Y-12 Union Tentatively Agrees to One-Year Extension
NS&D Monitor
4/25/2014
The collective bargaining agreement between the Atomic Trades and Labor Council and B&W Y-12 is expected to be extended for one year after the union announced a “tentative” agreement on the extension this week. The ATLC agreement at Y-12 runs out June 22, and with transition ongoing to new contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security, union officials wanted to delay negotiations on a longer extension until the two sides became better acquainted. The new agreement, which was endorsed by the union’s negotiating committee, must be ratified by union membership, which includes about 1,200 hourly workers at the site. A vote is scheduled for May 1. A 2.5 percent wage increase and $250 signing bonus is included in the extension, Y-12 ATLC President Steve Jones said. “You’ve got this transition going on, and we felt like we want to get to know the players who we’re going to be sitting down with when we talk about the whole contract,” Jones said. “You don’t want to negotiate with total strangers.”
Jones said the union will spend the next year preparing for formal negotiations on a long-term contract, and he said he fully expects a difficult fight over benefits. Union members currently have a defined benefit pension plan, which the union has fought to keep in recent years as other sites have moved to defined contribution retirement plans. He said he expected the benefits package offered by CNS to salaried workers would offer a preview of the contractor’s stance in future negotiations. CNS said last week that it would have to lower benefits to meet DOE guidelines that require benefits to be within 105 percent of industry averages. “We expect benefits to be a big issue,” Jones said. “We’ve got some options we’ve been looking at. We’re certainly going to be thinking and trying to think out of the box. We’re looking at a lot of options right now.”
UPF Site Prep Progressing on Schedule
Despite some uncertainties on the future of the Uranium Processing Facility and repeatedly unearthing some legacy radioactive materials during road construction activities, the early site preparation for the project is progressing within its schedule and should be done by the end of the year. Laurie Folden, the project director for the UPF site prep, said, “We’re doing great.” The $65 million project involves relocating a mile-long section of Bear Creek Road to make way for eventual construction of UPF and the extension of a haul road to divert heavy trucks and other construction vehicles away from the plant’s commuter traffic. In addition, underground water lines are also being moved to make way for UPF construction.
Folden praised the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is managing the site preparation for the NNSA under terms of a federal interagency agreement. The project has found multiple pockets of radioactivity in the area, even though none showed up during the pre-project screening efforts. The officials also have failed to explain why the materials were seemingly buried willy-nilly along the side of Bear Creek Road. “I don’t think anyone really has an answer on that,” NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt said.
‘No Clear Indication’ of Encountering Contamination
Before work started, there was near-surface soil sampling, a review of aerial photographs, and discussions with former workers who might be knowledgeable about work previously done in that area, NNSA officials said. “From this information, there was no clear indication that contamination would be encountered, but it was always considered to be a possibility because of proximity of the area to Y-12 facilities,” Wyatt said. “Most of the contamination has been found several feet underground, up to 14 feet deep in most cases,” he said. The radioactive materials, including hot soils, have been placed in Sealand and B-25 containers and reportedly will be shipped to the government’s Nevada National Security Site for disposal. Wyatt said updates are being provided to environmental regulators. Asked if officials expect to find more contamination as the project continues, Folden said, “Hopefully not, but we have to ability to handle it if we do.”
Folden said the project team is being careful not to waste money on any construction activities that might not be needed later, based on possible changes in the UPF plans. Therefore, the team is changing the sequence of some of the sub-projects. In at least one case, the awarding of a UPF subcontract was placed on hold, even though bids on the work had already been received, she confirmed.
DNFSB Report Outlines ‘Near Miss’ at Beta-2
For years there have been stories emanating from the Y-12 National Security Complex about workers in aged production facilities having to resort to wearing hard hats just to keep from getting bonked on the head from crumbling ceilings. Now there are more anecdotes—and a “near miss”—to add to the lore. According to a recently released March 21 memo by staff of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, an 8-foot-section of concrete fell from the ceiling at Y-12’s Beta-2 facility. Fortunately, it fell into an area that had previously been roped off because of studies—dating back to 2009—that showed serious “delamination” and potential hazards. Nonetheless, chunks of concrete from the slab still bounded into a “frequently used” walkway and an adjacent welding station, the report stated. The staff report said some of the chunks were greater than a foot in diameter and 2 inches thick. “No personnel were struck by the concrete, but workers had used the welding station earlier that day,” the DNFSB memo stated.
This “near miss” incident once again raised issues about the safety of Y-12’s old buildings. The DNFSB description came under the heading of “Aging Infrastructure.” DNFSB staff said a previous inspection at Beta-2 had determined that extensive corrosion was caused by Kathene—aqueous lithium chloride—from a dehumidification unit on the floor above the area in question. B&W Y-12 confirmed that pieces of falling concrete actually struck a portable welding exhaust unit, which received minor damage. The contractor, however, emphasized that no one was hurt in the incident. “Personnel in a nearby area heard the noise, discovered the problem, and immediately notified the shift manager,” the federal contractor stated in a response to the incident. “Personnel responded as trained to the situation, and general access to the surrounding area has been removed.”
‘We Took Precautions … and No One Was Hurt’
Considering how close the falling concrete came to a used area of the facility—and in light of the previous studies that identified the degradation of the area’s structure—B&W Y-12 Vice President Bill Reis was asked if additional precautions should have been taken. “Appropriate precautions were taken to control access to degraded areas and to require proper (personal protection equipment) when entering areas under access control,” Reis said in an email response to questions. Among the corrective actions, he listed: “Removed general access to areas surrounding recent delamination, inspected other identified degraded areas across the site, controlled access below degraded areas, prioritized repairs.” He added: “We took precautions … to keep people from getting hurt—and no one was hurt.”
