131 LA UR 03 5862 - National Nuclear Security Administration ...

2.10.4 Cerro Grande Fire Effects at High Explosives TestingImmediate EffectsAbout 3,040 acres of land within the High Explosives Testing Key Facility burned during the Cerro GrandeFire. Areas most affected were TAs 14, 15, and 40 and, to a lesser extent, TAs 06, 09, 22, and 36. Fire damagewas in excess of $16 million.Fire Effects on High Explosives Testing: Firing site operations were abruptly halted, and High ExplosivesTesting operations were shut down for approximately four months. Restart proceeded cautiously to ensuresafety and security of personnel, the public, the environment, and facilities. Safety and security requirementsnecessitated that operations be restarted using a graded and methodical approach. Because high explosivesfiring operations may only be conducted when the airspace is closed, restart of high explosives firingoperations was delayed because remediation efforts included aerial reseeding of burned areas.From the end of May 2000 through August 2001, facility operations personnel were involved in facilityrecovery activities (reopening more than 400 buildings and restarting operations within them). These effortsincluded reestablishing security and safety control of firing site perimeters and other outside work areas, walkdownsof all operations, reauthorization of hazardous operations, and daily escorting of many environmentalspecialists into the area. No worker injuries were reported during the fire recovery period.The Cerro Grande Fire directly affected DARHT by costing $6.1 million for delays and additional workassociated with work stoppage and then recovery. A fraction of the total amount, about $177,000, wasattributed to burned and destroyed DARHT equipment, materials, and storage structures.Fire Effects on High Explosives Processing: The Cerro Grande Fire halted high explosives processing bythe High Explosives Testing Key Facility for approximately two months; one month while the Laboratorywas closed and one additional month to reopen facilities and restart operations. Before the fire, detonatorproduction was ahead of schedule and production commitments were being met. Because of the fire, work onone production line was transferred to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to meet testing schedules.Continuing EffectsThe Cerro Grande Fire has had a long-term effect on the high explosives testing operations. Managementhas limited high explosives testing at TA-40 to tests that are contained because of adjacent steep canyon wallsand excess forest fuels. This self-imposed restriction has created a hardship because these firing sites are nolonger available for smaller experiments requiring open-air tests. The restriction remained in place throughout2002 and still remains in place.Replacement structures for burned buildings were designed and construction began on two warehouses,a carpenter shop, an X-ray calibration facility, a camera room addition to a firing site, and a high explosivepreparation building. Buildings that were transferred to decommissioning and decontamination went throughbid document preparation, site visits, and contractor bidding process. Contracts will be awarded and workperformed in 2003. Burned trees were removed and remaining forest thinned to reduce the wildland firepotential and make the forest viable and self-sustaining. Trees that were not eligible for firewood use or saleto a sawmill were burned in an air curtain destructor.SWEIS Yearbook—2002 2-111