WMS celebrates 50th conference in Phoenix
March 12, 2024
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From monitoring in the Arctic to legacy preservation, to coordinating historical preservation efforts, interpretive center operations, and professional development, LM subject matter experts covered a range of material Monday as the 50th Waste Management Symposia kicked into gear.
Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program
LM Site Manager Stephen Pitton spoke Monday morning at a panel addressing the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP).
As global climate change impacts are observed, the nexus between climate change and radiation monitoring results are better understood, and increased awareness around this is important.
The AMAP is one of six Arctic Council working groups and is mandated:
- To monitor and assess the Arctic region status with respect to pollution and climate change issues.
- To document levels and trends, pathways and processes, effects on ecosystems and humans, and propose actions to reduce associated threats for governments’ consideration.
- To produce sound science-based, policy-relevant assessments and public outreach products to inform policy and decision-making processes.
Members of Pitton’s panel presented on current and potential radioactivity sources in the Arctic. LM is responsible for long-term monitoring of the Amchitka, Alaska, Site, where the U.S. government conducted three underground nuclear tests in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
LM will monitor the site in perpetuity to ensure the integrity of the disposal cap at the Amchitka site. LM scientists will be watching for subsidence, cracks or forming erosion channels, ponding water, signs of human intrusion or vandalism, and animal burrows. An LM team traveled to the site in spring 2023 to repair the mud-pit cap, among other maintenance projects.
DOE Atomic Legacy Preservation Network
LM’s Padraic Benson joined four other panelists to discuss the Atomic Legacy Preservation Network (ALPN) — an effort to connect various museums, historical centers, legacy sites, and other organizations that tell the story of the Manhattan Project, other U.S. nuclear weapons production work, and the legacy of those national efforts.
Benson provided background information on LM’s three interpretive centers – the Fernald Visitors Center near Cincinnati, the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center near St. Louis, and the Atomic Legacy Cabin in Grand Junction, Colorado.
“One thing I’ve come to appreciate in this job is that every interpretive center is different, and every community is different,” Benson said.
The National Park Service’s Manhattan Project National Historical Park Superintendent Wendy Berhman co-chaired the panel along with Sommer Porter, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management. The other panelists were Anita Iacaruso, director of communications services for the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM); Joseph Kent, director of curation and exhibits at the Atomic Museum in Paradise, Nevada, near Las Vegas; and Josh Silverman, director of the Office of Environmental Protection and Environment, Safety and Health Reporting for DOE’s Environment, Health, Safety, and Security organization.
The ALPN aims to tie together the impacted communities and historical preservation efforts across the DOE-complex through EM, the National Nuclear Security Agency, and LM’s shared history — sharing lessons learned, best practices, and unique challenges.
Panelists provided different perspectives about the need to connect various efforts to a common theme that tells a complete story of world events associated with World War II, the Cold War, and the Nuclear Age.
Success and Challenges with LM Interpretive Centers
LM’s interpretive centers provide historical information about their respective sites and offer educational programs for educators. Five LM personnel and one LM support partner provided their perspectives on interpretive center operations.
The panel was co-chaired by Kate Whysner, LM Grand Junction site manager and Kevin McCarthy, LM support partner education programs manager. The panel also included Padraic Benson, LM program analyst; Shawn Montgomery, LM STEM with LM coordinator; Rebecca Roberts, LM Weldon Spring site manager; and Brian Zimmerman, LM Fernald site manager.
The panel addressed a range of issues and identified how facilities benefit from a communications perspective, as well as challenges related to complex technical work.
“Having interpretive centers is extremely valuable for communication. Having the interpretive center at the sites allows people to come to ask questions and get information,” Roberts said. “They can ask questions about history, or the cleanup, and there are people there to answer their questions. It’s open, transparent communication and they can see that LM is still there doing what we said DOE was going to do.”
Zimmerman said part of the challenge is ensuring the information adds historical context, but also provides some technical information to tell the full story and keep the public informed. He said this requires continuous evaluation.
“We are working to have more (technical information) to better connect with our community about what LM does,” he said.
Montgomery said the interpretive centers not only inform, but also give LM a platform to address the nation’s need for more technical professionals.
“We use the interpretive centers to engage the communities we support,” said Montgomery. He indicated LM’s STEM with LM program utilizes the interpretive centers to educate students and provide important career information. “Everybody is talking about STEM right now and we need to fill the pipeline. We need to get more kids involved in STEM careers.”
Advancements in Professional Development
LM’s Shawn Montgomery led a panel on fostering professional development and growth for existing and future employees within DOE cleanup operations that could be modeled at other locations.
Maichen Carnes, a nuclear safety engineer with Washington River Protection Solutions, provided a summary of an exchange program at five DOE sites for early career professionals.
In its eight years, there have been 14 exchanges that included 20-30 young professionals and Carnes outlined the participants’ experiences and engagement within the program, which helps young people expand industry knowledge and transition into the cleanup workforce.
Malarie Hahn and Eric Trotta, representatives of the Idaho Environmental Coalition, addressed its new iLEAD program, which focuses on employee leadership, engagement, advancement, and development of those associated with the Idaho National Laboratory.
They addressed leadership and skills trainings, networking events, and various workshops.
Following the presentations related to individual development, Dorian Newton, deputy director of site training for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, discussed capitalizing on multiple organizations and systems associated with the Savannah River Site (SRS) to coalesce around a common workforce development approach.
Newton, who was joined by several of the SRS network partners, said the cooperation between the DOE site, regional academic institutions, economic development groups, and other partners, is a “system of systems.”
“These professionals have performed a lot of important work to not only assist current employees and young people, but ensure institutional knowledge is transferred,” Montgomery said. “These are programs and approaches that can be replicated across the DOE complex.”