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Consolidated Nuclear Security (CNS) once again has two employees participating in the Sandia National Laboratories Weapon Intern Program (WIP): Tyler McClary, Mission Engineering, and Brandon Pehrson, Y‑12 Operations. This highly sought-after internship teaches the technical details of weapon systems and provides site interactions that provide a comprehensive picture of the Nuclear Security Enterprise. Following that education, the interns work on a project with enterprise and personal value.

Both are looking forward to being a member of the WIP Class of 2017. “I hope to use the knowledge I gain to better serve the needs of Pantex,” said McClary, who has been a Pantexan for almost five years and is a lead design engineer in Tooling & Tester Design.

Pehrson, a production specialist and Y‑12 employee for 11 years, said, “I want to learn more about the weapons parts and material function so I can understand impacts of changes. I also want to become an expert in the weapons field.”

Colby Yeary and Eva Irwin of Program Integration, the CNS contacts for the program, realize there are many advantages for having Pantex and Y‑12 representatives participate.

Yeary said, “Our representatives provide a perspective from two key production agencies in the Nuclear Security Enterprise. Tyler and Brandon’s perspectives, and those of past participants, offer production agency considerations that can be overlooked in important nuclear weapon product realization activities.”

Tyler McClary (left) shares with Colby Yeary about participating in the WIP.

There are many benefits to the rigorous program. The first six months includes classroom work with site visits and research assignments. During the final five months, participants are embedded in various organizations across Sandia to work on specific projects.

“The interns are considered high potential and are able to develop and learn about the enterprise in an accelerated manner,” Yeary said. “It took me the better part of a decade to get the exposure and knowledge they will receive in less than a year.”

HaliAnne Crawford and Aaron Lee, the CNS representatives in the WIP Class of 2016B, offered advice to McClary and Pehrson. (During 2016, WIP had two classes.)

“No matter how daunting the next 11 months seem,” Lee said, “just jump in with both feet first as soon as possible. You have a limited time to learn as much as you can about a topic that is truly vast. Don’t waste a moment of the next 11 months because it will fly by.”

Crawford echoed Lee’s sentiment. “My advice is to get involved with the program, both inside and outside the classroom. Don’t be a passive participant. You will be learning from some of the greatest minds in our industry; ask questions and don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

“You will find that your classmates are some of the most brilliant individuals you will ever have the pleasure of working with,” Crawford said. “Get to know them, learn from their experiences and leverage their knowledge and abilities whenever possible. This year will be one of the best of your life. Enjoy every single second of it.”

Lee agreed: “Listen to your classmates. They will have just as much to teach you as the instructors do. Members of my class represented almost every other site within the NSE as well as NNSA and the military. They had knowledge and perspectives on certain topics that were completely different from my own due to their own different experiences. Everyone brought unique experiences to the program and had a lot of knowledge to share with the class.”

After the internship, WIP participants return to their respective sites to continue their leadership journeys. Yeary said, “The WIP prepares today’s workforce as tomorrow’s leaders by rapidly providing a holistic, yet reasonably detailed view of the nuclear weapons business. The program helps candidates connect dots to see the ‘big picture’ — an important attribute of senior leadership.”

This summer, 26 college students worked at Consolidated Nuclear Security and participated in professional development, science and engineering lectures, networking events, and social activities with mentors and peers. The 2016 interns represented 16 universities from across the country and are pursuing degrees in mechanical, electrical, nuclear, and chemical engineering, as well as physics, optics, information technology, and math.

Pantex hosts summer interns (from left): Jeff Kaczmarek, Mikayla Sims, Colton Mooney, Daniel Hutton, Caitlin Bubel, and Jake Dreiling.

Ashley Stowe of Mission Engineering said the interns “are bright, hardworking and fun to interact with. They have accomplished a lot this summer. I am excited that we were able to host six interns at Pantex this summer and look forward to growing the CNS intern program further next summer.” (The six Pantex interns don’t include the two West Point cadets who also spent time at Pantex.)

CNS Student Interns Program Manager Rachel Winningham agreed. “Going forward, I would like to expand the program by providing co-op opportunities and having interns across more organizations.”

Whether they were a Pantexan or a Y-12er, one thing was certain: The interns return to college with a unique experience and the employees with whom they interacted take away something too.

Winningham said, “When you’re around the interns (even for a short timeframe), their energy rubs off on you. I want them to walk away from the internship with newly acquired skillsets, meaningful work assignments to put on their resume, and the opportunity to have networked with other interns and employees.”

Everyone loves that new car smell, as the saying goes, but do you know what causes it? The polymer materials used to build the car’s interior release volatile organic compounds, and the sun’s heat through the windshield is a stressor that increases this release.

Pantex uses polymers to render explosives stable and shapeable during the plastic bonded explosives (PBX) weapons assembly process. When weapons are returned from the stockpile, scientists evaluate the integrity of the explosives and research to determine the stressors (heat, moisture, acid, and radioactivity) that cause polymers in explosives to degrade or fail.

A two year collaboration between Pantex scientists and polymer experts from Tulane University produced a new and unique method of testing some of the polymers Pantex uses.

Pantex scientist Stephanie Steelman, the principal investigator on the project, approached researchers from the Tulane Center for Polymer Reaction Monitoring and Characterization (PolyRMC) after a course that introduced her to Simultaneous Multiple Sample Light Scattering (SMSLS) analysis.

Pantex scientist Stephanie Steelman works with the SMSLS analysis instrument. Collaboration between Pantex and Tulane University developed a new method of analyzing polymers.

Steelman directs Pantex’s Gel Permeation Chromatography Lab (GPC). “GPC is used to monitor the molecular weight of the polymers in PBXs,” she said. “SMSLS allows us to determine which stressors cause polymers to degrade or fail on the molecular level when in solution, as well as determine when the polymers are in equilibrium for GPC testing.”

Steelman offered another car analogy to help explain the concept.

“The seats in a car eventually wear out. Wouldn’t it be nice to know when they’re going to wear out ahead of time? What would cause them to wear out? Then we’d know when to replace them,” she said.

When Steelman first learned about SMSLS, it was being used only in pharmaceutical and university settings. She thought it could be used at Pantex as well. The researchers at PolyRMC enthusiastically agreed and collaboration began in 2013, with funding from Plant Directed Research, Development, and Demonstration.

The SMSLS instrument takes light-scattering measurements at a rate of up to 10 data points per second to identify degradation of polymers in solution. The SMSLS data identified unique signatures for polymer degradation under temperature stressors. This information can be particularly useful in assessing performance of these polymers over time under different conditions and also build predictions about their stability over time at different temperatures.

“What I’m trying to do is build more quality into the process. SMSLS enhanced my ability to do my job, molecular weight analysis, in a much better fashion,” Steelman said. “If you don’t have the polymer in there doing its job, the explosive won’t do its job.”

After the collaboration project concluded in September 2015, the first commercial SMSLS instrument was located in the GPC Lab at Pantex. The device that scientists nicknamed “smi sls” (rhymes with missiles) bears serial no. 0001.

Alex W. Reed, associate director for Operations and Strategy at PolyRMC, said the roadmap for SMSLS initially did not include this type of polymer application.

“The collaboration with Pantex directly contributed to advancing the development and commercialization of the SMSLS technology,” Reed said. “The first SMSLS at Pantex also means that Pantex may provide some of the earliest new applications of value in the area of polymer stability and non-equilibrium processes.”

West Point. To hear or see the name, most people automatically think of honor and strength. It also makes sense that students of the U.S. Military Academy in New York would want to intern for a CNS site. This year, two West Point interns gained work experience at Pantex.

Michael Grieb (left) and Frederick Albion were Pantexans for a few months this summer as part of a Military Academy Collaboration.

“The West Point cadets we hosted, Michael Grieb and Frederick Albion, were part of a Military Academy Collaboration,” said Nate Davis of Pantex’s Engineering and Science. “Pantex typically hosts cadets as they have a nuclear engineering option in their program.”

While Davis is a first-time host to cadets, he came away with a sense of respect. “The ability of the cadets to go through military and engineering training concurrently gave me a renewed and strengthened appreciation for those who serve,” he said.

The Military Academy Collaboration’s purpose is to provide cadets “a first‑rate experience working cutting-edge research and development opportunities in disciplines and technologies of mutual interest to the Military/Service Academies, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation, and to the NNSA [National Nuclear Security Administration].”

Ashley Stowe is Mission Engineering’s Intern Program lead. “It is always a privilege and honor to host West Point cadets. They bring a unique perspective to our work, and this internship allows cadets to see the manufacturing side of the nuclear arsenal.”

Davis said, “Having interns provides a great opportunity. It allows Pantex to show our customers how we work, and it’s also a potential recruitment tool.”

“This program gives us a great opportunity for collaborating with our customers in the DoD, and better allows them the chance to see firsthand the challenges Pantex faces in producing our product, as well as the chance to see our successes and technology advances,” Davis said.

Stowe said, “They are tomorrow’s leaders, and we provide a survey of our processes, procedures and overall role in the supply chain, so they are better equipped to make good decisions.”

The cadets were glad to be Pantexans for four weeks. Grieb said, “I think Pantex was a great experience. It certainly gave me an eye-opening to what future job opportunities could be in the nuclear enterprise.”

Albion was a fan too. “I’ve had a great time these past four weeks. It’s a great place to come to learn a whole lot.” More information about Military Academic Collaborations is available on the NNSA website.

Brenda Vermillion, Carson County Emergency Management coordinator, said she first thought the June 28 head‑on collision between two BNSF trains was an incredibly loud test shot at the Pantex Plant, but she quickly realized the noise was located at the edge of Panhandle, Texas. “I immediately ran outside the building, and could see the cars toppling and then the explosion,” she said.

Several Pantex response vehicles that are a cross between a normal fire engine and an engine designed for a refinery fire respond to Panhandle train derailment. Photos taken by Shelly Zimmerman.

Vermillion went immediately to the dispatch office at the Carson County Law Enforcement Center. “We were already receiving 911 calls,” she said. “I told the dispatchers to call everyone and get everything you can.”

Pantex was one of the first calls. “The response from Pantex was fantastic,” Vermillion said.

Pantex dispatched one engine when the alarm sounded, said Mike Brock, Pantex fire chief. Fire department personnel then evaluated the situation and dispatched another truck as quickly as possible. The Pantex response vehicles are a cross between a normal engine found in a city like Amarillo and an engine designed for a refinery fire, Brock explained. Intended to be fed by a high‑pressure fire loop, Brock said the truck had water pumped to it so that it could blast hundreds of gallons a minute on the blaze. One truck, he said, was manned by Pantexans and ran continuously for about 48 hours.

Pantex has to maintain a level of readiness at all times. Brock said they called off‑shift personnel and set up a rotation schedule, which allowed firefighters to rest, clean up, eat and be ready to return if needed while maintaining the site’s requirements.

“Our guys operated flawlessly, and I could not be more proud of them,” said Brock.

Carson County Judge Dan Looten agreed, saying, “We stretched everyone to the limit, but Pantex ran very well while transferring people in and out.” Hundreds of first responders from across the Texas Panhandle were sent to the small town about 10 miles from Pantex.

Pantex also provided an Incident Command Vehicle that served as a command center on one side of the train. Looten explained the length of the trains made it difficult to quickly travel from one side to the other because the railroad crossings were blocked by rail cars. “We were managing two scenes — one on the north side and one on the south,” he said. Pantex’s ICV was vital to the response, he said.

Meanwhile, Vermillion, who was running the response from the county’s emergency operations center, received a call from Pantexan Chuck Rives, who was in the Pantex emergency operations center. Rives, a member of the Pantex Emergency Management Department and team lead for the Consequence Assessment Team, was able to work with Vermillion’s team to identify areas of concern in the trains’ manifests.

“Chuck was fantastic,” said Vermillion. “We couldn’t have done it without him. He stayed on the phone the entire time.” Rives quickly pointed to his co-workers — Brenda Graham, Sheryl Moran, Raj Sheth and Teri Vigil — who sorted through dozens of pages of the trains’ manifest to identify possible hazardous cargo, material properties and toxicity information. “Their work narrowed our focus to just a few dangerous cars so that I could quickly and accurately relay information to Brenda,” Rives said.

The team also provided smoke plume modeling working with the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center. Knowing what the Panhandle winds were expected to do was vitally important, Vermillion and Looten said. Early in the day, portions of the town were evacuated because of smoke. If the winds changed, driving the fire farther down the train, other actions would be needed to keep the community safe.

Todd Ailes, Pantex site manager, praised the response efforts. He said, “This was a tragic accident that touched the lives of hundreds of our employees who live in Panhandle. Our concern was to help our neighbors in any way possible. Pantex Fire Department, Emergency Management and Communications & Public Affairs personnel worked diligently to provide any services needed by the town, and to provide accurate updates and safe route information to our employees who live in or travel through Panhandle.”

Brock conducted an after‑action review and identified some lessons, including improved interface between the agencies, different types of equipment that could be included on the trucks and the need for new communication equipment that will enable the Pantex team to hear and respond to the other teams.

“Unfortunately, when we get called to do what we are trained to do, it is someone else’s worst day,” said Brock.

The Pantex Fire Department Rescue Team, along with Y-12 firefighter John Fife, who was visiting Pantex, recently participated in a Confined Space Training event in Panhandle. Members of the rescue team are trained in five disciplines—confined spaces, heavy vehicles, structures, rope and trench rescue.

Pantex Fire Department Rescue Team members participate in a confined space training event in Panhandle, Texas.

“All of our team is highly trained,” said Lee Foster, Pantex Fire Department captain. “They have all been to specialized school throughout the tri-state area and are extremely skilled when it comes to these difficult rescue scenarios.”

The rescue team, made up of 23 members, has to train in the five disciplines annually. “We have to train in each area a minimum of eight hours each year,” Foster said. All of that training has been used as the team has been called upon for rescues in the Palo Duro Canyon area as well as other surrounding areas.

Since 2002, Pantexans have sent more than 9,000 care boxes to U.S. military stationed overseas and are continuing the tradition—thanks to Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC.

Packing day volunteers pose before heading to the post office with the boxes they prepared.

During the recent Pantex Day of Volunteering, Pantexans and their friends and family members teamed up with Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 430 to pack 28 care boxes. CNS contributed $2,000 to cover the shipping.

“Packing these boxes requires a lot of volunteers,” explained Verlene Dickson, retired U.S. Army member and director of the Veterans Resource Center in Amarillo. “There’s a lot that goes in to collecting the items that are donated, organizing the volunteers during a packing day and then getting these boxes shipped.”

Kimbel Leffew, a Pantexan who knows first-hand the importance of care boxes, offered to lead the team of volunteers during packing day.

“All of my children are or were in the military,” said Leffew. “I know how meaningful packages from home were to them, especially when some of the military receive absolutely nothing.”

In total, the volunteer team packed and shipped 28 boxes for 14 individuals in seven different United Service Organizations (USOs). Each recipient received two care boxes: one full of snacks such as chips, jerky, peanuts and even Girl Scout cookies; and the other loaded with an assortment of hygiene products such as deodorant, shampoo, lotion and hand sanitizer.

“When they open those boxes, they don’t just see the snacks, they see the love that is put behind these boxes, and that matters more to them than the actual contents of the box,” said Luan Martin, packing day facilitator and retired Pantexan. “It’s a piece of America.”

This spring, more than 750 Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC employees participated in the Active for Life℠ challenge, an 8‑week program, sponsored by the American Cancer Society®, that encouraged employees to be more mindful of healthy behaviors on a daily basis. Participants formed 57 teams, each led by a team captain who helped provide motivation and reminders to log points on the program’s website.

Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal (second left) and Karen Lacy (right), CNS wellness coordinator and Active for Life program co-director, congratulate members of CNS’s winning Active for Life challenge team.

This year marked the third time Y-12 participated in the Active for Life challenge and the second time Pantex participated. It was the first time for the sites to compete as OneTeam against six other U.S. Department of Energy sites. Linda Bauer, vice president for Mission Assurance, which includes Environment, Safety and Health, participated on the CNS Executive Leadership Team led by Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal.

“Active for Life encourages healthy habits and fitness through friendly competition among colleagues across DOE facilities, while enhancing teambuilding and collaboration,” Bauer said. “I’m a firm believer that the healthier we are, the happier we are on—and off—the job.”

Participants received one point for each minute they were active each day, as well as points for servings of fruits and vegetables and glasses of water. Points were logged on the Active for Life website, which allowed users to track nutrition intake and weight maintenance goals. LiveWise added weekly bonus challenges for the CNS teams to provide ways to earn extra points, as well as fun opportunities to build team spirit and engagement. These challenges included on-site pushup and plank competitions, weekly water and vegetable intake goals, and participation in community fitness events. More than 80 Y-12 employees participated in this year’s Secret City 5K for Haiti, which rewarded registrants with 25 bonus points.

The top team, Team OSHA, was led by captain Jan Wuest of Training and Development, who logged the most individual activity points throughout the program. An avid hiker, Wuest, along with teammates Becky Ownby and Lee Lutner, averaged almost 800 minutes of physical activity per week during the 8-week campaign. Wuest credits the success to “working together as a team and a support system.”

“There was no ‘captain.’ In this team, we were equal partners, and we encouraged each other to do the best we can,” Wuest said.

In addition to the CNS team, other competitors were: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Nevada National Security Site, Ames Laboratory, National Renewable Energy and Sandia National Laboratories (New Mexico and California).

“Communication between the sites helps foster a wellness coalition in the DOE complex, where we can learn from each other’s best practices to improve employees’ health,” said Karen Lacey, CNS wellness coordinator and Active for Life program co‑director.

CNS came in sixth place; while a rank decrease from last year’s standings, the overall activity scores were higher. CNS participants averaged 47 minutes of activity daily, far outpacing statistics that state 60 percent of American adults fall short of meeting physical activity recommendations of 30 minutes most days.

Sherry Philyaw, Pantex Safety Culture advocate and CNS Active for Life program co-director said a few weather challenges did not dissuade participants. “Active for Life is a fantastic way to establish healthy habits and get out and enjoy the community, your family and friends, and the weather.”

Groundbreaking ceremony for 343,000 square foot facility

AMARILLO, Texas – Representatives from Congress, the Department of Energy, and other distinguished national, state and local leaders joined leaders from Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC—the managing and operating contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) Pantex Plant—for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction for the new Administrative Support Complex (ASC).

The ASC is designed to provide a modern administrative and support facility for the weapons mission at Pantex and relocate employees from aging facilities that have proved functionally and technologically challenging.

“NNSA’s mission to maintain the safety, security, and effectiveness of the nuclear weapons stockpile is critical to America’s security. The incredibly dedicated, talented and hardworking workforce at Pantex deserve a safe, functional, and adaptive workspace to carry out that mission,” said Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz (Ret.), Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator.

“I am pleased to join Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz and Rep. Mac Thornberry in celebrating today’s milestone with the Pantex community.”

“This new facility is a significant investment in the future of the Pantex facility and its critical national security mission,“ said CNS Deputy Enterprise Manager, Michelle Reichert. “This milestone underscores our commitment to address the Pantex Plant’s aging infrastructure challenges, and to invest in the site to position it for the future.”

The 343,000 square foot state of the art building will provide an administrative and support facility for the nuclear security mission at Pantex and relocate employees from numerous aging facilities that are costly to operate and do not meet modern standards. Along with office space for nearly one-third of Pantex employees, the facility will be equipped with a 390-seat auditorium, conference center, cafeteria, visitor's center, and medical and employee health and fitness facilities.

“The ASC will allow us to consolidate administrative functions from over 35 legacy facilities at the Pantex site into one modern, energy efficient facility. This will allow us to take the resources that we’ve being dedicating to those older facilities and concentrate them in facilities for the enduring mission we have at Pantex,” added Reichert.

Construction is scheduled to take approximately two years with more than 2,000 craftsmen working on the 3-story complex.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) operates the Pantex Plant, located in Amarillo, Texas, and the Y-12 National Security Complex, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, under a single contract for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration. Pantex and Y-12 are key facilities in the U.S. Nuclear Security Enterprise, and CNS performs its work with a focus on the performance excellence and the imperatives of safety, security, zero defects and delivery as promised.

For more information on each site, visit www.pantex.energy.gov or www.y12.doe.gov. Follow Pantex on Facebook, X or LinkedIn. Follow Y-12 on Facebook, X, and LinkedIn.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC scientists and engineers recently treated Texas Panhandle students to an ooey, gooey, good time at Window on a Wider World’s WOWW Day in Amarillo.

When Stephanie Steelman, a polymer chemist at the Pantex Plant, was asked to provide an interactive learning station at the event, she jumped at the chance to make slime with about 500 children.

“Days like that re-energize me because my work is so serious,” said Steelman. “I really enjoy seeing the children’s faces light up.”

She recruited scientists Matthew Reyes and Anthony Cortese and engineer Courtney Waddell to help with the lime-green learning demonstration. The four Pantexans and Allison Roberts, public affairs specialist and WOWW board member, helped the students make polymer slime. They used the slime to teach the kindergarten through fifth-grade students about the phases of matter.

Other community organizations hosted learning stations focused on history, art and music. One station even used tennis to teach math.

Steelman says science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, educational outreach is vital because it introduces students to the fields with fun, hands-on activities. “We have to give children credit that they can learn science at any age. Activities like this capture their attention and encourage them to become the next generation of scientists and engineers,” she said.

CNS supports Window on a Wider World activities like WOWW Day and the fall WOWW Science Collaboratives as part of its commitment to STEM education. WOWW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the curriculum of Texas Panhandle students through the arts, science and cultural experiences. For more information about WOWW, visit their website.