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Friday, Feb. 11, 2000
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DOE 'security czar' to hold all-hands meeting today
Retired Gen. Eugene Habiger, director of the Department of Energy's Office of Security and Emergency Operations, will visit the Laboratory on Friday. During his visit, Habiger will hold an all-hands meeting from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the Study Center, Jemez Room. The meeting is open to all Laboratory badge holders and will be shown on LABNET.
Answers to HEERA questions posted on Web
Have a HEERA question? You may find the answer to your question about the California Higher Education Employer-Employee Relations Act on the Labor Relations Web site, located at http://www.hr.lanl.gov/laborrelations/index.stm. On Tuesday, Staff Relations (HR-8) posted the "Frequently Asked Questions" page of the Web site the answers to HEERA questions received from employees. The questions range from the potential impact of "fair share" legislation, to the significance of signing authorization cards and the possibility of strikes.
Employees who have questions about labor-relations issues or HEERA can send their questions anonymously to heera@lanl.gov. Responses will be posted periodically to the Labor Relations Web site.
Additional parking lots to close beginning Monday
The Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corp.will begin construction of the Los Alamos Research Park the week of Feb.14. Therefore, all parking lots north of West Jemez Road and east and west of the fire station will be closed effective Monday. Also, the west portion of the Strategic Computing Complex parking lot will close Feb. 19. Additional information is available in an all-employee memo (Adobe Acrobat required).
Environmental Stewardship Office announces program winners
The Environmental Stewardship Office (E-ESO) has selected 17 Laboratory recycling or waste minimization projects for funding under the Generator Set-Aside Fee program. The fiscal year 2000 funding for the first round of projects amounts to more than $700,000.
The GSAF funds are generated through a 1 to 5 percent fee on waste generation costs and are funneled back to programs in order to fund waste minimization projects lab-wide. Administered by E-ESO, 100 percent of the funds collected are used for GSAF project funding.
In most cases the GSAF funds only partially cover the total costs of the various waste minimization projects. "We find that most groups want the projects bad enough to put up part of the money themselves, almost all have some sort of cost-sharing involved," said Tom Starke, E-ESO program manager.
"Many of the awards are for buying equipment to make a process more efficient or simply to generate less waste," said Starke. "The great benefit of this is not only conservation, but we've found that in most cases waste minimization enhances safety and reduces potential exposures."
The FY2000 GSAF projects include:
--Ion beam polishing and etching of plutonium alloys, Rollin Lakis, Brad Storey and Charles Puglisi, Plutonium Metallurgy (NMT-16). Plutonium-base alloys must be polished by conventional metallographic procedures before analysis. The purchase of an off-the-shelf ion etching system will greatly reduce the plutonium contaminated combustible waste from specimen polishing and the mixed acid/plutonium waste stream from surface treatments.
--Plutonium oxidation state diagnostics, John M. Berg, NMT-16. Using an off-the-shelf spectrometer to rapidly determine the real-time oxidation state of plutonium processed through the chloride line, Lab staff will eliminate most unacceptable batches, reduce operation costs and lower waste generation by 10 to 15 percent. It also will reduce the consumption of reagents for oxidation state adjustment.
--Trichloroethylene (TCE) cleaning upgrade, David Mann, Peter Lopez and Jose Ortega, Weapons Component Technology (NMT-5). Replacing the ultrasonic bath technology currently in use, NMT-5 researchers have developed a mechanical spray washer for use in the TCE cleaning of plutonium process. Combined with a distillation recycle unit and a fluorometer, these process modifications will reduce the annual volume of TCE waste by more than 95 percent.
-- Mixed low-level cask reuse and recycle, Mandy Fuehrer, TA-18 Facility Management Group (NIS-18). Rather than disposing of lead-lined radioactive materials shipping casks as mixed low-level waste, employees either decontaminate and recycle both large and small sized casks or use the casks for the disposal of high-activity low-level waste.
--Mercury contaminated radioactive waste reduction, Barbara Smith, Applied Chemical Technology (CST-12). This is a continuation of a joint CST-12 and Mixed Waste Focus Group research effort to develop a treatment process to remove mercury contamination from radioactive waste. Researcher use a water-soluble polymer to remove the mercury and avoid disposing of the waste as mixed low-level waste. Lessons learned will avoid the generation of six cubic meters of mixed low-level waste.
--Oil-free vacuum pumps, Tony Lombardo, CST-12 and Blake Wood, Plasma Physics (P-24). Operations require a variety of pumps, small and large, light and heavy-duty, in both clean and contaminated areas. The oil in these pumps is changed twice annually and may be contaminated. The replacement of these pumps with oil-free models eliminates the need for waste oil disposal and the potential generation of that waste oil as mixed low-level waste.
--Oil recycle staging area, Joe Richardson, High Explosives Science and Technology (DX-2). This establishes an oil recycling area for the collection of 1,000 gallons of used oil. This allows DX division to recycle the oil and receive Appendix F credit for doing so, rather than disposing of the oil through waste operations.
--Ozone treatment for high-explosives waste water, Scott A. Kinkead and Jose Archuleta, DX-2. Researchers use ozone treatment to oxidize organics in waste water from high-explosives laboratories. Ozone is commonly used to purify drinking water by oxidizing organics to carbon dioxide. This will eliminate a hazardous-waste stream as well as eliminate the need for further treatment.
--Depleted uranium (DU) turning and chip recycling, Steve Hidalgo, Weapon Materials and Manufacturing (ESA-WMM). Because of DU contamination, machine turnings from the Engineering Sciences and Applications (ESA) Division shops are disposed of as low-level waste. Manual monitoring is difficult because these turnings tend to form a ball, making it difficult to access the contaminated portions of the turnings. With the purchase of a chipper and conveyor system, employees can feed the turnings into the chipper where they are broken down into small discreet chips. The chips are then automatically monitored so that any DU can be removed and the chips recycled. This project will avoid the generation of 11 cubic meters of low-level waste per year.
--Recycling BISCO cabinets, Leah Koska and Lu Williams, Safeguards and Security (NMT-4). Storage cabinets made of a borated ceramic are being recycled, reconfigured and reused. Originally designed for the storage of special nuclear materials, the cabinets have been salvaged by NMT-4 for reuse throughout the Laboratory as shielded transportation containers, greatly reducing personnel exposure to ionizing radiation.
--Material recycle facility baler, Ed Hoth, Utilities and Infrastructure (FWO-UI). This project will purchase and install an off-the-shelf baler to compact solid waste before disposal, as well as bale recyclable materials before storage. The transport of solid waste to the county landfill is more efficient, requiring fewer trips, and the total volume of waste is reduced.
--Cardboard compactors, Steve McCleary, Diversified Facilities (FWO-DF) and Carol Smith, Materials Management (BUS-4). By utilizing a roll-off, truck-based dumpster with an integrated cardboard compactor, Lab workers can reduce significant amounts of labor and increase safety margins by not requiring employees to flatten cardboard boxes for recycling. Additionally, compacted cardboard demands a higher price from recyclers and requires fewer trips to deliver.
--Nitric acid waste reduction, Kathy Lao, Analytical Chemistry Sciences (CST-9). The inorganic analysis team of CST-9 uses nitric acid in the analysis of samples from around the Laboratory for environmental, safety and health surveillance of water, soil and biologicals. With the use of a high-efficiency nebulizer, employees can reduce the quantities of nitric acid used in this analysis from 125 liters per year to only 5 liters per year.
--Size reduction of inorganic analysis, Eva Birnbaum, CST-9. The CST-9 inorganic analysis team hopes to reduce the quantities of nitric acid required by reducing the basic size of a digestive process sample in the surveillance of water, soil and biologicals, while continuing to meet Environmental Protection Act standards. This results in less waste, less reagent consumption and potentially reduced air and water effluents.
--Recycling equipment at the TA-3 paint shop, Jim Stanton, Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico. The JCNNM paint shop generates approximately four 30-gallon drums filled with used aerosol paint cans annually. Currently, the drums must be disposed of at TA-54 as hazardous waste. By puncturing the aerosol cans with a standard paint can puncture unit, employees will recycle the cans as scrap metal. The JCNNM paint shop also generates approximately 8,184 pounds of used lacquer thinner each year, which also is sent to TA-54 as hazardous waste. By installing a solvent still at the paint shop, employees reduce waste-management costs and reuse the distilled thinner.
--Kevin Roark
Lane closure shouldn't affect peak traffic
One lane of northbound U.S. 84-285 near Pojoaque will be closed to traffic for about two weeks beginning Monday. Laboratory personnel shouldn't be affected by the lane closure, a spokesman for the state Highway and Transportation Department said.
The temporary closure will allow the contractor for an $8.8 million widening project on about 2 miles of U.S. 84-285 to begin grading work on the east side of the highway.
The right, northbound lane will be closed between 9 a.m. and about 4 p.m. and shouldn't affect peak morning and afternoon traffic, said Don Schanning of Proof Positive, an Albuquerque public relations company on contract to the state Highway and Transportation Department.
Signs will be in place to alert motorists to the temporary lane closure.
Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel from Santa Fe and points south travel through the construction area to get to and from work.
A.S. Horner Construction Co. is the general contractor for the project to rebuild the existing east frontage road and build a new west frontage road along 1.7 miles of U.S. 84-285 from roughly the National Propane Dealership to near the interchange of U.S. 84-285 and NM 502.
When completed, this portion of the highway also will have a new left turn lane in both directions, said Schanning.
The posted speed limit through the construction area is 40 miles per hour. The contractor has signs and other traffic control devices in place to alert motorists to the work.
In addition, Schanning said Gutierrez Street will be closed at U.S. 84-285, Tuesday through Thursday. Motorists should use Viarrial Street or the North Frontage Road to access Gutierrez Street.
The construction is designed to improve safety through this stretch of the highway by slowing traffic down and eliminating median crossings, Schanning said.
Schanning said A. S. Horner is working from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and no work takes place during the peak morning and afternoon traffic hours.
The project is scheduled to be completed this fall, weather permitting, said Schanning.
Some 1,900 Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel live in Santa Fe while another 500 employees live in Sandoval and Bernalillo counties. Many of these employees travel U.S. 84-285 daily to get to work.
The Lab allows managers to use flex-time scheduling, but employees should plan on delays and adjust their schedules accordingly.
Employees and subcontract personnel interested in joining a car or van pool can call 988-7433, or 1-888-866-6438, or go to the Laboratory's "Commuter's Corner" Web page at http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/pa/News/rideshare.html.
For more information, write to Schanning at dschanning@aol.com by e-mail, or send a fax to (505) 246-9417.
--Steve Sandoval
Lab/DOE to hold ER Project availability session Wednesday
The Laboratory and the Department of Energy are sponsoring an Environmental Restoration Project information "availability session" for local governments, tribes and the public next Wednesday. This availability session is from 4 to 8 p.m. in the Laboratory's Community Reading Room, 1619 Central Ave.
"The purpose of these meetings is to discuss current ER Project issues with governments, tribes and the public. We plan to hold these sessions on an ongoing basis," said Julie Canepa, manager of the Laboratory's ER Project. "When we held these meetings several years ago, it gave the members of the public a chance to sit down with us in an informal setting and talk about ER project issues and events of interest to them. We want these productive interactions to continue."
Availability sessions are planned for the third Wednesday of each month. Times and locations will be announced on the Laboratory's Web site. Those who want more information about the sessions can contact Carmen M. Rodriguez with the ER Project Communications and Outreach Team at 5-6770 or 1-800-508-4400, or by e-mail at carmenr@lanl.gov.
DOE Pulse highlights DOE laboratories
The latest issue of DOE Pulse is available online. Pulse is an online newsletter about accomplishments at the Department of Energy's national laboratories. The highlights are short, written to be interesting and very understandable.
In addition to the highlights, each issue features two longer articles -- one about a researcher, the other about a multilab collaborative effort.
Some of the headlines in this issue are "Danger from arsenic in coal" from the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, " 'Doctored up' cotton for improved healing" from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, "Modeling underground" from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory and "ORNL sees hope for lower-cost telescopes" from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Also in this issue, a feature on a Brookhaven National Laboratory biophysicist who founded Nanoprobes Inc., a small-business that supplies researchers around the world with a variety of heavy metal cluster molecules.
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