News

On the storm-wracked plains of the Texas Panhandle, it pays to be ready for severe weather. The Pantex Plant has risen to that challenge, once again earning recognition from the National Weather Service (NWS) as a StormReady site.

“Pantex was one of the first entities of its kind to become StormReady,” said Jose Garcia, meteorologist in charge of the NWS’s Amarillo office. “Pantex is a special facility, and it is important the public knows it is prepared for severe weather.”

Garcia and other NWS officials were at the plant Wednesday to present Pantex officials with the recertification. He said StormReady status indicates Pantex has the weather sirens, shelters, notification technology and emergency response infrastructure to respond effectively to severe weather.

The StormReady program started in 1999 in Tulsa, Okla., and has since grown to encompass more than 2,000 sites. Pantex was the first nuclear site to earn the designation and remains one of only a handful that has achieved StormReady status.

Alonza Campbell, manager of the Emergency Management Department at Pantex, said the Plant has a long history of working hand-in-hand with the community. Pantex maintains contact with the NWS to anticipate storms and other inclement weather conditions. Pantex even uses and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radios to alert residents living near the plant of emergency conditions.

“We recognize that we have a responsibility to our neighbors to be prepared for all types of emergency situations,” Campbell said. “In this part of the country, severe weather is a fact of life and it is one of the potential risks we have to be ready for at all times.”

Pantexans again hit the road Friday, December 7, to raise awareness about hunger in the Texas Panhandle during the second Pantex Run Against Hunger. Byron Logan, an officer from the Pantex Safeguards and Security Division, escorted by four coworkers and a Bearcat armored vehicle, made a 40-mile bicycle ride from Pantex to Panhandle schools and then to Highland Park schools. While at the schools, the Pantexans encouraged the students to support their schools’ food drives and the importance of giving to those who are in need. The students then had an opportunity to explore the Bearcat.

At Highland Park schools, four Pantexans took to the road for a 20-mile run to the High Plains Food Bank’s food drive collection center in Amarillo. Other Pantexans and family members joined them along the route. A group of Pantexans meet the runners at the food drive finish line, where they presented a $4,300 check to the food bank. The donation was from Pantex employees to support the runners.

The Pantex runners were Logan, Randy Stokes, Cliff Cawthon and Sherry Philyaw. Darla Fish joined them for the last five miles of the run.

“We wanted to do something to help people in our community who are struggling,” Logan said. “We run long distances, and we wanted to use that skill to raise awareness about hunger in our area.”

Plant Partners with Panhandle and Highland Park Schools

Pantexans will be hitting the road Friday in an effort to raise awareness about hunger in the Texas Panhandle in the second Pantex Run Against Hunger. Pantex also invited Highland Park and Panhandle schools to join them in a food drive to benefit the High Plains Food Bank.

Byron Logan and Randy Stokes, officers in the Safeguards & Security Division at Pantex, will again embark on a long-distance trek through parts of the Panhandle ending at the High Plains Food Bank’s food drive, which is being hosted at United Market Street.

The Run Against Hunger began in 2011 with a 30 mile run from Pantex to United Market Street. This year, the pair wanted to expand the event to allow others to participate and to grow awareness about the need for food in the area. The pair has added a 40-mile bicycle ride from Pantex Plant to Panhandle High School and then Highland Park High School. They will begin the approximately 20-mile run to United Market Street at Highland Park Schools. Other Pantexans will join them along the route, some during the bike ride and others during the run. They will be followed by a Bearcat, which is an armored vehicle used by Security Police Officers at Pantex.

“Randy and I wanted to do something to help people in our community who are struggling,” Logan said. “We run long distances, and we wanted to use that skill to raise awareness about hunger in our area.”

The food bank is conducting its annual food drive this week. They can take a donation of $5 and stretch it into $50 of food. The top needs this year are green beans, canned soups, canned mixed vegetables, bagged rice and sweet peas.

Any media outlet wishing to cover this effort is welcome to film along the route of the run. They plan to begin the running portion at approximately 11 a.m. running west on U.S. Highway 60, south on Lakeside Drive and west on the Interstate 40 access road into Amarillo. For safety purposes, they will leave I-40 at Ross Osage and run several smaller roads to Georgia Street. They expect to arrive at Market Street at approximately 2 p.m., where they will be available for interviews. For updates on where the run is along the route, please contact Laura Bailey at 223-8211.

B&W Pantex manages and operates the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. B&W Pantex is also the proud recipient of the DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program Superior STAR status for safety excellence. The company was also named one of America’s safest companies by Occupational Hazards magazine and has received numerous awards from the National Safety Council.

CONTACT
Laura Bailey
Public Affairs
Office (806) 573.0502
Pager (806) 345-6604
laura.bailey1@pantex.doe.gov

The public face of Pantex on the Internet has a new look following a project to redesign the Website.

Pantex unveiled the new Website Monday. The site features updated information, easier navigation and new search tools. The site was created over the past several months in a joint effort between the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Division, the Public Affairs Department and an external Web development contractor.

“Completely redesigning the Pantex internet presence was a large undertaking,” said Pantex CIO Kent Gross. “The new site reflects our modernization movement and establishes a framework that we can easily build on.”

A prime objective of the redesign was to create a Website that would provide up-to-date information to the public and stakeholders in an efficient manner. The site features a new section on doing business with Pantex that will be beneficial to subcontractors and others who work with the site. Plant status and emergency information is also more easily accessed.

New content will continue to roll out on the site over the coming months as more features are added to increase functionality.

“The Website is a critical facet of our outreach to stakeholders and the general public,” said Public Affairs Department Manager Ed Veiga. “We continue to strive to provide the most useful information possible to our audiences, and this new Website will aid in that effort.”

B&W Pantex manages and operates the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. B&W Pantex is also the proud recipient of the DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program STAR status for safety excellence. The company was also named one of America’s safest companies by Occupational Hazards magazine and has received numerous awards from the National Safety Council.
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CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

B&W Pantex was honored last week with a pair of awards for its exemplary safety record.

The President’s Award for Best Performing Business Unit and the Target Zero Award were presented on behalf of Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services Group (B&W TSG) President George Dudich.

“I am happy to honor the thousands of men and women who do the critical work at Pantex with such a high commitment to safety,” Dudich said.

The President’s Award is presented to the large site that demonstrates “Best in Class” safety performance, while the Target Zero Award goes to sites that complete the year without a lost time injury.

“The key to the outstanding safety performance at Pantex is employee involvement. Pantex employees lead numerous safety committees and initiatives,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery.

During 2012, Pantexans worked more than seven million man hours without a lost time injury and continue to lead the nuclear security enterprise in several measures of safety.

Earlier this year, Pantex was also honored with the Department of Energy’s Voluntary Protection Program’s Star of Excellence.

CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560

B&W Pantex was honored for its charitable giving last week during National Philanthropy Day ceremonies in Amarillo.

On behalf of the company, B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery received the Outstanding Business/Corporation Award from the Texas Plains Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The award pointed out the generous support of Pantexans for the Coffee Memorial Blood Center, which held a total of 24 blood drives at the plant and collected more than 750 units of blood last year. Pantex was also singled out for support of the United Way of Amarillo and Canyon, High Plains Food Bank, Family Support Services, the Discovery Center, Big Brothers Big Sisters and several other agencies.

​A new American Quarter Horse sculpture is now on display at Pantex outside Building 16-12, a first stop for visitors. The horse is a unifying symbol within the community, and horses with various designs are on display across Amarillo at banks, restaurants, civic organizations, hospitals, factories, schools and retail stores.

The Plant's 125-pound fiberglass American Quarter Horse sculpture was painted by artist Gary Ward and features a rendering of the American flag, an eagle, and wind turbines. It was purchased from Amarillo Center City as part of its Hoof Prints project, which began in 2002 to provide eye-catching landmarks. Proceeds benefit Center City, an organization that works to enhance downtown Amarillo.

Five Pantex volunteers recently partnered with Girl Scouts to put on a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) workshop for elementary-aged girls and assisted the Girl Scouts with their STEM-based activities.

Savannah Gates, a Pantex volunteer, said she jumped at the opportunity to volunteer with the Girl Scouts in hopes of being one of the rippling sources for the younger generation of girls.

"It felt so right being surrounded by the women working effortlessly to shape, guide and enable the next generation of young women in to the strong female figures of tomorrow." she said.

Kathi Schutz, Amarillo Area Director for the Girl Scouts, said she was grateful that the women engineers came on the day the Girl Scouts were focused on engineering.

"They made the activities for the girls special just with their insight and passion for their profession." said Schutz. "This group of women spent one afternoon with girls and just by being your professional role models, influenced so many girls in a profound way."

Wind farm will fuel plant, foster research

Author Laura Ingalls Wilder said, “If enough people think of a thing and work hard enough at it, I guess it’s pretty nearly bound to happen, wind and weather permitting.” Soon, hard work, dedication and determination to do the right thing will make harnessing the Texas wind for energy a reality at Pantex.

For three years, the Pantex Site Office, now part of the NNSA Production Office, scaled such hurdles as funding, contracting strategy and Federal Aviation Administration approval to build a wind farm at the Plant, which is in a Class 4 wind zone. Explained Johnnie Guelker, assistant manager for Environmental and Site Engineering Programs, “I went into this project with at least five alternate plans to get this done. We are executing Plan E, and it will happen now.”

The Pantex wind farm, a first in the NNSA enterprise, will consist of five two- to three-megawatt turbines on 1,500 acres of government-owned property east of the Plant. A request for proposals is expected to be released this summer. The winning private energy company will enter into a 25-year contract with the NNSA and make an initial investment of $25 million.

The farm will generate approximately 10 to 15 megawatts of energy daily, though fueling Pantex requires only seven megawatts. The excess energy will be sent to the power grid for local provider, Excel Energy. Pantex will benefit from its sale, but at a reduced rate from what the Plant might spend to purchase the energy, according to Guelker.

Energy savings from the wind farm is estimated at $2.5 million annually, and the project will enable Pantex to meet the President’s energy initiatives for green energy. In fact, according to Guelker, the wind farm at Pantex will allow NNSA to meet almost all of its renewable energy goals. The wind farm also offers unique research opportunities to longtime partner in education, Texas Tech University.

“The wind farm that will be constructed at the NNSA Pantex facility will be built on public lands. As such, Texas Tech University and its research collaborators will have unprecedented access to a working, commercial-scale wind farm to study the turbine-to-turbine wake interactions across the full farm array. This working utility-scale wind farm will be the first such research facility in the nation,” said Jodey Arrington, vice chancellor for Research, Commercialization and Federal Relations at Texas Tech.

The Pantex wind farm is just the latest environmentally beneficial use of Plant land. Other uses include wildlife habitat and research, agricultural uses of non-industrial land such as crop activities and cattle grazing and archeological resource protection.

“Something worth having is worth all the effort it takes to get it done,” said Guelker. “This is the right thing for Pantex and it has substantial cost benefits. Bottom line, it is not easy to do but one must be persistent.”

The wind turbines, each 426 feet high, are expected to be constructed starting in the fall of 2012 and the farm operational in late spring or early summer of 2013.

Applications for the Pantex Christmas Project are now available from counselors at Amarillo and Canyon public schools, the Amarillo Public Library or by calling 477-5533 and requesting an
application by mail. This year, the applications will also be available at www.pantex.com. Applications are available in English and Spanish and must be postmarked by October 19, 2012. Families in Amarillo and the surrounding area are eligible to apply.​

Pantex employees have been supporting the Pantex Christmas Project for more than 55 years.
The Project will serve approximately 150 children and a number of elderly individuals. Selected
families receive food, and each child will receive clothing and toys. Notices will be sent to
families informing them if their application has been accepted. Families will be assisted one time
only and are asked to not submit an application if they have received assistance from the Project
in the past.​

Please help us call attention to this important opportunity for families that may need assistance
this Christmas.

B&W Pantex manages and operates the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. B&W Pantex is also the proud recipient of the DOE’s Voluntary Protection Program STAR status for safety excellence. The company was also named one of America’s safest companies by Occupational Hazards magazine and has received numerous awards from the National Safety Council.

CONTACT
Greg Cunningham
Public Affairs
Office (806) 477-5140
Pager (806) 345-1560