2008 Marked by Major Accomplishments
NTS Partners Looking Ahead to ’09 Challenges

January 14, 2009

Conducting high-tech experiments that test the readiness of the U.S. nuclear stockpile. Developing and testing nuclear radiation detection equipment to bolster defenses against weapons of mass destruction at our nation’s checkpoints. Teaching first responders how to detect radiation from potential terrorist attacks.

All of these unique missions are part of several major milestones achieved at Nevada Site Office (NSO) locations in 2008 by the federal team and its partners, National Security Technologies (NSTec), Stoller-Navarro Joint Venture (SNJV) and Wackenhut Services, Inc. Nevada (WSI-NV).

“The work we accomplished was critical to meeting many of the goals of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and for those federal agencies who rely on the test site,” says Steve Mellington, who in November was named the 10th manager of the National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO).

The past year saw the completion of a number of major goals, among them the transition of operations at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) from the National Laboratories to NSTec, WSI-NV gaining recertification as a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) STAR participant, and SNJV relocating to the Nevada Support Facility at Losee Road.

In support of its primary missions of stockpile stewardship and nuclear readiness, the NTS also achieved significant marks in subcritical experiments, counterterrorism support training and low-level waste disposal.

“The outstanding employees of NSTec delivered quality products on time and on budget, enabling the use of the test site to complete vital national security missions,” says NSTec President Steve Younger. “I am particularly proud that we achieved both ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 14001 (environment) certifications in FY 2008, and Earned Value Management System certification in December – the only NNSA site to have all three of these independent certificates of performance.”

And 2009 is expected to be even more ambitious. Goals include completion of the Criticality Experiments Facility (CEF) and support of Los Alamos National Laboratory work at NTS, the NTS beginning its support of training for the NNSA Office of Secure Transportation (OST), as well as a number of infrastructure projects, among them construction of a new fire station and upgrades to the Mercury Highway.

Here is a brief review of some of the major accomplishments of 2008:

 

Mellington Named Manager of NSO

Stephen A. Mellington succeeded Gerald L. Talbot Jr. as manager of the NNSA/NSO in November. He had been the NNSA/NSO Assistant Manager for Environmental Management (AMEM). He has served as the NNSA/NSO Deputy AMEM, Director of Environmental Restoration Division and Chief of the Environmental Restoration Branch for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Nevada Operations Office.

Mellington came to the NNSA/NSO in 1987 as an Environmental Compliance Specialist coordinating environmental compliance activities at the NTS and serving as National Environmental Policy Act Officer. Before joining the DOE, he worked 10 years with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as District Planning Coordinator. His federal career began in 1977 with BLM in Winnemucca.

Mellington is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute and holds a Bachelor of Science in Soil Science from the University of Maryland. He resides in Las Vegas with his wife, Suzanne, and has three adult children.

 

DAF Upgrades Facilitate JASPER Mission

The Device Assembly Facility (DAF) at the NTS recently underwent an upgrade that will enhance the site’s stockpile stewardship role. The DAF has been fitted with the capability to assemble targets for the Joint Actinide Shock Physics Experimental Research (JASPER) facility. Previously targets were assembled at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and shipped to NTS for testing.

Richard Higgs, program leader of the Joint Nevada Program Office (JNPO), says assembling the targets on-site has benefits for both the JASPER and DAF facilities. “Previously plutonium (actinide) targets were assembled into a mechanical structure and shipped in Type B containers from LLNL to JASPER. By shipping small plutonium components directly to the DAF for assembly, materials can be moved by commercial carriers – reducing shipping costs dramatically,” Higgs says.

JASPER plays an integral role in the certification of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. It provides a method to generate and measure data pertaining to the properties of radioactive materials at high shock pressures, temperatures and strain rates. These extreme laboratory conditions approximate those experienced in nuclear weapons. Higgs says assembling the JASPER targets at DAF also improves timeliness in the relationship between assembly and the actual experiment, thereby improving data quality and reducing the potential for damage to the target.

Since the 1992 moratorium on nuclear testing, the NNSA/NSO relies on the many capabilities, including the gas-gun technology of JASPER to obtain material properties data. JASPER has been used to conduct 80 experiments, or shots, since 2001. The first assembly using the glovebox technique was completed in late June and was successfully tested in mid-July.

 

NTS Turns Fusion into Detection Asset

The relocation of a new nuclear fusion machine from North Las Vegas to the NTS is helping to enhance the country’s detection capabilities in a way rarely found elsewhere.

One of NSTec’s Dense Plasma Focus (DPF) sources was recently relocated to Area 11 on the NTS to conduct research and development activities to enhance the country’s nuclear detection capabilities. Previously, DPF used only deuterium fusion. Now it uses a deuterium-tritium gas load. Deuterium-tritium fusion creates controlled, higher-powered reactions that can be used to calibrate neutron yield detectors.

The first DPF experiment at NTS was conducted on November 1, 2007, just six months after the technology was moved from the Losee Road facility. It was so successful that the source is now frequently used by all three National Laboratories. “The DPF is an efficient, multipurpose tool,” says Andrew Obst, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) staff physicist. “We use the outputs of the fusion reaction for many important purposes. At NTS, the DPF is used for physics experiments, to qualify detection systems, and to characterize and calibrate specialized detectors that are used in experiments by the national labs.”

 

NPTEC Completes Major Projects

The Nonproliferation Test and Evaluation Complex (NPTEC) team safely and successfully executed multiple projects vital to current national security challenges in 2008 by supporting the development of technologies critical to the nation’s ability to detect and collect information about chemicals associated with the processes of interest.

Included in 2008 projects was the first-ever controlled release of three different chemicals of interest. These extremely dangerous chemicals required entirely new release systems for safe handling and accurate release rates. “The systems performed flawlessly and our customers were amazed at our ability to execute this very difficult assignment,” says Robert Summers, director of Homeland Security and Defense Applications for NSTec.

Last year also marked the first-ever effort of the NPTEC team on a test mission overseas. The trip required extensive planning and close coordination with all participants. Several NSTec support organizations also contributed to the success of the mission, including the shipping and receiving department, which was responsible for ensuring all the team’s equipment arrived safely and was returned to the NTS in a timely manner.

 

BEEF Puts Phoenix in Motion

The BEEF (Big Explosives Experimental Facility) Complex is an above-ground high-explosive test bed, developed for large explosive loads. Comprised of four sub-facilities, a bunker, a camera bunker, physics support trailer, and a remote trailer park, the complex is remotely located in Area 4 of the NTS. Experiment execution and data recording can be supported from either the bunker or the remote trailer park. NSTec and LLNL continue to improve the BEEF.

During 2008, the facility supported the Full Function Test-2 (FFT-2) in support of LLNL. The High Explosive Pulsed Power (HEPP) experiment was the second in a series of developmental experiments that are integral to the Phoenix Project and the design of future HEPP systems to be tested at the BEEF Complex. Also, during year 2008, several explosively driven experiments for WFOs (Work for Others) were supported and executed at the BEEF complex.

 

NTS Facilities Transition Completed

The transition of NTS facilities to the management and operational responsibility of NSTec was wrapped up on time and under budget in September.

Patrick Morris, NSTec division manager, Readiness in Technical Base and Facilities, said the final briefing on the transition was completed on September 22. “We finished the transition on schedule and approximately $1 million under budget due to the great efforts, contributions and participation of everyone involved, including those team members from Nevada Site Office and the Joint Nevada Test Site Program Office (JNPO),” Morris says.

Historically, the National Laboratories have managed several NTS facilities, however NNSA issued a directive that shifted responsibility to NSTec. Most of the transition work involved modification or revision of hundreds of management, hazards analysis and regulatory documents as well as emergency response plans, security and operations procedures, and Real Estate/Operating Permits (REOPs).

 

WSI Recertifies STAR Status

Wackenhut Services, Inc. Nevada (WSI-NV) was awarded its second recertification in the U.S. Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE VPP). The DOE created the VPP in January 1994 to recognize and encourage excellence in occupational safety and health protection.

WSI-NV received its first STAR certification in 2000. It now held the status for eight consecutive years – the longest of any security contractor in the NNSA complex.

“The WSI-Nevada Team commitment to excellence in worker health and safety is much more than a DOE VPP certificate and flag that recognizes this achievement; it is, without question, the demonstration of performance excellence in a program by employees, for employees,” says WSI-NV General Manager Dave Bradley.

 

NSO Opens “Green” Building at B3

The NNSA/NSO completed construction of the B3 administration office. This extensively remodeled structure was designed to Leadership and Energy in Environmental Design (LEED) standards, and is expected to qualify for the prestigious LEED Silver designation.

The new “green” building was dedicated on March 25 in a ceremony attended by Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons. With more than 71,000 square feet of usable space housing up to 400 employees, the structure incorporates state-of-the-art automation to monitor and control lighting, heating, cooling and air quality. Additional “green” features include an insulated roof with reduces heating and what is known as the “heat island effect,” enhanced refrigeration management, and desert-friendly landscaping. Energy performance is expected to be optimized by 17.5 percent.

Completion of the B3 project brought to close NSO’s beryllium cleanup project and made space available to move employees from the Nevada Support Facility (NSF). That freed up space to relocate SNJV associates to the Losee Road facility for added cost savings.

 

SNJV Moves Operations to NSF

In August and September, associates from Stoller-Navarro Joint Venture (SNJV) packed up their desks, computers and cabinets and moved them to the NSF, vacating their previous offices on Cheyenne Road.

SNJV Business Manager Robert LaRow said the move was a major step by NSO and SNJV to be more cost-conscious. It was made possible by the availability of office space on the first and second floor at the NSF. “Since our client is located at the NSF, this move will give us a closer interaction with them,” LaRow says. “Principally, it also provides a significant cost savings to the government.”

Angela Colarusso, NSO Safety and Operations assistant manager, says the move was completed two months ahead of the scheduled lease expiration date for the Cheyenne Facility. The lease cost savings will be nearly $1 million a year.

 

TRU Waste Closure Reaching End

The final chapter for legacy transuranic (TRU) waste at the NTS is drawing to a close after nearly 35 years. Since completing 48 shipments (1,860 drums) of legacy TRU waste from the NTS to Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico, in November 2005, the NSO has focused on preparing to ship off-site the remaining TRU waste, which is stored in 58 oversized boxes.

In order to meet current shipping requirements and the waste acceptance criteria for disposal at WIPP, the contents of the oversized boxes were characterized and repackaged. During characterization activities, it was determined that half of the waste was transuranic waste. Using a variety of technologies, the half was determined to be low-level and mixed low-level which can be safely disposed on the NTS at a significant cost savings. Shipments of the transuranic waste to the Idaho National Laboratory Consolidation Site for final characterization began on December 2. After final characterization is complete, the waste will be sent to WIPP for final disposal. It is anticipated that all TRU waste from the oversized boxes will be shipped off the NTS by April 30, 2009.

 

NSTec Receives ISO, EVMS Certifications

National Security Technologies (NSTec) achieved a recommendation for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification in both Quality Management and Environmental Management systems. The three-year plan to receive the prestigious ISO 9001 (QMS) and ISO 14001:2000 (EMS) certification was realized one year ahead of schedule.

ISO standards are an international consensus of good quality management practices. “This is a tremendous achievement for our company,” says NSTec President Steve Younger. “To be certified by an independent body for excellence in these key areas is recognition of incredible work and progress.”

The company also was notified by the DOE Office of Engineering and Construction Management (OECM) that NSTec’s Earned Value Management System (EVMS) was certified on Dec. 1. EVMS is the primary tool used to evaluate current and projected cost and schedule performance for work performed on behalf of the NNSA/NSO.

Additionally, NSTec will seek its first-ever U.S. Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE VPP) certification when an inspection team visits early this year. The company would join WSI-NV as the second NTS contractor to receive the prestigious STAR award. WSI-NV received its second recertification this summer.

 

NSO Emergency Responders Take On ‘Diablo Bravo’

Members of the Nevada Site Office National Emergency Response Organization descended on Washington state in August for a four-day exercise on terrorism. Diablo Bravo brought together radiological emergency response personnel from all over the country. The exercise was held in late July in Kitsap County, Washington – home of Naval Base Kitsap and Bangor submarine base.

Nearly 40 people from NSTec and NNSA/NSO federal staff were part of the Federal Radiological Monitoring and Assessment Center (FRMAC). The FRMAC responded to a mock terrorist attack on a truck carrying nuclear weapons. On site, the scientist and technicians began collecting field data and generating maps for the Kitsap County Emergency Management Office.

According to Bill Suiter, FRMAC Director, “The data on the maps we give to the community leaders gives them the best picture of just how their community may have been affected by an event like this. With these maps, they find that many times they may have over-reacted when ordering an evacuation. We give the people in charge, in these towns and counties, a tool they would not otherwise have,” he said.

 

New Contract Awarded for OST Training

The NSO approved a long-term agreement for the NNSA Office of Secure Transportation (OST) at NTS. The OST will provide up to $2.5 million in infrastructure upgrades to the cafeteria at Camp 12. NSTec is expected to support 30 to 40 weeks of training each year.