Two experts associated with the EM Nevada Program have been honored with the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award
Office of Environmental Management
March 9, 2021
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LAS VEGAS – Two experts associated with the EM Nevada Program have been honored with the Secretary of Energy’s Achievement Award in recognition of their service to a DOE complex-wide assessment team.
The prestigious honor — a subset of the annual Secretary's Honor Awards and based on accomplishments from 2019 — was awarded to Marilew Bartling, Radioactive Waste Acceptance Program manager for Navarro Research and Engineering, the environmental program services contractor to the EM Nevada Program; and Andrew Worker, a general engineer specializing in waste disposition, who recently joined the EM Nevada Program.
The Achievement Award honors a group or team of DOE employees and contractors who accomplish significant achievements on behalf of the Department, demonstrating cooperation and teamwork in attaining their goals.
Bartling and Worker were recognized for their contributions to a 36-person assessment team, formed at the direction of the Deputy Secretary of Energy. The team extensively investigated and analyzed radioactive waste packaging and shipping practices across the DOE complex. Bartling and Worker possess nearly 50 years of combined experience in radioactive waste management.
In an explanation of the award, the Secretary of Energy emphasized that Bartling and Worker had “applied their extensive technical expertise and knowledge of DOE policies, procedures, and practices toward independently assessing a critical system within the Department, thereby enhancing the confidence of senior DOE leadership in the safe conduct of radioactive waste packaging and shipping operations.”
With the support of Bartling and Worker, the work of the assessment team ultimately led to the issuance of a DOE report titled “Enterprise-wide Assessment of the Department of Energy’s Packaging and Shipping of Radioactive Waste.” The Secretary noted that the report had succeeded in “extensively documenting recommendations and best practices found across the Department” and provided “a road map to further strengthen the management of radioactive waste packaging and shipping operations.”
The final assessment report found that, overall, DOE site contractors have developed and implemented effective procedures and practices for the proper characterization, waste stream control, packaging, and shipping of radioactive waste for disposal.
For more information on EM Nevada’s safe, secure, and successful radioactive waste management program, click here.