S4 E17 An ECA Report: Reviewing the EM Program in the New Administration - 10.07.2024 - Seth Kirshenberg, ECA Executive Director

The Gone Fission Nuclear Report launches Season 5 with a new  episode featuring a discussion with Amir Vexler, President and CEO of Centrus Energy Group.  Centrus is playing a vital role in nuclear renaissance with its manufacturing of uranium enrichment centrifuges in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and operation of the American Centrifuge Plant in Piketon, Ohio. The size of the Pentagon, the plant is pioneering the development of High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU), expected to be a crucial fuel fuel component for both existing reactors and a new generation of advanced reactors. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

It’s being called the largest investment in the history of the State of Tennessee. Orano USA has announced plans to build a new multi-billion dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge. The facility will provide fuel for America’s nuclear power plants and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources, including Russia. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, host Michael Butler discusses this exciting project with Orano USA President Jean-Luc Palayer. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

Most of us have probably dealt with landlords at one time or another in our personal or business lives.  But did you know that Department of Energy sites around the country also have landlords--DOE offices that are responsible for operation and maintenance of the site as a whole?This week’s episode covers the recent change of DOE landlord at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. After nearly three decades, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is taking over landlord responsibilities from the Office of Environmental Management (EM). What does this change mean for SRS and its current and future missions? We talk with SRS EM Site Manager Mike Budney and NNSA SRS Field Office Director Michael Mikolanis. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

Community input is essential to the success of the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program. Much of the most essential feedback comes from the Site Specific Advisory Boards (SSAB) composed of local community volunteers.  These local members take their own time to become educated about local cleanup issues and make recommendations to DOE about cleanup priorities and approaches.  In this week's episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, host Michael Butler talks with Kelly Snyder, EM Designated Federal Officer for the SSAB and officials in charge of the Oak Ridge SSAB--Amy Jones, Chair, and Kris Bartholomew, Vice Chair. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

With a new Administration taking office in January, the Energy Communities Alliance has released a detailed report calling for a top-to-bottom review of the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management program. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, ECA Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg shares with Host Michael Butler the eight recommendations his organization believes can help the cleanup program better accomplish its formidable mission.Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

This week, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report features an interview with Candice Robertson, the Department of Energy’s recently appointed Senior Advisor to the Office of Environmental Management (EM-1). Host Michael Butler caught up with her at the 10th Annual National Cleanup Workshop in Washington, D.C.  The occasion also marked the 35th anniversary of creation of the Office of Environmental Management. Ms. Robertson gives her assessment of the current state of DOE’s environmental cleanup program and looks to the challenges ahead.  Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

Each year, the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management publishes a list of cleanup priorities for its sites around the country. Progress in the cleanup program is measured by how well these milestones are met.This week, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report joins in celebrating completion a major cleanup goal on DOE’s Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee. It’s a comprehensive soil remediation project that DOE calls “Vision 2024.” Our guest is Joanna Hardin, DOE Federal Potfolio Director for the East Tennessee Technology Park in Oak Ridge. She talks with host Michael Butler about what it took to remediate more than a half million cubic yards of contaminated soil as the site becomes home to new nuclear-related businessesVisit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Gone Fission Nuclear Report travels to the nation’s capital this week to join a national conversation on next steps for identifying a community to host interim spent fuel storage from America’s nuclear power plants. Our podcast sponsor, the Energy Communities Alliance, convened a meeting of elected officials, community leaders, economic developers and Department of Energy officials to discuss what kind of incentives a community will need--and what kind of economic benefits can accrue--from volunteering to host an interim storage facility. This is an important topic as the U.S. finds itself on the brink of a nuclear renaissance that will increase the role of nuclear energy in meeting our national energy needs. Is your community interested in exploring safe spent fuel storage as an economic driver? Raise your hand!Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

Our guest on this week’s episode is John Eschenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Central Plateau Cleanup Company in Hanford Washington. An Amentum-led partnership with Fluor and Atkins, CPCCO is responsible for managing site operations, facility deactivation, decommissioning, decontamination and demolition, waste-site remediation, and transuranic waste management on Hanford’s central plateau and along the Columbia River corridor. It is a challenging and hazardous assignment and a large part of what has been called the biggest environmental cleanup project in the world--likely to stretch for more than 50 years into the future. Eschenberg talks with host Michael Butler about the challenges and efforts underway to ensure than an adequate and trained workforce is available to complete the mission. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.

This is the time of year when hundreds of interns descend on DOE sites around the country. They are eager and enthusiastic, ready to soak up new information gleaned from being out of the classroom and on the job. They are a critical part of the essential pipeline that will ensure the Department of Energy's Environmental Management program will have enough qualified workers to fulfill its cleanup mission in the decades ahead. In this week's episode of the  Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, host Michael Butler talks with Susan Sparks and Shannon Potter, DOE and contractor intern program managers at Portsmouth/Paducah and Oak Ridge, as well as Maurice Thompson, head of DOE's Career Pathways Program at DOE Headquarters. We will also meet  Samina Mondal, an outstanding  participant in the program who  has quickly become a well-spoken advocate for the Environmental Management program. Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of episodes since November 7, 2022.