# Presentation: 480791

## Hanford Tank Farm Spill 

*Continuous Improvement in Emergency Preparedness*

*Presented By:*
*Tony Jennings, Manager*
*Emergency Management *
*CH2M HILL Hanford*

**Notes:**
My name is Tony Jennings. I’m the new manager of CH2M HILL’s Emergency Management team at Hanford Tank Farms. (talk about your expertise)

I’d like to speak to you about our Emergency Preparedness program at CH2M HILL and share some of the ways we are continuously improving on our EP initiatives based on lessons learned from events such as the recent S-102 spill.

For those of you not familiar with the Tank Farms at Hanford, let me give you some details on the project. . . 

## Where we are Located

**Notes:**
What we do at Hanford
At Hanford, CH2M HILL serves the Department of Energy’s Office of River Protection as prime contractor to the Tank Farm facilities at Project Hanford – the world’s largest environmental cleanup project. 

We are responsible for safely retrieving approximately 53 million gallons of highly radioactive and hazardous waste stored in 177 underground tanks at the 560-square-mile Hanford Site in southeastern Washington. The tanks contain residue from years of World-War-II and post-war weapons production. 

## Tank Farms 

- Most complex environmental cleanup in the nation
- 177 underground storage tanks
- 149 are interim stabilized single-shell tanks
- S Farm single-shell tanks are 750,000 gallons each

**Notes:**
We’re up against some complex hazards:

560-square-miles of former plutonium production
53 million gallons of radioactive and hazardous waste
177 underground tanks
Aging and deteriorating
Up to 67 leaked into groundwater

## Hazardous Waste

- The interstitial liquids were removed as part of Interim Stabilization
- What is left is sludge and salt cake
- Our current mission is to retrieve the sludge and salt cake using the best available technology

**Notes:**
We’re conducting first-of-a-kind retrievals from the tanks. 
The retrieval mission requires continuing changes to our operational configuration and safety controls
Changes continue to challenge our Emergency Preparedness Hazard Assessment requiring a close tie between Nuclear Safety and Licensing and Emergency Management
These changes require more intensive training and exercises for our Emergency Response Organizations

When it comes to emergency preparedness, let me give you some real Hanford examples of what we’re up against . .

## Our Mission’s Unique Emergency Management  Challenges

- The retrieval mission requires continuing changes to our operational configuration and safety controls
- Changes continue to challenge our Emergency Preparedness Hazard Assessment requiring a close tie between Nuclear Safety and Licensing and Emergency Management
- These changes require more intensive training and exercises for our Emergency Response Organizations

**Notes:**
Our program is focusing on what we’re doing and positioning ourselves for success by continuously looking for ways to improve.

I can categorize our challenges to error precursors into 3 C’s:

Convincing the workers, the public and ourselves that we are prepared for an emergency or event
When the extraordinary becomes ordinary
EM becomes a program driven by requirement without a focus on operational excellence 

Coordinating drills with other agencies and building relationships
Practice and performance become less of a priority
Changes in facility operations and configuration are occurring rapidly
Competing demands with time, money, effort

Conveying results of events and lessons learned to change behavior

## Error Precursors in Emergency Management

*Not Shown to Scale*

*Ground Level*

*Pump Inlet*

*12” Riser*

*Tank Bottom*

*Tank Waste*

*Pump Motor*

*Riser Extension (shield box)*

*Dilution Supply Line (raw water)*

- Tank S-102 Detail

*Hose-in-hose Transfer Line*

*Transfer Line*

- 37’

- 75’

- 10’

- When the extraordinary becomes ordinary
- EM becomes a program driven by requirement without a focus on operational excellence
- Changes in facility operations and configuration are occurring rapidly
- Practice and performance become less of a priority

*(Connects to Water*
*Distribution Skid)*

**Notes:**
Convincing the workers, the public and ourselves

We’ve had quite a few “aha” moments through drill findings and real events. . . 

Many of you may not be aware of a recent event that occurred on the Hanford site this past July. We refer to it as the S-102 spill. The S-102 event brought many AHA moments for us and our program. 

We found we need to:
Shift our focus from meeting program requirements to include meeting operational needs
Increase the number and complexity of drills in Emergency Management Exercise and Drill Program  
We’ve more than doubled the number of drills we’re conducting at tank farms. 
We’re using high risk/potential drills (spills, air borne contamination, personnel contamination) 
Enhance Emergency Management staff
Incorporate expert advice
Full-time and sub-contractors supporting Hazard Assessment improvements
Improve our communication toolbox:
Utilize technology to communicate 
Videotape to use as training tool 
Communicate drill results through reports and meetings - update as necessary
Improve perspective of what is in our Hazard Survey and Emergency Preparedness Hazard Analysis for Tank Farms

## S102 Overview

- During retrieval of waste from S-102 a spill of approximately 85 gallons occurred
- There were several Conduct of Operations and radiological control weaknesses
- There were weaknesses with our personnel accountability and site interface performance
- These were Emergency Management Programmatic issues

## Emergency Management  Improvements 

- Incorporated a process for hazard analysis that interfaces Engineering with Emergency Management
- Evaluate high probability, low consequence hazards in our Hazard Assessment
- We have an improved perspective of what is in our Hazard Survey and Emergency Preparedness Hazard Analysis for Tank Farms

**Notes:**
Coordinating drills with other agencies

Improve use of CH2M HILL experts / Coordination with Incident Command
Build a process for Hazard Analysis that incorporates Engineering with Emergency Management 
Align Emergency Management into Operations
After S-102, we recognized the need for aligning EM into Operations.
There’s pros to having EM as a support organization (money, visibility), but the reality is you lose touch with the field and the reality of experience when you’re not aligned with the conduct of operations.
Review and revise interface agreements and response procedures
In the S-102 event, we didn’t outline in our procedures what to do in the case of a chemical spill – we’ve done some amazing work with characterizing our waste for vapors, but we didn’t update our EM procedures to spell out how to handle a situation when a spill occurs. The fire department was fully prepared to handle radiological contaminations, but they were not prepared for chemical contamination. They didn’t notify our on-site health provider.
Improve procedures used to respond to abnormal events at Tank Farm Facilities
Another S-102 example of this includes sending eventually sending 16 people to the health provider – at the same time – and not preparing the provider for the arrival.
Strengthen relationships with other agencies

## Continuous Improvement

- The complexity of multiple procedures during abnormal events is being challenged
- Emergency Management should use exercises and drills for training and evaluating not just evaluation
- Emergency Management must focus on the details (conduct of operations, site resource integration and communications, etc.)

**Notes:**
Conveying results of events and lessons learned to change behavior

Emergency Management includes a continuous loop of lessons learned:

Convince competence through training/discussing how,
Conduct drills/follow procedures,
Get feedback and convey the results.

Then begin the process over. We focus on lessons learned to get the results we want.

## What We’ve Done

- Moved Emergency Management into Operations
- Brought in expertise both as full-time personnel and as sub-contractors supporting Hazard Assessment improvements
- Shifting our focus from just meeting requirements to meeting operational needs
- Focused on improving operational performance through smaller training sessions and operational drills

**Notes:**

While we strive to continuously improve our EM program, you cannot become complacent to everyday requirements. We’re working to stay in continuous learning mode – learning from lessons.

For us, continuous improvement means:
Challenge the complexity of multiple procedures during abnormal events  
Use exercises and drills for evaluating AND training 
Focus on the details 
Conduct of Operations
Site resource integration 
Communications
Model other programs
Benchmark other programs
Utilize the DOE Lessons Learned program

## Slide 11