Inside NIRMA Fall 2019 FINAL

Inside

Leading the way in Nuclear Information and Records Management

magazine

Visit us at: NIRMA.org

The End of an Era;

The Last Operating Unit at

Three Mile Island Generating Station

Removed from Service

Quality Control, the Auditing Process, for your

Conversion Project, ST Imaging/nextScan

Chronicles of NIM: A Retrospective on

Information Management in Nuclear Power,

Kismet Consulting

Update on Digitization of Old Microfilm

Documents, NRC

Issue # 06, Fall 2019

Contents

Cover Stories

4

7

9

10

The End of an Era; The Last Operating Unit at Three Mile

Island Generating Station Removed from Service

Quality Control, the Auditing Process, for your Conversion

Project

By Matt Anderson, Vice President of Marketing, nextScan

Update on Digitization of Old Microfilm Documents

By Margie Janney, CRM/NS/FED, NRC

Chronicles of NIM: A Retrospective on Information

Management in Nuclear Power

By Eugene Yang, Kismet Consulting

Other Features

12

13

To CRM or Not to CRM?

That Could Be, Should Be

Your Question!

By Bruce Walters, CRM/NS

2019 NIRMA Conference Pictorial

Cover Photo: Exelon's Three Mile Island

Generating Station in Londonderry Twp.,

PA. Reprinted with permission from

Exelon Nuclear Corporation.

2 Fall 2019 NIRMA.org Inside NIRMA

Scenes from the 2019

NIRMA Conference

CONTENTS

in every issue

Editors

Neal and Sandra Miller

DevereauxInc@outlook.com

Advertising

Neal.F.Miller@gmail.com

NIRMA Headquarters

Sarah Perkins

NIRMA Administrator

245 Sunnyridge Ave., #41

Fairfield, CT 06824

nirma@nirma.org

TREASURER REPORT—5

FROM YOUR PRESIDENT—24

VICE PRESIDENT REPORT—25

M&MBU NEWS—26

PDBU NEWS—27

RIMBU NEWS—28

INDUSTRY NEWS—29

Inside NIRMA NIRMA.org Fall 2019 3

Three Mile Island Generating Station Unit 1

Retires from Service After 45 Years

Employees and community members

celebrate its legacy of safe and reliable service

F

or the past 45 years, Three

Mile Island Generating

Station Unit 1 has been

safely and reliably powering

more than 830,000 homes and

businesses with carbon-free energy.

That legacy ended at noon,

September 20, 2019 when operators

took the TMI Unit 1 reactor offline

for the final time, setting a site

record of running 709 continuous

days, beating the station’s previous

record of 705 days set in 2009.

The world-class commercial

nuclear power facility now enters a

new chapter. Over the next few

weeks, workers will remove the

reactor’s fuel supply and store it

safely in the station’s used fuel pool.

After that, workers will begin

preparing the station for long-term

decommissioning.

Final shutdown for Three Mile Island Unit 1 (Image: Exelon)

“Today we celebrate the proud

legacy of TMI Unit 1 and the

thousands of employees who

shared our commitment to safety,

Three Mile Island Generating Station (Image: Exelon)

operational excellence and

environmental stewardship for

nearly five decades,” said Bryan

Hanson, senior vice president and

chief nuclear officer. “At a time

when our communities are

demanding more clean energy to

address climate change, it’s

regrettable that state law does not

support the continued operation of

this safe and reliable source of

carbon-free power. It’s critical that

we continue to pursue policy

reform to prevent other carbonfree

nuclear resources from being

pushed out of the market by rules

that fail to evenly value clean

energy resources and at the same

time allow emitting resources to

pollute for free.”


Three Mile Island Unit 1 began

commercial operation in

September 1974. Since Exelon

Generation purchased TMI Unit

1 in 2000, the plant has offset

more than 95 million metric tons

of carbon, the equivalent of

keeping nearly 20 million cars off

the road.

Along the way, it’s estimated

that the station and its employees

contributed more than $3.5 billion

into the local economy, including

wages, taxes, charitable

contributions and local

purchasing. The station has been

such a landmark in the

Londonderry Township, PA

community that a portrait of the

plant is memorialized on public

safety vehicles.

“We salute Three Mile Island

and its employees for the service

and partnership they have

provided to Londonderry

Township and the surrounding

communities for 45 years,” said

Londonderry Township Manager,

Steve Letavic. “This is a tough day

for many. However, we look

forward to maintaining a strong

relationship with those at the

facility as it enters into

decommissioning.”

About 300 of Three Mile Island

Unit 1’s employees will be staying

for the first phase of

decommissioning. Other

NIRMA Board and Staff:

employees are taking on different

roles within Exelon companies,

and still others have elected to

retire or move on to other

opportunities outside the

company.

Thank you for hosting another

excellent NIRMA conference! The

conference was well-run, organized,

and provided information that will help

me be more effective at work. I really

enjoyed the keynote speakers and the

technical sessions, and I was pleased

to see that our leadership was already

planning next year's conference

during the PDBU meeting. The entire

NIRMA team delivered!

Sincerely,

Gil

Gil Brueckner, CRM/NS

Lead Engineer - Configuration Management

GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy

NIRMA’s Financial Holdings

As of: September 23, 2019

Anita S. Beren

NIRMA Treasurer

Checking Account $ 46,051.15

Investment Account $ 124,623.35

Debit Account $ 102.04


Quality Control, the

Auditing Process, for

your Conversion

Project

By Matt Anderson,

Vice President of Marketing, nextScan

T

he ability to scan quickly is

a key feature of any

conversion project, but only

if you can scan accurately

and ensure that every document has

been captured digitally. Making sure

that your conversion project has a

stage dedicated to Quality Control or

Auditing is just as critical as scanning

speeds and image quality.

Capture in the RAW

The first step to being able to

review all of the scans is to capture

them as a RAW image file. A RAW

image file is one that contains exactly

what the data collected without any

loss from compression,

interpolation, scaling or other

interference. This RAW data is key

to a fast auditing process because it

is one image file instead of multiple

image files. It is with this RAW data

that we can view the entire roll as a

Ribbon and detect what we have

captured.

The QC Process

The Quality Control, or Auditing

process is critical. Without being

able to quickly determine what had

been captured, a worker would have

to painfully sort through each

individual image, adjusting each one

and outputting the results. Auditing

Continued on next page.


software displays

the entire RAW

data file as one

image, detecting individual frames based on

predefined parameters. The RAW file is key when

needing to make adjustments to the entire roll. For

example, an entire roll may have been wound

backwards and each image requires a mirror

adjustment. Going through each image individually to

perform that function would take a long time. With an

auditing tool a user can make one adjustment and

reflect that across the entire ribbon of RAW data.

Similarly, if the original roll was filmed either over or

under exposed, one quick adjustment will make those

changes instantly to every frame, instead of adjusting

each individually.

The information that

record managers

control is vital to your

facility. During the

conversion process

can you afford to miss

a single image?

Did You Capture It All?

Before the final step of outputting the images, one

last question needs to be asked. Was everything on the

roll captured? An Auditor allows a user to see the

entire roll of film or microfiche as a ribbon, including

data in between frames. Using the Detect Process, the

Auditor will locate the individual frames on that RAW

ribbon file and draw a box around each one. Any gaps

in the film would be easily detected and inspected

further by the user. Now we can be sure that every

piece of data on the roll of film was transferred to the

ribbon which was then digitally spliced into frames.

Output

The RAW ribbon file, with adjustments made and

frames detected, needs one final process - output.

FlexScan is the industry’s leading

3-in-1 digitization solution for

conversion of Microfilm, Microfiche,

and Aperture Cards.

Normally run in

the background,

the output feature

converts a fully

audited RAW

ribbon file into

individual image

file formats

(TIFF, JPEG,

etc.). Now an

individual digital

file has been

created for each

frame on the roll

of microfilm.

Additionally, with

the required

software, wordsearchable

PDFs can be created at this time. These

files can then be transferred to a secure server for

storage and future retrieval.

Over the past year, in the NIRMA magazine, we

have discussed the many challenges to confidently

convert your microfilm and microfiche to a digital

archive. Remember, for a true digital conversion of

your microfilm collection, make sure to use a line scan

scanner to capture all data on the roll of fiche,

understand the limitations of certain media –

specifically microfiche, and to have a process ensuring

a true digital replica of the data has been completed.

The information that record managers control is vital

to your facility. During the conversion process can

you afford to miss a single image? Don’t leave your

conversion to chance, Convert Confidently!

“I really liked the opportunity to

voice my questions during the

Benchmarking Q&A Sessions for

Utility topics and I found the

chance to meet with various

exhibitors highly valuable (due to

my company looking at digitizing

our records).”

1st Time Attendee: Lisa Scruggs

Senior Records & Information Analyst

Dominion Energy


Update on Digitization of Old

Microfilm Documents

By Margie Janney, CRM/NS/FED

w

e’ve started! This image

(below) is the first

microfiche document

that the Nuclear

Regulatory Commission (NRC)

digitized as part of the large

digitization project I wrote about

in the last edition of Inside

NIRMA Magazine. You’ll

notice that it’s the transmittal

letter for Three Mile Island’s

Monthly Operating Report for

the month of February 1979. I

imagine the next month’s report

had a little more to say! (You

may remember the Three Mile

Island Unit 2 reactor, near

Middletown, Pennsylvania,

partially melted down on March

28, 1979.)

As of September 23,

2019, the NRC has scanned

24,597 microfiche, which

represents 22.86% of the

microfiche collection of

NUDOCS documents in the

ADAMS Legacy Library. Those

24,597 microfiche comprised

504,711 PDFs (records), which

represents 22.07% of the

NUDOCS collection. Of those,

we have successfully added

97,299 records and existing

ADAMS Legacy Library profile

data into the ADAMS Main

Library.

We’re on pace to complete

the digitization of the microfiche

collection by the end of 2020. We

will be starting the digitization of

aperture cards and Atomic Energy

Commission paper documents prior

to that date.


A Retrospective on Information Management

in Nuclear Power

One of the best things in my career

has been crossing paths with great

people who have a passion for

information management. In this

issue, you folks are in for a treat, as

I’ve invited Bob Larrivee of Bob

Larrivee Consultancy to be my guest

in this column. Bob has been around

a bunch of blocks over his career,

and always has great stories and

perspectives to share. Enjoy!

What’s Old is New

By Bob Larrivee

F

irst, thank

you to

Eugene

Yang for

allowing me to

participate with him

on this article.

Eugene and I have

known each other

for many years now, and at NIRMA

2019, we were reminiscing about the

“good old days”. One story in

particular that really struck home is

that many years ago when I was

working at Wang Laboratories, I had

the privilege of being part of a think

tank where “proof-of-concept” was

the focus. At that time, I worked on

the use of voice recognition, facial

recognition, digital annotation, and

much more. We even developed a

zero PC Footprint cubical

environment, and believe it or not, a

mahogany PC for a corporate

executive.

By Eugene Y. Yang, KISMET Consulting, Inc.

One of the many things I

was privileged to work on was what

we called the “remote office

connection” (ROC). In 1987, at the

Wang User Conference, I

demonstrated the use of a laptop

computer in Boston, MA to access a

PC desktop located in my office at

the HQ in Lowell, MA. Once

connected, I accessed the Wang mini

-computer in my lab that then

connected us to an application on a

mainframe computer. Back then,

communication was done through

modems over the telephone system

and it was slow…but effective!

Many folks were amazed it could be

done, and at the same time,

questioning the business value.

(Remember, this was 1987 when

remote workers were not even a

passing thought.)

Back then, we could only

imagine how far this would go once

Wang Laptop

technology

allowed more

flexibility and

bandwidth. Following NIRMA

2019, as I was flying home at thirtysix

thousand feet, I connected to the

Internet using on-board Wi-Fi.

While online, I connected to

OneDrive to access some files I

required. I then made some minor

corrections to a document, rather

than copying it and then having to

reload it later. Think about what I

had done: I was now able to do what

I had demonstrated in 1987, but

without requiring a landline to

connect, and from thirty-six

thousand feet!

Wang Optical Drive

In my view, the capabilities

we have and take for granted today,

are really works of wonder. In 1987,

folks thought what I had shown was

amazing yet could not see value.

Today, everyone is connected and

performing as if they were in the

office next to you, even though they

are half-way around the globe or


Take a moment and look around you. Think

about how much has changed since you were younger.

For me, smartphones are now processing more

information than my PC could years ago. Connectivity

is wireless. Video calls – once considered Jetsonian -

are available to all. (If you aren’t familiar with the term

“Jetsonian”, look up “The Jetsons”.) Now we have

robotics in both physical and software form. Artificial

intelligence is embedded in many applications and soon

wearable devices will include contact lenses that serve as

both a camera and a projector.

Wang Freestyle

flying over your head. Technology enables us to

approach the world very differently and takes on a

whole new dimension in every part of our lives. Wi-Fi

and portable/mobile devices enable us to be online

24/7, communicating and sharing with colleagues,

family, and friends. If for some reason it is not readily

available, we get frustrated.

In the nuclear industry, we will

see mini- and micro-reactors

now in development with NASA

for use in space, but potentially

here on earth as well. Just

imagine that you are assigned to

an interplanetary nuclear power

project. How will you

communicate, capture

information, and manage it? ...

The time to think about it is now.

The time to plan on it is now.

In the nuclear industry, we will see mini- and

micro-reactors now in development with NASA for use

in space, but potentially here on earth as well. Just

imagine that you are assigned to an interplanetary

nuclear power project. How will you communicate,

capture information, and manage it? How will

monitoring the facility be managed? Use of robotics?

Perhaps. The time to think about it is now. The time to

plan on it is now. As content curators, you will be faced

with new, uncharted challenges in managing

information. Technology is part of the answer.

Knowing what it is and being able to see the potential in

your operations is the key.

It is an amazing universe we live in and an

amazing journey we are on that is ever changing. Enjoy

the ride.

Inducted into the AIIM Company of Fellows in 2019,

Bob Larrivee is the President and Founder of Bob

Larrivee Consultancy. With over 34 years in the

industry, Bob is a recognized expert in the application

of advanced technologies and process improvement to

solve business problems and enhance business operations.

He also serves as a Technology Journalist for Document

Strategy.

Eugene has been a member of NIRMA for over

33 years. At the time he joined, NIRMA had

only been in existence for 11 years. He would

love to hear about stories and anecdotes from

others, so please email him at

eugene.yang@kismetconsulting.com.


To CRM or Not to CRM?

That Could Be, Should Be

Your Question!

N

one of us were born thinking

that when we are all grown

up, we want to be a CRM. I

probably wanted to be a

major league baseball player. My

friend Dave, who went on to be the

President of ARMA International

and the Institute of Certified

Records Managers (ICRM), was

going to play football at Boise State

and probably would have if only …

well, that story can be told another

day (broke his dad’s heart, he did!).

Bruce Walters addressing NIRMA

Conference attendees on the importance of

obtaining their certification

I’ve heard it said that you have to

be really smart to get to be a CRM.

I’ve heard others say the ICRM is an

elitist club full of snooty people.

Others have said it is just too hard to

do. To me, of those options, I will

admit that studying and passing all

six of the exams was not the easiest

thing I have ever done, so the latter

was closer to my heart. Some even

suggested that the only reason any of

us did it was to get a promotion or

pay raise. I couldn’t disagree more.

By Bruce Walters, CRM/NS

Why go to all that trouble? I can

only speak for myself, and well, it

was the challenge. I had heard the

stories, the comments. I didn’t care

about all of that. I wanted to prove

something to myself. Not to my

boss, not to my wife, not to my kids

(although it was an object lesson for

my kids). Back in the late 1980’s, I

decided that I was going to sit for

the exams. I quickly learned that I

didn’t know quite as much about

Records Management as I thought.

But I also learned that when

challenged, I was willing to do

what it took. I studied topics

where I had no previous

exposure. I found records

management friends who

were willing to share their

knowledge of what they did to

help teach me. I read books

and professional magazine

articles. Remember, these

were the dark days of

civilization … there was no

internet to explore (gasp!!).

What I discovered was that the

process we must go through to

become a CRM made me a smarter

records guy. I grew in knowledge

and confidence.

Like some other CRM

candidates, I experienced a few

bumps in the road. I failed a couple

sections. It made me mad, at the

system and at myself, but it

motivated me to succeed. It took

me three years, but I did it. I passed

the exams and

became a CRM.

Since then, I have

helped mentor a number of CRM

candidates and have graded Part 6

essay exams. And most recently,

applying the same rationale, I passed

the NS exam.

Now, should you become a

CRM … or a CRA? Could you

become one? If you have the

experience and education to qualify

for sitting for the exams, then

definitely yes! If you have

considered sitting for the exams,

don’t prejudge and quit on yourself

before you even begin. Attend

NIRMA Conference sessions to

learn about how to prepare for the

exams. Buy a preparation handbook

from the ICRM Bookstore (click

here) and other publications. Speak

to any of us who are CRMs in

NIRMA. But it really starts with

you. Go on, complete the

application at least. Or else you

need to look yourself in the mirror

and try explaining to yourself why

you shouldn’t. I’d suggest starting

with the CRA (passing Parts 2, 3 and

4), like Sheila Pearcy, Director Of

Infrastructure, has done. Then the

five-year clock to pass all parts goes

away.

If yes is your answer, you will find

folks in your corner, encouraging

you and assisting you as your

challenge begins. Game on!


Pre-Conference Workshop

“My boss and I attended the early

session together “Mapping out a

Modern Process Flow”. It happened

that I was in the middle of trying to

figure out how to use a mapping

process for a particularly difficult task

in my job. It was great to have Bob

there to answer questions and he

followed up with me later in the week,

as well. My process mapping was

completed the next week and allowed

our project to stay on track.”

Bob Larrivee presenting the

interactive pre-conference

workshop, Do You See the Flow? The

workshop focused on ways to

improve the work flow process with

or without technology by

understanding the importance of

process maps; identifying areas for

improvement; assessing the impact

of process change; and preparing a

future state vision.

First Time Attendee: Tami Ellis

Supervisor, Records Management

Framatome


The 2019 New Conference Attendees

New Attendee Orientation Facilitators (L-R): Eugene

Yang, Rebecca Wessman and Rich Giska

“I think NIRMA puts on a very well put together

conference, does a great job planning the

conference (speakers, food, hotel, etc.), and

seems to have good participation of members,

especially during the conference. It was also great

to be so welcomed into the organization as a new

comer.”

Quentin Newell

Engineering Supervisor

Urenco USA

“I found it very helpful that I was able to

take back to my organization the

information on how I can achieve

certification(s) and understanding the ICRM

organization and certification process.”

Cindy Ehrgott

Nuclear Facility Specialist

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory


KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Waco Bankston, General

Manager, STP Nuclear Operating

Co.

Nick Inglis, CIP, IGP, Executive Director,

Content & Programming, ARMA International →

Jessica Pacheco, Vice President, External

Affairs, Arizona Public Service Co.

Bruce Covert, PMP, CSP, President and Project

Manager, Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC

Rod McCullum, Senior Director, Used Fuel and

Decommissioning, Nuclear Energy Institute

(NEI)


Vendors

NIRMA greatly appreciates our Conference Vendors and encourages our readers

to take a look at what each of these vendors have to offer.



Conference Welcome Reception



Conference Welcome Reception


NIRMA President, Michelle Smith

provides the welcome and opening remarks

at the 43rd Annual NIRMA Conference

attendees.

Eugene Yang (Kismet Consulting) facilitates

panel discussion on “Information Management

Force Reductions—Lessons Learned and

Ramifications. Panel (L-R): Bill Clover

(Exelon), Shana House (AmerenUE), Robin

Whicker (Duke Energy), and Lona Smith

(STP).

Joe Shepley, VP, Doculabs discusses Content

Analytics & Information Governance Benefits for

Nuclear.


Exhibitor EXTRAVAGANZA



From the President

Michelle M. Smith

H

ere we are in the last quarter

of 2019. We had a

wonderful Conference this

past August as our

presenters spoke on issues that are

relevant to the Nuclear Industry and

presented us with challenges that will

help define our future. While the

nuclear industry continues to evolve,

our facilities will continue looking

for efficiencies to drive changes to

help the nuclear economy.

A significant part of creating the

path for the future is ensuring

alignment with our goals. Each

board member has been tasked with

reviewing the 2019 goals and

providing recommendations to

develop the 2020 goals. The board

has identified several things that we

were able to accomplish this year,

which directly supported our 2019

goals:

• Increase Membership - The

board with the help of the

Business Unit Directors were able

to contact utilities to provide

awareness and work towards

increasing NIRMA’s membership.

• Website Enhancements - This

year we have continued to

implement changes to the website

to ensure a friendlier environment

for our members.

• Outreach - This year NIRMA

offered additional outreach

through providing training to

Emirates Nuclear Energy

Corporation Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Nuclear Energy

Corporation is the entity

responsible for the deployment,

ownership and operation of

nuclear energy plants in the

United Arab Emirates. NIRMA,

contacted by ENEC polled the

membership for the right

candidate to represent NIRMA,

Mr. Eugene Yang, a lifetime

member of NIRMA volunteered

to represent NIRMA.

Mr. Eugene Yang, recognized for

his efforts during the NIRMA

Conference, is a great example of

how NIRMA members can

continue to contribute to the

industry and make a difference in

the future of NIRMA.

• Educational Opportunities - At

the conference Bob Larrivee, a

long-term partner with NIRMA

provided pre-conference training

for our membership.

• Continue Growth - One

technique of ensuring the

continued growth of our industry

is to share strategies and

processes with others. This is

where NIRMA can help; by

presenting your topic at our next

conference or making suggestions

on how we can obtain additional

information. Sharing information

with our Industry will provide the

nuclear industry with ideas and

techniques to implement value

added initiatives for the future.

In the past, we had several vendors

and utilities attend the conference

and share information on Mobile

Work Management. This initiative

helped drive efficiencies within our

industry. With the implementation of

electronic devices in the field, it

helped to eliminate the use of

hardcopy documents and save time

for the maintenance workers. Many

utilities now utilize a form of mobile

work management to perform

maintenance activities. Additionally,

the Standard Design Process was

developed to assist nuclear facilities

to achieve one of the Nuclear

Promise goals. We now have a

standard Document Change Process

that is utilized throughout the

industry. These are just a couple

ideas that have made a difference for

our industry.

What will be the next hot topic?

We are counting on our membership

to continue to share initiatives and

spread the word. Your colleagues

throughout the industry would love

to hear how your plant has

implemented new processes to drive

efficiencies. All thoughts,

suggestions, and ideas can be

submitted to nirma@nirma.org.


NIRMA 2019 CONFERENCE:

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

By Janice Hoerber, NIRMA Vice President

T

he NIRMA 2019 Conference offered a great

experience. Based on the feedback we

received, the networking and good

conversations for learning and sharing created

a solid forum. We thank everyone who attended and

participated to make the conference a success. The goal

was to provide a platform of learning and engagement,

to make you THINK in new ways, and to keep your

passion engaged when you returned to your workplace.

Mission accomplished!

studies of innovation, leadership, and lessons learned.

We are excited to announce that the

NIRMA 2020 conference will be moving to

an alternate Palms Conference area on the

same JW Marriott Las Vegas property,

August 2-4, 2020.

Our sincere appreciation goes out to the distinguished

speakers and keynotes who gave their time to share

meaningful messages for our careers and industry

knowledge. We thank the Vendor Exhibitors for

participating in this year's conference and contributing

to the technical sessions. Their loyal support is

invaluable and enables NIRMA to stay current on new

solutions and technologies. Last but not least, we

extend our gratitude to the NIRMA Lifetime members

who joined us -- Eugene Yang, Margie Janney, Rich

Giska, and Frank Koscis as they continue to devote

their time and resources to benefit the organization.

We managed the conference expenses closely this year

for NIRMA to likely end on a positive financial note for

2019. This is not a trivial task, but the JW Marriott

continues to be a great partner to NIRMA with reduced

room rates, optional resort fee, and discounts on the

conference food and audio-visual services.

NIRMA will be changing things up for the 2020

conference to revitalize the tracks and session topics to

meet the needs of a broader audience and encourage

more grass-roots sessions from the industry. The

feedback from this year's conference desires more

sessions to hear what went well and what didn't

(operating experience) with the challenges faced. We

will soon have a fresh Call for Papers to attract more

presentation topics so the new attendee might dive

deeper into the fundamentals if desired, while the

experienced audience might focus on unique case

This is a fresh change with modern breakout rooms in

the Palms Tower having outside light. The Sunday

"Keynote day" may evolve to a half day if we are

successful in attracting more technical sessions

especially presented by attendees with a story to share!

The way you do business is rapidly transforming

whether it is through change in processes, people, or

technology. NIRMA encourages each of you to

consider what story you have to tell from your

workplace or company transformation! Take advantage

of NIRMA's group discount registration next year by

planning now to bring your colleague, your boss, and

your Information Technology teammates to present &

participate in NIRMA 2020.


MEMBERSHIP & MARKETING

(M&M)

Business Unit News

By Bruce Walters, M&MBU Director

2020 Board of Directors (L-R): Michelle Smith, Bruce Walters, Anita Beren, Sheila Pearcy,

Lona Smith and Janice Hoerber

veterans, which means providing a

full spectrum of sessions to meet

your goals. Therefore, what would

be additionally helpful is for you to

take a moment and complete our

2020 Conference Survey that is

coming out in early October. Again,

this is your association. We want all

our members to get the most out of

their membership, so your input will

be huge in directing us in how to

support your needs and wants.

T

he 2020 Board of Directors

election results were

communicated to the

attendees at the 2019 Annual

Business Meeting on Day 3 of the

Conference in August. Here are the

Board assignments for next year, as

follows:

• President: Michelle Smith

• Vice President: Janice Hoerber

• Treasurer: Anita Beren

• Secretary: Sheila Pearcy, CRA

• Director of Technical Programs:

Lona Smith

• Director of Infrastructure:

Bruce Walters, CRM/NS

2020 Business Unit Directors:

• Membership & Marketing

Business Unit (M&MBU)

Director: Kathi Cole, CRM

Co-Director: Denise

Pickett, CRM/NS/FED

• Professional Development

Business Unit (PDBU)

Director: Tammy Cutts

Co-Director: Lou Rofrano

• Regulations and Information

Management Business Unit

(RIMBU)

Director: Chris Boudreaux

Co-Director: Shana House

It is never too early to begin

planning the next conference. The

Board is appreciative of the feedback

members provided to our Post-

Conference Survey. It was very

meaningful, especially identifying

where we needed to improve for

next year. The Board wants the 2020

conference to meet the needs of the

novice through the seasoned

Kathi Cole and Lona Smith will be

representing NIRMA at the annual

ARMA Conference in Nashville in

late October. We will have a booth

and a new flyer that will promote

NIRMA to more Records

Management professionals.

For those of you who did not fill

out the Business Unit app at the

Conference, know that you are

welcome to join the M&MBU for

the upcoming planning year. We

hold monthly conference calls on the

first Wednesday of each month.

Email either me or Kathi Cole to let

us know of your interest and we will

add you to the call list.

bruce.walters@aecom.com or

kathi.cole@lm.doe.gov

We are excited for all the ideas and

opportunities to help make NIRMA

and its members blossom.


Professional Development

Business Unit News

Tammy Cutts, PDBU Director

T

he 2019 conference was a

notable one for the

PDBU. At the top of the

list is the announcement

of a co-director. Lou Rofrano

of AMS Store and Shred

volunteered to step into that

role. Lou has a lot of energy and

great ideas he’s bringing to the

role and I’m very excited to

welcome him as co-director.

We were

able to recognize

three individuals

at the conference

as well. Bruce

Walters of

Aecom and Gil

Brueckner with

GE both achieved

Additional Andy McGavin was recognized for

his work in leading

the review of the NS

exam and study guide

content, which must

be done periodically.

As a result of his

team's work on this,

the NS exam was able

to be offered to

Bruce and Gil

electronically via

Pearson Vue testing centers. This was a significant

change from previous exams that had to be taken and

evaluated by hand.

Finally, we held a brainstorming session during

the conference. The session attendees provided great

feedback and suggestions for PDBU to implement in

providing opportunities for our members to use for

professional development.

the Nuclear Specialist

(NS) designation to add

on to their Certified

Records Manager (CRM)

certification. NIRMA

President Michelle

Smith presented both

individuals with their NS

certificates.


News from the Regulatory

Information Management

Business Unit (RIMBU)

T

he Regulatory Information Management

Business Unit (RIMBU) team members met

following the 43 rd Annual NIRMA Conference.

Major topics covered during the Summer

Meeting were: Cloud Storage of Records, Video as a QA

Record, Benchmarking Q&A Forum, Electronic

Signature, Less with Less, Verification of Records once

processed into an EDMS, and status of the NIRMA/

ANSI CM 1.0 5-year revision.

We were excited this year to have several new and

returning members at the RIMBU Summer Meeting

including: Meg Milligan, Trela Norton, Lynn Purdy,

Andrea Matazinski Wilson, Darlene Angle, Angela

Olson, and Robin Whicker.

By Chris Boudreaux,

RIMBU Business Unit Director

RIMBU to produce White Paper on Cloud

Computing and Applications

The RIMBU team has aligned on the development of

a white paper to guide the Nuclear Industry in various

considerations as we make our way into Cloud

computing and applications. The document will serve as

a tool to educate industry participants in several areas

for consideration when developing Cloud strategy

including legal issues, regulatory compliance, security,

audits, and more. The initial framework for this

document will be presented during the October RIMBU

phone call.

Recognition went out to RIMBU Members as follows:

• Eugene Yang – Volunteer efforts with Emirates

Nuclear

• Rich Giska, Lori Roddy, Ronnie Trujillo –

NIRMA/ANSI 1.0 5-Year Revision

• Lori Roddy and Chris Boudreaux – stepping up

last fall for Linda Mar

• Bill Clover – coordination of ANI communications

• Rich Giska – CMBG Representation

Election of RIMBU Co-Director

The RIMBU team held an election to fill the vacant

Co-Director position to which Shana House was

elected by peers to assume the role. Shana House has

served with RIMBU for multiple years and assisted with

revisions and reviews of several of the active reference

documents for NIRMA. Shana House currently works

with Ameren.

PP-08: Electronic Signature Position Paper

Bill Clover presented the final draft of the Electronic

Signature position paper to the RIMBU team who went

on to provide comments ahead of the release of this

document to the NIRMA Membership. This document

will provide guidance on the implementation of

Electronic Signature methods to the Nuclear Industry.

RIMBU to produce

White Paper on Less with Less

The RIMBU team has aligned on the development of

a white paper to guide the Nuclear Industry in best

practices surrounding RM processes as we take on the

challenge of doing less with less resources. The team

was very engaged as we discussed the framework for

this white paper which will cover many areas around

storage of records, processing of records, managing

backlog, etc. The team is focused on producing the

framework for this white paper and having the initial

team review during the September RIMBU phone call.

RIMBU Spring Meeting 2020

The team has a tentative location and dates for the

upcoming Spring Meeting which will be at Tennessee

Valley Authority in Chattanooga, TN on March 10 &

11, 2020. We will release more information as we get

closer to the dates related to the agenda and travel

accommodations.

For additional information on joining RIMBU or

the RM/IT benefits for NIRMA Conference

participation, please contact me at

(361) 972-4058 or cmboudreaux@stpegs.com.


Setting the Record Straight on the Three Most Common

Misconceptions Around Nuclear Energy

If you are following the news, you

have probably seen more climate

issues in the headlines, on social

media and even on television shows.

Most recently, the Democratic

presidential debates and CNN

Climate Town Hall provided a

platform for candidates to share

their energy policies. One topic of

contention is the role of nuclear

carbon-free energy in helping to

solve climate change.

While there is a growing consensus

by scientists and voices within the

environmental community that

nuclear energy is essential for

decarbonization, it’s clear that the

Democratic candidates are not on

the same page when it comes to

nuclear energy. And the media has

picked up on the divide:

• New York Magazine: On Climate,

Sanders and Warren Must Go

Nuclear

• The Washington Post: Don’t trust

candidates who ignore nuclear

power

• The Verge: Democrats are divided

on using nuclear power to stop

climate change

Thankfully, these disagreements

have left room for more

comprehensive and honest

conversations around nuclear, which

are long-overdue.

As the field of Democratic

candidates begins to narrow, it’s

important to set the record straight

on nuclear. Here are three of the

most common misconceptions that

you should be on the watch for as

debates continue:

1. Until we can solve the waste

issue, nuclear energy isn’t a

good option. The waste issue

dates back decades ago when the

federal government agreed to

take ownership of nuclear waste

and find a solution to

permanently store it.

Unfortunately, the politics on

how best to manage it led to a

stalemate, leaving nuclear plant

owners responsible for managing

it at the expense of tax payers.

What’s frustrating is this issue

has already been solved.

Scientific research says the most

viable solution is to store used

fuel at a geological repository like

Yucca Mountain. But to move

forward with Yucca Mountain,

Congress must grant funding to

complete the process.

In the meantime, the nuclear

industry knows exactly where its

waste is, and it’s safely contained

(which can’t be said for all

energy sources). Nuclear plant

owners store their used fuel onsite

based on stringent

requirements set by the

government. Plus, there isn’t

really much used fuel out there.

Nearly seven decades of waste

from using nuclear power would

only cover a football field to a

depth of less than 10 yards.

Ultimately, losing nuclear

power—the largest source of

carbon-free electricity in the

United States—because of a

political issue would set us back

in reaching our climate goals.

2. Nuclear energy isn’t safe. Bill

Gates, an advocate of nuclear

energy, has said that the safety

record of the nuclear industry is

unmatched by any other energy

source. And he’s right. Safety is

engrained in the culture of every

nuclear plant.

America’s nuclear power plants

have an excellent track record

and are among the safest and

most secure industrial facilities in

the country. And the nuclear

industry has a tough,

independent regulator that

ensures they stay that way.

Some opponents point to

Chernobyl or other events like

Three Mile Island (TMI) or

Fukushima as reasons to phase

out nuclear. But what happened

at Chernobyl simply could not

happen here. That event was the

product of a faulty reactor design

not used in the U.S.

Article reprinted with permission

of NEI. Read full article here.


Andrew Yang Loves Thorium

Nuclear Reactors,

But What Are They?

Lately an unfamiliar type of

advanced reactor has been getting

more attention, because one

Democratic presidential candidate

has been talking about it. Andrew

Yang, a tech entrepreneur, has

put development of thorium

reactors into his climate change

platform.

But what is a thorium reactor?

Thorium is an abundant, lightly

radioactive metal (named by its

Swedish discoverer after the Norse

god, Thor) that can be used in

certain types of nuclear reactors. It

isn’t really fuel, because it can’t be

split like uranium can. But when

thorium is placed in a reactor, it

absorbs some of the neutrons that

are given off by fission. A thorium

atom that picks up a neutron

becomes a new element—uranium

233, which is a reactor fuel. So, a

reactor can cook thorium into

reactor fuel, and then consume the

fuel to make electricity.

Thorium is about three times

more abundant than uranium. It’s

already produced by mining

companies as a byproduct, and it

has a variety of non-nuclear uses.

Plus, used fuel from thorium

reactors contains minimal amounts

of very long-lived radioactive

materials compared to current

uranium fuel, so disposing of waste

is easier.

There are no thorium reactors

running today, but Flibe Energy

Inc., a startup based in Huntsville,

Alabama, has an advanced reactor

design that uses thorium and

molten salt. Employing molten salt

in place of water (to transfer heat

from the fuel) allows a reactor to

operate at a higher temperature and

at lower pressure, which means it

doesn’t need a super-strong and

expensive reactor vessel and piping.

Heat from a high-temperature

thorium reactor—whether molten

salt or other—could be used in a

variety of applications to displace

fossil fuels, such as producing

hydrogen for transportation or

industrial use. Like all reactors, a

thorium reactor would be carbonfree.

And it would be dispatchable,

meaning that it would run when

needed and not simply when

weather conditions permitted.

Thanks to work done in the U.S.

national laboratories in the 1960s,

the molten salt that Flibe proposes

for a thorium reactor is already

familiar to engineers. Still, deploying

thorium reactors will require

additional research and

development, which is why Yang

has proposed $50 billion dollars for

thorium research (along with

fusion).

Article reprinted with permission

of NEI. Read full article here.

Rolls-Royce Group

Wins Funding

as UK SMR Race

Gathers Pace

The UK SMR Consortium has

received financial backing from the

UK government to advance its

small modular reactor programme,

as part of the Industrial Strategy

Challenge Fund.

The consortium, led by Rolls-

Royce, comprises Assystem, SNC

Lavalin/Atkins, Wood, Arup, Laing

O’Rourke, BAM Nuttall, Siemens,

National Nuclear Laboratory, and

Nuclear AMRC.

“The £18 million [US$22.3

million] government funding for

phase 1 of the programme (from

the ISCF Wave 3 bid we were

recommended from by

government) is being matched by

industry funding in the

consortium,” Ben Todd, Rolls-

Royce Communications Business

Manager – Nuclear, told Nuclear

Energy Insider.

“It’s a really big boost to the

project, however we have a

conservative outlook and realise

there remains a significant amount

of work still to do and many

hurdles to overcome. Phase 2 will

be a further circa £500 million

[US$618 million] total (matched

Continued on next page.


to generate high-value products

such as hydrogen.

Rolls-Royce Group Wins Funding

as UK SMR Race Gathers Pace, continued

The MMR-REM design is

advanced and has undergone the

Vendor Design Review (VDR)

Phase 1 with the Canadian Nuclear

Safety Commission (CNSC).

from government, industry and

possibly equity providers) to take

through to the completion of the

GDA process.”

The initiative was launched in

November 2015, as a range of

measures to support the next

generation of nuclear power plants.

It included investing £250 million

[US$310 million] in nuclear R&D

over five years and launching the

competition to identify the most

cost effective SMR design.

“We are waiting for the

government award of the grant

offer letter forecast in mid-October

to enable industry commitment to

the next phase,” said Todd.

“We have a power station design

that is ready to be prepared for the

UK licensing process and just as

importantly, we have a business

case that has been rigorously

reviewed by the UK Government,

UKRI, and the independent Expert

Finance Working Group. Together

this is already creating a lot of

interest in the market place which

gives us belief and confidence that

we have a great power station.”

Feasibility studies and funds for

non-LWR

In June 2018, the UK

government's £200 million Nuclear

Sector Deal was announced to cut

the cost of nuclear power and

bolster the UK skills base, at a time

when fears were rising over

scientists leaving the UK due to

Brexit. That deal included £56

million towards the development

and licensing of advanced modular

reactor designs – and £32 million

pounds towards advanced

manufacturing research – against

stiff competition from Canada in

the SMR race.

Eight non-light water reactor

(non-LWR) vendors each received

£4 million to perform detailed

technical and commercial feasibility

studies. Those vendors are

Advanced Reactor Concepts, DBD,

LeadCold, Moltex Energy,

Tokamak Energy, U-

Battery Developments, Ultra Safe

Nuclear Corporation (USNC), and

Westinghouse Electric Company

UK.

USNC said that its MMR-REM

plant, being developed for Canada,

may not be the best solution for the

UK market and is identifying a

specific UK application that is best

suited to launching a UK-MMR

reactor. USNC expects that this will

be in the delivery of high

temperature process heat that can

be used to replace fossil fuels and

Moltex Energy, which is also

focussing in Canada, is working on

its Stable Salt Reactor (SSR) design.

Moltex chose not to pursue the

licensing process in the U.S. due to

low gas prices and the number of

U.S.-based developers competing

for early-stage funding. Design

review processes in the UK and

Canada are also seen as more

supportive for new technology

licensing as the national regulators

use a principles-based analysis

rather than prescriptive approach.

Moltex has used conventional

components and materials already

qualified in the nuclear sector

where possible to benefit from

quick deployment timelines. It says

licensing of the SSR plant could be

completed in five years and that

construction time for a FOAK 300

MW plant would be three years.

The Westinghouse Lead-cooled

Fast Reactor is a 400 MW plant

which uses liquid lead as primary

coolant and uranium oxide (or U-

Pu oxide) as fuel, while LeadCold is

proposing a lead-cooled reactor

using uranium nitride fuel. A single

SEALER-UK unit produces up to

40 MW of electricity in a vessel that

can be transported by rail rail.

Article reprinted with permission of

Nuclear Energy Insider. Read full article

here.


Inside NIRMA Fall 2019 FINAL

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