EM Hit Its Marks With 2021 Priorities, Scorecard Shows

EM accomplished the majority of its cleanup priorities for calendar year (CY) 2021. Together, these accomplishments demonstrate the visible and effectual progress that is moving the EM program into a new era of cleanup.

EM’s CY 2021 Mission and Priorities Scorecard demonstrates that, despite the pandemic, EM again made significant strides in completing key projects, reducing the cleanup footprint, awarding major contracts that accelerate progress, and driving mission innovation and improved performance.

“We embarked on an ambitious slate of priorities this year and were able to achieve the vast majority of what we set out to do,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “These achievements were in no small part due to the strong support we received from state, tribal and local partners who share our commitment to cleanup progress.”

EM completed major construction milestones for treatment of tank waste, the cleanup program’s most significant challenge. Hanford soon will begin operations of the Tank-Side Cesium Removal system, which will filter low-activity tank waste before sending it to be vitrified, or immobilized, into glass logs for safe disposal. At the Savannah River Site, construction of the 33-million-gallon Saltstone Disposal Unit 7, or SDU-7, was completed eight months ahead of schedule and $32 million under budget. It, along with other SDUs already built or under construction, is a key element in the site’s plans to accelerate the treatment of liquid waste and the closure of storage tanks.

Other key projects achieved in CY 2021 include:

• EM completed demolition of the Biology Complex at Oak Ridge, clearing real estate that can be repurposed for future missions.
• Cleanup at the Energy Technology Engineering Center in Ventura County, California, took a major step forward when the final 18 DOE-owned buildings were taken down at the former nuclear and liquid metal research site.
• Crews at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project passed the 12-million-ton mark in removing uranium mill tailings away from the Colorado River and into permanent disposal. That put the site three-quarters of the way toward reaching its 16-million-ton mission goal.
• The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant completed construction of the Salt Reduction Building, a key component in a new air supply system to improve air quality for workers in the underground portion of the waste disposal site.

A complete scorecard of CY 2021 priorities and other information can be accessed here. EM will announce its mission priorities for CY 2022 early in the new year.