Home
Energy Net's Library tagged → View Popular
Probe finds distrust at SRS - TheState.com
An investigation into serious allegations of misconduct at the Savannah River Site found no specific wrongdoing, but did discover "unusual levels of distrust and acrimony" as well as failures by key officials.
The investigative body that oversees the Department of Energy released its report, painting a picture of SRS with disorganized lines of leadership, discrimination, racism and many different stories about controversial incidents.
Sparked by an anonymous complaint from an SRS employee, the Inspector General's office came to investigate five specific allegations "concerning improprieties by a senior official with the Office of Environmental Management."
The 12-person investigative team interviewed 80 DOE and contractor employees and scoured through about 150,000 e-mails.
2 exposed to plutonium at SRS 122309 - The Augusta Chronicle
Two Savannah River Site workers were discovered with traces of plutonium 238 on their clothing in November, but followup monitoring concluded they received no internal exposure.
Sign up for breaking news alerts from The Chronicle
“In this case, the two people had contamination on their clothing, but not on themselves,” said Will Callicott, spokesman for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, the site’s primary contractor. “The contamination was detected through routine monitoring while exiting the work area, so the radiation detection system worked as designed.”
The incident occurred the week of Nov. 13 in the site’s Solid Waste Management Facility, according to a report made public this month by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.
Nuclear Warhead Pits May Come to Augusta Area | Georgia Public Broadcasting
Federal officials are pursuing the Savannah River Site as the location for two controversial projects that would bring the pits, or cores, of U.S. nuclear warheads -- and several tons of plutonium -- to the Augusta area. The decision means the federal government is moving closer to transporting the plutonium from Texas to SRS -- possibly through Georgia -- and then storing it there until it can be converted into nuclear fuel for commercial power plants.
The U.S. Department of Energy has for years been considering SRS, a massive federal entity near Augusta that processes nuclear materials, as the location for the projects.
DOE: Trainloads of nuke waste on way to Utah - Salt Lake Tribune
Trainloads of depleted uranium will soon be on the move, rolling over the objections of critics on their way to a Utah burial site.
A Department of Energy official on Thursday informed U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, that 11,000 tons of the low-level radioactive waste -- packed in 14,800 drums -- is ready to be shipped from the Savannah River cleanup in South Carolina.
Rubbish from bomb-making and enrichment, the Savannah River waste will be buried at EnergySolutions Inc.'s specialized landfill in Tooele County. Both state and federal regulators are looking at what measures are needed to make sure shallow disposal sites like EnergySolutions' can safely contain large amounts of DU, as depleted uranium is often called.
The Associated Press: Congressman's spokeswoman: SC waste going to Utah
A spokeswoman for Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson of Utah says the Department of Energy has decided it will begin shipping thousands of drums of low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina for disposal in Utah.
Alyson Heyrend says the department informed Matheson's office of its decision Thursday.
Matheson had asked the agency to halt shipments of depleted uranium from the Savannah River Site until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission finalizes rules for how the material should be disposed of.
Depleted uranium is different from other low-level radioactive waste disposed of in Utah because it becomes more radioactive over time.
The regulatory commission isn't expected to finalize its rules until 2012 at the earliest.
DOE: Nevada not an option for Utah-bound depleted uranium - Salt Lake Tribune
A U.S. Department of Energy spokeswoman says Nevada has been ruled out as an alternative disposal site for nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium from South Carolina currently scheduled to come to Utah.
DOE spokeswoman Lauren Milone says the Nevada Test Site is being excluded from discussions about the waste because the DOE has agreed to conduct a statewide environmental impact statement before accepting any new waste there.
Milone says doing that would probably take at least a year.
The Savannah River Site waste is expected to begin coming to Utah this month unless the DOE decides to keep it in South Carolina.
DOE contemplating next move on depleted uranium - Salt Lake Tribune
The U.S. Energy Department is trying to decide whether it should start shipping depleted uranium that was originally headed to Utah last fall.
Federal stimulus money is paying for 15,000 barrels of uranium-enrichment waste from the Savannah River Project in South Carolina to be buried in the low-level radioactive waste site operated by EnergySolutions Inc. in Tooele County.
But the Utah Radiation Control Board is months away from determining whether more DU, as the waste is often called, belongs in Utah.
About 49,000 tons is already buried at EnergySolutions, but both state and federal regulators say a deeper technical analysis is necessary. Large amounts of highly concentrated DU becomes increasingly hazardous over the next million years.
Recovery Act offers glimpse into SRS executive pay | blogs.augusta.com
Think your job has its share of headaches?
Presiding over Savannah River Site’s environmental and tritium programs was worth a $570,008 annual salary for one top executive—and he left after just two years.
The figure was revealed in a government Web site that tracks American Recovery & Reinvestment Act spending and requires major recipients to divulge salaries of their top five officers.
The federal database shows that Savannah River Nuclear Solutions—the primary management contractor for Savannah River Site—has been awarded $1,407,839,884 in stimulus dollars, in addition to its scheduled funding for regular operations at the site, for which the Fluor-led group received a five-year, $4 billion contract that took effect in 2008.
DOE accuses SRNS of 'poor management' | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
The Department of Energy (DOE) is accusing its management and operations contractor of "poor management" and said that delays in removing certain legacy waste is undermining its confidence to meet contractual goals.
In a letter from Savannah River Site Manager Jeff Allison, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) was informed Dec. 1 that its seeming inabilities to meet deadlines for the removal of legacy transuranic waste (TRU) from SRS "undermine DOE's confidence in SRNS' ability to achieve DOE's performance expectations for the overall TRU project."
Savannah River Operations Office (DOE-SR) Manager Allison sent the letter to SRNS President and CEO Garry Flowers, stating that 4,200 cubic meters of legacy TRU must successfully be disposed of by Sept. 30, 2012.
"However, recent performance suggests this expectation may not be realized," Allison wrote. "I find this disconcerting, especially given the past history of success with this project."
NRC plans Aiken meeting to discuss latest MOX reviews 112409 - The Augusta Chronicle
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 in Aiken to discuss the agency’s most recent round of reviews of the Energy Department’s $4.86 billion mixed oxide fuel facility under construction at Savannah River Site.
The meeting, to be held at the Aiken Municipal Center, 215 The Alley, is a federal “management meeting” at which the parties involved in the project will discuss recent inspections. “Public
attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions of the NRC staff at the conclusion of the management meeting, but before the meeting adjourns,” according to the meeting notice.
The MOX facility, scheduled to open in 2016, is designed to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium by using small amounts to make fuel for commercial reactors.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
NNSA admin is 'very happy' with MOX | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
The National Nuclear Safety Administration is "very happy" with the progress being made at the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility despite the facility again being cited and not having a customer for the multi-billion dollar product.
Thomas P. D'Agostino, NNSA administrator, was in Aiken on Wednesday to tour the facility and the other missions at Savannah River Site one day after a recent inspection report cited four specific faults with the MOX project's construction.
"These are incredibly minor issues ... very minor. They do not affect the integrity of construction at all," D'Agostino said. "There is strong support (for the project); in fact, the (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) was strongly supportive."
MOX inspection finds some minor violations, report says 110309 - The Augusta Chronicle
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s most recent round of inspections at the U.S. Energy Department’s mixed oxide fuel facility yielded four notices of violation for mostly minor infractions, according to a copy of the report made public today.
Inspectors who conducted extensive reviews at the construction site from July 1 to Sept. 30 also noted that many programs—including the placement of concrete and steel—were adequate and in complete compliance.
The $4.8 million MOX facility, scheduled to open at Savannah River Site in 2016, is designed to dispose of 34 metric tons of surplus, weapons-grade plutonium by using small amounts to make fuel for commercial reactors.
The inspections involved evaluation of construction of principle structures and included quality assurance activities related to design verification and documentation control; problem identification, resolution, and corrective actions; structural steel and support activities; structural concrete activities; and geotechnical foundation activities, the report said.
Funds quicken SRS waste removal | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
Earlier this month, a shipment off-site of seven barrels of tritium- and mercury-contaminated oil put the Savannah River Site on a fast track to remove legacy mixed waste originally scheduled for disposition in 2053.
"Not only is it radioactive for its tritium content, it is hazardous for mercury, which can make treatment of this waste challenging," said Jacob Nims, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) project engineer. "We had plans to let all of it decay to be able to ship it off-site in the future."
Decaying would have taken 10 to 50 years. Instead, funding from the Recovery Act accelerated the project as part of the cleanup that will reduce the footprint of the Site by 67 percent.
In essence, the removal of the mixed waste frees space in N Area, allowing for the consolidation of the remaining waste from a total of 30,000 square feet of space to a smaller 3,600-square-foot facility in E Area.
"The plan is to ship all we can from N Area and move only what is necessary into E Area to allow maximum space for all future generated waste," Nims said.
SRS subcontractor indicted for fraud | Aiken Standard | Aiken, SC
A former Aiken resident who worked at the Savannah River Site as a subcontractor on the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility has been indicted for fraud.
Joseph Ralph Lohre Jr., 46, was charged in a three-count indictment with theft of government funds and two counts of making false statements.
The indictment alleges that between March 2006 and May 2008, Lohre falsely claimed eligibility for housing benefits through a program administered by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the federal agency overseeing the MOX project, and that as part of his fraud, he submitted falsified documentation to support a claim that he owned a permanent residence in Fort Mitchell, Ky.
At the time, Lohre was working as an engineer contractor at SRS.
Nuclear site rakes in S.C. stimulus funds - Business - The State
More than a third of the $4.2 billion in federal grants and contracts sent so far to South Carolina to revive the economy has gone to the former Savannah River nuclear weapons facility, according to an analysis of federal data by The Greenville News.
The stimulus awards amount to about $954 for each S.C. resident - the nation's third-highest per-capita rate behind only the District of Columbia and Alaska, the paper found.
STIMULATED
Richland County, home to the state capital, received the largest chunk of stimulus money among South Carolina's counties, according to the analysis. Much of Richland's funding went to state agencies to be used across South Carolina. Aiken was second because of large earmarks to clean up the Savannah River nuclear complex:
1. Richland - $2.2 billion
2. Aiken - $1.6 billion
3. Greenville - $76.3 million
Selected Tags
Related Tags
Sponsored Links
Groups interested in savannah...
Diigo is about better ways to research, share and collaborate on information. Learn more »
Join Diigo