PHOENIX – The 2,100-plus attendees at Waste Management Symposia were asked upon registration to place a color-coded dot on their name badges to show their level of COVID-era comfort about personal space and handshakes.
Then, when the conference began, attendees were asked to observe a moment of silence for Ukrainians being shelled by Russia’s army.
Both the pandemic and the invasion emerged in various ways during the first working day of this annual industry gathering, which returned to its accustomed spot in Phoenix this year after getting knocked online last year because of the ongoing pandemic.
During a midday address piped in from the East Coast, Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-Tenn.) praised the “strong and unified” response to Russia’s war in Ukraine thus far from Congress.
At the same time, the House Appropriations Committee member, whose district includes the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge Site, said in response to a question from the audience here that the package of sanctions against Russia should grow even stronger and more “punitive.” He did not go into specifics.
“I would hope Russia would withdraw,” Fleischmann said, adding that the international crisis provides a reminder that the United States nuclear industry remains reliant on enriched uranium from Russia.
Meanwhile, though the omicron variant of COVID had ebbed and nearly every level of government was relaxing restrictions on gatherings, the pandemic has left a scar on the weapons complex.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the loss,” of more than 100 federal and contractor employees in the complex during the pandemic, Greg Sosson, Environmental Management’s deputy assistant secretary for safety, security and quality assurance, said during an afternoon session.
Across borders, COVID has made telework more mainstream. It is now more routine at the Nuclear Waste Services branch of the United Kingdom’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Canadian National Laboratories and the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, bosses from those organizations said during an afternoon session.
Corhyn Parr, CEO of Nuclear Waste Services said her organization probably has 50% of its people back onsite. The figure is about 75% at Canadian Nuclear Laboratories, said the labs’ president Joe McBrearty.
Out in the field, things are “pretty much back to normal,” said Sosson of DOE. Sosson declined to give an estimate.
“You are not going to see full parking lots” next week when DOE concludes a return-to-work transition, Sosson said. But there will be more people around the offices, said Sosson. People who telecommute will likely continue to do so, “at least some of the time,” he added.
At least at one site, COVID permanently altered the makeup of the workforce.
Many people at DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico elected to retire rather than get vaccinated against COVID-19, said Sean Dunagan, president and project manager for Nuclear Waste Partnership, the prime contractor for WIPP.
