CH2MConnection
Another CH2M Project Receives VPP Star Status... Page 3
In this issue... 2 Safety First 2 International Spotlight 3 2015 in Review 5 What’s Next? - Major Milestones 6 C(H2M)ommunity
Leadership Perspective As the end of the year is quickly approaching, I want to take a moment to thank everyone for keeping safety top of their minds and safely delivering our projects across the DOE complex. As you’ll see in the timeline on page 3, 2015 has been a tremendous year for CH2M and we have our hard-working employees and our clients’ continued commitment to partnership to thank for that. From the East Coast to the West Coast, we have seen the mission of cleaning up the Cold War legacy of achieved, whether its cleaning up the most contaminated facility at the Hanford Site or safely storing High Level Waste at West Valley, we all have a lot to be proud of this year. As 2015 comes to a close, we are ready to for all the new opportunities 2016 will present. We will be actively pursuing new opportunities at the Los Alamos National Lab and across the DOE complex in 2016. With such a large number of procurements planned over the next few years, a reliable procurement schedule will ensure the contractor community is ready with the necessary resources and expertise to respond and provide best value to the Department and the American taxpayer. But first I hope you will all spend some time with friends and family enjoying the holiday season. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday and a prosperous new year.
Dyan Foss CH2M Nuclear Sector Global Managing Director
What’s on your mind? What do you want to see in the next issue of CH2MConnection? Send us your ideas, comments and suggestions at Connection@ch2m.com.
1 December 2015
Safety First
On the Cover - UCOR Earns VPP Star
UCOR becomes the first contractor to ever get VPP Star status at the Oak Ridge Site. After site visits, reviews of safety-related documents, and extensive interviews with senior managers and employees, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR) was recently awarded the East Tennessee Technology Park’s (ETTP) first Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star. According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) website, VPP Star is recognition for employers and employees who demonstrate exemplary achievement in the prevention and control of occupational safety and health hazards the development, implementation and continuous improvement of their safety and health management system. The employee celebration and flag raising ceremony was held to celebrate this great accomplishment. All CH2M sites within the DOE Complex participating in VPP are now Star sites.
International Spotlight
Project in Scotland researches a new use for spent distillery grain When you think of Scotland, one of the things that usually comes to mind is scotch. And apparently that’s what our colleagues at the Dounreay project in northern Scotland have on their mind, too. If you’ve ever been to a whiskey distillery, you might know a little bit about how it’s made. If you don’t, all you need to know is that whiskey is made from fermentation of cooked grain mixed with water and yeast. After the alcohol is distilled and transferred to barrels for aging, the leftover grain is usually dumped or used as livestock feed. But scientists at our Dounreay project in northern Scotland may have come up with a slightly more fascinating use for the spent grain. Tests have begun on the potential use of spent distillery grain in absorbing Strontium-90, which is present inside Dounreay’s Shaft. The Shaft reaches depths of about 215 feet below ground where radioactive waste was disposed from 1959 to 1977. CH2M is responsible for the Shaft and Silo Cleanup Project to decontaminate the Shaft and the nearby Silo, which was used for dumping radioactive material. The nearby Environmental Research Institute (ERI) of the University of the Highlands and Islands’ North Highland College, has started research into the use of spent distillery grain, seaweed, shells and coffee grounds for biosorption. Biosorption is the process of using one media to absorb (or bind contaminates or other substances from) another media. The process is currently being used to remove tiny pieces of gold and silver from sewage and would replace the use of artificially-made materials. CH2M’s Mike Gearhart, who leads the Dounreay Shaft and Silo project team commented, “We are pleased to be working with ERI to identify a sustainable solution that can be sourced locally. We still have a number of issues to address but results to date have been very promising.” As part of Cavendish Dounreay Partnership, CH2M manages and operates Dounreay’s decommissioning, waste management and fuel disposition strategies, environmental remediation and site infrastructure operations. The 140-acre former fast reactor research and development site is the second largest decommissioning project in the UK.
2015 in Review A Year of Successes Click on each accomplishment to read more.
CHPRC removes last pencil tank from Plutonium Reclamation Facility within the Plutonium Finishing Plant complex.
River Corridor Closure project reaches 5 million safe work hours for the second time
NSTec receives sustainability award
ERDF reaches 17 million tons of waste disposed at the River Corridor Closure project
Jan.
Hanford Site
CH2M led tea the Canadian N Laboratories G
CH2M-WG Idaho celebrates ten years at the Idaho Cleanup Project
CHPRC installs new equipment to remove uranium from groundwater at the Hanford site
UCOR completes the demolition of K-31 gaseous diffusion plant
Savannah River Remediation successfully closes radioactive liquid waste Tank 16
am awarded Nuclear GoCo contract
CH2M-WG Idaho entombs the Experimental Breeder Reactor II
West Valley makes history with the outdoor, long-term storage of high-level waste
UCOR earns first VPP Star in the history of the East Tennessee Technology Park
CHPRC removes last glovebox from the famous McCluskey Room inside the Plutonium Finishing Plant
Dec.
What’s next? - Major Milestones
West Valley Makes History
For the first time in U.S. history, high-level waste was placed in long-term, outdoor storage For the first time in U.S. history, high-level waste (HLW) was placed in long-term, outdoor storage by our team at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP). The high-level liquid waste, which had been immobilized in glass in a vitrification process, is currently being relocated from the site’s Main Plant Process Building to an interim storage pad in order to allow predemolition activities within the building to take place. In preparation for the demolition, the first five canisters were transferred to five-compartment, stainless-steel overpacks inside vertical storage casks. The vertical storage casks were fabricated on site, and 16 have been constructed to-date. Each cask has a 4-inch-thick steel liner and 20 inches of steel-reinforced concrete with a design life of at least 50 years. The five-pack storage system design is based on spent nuclear fuel dry cask storage systems used in the U.S. and around the world, with modifications for long-term storage of vitrified HLW.
CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, LLC (CHBWV) purchased special transport equipment required to achieve transfer of each 87.5-ton cask from the plant to the on-site storage pad. Relocation of all HLW at the site is scheduled to be complete in 2018 at which point there will be 55 casks in total relocated to the interim storage pad. The storage configuration of the HLW canisters supports future off-site shipment.
Historical Buildings Remembered at Oak Ridge K-25 Virtual Museum and K-27 commemorative video launched
CH2M joint venture company, URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR), along with the DOE, has launched the K-25 Virtual Museum www.k-25virtualmuseum.org. The new website tells the story of the K-25 Building and supporting facilities, built in 1943 as part of the World War II defense strategy, the Manhattan Project. For more than 40 years, K-25 Site facilities contributed to defense, energy and technology advancements. The virtual museum features a timeline chronicling the road to the atomic bomb via East Tennessee; a K-25 virtual site tour where the visitor can “walk” through decades of skyline changes; a glimpse of daily life in the construction camp known as Happy Valley; and a sneak preview at preservation efforts planned to commemorate the 70-year-old site. The website was launched in conjunction with the official joint declaration between the Departments of Energy and Interior that formally established the Manhattan Project National Historical Park. In addition to the East Tennessee location, the Park will include historic sites in Hanford, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico. In addition, The Faces of K-27 Deactivation video was recently released to show the process of the K-27 deactivation. The video highlights the rise and fall of K-27, sister facility to K-25 and K-31, and can be viewed on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=olDZvOCtwMM. 5 December 2015
In the C(H2M)ommunity
Time for Giving
Employees work together to help those in need this holiday season
CH2M-WG Idaho (CWI) employees donated more than $107,000 to United Way organizations in eastern Idaho including United Way of Southeast Idaho and United Way of Idaho Falls & Bonneville County.
Since 1989, every year, employees from the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) volunteer to deliver food to families in need. This year, the Food Drive gathered 114,843 pounds of food, including 360 turkeys. The food was delivered to local food pantries the week before Thanksgiving.
Happy Holidays Fro m
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CH2M Environment & Nuclear Communications Team ENCommunications@ch2m.com +1.808.440.0210