Todd Jacobson
NS&D Monitor
9/12/2014
The looming possibility that tritium operations at the Savannah River Site could be folded into Consolidated Nuclear Security’s Y-12/Pantex contract has tritium employees worried about a change in benefits and management concerned about the operational impacts that would accompany a loss of talent and knowledge if a large number of employees transfer to other jobs at the site to maintain their current benefits, according to industry officials. While Bechtel-led CNS took over management of the $22.8 billion Y-12/Pantex contract July 1, the potential for Savannah River tritium work to be added to the contract remains an option that the National Nuclear Security Administration has said it will consider after the first year of the contract.
However, industry officials say many tritium employees working for SRS contractor Savannah River Nuclear Solutions—including many that are retirement eligible or nearing retirement eligibility—are exploring transferring out of tritium work to other jobs at the Savannah River Site, either at Fluor-led SRNS or at URS-led liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation. A large percentage of the site’s tritium workforce is retirement eligible, according to industry officials, but SRNS declined to comment on the exact numbers, referring questions to NNSA. NNSA declined to comment on the issue, saying it was a contractual matter.
‘A Conduct of Operations Risk’
The exact number of employees looking to transfer out of tritium work is unclear, but an industry official said the problem is most acute with those that are retirement eligible. “If I have year or two to go before I can retire and my benefits were likely to change within a year I’d be looking for jobs within the EM [DOE Environmental Management] part of the site, and that’s what’s going on,” the industry official told NS&D Monitor.
An exodus of workers would have a significant impact on the unique tritium operations at the site, the official said. “You’ve got these people off looking for different jobs and you’re going to have to hire new people and backfill them,” the official said. “You’re talking about significant costs to the government and then a conduct of operations risk to operations.”
It takes several months to qualify nuclear operators at the site and about a year to qualify a front-lone manager, and because of the unique nature of the work at the facility, it will not be easy to pull talent from around the weapons complex, the official said. “You can bring qualified nuclear operators in from somewhere else but it’s about how those facilities work, the systems, the processes,” the official said. “It’d be a big spin-up.”
NNSA Has Until Sept. 2015 to Make Decision on Tritium Option
Earlier this year, NNSA spokesman Steven Wyatt said that no decision on the tritium option had been made and he declined to provide a timetable or details about what might factor into the decision.
“Under the provisions of the CNS contract, NNSA may exercise the option of including tritium operations at the end of the first year, September 2015,” Wyatt said. “A specific timetable has not been established and no decisions have been made at this time.” CNS has said it expects to save about $3.27 billion over 10 years through the merger of the sites. About $3 billion of that is cost savings at Y-12 and Pantex, and the remainder is cost savings projected if the tritium option is exercised.
‘What They’re Most Afraid of is the Unknown’
One of the major concerns among employees is potential changes to health care benefits. Earlier this year, CNS said it would shift more of the cost burden on health-care premiums to workers when the new management contract at the sites takes effect July 1. Over the next few years, the contractor said employee contributions will shift to a model where workers pay 25 percent of the premiums and CNS pays 75 percent. Currently, workers pay about 15 percent of the health-care premiums. The changes were made to bring the plans in line with DOE regulations.
SRNS did not provide information about its benefits package, but it is believed to be more lucrative than the plan unveiled by CNS. CNS did not respond to a request for comment. While a decision could take until next year, industry officials are hoping NNSA decides sooner, to prevent employees from leaving the tritium workforce because of the uncertainty. “What is needed is certainty one way or the other,” the official said. “If they’re going to pull it out of there at least have some certainty so people know what’s going on, and if they’re not have some certainty to say, ‘Quit worrying about it.’” The official added: “What they’re most afraid of is the unknown. It is the fear of, ‘We don’t know what it is but we’re sure it’s not going to be better.’ ”
