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Cover photos (clockwise from top): This geologic formation is located near the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Ground Water Project site in Monument Valley, Arizona. Activities at project sites include hydroseeding at the Monument Valley site; stakeholders visit the Shiprock, New Mexico, site; Dorcie Ahownewa dips her hands in a natural spring that is a cultural site for the Hopi Tribe near Moenkopi, Arizona; stakeholders tour the new treatment plant installation at the Tuba City, Arizona, site; a subcontractor prepares to drill extraction wells at the Monument Valley site; and excavation of a pit at Monument Valley for a geotechnical subsoil investigation. |
Year 2000 Promises To Be Busy, Challenging for GJO
Ground-Water Team Continues Path Toward Cleanup
Using Plants To Clean Up Ground Water
Ground Water Distillation Unit Installed at Tuba City, Arizona
GJO Personnel Assist Germans With Ground-Water Cleanup Solution
A Site in Transition
New Contracting Officer Fills Two Vacancies
LandTrek—A Roadmap to Transfer, Reuse, and Environmental Knowledge
Hardesty Award Recognizes Records Management Excellence
GJO To Perform Pilot Reclamation Project for BLM
DOE–GJO Finds New Home for Historic Treasure
Educational Outreach
RAP Team Educates Public About Things Radiological
DOE–GJO Schedules Long-Term Stewardship Workshop
Children of GJO Employees Learn About Parents’ Work
A major goal this year is to complete the cleanup of the property on which GJO resides and to sell the property to the community. The transfer of the GJO site to a private entity presents many challenges (see related article).We are negotiating with a State of Colorado nonprofit organization sanctioned by the City of Grand Junction and Mesa County to take ownership of the site. A portion of the property will transfer to the U.S. Army Reserve.
On January 14, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson made an announcement in Moab, Utah, for two initiatives: the return of 84,000 acres of land in northeast Utah to the Northern Ute Indian Tribe and the cleanup and removal of 10.5 million tons of radioactive mill tailings near the Colorado River outside Moab.
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Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson held a press conference
in Moab, Utah, on January 14, 2000,
to announce a plan to address the environmental problems posed by the radioactive mill tailings at the Atlas site near Moab. |
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to move the tailings to a site where they do not threaten the Colorado River or the nearby Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. Secretary Richardson has requested Congress to give DOE legislative approval to take control of the Atlas site and to provide funding to move the waste to a specially constructed disposal site. DOE also proposed that a percentage of the royalties from the land that would be transferred to the Ute Indians, known as Naval Oil Shale Reserve Number 2, be used to help offset the estimated $300 million in costs associated with removal and disposal of the tailings.
If this legislative approval is achieved, it will be good news for DOE–GJO. The DOE Albuquerque Operations Office, to which GJO reports, has said that GJO would administer the Atlas work if DOE were given control of the site.
Lastly, I told employees that the two existing small-business contracts will be in place until the end of September 2001. A new Technical Assistance contract will be awarded to a small business set-aside in the summer of 2001 and become effective October 1, 2001, to allow for a 60- to 90-day transition period with existing contracts. A Request for Proposal will be available late fall of 2000.
The Technical Assistance contract will be awarded to support the current DOE–GJO mission. If DOE receives the authority to remediate the Moab pile, the current plan is for the Technical Assistance contractor to perform a support service role to DOE–GJO in overseeing an architectural and engineering contract, in addition to the current mission work.
I would like to add that I am proud of the work we’ve performed on our
Monticello, Utah, projects, which we featured in the Winter 2000 edition
of the Grand Junction Office Perspective. We recently accomplished
some major milestones that need to be announced: the Monticello repository
cover was completed on February 23, 2000, and the Monticello Radioactive
Contaminated Properties (known as the Monticello Vicinity Properties Site)
were removed from the National Priorities List on February 28, 2000. We
are continuing to work on transferring the millsite land to the City of
Monticello. Once the City of Monticello owns the millsite, the City will
complete its restoration.
| As you can see, we have a variety of activities and projects under way that continue to keep us operating at full throttle. The year 2000 is an exciting one for GJO. We will keep you apprised of our success in future issues of the Grand Junction Office Perspective. |  |
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Donna Bergman-Tabbert, DOE–GJO Manager
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| (left to right) Wilma Bicenti
and Steve Austin, Navajo Environmental Protection Agency; Sarah Rahman,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Albuquerque; and Dick Dayvault and Rob Bleil, MACTEC–ERS, recently toured the Shiprock, New Mexico, site. |
Many Devils Wash is one of the washes with standing water near the Shiprock site where the UMTRA Ground Water Project will place riprap as an interim remedial action. |
The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Ground Water Project team continues to implement cost-effective ground-water remedial action strategies at the 24 former uranium-processing sites in the project, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Grand Junction Office.
The 24 sites are somewhat equally divided into three stages of compliance.
The following table presents a summary of the targeted compliance strategy,
the applicable ground-water standard, and the current stage of compliance
for each site. The State of North Dakota chose not to participate in the
UMTRA Project; therefore, the ground water at the Belfield and Bowman sites
will not be remediated by DOE. The Riverton, Wyoming; Falls City, Texas;
and Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, sites are in the process of being transferred
to the Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program managed by the DOE
Grand Junction Office. The remaining completed sites, other than those
in North Dakota, have already been transferred.
Compliance Strategies
The project employs three ground-water compliance strategies: no remediation, passive remediation, and active remediation. For eight of the sites (see table above), no further action was performed based on the application of supplemental standards, including limited-use ground-water conditions. Limited-use ground water is ground water that is not a current or potential source of drinking water because of low yield, high total dissolved solids, or widespread, ambient contamination that is not due to activities related to a designated processing site.
In February 2000, the UMTRA Ground Water Project received concurrence from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the first application of ground-water alternate concentration limits (ACLs) at the UMTRA site in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. ACLs have been identified as a regulatory provision for no further action within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ground-water standards framework. ACLs are concentrations of constituents that may exceed the prescriptive maximum concentration limits or limits for those constituents without a maximum. If DOE demonstrates, with concurrence from NRC, that human health and the environment would not be adversely affected, DOE may meet an ACL.
DOE used characterization data and computer modeling results, which predicted the contaminants at the Canonsburg site would be attenuated within 30 years, as the bases for the ACL application. Working with the community, State of Pennsylvania, and NRC, DOE successfully achieved concurrence for the ACL application, which will also result in significant cost savings compared with other treatment alternatives.
The compliance strategy of passive remediation—natural flushing with monitoring and institutional controls—is targeted at eight sites (see table above). Data collected at these sites indicate contaminants are naturally flushing or attenuating. Computer modeling predicts contaminant levels will be below maximum concentration limits within 100 years. DOE is working closely with officials in the affected communities to ensure appropriate institutional controls are put in place to protect the public during the 100-year flushing period.
Innovative technologies continue to be part of the selection process in determining an appropriate remediation strategy at the sites. Active remediation of the ground-water contamination will be performed at the Shiprock, New Mexico, and Tuba City and Monument Valley, Arizona, sites.
DOE is evaluating alternatives for ground-water remediation at the Monument Valley site, including phytoremediation and land farming (see related article).
To implement remediation at Monument Valley, DOE funded the Navajo Tribal Utilities Authority (NTUA) to install electrical power at the site. In conjunction with this installation, NTUA will provide electrical power to individual homes along the route to the site. Local residences will also receive water through a jointly funded project by DOE and the Indian Health Service to help ensure that no one will be drinking contaminated water during the remediation process.
An interim remedial action has been implemented near the Shiprock site until a long-term solution is in place. The interim remedial action consists of installing fences around surface water in washes and placing riprap in washes with standing water to eliminate potential risks to livestock and wildlife.
DOE installed a distillation treatment plant at the Tuba City site to clean up contaminated ground water and continues to fine tune the distillation process (see related article).
Donald Metzler, DOE UMTRA Ground Water Project Manager said, “The ground water team has been successful in balancing risk with cost and continues to consider innovative approaches toward compliance and actual cleanup.”
Stakeholder Involvement
The project team understands the need to communicate directly with its diverse group of project stakeholders. Because several project sites are on Native American land, DOE has hosted workshop meetings regularly with Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribe representatives. These workshops have been beneficial in furthering communication with these interested stakeholders. In 1999, members of the ground-water team began attending the Chapter House meetings held by the Navajo communities located near the Shiprock, Tuba City, and Monument Valley sites. “Attending Chapter House meetings has opened doors for communicating directly with citizens affected by UMTRA Ground Water Project activities,” said Metzler. Initial discussions focused on the basic issue of ground-water contamination and the cleanup strategies that have been proposed or selected. DOE has also initiated open discussions about grazing issues around Shiprock and land farming at the Monument Valley site.
Expanded DOE involvement includes providing educational materials to the Diné College Library in Shiprock and sponsoring tours for area students of the treatment plant at the UMTRA Ground Water Project Tuba City site and the “RAD” Experience trailer. Local Navajo residents have been receptive to DOE’s communication efforts and are interested in activities that affect them directly. More than 100 people attended a public meeting hosted by DOE in April at the Shiprock Chapter House.
Members of the ground-water team also participated in a public meeting in April hosted by the Hopi Tribe in Moenkopi Village near Tuba City. The purpose of the meeting was to communicate the status of local sites that have contamination and to initiate actions to effect solutions. The Tuba City ground-water site was identified as being more advanced in the cleanup process than non-DOE sites in the area.
The UMTRA Ground Water Project will continue through 2011, at which time all the sites will be in compliance with ground-water standards and will have been transferred to the Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program at the Grand Junction Office. Until then, the ground-water project team is committed to implementing efficient and cost-effective means for cleanup.
The UMTRA Ground Water Project website was recently redesigned. The
site is accessible through the Grand Junction Office home page at www.lm.doe.gov.
For more information about the UMTRA Ground Water Project, contact Donald
Metzler, DOE–GJO Project Manager, at (970) 248–7612.
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| Technicians adjust equipment to prepare the Monument Valley, Arizona, UMTRA Ground Water Project site for a phytoremediation pilot study. | The drip irrigation system in the background will supply water to plants in the study. | Native vegetation at the Monument Valley, Arizona, site is dominated by greasewood and fourwing saltbush that survive by rooting into ground water. |
Ground water at the former uranium millsite at Monument Valley, Arizona, requires remediation.
Removal of surface contamination and the uranium mill tailings pile at the Monument Valley site was completed in 1994. Chemicals used to process uranium ore at the former mill were discharged to a tailings pile and into unlined ponds where they subsequently migrated into the alluvial aquifer. The main contaminant of concern at this site is nitrate in the shallow ground water (alluvial aquifer) that is migrating away from the site. To speed the cleanup of ground water, nitrate and ammonium concentrations in the soils will also be remediated. The Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Ground Water Project managed by the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) is responsible for ground-water remediation at the Monument Valley site.
Although a nitrate concentration above a certain level can be designated a ground-water contaminant with respect to human health, this compound can be considered a fertilizer resource for plants. Nitrogen is an essential macronutrient for the growth of plants. Nitrate and ammonium in soils and ground water are the most common plant-available forms of nitrogen in arid and semiarid ecosystems. Utilization of ammonium and nitrate by plants involves the uptake, storage, translocation, and incorporation of nitrogen into organic forms within plant tissues. DOE is evaluating how native and crop plants at the Monument Valley site can remediate ammonium and nitrate concentrations in the soils where the former mill tailings pile was located (subpile soils) and in the alluvial aquifer. This cleanup method is called phytoremediation.
The native vegetation at this site, a mixture of perennial shrubs, grasses, and forbs, is dominated by two phreatophytes: greasewood and fourwing saltbush. Phreatophytes are plants that survive in the desert by rooting into ground water. The establishment of greasewood and fourwing saltbush in areas disturbed during the surface remediation is an indication that deliberate planting of more such species would promote extraction of residual ammonium and nitrogen from subpile soils. Irrigation water would be needed to stimulate growth and nitrogen uptake. Thus, the native phreatophytes at this site could conceivably be used for phytoremediation of ammonium and nitrate, either alone or in combination with active remediation technologies.
DOE also believes that management of native vegetation at the Monument Valley site could play an important role in remediation of the alluvial aquifer. DOE hypothesizes that protection of existing greasewood and saltbush stands rooted into the contaminant plume from livestock grazing, in combination with additional irrigated planting in bare areas over the plume, could remove water and nitrate from the plume through growth and transpiration processes.
The assumptions associated with each type of phytoremediation were tested in pilot studies conducted during two growing seasons at the site, supplemented by greenhouse studies performed at the Environmental Research Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona. The results support a role for native plants in remediating ammonium and nitrate contamination in soil and ground water at this site as part of an overall remediation and restoration program. “Phytoremediation of the subpile soil is perhaps the only practical method for recovering nitrate and ammonium from this site, short of removing and replacing the entire soil profile,” said Dr. William J. Waugh, a research scientist for GJO contractor MACTEC Environmental Restoration Services.
Planting of greasewood and fourwing saltbush over the contaminant plume appears to be feasible and advisable, especially over the most heavily contaminated portion of the plume. Preliminary data support the hypothesis that the shrubs are using ground water, but additional measurements are needed to confirm that the contaminant plume is the source of the ground water. Tissues of plants growing in both the subpile soil and above the contaminant plume will be analyzed for a wide range of possible contaminants to confirm the safe consumption of these plants by livestock and other herbivores.
DOE is currently conducting an alternatives analysis of a third method that would use native vegetation for resource recovery. This method uses an active pump-and-treat system to remediate the alluvial aquifer. Nitrate in the aquifer would be recovered and used for a native plant farming operation to enhance livestock forage production on areas disturbed during remediation of surface contamination. “The land-farming alternative simply involves recovering and routing the water, which is basically plant fertilizer, into an irrigation system to grow a crop,” said Dr. Waugh. The alternatives analysis is scheduled for completion in early summer.
For more information about the Monument Valley phytoremediation pilot
study, contact Donald Metzler, DOE–GJO Project Manger, at (970) 248–7612.
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| Ground water pumped from the Navajo aquifer will be
treated in the distillation unit
installed at the UMTRA Ground Water Project site near Tuba City, Arizona. After treatment, the water will be reinjected into the aquifer. |
The former millsite at Tuba City, Arizona, is the first site in the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Ground Water Project to use an active treatment system to clean up contaminated ground water.
Uranium ore-processing operations at this millsite contaminated ground water in the Navajo aquifer with nitrate, uranium, molybdenum, selenium, and sulfate. This aquifer is the sole source of drinking water for the community of Tuba City. To address this contamination, the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) selected a cleanup strategy of active remediation with a distillation unit.
Treatment Selection
DOE–GJO evaluated various remediation alternatives for the ground water on the basis of effectiveness, implementability, and cost. The selected cleanup method involves extraction of contaminated ground water, treatment with distillation, and injection of treated water back into the aquifer. The selection process was driven by the need to clean up the contaminated ground water to the highest quality technically attainable.
The distillation process evaporates the contaminated ground water and recondenses the vapor, resulting in distilled water. Distilled water produced in this process is at least 20 times cleaner than what is required by the project treatment standards, which were already strict. The treated water is then injected back into the aquifer.
Contaminants separated from the water vapor in this process are concentrated in a brine, which is the liquid waste that contains all the contaminants. The brine, which constitutes no more than 5 percent of the total water treated, is deposited in a solar evaporation pond constructed at the site. Air movement and natural heat from the sun cause water in the brine to evaporate, leaving the contaminants as solids in the pond.
Pilot Testing
During September and October 1998, DOE tested two different pilot units that use the distillation process. These pilot units, which were small-scale working treatment units, used the same technology as the full-scale system that was subsequently installed at the site. The pilot units, like the full-scale treatment units, employ a technology known as “mechanical vapor recompression.” This technology significantly improves the energy efficiency of the treatment process.
The purposes of the pilot test program were
One pilot unit used a traditional seeded-slurry process, and the other pilot unit, manufactured by Hadwaco of Finland and supplied by U.S. Filter Corporation, used an innovative design to treat the water. The Hadwaco process is relatively new and has only been on the market for about 5 years. At the time of the pilot tests, no Hadwaco units were operating in the United States. The attractive feature of the Hadwaco unit is its low energy consumption, which is about half of what is required for traditional seeded-slurry units. Because electric rates at Tuba City are relatively high, minimizing energy consumption was an important goal.
The pilot tests incorporated several phases to determine the process
and operating limits of the unit designed for the Tuba City ground-water
chemistry. Upon completion of the pilot tests and evaluation of the two
systems, both test units were deemed successful. However, DOE contracted
with U.S. Filter to manufacture a full-scale system because the U.S. Filter
product had a slightly lower overall cost and a higher technical rating.
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| Felix Harvey (left) is the Operator and Raynard Frank (right) is the Site Supervisor at the Tuba City treatment plant. Randy Richardson (center), Project Engineer for MACTEC–ERS, supervised installation of the treatment unit and manages plant operations. | Contaminants in the Navajo aquifer will be treated in the distillation unit at the Tuba City site. | Members of the Hopi Tribe attended a workshop at the Tuba City site and toured the treatment facility. |
Site Visits
In preparation for fabrication of the equipment, DOE–GJO contractor personnel from MACTEC Environmental Restoration Services (ERS) visited the Hadwaco manufacturing facility and existing operational evaporator sites in Finland and Sweden during May 1999. At the manufacturing plant, MACTEC–ERS personnel learned how the equipment for the Tuba City treatment system would be manufactured and observed the quality-control process. Seeing the entire design and fabrication processes from start to finish allowed MACTEC– ERS personnel to gain an increased appreciation for the quality of workmanship and a sensitivity to potential problems that could occur during startup of the Tuba City unit.
Technical discussions with Hadwaco project staff members helped MACTEC–ERS personnel learn how the unique design aspects of the Tuba City treatment system could affect the successful operation of the distillation unit. Because the project involved a joint venture between U.S. Filter and Hadwaco, the discussions also clarified the roles of each company in the project. “The relationships we established during the trip helped ensure the success of the Tuba City project,” said Randy Juhlin, MACTEC–ERS Project Manager for the Tuba City site. “They may prove advantageous in future ground-water remediation projects as well.”
In addition, MACTEC–ERS personnel visited existing treatment facilities. At these facilities they observed how the systems operate, determined what support facilities would be required for the system at Tuba City, and discussed lessons learned with the Hadwaco project staff members. The Hadwaco unit requires relatively little maintenance and can be operated unattended overnight, two major economic considerations in the selection of the system. “The visits to the operational sites were valuable when it came time to write the operating procedures for the Tuba City unit,” said Randy Richardson, Project Engineer for MACTEC–ERS.
Installation
The Hadwaco evaporator and a portion of the treatment system manufactured in the United States arrived at the Tuba City site in October 1999. In November, DOE held a workshop specifically for Native American members of the Tuba City community in an effort to enhance communication with the stakeholders. DOE and contractor representatives addressed stakeholder concerns about plans for the Tuba City site. The workshop concluded with a tour of construction activities at the site.
Installation of the treatment system platform, pumps, and piping and construction of the extraction and injection wells, evaporation ponds, and control building were completed in February 2000. The treatment system is currently undergoing testing and expected to be operational in July. “Early monitoring results indicate that the system seems to be functioning as planned,” said Metzler.
A planned second phase of the project will involve the installation of more extraction and injection wells and an increase in treatment system capacity. Construction of phase two is planned to begin in 2 to 3 years.
For more information about the Tuba City distillation unit, contact Donald Metzler, DOE–GJO Project Manager, at (970) 248–7612.
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| Dr. Stan Morrison (MACTEC–ERS), Klaus Flesch and Ralf Hermann (Baugrund Dresden), and Lutz Kindermann (MACTEC–ERS) discuss remediation solutions for the Coschütz-Gittersee site in Germany. | (left to right) Sam Marutzky and Lutz Kindermann (MACTEC–ERS), Holm Strassburger (University of Freiberg), Klaus Flesch (Baugrund Dresden), Dr. Stan Morrison (MACTEC–ERS), and Donald Metzler (DOE–GJO), prepare to tour a former silver mine near Freiberg, Germany. |
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) recently raised awareness of their ground-water expertise to an international level.
In late January, a team of four Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Ground Water Project personnel traveled to Dresden, Germany, to visit the abandoned uranium-ore processing facility at the Coschütz-Gittersee site in Dresden. The team presented the results of a literature study it conducted on permeable reactive barriers to the City of Dresden, the entity that hired them, and helped the Germans develop a strategy for remediating contaminated ground water at the site.
After World War II ended, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics occupied Eastern Germany and constructed a uranium-ore processing mill near the city of Dresden. Tailings were flushed into ponds, using methods similar to those used in the United States. Two piles of uranium mill tailings, the sandlike material that remains after uranium ore is processed, were left adjacent to the millsite when milling operations ceased in 1962. The former tailings piles are covered with soil, but tailings fluids (leachate) have leached into the ground water. Contaminants in the leachate are of concern because residential areas are now close to the millsite.
Donald Metzler, DOE–GJO Project Manager, met employees of the City of Dresden at an international conference he attended in Freiberg, Germany, 2 years ago. The City of Dresden hired the DOE–GJO team because of its experience in remediating ground water contaminated by former uranium-ore processing activities and the success of permeable reactive barriers at several sites in the United States.
“DOE usually performs only oversight functions for projects,” said Metzler. “In this unique case, we composed an excellent team of experts that the client was very pleased with.” In addition to Metzler who was the team hydrologist, the other members included Sam Marutzky, UMTRA Ground Water Project Manager for GJO contractor MACTEC Environmental Restoration Services (ERS), and geochemists Dr. Stan Morrison, a MACTEC–ERS employee, and Lutz Kindermann, a German national employed by MACTEC–ERS. Dr. Morrison and Kindermann have conducted extensive research on permeable reactive barrier technology and are involved in field applications.
DOE–GJO conducted a study of passive engineering methods that could
be used to remove uranium concentrations and other inorganic contaminants
from the tailings leachate and ground water. The study included a review
of literature on permeable reactive barriers, an assessment of the physical
and chemical conditions at the Coschütz-Gittersee site, and recommendations
on types of reactive materials and on installation and operation of a permeable
reactive barrier.
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| Dr. Bernd Richter (City of Dresden) at left and Donald
Metzler (DOE–GJO) tour a water
treatment plant. |
The City of Dresden, Germany, is considering installation of a permeable reactive barrier to remediate leachate from the tailings pile located behind the uppermost trees in the photograph. |
Information acquired during the study was used to develop conceptual designs of permeable reactive barrier installations suitable for treating tailings leachate from Pile B, one of two tailings piles at the Coschütz-Gittersee site. The proposed solution would intercept the tailings leachate and release treated water to a nearby creek. “The site conditions make this an especially challenging project,” said Dr. Morrison.
The City of Dresden’s environmental department, led by Christian Korndörfer, is managing the $70 million waste cleanup project that is funded by Federal and State Governments. Unlike the United States that has space available for relocation of tailings pile material into disposal cells, Germany does not have this luxury. Because the hazards and costs of moving the pile are greater than stabilizing the tailings in place, the City is designing a cover for Pile B. A permeable reactive barrier may be incorporated into the final remediation plan.
The information exchange was valuable to both parties. The Germans were interested in learning about the innovative permeable reactive barrier technologies used at several sites in the United States, especially the system implemented at the Durango, Colorado, disposal cell. “We emphasized to them that implementing passive treatments, such as permeable reactive barriers, doesn’t mean it’s a one-time effort,” said Kindermann. “Some maintenance is still required.” The DOE–GJO team gained experience designing a permeable reactive barrier installation at a site with ground-water conditions significantly different from those at uranium-ore processing sites in the United States. If a permeable reactive barrier is installed, Marutzky hopes the City of Dresden will continue to consult with the team.
Pile B and a larger tailings pile, Pile A, at the site are currently under remediation. Dresden residents are familiar with the project and watch the progress with interest and respect. A reporter from the local newspaper interviewed the DOE–GJO team members during their visit and published articles on their work.
During their short trip, team members were escorted on a tour inside a former silver mine near Freiberg, home of the oldest mining university in the world. Dr. Morrison and Kindermann also visited the Rossendorf Research Center where microbiological research is performed on ground water. The Research Center is conducting analyses of samples from a permeable reactive barrier located hydraulically downgradient of the former millsite at Monticello, Utah.
In his spare time, Marutzky took the opportunity to connect with his family heritage while in Germany. Through an Internet search, he found a Marutzky family who lives near Dresden and whose members are descendents of his great, great grandfather. He spent time with Reiner Marutzky and his family and discovered the two families have much in common. Reiner and Sam are the same age, both are electrical engineers who still live in the towns where they were born and schooled, and each has two sons that are the same ages as their counterparts, to name a few. “The similarities in our two families were fascinating,” marveled Marutzky.
For more information about the UMTRA Ground Water Project, contact Donald Metzler, DOE–GJO Project Manager, at (970) 248–7612 or visit the project’s website at www.lm.doe.gov/ugw/index.htm. For more information on permeable reactive barriers, contact Dr. Stan Morrison at (970) 248–6373 or visit the permeable reactive barrier website at www.lm.doe.gov/perm-barr/index.htm.
DOE Headquarters has implemented an initiative to decrease its mortgage and liability across the DOE complex nationwide. DOE evaluated the GJO site and determined that project completion at GJO corresponded to a need for less space; therefore, it was in DOE’s best interest to transfer the GJO site to non-DOE ownership. “We need to focus on our project activities and not on being a facility manager,” said Ray Plieness, DOE–GJO Project Manager. Decreasing the space used by DOE and its contractors will in turn decrease the day-to-day overhead costs.
For the past couple of years, DOE has been working with a local community organization, known as the Riverview Technology Corporation, to transition the GJO site to non-DOE ownership by October 1, 2000. “We have a big challenge ahead of us to transition this site by October,” said DOE–GJO Manager Donna Bergman-Tabbert in a recent employee all-hands address. “It is in our best interest to complete this transition in a safe, conscientious, and expeditious manner.”
Building 7
As a step toward transitioning the site to non-DOE ownership, DOE performed major cleanup and reconstruction work on Building 7 at GJO. During the 1950s and 1960s, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (predecessor agency to DOE) used Building 7 as a sampling plant. GJO purchased uranium oxide, or “yellow cake,” from 32 mills in the western United States. After the concentrate was sampled and assayed for compliance with contract specifications, it was shipped to the eastern United States for final processing and use in nuclear weapons and as fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the open north and south portions of the structure were enclosed to house various contractor organizations. In fall 1998, DOE determined that Building 7 would be remediated and transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve. WASTREN, Inc., contractor to DOE–GJO, performed the remediation work under the GJO Remedial Action Project.
Remediation and reconstruction of Building 7 involved removal and replacement of more than 8,000 square feet of concrete floor and 2 feet of soil beneath the floor; removal and replacement of ground floor offices and removal of some second floor offices; removal of the mezzanine equipment room and replacement of the plumbing, electrical, and mechanical systems; and construction of men’s and women’s change rooms.
Remediation and reconstruction work on Building 7 was completed in late
January. Tours of the building were offered to site employees so they could
view the dramatic changes to the original floor plan as a result of the
cleanup work and the needs of the U.S. Army Reserve. Building 7 will be
transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve in fiscal year 2001, after completion
of the final phase of decontamination and decommissioning (demolition of
Building 7A).
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| Building 7 required extensive remediation under the GJO Remedial Action Project before it could be transferred to and occupied by the U.S. Army Reserve. | Drainpipes and contaminated soil on the north side of Building 20, the GJO Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, were removed and replaced this spring as part of the GJO Remedial Action Project. |
Building 20 was constructed in 1953 as an Analytical Chemistry Laboratory at the GJO site and continues to be used for that purpose. The laboratory has developed broad capabilities for performing inorganic, organic, and radioisotopic analyses on air, water, brine, sludge, soil, vegetation, and animal tissue samples for various government environmental monitoring and restoration programs.
Instead of closing the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory after September 30, 2000, the Riverview Technology Corporation plans to turn the laboratory over to a commercial entity. DOE supports this privatization initiative, although it is not directly involved in the ongoing negotiations between Riverview Technology Corporation and a private entity.
A dose-based risk assessment is being conducted of Building 20 to determine the acceptable radiation dose that can remain in the building and still be protective of human health and the environment. A Building 20 Working Group, consisting of representatives from DOE and its contractors, Mesa County, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, was formed last fall to ensure stakeholder involvement and concurrence in the assessment process. The contaminated underground drainpipes outside the building are in the process of being replaced. Measurements of radiation are being taken inside the building to characterize the level of contamination.
Other Transition Activities
Many other tasks must be accomplished before DOE can transfer ownership of the site. Some of these tasks include conducting building characterizations and release surveys, preparing regulatory documentation, disposing of excess personal property, space planning and consolidation, and disposing of waste. DOE has nearly 270 tasks it’s tracking to make the transition a success. “This list of tasks at times grows more than it shrinks, but progress is clearly being made,” said Plieness.
Along with the real property (land and structures), DOE plans to transfer all personal property, such as furniture, equipment, and tools, deemed unnecessary for future missions. Conducting property inventories and preparing the paperwork to transfer more than 3,500 items valued at more than $1 million is a challenging task.
DOE plans to lease back whatever space it needs from the Riverview Technology Corporation. A space plan to consolidate remaining personnel, furniture, and equipment into three or four buildings on site is being finalized. “I believe it is important for DOE–GJO to be co-located with our primary contractors,” said Bergman-Tabbert.
Another issue affecting transition is the presence of waste at the site. Although radioactive waste has been removed from the site as part of the cleanup work performed under the GJO Remedial Action Project, waste from sources other than milling operations was also created during the years of operation. In March, 59 drums and 66 smaller containers of personal protective equipment, glassware from the Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, and soil leftover from off-site samples were shipped to a treatment facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. This was the first shipment of solid, low-level radioactive waste in the history of the site, and it removed a significant hurdle in the path toward transition. The shipment reduces the quantity of radioactive waste at the site by two-thirds.
“DOE appreciates WASTREN’s efforts to date to make this transition happen. It is a difficult task to ask people to essentially work themselves out of a job, but the employees have a positive attitude and a desire to do the right thing,” said Plieness.
Eben
Greybourne, DOE–GJO Contracting Officer
Greybourne replaced Barbara Smith and Cheryl Thompson, former Contracting Officers at the site. Each accepted a contracting position at another DOE site: DOE Albuquerque Operations Office for Smith and DOE Idaho Operations Office for Thompson. Greybourne is now responsible for contract management for all GJO site contracts, Interagency Agreements, and Cooperative Agreements with States and Native American tribes.
Greybourne enjoys music and originally planned to have a career as a music teacher. While in military service, he played percussion in the Old Guard Fife and Drum Corp, which donned the colonial uniforms representative of the first U.S. Army unit. Greybourne earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from a small college in Virginia. “Unfortunately, when I graduated, teaching positions in music were scarce,” said Greybourne. His first job after college graduation was with the U.S. Navy at a ship research laboratory.
Greybourne has worked in contracts for the Federal Government for the past 27 years. Most recently, he worked as a Contracting Officer for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Headquarters in Washington, DC, and for EPA Region 5 in Chicago, Illinois, for 9 years. In Chicago, he was responsible for contracting issues related to the Superfund site cleanup in that region. During his tenure, he was involved in more than 100 Superfund projects.
Greybourne and his wife moved to Grand Junction for his wife’s health. Having lived most of their lives in eastern United States, they are still adjusting to the more arid climate of the west. “Surroundings don’t affect me too much,” said Greybourne, who tends to become engrossed in his work environment. “I could probably live just about anywhere.” Greybourne spent several years early in his career working on a special projects team for the U.S. Customs Service to support the establishment of an automation department (to address import/export and tariff issues) and a K–9 enforcement unit for the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.
Because he and his wife have moved three times in the last 4 years,
Greybourne has spent much of his free time fixing up their homes and aspires
to build his own furniture someday. He is active in church and scouting
activities and studies alternative medicines.
The pilot project makes use of LandTrek, an interactive website developed to streamline the process of transferring government-owned land and facilities to other government agencies or to the private sector. DOE, DoD, and a 27-member group representing Federal, State, commercial, regulatory, financial, and stakeholder organizations initially developed LandTrek through a cooperative effort.
In 1994, DOE and DoD provided $1.5 million to develop LandTrek. Following a successful peer review in 1998, DOE funded an additional $1.1 million for field pilot projects such as the one in progress at GJO. “A critical needs assessment and a quality assurance evaluation were completed in June 1999, and the LandTrek team feels that the product is ready for further testing and expansion,” said John Lee, DOE LandTrek Program Manager, DOE Oakland Operations Office.
As Federal facilities complete their missions, land and buildings become available for lease or ownership by other agencies and the public. LandTrek provides “roadmaps” to help stakeholders and decision makers involved in the transfer of Federal land navigate through the regulatory and legal processes that begin with identification of potentially available land and facilities. LandTrek offers tools to help project managers promote collaborative decision making, select cost-effective solutions, benefit from lessons learned, gather data, manage or mitigate project risks, establish record keeping, and create shared ownership of cleanup decisions.
To encourage stakeholder participation, information about each facility is posted on the LandTrek website at www.landtrek.org. The website features links to specific DOE and DoD project pages, general project management policy and guidance, an on-line library, lessons learned, and site maps. Planned additional links include a feedback and evaluation form and a search engine.
A unique feature of the website is the LandTrek Forum, an electronic forum that provides an opportunity for broad participation by stakeholders to enhance the collaborative decision- making process. Community members can participate, communicate, and assess the progress and regulatory compliance of a specific site during the course of a land transfer and reuse project. The forum also establishes a written, due-diligence trail for the risk management of all phases of a project, allowing the project’s decision makers to identify and integrate the resources, information, and tools needed to restore land to productive and sustainable use.
In addition to providing a means for communication and record keeping, LandTrek is also a tool to organize and condense large amounts of project information and provide, in plain language, explanations of all the supporting documentation for a project.
DOE–GJO became an active participant in LandTrek during the field pilot test and developed its own LandTrek website. The GJO LandTrek website has a unique feature called WebCams, which are video cameras that provide a real-time look at transition-related activities. This website continues to evolve, and DOE–GJO is now using some of the LandTrek features to facilitate transfer of the GJO site to private ownership. GJO provides information about the status of site transition on the website and has established LandTrek links to other DOE activities, such as the Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program and other environmental programs within the purview of DOE–GJO.
The Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program provides long-term stewardship at locations where contaminants cannot be cleaned up to levels that are acceptable for unrestricted use and postclosure care to ensure that selected remedies remain protective of human health and the environment. This program website has on-line guidance documents that reflect the program’s 10 years of experience with postclosure care at Federal facilities.
LandTrek is designed to be useful to a diverse community of interests, including
For more information about LandTrek and the GJO LandTrek website, contact
Jon Sink, DOE–GJO Project Manager, at (970) 248–6016.
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(left to right) Lynn Pavelka-Zarkesh, MACTEC–ERS; Jeanie Gueretta, DOE–GJO; and Jeff Tack, WASTREN, Inc., are shown with DOE–GJO’s Hardesty Award for records management excellence. |
The Rocky Mountain Region of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) awarded the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) its Blaine Hardesty Award for records management excellence in a ceremony at the Denver Federal Records Center on May 17, 2000.
The award is presented to Federal agencies whose records management programs are making efficient and cost-effective use of technology to manage information and benefit the missions of the agencies. NARA selected the GJO records management program for its development and implementation of a dynamic records management program that consistently manages government records in accordance with NARA standards.
The DOE–GJO program features an electronic database that uses barcode technology to manage records for 11 major projects and almost 40 different sites. As a retrieval and management tool, the database provides access to three library collections, more than 45,250 active project records, and approximately 1,200 cubic feet of inactive records. DOE–GJO was commended by NARA for its preservation of special media (x-rays, photographs, and videotapes) and historical hard copy collections. In addition, the site was recognized for its production and transfer of permanent microfilm and for the preparation of a comprehensive roadmap to assist NARA and future researchers in identifying and retrieving records. The DOE–GJO records organization has created permanent microfilm of more than 11 million documents for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project.
DOE–GJO has a successful records management program that manages the records related to the stewardship of disposed contaminated materials and environmental remediation activities. The records program, which includes management strategy, processes, and the electronic database, controls documents from creation through final disposition (transfer to a Federal facility or destruction).
A key component to the overall success of the program is the ability of all employees to access a catalog of records and references in a single database from any computer workstation. Database retrieval capabilities are for the entire life cycle of a record and include identification of the person who checked out the record, on- and off-site storage locations, and archive locations in a Federal Records Center. It also provides a cost-effective tool for audits, litigation, and public inquiries.
DOE–GJO has collected, indexed, and transferred hundreds of cubic feet of historical records documenting critical programs conducted by DOE and its predecessor agencies to the Rocky Mountain region of NARA in Denver, Colorado, for long-term preservation.
For more information, contact Jeanie Gueretta, DOE–GJO Administrative Specialist, at (970) 248–7634.
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| The Uranium Lease Management
Program at the DOE
Grand Junction Office has completed reclamation activities at 77 separate abandoned mine sites. This mine in western Colorado is part of the pilot reclamation project to be conducted by the Grand Junction Office at no cost on BLM-administered land. |
This abandoned mine presents many potential risks, such as an oxygen-deficient atmosphere that can be fatal to humans and wildlife. |
The U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO), through its Uranium Lease Management Program, seeks to return the lease tracts associated with reclaimed abandoned uranium mine sites to the public domain.
At the end of October 1999, the Uranium Lease Management Program had completed final reclamation activities at 77 separate mine sites. The actual costs associated with this reclamation, including administrative oversight, totaled $635,000. During the past few years, direct DOE funding for reclamation activities has become increasingly difficult to obtain. During fiscal year 1999, DOE, through a unique provision in the existing lease agreements, negotiated with its lease-holders to perform reclamation activities at legacy sites in lieu of their annual royalty payments. This action allowed GJO to accomplish an additional $180,000 worth of reclamation activities at minimal direct cost to DOE. This win-win scenario is being used again in fiscal year 2000.
The original lease tracts were withdrawn from public domain for the exclusive use of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, predecessor agency to DOE. In 1948, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published Public Land Order 459, withdrawing lands in the Slick Rock, Colorado, area. The Public Land Order withdrawal recognized and excluded all prior, valid existing claims; an example is the Hawk Mine Complex (Complex). The Complex consists of several unpatented mining claims located 5 miles southwest of Slick Rock.
During the intervening years, the claims associated with the Complex were abandoned by their respective claim holders and were declared invalid by BLM. After the claims were abandoned, lands associated with the Complex reverted to withdrawn status and entered into a virtual “no man’s land.” Under withdrawn status, no new claims could be located in the area. As a result, the Complex was excluded from the lease tracts ultimately administered by DOE under the Uranium Lease Management Program.
The Complex contains eight distinct abandoned uranium mine sites and is surrounded by a DOE lease tract. In fiscal year 1999, DOE–GJO completed final reclamation of all legacy mine sites located on this lease tract, but the mine sites within the Complex remain in their unsafe, unreclaimed state. Because DOE never had control over the claimants or their mining activities at the Complex, BLM is technically responsible for the ultimate reclamation of the Complex mine sites.
To demonstrate its cost-efficient mine-site reclamation experience and capabilities to BLM, DOE–GJO elected to include the reclamation activities required at the Complex into this year’s reclamation-in-lieu-of-royalties negotiations with the leaseholders. The reclamation work will be performed at no cost to BLM. In return, BLM will enter into an agreement with DOE–GJO that will allow GJO to assist BLM in addressing other abandoned uranium mine-site reclamation issues on BLM-administered lands. This effort should result in a win-win-win situation for all parties (BLM, DOE–GJO, and the leaseholder) involved.
For more information about Abandoned Mine Reclamation, contact Tracy
Plessinger, DOE–GJO Technical Planner, at (970) 248–6197.
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Marie Curie presented this sealed glass vial of radium salts to an American co-worker more than 70 years ago. DOE Grand Junction Office personnel located a new home for the vial in the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station. |
In 1985, DOE–GJO personnel discovered the item in a private home while conducting radiological surveys of Grand Junction, Colorado, vicinity properties as part of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project. Technicians came across a point source of high gamma exposure at a local residence. The point source was identified as a sealed glass vial of radium salts that was stored in a trunk on the front porch of the home.
The vial contains approximately 2.5 milligrams of radium salts and was manufactured by Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie in the early 1900s. The vial is similar to those Madame Curie provided to hospitals and physicians for cancer treatment and is possibly the only remaining ampoule manufactured by Curie. Over time, the vial has become a deep shade of purple and brittle from radiation.
The owner of the property, Mary Stark, inherited the vial from her father, Walter Koenig. Koenig and his brother Henry each received degrees in chemistry and physics. Following the discovery of higher grade ores in the Belgian Congo, Henry Koenig traveled to Africa where he met and worked with Curie. In the 1920s, Henry Koenig followed Curie to her Paris, France, laboratory where he continued to work for several months alongside the famous chemist. Walter Keonig also worked with Curie in Paris for a few months. During this time, one of the Koenigs received the vial as a gift from Curie.
After some persuasion, Walter finally agreed to go to Colorado with Henry to search for radium. As two of the three founders of the Radium Company of Colorado, the Koenig brothers were key figures in Colorado’s uranium history. They perfected the process for recovering radium from carnotite.
Henry Koenig died at the age of 43 of radium poisoning from the effects of long and intense exposure to radioactivity. After seeing his brother and several colleagues suffer from the effects of radiation, Walter Koenig became concerned about the adverse health effects and got out of the uranium business. He kept the vial of salts in a box in his basement, warning his children not to touch it.
“If possible, I wanted to avoid having a piece of my family history destroyed through disposal of the vial,” said Stark. She was encouraged to turn the vial over to DOE for proper management because of its high radioactivity. The source was taken to the GJO site, where it was properly contained and stored on behalf of Stark. DOE–GJO, in preparing the site for transition, realized it would no longer be able to store the vial and began to explore other possibilities.
Waste Management personnel with DOE–GJO contractor WASTREN, Inc., corresponded with the Smithsonian Institute, the Atomic Nuclear Museum, Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Bradbury Museum, and the American Nuclear Society regarding their possible acceptance of the Madame Curie source. Several entities expressed interest, but the logistics of transferring responsibility for the source were hampered because of the difficulties of characterizing the source for disposal purposes, the expense of disposal, and its possible historic value.
In its search process, GJO located a new home for the source. The Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University, College Station, happened to be preparing to host a “Women in Discovery Project — Celebrating the Legacy of Marie Curie” this spring. This four-pronged event included an educational outreach program, a student/teacher workshop, an international symposium, and a traveling exhibition honoring the legacy of Madame Curie. Texas A&M was anxious to include the source ampoule with a display of Curie’s equipment, on loan from the Musee Curie in Paris. “We are grateful to the Grand Junction Office for its efforts to provide this wonderful addition to our display to us,” said Beth Earl, outreach coordinator for the university’s Department of Nuclear Engineering.
DOE offered Texas A&M a viewing device that was excess to GJO’s needs and lead bricks to be used as shielding around the viewer for safe display of the vial. The viewer was sent to Texas in its original “antique” condition; it looked every bit of its 70 years. The university was also excited to receive the lead bricks, which were reported to have been cast before atmospheric testing of atomic weapons began, giving the true background radiation levels.
The total cost for shipping the vial, viewer, and bricks was under $1,000. Transfer of the vial and lead bricks relieved DOE of continued storage and eventual disposal costs and ensured that the vial would be available to interested scientists and historians. In appreciation for Stark’s donation, the university invited her and her family to the Marie Curie celebration. Stark said, “I am glad the source went to the university where it can be viewed by many and appreciated by those who know its value.”
The traveling exhibition is titled “The Legacy of Marie Curie: One Hundred Years of Science Innovation.” It opened March 2, with Curie’s granddaughter as the guest speaker. The exhibition was on display at Texas A&M through April 16.
For information on the Women in Discovery Project, visit the university’s
website at www.tamu.edu/women-in-discovery.
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| (left to right) Dan Dow, WASTREN, Inc., and a RAP team member; Pat Lackey, a science teacher at Central High School in Grand Junction; and Daryl Hillyer, WASTREN, Inc., recently introduced Central High School students in Grand Junction to radiation concepts and equipment used to measure radiation. | Tom Maveal (left), MACTEC–ERS, and Jon Sink, DOE Grand Junction Office Local Radiological Assistance Program Coordinator, explain the displays in the “RAD” Experience trailer to Tuba City, Arizona, students. |
Radioactive materials play an important role in our lives. Smoke detectors, lantern mantles, and some foods such as bananas and lite salt are just a few examples of everyday items we use or consume that are radioactive.
Radiation has many beneficial uses. Modern medicine, the space program, and numerous scientific discoveries would not be possible without radiation technology. For radioactive materials to be useful in science and industry, they must be shipped to where they are needed. More than 2 million packages of radioactive materials are shipped each year in the United States to support processes such as medical diagnoses, research, and power production. But this volume is only a fraction of the number of shipments of commodities that are transported each year by truck, train, ship, or airplane.
Hollywood depictions of deadly nuclear waste spills and other sensationalized stories have led to misinformation and alarm about radiation exposure and the risks involved in transporting radiological materials. “Most people, for example, don’t realize that spent nuclear fuel is actually a solid form of uranium that consists of ceramic pellets,” said Vincent King, a member of the U.S. Department of Energy Grand Junction Office (DOE–GJO) Radiological Assistance Program (RAP) team and a MACTEC Environmental Restoration Services (MACTEC–ERS) employee. “It is a nonreactive, insoluble material. In the unlikely event that the shipping container integrity is compromised, the spent fuel rods won’t dissolve if they are submerged in water.”
People are concerned about how radioactive shipments might affect them and the environment. “We want to inform the public about the risks as well as the benefits of radiation to help dispel the misconceptions people may have,” said Chris Brownlee, a WASTREN, Inc., employee and another member of the DOE–GJO RAP team. “The interstate highway system was designed for transportation of these kinds of products,” he said.
Proper packaging is the key to safe shipment. Radioactive shipments are carefully regulated and packages are designed to maximize safety to the public and the environment. Of all hazardous wastes, radioactive materials are the best categorized and the easiest to handle. Shipping containers for radioactive materials undergo rigorous tests to demonstrate the integrity of the containment system and to ensure that the materials can be safely transported. In the more than 40 years that radioactive materials have been transported, no deaths or serious injuries have resulted from exposure to the radioactive contents of these shipments.
DOE has sponsored RAP since the 1950s. The program was designed to make DOE resources available to other Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies and private individuals for assistance during radiological emergencies. Requests for assistance can range from a highway accident involving a vehicle carrying radiological materials to an industrial mishap to incidents of domestic terrorism.
RAP provides trained personnel and equipment to help monitor and assess an accident scene, to detect and measure radiation or contamination releases, and to assist in containing the contamination or in mitigating the radiation hazards and risks until further assistance arrives. “We use distance as a good first measure to protect the public,” said King.
RAP teams consist of DOE and DOE contractor personnel specifically trained to perform radiological response activities. Depending on the severity of the incident, one or more RAP teams are deployed, armed with personal protective equipment, radiation monitoring instruments, air sampling equipment, communications equipment, and other emergency response devices.
The program is implemented on a regional basis. DOE–GJO is part of Region 6, which includes Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. Regional coordination is intended to provide a timely response capability and to foster a working relationship between DOE and the response elements of State and local agencies within the region. The eight RAP regions and 30 RAP teams can respond anywhere within the contiguous United States within 2 to 6 hours.
RAP teams support the local emergency responders, generally fire departments or police departments, that have primary responsibility in emergency responses. “The fire departments usually handle hazardous material emergencies,” said King. “The RAP team gets involved when it’s radioactive.” RAP team involvement usually ends when radiological assistance is no longer needed.
In a further effort to help educate the public about the risks and benefits of radiation, the RAP team toured 18 schools in western Colorado and in Tuba City, Arizona, during April and May with a 35-foot public-education trailer called the “RAD” Experience. The trailer was on loan to DOE–GJO from the Eastern Idaho Technical College, Idaho Falls. The displays in the trailer introduce students to radiation and give them an interactive experience with the equipment used to measure radiation. The trailer contains radiation-related materials such as posters, a videotape, naturally radioactive materials in the environment, and hands-on tools like Geiger counters. “The ‘RAD’ Experience is a real eye-opener for a lot of students,” said Dan Dow, a RAP team member and a WASTREN, Inc., employee, who helped demonstrate the trailer to approximately 3,700 people during its tour.
For more information about the DOE–GJO RAP team and its capabilities,
please contact Jon Sink, DOE–GJO Local RAP Coordinator, at (970) 248–6016.
Stewardship includes activities necessary to protect human health and the environment from residual materials (nuclear and chemical) following cleanup of contaminated sites. Scheduled sessions will include presentations and panel discussions on the following topics:
Fees for the workshop are $50 for registration, $25 for the luncheon, and $10 for the field trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Prepayment of fees is requested. Payment should be made by check payable to MACTEC–ERS (Tax ID #84–1312615).
Participants attending the workshop are responsible for their own hotel reservations and travel arrangements. A limited number of rooms at the government rate of $83 for single or $98 for double occupancy are available on a first-come, first-served basis. These rates will be available until July 6. Participants are encouraged to stay at the Adam’s Mark Denver to increase the chance of receiving the government rate. For hotel reservations, please identify yourself as a participant in the DOE Long-Term Stewardship Workshop.
Adam’s Mark Denver, 1550 Court Place, Denver CO 80202
Telephone: (303) 893–3333, Fax: (303) 626–2543, Reservations: 1–800–444–2326
Website: www.adamsmark.com/denver/
Round-trip airport shuttle service is available for $30. Parking in
the hotel garage is $12 per day. The hotel is adjacent to the 16th Street
shopping mall and 15 minutes by the mall shuttle bus to Coors Field.
Updated information on and an agenda for the workshop is available on the DOE–GJO website at www.lm.doe.gov/programs/ltsm or the DOE Headquarters website at http://lts.apps.em.doe.gov.
For more information, please contact Michelle Smith (MACTEC–ERS) at
(970) 248–6583 or Wendee Ryan (WASTREN, Inc.) at (970) 248–6765.
DOE–GJO expanded the national “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” to include boys for its annual “Take Our Children to Work Day.” Activities held that day included tours, coloring contests, and a barbecue lunch.
The children, from infants to 16 years old, received a welcome packet and a personalized name badge. “My daughter Jesse looks forward to kids’ day at work every year,” said Russel Edge, DOE–GJO Project Manager and father of Jesse, who is 4. “Sometimes when she sees me leaving for work, she puts on her name badge and wears it around the house.”
During the guided tours, children learned about radiation in the “RAD”
Experience public-education trailer, saw how fluorescent minerals react
to ultraviolet light, tested their knowledge of home safety and other topics
in “Safety Jeopardy,” and navigated to a sampling location using portable
global positioning system equipment. “This event gives the children the
opportunity to learn more about what we do at this site in a fun and interesting
way,” said Audrey Berry, DOE–GJO Public Affairs Specialist.
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Personal protective equipment fascinated employees’ children at the Take Our Children to Work Day at the DOE Grand Junction Office, as modeled by (left to right) Stephanie Hale, Rachel Worth, Matthew Miller, and Jacob Worth. |
| Contributors | ||
| Donna Bergman-Tabbert
Ed Cotter Andria Dutcher |
David Foster
Stan Morrison Hank Nachtsheim |
Wendee Ryan
Michelle Smith |
