 PHOENIX – EM Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Programs Director Joceline Nahigian and others with the cleanup program connected with student and faculty researchers representing the multi-university Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation during the 2023 Waste Management Symposia. The consortium is a leading independent group of scientists and engineers supporting EM to advance cost-effective and risk-informed environmental cleanup. From left are Nahigian; Nick Chen, University of Central Florida; Yu Tan, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Kathy Higley, Oregon State University; Chris Wilkins, Washington State University; Martha Grover, Georgia Institute of Technology; Laira Kelley, Vanderbilt University; Joanna Burger, Rutgers University; Autumn Taylor, Vanderbilt University; Steven Crouse, Georgia Institute of Technology, Josiah Laere-Adams, Washington State University; and David Kosson, Vanderbilt University.
 Robert Ott, the first participant in the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College co-op pilot program at Savannah River Mission Completion, is being trained as an electrical and instrumentation mechanic to support EM’s work at the Savannah River Site.
AIKEN, S.C. – The Savannah River Site’s (SRS) liquid waste contractor for the EM program has established a new partnership with a South Carolina technical school to train students for critical roles while continuing their education.
The new initiative establishes a co-op program between Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College and Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC) that aims to prepare students for potential employment at SRS. The co-op program gives participants the opportunity to be trained by senior employees and put their classroom knowledge to practice in a unique work environment.
The pilot year of the program is specifically for electrical and instrumentation (E&I) mechanics, a role necessary for maintaining and repairing equipment that support EM liquid waste facilities.
During the program, students are enrolled in school while working full time at SRMC. Even though they are not taking classes, they are able to earn credits required for graduation. Students’ tenure at SRMC also allows them the opportunity to be mentored one on one by employees who have extensive experience.
The pilot year of the program will open doors for more students and technical schools, a win-win for those involved, according to SRMC President and Program Manager Dave Olson.
“This new partnership with Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College is a step in the right direction for filling vital roles in the liquid waste program,” Olson said. “The combination of education and onsite experience will equip students for their careers while providing SRMC with potential job candidates. Graduates of technical colleges are integral to moving our mission forward.”
The first co-op participant, Robert Ott, is working with E&I mechanics in the SRS Tank Farms, where liquid waste is stored before being removed for disposition. Ott decided to pursue the E&I field after a lifelong interest in all things electrical.
“I chose SRMC because of the opportunity to learn and gain experience in the E&I field,” Ott said. “An added benefit is that I’ll receive training in nuclear-specific areas, like how to work in radiological areas.”
Ott’s favorite part of the co-op? The work environment.
“Everyone here is willing to lend a helping hand,” Ott said. “I had heard people say that this is a great place to work — and they were right.”
-Contributor: Lindsey Kennedy
 An aerial view of U Tank Farm on the Hanford Site shows the completed evapotranspiration basin next to the tank farm. The basin will collect rainwater and snowmelt that runs off an interim surface barrier that Fowler General Construction will install this year.
RICHLAND, Wash. – A new construction project will deliver additional environmental protections for a Hanford Site tank farm.
EM tank operations contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) recently awarded an $8.9 million subcontract to Fowler General Construction, based in Richland, Washington, to construct an interim surface barrier over the U Tank Farm.
A tank farm is a grouping of underground waste storage tanks that contain radiological and chemical waste generated during past plutonium production at the Hanford Site.
“This will be the fifth tank farm on the Hanford Site to receive an interim surface barrier,” said Becky Blackwell, EM Office of River Protection program manager. “The barriers will remain in place until a final closure decision is made for the tank farms and are a critical part of the strategy to help protect groundwater at the site.”
 An employee from Fowler General Construction installs a hydraulic closer on a door at a new workshop the company built for craft workers supporting the tank waste storage and treatment mission at the Hanford Site.
 Surface barriers like this one in the SX Tank Farm will remain in place until a final closure decision is made for the tank farms. The barriers are critical to the strategy to help protect groundwater at the Hanford Site.
Hanford’s U Tank Farm has 12 underground waste storage tanks with capacities of 530,000 gallons each and four tanks with capacities of 55,000 gallons each. The 144,100-square-foot interim asphalt barrier will help prevent rainwater and snowmelt pushing existing contaminants in the soil closer to groundwater.
This will be the fourth interim surface barrier that Fowler has installed at the Hanford Site.
Since its contract with EM began in 2008, WRPS has awarded nearly 68% of its subcontracts to small businesses like Fowler Construction, exceeding its overall small-business subcontracting goal of 58%.
“WRPS has long supported local small businesses,” said Gregg Crockett, WRPS business operations manager. “We want to find companies that can effectively and safely complete this critical work.”
Construction of the interim surface barrier is expected to be complete in late 2023.
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