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Officials meet to discuss parks at NERP workshop | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
Collaboration and working locally toward national goals were expressed as overarching themes Friday as the National Environmental Research Parks (NERP) workshop came to an end in Aiken.
Researchers and scholars from all seven of the nationwide facilities gathered at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory's conference center.
"The commonality of programs has come through," said Ken McLeod, co-director of SREL. "Despite our geographical differences, we are working on similar research themes."
SREL hosted the workshop for representatives from the seven environmental research park sites located at DOE nuclear sites: Los Alamos in New Mexico, Hanford in Washington, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, Oak Ridge in Tennessee, Fermilab in Illinois, the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho and the Savannah River Site.
The network of research parks offers opportunities for scientists to combine their data to create a comprehensive picture of the impacts of climate change across widely varied geographic regions.
Closing of incinerator delayed » Knoxville News Sentinel
Mercury-laden waste pushes shutdown date to Nov. 30
OAK RIDGE - The last waste to be burned at the federal government's 20-year-old toxic waste incinerator is apparently proving to be some of the most difficult.
The Department of Energy and its environmental manager have again delayed the permanent closure of the Oak Ridge incinerator, citing the need for more time to process mercury-laden
Cancer testing effort returns | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette
Nobody has to convince Edna Brackey how important the mobile Early Cancer Detection Program discontinued at the end of 2006 really was.
"I really owe eight years of a very enjoyable life to this program," said Brackey, who will turn 90 next summer, during a ceremony Thursday announcing the resumption of the testing program for current and former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers
Brackey, like many who develop lung cancer, had no visible early symptoms of the disease, although she did have a prior problem with a cancer in her mouth. Due to the testing program that was in place in Piketon in 2001, however, a very small cancerous mass in her lung was detected with the free CT scan.
Nearly dead and buried - Las Vegas Sun
Energy Department still needs to abandon license application
Nevada has been fighting for more than 20 years efforts by the federal government to build a dump for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, a mere 90 miles northwest of the heavily populated Las Vegas Valley. Despite the clout of the nuclear power industry, things have begun to go Nevada’s way. Thanks to the efforts of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the actions of the Obama administration, funding for the ill-conceived project is drying up.
The only major hurdle that remains is to have the Energy Department withdraw its license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent Yucca dump. It is only after that application is abandoned for good that Nevadans can truly rejoice.
Unprofessional behavior plagues SRS | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
Death threats, abuse and corporate retaliation seem to have taken the place of any sense of esprit de corps at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) since stimulus funds and related staff started pouring in, according to workers.
Working conditions at the South Carolina DOE weapons complex facility have again been called into question as information obtained by the Aiken Standard paints a picture of unprofessional behavior and acrimony at the top levels of DOE management.
Following a dispute between Site Manager Jeff Allison and individuals at DOE Environmental Management (EM) headquarters in September and early October, new information has come forth of seemingly widespread discord between DOE-EM executives and stimulus management and staff.
An investigation began at SRS after Director of SRS American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Vincent Adams claimed his life was threatened by Elaine Nix, the contracting officer for SRS ARRA work.
Sick worker advocates seek rules changes | knoxnews.com
According to info distributed by the Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups, ANWAG and the action groups at Linde Ceramics are petitioning NIOSH and the Dept. of Labor to make rules changes in the administration of the sick nuclear worker compensation program.
"Congress never intended this program to develop into the ongoing and overwhelming burden it has become for sickened nuclear weapons workers or their survivors," Terrie Barrie of ANWAG said in a statement. "Congress was well aware when they passed EEOICPA that the Department of Energy did not keep adequate exposure records, particularly for chemicals and heavy metals. Yet, DOL requires claimants to provide proof of exposure where none exists. It is long past due to return this program to the original intent of the law."
Ventura County Reporter - Boeing blocks lab cleanup
Boeing’s filing of a federal complaint on Friday the 13th against the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control over cleaning up the monstrously polluted Santa Susana Field Lab was no tardy Halloween trick. The move attempts to gut state Senate Bill 990, which was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger in October 2007, to ensure that the 2,850-acre site is cleaned up to the highest standards.
Invalidating SB 990 would save Boeing hundreds of millions of dollars. The state’s stringent cleanup levels would be relaxed, saving Boeing on the amount of soil and groundwater contamination that would have to be removed from the site and sent to a dump.
Peace activists push 'Alternative 6' for Y-12 | knoxnews.com
The debate over nuclear weapons in the 21st century continued tonight with about 100 people in attendance. This time the forum was held at the New Hope Center, near the entrance to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, and the topic was modernization of Y-12 and the proposed construction of a new production facility with broad capabilities at the Oak Ridge plant.
If there's a price tag for world peace and security, several speakers passionately argued, it's surely not between $1.4 billion and $3.5 billion. That's the estimated cost range of the Uranium Processing Facility, which the National Nuclear Security Administration wants to build at Y-12 to replace antiquated operations -- some of which date back to the World War II Manhattan Project -- for making and dismantling warhead parts.
The Taxpayer Shouldn't be Burned Again in LANL's Inadequate Fire Protection Program - POGO Blog
As usual, last week there was an interesting article in the Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor. In “Pu Work Curtailed Because Of Fire Sprinkler Issues,” the Monitor’s Todd Jacobson reported that “Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL] curtailed programmatic work in the lab’s Plutonium Facility, putting the facility in 'standby mode' for a month from early October to Nov. 5 because of concerns about the adequacy of fire sprinkler coverage.”
On the bright side, the problem that 13 of 100 areas (130 sprinklers) in the facility were not adequately covered by the sprinkler system was discovered before there was a fire in one of those areas. On the not-so-bright side, two weeks ago, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) found that the facility would be vulnerable to a catastrophic fire in the case of a severe earthquake. However, it does not take an earthquake to start a fire in a glove box that could spread.
DOE's Chalk: Managing Billions of Dollars in Clean Energy Stimulus Funding - washingtonpost.com
At the Department of Energy (DOE), Steven Chalk has experienced the economic crisis as an opportunity, a chance to push energy efficiency.
A career public servant, Chalk manages the distribution of nearly half the $36.7 billion in economic stimulus funds Congress granted DOE this year -- money issued for home weatherization, energy efficient buildings, plug-in hybrid vehicle technology, solar, wind and geothermal power.
Nuclear 'Renaissance' Held Up by Fight Between DOE and OMB - NYTimes.com
The awards of $18.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for new nuclear plant projects remain held up by an ongoing dispute within the Obama administration over the financial risk the new reactors pose for the government and taxpayers, according to industry and government officials.
The struggle pits the Energy Department against the Office of Management and Budget, agencies that have been at odds since the loan guarantee program was approved in 2005. DOE will make the final decision on nuclear project loan guarantee requests. OMB has a pivotal say in determining the risk of loan defaults if the projects suffer cost overruns or cannot be completed.
Site Classification Procedural Explanation Erupts in Wails of Disbelief - Huntington News Network
During the public subcommittee meetings of the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board at the Endeavor Center concerning cleanup and possible future uses for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site, a definition clarification led to a volatile exchange between an EPA worker and the survivor of a plant worker.
Joni Fearing, whose parents died from plant related contamination, objected to the Portsmouth/Piketon site not technically qualifying as a “superfund” cleanup site, which in the determination of certain attorneys triggers certain benefits to survivors.
After challenging criteria for “superfund” classification, Brian Blair, Ohio EPA Division of Emergency and Remedial Response, attempted to explain the process.
Sites designated under superfund qualify for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) environmental law. The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is on the list in Kentucky.
Seattle crowd opposes Hanford cleanup delays
A tentative agreement to stretch out the timetable to convert the Hanford nuclear reservation's worst radioactive wastes into more benign glass drew little support at a Seattle meeting last Thursday.
If adopted, the agreement would delay start-up of a massive waste-glassification complex from 2011 to 2019. And completion of the glassification would shift from 2028 to 2047.
The agreement -- actually a negotiated settlement to a state lawsuit against the federal Department of Energy -- also gives a federal judge the power to enforce the new schedule if the feds balk at it in the future.
S.C. waste coming to Oak Ridge » Knoxville News Sentinel
The U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River nuclear facility in South Carolina is using a wealth of Recovery Act funding to accelerate cleanup activities and reduce its Cold War stockpile of radioactive waste.
Some of that waste, containing radioactive tritium and other contaminants, is coming to Oak Ridge for treatment and packaging before being shipped west to Nevada or Utah for disposal. Two local facilities owned by Perma-Fix Environmental Services Inc. - Diversified Scientific Services Inc. near Kingston and Materials & Energy Corp. in Oak Ridge - have been hired to treat the so-called mixed waste, which contains both radioactive elements and hazardous chemicals.
Department of Energy - Statement of U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Meetings With Indian Leaders
oday I have had the opportunity to meet with Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other distinguished Indian leaders. We had productive discussions about the opportunities for partnerships between our two countries on clean energy technologies.
Meeting the climate and clean energy challenge is a top priority for President Obama. In the past ten months, the United States has demonstrated its renewed commitment to these goals both by supporting domestic policies that advance clean energy, climate security, and economic recovery; and by vigorously vigorously re-engaging the international community through bi-lateral relationships, the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, the G20, and the UN negotiations.
The U.S. will continue to work hard toward combating climate change and reaching a strong international agreement that puts the world on a pathway to a clean energy future. Working together, we can meet the clean energy and climate challenge in a way that will drive sustainable, low-carbon economic growth in the 21st century.
Miles to go on Livermore nuclear lab cleanup -- latimes.com
Quarrels remain as the Northern California community and the federal government search for an affordable and environmental solution.
Reporting from Livermore, Calif. - The Energy Department is spending $328 million to clean up two separate areas of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory -- the agency's largest nuclear-weapons cleanup project in California.
The cleanup is relatively minor compared with others in the U.S., but it still has led to conflicts between the local community and the federal government as both search for a solution that is affordable and environmentally acceptable.
Livermore is one of two U.S. labs that designed nuclear weapons. It continues to conduct research into plutonium behavior, high-powered lasers, computer-simulated nuclear reactions and other areas.
Markey: No Nuclear Loan Guarantees Without COLs :: POWER Magazine
Loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants in the U.S. should not be awarded until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has fully reviewed plans for a proposed project and granted it a combined construction and operating license (COL), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) told Energy Secretary Steven Chu last week.
“Otherwise valuable taxpayer support would be set aside for a project that may not pass regulatory review,” the chair of the House Energy and Environment Subcommittee said in a letter (PDF) to Chu.
The congressman’s concerns were raised by the NRC’s Oct. 16 notice to Westinghouse Electric Co. that it had not adequately demonstrated the structural strength of certain components of its AP1000 reactor design, specifically for the shield building. The shield building protects the reactor’s primary containment from severe weather and other events, but it also provides a radiation barrier during normal operation and supports an emergency cooling water tank.
Two reports find violations at SRS | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
Two reports from investigative teams have made significant recommendations to the Savannah River Site and its contractors after accidents and the verification of employees' citizenship seemed to be lacking.
The Department of Energy and its Office of the Inspector General have released the reports after investigations into activities at SRS.
One report was that of a "Type B" investigation into a serious hand and arm injury suffered by a worker in a powerhouse, the other regarding employment verification at SRS.
The investigation into the injury came about after a worker suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns on his arms and hands while working in a D-area powerhouse. The electrical burns were determined to have been caused when a metal level the worker was using came into contact with a live breaker.
Life after Yucca Mountain - Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 | 2:06 a.m. - Las Vegas Sun
Report: Energy Department on verge of abandoning nuke dump application
We have cheered the Obama administration’s decision to eventually shutter the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project by starving it of federal funding. Nonetheless, our optimism has been tempered because the Energy Department still has a pending license application before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build a permanent dump for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
What we eagerly await is the day when the Energy Department abandons the application so that the idea of forcing a potentially deadly nuke waste dump, on a state that does not want it, is buried for good.
Aiken-area group wants nuclear waste study - Local / Metro - TheState.com
Aiken-area business leaders say the Savannah River Site may become the nation's high-level nuclear waste dumping ground if the federal government drops plans for a disposal site in Nevada.
But the SRS Community Reuse Organization says shelving the Yucca Mountain site is a bad idea, and it says the nation now needs to figure out how to dispose of high-level nuclear waste. The group's mission supports job creation in the five counties around SRS, a 300-square mile nuclear weapons site.
Aiken, Augusta and surrounding communities could suffer a bad image if the waste is left at SRS, making it harder to recruit industry, the reuse organization said in a statement Monday. It is calling for a special blue-ribbon panel to study options for disposing of waste.
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