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Friday, April 23, 1999
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TA-18 back up after safety stand down
Technical Area 18, the nation's only remaining general facility for training and measurements in criticality safety and other nuclear material handling issues, is back in business after an eight-month safety stand down.
"It's good for Los Alamos and good for the nation to have TA-18 back in regular operations," said Don Cobb, associate Laboratory director for threat reduction. "This facility is a unique national asset and important to many of our programmatic efforts. We need this facility to be operational and productive. I challenge the TA-18 staff to go back to work with a renewed commitment to a safe, secure operation."
"The stand down forced us to step back and look at the entire TA-18 operation, not just at nuclear material-related hazards," said Evelyn Mullen, deputy director for operations of the Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Division. "We went through a formal, ISM-based process to evaluate activities and identify deficiencies." ISM, or Integrated Safety Management, is a way of doing business in which safety is integrated directly into the work during the planning stages, the work itself and evaluation of the work activity.
"As we went through this process we found that hazards associated with nuclear materials were for the most part well identified and well controlled, but common industrial hazards were not being dealt with as well," Mullen said. "We also identified many procedural weaknesses and additional training needs."
In addition, Mullen said, the self-assessment that was performed on the facility's management systems pointed out that TA-18 has inadequate resources, particularly staffing, to support full operations. As a consequence, one machine, the Skua critical assembly, has been placed on standby for the time being.
"Without additional funding, we cannot ensure that the significant safety improvements we made during the resumption process can be sustained in the long term," Mullen said, meaning that additional activities could be curtailed in the future. The NIS Division is currently working with the Department of Energy to identify additional funding for the facility.
TA-18 features nuclear material storage areas; radiography and accelerator facilities; and critical assemblies, remotely operated machines that safely initiate controlled chain reactions in nuclear materials.
The critical assemblies are the only ones in the nation for hands-on training for nuclear material workers and experimental validation of criticality safety calculations used in planning storage of materials. This is especially important now as the nation is dealing with large quantities of nuclear materials from retired warheads, working with Russia to examine its material disposition options, and considering issues related to geologic disposal of nuclear materials.
The TA-18 facility and staff also support
The safety stand down commenced Aug. 12, 1998, following a spate of safety infractions that stemmed from failure to follow safety procedures properly, inadequate procedures, and inadequate planning and communications. NIS management was sufficiently concerned by this apparent pattern that, in consultation with DOE's Los Alamos Area Office, they ordered the stand down.
The stand down had two main objectives: to demonstrate that TA-18 activities were properly planned and authorized, and to ensure that the TA-18 staff and management clearly understood the need to adhere to procedural requirements.
The resumption process looked at 42 separate activities. All but two activities -- those associated with the criticality machines SHEBA and Planet -- had been approved for restricted operations by the end of February.
The TA-18 self-assessment of the facility's safety management systems identified 40 separate issues, a mixture of process improvement recommendations and deficiencies that had to be addressed.
"Worker involvement in the safety assessment and resumption process was key to our success," Mullen said. In addition, many experts were brought in to dry run some of the activities before resumption and offer their perspectives.
NIS staff continued to work closely with LAAO throughout the stand down.
-- John R. Gustafson
Front Hill Road closed Sunday afternoon
In order to complete a clean-up project, the Front Hill Road (State Route 502, by the airport) will be closed from noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Commuters are encouraged to use the Truck Route during the clean-up activity.
Supercomputing Challenge awards ceremony slated for Wednesday
More than 200 of New Mexico's youngest supercomputer programmers will gather at the Laboratory on Wednesday to claim scholarships, savings bonds and other prizes at the ninth annual New Mexico High School Supercomputing Challenge awards ceremony.
Nearly 500 students competed in the challenge; about 225 students are expected to be at the Lab. Fifty teams, including about a dozen finalist teams, will tour the Laboratory's supercomputers on which they have been running programs all year, show off their skills and hear talks from researchers at the Laboratory.
The students and teachers made up of teams from 43 schools have spent the last year researching scientific problems and writing programs to solve them on supercomputers at Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories.
The goal of the year-long New Mexico High School Supercomputing Challenge is to increase knowledge of science and computing, expose students and teachers to computers and applied mathematics, and instill enthusiasm for science in high school students, their families and communities. Any New Mexico high school student in grades 9 through 12 is eligible to enter the Challenge.
Unlike other computing competitions, the New Mexico High School Supercomputing Challenge is unique because it offers supercomputer access to students at every level of expertise and stresses student activity over work by teachers and coaches, said David Kratzer of Customer Service (CIC-6).
"The Supercomputing Challenge has touched the lives of more than 4,500 New Mexico students and has influenced career decisions and life directions of many of these students," said Charlie Slocomb, director of the Computing, Information and Communications (CIC) Division. "We are proud that several former participants in the Challenge are now permanent staff members at the Lab contributing to our major programs."
During the final judging Tuesday and Wednesday, the teams will be vying for scholarships, savings bonds, trophies and computer equipment for their schools.
Last year, four Las Cruces High School computer aces took home the top prize for their project on how a complex simulation of nerve cells interact. The second place award went to a quartet from the Albuquerque Academy, who devised a program that broke down into prime factors the complex numbers known as Gaussian integers.
The top individual prize last year -- a four-year scholarship good for $2,500 a year at any four-year New Mexico college or university -- went to Dustin Byford of Las Cruces High School.
A list of this year's student reports can be found at http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/challenge/Archive/98-99/awardsday/finalreports.html online.
Teams and individual winners will receive their prizes during an awards ceremony beginning at 10 a.m. in the Administration Building Auditorium. A reception open to the finalists, judges and news media follows in the Santa Clara Gallery on the second floor of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center.
The Supercomputing Challenge was conceived in 1990 by former Laboratory Director Sig Hecker and Tom Thornhill, president of New Mexico Technet Inc., a nonprofit company that in 1985 set up a computer network to link the state's national laboratories, universities, state government and some private companies. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and John Rollwagen, then chairman and chief executive officer of Cray Research Inc., added their support.
The Supercomputing Challenge is sponsored by the Laboratory and New Mexico Technet Inc. Benefactors include CISCO Systems Inc., DP Signal, Intel Corp., Kinko's and Microsoft Corp.
Patrons include Sandia National Laboratories, University of New Mexico, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Albuquerque Tribune, SGI, Council for High Education Computing Services (CHECS Inc.), Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico Department of Education, San Juan College, Santa Fe Community College and the Air Force Research Lab.
--Steve Sandoval
Thirty-seven receive scholarships from 'Los Alamos Employees Scholarship Fund'
Thirty-seven area students from Northern New Mexico are recipients of the first "Los Alamos Employees Scholarship Fund" scholarships awarded by the Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation.
The student winners will be recognized at a ceremony today on the second floor of the J. Robert Oppenheimer Study Center at the Laboratory. Parents and other family members of the scholarship recipients also will be present.
One $10,000-a-year, four-year scholarship; two $2,500-a-year, four year scholarships; and 34 $1,000 one-year, renewable scholarships will be awarded.
Allan Johnston, director of the Business Operations (BUS) Division and president of the board of directors of the Laboratory Foundation, said the scholarships are the first awarded to students using funds donated by Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel. "Through the private donations of Lab employees and through a very rigorous process of finding scholars from throughout the Northern New Mexico region, we're able to touch students' lives and provide opportunties to some students who ordinarily might not get these opportunities," said Johnston.
"These students are coming from some very small communities in Northern New Mexico and the Indian pueblos."
In the initial "Dollars for Scholars" campaign as the scholarship fund is informally known, Laboratory employees and subcontract personnel pledged or donated about $42,000 to the fund. The Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Division donated $18,153 from royalities received on patents. And BUS Division employees contributed an additional $500.
Susan Herrera, Laboratory Foundation executive director, is impressed with how Laboratory employees and subcontractors wholeheartedly supported the program. "When we began this campaign, I was still carrying my office around in cardboard boxes. But there was such excitement . . . I just kind of hung on for the ride," she said. "I didn't see how we would raise much money at all."
When donations started coming into the fund, Herrera said, "I guess that is when I knew this was going to be something very important in the years to come."
Herrera added that the foundation this year plans to start an endowment for the Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund so Laboratory employees can donate to the fund for current and future scholarships, ensuring the funds' long-range success.
Johnston also noted that today's scholarship awards ceremony also is the kickoff for the 1999 "Dollars for Scholars" campaign at the Laboratory, which this year will be May 3 through June 11. "Although we kicked off the 1998-99 campaign later than we would have liked to, Laboratory employees dug deep to really invest in the future of Northern New Mexico and the people who live here," said Johnston.
"Even though we work up on the hill, many, many Laboratory employees believe that the future of the Lab also rests in the education of the people of Northern New Mexico."
The Laboratory Foundation is a philanthropic grant-giving entity for the Lab created in 1997. It supports a range of national and community not-for-profit organizations. Since its creation, the Foundation has awarded $3 million to a number of area schools, private agencies and projects through a variety of grants.
Herrera credited a team of Laboratory employees for selling the Los Alamos Employees Scholarship Fund Labwide. The team was headed by Gene Farnum of Structure/Property Relations (MST-8) and Robert Romero of Materials Science and Processing (NMT-11).
"The volunteer committee under Gene and Bob has performed superbly," said Herrera. "Not only have we created a good fund, we've created good friendships and great plans for the future," she said.
Added Farnum, "I was so impressed with the quality of these kids. We just have some wonderful students who applied and were selected," said Farnum. "This has brightened my whole attitude about the future generation of scientists. I think the country will be in good hands.
"The reception on Friday is a great opportunity to meet some of these students that [employees] are supporting, and also to look over a group of excellent students for possible employment."
Farnum also credited Lab employees for supporting the scholarship program. "The contributors to the scholarship fund can be really proud of their part in helping these students succeed," he said.
Romero added, "It is truly overwhelming and gratifying that we have reached the stage of actually awarding scholarships, which we have been working towards for over three years. A tremendous amount of personal time and effort was spent by the Scholarship Advisory Board and Selections Committee to assure that the selection process and criteria were fair to all applicants."
Added Chris Olivera of the Community Relations (CR) Office and the Laboratory's liaison to the foundation, "We are thrilled with the outcome and pleased to work in partnership with the LANL Foundation in helping to create scholarships for students in Northern New Mexico."
Herrera also noted that scholarship recipients who have a mentor at the Lab will be included in the Pipeline Initiative, which is designed to help students progress through a pipeline of existing science-related educational and career opportunities and to help New Mexico business and industry retain a talented workforce for its science, mathematics, engineering technologies or a related field crucial to the success of the Laboratory.
"Not only are we giving them a scholarship, but we're going to track them for four years, helping them make the transition from school to a great job at the Lab," said Herrera.
Sandy Misage of Staffing (HR-5) oversees the Pipeline Initiative at the Lab.
The "Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund" is open to University of California Laboratory employees and Department of Energy and subcontract personnel. The program allows employees and subcontract personnel to voluntarily contribute to a fund that will provide undergraduate scholarships to Northern New Mexico students.
Employees may donate between $1 and $10 or more each paycheck, and the contributions to the scholarship fund will be tax deductible. The scholarship fund is managed by the not-for-profit Laboratory Foundation.
The $1 to $10 per pay period range of suggested donations was developed to make it easier for all Lab employees to participate.
The program has been approved by Laboratory Director John Browne, the university and the Department of Energy.
More information on the Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund and other scholarship and giving opportunities is available at http://www.hr.lanl.gov/studentassociation/scholarship/ online.
--Steve Sandoval
Scholarship recipients The 37 area students who are receiving the first Laboratory Foundation college scholarships through the Los Alamos Employees' Scholarship Fund are as follows (high school or college they currently are attending is included): Gold ($10,000 4-year)
Silver ($2,500 4-year)
Bronze ($1,000)
--Steve Sandoval |
Director's Colloquium to feature discussion of solitons
David Campbell, chair of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign physics department, will present a Director's Colloquium in the Physics Building Auditorium at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday. Campbell is the 1998-99 Center for Nonlinear Studies Ulam Scholar. The title of his presentation will be "Solitons: From Tsunamis to Optical Fibers." For more information, see the April 22 Daily Newsbulletin.
Delays may be encountered at the Badge Office
As a result of unexpected equipment failures at several of the customer service counters, the Badge Office has only one functioning badging station. There will be substantially longer waits for service until the hardware can be repaired, which may take up to four weeks.
While the Badge Office had hoped to install new badging equipment before any major failures in the present system, it was not possible. The Badge Office plans to implement the new system in early summer.
Meanwhile, there are several things customers can do to minimize unnecessary waiting.
1) Bring your badge to work so you do not need a temporary badge.
2) Make sure your group submits all necessary paperwork correctly. All customers and other users of Badge Office services are encouraged to go to the Badge Office web site of procedures at http://www.lanl.gov/orgs/s/s6/pavc4a.html, then select the applicable procedure and review all requirements in advance to make sure they are met.
3) If possible, try to avoid coming to the Badge Office on Monday and Tuesday mornings, and early afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday -- these tend to be the busiest periods (although there is no guarantee that other times will not be busy).
4) For those arranging classified visits (incoming and outgoing) or visits and assignments by uncleared foreign nationals, submit all necessary paperwork as far in advance as possible -- visitor badges must be printed at the same single operating station that serves Laboratory customers -- last minute visit requests will be difficult to fulfill.
5) Go to the Badge Office Web site at http://badge.lanl.gov for forms and detailed information to avoid unnecessary trips, voice mail messages, etc., as the Badge Office has been experiencing a very high volume of activity recently.
The Badge Office also is hiring new staff who are in training. It may appear that there are people available who are "doing nothing" or not being helpful, but they cannot provide many services before being completely trained.
If you have questions, send e-mail to badge@lanl.gov or call 7-6901 (7-5587 for incoming classified visits).
In-situ vitrification demonstration
Marja Springer, right, of the Environmental Management Integrated Science and Technology (EM-TD) Office holds a soil sample in a sealed bag in her left hand and the inert, glass-like byproduct called obsidian in her right hand, as she explains how a demonstration technology, known as in-situ vitrification works. The technology was demonstrated recently at a former liquid disposal area for a now-defunct facility that laundered radionuclide-contaminated garments located off DP Road near Technical Area 21. Also shown are from left, Chris Ortega, Los Alamos County Utilities Manager; David Kime, power systems engineer and chief dispatcher for Los Alamos County; John Arrowsmith, deputy Los Alamos County utilities manager; M.J. Byrne, program manager for community affairs for the Department of Energy's Los Alamos Area Office; and Linda Anderman of the Community Relations Office (CRO). See the April 15 Daily Newsbulletin for more information on the demonstration and the technology. Photo by Mike Kolb, CRO
Insert: The filtration system and hood of the in-situ vitrification equipment at the DP Road site. Photo by Joe Fresquez, Environmental Restoration (EM-ER) Project
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