**Environmental Management**

**Committee Meeting Minutes**

**Wednesday, April 16, 5:30 p.m.**

**DOE Information Center**

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+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| **[Committee Members             | **[Others Present]{.underline}**  |
| Present]{.underline}**           |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| John Coffman                     | Dave Adler, Department of Energy  |
|                                  | (DOE-ORO)                         |
| Charles Jensen                   |                                   |
|                                  | Spencer Gross, Spectrum           |
| Norman Mulvenon                  |                                   |
|                                  | John Kubarewicz, Bechtel Jacobs,  |
| Ron Murphree, Chair              | Co.                               |
|                                  |                                   |
| Tim Myrick, Vice-chair           | Gary Riner, DOE                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### Bob Olson                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| #####                            |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### [Absent]{.underline}       |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Rhonda Bogard                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Darryl Bonner                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Susan Gawarecki                  |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Luther Gibson                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| John Kennerly                    |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Gloria Mei                       |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| Lance Mezga                      |                                   |
|                                  |                                   |
| ##### Kerry Trammell             |                                   |
+----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+

**[Building 3019 Update]{.underline}**

Mr. Riner said he took over the Building 3019 project at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) as federal project director about a month
ago. He said he recently finished overseeing the extraction of uranium
fuel from the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE). He said the last
sodium fluoride (NAF) traps holding the fuel from that project were
loaded on this date and are expected to be sent to 3019 by the end of
the week.

He reminded the group that Congress had directed that thorium extraction
operations be halted at 3019 and that the remaining uranium-233 stored
there be disposed. DOE Environmental Management now has the
responsibility for taking all of the uranium-233 (U-233) stored at 3019
and from the sodium fluoride traps from MSRE, downblending the material
and eventually shipping to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New
Mexico or to the Nevada Test Site (NTS). He said it will be sent to
Nevada if it doesn't meet the waste acceptance criteria for WIPP.

He said an attempt will be made to identify any part of the uranium that
has value and to send it elsewhere, such as at NTS, which he said is in
need of it. The campaign to extract uranium with value will continue to
2012 and details will be worked out later for placement.

Mr. Riner said DOE did a design review of the project in December and
determined it was 30-60 percent complete. That conflicted with the
contractor's estimate that it was about 90 percent complete. He said the
milestone for the completion of the project has not changed, but the
schedule for completion of the design phase has slipped. He said he was
challenging that milestone with the contractor, Isotek. Mr. Riner said
about \$56 million has been spent on the project so far. The total cost
forecast is about \$250 million.

Mr. Riner distributed a flow chart of the downblending process
(Attachment 1). He was asked about the crushing step noted near the top
of the page. He said that is actually the cutting open of cans holding
the U-233.

He said the project has a level 1 security and he is still determining
how much he can discuss with the committee.

Mr. Riner said the schedule to start downblending and disposition is
March 2009. He expects the campaign to take about 30 months. He said
there would probably be another six or seven years of shipping after
that. He said about 130 shipments of remote-handled material to WIPP is
expected if it meets the waste acceptance criteria.

Mr. Riner said shielded drums are being built by Toxco for on-site
storage until the material is moved to WIPP. When it is ready for
transport to WIPP it will be repackaged in different casks.

Mr. Myrick asked if any construction is being done at 3019 for the
project. Mr. Riner said a new hot cell is being constructed inside the
building.

Mr. Riner said the 3019 project is a precursor to the Integrated
Facility Disposition Plan (IFDP). He said after the U-233 is disposed,
Building 3019 may be one of the first buildings to be torn down. The
site would then be used as a temporary footprint for IFDP work at ORNL.
He said he is working on a plan to make sure the demolition contractor
has sufficient information to know what is left in the building and how
it should be handled.

He said his role in the project is not to tear the building down, only
to dispose of the U-233 and deactivate the building. Taking down the
building will be part of IFDP. He was asked if security was part of the
3019 project cost. He said security costs are being picked up by ORNL
and UT-Battelle. Mr. Myrick asked if he had an estimate for surveillance
and maintenance costs. Mr. Riner said it is about \$8-\$10 million.

Mr. Myrick asked if the 3019 stack is still the active discharge point.
Mr. Riner said the stack will be taken down, but a new one will have to
be built first. He said a new ventilation system will be put in to
prevent an unplanned discharge.

Mr. Myrick asked if there were any liquid waste streams involved in the
project. Mr. Riner said there about 10,000 gallons a week of liquid
waste.

Mr. Myrick asked what will happen to 3019 if IFDP is not approved. Mr.
Riner said the building would have to be flushed, deactivated, and left
in place.

Mr. Riner said the challenge of the project is to make sure the design
is finished and the safety management program is adequate. He said he is
putting a lot of emphasis on the ancillary systems of the project as
well as the nuclear systems.

He told the committee he would provide another update in about six
months.

**[Discussion of possible recommendation on Building 3019]{.underline}**

Mr. Myrick said he was concerned that IFDP will be responsible for
taking the building down. If IFDP is not approved the building would
have to be left in place. He felt the 3019 project should have included
demolition and not rely on another action to remove the building.

The committee decided to wait to see if the critical decision 1 on the
IFDP is approved before making any comments or recommendations.

**[New Business]{.underline}**

Mr. Olson said he has concerns about shock sensitive materials in the
Bear Creek Burial Grounds. He said he would like to have more
information about the ultimate fate of the material. Mr. Adler said some
of it is uranium turnings that is pyrophoric and could be a potential
explosive hazard. He said there is also the possibility of some
compressed gas canisters in the burial grounds. He said all of that is
part of the issue of whether to cap or excavate the burial grounds.

Mr. Olson said if the fate of the material is not known it needs to be
protected, which is a long-term stewardship issue. Mr. Mulvenon said
John Owsley with Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
mentioned at the April board meeting that long-lived hazards and
contaminants in waste sites would have to be protected with land use
controls with long-term assured funding.

The question will be addressed in more detail at the August meeting.

**[Action Items]{.underline}**

*Open*

1.  Mr. Gibson will act as issue manager on developing a recommendation
    on the Waste Information Management System.

2.  Mr. Adler will determine what is known about shock sensitive
    materials in Bear Creek Burial Grounds for August meeting.

*Closed*

1.  Mr. Adler will check on amount allocated for worker benefits in the
    FY 2010 budget. **Complete.** Mr. Adler said he understood that he
    was to determine if worker benefits were compartmentalized in the
    DOE budget. He said Congress puts appropriations in specific
    accounts. In respect to worker benefits it is specifically
    retirement benefits, which is a large portion of the budget. He said
    workers who retired under the Bechtel Jacobs, Co. received
    retirement benefits from one funding mechanism that has its own
    program baseline and cannot be touched.

> Retirees who do not retire under the Bechtel Jacobs contract will
> receive retirement benefits from overhead from a large number of
> program baselines, but since retirement benefits must be paid, that is
> captured as essential services and is paid first.

The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

Attachments (1) are available on request from the ORSSAB support office.

rsg