OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - Processing and shipping the inventory of transuranic waste offsite is one of the EM program’s most important near-term commitments in Oak Ridge. North Wind Solutions, a prime small business contractor, is leading this important task through the leadership of program manager Linda Beach.
Beach brings a breadth of experience and technical expertise to her role with more than 30 years of leadership and program management in the nuclear industry under DOE, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the state nuclear regulatory authority. A professional engineer and project manager professional, Beach holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and chemistry-mathematics and a master’s degree in chemical engineering.
Under her leadership, employees are responsible for operating EM’s Transuranic Waste Processing Center and processing contact-handled and remote-handled transuranic waste to meet the EM Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ’s (WIPP) waste acceptance criteria for permanent disposal.
The project was recognized for exceeding all of its waste processing goals for the first contract year. Employees there also recently designed and constructed a new machine to safely process a challenging waste stream of contaminated soil. Crews continue to prepare Oak Ridge’s transuranic waste for offsite disposal, set to resume later this year.
“Partnering with DOE has been key to our success," said Beach. “We recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of our formal partnering agreement with Oak Ridge’s EM program, and through this partnership, we are able to collaborate and communicate more effectively."
Oak Ridge’s EM program has been a leader in establishing formal partnering agreements within DOE. The agreement emphasizes a collaborative approach at all management levels. North Wind has used this framework as a model for other projects.
North Wind was awarded the contract to operate the Transuranic Waste Processing Center, a Category 2 nuclear facility, in 2015. The contract has a total value of $154 million and funds more than 200 local jobs. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cook Inlet Region, Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
