Acknowledging that the magnitude and diversity of the critical issues facing the DOE-EM cannot be addressed by a single institution, the Laboratory Directors established the EM Core Laboratories. This collaborative network ensures that the best available resources are addressing environmental quality issues through the introduction of critical new science and technology. Based upon the Top-to-Bottom Review, the EM program is shifting the focus of its cleanup efforts to accelerate schedules to reduce cost and the most significant risks. To facilitate this acceleration, the Office of Science and Technology has restructured their research and development program towards two new thrusts. These thrusts, Closure Site Support and Alternative Development, are aimed at the high priority needs to support the re-baselined cleanup program. The EM Core Laboratories are well positioned to ensure the successful implementation of this new direction

Birrer, Steve Allen

Frandsen, Greg Bryan

Griebenow, Bret Lee

Kearns, Paul Kenneth

UNT Digital Library

This is a preprint of a paper intended for publication in ajournal or proceedings. Since changes may be madebefore publication, this preprint should not be cited orreproduced without permission of the author.This document was prepared as a account of worksponsored by an agency of the United States Government.Neither the United States Government nor any agencythereof, or any of their employees, makes any warranty,expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability orresponsibility for any third party's use, or the results ofsuch use, of any information, apparatus, product orprocess disclosed in this report, or represents that itsuse by such third party would not infringe privatelyowned rights. The views expressed in this paper arenot necessarily those of the U.S. Government or thesponsoring agency.INEEL/CON-02-00215PREPRINTThe Environmental Management Core Laboratories – A Collaborative Effort to Enhance Cleanup S. A. BirrerG. B. Frandsen P. K. Kearns August 4, 2002 – August 8, 2002 Spectrum 2002 The Environmental Management Core Laboratories  - A Collaborative Effort to Enhance CleanupSteve A. Birrer, Greg B. Frandsen, and Dr. Paul K. Kearns Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory P.O. Box 1625 Mail Stop 3404 Idaho Falls, ID 83415-3404 Abstract – Acknowledging that the magnitude and diversity of the critical issues facing the DOE-EM cannot be addressed by a single institution, the Laboratory Directors established the EM Core Laboratories.  This collaborative network ensures that the best available resources are addressing environmental quality issues through the introduction of critical new science and technology.  Based upon the Top-to-Bottom Review, the EM program is shifting the focus of its cleanup efforts to accelerate schedules to reduce cost and the most significant risks.  To facilitate this acceleration, the Office of Science and Technologyhas restructured their research and development program towards two new thrust. These thrusts, Closure Site Support and Alternatives Development, are aimed at the high priority needs to support the re-baselined cleanup program. The EM Core Laboratories are well positioned to ensure the successful implementation of this new direction. I. INTRODUCTION The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management (EM) is responsible for cleanup of the radioactive, chemical, and other hazardous waste left after 50 years of United States production of nuclear weapons. This is the largest environmental management program in the world, with an estimated life cycle cost over $200 billion.  The EM cleanup mission faces many difficult scientific and technical challenges such as tritium in groundwater, disposition of high level waste, shipment of transuranic wastes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, deactivation and decommissioning thousands of radioactively contaminated structures, and environmental restoration cleanup. EM has recognized the need for scientific and technical innovation in the EM program to address these challenges. EM’s research and development (R&D) spans basic science to application and deployment.  EM’s investments in science and technology (S&T) are driven by the need to reduce high life-cycle cleanup costs (closing the gap between projected life cycle costs and expected budgets); to reduce environmental, safety and health risks; and to provide solutions to intractable problems.  EM is in the process of streamlining and focusing its science and technology program. Following the Top-to-Bottom Review1, the Assistant Secretary for EM (EM-1) charged the sites to review and re-baseline their cleanup projects to accelerate cleanup schedules.  In December 2001) EM-1 directed2 the Office of Science and Technology (OST) to reorient the S&T program toward two new strategic “thrusts” to focus the program on high priority needs to support the re-baselined EM cleanup program.  In response to that direction the OST developed a plan3 describing how the S&T program would be streamlined and focused on the two new thrusts and how the program would operate to fulfill this new approach. The plan outlines the operation of the streamlined OST to serve the two thrusts.  Thrust 1, Closure Site Support, is to provide technical solutions (formerly called technical assistance) and closure projects to “closure sites” (defined as the DOE facilities whose primary mission has been completed or terminated or activities are aimed at reducing footprint or mortgage. The largest closure sites at present are the Fernald site in Ohio and the Rocky Flats site in Colorado) to ensure effective site closure is met.  Thrust 2, Alternatives Development, pursues alternatives to high-cost, high-risk baseline activities and includes support for core technologies that are essential to the EM mission. The OST Work Breakdown Structure for this is shown in Figure 1.EM Science andTechnologyClosure SiteProjectsAlternativesDevelopmentTechnicalSolutionsAlternativesProjectsCoreTechnologyClosureProjects1.0 2.01.11.22.12.2Figure 1. Work Breakdown Structure for EM Science and TechnologyII. INNOVATIVE APPROACHSolving EM’s need for science-based decisions andactions to support accelerated cleanup requires thecommitted resources of an integrated system or networkworking collaboratively and synergistically to employ thebest resources available, whether from DOE’slaboratories, universities, or private industry. To facilitate this integrated approach, eight DOE laboratories havesigned a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) thatdesignates a system of Environmental Management CoreLaboratories (or Core Labs). These Core Labs will pooltheir science and technology resources to tackle environmental issues in a coordinated fashion rather thanas individual laboratories. Through this effort, the labs are providing a corporate commitment and support for acommon and meaningful national EM agenda.The effort to unite these laboratories was led by theIdaho National Engineering and EnvironmentalLaboratory (INEEL); DOE’s lead environmentalmanagement laboratory. In addition to the INEEL, otherlaboratories involved include Los Alamos NationalLaboratory (LANL), National Energy TechnologyLaboratory (NETL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory(ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL),Environmental Measurements Laboratory (EML),Savannah River Technology Center (SRTC), and theRadiological and Environmental Sciences Laboratory(RESL). The MOU provides the foundation for thecollaborative network and identifies four areas ofcooperation:• Provide leadership and commitment to support theEM agenda for cleanup and long-term stewardship• Develop recommendations for long-rangeprogrammatic direction• Strengthen the scientific credibility for DOE’scleanup-stewardship decisions• Provide input for future facility planning anddevelopmentThe INEEL, in its role as the EM Lead Laboratory, leads and facilitates the Core Labs’ activities.III. CURRENT ACTIVITIESThe Core Labs initially identified three key areas offocus for their efforts:1. National Vadose Zone Science and TechnologyInitiative – the goal of this effort is to assist DOE in developing and implementing a new R&D initiativethat will: • • • Provide a sound and defensible scientificunderstanding of chemical, radiological andheavy metal contaminant transformation and movement in the vadose zoneReduce the uncertainty in both conceptual andmathematical predictive models for contaminantmovementProvide an improved risk basis for waterresource protection, remediation, andstewardship decisions2. Next Generation Regulations for WIPP – the goal ofthis effort is to evaluate the needs for, and frame apath to, an improved regulatory framework for theWaste Isolation Pilot Plant. The desired outcome is toreduce the life-cycle cost of disposing TRU wasteand ensure environmental protection and publicsafety through improved regulations.3. Science-Based Decisions: Rethinking the OSTPortfolio – the goal is expand and enhance the role of science in improving decision-making for EM byproviding a mechanism to deliver appropriatetechnical information and rationale to EM’s highstakes decisions, providing a basis for redressing“default decisions”, and creating a knowledge basisfor DOE to move away from a default complianceposture.Initial efforts on each of these areas have beencompleted and is being evaluated to ensure that they fullysupport the strategic direction currently being taken by theOST.  The Core Labs have been fully engaged with OSTin their planning efforts to ensure that the resources ofthese national laboratories are prepared to support theS&T necessary for the accelerated cleanup mandated byEM-1.  The Core Labs assisted in the development of theAction Plan and strategic planning on how EM R&D canbest work with the sites to accelerate cost effectivecleanup.  The approach being used by the Core to ensuretheir effective support to the sites and the overall EM cleanup mission is portrayed in Figure 2.IdahoIdahoBaselineProjectBaselineProjectINEELINEELHanfordHanfordBaselineProjectBaselineProjectPNNLPNNLSRSSRSBaselineProjectBaselineProjectSRTCSRTCOakRidgeOakRidgeBaselineProjectBaselineProjectINEELORNLRESLSRTCEMLLANLPNNLUniversitiesIndustryORNLORNLBest ExpertiseBest ExpertiseBest ExpertiseBest ExpertiseEM Core Labs RoleNETLEMCLSolutionsFigure 2. Role of the EM Core LaboratoriesThe Core Labs works with their associated sites,universities, and the private sector to ensure that the bestexpertise is applied to results in an accelerated cleanup program reducing the most urgent environmental risksand in a cost-effective manner.IV. FUTURE ACTIVITIESThe Core Labs, working with the OST, has outlinedroles that they could fill to enhance the overalleffectiveness of the new direction for EM’s S&T programs, including:• Serve as a clearinghouse for the technical solutions(WBS 1.1) requests to ensure quick response to site needs is met• Integrate Thrust 2 project requests with the researchand development programs• Expand Core Labs to include additional site operational personnel and provide independentreview of Site Closure Project (WBS 1.2) and/orAlternative Projects (WBS 2.1)for technical adequacy and relevancyIn addition to the activities described above, EM hasrecognized that there are several core technical capabilities (WBS 2.2) that are critical to the futuresuccess of the cleanup program.  These core elementsinclude:• Characterization, monitoring, and modeling• Contaminant fate and transport predictions• Robotics and remote systems• Decontamination and decommissioning• Separations and stabilization• Waste reduction and minimization• Waste immobilization• Risk-based decision makingThese core capabilities will be necessary to support thegamut of needs from Closure Site Support to AlternativesProjects. They are comprised of the research and development intellectual capital that supports the EMcleanup mission as well as the specific R&D activitiesperformed by the cadre of environmental managementscience and technology subject matter experts.  Theprimary objective of this function is to develop and retain this subject matter expertise as a readily availableresource. The source of where these core technologyresources are developed/ retained is shown in Figure 3.Core Technology Resource AreasSite and LaboratoryTechnology CapabilitiesCapabilities developed throughThrust I and II Researchand Development ProjectsCapabilities developed throughCore Technology Researchand Development ProjectsFigure 3. S&T capabilities that comprise a Core Technology Resource Area come frommultiple sourcesV. CONCLUSIONThe EM Core Labs have demonstrated collaboration and level of cooperation unprecedented in the EM laboratory system.  The Core Labs and their unified approach to ensuring that the best science and technology is being applied to the EM cleanup-stewardship mission have demonstrated significant progress. As EM budgets continue to tighten, innovative approaches like this will be paramount to ensuring successful completion of the EM cleanup-stewardship mission. VI. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We stress that we are only spokespeople for the Core Labs team. The team member laboratories appeared earlier in the text (section II) and we gratefully acknowledge their contributions to this important effort. VII. REFERENCES 1. DOE-EM, “A Review of the Environmental Management Program,” Top-to-Bottom Review Team, February 4, 2002 2. DOE-EM, “Office of Environmental Management Science and Technology Program,” December 14, 2001 3. DOE-EM, “New Directions in Science and Technology for Environmental Management Action Plan,” February 13, 2002, draft

The Environmental Management Core Laboratories - A Collaborative Effort to Enhance Cleanup

https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc890668/m2/1/high_res_d/911317.pdf

The Environmental Management Core Laboratories - A Collaborative Effort to Enhance Cleanup

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

UNT Digital Library