Y-12 Blog
 Y-12 nurse Denise Howard checks an employee’s blood pressure. |
The Pantex and Y-12 Occupational Health Services departments have always had a mission to maintain and improve the safety, health, and wellness of employees in the workplace, and their work is more important now than ever before. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve proven themselves responsive, adaptable, and innovative. OHS is rising to the challenges of meeting ongoing occupational health needs with reduced staffing levels, finding ways to improve for the future, and even blazing new trails.
“I don’t think anyone in Y-12 OHS will ever forget that Monday in March when we learned we had our first case,” said Gary Hall, Y-12 OHS senior manager. “I looked around the room, and I think every single person there felt the tsunami of change coming fast our way. In hindsight, I think it was our exceptional people skills that got us through — we needed to quickly problem solve and then execute. We talked our way through the anxiety our coworkers were feeling.”
To practice proper social distancing, the Pantex and Y-12 groups alternated medical and administrative staff on site with weekly shifts. Even with reduced on site staffing levels, personnel were still able to provide fitness for duty and case management functions.
Procedures that didn’t allow for social distancing, such as audio and pulmonary function tests and physical therapy, have been paused to protect the providers and patients. For other procedures, the groups looked for new ways of meeting requirements.
Pantex and Y-12 OHS started telepsychology, or virtual psychology exams. With the employee in one room and the psychologist in another room, they connect via Skype. The simple solution was a first in the Nuclear Security Enterprise. OHS hopes to soon allow psychologists to offer this service while teleworking from home to further reduce the amount of clinical staff on-site.
Pantex has also changed procedures for alcohol testing. To reduce use of breathalyzer tests and protect Fire Department personnel administering the test, employees called in to work off-shifts now receive saliva testing as a pre-screening and breath alcohol tests only following a positive saliva test.
In addition to providing ongoing health support to the plants, both OHS departments played a major role in the sites’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Site Operational Medical Directors Dr. Michael Paston and Dr. Warren Sayre helped develop policies and procedures to protect on site employees and prepare for when the workforce returns during the three stages of the recovery plan.
“We are functioning like our own public health department. The case management staff, led by nurse Melva Davis, is perfecting contact tracing, and we are coordinating with the Amarillo Public Health Department,” said Paston.
Don Morris, Pantex OHS senior manager, said the situation has also encouraged the team to identify opportunities for improvement in other internal processes.
“In some ways, I don’t think we will ever go back to the way we used to do business,” Morris said.
The continuous improvement demonstrated by OHS has not only helped reduce the spread of COVID-19 at both sites but also will further improve the quality of service provided in the future.
Dr. Mark Izzard conducts a telepsychology session from his office at Pantex.
Students who participated in the Y-12 Cybersecurity Camps, in partnership with Roane State Community College, experienced camp online, a new way of holding summer camp this year. The event was planned to be held at the RSCC Oak Ridge campus, but because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the camp became a virtual one.
Dr. George Meghabghab, director of the RSCC Computer Information Technology program, said, “Participation was great! Everybody was attentive, and it was fun and engaging.”
Y-12 and RSCC offered the cybersecurity camp to middle and high school age students wanting to build critical-thinking skills and habits to safely navigate in today’s online communities.
“Technology is an essential part of our everyday lives. It’s in the nation’s best interest for our next generation workforce to become interested in careers in cybersecurity,” said CNS educational outreach coordinator Kristin Waldschlager.
During the camp, students solved fictional cyber crime scenes using digital forensics, scanning, and data reconnaissance to unravel clue.
The 30 students were from a combination of homeschooled, public, and private schools.
Shown in the photo are two siblings who attended this summer’s online cybercamp from the comfort of their own home.
In celebration of World Photography Day, take a look into the world of Y-12 through the lens of Brett Pate, one of the site’s professional photographers. He documents National Nuclear Security Administration mission activities as well as captures images for publications, visits, events, and conferences.
He’s been involved in photography for about 45 years, with 29 of those years working as a Y-12 photographer.
“I started my profession very early, as a dark room technician at a local photography studio while in high school,” Pate said. “I worked after school for a professional photographer in the wedding industry.”
He said he likes the creative freedom he has with his job.
“I am blessed to have a job that I enjoy every day,” he said. “For the most part, I have the independence to create an image the way that I envision.”
He said one misconception about the field is that if you can point and click, then you’re considered a photographer. Learning the skill, technique, and artistry of photography takes many years of practice, he said.
“Everyone nowadays is a photographer!” Pate said. “However, there is a lot more to it than that. It takes work and some forethought to imagine the image you are trying to capture and how you want your final product to look. Lighting plays a big part in this and is something that a lot of inexperienced photographers are not familiar with.”
Outside of work, Pate said he has many photography interests.
“I like old buildings and rusty structures as well as our beautiful mountains and flowers,” he said. “Basically, wherever I am, I will see something and think, ‘That would be a great photo,’ so I start snapping. Most recently, I photograph my dogs and grandchildren since they are always doing something interesting!”
Check out a few of Pate’s favorite Y-12 images below.
ProForce member in full gear. (Photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.)
A Y-12 machinist. (Photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.),
Researcher with a Scanning Electron Microscope. (Photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.)
Technician at Oak Ridge Metrology Center works on precision calibration. (Photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.)
A black and white shot of gears at Y-12.
Uranium Processing Facility nightshift. (Photo taken before the COVID-19 pandemic.)
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Across the country, college students have been forced to adjust schedules and routines for the upcoming academic year in response to COVID 19. Despite the changes it has brought, CNS successfully committed to providing educational development opportunities for students this summer as a part of the CNS Internship Program.
In June, Pantex and Y-12 welcomed 40 participants, 16 at Pantex and 24 at Y-12, to the 2020 intern class! Each had the opportunity to learn what CNS has to offer, virtually and in person.
Behind the mission
Brittany Schidel, a mechanical engineering major pursuing her master’s degree at the University of Tennessee, was prepared to begin her first internship at Y-12. Growing up in Knoxville, she was familiar with the site’s history and even got to attend student outreach events at New Hope Center. Nonetheless, the knowledge she has gained from her time interning with Y-12 Reliability & Maintainability was eye opening.
“I was surprised by the amount of information I have learned in such a short period of time,” Schidel said. “I have been able to participate in field work along with supporting the condition based maintenance team in their future projects on site. Everyone has been so helpful with teaching me about the site and allowing me to work hands on with them and understand what the Preventive Maintenance team does at Y-12.”
As a Ph.D. pre candidate in nuclear engineering at the University of Michigan, Thomas Folk looked forward to interning at Y-12 for the first time. Along with having the opportunity to relate his curriculum to real world experience, Folk was also eager to apply and contribute to the mission after learning more about Y-12 at the Millennial Nuclear Caucus at New Hope Center in 2019.
During his interview, Folk admittedly knew he was in the right place for the summer.
“A big reason that drove me to want to intern at Y-12 is through the conversation with my hiring manager during an interview,” Folk said. “Not only did I want to take on an internship for the technical aspect, I equally desired to build leadership qualities and strong team working abilities.”
A ‘new normal’ summer
With her sights set to become a future chemical engineer, Danica Ruiz, a chemical engineering major at Texas Tech University, knew Pantex would allow her to gain the skills to do so through improving her technical experience and problem solving skills. As the summer approached, Ruiz admits she was thankful that CNS made the effort to preserve the internship program despite the pandemic.
“CNS has made every effort to ensure our safety and well-being by implementing teleworking and a remote onboarding process,” Ruiz said. “Since I have been able to start working on site, everyone at Pantex has been welcoming while still encouraging and participating in social distancing. I am incredibly thankful for the valuable experience I have gained in this short amount of time. CNS has shown their ability to continue towards their mission without compromising safety.”
For Bryce Rogers, a business management major with a concentration in project management at Elon University, his second year interning at Y-12 looked a little different than the last. As Rogers primarily teleworked through his internship, his experience with Y-12 Supply Chain Management proved to be just as valuable and engaging.
“Everyone who I’ve spoken with has tried to keep a positive outlook on everything,” Rogers said. “This is obviously not how many of us expected to be performing our internships this summer; however, many of the employees continue to be just as engaged and impactful to my experience here, just as if I was standing right there in their cube.”
While working with Y-12 Supply Chain Management, Rogers admittedly not only took away practical skills for the future by getting involved with daily meetings and tasks. He also began to understand the gravity of the mission.
“The fact that I get to tell people the work that we perform every day helps keep the country safe is something that I never thought I’d get a chance to say,” Rogers said. “To be completely honest, the work that we do here is just plain cool.”
Thomas Folk took part in the CNS mission this summer interning with Y-12 Global Security. (No mask necessary in private space.)
As a mechanical engineering major at West Texas A&M, Hector Rivero Figueroa (left) looked forward to interning with Pantex Engineering, “because it is one of the best careers to have here in the Amarillo area.”
Drew Rowlands (center), an intern with Pantex Fire Protection, was able to refine his skillset as a fire protection and safety engineering major at Oklahoma State University.
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It is news that no parent or family is prepared for. In the wake of a global pandemic, Y-12’s John Fellers’ world had turned upside down.
For his daughter, Josie, her dream of joining the University of Tennessee’s dance team in the fall was at the forefront of her and her family’s mind. She made it to the second round of team tryouts and was rigorously preparing for her next routine.
“Josie had been complaining of being extremely tired and sore all week, but we all thought it was her long days in the studio working on her tryout,” Fellers said. “We now realize looking back that the fight to make the dance team was nothing compared to the battle she was about to take on.”
Unexpectedly, Josie was fighting acute myeloid leukemia.
In October 2019, Fellers along with other Y-12ers took part in Light the Night by raising more than $12,700 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through a series of fundraising efforts. In honoring those touched by cancer, Fellers never thought that the roles would be reversed almost six months later.
“It was Wednesday, April 15, around 8 p.m. when [Josie’s pediatrician] called and wanted us to come by, not a call anyone wants to receive,” Fellers said. “Having to hear that my daughter was diagnosed in the driveway of our home was unbelievable and unimaginable.”
As word spread on social media, Y-12’s Cris Crider and his wife recognized a familiar face attached to the devastating news — Josie’s. After learning about Josie’s diagnosis through a mutual Facebook post, their family was stunned. Both photographers and owners of B Loved Images, the Criders had previously met Josie while shooting photography for the dance team at Oak Ridge High School. When their five year old daughter attended dance camp the same summer, Josie was her teacher.
“I don’t personally know John, nor did I know he worked at Y-12 too, but our community has come together during these difficult times to support one of our families,” Crider said.
Through their talent and community, the Criders have begun capturing photos for a cause in order to give back to Josie and her family.
“With all of the stress added with COVID-19 and Josie being diagnosed with leukemia, we wanted to do something for the community in some way,” Crider said. “With that, we decided to do front-porch family photo sessions with all of the proceeds going to support Josie’s family.”
In transitioning the backdrop of their business due to COVID-19, the Criders are offering professional photographs of individuals and their families in front of their homes. With 56 families from surrounding counties currently donating for Josie, the battle and support for Josie’s life is being fought one portrait at a time.
“To see how Josie’s cancer diagnosis has touched so many lives and brought so many people together to pray and help her has been such a blessing,” Fellers said. “She has stayed positive, taken every shot cancer has thrown at her with a smile, and remained steadfast in her love of the Lord. I am so proud of the way she has handled this situation and for the example she is setting for all of us.”
In support of Josie’s fight, the Fellers have joined with East Tennessee Children’s Hospital to spread the word in providing toy donations for the hospital’s waiting rooms. For more information or if you would like to individually donate in honor of Josie or Alex Grappin (son of Engineering’s Tony Grappin), visit the hospital’s online wish list. CNS has donated $1,000 to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital in support of its toy drive.
