1 By Jim McCormick-Barger DOE, WTP Lead Construction Inspector Quality Challenges with the Construction of the First Large Nuclear Facility in the Past 10 Years

The Cleanup Challenge 53 million gallons radioactive waste 149 single-shell tanks built from double-shell tanks built from (67 presumed to have leaked)

Vitrification offers the best solution for immobilizing Hanford’s high-level radioactive waste and preventing an environmental catastrophe. The Solution: Immobilize the Waste in Glass Advantages: Proven technology – used overseas and at other DOE sites Sturdy waste form – impervious to the environment Disadvantage: Expensive – requires large facilities constructed to nuclear standards

Pretreatment Building HLW Vitrification Building LAW Vitrification Building Analytical Laboratory Hanford’s Waste Treatment Plant will be the world’s largest chemical- radioactive waste treatment plant WTP: The Cornerstone of Hanford Cleanup Pretreatment (PT) Facility Low Activity Waste (LAW) Vitrification Facility High Level Waste (HLW) Vitrification Facility Analytical Laboratory Balance of Facilities

Waste Treatment Plant Pretreatment Facility High-Level Waste Facility Low-Activity Waste Facility Lab

Challenges with Constructing New Nuclear Facilities Finding and/or developing experienced staff with “Nuclear” culture Ensuring adequate design and construction programs Finding and/or developing suppliers and sub-contractors with adequately implemented NQA-1 programs Specifying appropriate NDE during fabrication

WTP Challenges Early Design issues Installation acceptance issues Sub-Contractor and Supplier quality program problems Material quality problems

Staffing Challenges Loss of our nuclear experienced workforce Failure to rigorously follow procedures, and lack of robust programs or attention to detail “Business as usual” is not acceptable Management, staff, and craft must develop and foster a “Nuclear” culture

Nuclear Culture Enhancements Senior Management - communicate expectations and commitment to quality Training; detailed, emphasizing strict procedure compliance Knowledge of important-to-safety and authorization basis requirements Strict supervisor oversight of staff work with performance feedback process

Design and Construction Program Improvements Track unverified assumptions and design inputs; emphasize robust checking Document control must integrate field work with computer databases Standardize inspecting, accepting, and controlling completed work Centralize weld rod control programs

NDE during Fabrication Understand and fully implement NDE requirements NDE can drive quality −Tanks nozzle welds −50% rejection rate

Quality Oversight of Sub-Contractor Sub-contractors often lack NQA-1 implementation experience Requires substantial quality oversight to ensure success Conditional release for work often necessary

Supplier Challenges Many NQA-1 qualified suppliers required to support $1 billion procurement Domestic supplier capacity has substantially declined Foreign supplier QA programs generally don’t meet NQA-1 requirements

Current Supplier NQA Capabilities 60 % 128

Supplier Quality Issues QA efforts to qualify suppliers has been substantial: –QA Plan review –Onsite QA review of facilities –Periodic to full-time onsite presence Issues Identified due to lack of rigorous implementation of QA programs

Supplier Quality Issues WTP supplier quality issues to date have included failure to: –Acknowledge business-as-usual will not work –Implement their QA programs –Read, Comprehend, and implement requirements –Implement changes per requirements –Communicate requirements through organization –Flow-down requirements to supply chain

Actions to address Supplier Quality Issues Supplier Quality Oversight budget increased from $2 to $30 million Provided quality expectation road show Even with enhanced oversight, procurement problems have resulted in material delays and rework

Supplier Quality Lessons Learned Plan for early and continued quality oversight of suppliers Plan and budget for additional resources to address supplier quality Plan for overseas procurement adding even more cost to ensure quality

Supplier Quality Lessons Learned Plan for increased Commercial grade material supplier oversight Make procurement design documents understandable Ensure NDE requirements are accurately specified Verify welding programs meet requirements

Conclusion Nuclear construction presents special challenges: −Developing staff with a nuclear culture −Implementing robust quality programs −Nurturing and overseeing sub-contractor quality programs −Finding and overseeing qualified suppliers −Specifying and verifying appropriate NDE

WTP Progress Progress as of July 2005  Moved 1,555,900 cubic yards of soil  Placed 149,400 cubic yards of concrete  Installed 30,000 tons of rebar  Installed 5,417,600 pounds of embeds  Installed 172,000 feet of pipe  Installed 323,100 feet of electrical raceway  Installed 334,064 pounds of HVAC ductwork  Installed 5,500 tons of structural steel