EM Weekly Report - 12/01/00

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WEEKLY REPORT - December 1, 2000

I	Schedule

12/4 	Dr. Huntoon will travel to Utah and Colorado with the Secretary.
12/11	Dr. Huntoon will be speaking at the National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council Bi-Annual meeting in Arlington, VA.
12/14	Dr. Huntoon will be speaking at the Land Transfer and Long Term
Management of Contaminated Federal Facilities Workshop in San Francisco
and touring the Oakland site.
	Mr. Owendoff will be Acting Assistant Secretary in her absence.

II	Key Departmental News

Grand Junction Office Transition:  The Secretary of Energy will be
visiting the Grand Junction Office on December 4.  Secretary Richardson
and Knute Knutson, Chair of the community based Riverview Technology
Corporation, will sign an Offer to Purchase, which is a legal document. 
This will result in the transfer of the majority of the DOE Grand
Junction site to the Riverview Technology Corporation in the Second
Quarter of FY 2001.  The transfer of this site meets the goal of
mortgage reduction and helps with local economic development.  
Media Interest:  Local
Program Contact:  J. Davis, 301-903-7190

New Technology to Improve Contamination Testing:  Horizontal drilling
technology is being used at Rocky Flats for the first time to measure
potentially contaminated soil under buildings.  A new technology called
Environmental Measurement-While-Drilling, developed by Sandia National
Laboratories, will be used with horizontal drilling, bringing together
new and existing technology to create an innovative system for detecting
contamination in soil.  Rocky Flats has 31 under-building-contamination
sites that may contain contaminated soil.  These sites will be tested
for contamination and the contamination will be characterized to
determine environmental remediation efforts.  A news release will be
issued this week. 
Media Interest:  None
Program Contact:  Karen Lutz, 303-966-4546

Hanford Reuses Contaminated Lead for Disposal Casks: Over 80 tons of
contaminated lead will be reused as shielding for waste disposal
containers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).  The
project takes railcar casks, originally used to carry spent fuel, and
reforms the lead into liners for waste disposal casks.  The project
avoids disposal of mixed waste, saving over $80,000 in disposal costs
and avoids contamination of virgin lead.  The project team consists of
the DOE-Richland, PNNL, the DOE Center of Excellence for Metals
Recycling in Oak Ridge, and several Hanford and Oak Ridge contractors. 
Media Interest:  None
Program Contact:  Greg McBrien, 301-903-1385

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Truck Inadvertently Deviates from
Designated Route:  On November 21, a truck containing transuranic waste
from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL)
on its way to WIPP failed to make the turn off from Interstate 25 onto
US Route 285.  By failing to exit, the truck deviated from the highway
control plan designated route and was off course by 27 miles.  New
Mexico State Police were the first to observe the incident.  The
carrier, Tri-State Motor Transit (TRISM), has been suspended from making
further shipments until an investigation of the incident is completed. 
Another carrier, CAST of Henderson, Colorado, will be used to meet all
current shipping commitments during the TRISM suspension and no schedule
impacts are anticipated.
Media Interest:  Local
Program Contact:  Lynne Wade, 301-903-6828

Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) on Track to Produce Its 1000th
Canister in December:  Since October 1, DWPF has poured 49 canisters
bringing the total number of canisters produced since DWPF began
operating to 999.  SRS expects to produce its 1000th canister by the end
of the week.
Media Interest:  Ongoing
Program Contact:  Howard Gnann, 803-208-6076

III	Work on Secretarial Initiatives

IV	Press Inquiries

Japanese Senior Staff Writer to Visit the Savannah River Site (SRS): 
Akira Tashiro, senior staff writer for the Chugoku Shimbun (daily
newspaper) in Hiroshima City, Japan, has requested a tour of SRS on
December 7.  Mr. Tashiro will visit the Defense Waste Processing
Facility and SRS environmental remediation sites.  He is interested in
learning how DOE manages nuclear materials and nuclear waste and will
also interview the NNSA Director for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation
activities at SRS about the Department s Plutonium Disposition missions
coming to SRS.
Media Interest:  Yes
Program Contact:  Jim Giusti, 803-725-2467

V	FOIA Requests
VI	Grants, Economic Announcements and Publications
VII	Climate Change
VIII	Disaster Assistance
-- 
.....................................................
Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director
Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee
                       -----                       
The LOC newsletter "Insights" is posted on our Web site
http://www.local-oversight.org - E-mail loc@icx.net 
.....................................................
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