FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2004
FY04-44
ORISE Employee Awarded DOE Pollution Prevention Award
OAK RIDGE , Tenn. —Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) employee Wade Ivey was presented a Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters Pollution Prevention and Environmental Stewardship Accomplishment Award on Tuesday by George Manthey of the Oak Ridge Operations (ORO) office.
Ivey works in the Environmental Survey and Site Assessment Program (ESSAP) on the independent verification mission for DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and is among a handful of recipients chosen from approximately 100 other nominees throughout DOE. He is being recognized for his outstanding commitment to environmental stewardship through the reduction of perchloric acid use in the analysis of alpha-emitting isotopes.
Perchloric acid is an extremely dangerous acid that can crystallize in the fume hoods in the ESSAP laboratory during independent verification sampling. This caused an annual, intensive cleaning priced at $10,000 just to keep the hoods safe for use. If left uncleaned, the crystals become shock-sensitive, explosion hazards.
In addition to Ivey’s day-to-day responsibilities working with DOE and NRC customers to test and analyze possible radioactive samples, he has spent many hours investigating and creating a new analytical procedure to reduce the amount of perchloric acid by 95 percent.
This procedural change reduced time needed to perform the sample analysis by 40 percent and directly resulted in the elimination of one waste stream, which also lightened the workload for other ORISE departments.
The cost savings for ORISE was $39,000 for the first year and $42,000 for each succeeding year that perchloric acid is not used in the process. Ivey began to explore possible alternatives in 2000 and continued his research in 2001 and 2002.
“I wanted to keep the same quality of data, only using different, safer chemicals,” Ivey said. “The procedure as a whole is novel, but because the procedure is very involved, it has several concepts pieced together.”
Ivey’s innovation makes the sampling process more time efficient and safe for employees, while also cutting costs for ORISE customers.
Oak Ridge Associated Universities President Ron Townsend said, “We are honored and delighted that ORO has chosen to recognize this accomplishment. This reflects an environment of employee involvement and line manager leadership.”
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) is a U.S. Department of Energy institute focusing on scientific initiatives to research health risks from occupational hazards, assess environmental cleanup, respond to radiation medical emergencies, support national security and emergency preparedness, and educate the next generation of scientists. ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.