URS Changes Top Person at Hanford Waste Treatment Plant
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
URS is changing out its top executive at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. Mark Lindholm has been named Chief Operating Officer for Hanford tank farms contractor Washington River Protection Solutions, effective Jan. 5, 2015, the contractor announced this week. He replaces Wyatt Clark, who left WRPS this summer. Lindholm previously held the position of Manager of Commissioning, Readiness and Operations at the Hanford vit plant, and that position will be held in an acting capacity by Scott Booth, who also will continue to serve as commissioning manager.
Effective Feb. 2, 2015, Zack Smith will serve as WRPS Deputy Project Manager, according to this week’s announcement. Smith will replace Chris Burrows, who is returning to a corporate position with EnergySolutions. WRPS is led by URS and also includes EnergySolutions. Smith last served as a Vice President of Operations at EnergySolutions, and before that was Deputy Manager at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Operations Office.
DNFSB Raises Concern Over Safety Strategy for Key WTP Component
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board is questioning the nuclear safety control strategy developed for a key component for the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant. In a letter sent last week to the Department of Energy, the Board questioned the Safety Design Strategy (SDS) developed for the melter and associated support systems at the WTP’s High-Level Waste Facility. “The SDS does not analyze for certain accidents associated with the HLW Facility melters,” DNFSB Chairman Peter Winokur wrote in the letter, warning that an “incomplete” SDS could results in a safety basis that did not meet DOE requirements.
Among the accident scenarios not analyzed in the SDS, according to the Board, is a melter steam explosion that could occur with the interaction of water and molten salt. “Hazards from a large steam explosion include rapid steam generation, aerosol production, damage to the melter and the melter off gas system, and loss of molten glass and offgas confinement. The release from a steam explosion would add additional loading to the CS ventilation (C5V) system high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters that is not accounted for in the design of the system,” a Board staff report says. Another potential accident scenario not included in the SDS, according to the Board staff report, is a simultaneous spill of nitric acid and molten glass in the event of a severe seismic event. “In the event of a design basis seismic accident during a HEME nitric acid soak, the contents of the HEME could spill onto the melter cave floor, where they could mix with molten glass and water released from the melter. Heated nitric acid produces corrosive vapors that could be carried into the ventilation system,” the report says.
Many of the issues outlined in the Board staff report were previously raised in 2011 and 2012 but not addressed, Winokur wrote. “Now that the Department of Energy (DOE) has approved a conditional authorization for the project to proceed with engineering, procurement, and construction activities, it is prudent to bring these issues to the attention of the DOE Office of Environment Management’s leadership,” he wrote. The Board has requested that DOE provide within 90 days the Department’s plan to address “all design basis melter accident scenarios to support development of a compliant safety basis for the HLW Facility and assure the adequate protection of the public and the workers.”
The DOE Office of River Protection declined to comment on the Board’s letter this week. In a written response, Todd Nelson, a spokesman for WTP contractor Bechtel National said, “We are working with DOE staff to ensure they have the appropriate information to respond to the December 5, 2014, DNFSB letter. The Safety Design Strategy (SDS) for the High-Level Waste Vitrification Facility, referenced in the letter, was approved by DOE in August 2014. The purpose of the SDS is to evaluate hazards and potential accidents and to define the preferred control strategies that will be incorporated into the design of the plant and ensure safe operations. The SDS is intended to be updated as new analyses are completed.”
WTP Workers Undergo Drug Tests
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
Drug tests were administered to all workers at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant construction site last week. In recent months, three instances of drugs or drug paraphernalia found at the construction site have been reported to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, which investigates crime at Hanford. However, the illegal substances have not been linked to any individuals. “The Tri-Cities Metro Drug Task Force has reported that drug trafficking in the Pacific Northwest is on the increase,” said Suzanne Heaston, spokeswoman for Bechtel National. The vitrification plant is seeing a similar increase in occurrences of illegal drug discovery, she said. However, positive drug test results for vit plant employees remain significantly below the national average, she said.
The items found at the construction site in recent months included a drug pipe, a pouch with heroin tar residue and a small amount of methamphetamine. About 1,000 workers, including union and nonunion employees, work at the construction site and were tested for drugs. “Our action is a prudent response to the regional increase and to our own observations at the site,” Heaston said. Bechtel National conducts pre-employment drug screening and also random drug testing. Bechtel’s goal is to provide a safe workplace free of substance abuse, Heaston said.
Outgoing Congressman Wants Answers on Cost of Building New Tanks
WC Monitor
12/12/2014
Retiring Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) is pressing the Department of Energy for more information on the cost and implications of building more storage tanks at Hanford. Hastings may not get an answer to the letter he sent to DOE this week before he retires at the end of the month. But his staff said there was value in having the possibility of new storage tanks discussed publicly and getting answers to questions on the record.
The state of Washington wants DOE to add 4 million gallons of new storage tank capacity, with the possibility of later requiring even more capacity, according to documents filed in federal court as the two parties argue over how to amend a court-enforced consent decree. “The real solution to Hanford tank waste is not simply transferring waste from one storage tank into another storage tank—but rather retrieving and treating the waste so that it can be immobilized and properly disposed of in its final form,” Hastings wrote in a letter to Mark Whitney, acting assistant secretary of the DOE Office of Environmental Management. Initiatives that distract focus and funds from getting tank waste treated for disposal at the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant must be very carefully considered, Hastings said.
Would New Hanford Tanks Hurt Cleanup at Other Sites?
DOE already has said in federal court documents that new tanks to hold 12 million gallons of waste would cost $1 billion. Hastings is asking DOE how much the initial 4 million gallons of tank capacity requested by the state would cost and how long it would take to construct, license and begin using the tanks. He also wants to know, given typical Hanford budgets, what other work at Hanford or elsewhere at DOE cleanup sites might be delayed or stopped to focus time and resources on new Hanford storage tanks. “Hanford cleanup proposals cannot be considered in a vacuum, without complete understanding of the implications on all ongoing work,” Hastings said.
Safety is a concern, Hastings indicated in the letter. He asked about the possible risks to workers and the environment associated with pumping waste into possible new storage tanks. He questioned whether DOE has considered possible technologies for removing cesium and other radioactive isotopes from its existing double shell tanks to create more usable space.
Other questions covered work to increase the current tank storage capacity available in an emergency and a new facility under consideration, the proposed Tank Waste Characterization Facility, to blend, sample and stage waste and do some pretreatment of waste before it is sent to the vitrification plant. “I recognize the sensitive nature of legal negotiations, but believe that it is incumbent upon all of us to never lose sight of the fact that the legacy of our nation’s defense cleanup is funded by the American taxpayers,” he said. Decisions on matters such as whether to build more storage tanks should not be made solely by lawyers behind closed doors, he said. Although Hastings likely will be retired before DOE answers the letter, he sent a copy of the letter to Dan Newhouse, who will take Hastings’ place in Congress, plus Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chairman of the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee.
