DOE EM Weekly Report for 01-19-01

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@icx.net>]

There was an interruption in my receipt of these reports.  The following
is the most recent I've received, now that I'm back in the loop.

--Susan Gawarecki

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WEEKLY REPORT
January 19, 2001

I	Schedule

II	Key Departmental News

Closure of the Flammable Gas Safety Issue for Tank SY-101 and Removal of
the Tank from the Watchlist:  On January 11, the Assistant Secretary for
Environmental Management approved closure of the flammable gas safety
issue for Tank SY-101 (the "burping" tank that in the 1990s had sudden
episodic releases of flammable gases) and removal of the tank from the
Wyden Tank Safety Watch List.  These actions will allow the contractor
to begin making the necessary modifications to the Tank to restore it to
normal service later in 2001.  Once in service, the tank will greatly
enhance the efficiency of cross site transfers of waste.
Media Interest:  None.
Program Contact:  Harry Calley, 301-903-7417

Congressman Filner to Visit Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Site: 
Congressman Bob Filner  (D-CA) is scheduled to tour the Moab, UT,
uranium mill tailings site on January 19.  Representatives from the
Grand Junction Office, the State of Utah, and the Trustee for the Moab
Mill Reclamation Trust (PricewaterhouseCoopers) will participate in the
tour.  Congressman Filner supported the Floyd D. Spence National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (Public Law 106-398), which
assigned DOE the new mission of cleaning up the Moab mill site,
including relocating the 10.5 million ton tailings pile away from the
flood plain of the Colorado River.  The Colorado River is the drinking
water source for the City of San Diego and other district areas
represented by Congressman Filner.  
Media Interest:  Local
Program Contact:  J. Joyce, 301-903-2151

Shipment of Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel:  The 19th
shipment under the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel
Acceptance Program was received at the Savannah River Site last week. 
The shipment of five casks from Argentina and one cask from Chile
arrived at the Charleston Naval Weapons Station, where they were then
transferred to a train for transport to the Savannah River Site.
Media Interest:  None
Program Contact:  Maureen Clapper, 202-586-8013

Argonne National Laboratory-East (ANL-E) to Receive U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Progress Award:  On January 18, ANL-E received
the EPA, Region 5, Fiscal Year (FY) 2000 Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Facility Progress Award for
investigative and remedial activities at the site.  The Award will be
presented to ANL-E in downtown Chicago during EPA's RCRA Corrective
Action Program Workshop.  The ANL-E has worked closely with the Illinois
EPA so that a substantial amount of investigation and remediation
activities have been completed to date at this facility.  Major
completed activities include capping old landfills; installing
ground-water monitoring and remediation systems; removal of contaminated
soil and in-situ treatment of contaminated soil.  ANL-E has also
utilized innovative treatment technologies for remediating contaminated
soil/ground water, including enhanced steam stripping, soil mixing with
iron addition, and phytoremediation.  Only nine solid waste management
units (SWMUs), out of the original 52 SWMUs identified in the RCRA
permit for ANL-E, still need to be addressed.  Conceptual plans are in
place to address these units in the near future.  ANL-E is scheduled for
an EM geographic site completion in FY 2003.  
Media Interest:   Local
Program Contact:   S. Frush, 301-903-8159

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Shipments:  As of January 17,  WIPP
has received 137 shipments (17-LANL, 35-INEEL, 80-RFETS, and 5-Hanford)
since March 1999.  WIPP is scheduled to receive one shipment this week
from RFETS.  Two shipments from RFETS and one from INEEL were postponed
this week due to bad weather.
Media Interest:  None
Program Contact:  Mary Bisesi, 301-903-7416/John VandeKraats,
505-234-7478

III	Work on Secretarial Initiatives
IV	Press Inquiries
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
                       -----                       
A schedule of meetings on DOE issues is posted on our Web site
http://www.local-oversight.org/meetings.html - E-mail loc@icx.net
.....................................................
************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html