EM is on track for success in meeting most of its priority goals for 2022, including a handful that already have been completed.
Office of Environmental Management
June 21, 2022
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EM is on track for success in meeting most of its priority goals for 2022, including a handful that already have been completed.
The goals already met range from skyline changes with the completion of demolition of support buildings at the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York to prepare for the teardown of the site’s Main Plant Process Building, to advancements in the treatment of liquid waste with the startup of tank waste pre-treatment at the Hanford Site through the operation of the Tank-Side Cesium Removal System.
Also already completed is the remediation of buried waste targeted for excavation at the Subsurface Disposal Area at the DOE Idaho National Laboratory Site, as well as the beginning of construction of a cocooning enclosure around the K-East Reactor at Hanford. See a related story in this EM Update issue about progress in the construction of that enclosure.
“Our workforce has gotten off to an impressive start in making progress on projects that EM has deemed priorities for this year,” EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White said. “The achievements so far and the many more we expect over the year are testament to what can be accomplished when everyone focuses on shared goals and the means to meet them.”
EM at the beginning of the year published its “Calendar Year 2022 Mission and Priorities,” a set of 30 goals aimed at reducing the EM footprint, executing key cleanup projects, achieving significant construction milestones, awarding contracts to enable accelerated progress and carrying out initiatives that drive innovation and sustainability, and improve performance.
Of particular note, EM workers recently completed demolition of the X-326 process building at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio, a major and challenging project due to its size and scope. Building X-326 is a two-story structure covering 56 acres under roof, and EM conducted extensive safety practices and environmental monitoring before and during demolition to ensure protection of workers, the public and the environment.
Among other anticipated achievements, EM is on track to remove another 1 million tons of uranium mill tailings away from the Colorado River at the Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Project in Utah, and to transfer the former Biology Complex parcel to the National Nuclear Security Administration for new use at Oak Ridge following the completion of demolition and remediation at the 18-acre site. That project was among the 2021 priorities EM accomplished last year.
EM is preparing a scorecard on its 2022 efforts, which is set to be a featured topic at the National Cleanup Workshop to be held Sept. 21-23 in Arlington, Virginia. As well, the achievements will be detailed in the EM 2022 Year in Review to be published later this year.
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