News

Plant honored with Star of Excellence Award for outstanding safety record

B&W Pantex has once again been honored by the Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program (DOE VPP) for its exemplary safety record.

The DOE awarded B&W Pantex the VPP Star of Excellence for its safety performance during 2011, singling out the plant as one of the top performers in safety within the DOE. This is the third year Pantex has been honored by the VPP.

“We know the honor truly belongs to the nearly 3,300 Pantex employees, their hard work and excellent safety performance led to the Star of Excellence Award,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery.

A team of Pantex employees began the push for VPP recognition in 2008, forming a committee to develop the application, which was submitted in October 2009. That effort paid off in March 2010 when Pantex earned DOE VPP Star Status. The safety performance at Pantex led to the Superior Star Award in 2011 and the Star of Excellence Award this month.

Employee involvement is a hallmark of the safety culture at Pantex, which is led by employees who volunteer on numerous safety committees and initiatives.

“The key to Pantex’s success in safety has been active employee involvement at every level, promoted by the strong leadership of our employee-led safety teams,” said Jim Stevens, Manager of the Environment, Safety, Health and Quality Division at B&W Pantex. “Safety has to become a daily standard that is factored into everything you do.”

The DOE VPP Star of Excellence Award is granted to a site that maintains a Total Recordable Case rate 75 percent lower than the industry average. Pantexans have also shown their dedication to safety by working more than 6.7 million hours without a lost time injury.

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
gcunning@pantex.com

Plant recognized for stockpile stewardship work

More than 200 individuals on eight teams received recognition Thursday for their work at Pantex supporting the stewardship of America’s nuclear stockpile.

Deborah Monette, deputy assistant deputy administrator for National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Stockpile Management, and Joseph Oder, director of the NNSA’s Office of Nuclear Weapons Stockpile, were at Pantex Thursday to hand out the Defense Programs (DP) Awards of Excellence to members of the eight teams who distinguished themselves in areas ranging from weapon dismantlement to upgrading lightning protection at the plant.

The DP Awards were established by NNSA to recognize on an annual basis the contributions of work performed in support of the Stockpile Stewardship Program. The awards are given for significant achievements in quality, productivity, cost savings, safety or creativity in support of the nuclear weapons program.

Pantex was recognized in the following areas:

1. The Weapons Dismantlement and Disposition program exceeded planned dismantlements in several areas, including the completion of the B53 nuclear bomb a year ahead of schedule.
2. The Critical Facilities Lightning Protection Upgrade Project added enhanced protection to buildings that allowed operations to continue during periods of lightning.
3. Completion of the H1700 Container Project allowed shipment of a specific weapon component to the Department of Defense.
4. Dr. Kevin Morris developed novel procedures for high explosives analysis utilizing state of-the-art instrumentation known as Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography, resulting in significant cost savings to the NNSA while greatly reducing solvent consumption and waste.
5. The W76 Life Extension Program (LEP) Assembly Team allowed Pantex to exceed production goals on the W76 LEP.
6. The B53 Dismantlement Team overcame numerous obstacles and challenges to complete the final dismantlement of the oldest and largest weapon that was currently in the U.S. stockpile.
7. A team was recognized for establishing air conditioning capability to allow an important building at Pantex to continue to function, keeping critical projects on schedule with minimal modifications to the facility.
8. The Sanitization and Disposition of Weapons Components Team received an award for its work to reduce legacy and scrap weapons components stored at Pantex to allow for ongoing future dismantlements.

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

Plant established to help win World War II

The Pantex Ordnance Plant began operations 70 years ago this week, turning out conventional bombs that helped end World War II and secure the world for peace. In the intervening seven decades, the plant’s mission evolved greatly, but one thing remained the same: the pride Pantexans feel at fulfilling their critical role in helping to secure America.

As part of the 70th anniversary celebration this week, Pantex will be honoring the thousands of current and former Pantexans, as well as the communities of the Texas Panhandle that have supported the plant.

On Thursday, all plant employees will mark the event with cake and a commemorative gift. That event will be followed up by a reception at the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce to thank community leaders who have supported Pantex over the years.

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

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 online. Applications are available in English and Spanish and must be postmarked by October 12, 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

Memorial featuring WTC steel dedicated Tuesday

Pantex dedicated a memorial containing a steel beam from the World Trade Center Tuesday to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The 42-inch piece of steel, recovered from the rubble in New York and donated to the Pantex Fire Department, is the centerpiece of the memorial, which is dedicated to all who lost their lives in the attacks 11 years ago. Pantex officials, emergency personnel and veterans from across Pantex assembled for a ceremony to dedicate the monument.

“9/11 has become a day of special commemoration across our nation,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery, speaking at the dedication. “Taking the time to remember the tragic events, and the loss of life, has been woven into the fabric of our lives; and we should never forget that day.”

The 1,600-pound monument is located outside the Pantex Fire Department. It features an engraved slab of marble honoring those who died, flanked by two white quartz towers to represent the World Trade Center towers. The monument is topped with the steel beam.

The ceremony featured the Pantex Fire Department presenting the colors and lowering them to half-staff, the singing of America the Beautiful, unveiling of the monument and final placement of the steel beam.

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

DOE honors plant for “greening” firing range

The Department of Energy (DOE) this week honored Pantex with a Sustainability Award for an initiative to make its firing range more earth friendly. This is the second year in a row the plant has received the award.

DOE created the Sustainability Awards in 2011 to recognize sites that work to save taxpayer money by improving energy, water and fleet efficiency, as well as reducing pollution and waste across the department’s facilities. This year, DOE singled out Pantex for a program that reduced potential lead contamination at the plant’s firing range, where Security Police Officers (SPO) fire thousands of rounds a year training to secure the nuclear weapons facility.

“Pantex is firmly committed to protecting the environment in everything we do. It is an honor to be recognized by DOE for that commitment,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery.

The indoor firing range was annually generating approximately 2,400 pounds of lead-contaminated waste through the use of lead bullets. Although much of the lead was recycled, about 1,100 pound of lead contaminated filters and sludge were not recyclable and had to be disposed of as hazardous waste. Additionally, lead dust released when the bullets struck targets created an airborne hazard for the SPOs.

To correct the issue, Pantex switched to a new bullet trap, abated lead in the range building and changed over to non-lead ammunition. The indoor rounds, which are generally made from compressed copper or zinc, are frangible, meaning they break into pieces upon impact and don’t create an airborne dust hazard like a conventional lead bullet.

The amount of lead waste generated by the indoor range was dwarfed by the lead generated at the outdoor ranges. Outdoor ranges at Pantex are backed by earthen berms that are covered by a layer of dolomite, a mineral that is used to trap bullets that pass through targets and strike the berms. When the dolomite layer becomes packed with lead over many years of use, it creates a ricochet hazard and must be replaced.

Normally, the nearly 1,500 tons of lead-saturated dolomite would have been sent to a hazardous waste landfill, but the team decided it would be much more environmentally sound if only the lead was sent to the landfill. The team found a contractor that could sift out the lead from the dolomite, and the recovered dolomite was reused to cover the berms.

As a result, only 24 tons of lead contaminated waste was generated and disposed, and 1,440 tons of dolomite was diverted from the landfill and beneficially reused. Although the environmental aspect of the project was the main attraction, the recycling effort also saved money, reducing the shipping and disposal costs by more than $400,000.

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

Installation of meters will help to reduce energy consumption

The Pantex Plant took a significant step toward energy modernization this week with the installation of metering technology at the site’s steam plant.

Workers installed the electric and gas meters on the steam plant’s utilities to provide detailed data on energy usage, which will then provide the information needed to reduce energy intensity. The metering project is an important part of the plant’s effort to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.

Pantex has been aggressively executing the metering plan along with dozens of other energy and environmental initiatives, establishing itself as a leader within the Nuclear Security Enterprise.

“Taking care of the environment is an absolute priority for us at Pantex, and reducing energy usage is an important part of that effort,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery.

The steam plant metering project is only one step in the plant’s overall metering effort. The original plan called for installing the meters on 24 buildings, but additional funds were secured to add meters in 13 more buildings, which will help Pantex comply with all of the metering requirements outlined in the federal directives.

The project will place “smart meters” in the facilities to measure natural gas and electric usage. The meters will provide detailed, real-time monitoring of energy usage.

Real-time monitoring is crucial because it will help identify areas where energy is potentially being wasted. For example, a spike in energy usage at a building might indicate a leak or malfunction, while high energy usage overnight might point to a facility that is not being fully shut down at the end of a shift.

“Installing meters on one building might not seem significant, but metering is a key first step to energy reduction, and the steam plant uses over 50 percent of the energy consumed on the site,” said Julie Chavarria, Pantex Energy Manager. “Acquiring this data will essentially provide us the road map of where we need to go as we move toward reducing our overall energy usage.”

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

Effects of wind turbines studied by Pantex, WT, Texas Tech

B&W Pantex is partnering with West Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University to conduct a groundbreaking study on the impact of wind farms on birds of prey in the Texas Panhandle.

The program uses radio transmitters and satellite receivers to track the movements of Swainson’s Hawks. The recovered data will be compared to information gathered after the completion of the Pantex Renewable Energy Project (PREP) this fall to determine if the wind turbines affect the hawks, their environment and their home ranges.

“This study is a unique opportunity for Pantex to partner with two great schools – WT and Texas Tech – to examine an important subject for this area; the impact of wind energy on the environment,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery. “We are committed to being good stewards of the environment, and this study aligns nicely with that commitment.” The study began last summer when Jim Ray, Pantex wildlife biologist, teamed up with researchers from WT and Texas Tech University to capture Swainson’s Hawks, then fit them with tracking devices to determine their normal ranges. Swainson’s Hawks are the most common birds of prey that nest in rural areas of the Texas Panhandle. Their large population in an area with growing numbers of wind farms mean they will serve as a strong indicator of the effect that wind turbines are having on birds in the environment.

Ray has teamed up with Dr. Ray Matlack and WT graduate student Jimmy Walker, a master falconer, to trap the hawks using two primary methods. In one, a trap is dropped near a hunting hawk, which swoops in and gets caught in the trap. The researchers also use a trained Great Horned Owl surrounded by nets to attract the hawks, which swoop in to defend their nests from the owl, a natural predator. In both cases, the birds are captured, hooded, examined and outfitted with transmitters, then released. The researchers also search out nests, having located more than a dozen on Pantex property and nearby lands, to track the number of offspring from the nesting hawks.

By tracking the movement of the hawks and their overall health, the researchers will determine if installation of the new wind turbines degrade the quality of the birds’ home ranges. If a hawk increases its range or moves into lower quality habitat, it would tend to indicate the wind turbines have had an impact.

Pantex is in a unique position to support the research. Much of the 18,000 acres of land on the plant remains in its natural state as short grass prairie, which is prime habitat for the hawks. With the support of the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration, the researchers will have access to the area surrounding the five wind turbines of the PREP project that is often difficult to secure on private wind farms. Finally, the project matches well with the commitment at Pantex to protect the environment and team with other institutions, such as WT, to help facilitate important research in the Texas Panhandle.

“This really is a unique opportunity to get a before and after picture of how wind turbines affect these important animals,” said Jim Ray, Pantex wildlife biologist. “We are hopeful that the results will greatly increase our understanding of the impact of wind energy.”

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

​B&W Pantex is celebrating a significant safety milestone this month, surpassing five million man hours worked without a lost time injury. Pantex leadership will be holding a plant-wide barbecue lunch Tuesday to celebrate the achievement.

“Safety is integrated into every action we take at Pantex,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery. “This achievement validates what we know about Pantexans – that they are dedicated to performing their duties in a safe, secure and high-quality environment.”

The safety culture that has been developed at Pantex starts at the worker level, where every employee is empowered to stop work immediately if they spot a safety issue. Safety considerations are integrated into all procedures and are propagated throughout the plant through a variety of employee-driven safety committees and organizations on which Pantexans volunteer to serve.

Over 100 members of the safety committees have volunteered to serve lunch to all employees on the plant site Tuesday at multiple locations. Additional meals will be delivered to other shifts in the following days to ensure that every Pantexan has an opportunity to eat a hot meal in recognition of their dedication to working safely.

The Pantex safety program has been recognized with numerous awards, most notably Superior Star Status in the Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program.

“The awards and milestones are significant, but the real reward for our safety effort comes when our employees go home every day just as healthy as they were when they arrived,” said Bill Mairson, manager of the Environment, Safety and Health Division.

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

Pantex honored by VFW for hiring vets

B&W Pantex has been named the 2012 Employer of the Year by the Texas Veterans of Foreign Wars for its exemplary efforts to hire and support veterans. Pantex representatives were presented the award Thursday at the VFW state convention in Addison.

“B&W Pantex is strongly committed to supporting the brave men and women who have fought to protect our freedom,” said B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery. “Because of the work we do to help secure America, Pantexans have always felt a connection those who have served in our military.”

Marshall Green, a Texas Veterans Commission representative who nominated the company for the award in the large business category, said B&W Pantex not only hires large numbers of vets, but is actively involved in programs that help and honor those who have served. Programs include sponsorship of veteran job fairs, Armed Forces and Veterans Day celebrations and establishing internal programs that make it easier for those who have served to join the workforce at Pantex.

“Pantex has always been a big, big supporter of our efforts to help veterans find work, and we greatly appreciate it,” Green said. “Pantex is always willing to go above and beyond for veterans.”

Of the approximately 3,400 people who work at Pantex, nearly 900, or 26 percent, are veterans. That number shows that B&W Pantex not only supports veterans, but recognizes what veterans can do for a company, said John D. McKinny, Texas VFW state employment chairman.

“Hiring veterans is not just good for the country, it’s good for business,” McKinny said. “I think our veterans make very good employees, and it’s good to see companies like Pantex that recognize their worth.”

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