WC Monitor
10/2/2015
DOE Conducts Aerial Radiological Survey at Hanford
The Department of Energy has completed an aerial radiological survey of the 37 square miles at the center of the Hanford Site in Washington. A National Security Technologies helicopter equipped with sensors flew low over the area, collecting information on 100-foot-wide sections of land at about 40 miles per hour, said Jon Peschong, deputy assistant manager for DOE’s Richland Operations Office cleanup projects. Information collected in mapping areas of radiological contamination, including from contaminated soil and waste burial grounds, will be used to inform cleanup decisions. DOE already has done extensive characterization of the central Hanford Site, but the aerial survey was expected to find additional areas of contamination. “This is one more step to make sure we are not missing anything,” Peschong said.
A helicopter made two or three trips daily from the nearby Pasco airport, beginning and ending each trip by circling over the Columbia River to set its instruments to match readings of background radiation levels. The project took a little more than a week, with results yet to be compiled and a report written. The project is expected to cost about $950,000, including the report and support by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co. employees. Six years ago, an aerial survey of Hanford mapped the 13.7 square miles of the BC Controlled Area, a section of Hanford where animals spread contamination after being attracted to the radioactive salts that remained in soil where liquid waste was disposed in the BC trenches and cribs. In both cases, the aerial survey was done rather than having employees walk large areas or using a tractor or other ground vehicle that could crush vegetation, disturb culturally sensitive areas, and spread contamination.
Hanford Contractors Recognized for Safety Efforts
The three primary contractors for the Hanford Site’s Richland Operations Office have received national safety awards from the Voluntary Protection Program Participants Association, the Department of Energy announced on Tuesday.
The VPP Star of Excellence was given to services contractor Mission Support Alliance (for both its HAMMER federal training site and its safeguards and security group), as well as cleanup contractors Washington Closure Hanford and CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation. The Star of Excellence “is awarded to sites that go beyond the Star criteria and demonstrate excellence in outreach and mentoring efforts, along with exemplary employee involvement and management leadership related to VPP,” according to a DOE press release.
CH2M Hill also received a Safety & Health Outreach Award for its After School Matters program.
Kevin Schoonover from Mission Support Alliance received the VPPPA Safety & Health Achievement Program Award, which recognizes “non-managerial employees who have taken the initiative to learn and apply safety and health best practices,” the press release says.