News Briefs: April 10, 2009
Project management award for Samuelson, NIF
The National Nuclear Security Administration's management of the National Ignition Facility has received an award for project management excellence by the Department of Energy this year.
The award for NIF is one of three project management awards received by NNSA from DOE. Scott Samuelson, the NNSA NIF project director, received the Federal Project Director of the Year Award. Other projects include the Microsystems and Engineering Sciences Applications (MESA) project at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque, and a building project at the Nevada Test Site.
"I am extremely proud of what our teams accomplish every day and these three projects definitely stand out as prime examples of project management excellence," NNSA Administrator Thomas D'Agostino said. "As we move the nuclear security enterprise into the 21st century, Congress and the public need to know that NNSA is spending taxpayer dollars wisely and meeting its national security mission. One of my priorities as administrator is to promote project management best practices throughout NNSA."
Officers and firefighters attend memorial
In solidarity with the law enforcement community, 11 members of the Protective Force Division and two Alameda County fire fighters stationed at LLNL represented the Laboratory at the memorial service March 27 for the four Oakland police officers killed in the line of duty.
Two sergeants and nine officers from the Protective Force Division (PFD) attended the ceremony at the Oakland Coliseum. More than 20,000 people, including representatives of law enforcement agencies across the country, attended an emotional memorial ceremony for the four Oakland police officers slain March 21 while pursuing a wanted parolee in east Oakland. The fallen officers were Sgt. Mark Dunakin, SWAT Sgt. Ervin Romans, Sgt. Daniel Sakai and Traffic Officer John Hege.
"We were deeply affected by the loss of four dedicated fellow officers. At such times it's important for us to show solidarity with the law enforcement community of which we are proud members," said Chuck Johnson, head of the PFD. "It also is appropriate for us, as a national security laboratory, to demonstrate our commitment to the rule of law and the security of the communities in which we live and work."
IFSA conference abstract deadline April 15
The sixth Inertial Fusion Sciences and Applications (IFSA) international conference will take place Sept. 6-11 in San Francisco.
The goal of IFSA 2009 is to bring together scientists in the fields of inertial fusion sciences, high energy density physics and related applications. Submitted papers will be peer reviewed, and the proceedings of the conference will be published.
The IFSA 2009 abstract submission deadline closes April 15. To submit an abstract go to the IFSA 2009 Website and select abstract submission and then abstract instructions. Both abstract submission and conference registration can be completed prior to the conference registration payment.
The IFSA conference takes place every other year with the United States as the host only once every six years. This year LLNL is one of the hosts. NIF Director Ed Moses is one of three international chairs. Physics and Advanced Sciences Associate Director Bill Goldstein is one of three organizing chairs and Bruce Hammel of NIF is one of three technical program chairs. The LLNL organizing committee includes Goldstein, Janet Brown of NIF, Don Correll of PLS and Dustin Riggs of NIF.
Take note of the following important deadlines:
- April 15: deadline for abstract submission
- July 1: deadline for the reduced conference registration fee of $600
- July 17: deadline for the reduced hotel rate of $193.50/night
For more information, go to the IFSA 2009 Website.
DOE reviews Lab beryllium prevention program
A team from the Department of Energy's Office of Health, Safety and Security — Office of Enforcement was at the Laboratory for the last two weeks to investigate the LLNL Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program's (CBDPP) compliance with the DOE Beryllium Rule.
The team reviewed documents, visited facilities and interviewed individuals associated with the Lab's program for protecting workers from exposure to beryllium. Now that the on-site portion of the investigation is complete, the team will prepare a report detailing its observations and any violations noted.
Over the past months, the Lab and the National Nuclear Security Administration's (NNSA's) Livermore Site Office (LSO) have conducted their own assessments of the CBDPP and have identified opportunities for further strengthening the program. The Laboratory recently completed a comprehensive corrective action plan for the program that has been reviewed and approved by NNSA LSO. Some elements of the plan already have been implemented, while others are in the works.
Plan elements include: strengthening work control in the area of beryllium safety; ensuring that lessons learned and feedback from operating experience are incorporated into the CBDPP; broadening the LLNL beryllium legacy inventory by gathering and analyzing historical information regarding beryllium use in Lab facilities and employing alternative sampling techniques; and studying the population of Lab employees working with beryllium to better understand their pathways to exposure and sensitization.
"There is nothing more important than the safety of our workers," Deputy Director Steve Liedle said. "These reviews provide insight into ways we can improve our controls associated with beryllium exposure, and those improvements are being made."
