Contractors change, accidents keep happening

While the below happened on LANS watch, it is nothing new for LANL. Go back and review the UC record at LANL and you will discover that rigging and hoisting was a persistent problem then as well. 

'Of all the FUBARS that Charlie reviewed he forgot to mention the $10M package that was recently dropped and destroyed when inadequate lifts were used and the package toppled to ground.

The PADNW confirmed this yesterday, it was an HVAC system. Stated they used 2 straps instead of the required 4. Fortunately, no one was standing under it. Another $10M down the LANS drain.'

Another Fire at LANL but Not a Fire Just Flames

On Wednesday, May 31, two post-doctoral researchers at the TA-48 Radiochemistry facility observed flames from the depleted uranium metal turnings that they were cleaning with nitric acid in a fume hood. The researchers choose not to fight the fire, closed the hood sash, pulled the fire alarm, and contacted 911. The Los Alamos County Fire Department, LANL emergency management, and the LANL hazardous materials team responded. No radioactive contamination, injuries, or damage beyond the containment tray in the fume hood occurred. Facility, program, and emergency response personnel held a fact-finding on Thursday to discuss the response. Of relevance to the broader emergency management program at the laboratory, several individuals indicated that they did not receive a mass notification message to stay clear of TA-48 because the notification is based on office location and some TA-48 users have their offices in other locations. No corrective action was assigned for this point. Facility personnel discussed challenges using their accountability process during the lunch hour and proposed to review the process and conduct a future accountability drill. Management also concluded that the fire did not meet Department of Energy reporting criteria for a fire and instead reported the event as a management concern.

Employee opinion

Is Charlie still planning to go ahead with the Gallup poll of employee opinions? What a waste of money after the Kiwi did his feel good cheer for LANS, and then was arrested a few months later for being a sex offender.

More on how Moniz viewed the safety culture at LANL

In that episode the final Accident Investigation Board report said supervisors had “fostered a culture where employees do not feel comfortable raising safety issues to management.” Ernest Moniz, secretary of Energy from May 2013 to January 2017, said shortly before leaving that the day the drum exploded at WIPP was by far the worst day of his tenure. Los Alamos, he said in a subsequent interview with CPI, had “inadequate quality control in how they were packaging the wastes. There is no sugarcoating that.”

Moniz also said that during his tenure, there was “a clear pattern” in which the nuclear weapons laboratories were annually ranked more poorly by his department on their “operations” than on their other tasks, with Los Alamos “in particular…the lowest.” He said he had “no doubt they have had some management problems.”

https://apps.publicintegrity.org/nuclear-negligence/inhaled-uranium/

APS summary of some of the recent LANL screwups and new contract coming

Phys.Org 2017-06 Multibillion dollar los-alamos lab

Improper LANL shipment involved Plutonium

Improper LANL shipment involved Plutonium

http://www.exchangemonitor.com/publication/morning-briefing/erroneous-lanl-shipment-involved-plutonium/

And so it begins.

The Los Alamos Daily Post has obtained a copy of an email issued this afternoon by the director of NNSA's Office of Governmental Affairs. The email states that DOE/NNSA will issue a public notice Tuesday alerting potential offerors of its intent to conduct a competition for the management and operating (M&O) follow-on contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
The public notice will be available on various websites for which links will go live by close of business Tuesday.

http://www.ladailypost.com/content/nnsa-issue-public-notice-intent-compete-management-and-operating-contract-lanl

Another rumor is it stays as a for profit LLC. Bidders are Honeywell with U of Texas, UC with Batelle, Lockheed with ?