EM Update, Olean Times, and Springville Journal — 2/21/23

EM recently added two security police officers to its protective force at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) after the pair completed a seven‐week security training course at DOE’s National Training Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

“We understand the importance and benefit of having trained emergency responders working at West Valley,” EM WVDP Security Manager Mark Simsick said. “As trained and qualified officers, they now have increased responsibilities to protect the health and safety of our workers and the public. We recognize and appreciate their continued commitment to serve others.”

The two officers, Richard Carson and Jonathan Zimmer, had previously worked as unarmed security officers at the site.

The course included firearm qualifications, defensive tactics, use of force, first aid and combat casualty care, vehicle stops, DOE tactical doctrine, physical fitness and other required courses of study.

Dave Schuman, safeguards and security manager for EM cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, said it was important for the WVDP team to recognize the graduates for completing the training.

“This training pushed these recruits both mentally and physically, and we applaud them for their commitment and perseverance,” Schuman said. “They spent time away from their families so they could better serve and protect the site, its employees and the community.”

Quality training programs are essential to support the protection of critical Departmental assets, national security, and the environment, as well as the health and safety of the workforce and the public, according to the National Training Center.

WGRZ 2/17/23 —

The train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio, is the focus of a lot of attention nationwide.

Freight trains and trucks carrying hazardous chemicals and very combustible materials, of course, also pass regularly through Western New York. 2 On Your Side looked into the local contingency planning for such incidents in this area and what more can be done.
Read the full story here.

Springville Journal — 2/16/23
Pfeffer updated the board on grants the town recently applied for. A $50,000 was awarded to the town for the West Valley Citizen Task Force to hire its own technical expert to look at things coming out of the probabilistic performance assessment. The board also applied for a grant for the American Legion to be used as a food bank, which the town did not get. Pfeffer said the town will look into applying for this grant again in the future. Read the full coverage here.

EM Update — 2/14/23 Watch a new video featuring subject matter experts from EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) discussing the ongoing demolition of the Main Plant Process Building at the West Valley Demonstration Project.

Salamanca Press — 1/26/23

For decades, the West Valley Citizens Task Force, environmental groups and area county and local governments have pressed for a full cleanup at the West Valley Demonstration Project.

The Seneca Nation has also called for a full cleanup at West Valley.

The 200‐acre WVDP in the town of Ashford was the site of the nation’s only commercial reprocessing plant for spent nuclear fuel, which operated from 1966 to 1972.

It was many years after the site was abandoned by Nuclear Fuel Services that the West Valley Demonstration Project Act of 1980 was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.

Many milestones have been met, such as solidifying 600,000 gallons of radioactive liquid waste and preparing the main plant process building for deconstruction, which is ongoing. That is expected to take up to 30 months.

But what of underground radioactive hazards — two very large steel tanks with radioactive residue inside and the New York State and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRD) Disposal Areas that sit on a plateau above a waterway that empties into Cattaraugus Creek, which in turn flows to Lake Erie?

Read the full article here.