EM sites across the DOE complex marked Earth Day this year through a variety of activities. Following is a roundup of their events on and around Earth Day, held April 22:
Workers at EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project in Utah commemorated Earth Day through a variety of activities, from brainstorming ideas for sustainable work practices to cleaning up garbage.
Several employees came up with plans to reduce plastic bottle and paper use. The Moab UMTRA Project will consider implementing the ideas at the site.
A group of employees helped with revegetation efforts by picking up trash and planting shrubs in an area away from the site’s mill tailings pile.
Several staff members gave presentations to their coworkers on topics such as safely disposing of household hazardous waste and the importance of bees as pollinators. Employees sampled honey from local bees.
A local recycling vendor talked with the employees about the types of plastic acceptable for recycling, and offered suggestions for improving recyclables sorting.
The Moab Site's technical assistance contractor, S&K Logistics Services, provided employees with reusable bags made of recycled materials.
At the West Valley Demonstration Project in New York state, EM and cleanup contractor CH2M HILL BWXT West Valley hosted the Seneca Nation of Indians’ annual Earth Day event that pays tribute to the Cattaraugus Creek.
Participants attended a sunrise ceremony before kicking off the “Run, Walk and Paddle" event.
“Each step taken today is a prayer for healing for all," event coordinator Maria Maybee of the Seneca Nation said to the participants. “This event is a reminder that we must work together to protect the environment for it provides everything we need in life. It’s important that this message is never forgotten, for we only have one environment."
Later, participants ate lunch at the Cattaraugus Community Center and gathered for a sunset ceremony at Seneca Nation Beach.
At the Savannah River Site (SRS), Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the site’s management and operations contractor, coordinated the annual Savannah River Site Earth Day Celebration. SRNS also set out displays about site environmental efforts at the event. For example, SRS recycled 504 metric tons of waste in 2018; installed roofs that significantly reduce costs associated with cooling buildings; and operated a mix of passive cleanup technologies, such as bioremediation, which relies on feeding naturally occurring microbes found in soil to accelerate cleanup.
The Earth Day booth for SRS liquid waste contractor Savannah River Remediation highlighted how SRS is protecting land in the area where six more saltstone disposal units are scheduled to be built.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
