Gone Fission Nuclear Report

In our last episode, the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast examined the Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee’s decision to close in two years. This week, Department of Energy officials at Headquarters and two sites discuss the continuing need for CROs and the importance of community support in the success of DOE’s cleanup mission.  Hear our interview with Kristen Ellis, DOE-EM Headquarters, Yvette Cantrell, DOE-Portsmouth/Paducah, and Paradio Maith, DOE-Savannah River Site.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) recently announced its plans to close after three decades of successfully representing the Oak Ridge community with the Department of Energy. Why now? And what does this decision mean for the CROs that continue to operate in other DOE communities? Learn the answers in this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast featuring interviews with David Bradshaw of CROET and Seth Kirshenberg, Energy Communities Alliance.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

If you want job security and the feeling of doing something meaningful, the Department of Energy’s Environmental Management program is the place to be. That was the message of top government and industry leaders—and young professionals themselves—at the 2023 National Cleanup Workshop in Washington, DC. EM Senior Advisor Ike White says about half the federal EM workforce is eligible to retire now. And UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter describes a novel program called Rising Senior Leaders that is preparing young professionals for executive positions. It’s all featured in this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report. #environment #workforce #podcast

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

Cleanup is essential. Budgets are tight. Partnership is imperative. That was the message delivered by two members of Congress at the National Cleanup Workshop in Washington, DC, last week. Hear Congressmen Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) and Dan Newhouse (R-WA) assess the current status of the Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program in this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

This week's episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast features an in-depth interview with Stuart MacVean, recently retired President and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, DOE's lead environmental cleanup contractor at the Savannah River Site. MacVean looks back on his four decades in the nuclear industry and discusses the challenges that remain in the DOE environmental cleanup program and his plans for the future.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast celebrates the American worker on Labor Day 2023. Our skilled crafts work daily in hazardous environments and all kinds of weather to carry out the EM cleanup mission. Sean McGarvey, president and CEO of North America’s Building Trades Unions, joins us on this week’s episode to thank these workers for all they do.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Department of Energy's Environmental Management office spends a lot of time remediating the problems of the past. But that doesn't mean they don't have an eye on the future. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in EM's current push to electrify it's gasoline-powered vehicle fleet.

 In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, Rob Seifert, DOE EM Headquarters, and Stuart MacVean, President and CEO of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, discuss the status of progress in meeting federal mandates to electrify the fleet. 

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

Environmental cleanup at Department of Energy sites is a family affair. Each day, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, uncles and nephews show up together to perform the hazardous tasks and myriad support services necessary to carry out one of the world’s largest environmental cleanup missions. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report podcast, we introduce you to some of these families and learn what it’s like to work together in this challenging setting. 

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

A controversial figure to this day, J. Robert Oppenheimer led the development and construction of the world's first atomic bomb. After World War II, his past communist leanings came to a head when his government security clearance was revoked after several contentious hearings at the height of the "Red Scare". In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, we look ahead to Friday’s premiere of “Oppenheimer” in theaters. Our  guest is Dr. Thom Mason,  Oppenheimer’s modern-day successor as Director of Los Alamos National  Laboratory in New Mexico. Dr. Mason joined former lab directors in successfully advocating last year that the 1954 revocation of Dr. Oppenheimer’s security clearance be nullified.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.

The Department of Energy’s environmental cleanup program is complex, expensive and long-term. It requires federal oversight, experienced contractor management, a skilled workforce, continual funding from Congress, negotiations with regulators, buy-in and support from communities and stakeholders, and lots of careful planing. That planning is conveyed in DOE Environmental Management’s Strategic Vision. In this week’s episode of the Gone Fission Nuclear Report, we examine the latest EM Strategic Vision and talk with two Headquarters officials about the cleanup priorities and challenges that lie ahead. See this insightful interview with Erik Olds, EM Communications Director, and Lee Tucker, EM External Relations.

Visit the Gone Fission Nuclear Report channel on youtube.com for a videocast of  episodes since November 7, 2022.