Fire danger: Moderate

NMT director responds to report on DOE Type-A investigation

The Department of Energy has released a report on its investigation into an incident March 16 that resulted in eight workers being exposed to plutonium-238 while working at the Lab's Plutonium Facility.

Tim George, director of the Nuclear Materials Technology (NMT) Division, responded to the report by saying:

"We remain deeply concerned about the March 16 incident and its potential impact on the health, safety and welfare of the workers involved. We will do whatever is necessary in the weeks and months ahead to ensure that the individuals involved receive the appropriate support and treatment they need to succeed in the workplace and in their personal lives.

"As a result of the incident," George said, "the Laboratory has identified and is correcting potentially serious problems that most likely would not have been identified otherwise. Among these was a widespread issue with thousands of loose plumbing fittings known as 'Swageloks' at the plutonium facility and the Laboratory's Chemistry and Metallurgy Research facility. Had this problem not been identified and corrected, dozens of similar potentially serious contamination incidents could have occurred. Programmatic work will not resume at these facilities until problems have been corrected and workers can resume operations in a safe manner.

"It is important to note that the problem at the facility had nothing to do with the Swageloks themselves, but rather with the way that they had been installed. We will continue to use the plumbing fittings at our facilities, and we will ensure that each and every one has been installed and maintained according to manufacture -- recommended specifications."

George said his division has taken the following actions since the March 16 incident occurred:

• Personnel are checking all Swageloks at TA-55 and CMR to ensure that they are tightened to manufacturer-recommended specifications. Nearly all of the more than 20,000 fittings at TA-55 and CMR have been checked. Loose fittings have been tightened to manufacturer-recommended specifications or replaced. Any fittings with evidence of radioactive contamination have been replaced.
• Programmatic work at the facility will not occur until fittings affecting a particular work area or activity are checked and confirmed to be sound.
• Any employee of NMT who installs Swageloks or who may have to perform maintenance on Swageloks has been or will be trained by the manufacturer on the proper tightening of the fittings and on the proper procedure for testing the fittings after they have been installed.
• All NMT Division employees have undergone reaffirmation of Integrated Safety Management techniques. Under ISM, workers define the work to be done, analyze all potential hazards, develop a procedure for doing the work safely, perform the work and perform a post-work "lessons learned" activity that will allow workers to define ways to refine and improve safety procedures for similar work in the future.
• NMT Division employees will undergo hazards cognizance training. This program will train workers to look beyond the "obvious" work hazards to include conditions and activities that could lead to unsafe conditions. The employees also will be encouraged to consider non-obvious hazards off the job as well.
• NMT Division personnel have implemented a room-status information system that will provide a mechanism for reporting and tracking work conditions within specific rooms in nuclear facilities. Before any work is conducted, workers beginning a new shift will read logs supplied by workers from previous shifts that will detail any work conditions in the room and that will report on the status of earlier reported work conditions. This system will leave no room for uncertainty when it comes to communicating work conditions within a particular room.
• The Laboratory is investigating why Teflon valve seals fail in some radioactive environments. After this determination is made, a maintenance schedule for all such seals will be developed. In the meantime, personnel are checking the integrity of all Teflon valve seals in TA-55.

"We are continuously improving our operations at TA-55 to ensure that the facility remains a safe environment in which to work," George said. "In addition, we want to ensure that all members of our work force are well-trained and safety conscious, and able to carry out the Lab's mission in the safest most responsible manner possible. Anything less simply won't do."

--James Rickman

Laboratory director reports to UC Regents

In a report to the University of California Regents last week, Laboratory Director John Browne noted improvements to security at Los Alamos and Livermore national labs, but said more needs to be done to protect classified information.

Browne also sought to clarify misunderstandings and misperceptions resulting from the much-publicized disappearance from a Los Alamos vault earlier this year of two hard drives containing classified nuclear weapons information.

"There's an impression left that people at the labs don't care about security," he said. "That's just not true. Our employees are dedicated public servants. They believe in the labs' mission."

The creation of and access to classified information is also commonly misunderstood, according to Browne. "The people at the labs who have the information aren't given the information, they create the information. A vast majority of them follow procedures."

The vault from which the hard drives disappeared was protected by multiple layers of security, such as a badge for access to a limited area and biometric reading, he said. "We're not talking about people just wandering in.

"There aren't any excuses for these hard drives to disappear," he said, adding the incident still is under investigation to determine if the hard drives were lost, misplaced or deliberately taken.

Browne worried that such an incident could compromise the Nuclear Emergency Search Teams whose members "risk their lives when they go out into the field."

Since the hard drive incident, additional security requirements have been put in place, he said. People are now required to log in for access, and items contained in the vault have been bar coded.

He noted that Department of Energy rules governing secret and top secret data were relaxed after the end of the Cold War, and that there's no longer "strict accountability" for those information categories, he said.

"Congress was surprised when we told them that secret and top secret data are no longer accountable," Browne said, adding that the directors of Los Alamos, Sandia and Livermore have expressed concerns about that lack of accountability.

While the UC contract with DOE to manage the labs specifies that the university is responsible for security, Browne said responsibility has to be shared with DOE because "they set the rules."

DOE conducts audits and determines if security standards are being met in physical, information and cyber security, he said.

After the latest DOE security reviews, both Los Alamos and Livermore security were rated satisfactory, the highest rating given by the department.

Browne said new DOE security requirements for cyber security have not been accompanied with additional resources. "We have to do it," he said. "We have to do it by balancing our priorities."

The labs also implement measures that go beyond requirements at their own expense, he said. "You're in a catch-22 situation. You can continue to do it, but you don't get the resources to do it."

While there are shared responsibilities, Browne emphasized that the people who create classified information must ultimately be held responsible for the security of that information.

"Regardless of what security system we use, the people who create the information have to be responsible and accountable," he said.

Security has to be integrated into lab operations the way safety has been through Integrated Safety Management, Browne said. "This should not be a compliance-based issue. People have to get into their minds that security is a part of the way they work."

During the question and comment period following the security update, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante told Browne "you're responsible for security, the university is responsible. If the university is going to take on the management of these two facilities, we cannot continue to have the kinds of breaches that have taken place.

"We always have to guard against that. We owe that not just to the management contract, because it's not just a management contract we have here," Bustamante said. "We owe it to the security of this nation, and I don't think that can be understated in any way.

"I take this very very seriously and I know you do as well," he said. "This university has to be able to be up on top, on guard all the time.

"We have to have a system where we are as difficult on ourselves as other people are because the stakes are just too high," Bustamante concluded.

--Don Johnston, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Editors note: The following information was provided to the Daily Newsbulletin by the Community Relations Office (CRO)

County rehabilitation work to continue this weekend; volunteers also needed at Los Alamos Food Bank

Work continues Saturday on land rehabilitation and volunteers are needed for the American Springs area to rake, seed and mulch, said Al Toth of the Los Alamos Police Department and coordinator for Los Alamos County's volunteer program. After this weekend, the trend will be toward smaller projects where fewer volunteers will be needed, he said.

The volunteer program currently is in transition, said Toth, as the leadership is changing and the types of projects needing volunteers is expected to differ from those in the past. "We've pretty much run out of things that we can put hundreds of people on. Now we're looking at smaller projects. We are thinking of having people adopt an area and doing things like clean up and keeping track of how the forest is regenerating," he said. Rehabilitation of trails also is moving into the forefront as the flood mitigation efforts are being completed.

Because a number of organizations have expressed interest in helping, such as the Los Alamos Pathways Association and the Nordic ski trail group, some volunteer projects will be organized around their memberships. But opportunities for those not affiliated with particular groups also will be arranged, he said.

"During earlier stages of the rehab work we had people here from all over the country to help us organize the volunteer efforts, said Toth. "With the fire out people have had to go back to their regular assignments and we have to figure out how to get the work done using the same resources we'll have here for the next couple of years, the people in this community."

As a result of this self sufficiency the county will need more people to serve as crew leaders, a role other organizations have played in the past, Toth said. "We'll need to train crew leaders in both the classroom and the field to take the responsibility for small groups of volunteers and equipment," he said. "We need people who will be able to help over the long haul and, needless to say, the more crew leaders we have the less often we'll call on them. We want to make sure we don't burn anybody out."

Those interested in helping with the rehabilitation efforts this Saturday should plan on arriving at the Mesa Public Library parking lot between 8 and 9 a.m. and work until around 1 p.m. Sturdy shoes, pants and long-sleeved shirts are required. Sunscreen is suggested and water will be provided, but volunteers might want to bring something to carry the water. Additional help with registration also would be appreciated and anyone who wants to help with registration should plan on being at the library a little before 8 a.m.

The Los Alamos Food bank needs volunteers from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. today to help unload trailers, get materials ready for distribution and the re-storing materials at the end of the day.

As a result of Laboratory feedback, the food bank will be changing the days it needs help in August to Fridays and Saturdays. Some assistance continues to be needed on Tuesdays. Employees able to volunteer should contact the food bank at 662-9622 and leave a message letting them know what time(s) they can volunteer.

Employees interested in volunteering for either effort can contact Linda Anderman of CRO at 5-9196, or anderman@lanl.gov or volunteer@lanl.gov by e-mail.

Emergency Rehabilitation Team update

Protect Laboratory facilities and infrastructure

Los Alamos and Pueblo Canyons

• Construction work on the low-head weir in Los Alamos Canyon continues today with the installation of additional rock gabions, wire baskets filled with river rock. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reports that they are complete with approximately half of the retention pond grading above the weir. The goal of the channel pond is to capture sediment. Work on the remaining half of the pond has been slowed due to a significant layer of rock in the channel. Army Corps officials are working to determine how best to remove the rock. Weirs are low walls, constructed of rock gabions, that will stretch across the canyon channels and will act to slow the flow of water and trap sediment in the event of flooding.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is approximately 65 percent complete with the design for a proposed weir in Pueblo Canyon.
• Crews continue clean-up work at Technical Area 2 in Los Alamos Canyon.
• Crews today continue to apply shotcrete to the downstream face of Los Alamos Reservoir. Shotcrete is sprayed, liquid concrete designed to prevent water from penetrating or causing erosion.

Pajarito, Two-Mile and Water Canyons

• Work continues at the flood retention structure in Pajarito Canyon (upstream from Technical Area 18, the Laboratory's criticality facility, and White Rock). Officials with the Army Corps and the Laboratory decided today to build a road from the concrete batch plant to the bottom of the canyon bottom. The road will solve the problems that had been encountered earlier with the concrete placing assembly. Work on the road started this afternoon and is expected to be complete by Thursday evening. Once the road is complete, concrete trucks will be able to drive from the batch plant down to the canyon bottom to place their concrete. The goal of the concrete structure is to allow a normal flow of runoff down Pajarito Canyon, but prevent significant flooding downstream. The structure is designed to discharge the water at a controlled rate over a period of time not to exceed 96 hours.
• Crews yesterday completed work on the diversion channel around facilities at TA-18.
• Cleanup work continues today around the completed project at Two-Mile Canyon and the Anchor Ranch Road land bridge. The abandoned land bridge was strengthened so that it does not wash out during potential flooding and so it will act as a stormwater retention structure, helping to minimize downstream flooding.
• Crews today are preparing to apply shotcrete to the roadway at the intersections of State Road 501 and Two-Mile, Pajarito and Water Canyons. Shotcrete application will begin once crews finish applying shotcrete at the reservoir.
• Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico crews continue to install protection around utility poles in Pajarito Canyon.

Work not specific to canyons

• Crews conducting burned area rehabilitation report that they are 80% complete with the approximate 1,300 acres on Laboratory property requiring rehabilitation. Crews today are focusing on truck-based hydromulching (applying a mixture of seeds, mulch, water and an organic tackifier), as well as raking, seeding and mulching by hand.

Minimize movement of contamination off Laboratory property

Maintenance of sediment traps in Mortandad Canyon

• Today, crews from Laboratory subcontractor Morrison Knudsen began the routine maintenance of sediment traps (large, broad holes dug in the stream channel to catch sediment, some of which is slightly contaminated, moving downstream) in Mortandad Canyon. The traps were originally dug in 1976 and have been expanded and added to over the last 25 years. Sediment was removed from the traps most recently in 1992. Over the next two to three weeks, the subcontractor crews will remove sediment from the traps, as well as remove piles of sediment outside the stream channel that exist from previous cleanings. The sediment, which likely contains low levels of radioactive contaminants, will be taken for disposal to Area G at Technical Area 54, the Laboratory's disposal facility. The levels of contamination are much lower than those found in the sediment that was removed previously from Los Alamos Canyon.
• The decision to remove the sediment was coordinated and approved by the New Mexico Environment Department.
• Laboratory officials decided to clean the traps now (ahead of its regularly scheduled cleaning) because of the slightly increased possibility for flooding in Mortandad Canyon. The upper portion of the canyon was not badly burned in the fire, so Laboratory officials believe that it does not present a significant flooding risk. Nonetheless, Laboratory officials said they wanted to do everything possible to minimize the possibility of contamination moving off-site.
• Once the sediment trap cleaning is complete, the traps will be able to hold 1.2 million gallons of water and sediment.
• The total amount of sediment that will be removed is estimated between 1,000 and 1,500 cubic yards.

Ongoing projects

• Crews are approximately 75 percent complete with the removal of debris and shrapnel from R-44, a firing site located at TA-15. Laboratory officials decided to remove the shrapnel now because the vegetation and brush that used to cover it were destroyed in the fire. The shrapnel is being removed now to take advantage of the unique circumstances and meet the Laboratory's goal of environmental stewardship. Once the shrapnel is removed, it will be analyzed to determine proper disposal. To date, crews have picked up the following amounts of material:
  • 12 cubic yards of scrap metal and other industrial waste
  • 4 cubic yards of low-level radioactive waste
  • 1 cubic foot of mixed waste
  • 2 cubic feet of hazardous waste
• Laboratory and New Mexico Environment Department personnel continue to assess potential release sites, areas of possible contamination, located in areas that may be affected by flooding. The PRSs reside for the most part in three technical areas: TA-2, 41 and 18.

On today's bulletin board
Commuter's Corner | Parking areas around TA-3 | Parking shuttle routes (pdf) or jpeg
Science and Technology Fellowship session on Aug. 1 UNM-LA academic advisors coming in August to Otowi cafeteria Contract Associates has new floor covering mechanic Microsoft Certified Solution Developer study group forming Found: silver ring Los Alamos County Rodeo scheduled for Aug. 12 and 13, parade entry deadline is Aug. 7 Rover reunion to be held on Sept. 23 Registration for master's degree programs for NTU, Stanford University via distance learning underway ASM International hosts annual summer cookout on Aug. 2 YMCA to host women's softball tournament Aug. 12 Found: a pair of prescription glasses Teflon sealing material in radiological service/compression fitting testing and acceptance Benefits termination presentation every Lab pay day at 8:30 a.m.	Leadership Center offers Management & Leadership Institutes Ski club needs volunteers to help clean up fire damage Lost: gold ring Lost: soft black leather computer case IBM Thinkpads available through McBride ASQ Certified Quality Engineer (CQE) beginners' class continuing Modification of schedule in Notice 0045 University Technical Representative training for subcontracts News from CJ's Facility Management Work Control job types and work order types Information Assets Management, Inc. Pool memberships available at prorated rates Sportmen's Club hold Co-Ed Introductory Shooting class Research Library looking for donations of books destroyed by fire 'Project Management Toolbox' scheduled Aug. 1 through 3 Franklin Covey coming in Aug.

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