Olean Times Herald — July 5, 2023

WEST VALLEY — The prime contractor to the U.S. Department of Energy at the West Valley Demonstration Project was recently announced as a Leader in Sustainable Electronics Procurement with a 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Award winner, celebrating leaders in sustainable electronics procurement.

The award comes from the Global Electronics Council (GEC), the non‐profit organization that manages the EPEAT ecolabel. EPEAT allows local organizations, municipalities and agencies to efficiently address the lifecycle impacts of the electronics we purchase, including computers, displays, printers, copiers, network equipment, mobile phones, servers, photovoltaic modules, inverters and televisions.

EPEAT is used in purchasing contracts to require that vendors only provide electronics that meet strict sustainability criteria. These products are more energy efficient, less toxic, longer lasting and easier to recycle than products that do not meet EPEAT criteria while addressing labor and human rights issues along the entire supply chain.

According to the Green Electronics Council, the electronics purchased for the WVDP in 2022 will result in several environmental and energy‐saving over their lifetime and include:

■ A reduction of 5,267 kilograms of CO2 equivalents (taking two cars off the road for a year).

■ A savings of 15,982 kWh of electricity (annual electric consumption 3 households).

■ A savings of 27,520 liters of water.

Participation in the 2023 EPEAT Purchaser Awards program is particularly noteworthy in that it is a voluntary program and demonstrates a commitment to excellence, reflecting well on all involved at the WVDP.

“Participating in this program is part of our commitment to being stewards of the environment,” said President John Rendall. “Our volunteer efforts in this program help to protect the environment and save money for taxpayers and the government. It is the right thing to do.”

Springville Journal – June 29, 2023

The Ashford Town Board, at its June 14 meeting, discussed updates with the COPS hiring program funding, which previously awarded the town $125,000 to advance the practice of community policing through the hire or rehire of additional career law enforcement officers.

Supervisor John Pfeffer said the town has a law enforcement officer available who meets the requirements of the grant. Pfeffer said he will continue working with the next steps and keep the board informed on future updates on the officer.

“I’m starting to get all these ducks in a row to make this all happen,” Pfeffer said. “That’s really good news.”

Communications and External Affairs Manager for CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, LLC Joe Pillittere gave an update on the decommissioning work at the West Valley Demonstration Project. Crews continue to work on deconstruction of the Main Plant Process Building, with crews recently working on demolition at the Chemical Process Cell. Pillittere also updated the board on the waste management shipments from the site. 368 intermodals have been generated and 350 have been shipped, with a net weight of 6,530 tons. 28 specialty containers have also been generated and 19 have been shipped to date, with a net weight of 167 tons.

In other board news:

– The board authorized the purchase of a new and unused 3/4 ton pickup style truck with plow package for $30,712.50 from Jim Murphy Chevrolet Buick of Springville pending further review of the bid by the highway superintendent to ensure all specifications are met.

– Highway Superintendent Keith Butcher reported on progress being made on the town trucks to be fire safety compliant before winter, with Butcher stating it would cost around $680 per truck. Butcher also provided further information to the board on a map program available to the town from Southern Tier West, which could mark everything from signs, guardrails, culverts and many other parts of the town and make things easier for the highway department and other departments within the town. Butcher stated the map program would cost $650 per year.

– The board approved a resolution for the Erie Cattaraugus Rail Trail’s application for the Cascade Bridge Evaluation and Planning project to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The Town of Ashford endorsed this application with the understanding the Town of Ashford does not commit to any funding.

The next Town of Ashford board meeting will be Wednesday, July 12 at 7 p.m.

Olean Times Herald, May 31, 2023 —

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project continue the dismantlement of the main plant process building’s chemical process cell.

The work is expected to be completed over several months and will include the removal of racks used to store high‐level waste canisters decades ago. The main plant is one of the site’s last remaining major facilities whose successful demolition will further reduce environmental risks.

A 2023 priority for WVDP is to dispose of 9,000 tons of main plant demolition waste. The demolition is expected to take approximately 30 months to complete.

Earlier this year, crews used a heavy‐duty excavator with a hydraulic hammer to take out the outermost three feet of the cell’s five‐foot‐thick reinforced‐concrete walls. This lower‐risk work allowed crews with CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) to perform other deconstruction activities in parallel, helping accelerate the project’s schedule and lower costs.

“Starting this specific sequence in the deconstruction of the main plant is the result of our planning, preparation and decontamination efforts,” said Stephen Bousquet, federal project director for the main plant deconstruction. “Our approach also incorporates best practices and lessons learned, including the rate and sequence of the deconstruction and the use of engineered and robust safety controls.”

Located at ground level on the west side of the plant, the more than 2,000‐square‐foot cell was designed to dissolve sheared spent nuclear fuel and to reduce the volume of high‐level waste generated in fuel reprocessing. The floor and the lower portion of its walls are lined with stainless steel.

Between 1985 and 1987, workers performed remote decontamination activities to support the conversion of the cell into a facility for the interim storage of vitrified high‐level waste canisters. Crews installed storage racks for the 10‐foot‐long canisters.

In 2017, workers removed 278 high‐level waste canisters from that storage facility and safely relocated them to a temporary onsite storage pad until a permanent repository is available for their disposal.

EM Update, May 23, 2023 —

EM and its cleanup contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project continue to dismantle a cell of the Main Plant Process Building, one of the site’s last remaining major facilities whose successful demolition will further reduce environmental risks.

The work at the Chemical Process Cell is expected to be completed over several months and will include removal of racks used to store high‐level waste canister decades ago.

An EM 2023 priority is to dispose of 9,000 tons of Main Plant demolition waste. The demolition is expected to take approximately 30 months to complete.

Earlier this year, crews used a heavy‐duty excavator with a hydraulic hammer to take out the outermost 3 feet of the cell’s 5‐foot‐thick reinforced‐concrete walls. This lower‐risk work allowed crews with CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) to perform other deconstruction activities in parallel, helping accelerate the project’s schedule and lower cost.

“Starting this specific sequence in the deconstruction of the Main Plant is the result of our planning, preparation and decontamination efforts,” said Stephen Bousquet, EM West Valley federal project director for the Main Plant Deconstruction. “Our approach also incorporates best practices and lessons learned, including the rate and sequence of the deconstruction, and the use of engineered and robust safety controls.”

Located at ground level on the west side of the plant, the more than 2,000‐square‐foot cell was designed to dissolve sheared spent nuclear fuel and to reduce the volume of high‐level waste generated in fuel reprocessing. The floor and the lower portion of its walls are lines with stainless steel.

Between 1985 and 1987, workers performed remote decontamination activities to support the conversion of the cell into a facility for the interim storage of vitrified high‐level waste canisters. Crews installed storage racks for the 10‐footlong canisters.

In 2017, EM workers removed 278 high‐level waste canisters from that storage facility and safely relocated them to a temporary onsite storage pad until a permanent repository is available for their disposal.

Springville Journal, May 18, 2023 —

Councilmember Kimberly Krzemien reported that the West Valley Task Force board recently went to Washington D.C. to meet with elected officials. Some congresspeople requested private tours of the West Valley Demonstration Project; Drozd would like to see these tours with the officials open to the public. Read the full article here.