oak Ridge plant's fences and reach the high-security inner core. Story

Top management changes at WSI after Y-12 security breach

Posted at 3:27 pm August 6, 2012 by John Huotari 5 Comments

Two administrators at security contractor WSI Oak Ridge have been replaced after three anti-nuclear weapons activists penetrated the high-security Protected Area at the Y-12 National Security Complex on July 28, allegedly splashing blood and spraying paint on a uranium storage building.Story See also http://oakridgetoday.com/category/news/department-of-energy/y-12-security-breach/

Final deal on K-25 MOA reportedly close

Mike Koentop on Monday evening said the Department of Energy had received all the necessary signatures except one for the final Memorandum of Agreement on the K-25 mitigation plan with preservation parties. "We have all of the required signatures except for the SHPO (State Historic Preservation Office)," Koentop said, saying the federal agency hopes and expects to have the agreement wrapped up soon. Under the agreement, the Department of Energy would commit to spending millions of dollars on historic preservation and history-commemorating projects. The MOA also would set the stage for DOE to demolish the K-25 building's North Tower, which had been protected under an earlier agreement but is now reportedly too deteriorated to salvage safely.

Posted by Frank Munger on August 7, 2012 at 11:32 AM

State signs K-25 agreement; pact with preservation groups will allow DOE to finish demolition Frank Munger

Posted by Frank Munger on August 7, 2012 at 2:29 PM

200 West Groundwater Treatment Facility Video

Published at 2:14 p.m. on August 9, 2012 | Modified at 2:15 p.m. on August 9, 2012

Savannah River Site

Contaminated soil removal completed at SRS creek

From Staff Reports Tuesday, Aug 7, 2012 5:49 PM

An extensive cleanup involving the removal of 5 million pounds of contaminated soil along Lower Three Runs Creek has been completed, according to Savannah River Site officials.

The 20-mile creek flows through the site and crosses portions of Barnwell and Allendale counties before meeting the Savannah River.

A multiyear project financed in part by the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act included cleanup work at three primary sites and the placement of miles of fencing and more than 2,000 signs. Though the stream leaves SRS, government property on both sides serves as a buffer as if flows through private property.

SRS reaches cleanup milestone as SRNS completes Lower Three Runs project

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has confirmed that 85 percent of the Savannah River Site has been cleaned up with the recent completion of the Lower Three Runs Project. Twenty miles long, Lower Three Runs leaves the main body of the site and runs through areas of Barnwell and Allendale Counties until it flows into the Savannah River. "We excavated and disposed of more than five million pounds of contaminated soil from three specific sites along the stream, erected miles of fence and placed over 2,000 signs in order to make Lower Three Runs safe and to reduce our site's footprint by another 10 percent," said Chris Bergren, manager of the Area Completion Projects. "Cost efficiencies obtained through the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act Project at SRS provided the funding necessary to accelerate this cleanup of Lower Three Runs. Story

 EPA

Five companies agree to clean-up mercury contaminated site

Published: Wednesday, August 08, 2012

By Ian Benjamin The Record Troy NY

ALBANY - The Environmental Protection Agency reached an agreement Tuesday with five companies to conduct the clean-up of a mercury contaminated site straddling the towns of Colonie and Guilderland. According to a press release from the Environmental Protection Agency, Gillette, KeySpan Gas East, Energizer Battery, and the Union Carbide and Spectrum Brands will be responsible for remedying ground water, soil, and sediment contamination at 26 Railroad Ave. The cost of the clean-up work is estimated at $9.3 million. Story

NRC

Nuclear waste issues freeze permits for U.S. power plants

By Steve Hargreaves @CNNMoney August 9, 2012: 7:12 AM ET

U.S. halts permits for new nuclear power plants and renewals at existing reactors until waste issues are settled. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – The U.S. government said it will stop issuing permits for new nuclear power plants and license extensions for existing facilities until it resolves issues around storing radioactive waste. The government's main watchdog, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, believes that current storage plans are safe and achievable. But a federal court said that the NRC didn't detail what the environmental consequences would be if the agency is wrong. "We are now considering all available options for resolving the waste issue," the five-member NRC said in a ruling earlier this week. "But, in recognition of our duties under the law, we will not issue [reactor] licenses until the court's remand is appropriately addressed." There are 14 reactors awaiting license renewals at the NRC, and an additional 16 reactors awaiting permits for new construction. Ultimately, it'll be up to lawmakers to find a solution to long-term nuclear waste storage, but their track record on the issue hasn't been good. Nuclear waste disposal has been a daunting political question that is still unanswered after decades of study. But the NRC is expected to do more research around what would happen if a long-term waste storage facility isn't built. It will also conduct more research into the environmental impact if waste can't safely be stored on-site at nuclear plants, where it's currently stored. Link

"NRC Halts Plant License Approvals To Resolve Waste Issue" (Reuters)

"NRC Halts Licensing Decisions Amid Storage Debate" (Greenwire)
Nuclear waste issues freeze permits for U.S. power plants

CNNMoney - ‎Aug 9, 2012‎

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The U.S. government said it will stop issuing permits for new nuclear power plants and license extensions for existing facilities until it resolves issues around storing radioactive waste. The government's main watchdog, the Nuclear ...

 NRC puts nuclear licensing decisions on hold

Businessweek - ‎Aug 9, 2012‎

A coalition of two dozen environmental groups sought the delay after a federal appeals court in Washington ruled in June that the NRC's plans for long-term storage of radioactive waste at individual reactors were insufficient. The ruling came in response to a ...

 US Regulator Halts Nuclear-Plant Licensing

Wall Street Journal - ‎Aug 7, 2012‎

The move, while not expected to affect any nuclear plants right away, shows how the standstill in finding a permanent American nuclear waste dump could undermine the expansion of nuclear power, which is already facing a challenge from cheaper natural ...

 Yucca Mountain

Yucca Mountain decision put off

Published: August 4, 2012 By Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

Supporters of opening a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., see indications that an appeals court may order the project to move forward, even though the court issued an order Friday delaying a decision. The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals indicated it likely will force the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to act on a license application to build the repository unless Congress takes action by Dec. 14. Link

Fukushima

Videos Shed Light on Chaos at Fukushima as a Nuclear Crisis Unfolded

By HIROKO TABUCHI August 9, 2012 New York Times

TOKYO — Shortly after an explosion rocked the stricken nuclear plant at Fukushima last year, blanketing the plant and nearby towns in radioactive material, Masao Yoshida, the plant’s chief manager, rallied his men.

“I fear we are in acute danger,” he said. “But let’s calm down a little. Let’s all take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale.” Link

Nuclear Energy Institute

NEI Disappointed by Court Ruling on Petition Tied to Yucca Mountain Project

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today in Aiken County et al v. Nuclear Regulatory Commission that the case be held in abeyance for up to four months pending congressional action on fiscal year 2013 appropriations related to the federal government’s nuclear waste management program. Aiken County petitioned the court in 2011 for a writ of mandamus ordering the NRC to complete its review of the Yucca Mountain repository license application and issue a final decision approving or disapproving the application. The lawsuit was filed in response to the Department of Energy’s attempt to abandon the license application pending before the NRC on the proposed repository for used nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants and high-level radioactive waste from U.S. defense programs. Following is a statement regarding the court’s ruling by Ellen Ginsberg, the Nuclear Energy Institute’s vice president and general counsel. Story

INPO Updates Report on Lessons Learned From Fukushima Daiichi Accident

The Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) has conducted an independent review of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi and Daini nuclear power plants, at the request of Tokyo Electric Power Co., to examine and share lessons learned from the 2011 accident in which an earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear energy facilities. Link

Congress

THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE HEARING: DOE’s Nuclear Weapons Complex: Challenges to Safety, Security, and Taxpayer Stewardship

September 12, 2012

The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, September 12, 2012, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The title of the hearing is “DOE’s Nuclear Weapons Complex: Challenges to Safety, Security, and Taxpayer Stewardship.”  Background   Memo

Sen. Bingaman proposes nuclear waste management bill

By Zack Colman - 08/01/12 03:05 PM ET

 http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/241633-sen-bingaman-proposes-nuclear-waste-management-bill

Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) introduced a bill Thursday to revamp federal oversight of nuclear waste, although he acknowledged partisan disagreements would prevent it from passing Congress this session.

Bingaman's bill would implement recommendations from a January report by the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. President Obama created the commission in 2009 to evaluate the nation’s handling of nuclear waste.

S. 3469: Nuclear Waste Administration Act of 2012

A bill to establish a new organization to manage nuclear waste, provide a consensual process for siting nuclear waste facilities, ensure adequate funding for managing nuclear waste, and for other purposes. Link

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