January 30, 2020 – The Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management’s prime contractor at the West Valley Demonstration Project, CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley, recently received Silver Level recognition from the American Heart Association for taking significant steps to build a culture of health in the workplace. The American Heart Association’s Workplace Health Achievement Index is a self‐assessment scorecard that measures the comprehensiveness and quality of a company’s workplace health program, and the overall heart health of its employees. Link to article

January 7, 2020 – EM’s West valley Demonstration Project Site cleanup contractor recently earned nearly $323,000 of an avaialble award fee of about $467,000 for its performance during an evaluation period of March through August 2019.

EM releases information relating to its contractor fee payments – earned by completing the work called for in the contracts – to further transparency in its cleanup program. Link to Update

January 17, 2020 – Workers recently demolished the former Main Plant Office Building located at EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) site. Waste disposition operations continue and are approximately 78 percent complete. This recent demolition brings EM’s total number of structures removed to 66.

The Main Plant Office Building was a three-story facility that was built in 1964 as part of the original commercial nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. It was constructed with a steel frame and masonry exterior. It measured approximately 94’ x 40’ x 47’ high or 3,760 sq. ft. Link to article

January 16, 2020 – Growing up in the Town of Ashford and serving on the town board for years, John Pfeffer will now be taking on a new challenge as the new town supervisor. Pfeffer was sworn in as Ashford Town Supervisor at the Jan. 8 Ashford Town Board meeting, replacing former supervisor Charles Davis.

Along with serving as a councilman in Ashford, Pfeffer has been a volunteer member of the West Valley Citizens Task Force since 1997, been a member of the Energy Communities Alliance and serves an EMT and volunteer firefighter for the West Valley Volunteer Hose Company. As Pfeffer settles into his new position, he has started working with other officials in the town and planning new ways to help move the town forward. Link to article

January 14, 2020 – An EM crew recently finished deactivating a facility at the West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) Site after safely removing asbestos-containing material.

Piping and insulation inside the former fuel receiving and storage facility contained the material that needed to be removed to prepare for eventual demolition. Workers pulled out 700 feet of piping — equivalent in length to about 17 school buses end to end — over five months. Link to Update