Y-12 Blog
Crews demolished Pantex Buildings 12-106 and 12-106A in FY 2020 as part of the disposition plan enabled by the opening of the John C. Drummond Center. EFDP characterized the facilities, removed waste, demolished the structures, and disposed of all demolition debris.
You’ve probably seen or heard about the ongoing demolition of Y-12’s old Biology Complex. It’s a major project that will clear space for construction of the Lithium Processing Facility. But massive, headline grabbing projects like this only tell part of the demolition story at Pantex and Y-12.
Across our sites, a team of employees and subcontractors — working with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Production Office (NPO) and NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure, and Operations (NA 50) — has been quietly dispositioning legacy facilities for the past five years. In fact, since 2015, NNSA’s Disposition Program has removed more than 100 Pantex and Y-12 facilities.
“For several years, we’ve been strategically removing legacy equipment and materials, packing and shipping contaminated waste, and demolishing facility structures,” said Diane McDaniel, senior director, Excess Facilities Transformation, noting that disposition means far more than just demolition.
It’s high complexity, high consequence work. Most of the facilities were dangerously degraded and contained industrial hazards such as mercury, asbestos, and beryllium. And if that didn’t make things hard enough, the majority were located inside the sites’ protected areas, in close proximity to occupied facilities running essential mission operations.
Yet, from 2015 to 2020, the team dispositioned nearly 110 facilities — some 40 at Pantex and 70 at Y-12 — without a single safety or security incident, release of hazardous material to the environment, or impact to mission deliverables.
“I’m so proud of this team for the work they’ve done,” McDaniel said. “This program is such an important part of our sites’ commitment to legacy risk reduction and site modernization.”
With each completed disposition project, the team is reducing both the risks inherent in excess facilities and the costs associated with maintaining them. The Legacy Facilities and Services Team regularly dons personal protective equipment just to walk down these excess facilities, assess conditions, and mitigate any potential hazards
Crews demolish a Building 9201-05 (Alpha 5) dust collector tower at Y-12. Removal of this process contaminated facility eliminated the risk of facility degradation and/or fire and associated contamination release. This project furthered the preparation of Alpha 5 for demolition by EM.
Despite the challenges, the Projects Management team that executes facility dispositions has consistently met its milestones — even in 2020, with its period of reduced site operations and quarantines.
“The big thing last year was adapting. If one project couldn’t move forward due to COVID-19 impacts, weather, or site conditions, we were able to quickly substitute another,” said Kim Irwin, senior director of Projects Management. “Thanks to program managers, project managers, work planners, subcontractor partners, and our NNSA customers, we had the agility to adjust our plans to keep the teams together and maintain our momentum.”
All told, the program has reduced the excess facility footprint at Pantex and Y-12 by nearly 250,000 square feet to date, an amount comparable to the largest facility in the Biology Complex. But the program’s true impact may not be realized for years.
“Collectively, these 100 plus facility dispositions are addressing our sites’ 75 year legacies; reducing risk and improving safety today; and clearing the way for future projects and operations,” said Y-12 managing and operating contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security’s (CNS) Chief Operating Officer Bill Tindal. “This demonstrated partnership among NNSA, NPO, CNS, and the subcontracting community is key in transforming our sites into agile, responsive national assets for the next 75 years.”
CNS provided grants to area community agencies that helped meet the needs of many during 2020. The United Way of Anderson County provided financial assistance for mortgages, canned food, reduced-cost daycare, and transportation for seniors.
As the world grappled with the economic impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, CNS continued looking for ways to help our communities. The company turned to East Tennessee Foundation and its Neighbor to Neighbor Fund. Leveraging dollars from the CNS Community Investment Fund, CNS was able to quickly get much‑needed resources to nonprofit organizations in East Tennessee through ETF.
United Way of Anderson County
A $5,000 grant from CNS was combined with three other ETF funds resulting in a $9,000 Neighbor to Neighbor grant to support the United Way of Anderson County’s crisis response efforts in 2020. Executive Director of United Way of Anderson County Naomi Asher said the grant helped the agency “fill in the gaps” of needs across the community. Providing masks, subsidizing childcare services for medical professionals and first responders, offering food vouchers for at risk families, and dispatching vetted delivery services for seniors and high‑risk individuals were a few examples of assistance provided by the grant.
“This grant has impacted so many families,” said Asher. “We were able to help families by providing food and other essentials so that families could survive the difficult days of the pandemic.”
Asher described the plight of one of those families: the Garcias.
“Mr. Garcia passed away unexpectedly in February, and Mrs. Garcia had been working in a fast food restaurant for the last couple of years. When Mr. Garcia passed away and the pandemic hit, Mrs. Garcia was laid off. She and her family, which included three children, didn’t qualify for assistance and had nowhere to turn. Hungry, mourning, and about to lose their home, they found their way to United Way. We were able to ensure that the Garcia’s kept their home, provided food and other essentials, and helped Mrs. Garcia gain some additional skills and connections that helped her find a job. Today, while still grieving over her loss, she is no longer worried about not being able to provide for her family.”
Asher said the Garcias are just one example of the need created by the pandemic. Thanks to the Neighbor to Neighbor Fund and other generous donors, the United Way of Anderson County was able to help those in need.
“We are honored to help our neighbors in this time of crisis,” said Asher. “And thankful for companies like CNS. This is only possible because of them.”
Y-12 Fire Department recently tested a new environmentally safer foam with the Alcoa Fire Department.
The Y-12 Fire Department recognizes Earth Day as an opportunity to celebrate environmental successes and be creative in ways in which they are striving to improve.
Division Chief Ben Taylor said, “The fire service has an intimate relationship with the environment at large and water, which is typically used for fire suppression, so it makes sense for our team to look at ways we can adapt and continuously improve.”
One way firefighters look to improve is to find alternatives for often-used, expanding foams that help fight fires. Unfortunately, these foams typically contain pre and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which include various chemicals that have been increasingly studied due to their effects on the environment. Y-12 Fire Department recently partnered with several local fire departments to find an effective and environmentally safe product.
“Foam is essential for fighting a variety of fires — everything from brush fires to liquid petroleum fires,” Taylor said.
As a result of the collaboration, a new, fluorine free foam product was found that is effective, meets stringent Environmental Protection Agency testing, and allows for a seamless transition to the new product. The new foam will also be locally stored by supplies in large quantities.
“Having the new, environmentally safer foam will allow Y-12 Fire Department to continue to meet emergency response needs of Y-12 and bulk off site storage will maintain large scale response capability,” Taylor said.
“Earth Day is a reminder that we all share the environment,” Taylor said. “Actions we take now will have lasting impacts on generations to come. Recycling, reducing waste, and using innovative products, like this foam, will help to ensure that future generations will have a healthy environment to enjoy.”
Installation of the 13.8kV switchgear in the Uranium Processing Facility’s Mechanical Electrical Building
The Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) Project ‘flipped the switch’ as it energized the first of the facility’s electrical power systems.
During the first quarter of 2021, the project successfully energized Direct Current Power in the Mechanical Electrical Building (MEB). The system provides the breaker and relay control power to the UPF Project's 13.8kV switchgear.
“The start-up of these systems signifies a new phase for the UPF Project as we transition from design and installation to start-up and energization,” said Jeremy Wilkins, UPF Start-Up Manager.
The Start-Up team is now working to energize medium voltage and low voltage equipment in the MEB, which is scheduled to be complete by the end of April. Once all of the electrical systems have been energized, they can distribute power to the entire project.
“The UPF Project continues to make significant progress for our nation as we start turning our systems over to start-up,” said Dena Volovar, UPF Project Director. “This milestone is evidence of the quality work of all engaged on MEB over the last few years – through design to procurement to install to operating and all the steps in between – truly a team accomplishment!”
The UPF Pine Ridge Substation, which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget in 2019, supplies the power to the site as these systems are turned on. The substation, which was designed and built by the Tennessee Valley Authority, was the third subproject completed for the project.
The new substation will service both the Y-12 National Security Complex and the UPF Project, replacing an existing substation at Y-12 which is reaching the end of its service life. Servicing both sites with a single, modern substation is significantly more reliable and cost-effective to operate.
Guided wave ultrasonic testing involves wrapping an ultrasonic, low-frequency transducer ring around a pipe and sending a pulse 100 feet in both directions to test for pipe obstructions and pipe-wall thickness.
A project to deliver a new technology for assessing Y-12 fire suppression systems is on track for completion in 2021. Five employees qualified with the equipment earlier this year, and the technology is now in the proof-of-concept phase.
The project involves using a nondestructive tool—guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT)—to screen wet and dry fire suppression systems for blockages or corrosion. Use of nondestructive technology for assessment is important because many of the pipes in the fire suppression systems were installed about 70 years ago, and the current testing method Y-12 uses requires the removal of piping sections.
The 9-foot test rig completed by the metal fabrication shop for the training on guided wave ultrasonic testing.
“There is a risk in dealing with old pipe,” said Bobby Jenkins, Emergency Services Systems Operations manager, who initiated pursuing a nondestructive assessment method. “The nondestructive method is better in terms of risk and cost. We don’t need to disassemble pipe or take out sections unless we find something.”
Jenkins’ interest in nondestructive assessment led him to Steve Dekanich, a senior metallurgist in Quality Operations Support. “We needed a way to streamline the process and make it more efficient and cost effective,” Dekanich said.
He explained the GWUT method can test a 200 foot section of pipe at one time, whereas the existing method can only test a 10-foot section. GWUT involves wrapping an ultrasonic, low-frequency transducer collar around a pipe and sending a pulse 100 feet in both directions to test for pipe obstructions and pipe-wall thickness.
During proof-of-concept testing, the equipment will be placed in a central location where the researchers and newly qualified equipment operators will work on technical development using sample piping.
The Wavemaker G4 Mini from Guided Ultrasonics Ltd. connects to the transducer rings and collects guided wave ultrasonic testing data for further analysis.
“This new method is a lower-cost activity. We can cover a lot more area with new equipment. This method is smarter, more efficient,” Jenkins said. Y-12 maintains nearly 300 sprinkler systems and performs 15 to 20 internal inspections each year at an annual cost of $200,000.
Both Dekanich and Project and training lead Aaron Bales see the GWUT method as having potential for implementation across the Nuclear Security Enterprise because of its efficiency and costs savings.
Most importantly, Jenkins said, “This tool provides assurance of reliability in the event the system needs to be used. It’s one less thing to worry about.”