U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery recently viewed the legacy cleanup mission underway at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
Office of Environmental Management
May 21, 2024
minute read time
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery, left, visits Technical Area 54, Area G to learn more about the work to retrieve buried corrugated metal pipes (CMPs) and prepare them for eventual disposal at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. As of May 15, 87 of the 158 total CMPs have been retrieved.
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery recently viewed the legacy cleanup mission underway at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). During his visit, Avery observed the progress the EM Los Alamos Field Office and Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos, the legacy cleanup contractor at LANL, are making to address a set of corrugated metal pipes containing cemented transuranic waste. Avery also viewed a new waste characterization system undergoing testing at LANL that could help EM to more accurately measure and characterize legacy waste, and optimize space for the disposition of transuranic waste at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Work progresses at Technical Area 54, Area G to retrieve the buried corrugated metal pipes (CMPs) to prepare them for eventual shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Each CMP measures about 20 feet long, weighs between 5 and 7 tons and contains cemented, radioactive material. Once retrieved, CMPs are transported to Dome 375, where they are cut into pieces using a hydraulic shear and loaded into standard waste boxes.
Guided by members of the Environmental Management Los Alamos Field Office and Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos team, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery, fourth from left, observes the process used to reduce the size of retrieved corrugated metal pipes to prepare them for packaging and eventual offsite disposal at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Charles Guillen, director of Waste Management, Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos, shows U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery, left, where corrugated metal pipes are safely cut into pieces using a hydraulic shear inside Dome 375 at Technical Area 54, Area G.
The Universal Drum Assay and Segregation System (UDASS), a new system to more accurately analyze the contents of radioactive waste drums, is currently being tested on legacy waste at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Standing next to the UDASS system are U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeff Avery, right foreground, and members of the EM and Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos teams. Read a story about UDASS in this EM Update issue.
To receive the latest news and updates about the Office of Environmental Management, submit your e-mail address.