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May 1, 2012
Workers remove the 4,000-gallon Tank W-1A, which was ORNL’s greatest source of groundwater contamination.
Oak Ridge Removes Laboratory’s Greatest Source of Groundwater Contamination

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – This month, Oak Ridge’s EM program bid farewell to the last shipment of waste from the Tank W-1A project.

May 1, 2012
A firefighter trained to respond to radiological events performs a radiological survey of the WIPP shipping package as part of a WIPP transportation exercise in Morgan County, Georgia.
Georgia Hosts Multi-Agency Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Transportation Exercise

COVINGTON, Ga. – Emergency personnel throughout the U.S. who respond in the event of a potential accident involving radioactive waste shipments take part in mock training scenarios to help them prepare for an actual incident.

May 1, 2012
The HFEF-6 cask is transported on the haul road.
Idaho Site Achieves Successful Nuclear Shipment on Newly Constructed Haul Road

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Close coordination among operations, security and transportation teams at the Idaho site helped ensure the recent success of the first nuclear shipment on a newly constructed haul road.

May 1, 2012
This cylinder hauler at Paducah’s Babcock & Wilcox Conversion Services plant delivers the first of DOE’s 14-ton depleted uranium cylinders to USEC for re-enrichment as part of a five-party agreement that is extending enrichment operations at the 60-year-old plant for another year, delaying increased costs at the site for DOE.
Paducah Plant Begins Enrichment Operations after Five Parties Strike Agreement

PADUCAH, Ky. – On this Friday, June 1, the first of about 1,100 14-ton cylinders filled with depleted uranium tails will be re-fed into the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, officially marking the start of a project that will extend enrichment operations there for a year.

April 1, 2012
DOE and Savannah River Remediation team members gather in front of the first cement truck containing grout for Tank 18 at the Savannah River Site.
Grouting Operation to Lead to First SRS Waste Tank Closures Since 1997

AIKEN, S.C. – April marked the start of work to close two massive underground tanks at the Savannah River Site (SRS) by filling them with a cement-like material to ensure they pose little or no future risk to the environment or the public.

April 1, 2012
A waste area at an East Tennessee Technology Park scrap yard before cleanup.
‘Project Wipeout’ Helps Clean Up Oak Ridge

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – A term like “Project Wipeout,” may conjure images of military operations, extreme sporting events or a comical competition show on television.

April 1, 2012
Mentor Jim Erickson of the LATA Kentucky team shows Heath Middle School sixthgrader Ian Morgan how to use red cabbage to indicate if a watery solution is acidic, basic, or neutral.
Heath Middle School Science Students Study Environmental Issue at Paducah Site

PADUCAH, Ky. – Twenty-six of Heath Middle School’s brightest science students spent the 2011-12 school year helping DOE try to resolve a real environmental issue at the Paducah site.

April 1, 2012
Deep soil mixing at the Paducah site will involve a large-diameter auger like this one.
Southwest Plume Cleanup at Paducah Site to Start by Summer 2013

PADUCAH, Ky. – DOE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection have reached a milestone toward the objective of reducing groundwater contamination at Paducah site.

April 1, 2012
California Polytechnic State University students test output from cyclone treatment at the 2012 WERC IEDC.
Carlsbad Field Office Members Are DOE Judges at International Environmental Design Contest

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) members Dr. Josef Sobieraj of Environmental Safety and Health and Steve Casey of the National TRU Program served as judges for the recent 2012 Waste-management Education and Research Consortium (WERC) International Environmental Design Contest (IEDC).

April 1, 2012
Stanchions are among the remnants of Smoky Tower.
Nevada National Security Site Nuclear Testing Artifacts Become Part of U.S. Cultural Archive

LAS VEGAS – The Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) historic Smoky site may soon join a long list of former nuclear testing locations eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places. The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is currently working alongside the Nevada Site Office (NSO) to determine the eligibility of Smoky and a number of other EM sites slated for cleanup and closure.