West Valley Contractor Receives Blue Ribbon at Waste Management Symposia

WEST VALLEY, N.Y. – Waste Management Symposia (WMS) awarded EM’s West Valley Demonstration Project (WVDP) cleanup contractor a blue ribbon this month for its professional poster session on a unique air monitoring method used during an open-air demolition project.

   “This was a team effort that involved several months of planning,” CH2MHILL BWXT West Valley (CHBWV) Regulatory Strategy Vice President Janice Williams said of the air monitoring project. “I’m proud of this accomplishment on behalf of the WVDP team. We are committed to performing our work in a safe and environmentally sound manner by implementing safe, innovative, and regulatory compliant cleanup practices in everything we do.”

   WMS awarded a blue ribbon to one presentation in each of 10 poster sessions over four days during its 2019 conference in Phoenix. Judges used 10 criteria to rate each poster and presenter, including subject-matter objectives, methods, content, and results.

   CHBWV’s Environmental Protection Agency-approved alternative method for emission estimation was used during demolition of WVDP’s Vitrification Facility completed on Sept. 20. Air monitors set up around and inside the demolition area successfully recorded data on air to protect the health and safety of employees, the general public, and the environment. All worksite and perimeter air sample results were below federal regulatory limits.

   Williams and Brent Blunt, a consultant to CHBWV, presented the poster on research, planning, and implementation efforts for the air monitoring at WVDP. Williams and others at CHBWV developed the innovative monitoring approach from extensive modeling, best practices, and lessons learned.