CH2MConnection
Safety improvements Progress Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant Project......Page 2
In this issue... 2 Safety First 3 CH2M CEO Visits Hanford Site 4 And the Award Goes to... 5 What’s Next? Major Milestones 6 C(H2M)ommunity 6 International Spotlight
Leadership Perspective At CH2M, safety is at the forefront of all that we do, but every June, we also celebrate safety month. This June, we kicked off a refreshed approach to our Target Zero safety program to continue to improve our health and safety performance across the firm. We asked all of our employees and projects to stand up for safety and commit to the refreshed safety vision in our Little Safety Book. The Little Safety Book contains the top 10 hazards our employees face and helpful tips on how to reduce them. For the next ten months, we will focus on each of these hazards in an effort to set record breaking safety standards across the industry. We invite you to join us in recommitting to keeping ourselves, our families and our coworkers safe in all that we do. Also in June, the safe and successful transition of the Idaho Cleanup Project from CH2M | WG Idaho (CWI) to Fluor Idaho was completed. I would like to thank the CWI team for their hard work over the last 10 years, resulting in 221 facilities and structures (including 3 reactor vessels) demolished; 136 waste sites remediated; and more than 700 regulatory milestones met, nearly all on or ahead of schedule and at a savings of $510 million to the taxpayers. We look forward to being a part of the work that will continue to be successfully accomplished at the Idaho Cleanup Project over the coming years.
Dyan Foss CH2M Nuclear Sector Global Managing Director
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Volume 2 Issue 1 1 June 2016
Safety First Safety improvements progress Hanford ‘s Plutonium Finishing Plant project
Recent changes in how work crews are deployed at the Hanford Site’s Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP) have yielded significant improvements in safety performance as EM’s Richland Operations Office and CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company continue to make steady progress toward demolition of the plant. Teams of workers have been redeployed to perform one high-hazard project at a time, with additional oversight, rather than performing multiple high-hazard projects simultaneously. The PFP is the largest, most complex plutonium facility that has ever been remediated or will be demolished in the EM complex. Many of the hazards inside the building are gone, including nearly 240 pieces of plutonium processing equipment called glove boxes, hundreds of feet of process and chemical lines, 52 pencilshaped processing tanks, and more than a mile of ventilation ductwork. With demolition scheduled to begin later this year, crews are finishing demolition preparations and safely performing some of the most hazardous work across the EM complex. In 2015, after incorporating lessons learned, additional safety and radiological control oversight, and the re-sequencing of work to ensure the remaining work at PFP can be performed safely by a highly skilled and experienced workforce, recent strong safety performance followed. Crews shifted from doing three simultaneous high-hazard projects to focusing on one job at a time requiring protective suits with air supplied by a compressor. The teams using the suits are among the most skilled at the Hanford Site, and using those suits requires a significant support team. By redeploying the teams, the contractor ensures the most experienced team and support members are available for the given scope. “We’ve shown we can improve safety and improve performance,” said Tom Bratvold, CHPRC’s vice president of the PFP closure project. “Our workforce is motivated, dedicated, and is working together to keep each other safe, and making tremendous progress on this challenging project.” Since January, crews finished cutting apart and removing the last of two heavily contaminated glove boxes, eliminating one of two jobs at the facility requiring the protective suits. In the coming weeks, they’ll complete the second job: preparing the Americium Recovery Facility for demolition. Once this job is done, the highest radiological hazard demolition preparation tasks at PFP will be complete. Another crew is making so much progress in cleaning out and reducing contamination levels in a former processing canyon that workers will soon be able to breathe filtered air in that area rather than air supplied via portable air tanks.
CH2M CEO Visits Hanford Site Jacque Hinman recently took a tour of the Hanford Site to see progress CHPRC crews are making.
John Ciucci, Jacque Hinman and Karen Wiemelt outside of the 200 West Pump and Treat Facility with CH2M employees
CH2M Chairman and CEO Jacque Hinman recently visited the Hanford Site to meet the CH2M employees who are successfully achieving the mission on one of the highest profile nuclear cleanup projects in the world. Hinman saw first-hand the important environmental remediation work that is taking place to protect human health and the environment, including the area’s greatest natural resource – the Columbia River. She addressed employees, energizing and inspiring them with her enthusiasm, pride and gratefulness for their hard work. John Ciucci, President and CEO of CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company, toured Hinman around the Site. Ms. Hinman’s tour of CHPRC projects began with a visit to the Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility. Connie Simiele, Vice President for the Waste and Fuels Management Program, led the tour. Hinman was introduced to workers, given a tour inside the facility and an opportunity to view storage of cesium and strontium capsules in water pools with an effect known as the Cherenkov Glow (or blue glow), as the radioactive cesium and strontium decay and lose their radioactivity to become stable atoms. Next, Hinman was taken to the 200-West Pump and Treat Facility. Here, she greeted workers who were celebrating their recent groundwater program optimization successes. She thanked workers for their great work and reminded them of CH2M’s commitment to place safety over schedule and performance. Karen Wiemelt, Vice President of CHPRC’s Soil and Groundwater Remediation Project, provided a walking tour of the facility. From there, Hinman was taken to the Plutonium Finishing Plant (PFP). Tom Bratvold, Vice President of the PFP Closure Project provided an overview of recent progress toward preparing the plant for demolition. Gary Hix and Jason Kevan, two fieldwork supervisors whose crews recently finished cutting and removing the most hazardous gloveboxes at the complex, introduced their teams during a safety celebration. Jacque addressed workers and thanked them for their tremendous work and again recommitted to safety over performance. During her visit, Jacque was also introduced to members of the Tri-City Area community at a breakfast reception. Attendees included community leaders and representatives from programs that CHPRC donates to through its Community Giving program.
And the Award Goes to... CH2M is honored to have accepted the following recent awards. World Environment Center Gold Medal Award The World Environment Center (WEC) announced that the 2016 Gold Medal Award for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development was awarded to CH2M. The award was presented to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Hinman on May 19, 2016 at the 32nd Annual WEC Gold Medal Gala in Washington, D.C. CH2M was recognized for its deep commitment to sustainability and social responsibility throughout the company, including partnering with public- and privatesector clients in government and industry, as well as leading environmental non-profit organizations. CH2M leads international water initiatives, sustainable infrastructure, and efforts valuing ecosystems to advance global sustainability. CH2M is the first professional services company to receive the honor in WEC’s more than 30-year history and the first since WEC added new criteria to recognize companies that drive sustainability beyond their own organizations and across their supply chains. Recent recipients of the award include SC Johnson, Unilever, IBM, Nestlé, and The Coca-Cola Company. U.S. Department of Energy Facility Management Contractor Procurement Director of the Year CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company Procurement Manager Pat Marmo received a top honor for his work in partnering with small businesses in advancing Hanford cleanup. The U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business, selected Pat as the FY2015 Facility Management Contractor Procurement Director of the Year. The award was presented to Mr. Marmo during the General Session of the 15th Annual DOE Small Business Forum and Expo in Atlanta, Georgia on May 24, 2016. He has served as CHPRC Procurement Manager since 2008 and worked at the Hanford Site for 20 years. Pat received this award for his leadership and commitment to maximizing small businesses utilization through policies, procedures and outreach. DOE commended his ability to craft an atmosphere of “small business first” throughout the organization and demonstrate a balance of objective results-oriented measures for promoting small business. U.S. Department of Energy 2016 Energy Sustainability Award Teams at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) were recognized with 2016 Energy Sustainability Awards for leading projects that have saved taxpayer dollars while promoting efficiency and smart use of DOE resources. The DOE Sustainability Performance Office highlighted efforts as outstanding contributions to the Department’s goal of improving environmental, energy and economic performance while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR) helped a small business subcontractor team with community partners to build a 1 megawatt utility scale photovoltaic power generating project called Powerhouse Six that became operational in April 2015. It’s the third, and largest, solar array at ETTP. The solar plant generates enough clean energy to power more than 100 homes while preventing pollution that is the equivalent to removing 240 cars from the road annually. Oak Ridge personnel earning recognition included CH2M’s Cathy Hickey.
ETTP Photo courtesy of DOE
What’s next? Major Milestones
Savannah River Remediation Closes Radioactive Waste Tank 12
In April, our team at the Savannah River Site Liquid Waste Contract completed grouting (filled to the brim) of Liquid Waste Tank 12, over a month ahead of schedule and $150K under budget. Grouting of Tank 12 started in January of this year. Four days a week, up to 6 trucks per hour delivered grout for up to 8 hours a day coming to a total of 913,230 gallons of grout delivered to Tank 12 to complete its operational closure Grouting Tank 12, marked the eighth total tank closed at the site and the sixth by our team. Tank 16 was closed in 2015, Tanks 5 and 6 were closed in 2013, Tanks 18 and 19 in 2012, and before our work began on site, Tanks 17 and 20 were closed in 1997.
Tank 12 Project Manager Bob Davis
CH2M is a part of the Savannah River Remediation, LLC consortium, which is responsible for the closure of waste tanks, the operation of the Savannah River Site’s Defense Waste Processing Facility, and associated production and disposal facilities and tank farm operations.
West Valley Demonstration Project’s High-Level Waste Canister Relocation in Full-Swing In April 2016, relocation of 275 vitrified high-level waste (HLW) canisters, liquid waste converted into a glass substance, resumed relocation from the Main Plant Process Building, to a stainless steel overpack and placed inside a concrete Vertical Storage Cask (VSC) which is transported to an on-site interim storage pad. Prior to the winter season falling on Western New York in 2015, nine VSCs, each containing five HLW canisters, were relocated. The VSCs, which are assembled on-site, include a 4-inch thick steel liner, 20 inches of steel-reinforced concrete and are licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a design life of 50 years to ensure long-term safety in storing the HLW. With the summer season upon us, the High-Level Waste Project crews are focused on completing the relocations almost a year ahead of schedule. Crews have been busy testing equipment, training/retraining to perform automated welding of the overpack and cask lids, incorporating Lessons Learned from the first four cask transports. It takes 5 shifts to relocate 5 canisters from the Main Process Plant Building, place them in a VSC and transfer to the HLW Storage Pad. To-date the HLW Project crews have relocated 35 of 275 canisters and transported 8 fully loaded casks to the on-site interim storage pad. Starting this month, crews will be relocating 10 canisters per week, until the job is complete in early December 2016. As of June, we have transferred 55 canisters in 11 vertical storage casks.
In the C(H2M)ommunity
UCOR Awards Mini-Grants to Local Schools to Advance STEM Programs URS | CH2M Oak Ridge LLC (UCOR) selected 20 winners of the UCOR Education Mini-Grant Program to support and encourage education initiatives. The program recognizes and supports excellence in teaching by giving grants to help teachers fund specific science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) focused projects. This program has been supporting communities nearby Oak Ridge, Tennessee since 2012. A few of the projects selected for funding this year include a class set of advanced calculators, a stream health project, an interactive garden, and a solar charging station for school golf cart.
International Spotlight
Canadian Nuclear Labs Receives $800 Million in New Infrastructure Funding Canadian Nuclear Laboratories’ (CNL) subsidiary, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), announced the Canadian Government will be investing $800 million in new capital infrastructure for CNL’s Chalk River Site over the next 5 years. The 64-year-old Chalk River Site requires new construction and retrofitting of laboratories and facilities to meet the demands of its federal and commercial customers in the future. A 10-year strategic plan will be put together this year to identify the buildings required to deliver the research and development expected of CNL. CEO and President of CNL Mark Lesinski noted the laboratories, maintenance shops and operational facilities at the heart of the Chalk River Site are aging. “This investment in infrastructure is absolutely critical to the long-term future of this lab,” Lesinski said. Last year, CH2M-led Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA) was chosen to manage and operate CNL. This is the next step CNEA is taking to move CNL, which employs 3,300, to a government-owned, contractor-operated model. The $800 million will not be used to replace the site’s aging reactor, however, AECL does see scope for the construction of facilities to centralize maintenance and logistics and operations and engineering, which are spread out across the plant site. CNL will also continue to focus on managing radioactive waste and decommissioning, performing science and technology activities and supporting Canada’s nuclear industry through access to science, technology facilities and expertise.
Deep River Mayor Joan Lougheed, Renfrew County Warden Peter Emon, CNL president and CEO Mark Lesinski, Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet, Pembroke councillor John McCann and Laurentian Hills Mayor John Reinwald | Photo courtesy thedailyobserver.ca
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