CH2MConnection
World First - Gaseous Diffusion Plant Completely Demolished at ETTP.....Page 3
In this issue... 2 Safety First 3 World History at ETTP 5 What’s Next? Major Milestones 6 C(H2M)ommunity 6 Watch it Happen
Leadership Perspective At CH2M, we pride ourselves on being known not only for what we do, but also in the way we work. Our clients and teammates often say you can count on CH2M: count on us to perform; collaborate; be passionate and respectful of the team, the workforce and the community; and overall to be there in good times and tough times. Client centricity has become the new lexicon at CH2M. Although this may be new nomenclature, it is a long standing foundation for the way we operate. If I think about CH2M’s Nuclear Sector as it stands today, with over 2,500 employees across the world managing nuclear cleanup, nuclear new build and supporting the nuclear defense mission, I always remember that the genesis of this amazing team started in 1990 with 4 employees at the Department of Energy Hanford Site. Our work for the U.S. Department of Energy is the cornerstone of where we started, who we are and where we are going. To me, this is the very essence of client centricity and we will use this approach and attitude to support our key client through this dynamic and difficult procurement cycle. We are “all in” with supporting the Department of Energy.
Dyan Foss CH2M Nuclear Sector Global Managing Director
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Volume 2 Issue 2 1 June 2016
Safety First
CHPRC Shoots for the Stars, Receives VPP Star of Excellence For the second consecutive year, CH2M Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC) received the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star of Excellence for their safety leadership and actions at the Hanford Site. The VPP Star is awarded by U.S. Department of Energy-Headquarters (DOE-HQ) for exemplary achievement in the prevention and control of occupational safety and health hazards and the development, implementation and continuous improvement of safety and health management systems. The sites that receive this award demonstrate excellence in VPP related outreach and mentoring efforts and exhibit outstanding employee involvement and management leadership. CHPRC received the DOE-VPP Star of Excellence due to attaining an injury/illness rate and lost workday rate 75% below the national average for the industry, demonstrating strong involvement in the Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association and meeting annual DOE VPP goals. Next, CH2M shoots to receive the “Legacy of Stars” award which is another prestigious goal set by CHPRC to ensure the safe and complaint cleanup at Hanford. This award requires four consecutive years of achieving the “Star of Excellence” award in addition to an assessment from DOE-HQ within that period.
CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley has achieved 2.18 million safe work hours (1,396 days) without a lost time incident All of the DOE-EM sites CH2M is working at are VPP Star Status sites
Vision 2016 Fulfilled at East Tennessee Technology Park In 1943, the largest building in the world under one roof was built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The mile-long, U-shaped K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant was constructed at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) to support the Manhattan Project by enriching uranium to produce the world’s first atomic bomb, and remained in operation until 1964. ETTP and its other facilities continued to be the home of uranium enrichment during World War II, operating through 1987 before cleanup began in 1989. CH2M took over the demolition and cleanup of the gaseous diffusion plant (GDP) in 2011 as a part of URS | CH2M Oak Ridge (UCOR). On June 26, 2014, the K-25 project was officially declared complete, 6 months before the scheduled completion date of January 5, 2015 and $225 million under federal baseline budgets. Upon demolition of the K-25 former gaseous diffusion plant well under budget, our team was able to reallocate resources to the demolition of sister facilities K-31 and K-27, the last remaining gaseous diffusion plants at ETTP. The 130 crew members on the K-31 project rode the success from the K-25 project. Friday, June 26, 2015 was an exciting day in Oak Ridge, for CH2M and the UCOR team knocking down the final wall of the K-31 gaseous diffusion plant - concluding the 8-month demolition of the fourth GDP in the park. The majority of the massive 750,000-square-foot building had been demolished throughout the year, and the uranium-enrichment equipment was stripped from K-31’s innards a decade before that. The DOE announced during the K-31 demolition completion celebration that our UCOR contract would be extended to complete the cleanup and demolition of the final building, K-27. Exercising the option years of our contract demonstrates our client’s confidence in us. Since 2011, the UCOR team has saved around $122 million for the federal government and taxpayers on projects related to cleanup
Final wall of K-25 comes down
Final wall of K-31 comes down
Vision 2016 is the goal set by DOE to remove all gaseous diffusion buildings from ETTP before the end of 2016. K-27, the last of five gaseous diffusion plants, which stood at 4-stories and 383,000-square-feet was claimed as one of DOE’s highest cleanup priorities and the final milestone in achieving Vision 2016. K-27 deactivation was completed in January, which included the removal of hazardous and radioactive material and ensuring structural stability to prepare for the final demolition. With completion of K-27’s deactivation, all materials that could cause a nuclear criticality were removed, declaring the gaseous diffusion plant critically incredible early this year. Demolition of K-27 began in February 2016, and on August 30th, Vision 2016 was fulfilled--the final uranium enrichment building was successfully demolished at ETTP. The fall of the final wall marked the first time anywhere in the world that all of a site’s uranium-enrichment gaseous diffusion buildings have been cleaned and demolished. The work was performed with an outstanding safety record--nearly seven million hours without a single lost time incident and DOE Voluntary Protection Program Star status, recognizing ETTP as one of the safest sites in the nation. The safety practiced throughout the project resulted in transforming a graveyard of uranium enrichment dinosaurs into an area that will soon flourish with businesses. The cleanup has opened up more than 720 acres of land and 322,000-square-feet of space to be used for future development.
Final wall of K-27 comes down
What’s next? Major Milestones
Port Hope Area Initiative Waste Repository Breaks Ground
Photo courtesy On-sitemag.com
The Port Hope Area Initiative Management Office (PHAI MO), led by Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), is implementing two projects on behalf of the Government of Canada. CH2M, as the lead of Canadian National Energy Alliance (CNEA), is the manager and operator of CNL. The Port Hope Project is one of two PHAI projects and Canada’s largest environmental cleanup. It involves constructing an engineered aboveground mound and supporting infrastructure for the safe, long-term management of approximately 1.2 million cubic meters of historic low-level radioactive waste; cleanup of the waste from various sites in Port Hope and its transportation to the waste management facility; and long-term maintenance and monitoring of the facility. In early July 2016, the Port Hope Project officially broke ground at the long-term, low-level radioactive waste management facility. Many honored guests attended the groundbreaking ceremony that marked the commencement of construction of the first of four cells at the facility. Representatives from Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited attended alongside Bob Sanderson, Mayor of Municipality of Port Hope and Kim Rudd, Parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and Member of Parliament for Northumberland - Peterborough South. The mound is designed to safely isolate the waste by encasing it with multi-layer base liner and surface cap systems. The first cell will be completed in late 2017, and by the beginning of 2018 waste from around the community will be placed inside. This groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of a historical and impactful project and will continue to support Canada’s commitment to remediated affected lands throughout the country.
In the C(H2M)ommunity
CH2M Dedication to STEM and Investment in our Future Workforce On August 11th collectively the CH2M Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and W.B. Saul High School received the US2020 STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Mentoring Award for Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships. This award was a part of the 2016 STEM Mentoring Symposium at the White House to honor innovative public-private partnerships that encourage and celebrate outstanding work in the STEM mentoring field. The recipient of the award is highlighted for their focus on connecting motivated students with interest in the STEM field with science and engineering professionals to share their wisdom and deliver real-world learning opportunities to students. December 2015 CH2M Foundation awarded a $200,000 grant to The Nature Conservancy to develop a green infrastructure and STEM education pilot project at W.B. Saul High School’s campus in Philadelphia. Throughout 2016 and 2017 CH2M engineers and Conservancy scientists will directly work with students and faculty to design and construct a green infrastructure project on their campus, addressing storm water quantity and quality concerns. Not only will the students receive quality time with mentors and experience project-based learning, but the school community will be engaged and informed on the benefits of green infrastructure which aims to create healthier urban environments. CH2M repeatedly demonstrates its investment in creating a lasting interest and engagement in STEM fields among students. We recognize that by providing young minds the exposure and hands-on experience with STEM related topics that we are building our future workforce and the next generation of our country’s greatest STEM leaders.
Watch it Happen
Check out these videos from around our project sites to watch our teams as they reach important milestones!
CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company 3rd Quarter Progress
West Valley High-Level Waste Progress
Oak Ridge Vision 2016: The Past, The Present and The Future
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CH2M Environment & Nuclear Communications Team Connection@ch2m.com +1.720.286.1547